Final thoughts on the CSL Universal Hub from Fanatec. I was taken by surprise by this new entry into the Fanatec line up. They already have a pretty good universal hub unit in the Clubsport Universal Hub. Although it is prices at 350.00. Which 200.00 higher that the CSL’s 150.00 price. So, what do you get for 200.00 less. First impression out of the box is a big piece of plastic. It is sporting the new tooless quick release hub. I have reviewed that before and still think it is a much better system than the old metal band solution used before on the Elite line of wheels. Around front, we find a plastic plate with metal threaded inserts for attaching wheels. There is a standard70mm PDC bolt pattern and a 50.8mm bolt pattern. I was able to try both positions with the two wheels Fanatec sent me with the CSL Universal hub. The button pods have buttons on both sides that have a very good feel to them. Nice spring pressure to actuate them and no wobble on the button tops that I see in a lot of buttons I have reviewed in the past. There is a 7 way joystick on the right side button pod that feels pretty good. A little wobble in it but not enough for concern from me. I operated quite well. There is a rocker switch on the left button pod that didn’t feel that good to me. It worked but had a dull feel when I used it. There are also two momentary toggle switches on pods. They have a nice rubber coating on them but felt very loose around the center and felt vague when using them. They did work well though. The button pods have the ability to move out from the center hub to accommodate both small and large diameter wheels. This is a pretty slick system that is easy to use. However, when I adjusted the pods to accommodate the 330mm Fanatec wheel, there was a lot of flex in the pods when using the buttons or shifters. This caused the buttons and shifters to feel a bit mushy when used. The reason this happens is there is not enough support in the plastic arms that make up the sliding mechanism. The left side pod flexes a bit more than the right side when fully deployed. This because it has even less support than the right side
assembly. There is a major dampening effect in this position. And the already mushy feeling shifter paddles feel even worse. Speaking of which, these are the worse feeling shifters I have ever felt from Fanatec. They had a lot of flex in them unless you hit the very middle of the paddle when shifting. When I first stared using them I had to constantly look at my cars gear indicator to make sure I had made the shift. They were that dull feeling. I was ok once muscle memory set in but a just disappointing experience for me. The good news is, that when using the hub with the small
diameter wheels a lot of the button pod flex went away. This made the buttons and shifters feel much better in use. Still the shifters need more help than that to get them to a level of the metal spring units used in a lot of Fanatec gear. I know I have to maintain the proper expectation levels at the 150.00 price point, but there certainly is room for improvement on this CSL Universal hub.
DOFReality H6 6DOF Motion System Review
When you first see the price that DOFReality is charging for a 6DOF motion platform. You wonder how they can sell at such a low price point. But when you actually built it and have it deployed, you can see how they do it. The electric motors have no encoders or resolvers. Instead they use a potentiometer as a position sensor. Then they bolt the motor to a gearbox. Which uses a worm gear configuration to turn the output shaft attached to a lever. Using a setup like this allows them to keep the cost down. If you used actuators in stead of this setup, it would be considerably more expensive. This system uses motor arms to connect the motors output to the main cradle assembly in a Stewart styled design. The rod ends used on the arms are not top shelf units but they do get the job done. This is the theme for the H6 chassis. Nothing stands out as being of a commercial quality. But in this case it does make the H6 system available to a lot more Sim Racers. I do like that the H6 is now using gas charged struts. This does two things at once. It helps dampen the otherwise jerky motion that you would get without them. And it also gives the motors some help when it comes time for them to lift the cradle in response to the controllers commands. The cockpit section of the H6 is on the flimsy side when you look at the way the wheel base solution is designed. Even with the extra wheel support attached, there is noticeable flex in that part of the assembly. I would like to see larger tubes and heavier gauge metal used here. When driving the H6 you do get a full 6DOF motion experience. It is not the smoothest or most refined motion. But I am glad to see that with the very good Sim Racing Studio tuning software I was able to dial in the motion that I wanted. SRS has a winner on their hands with this software package. I would like to see
other Sim Racing motion companies using it in stead of the current version of Simtools. The H6 is also a bit noisy. Especially if you prefer your motion to be on the more detailed side. This is due to the 18 rod end connections the H6 uses in it’s design. You can turn the motion spikes down to help keep this sound on the lower side but it will always be there. If you buy an H6 motion system, you will get to experience a true 6DOF motion in your racing, or flying games. The system overall is on the ruff side in finish and quality control. At the end of the day the H6 at 3800.00 plus shipping, doesn’t do anything that makes it stand out. But it does do what DOFReality says it will do.
