How to Build a Home SIM Racing Rig On A Budget

Introduction

When getting into SIM Racing equipment there are hundreds of options to choose from. Only a few key choices will actually help improve your laptime. Most other options will help in feeling more immersive and more real-life feeling of actual racing a car, but won't help much with actually improving your performance as a driver. That said, once you're hooked on SIM Racing, you'll likely want to upgrade to the next best thing, but that is another story.

The basics

1) Racing steering wheel with force feedback

The generally accepted best starter wheel is the Logitec G29 (for PlayStation and PC) or the Logitec G920 (for Xbox and PC). An alternative is the slightly newer and more expensive Logitech G923 with better force feedback.

It provides all the basics needed to get started and improve your laptimes. You can attach this to a sturdy desk but it may be difficult to get the pedals in a position where they don't move under heavy breaking so you may want to consider at least a wheel/pedal stand or a basic SIM Rig (see below)

Price: around 250 euro for G29 and around 300 euro for G923

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2) Pedals

It may come as a surprise but a decent set of pedals is the best way to improve your performance as well as consistency, even more so than the quality of the steering wheel. Especially the brake pedal is important here: it needs to have a progressive feel so it feels like in a real car: the more you brake the more resistance you get. Cheaper models have a linear control which makes it hard to dose your breaking.

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3) Wheel /pedal stand or entry level SIM Rig

Eventhough not 100% required, it is highly advisable to invest in at least a basic Wheel/Pedal stand so especially your pedals are not moving around all the time. One option is the Next Level Racing Wheelstand shown below (115 euro). PlaySeat also offers a few options: about 200 euro for the one at the top and around 300 euro for the one at the bottom right.

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4) Monitor or TV

If you just get started you can use any gaming monitor or even a TV. If you do want to buy a monitor then the most important factors are refresh rate and response time. Choose a monitor that supports at least 120-144 FPS and a 1 ms response time to ensure you don't get caught off by a lagging screen. Remember that when driving at 200km/h and using a screen with a 10ms response time, the image will show where the car was 10ms ago, which is  55cm away from where the car really is in the game. Missing the apex by that distance will ruin your laptime for sure...

Note that if you do choose to use a TV, you'll likely experience the above mentioned delays, simply because most TV's are not targeted at gaming. A lot of TV's will only support 60 FPS. Some models, like the LG Oled TV's do support 120 FPS so it is worth checking.

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5) Console or PC

Unless you already have a Gaming PC, you'll likely start off with a PlayStation or Xbox. Besides price, another key benefit is easy of use since it is mostly plug-and-play.

One key drawback is that neither PlayStation nor Xbox support widescreen so make sure to remember that before investing in one. Widescreen monitors are very popular for SIM Racing as it provides that extra surround view that is crucial when participating in actual league races.

If you do want to invest in a Gaming PC then again there are plenty of options depending on your budget and what your goal is. I'll cover that in another blog post.

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