Simtrecs Pro Pedal GT Review
Final thoughts on the Pro Pedal GT from the guys at Simtrecs. From the moment you open the box, you know there has been a lot of thought by the designer as to what he wanted his pedal set to convey to the customer. Custom modeled foam inserts that neatly layout the components for the pedals and the pedals themselves. Once the pedals are out you are greeted by careful attention to detail everywhere you look. It is evident that each pedal was designed for its intended purpose alone. With the only common part among them being the angle adjustment brackets mounted to the sides of the pedals. There are common elements to the pedals as far function goes. Like the hydraulic dampers. But still selected on a per pedal basis that best met its needs. This is one of the few pedal sets you can buy today that have the electronics encased in metal to mitigate EMI/RFI interference. You know, there are just way too many details for me to list here in the final thoughts segment as to the intricacies of each pedal. And the reason this review is so long. There are plenty of adjustments available here to get the pedals to a desirable setting. Including a good selection of brake tuning bumpers. Of course there is Simtrecs in house Smart Drive tuning software that will allow you to adjust the pedals’ behavior to your individual needs. I mounted the pedals to the optional but very solid feeling baseplate. That is available in 2 different widths. Of course all this is moot if they don’t perform under some stress testing. I used some aggressive heel and toe shifting to put as much pressure as I could on the Pro Pedal GT’s. At first, I tested on a pedal tray that had some flex in it because I was testing the GT Omega Prime cockpit at the time. But to let these pedals show what they can really do. I installed a proper solid pedal tray from Sim Lab. It was then that I could see what they are truly capable of. They took hours of my heel and toe shifting without showing any signs of stress. As I was testing other Sim Racing hardware along with them. I was looking for something to really complain about or not like here. But I just couldn’t find anything. They just
do a great job and feel very good under foot. As I was able to tune each pedal to meet my personal preference. As for the question of long term durability, I really can’t comment. But based on the build quality this set brings to the table, I would not be too worried about it. If you are in the market for a great performing and looking high end set of Sim Racing pedals, the Simtrecs Pro Pedal GT along with its optional baseplate, would be a great option for your consideration.
GT Omega Prime Cockpit Review Part 2 “The Setup”
Final thoughts on the Prime Cockpit from the GT Omega Racing. This is the first cockpit from GT Omega that is constructed mostly from
aluminum profile. Once I had it built, it was time to mount some Sim Racing hardware to it and conduct the usual testing method I use at the SRG. The wheel deck holes mounted to my Podium DD1 with no issues. I was able to use all 5 M6 bolts. Which gave it a nice solid feel when using the DD1 at the full 20Nm of torque that it can reach. Also allowing the DD1 to deliver its peak level of FFB details. I would like to see GT Omega develop some other wheelbase mounts for the Prime cockpit. A side mount for the Podiums and a front mount plate for the
Mige, Kollmorgen, and Simucube motors. The shifter mount performed as expected. It is a familiar design that is used successfully on other
available aluminum profile cockpits. The heavy Pro-Sim H pattern shifter I used felt the same as when I have I mounted to my P1X cockpit.
So no complaints here. The seat mounting solution provided a nice flex free place to mount my Sparco side bracket equipped Prisma seat. I could feel no flex when using a very stiff brake pedal. There are two areas hear I would like to see better solutions implemented. The main
one is the pedal tray unit. It is made from 3mm steel plate with only one support under it. This causes the tray to flex under braking pressure. I was able to mitigate the flex a bit by mounting the plate directly between the two side 40×160 profiles. But it was still very
noticeable. While their at it, they should incorporate some kind of adjustable height solution. If they can get that done. They will have a cockpit that compares with some of the best available.
GT Omega Prime Cockpit Review
Final thoughts on the GT Omega Prime cockpit. This video is part 1 of a 2 part review series on the Prime cockpit. In the second video I will be mounting sim racing hardware components and testing under real life SRG
conditions. Here we have another cockpit made from aluminum extrusions. Using 40 series profiles. The base is made up of 4 pieces of 40×160 profile. Which has a heavier core than the rest of the profiles used here. These profiles do have a deeper channel than what I would call industry standard profiles. This allows the use of t-nuts that have a metal spring spot welded to the side. This spring helps the t-nut stay in place. These t-nuts do not operate as smoothly as spring ball t-nuts used in standard 40 series profiles. But they are less expensive to make. Which can keep cost down. And they do get the job done. They can be inserted from the profile ends or directly into the profiles channels. All the assembly hardware and fasteners were present so now trips to the local hardware store required. The assembly process is pretty straight forward with no surprises or issues. The specialty mounting brackets are well done in 10mm thick aluminum. The wheelbase upright brackets look to be clones of another cockpit manufactures brackets. Which are known to work very well. As they do in this cockpits construction. The wheelbase mount is a one piece welded aluminum unit that seems to be very solid once all the bolts are cinched down. The pedal plate is made of 3mm stamped steel. It has a steel
tube spot welded to the plate for added support. It has long slots cut into it that should accommodate the most common pedal sets out there. It has an angle adjustment that gives a good range. The pedal tray seems to be a bit flexy. And has a rattle to it when thumping it with your fist. I will have to wait for a final verdict once I can get a proper, stiff brake pedal under foot. The shifter mount is a very solid unit. I’m sure it will be able to handle anything you can mount to it. While the design of this cockpit looks to be a copy of other available cockpits. I think one has to consider that there are not many options when it comes to building a rock solid cockpit using aluminum extrusion as a material for construct. So, I expect to see more familiar looking cockpits from other manufacturers in the future. Now it’s time to fit out the Prime cockpit and see how if performs under the stress of SRG testing.
2019 Season 3 Build is LIVE!
2019 Season 3 Build is LIVE!
June 4th, 2019 by
Chris Leone
The moment you’ve all been waiting for is here… Season 3 content is officially LIVE! We’ve got an entire fleet of new content for the new season—check out some of the highlights below:
The Road To New Damage
The Road To New Damage
June 19th, 2018 by
Richard Jobling
Starting Out
My name is Richard Jobling and I am a Senior Software Engineer here at iRacing. For a long time now my primary focus at iRacing has been to develop our new damage model. It’s been a long journey, and I’d like to share some details from along the way.
When we first discussed improving damage in iRacing, we focused on the goal of adding parts to the cars that would break off during impact. Immediately I started adding more to our to-do list such as improving the particles and sounds to complement breakable parts.
Physics Modeling: NTM V7 Info (plus more)
Physics Modeling: NTM V7 Info (plus more)
March 2nd, 2018 by
Dave Kaemmer
It’s been quite a while since I’ve written about the tire model, and I know some of you are eager to hear more about it. It has gone through several iterations since the new tire model (NTM) was first unveiled and I wrote the first incomprehensible blog about it. I am wrapping up the work on the seventh update to the model (V7). Because I haven’t written about it since about the first or second iteration, I’ll include info about version 6 as well. All the cars in the service are currently running on the V6 tire model. All versions prior to that are not worth remembering (except a modified V5 tread rubber model which is used in the V6 tires), so there will be very little here about those.
iRacing Development Update – Dirt, Le Mans, VR and more
iRacing Development Update – Dirt, Le Mans, VR and more
June 28th, 2016 by
Steve Myers
We Are Building Dragons
I have spent a LOT of time in the car and on planes lately traveling to meetings and events for some very exciting developments for iRacing. I can’t really get into the specifics yet on what these trips are for but during these long drives and flights I have had a lot time to reflect on iRacing. Some thoughts that popped into my head on my travels….
December Build & Other iRacing Updates
December Build & Other iRacing Updates
November 18th, 2015 by
SteveM
This is always kind of a depressing time of the year for me, because winter is literally only weeks away and all the real world racing series are finishing up their seasons. I am excited, though, to be heading to Homestead on Friday to celebrate our NASCAR Peak Antifreeze Series champion Kenny Humpe and get to watch what is really the only race left in the season. Love it or hate it, you can’t deny that this new Chase format does provide a “Super Bowl” event with the final race at Homestead.