(Part 2) Top products from r/iRacing

The biggest question is: How committed is he, and what is his price range?

With wheels, there are a few things to take into account. There are two methods of driving force feedback: gears, and belts.

• Gears are relatively old technology. They are simple, reliable, and cheap, but provide a low-fi FFB experience. The teeth in the gears are very distinct in the feedback you get: as you turn the wheel, you will get a strong vibration as the gears mesh together. Gears also have rather limited strength in the FFB, even cranked up they aren't very strong. Gears also have gaps in their force feedback where you will not get any response whatsoever, often times this is the middle.
  
  
• Belt driven wheels are a much newer and more advanced design. They really emerged only in the last 3 or 4 years in significant quantities. Belts have smooth, analog-like feedback compared to the ratchety, noisy operation of gear based wheels. They have much stronger, and much more realistic FFB. Their only cons are price, and reliability, and in the case of the early belt-driven wheels, there was some noticeable lag on the FFB. Being more complex, they may have more reliability issues, but in the vast majority of cases, they won't have any problems. Otherwise, belts are wholly superior to gear based wheels. The wheels' response will be much smoother, and much more enjoyable overall.
  
  I have done significant research on all the major wheels available today. And if you want to go cheap, the Black Momo or DFGT are your best choices. If you are going gear based, stick to $100 or less if possible. Any more, and you should really just skip right to belt-driven wheels. The Black Momo is not considered a "desirable" wheel, and they are plentiful. Thus, it's easy to find them cheaply; I have seen them as low as $50. I'd say amongst cheap gear wheels, the Momo is probably your best bet. I have had one for almost a decade now and it's holding up well, and I have no problems doing well in iRacing with it, despite its low steering lock. It does everything you need it to as a beginner, and is built pretty well.
  
  The DFGT is very similar mechanically to the Momo, the most notable difference being that it has 900 degrees of rotation, and does not have shifter paddles like the Momo. It only has buttons. However, the DFGT has a strong reputation and is in high demand, and since it has been discontinued, the price is quite high. It is possible to find them for $100 on Craigslist or other private sellers, but even the cheapest used on Amazon is $150. If you can find a DFGT for $100, I would go for it, but I wouldn't pay any more for one for a few reasons.
  
  Finally, the one people always seem to recommend, the G27. At the time of its release, the G27 was one of the better wheels available on the market, and it was great value. However, fastforward to modern day, the G27 is about 5 years old, and its almost identical predecessor, the G25, is 8 years old. In the interim since its release, belt-driven wheels have begun mass-production and their prices have gone down significantly, and now belt-driven wheels price-match the G27, and significantly outperform it as far as FFB goes.
  
  The G27 was, and still is a great wheel, but it is an old design and there are much better options now. And at the end of the day, being gear-driven, it plays by the same rules, and has the same characteristics as the far cheaper Momo and DFGT, although it is slightly more refined. This means that the G27 isn't really that great of a contender in the current market anymore at its list price. Gears are only advantageous for their price, and the G27's relatively high cost undermines this. If you can find a G27 for $150 or less, then you would have a great deal, but do not pay $200 or more for one, because at that point you really should be getting the Fanatec 911 GT3 + CS pedal bundle for $225 or so, or just going all the way to the Thrustmaster TX (which also comes with pedals) for $300. Both are significant upgrades from the G27.
  
  Here are some links: the "Black" MOMO Racing, Driving Force GT, and Logitech G25/G27.
  
  The 911 GT3 + pedal bundle can be found here for $230, $4 less than the G27 is selling for on Amazon right now. It is quite a big step up from the G27, but it is one of the older mass-produced Belt-driven wheels on the market, so it won't be as refined as the much newer model, the Thrustmaster TX, is.
  
  The TX is the new kid on the block and combines one of the best "bases" (basically the entire housing with the motor and belts inside, everything but the wheel, in essence) on the market, with a really low price. It's listed at $300, but you could probably find it on Craigslist or Ebay for less, or you could wait for an official sale on Amazon or some other retailer. The TX is by far the best value for your money now as far as wheel quality goes, it is only $66 more expensive than the G27 at list price, but you will get a drastically better driving experience with it. The TX's FFB is the best in the sub $500 market. As far as value goes, I would recommend the TX wholeheartedly. Users who have upgraded from the G27 to the TX have talked about a "drastic improvement" in quality, I can provide links if you would like.
  
  The main criticism of the TX is the lack of clutch pedal and general low quality pedals. A "progressive brake" mod has been created for the TX pedals which gives them a great, much more realistic feel, and makes them a decent set of pedals. This mod is DIY and can be done for $10. Once the mod is performed, the TX package is pretty strong overall. You get a decent progressive brake with some of the best FFB on the market for $300 or less, what more do you want?
  
  If you want to see a video of the TX in action and an indepth review, check out this video.
  
  I know this was a long post, but I wanted to encompass the current state of the wheel market as completely as I could.
  
  In summary:
  
  The only remaining selling point of gear-driven wheels is price, and even then the gap is shrinking rapidly. If you are looking to spend $150 or under, get a gear based wheel. Ideally, a Black Momo or Driving Force GT. If you can find a Logitech G27 for $150 or less, go for it, however, do not spend more than $150 on a gear based wheel.
  
  We're at that awkward phase where the new tech has arrived and is becoming readily available, but the old tech hasn't had time to compensate by dropping prices, sort of like video tapes and DVD's being sold simultaneously. A DVD player would only be marginally more expensive, but provides a significantly upgraded experience from VHS.
  
  Belt driven wheels are superior in every way other than price, and perhaps, reliability. If you are looking to spend more than $150, go for the Fanatec 911 GT3 for $175, and optionally the 911 GT3 + pedal bundle for $230. If you are looking at +$250, go for a Thrustmaster TX for $300.
  
  I hope you found this helpful! Feel free to respond or PM me if you have any other questions. I'm quite familiar with most of the hardware on the market today.

You can use anything, really, but there are some things to consider. What graphics card do you have?

If you can afford to wait, I suspect the Oculus Rift CV will be the best way to play any sort of first-person-perspective games, including racing sims. But that won't be out until perhaps the last half of next year. You could get the DK2 version, which won't be as high quality as the CV version, but is at least available now.

If you don't fancy the Rift and have the money, a triple monitor setup is a great way to play sims (you get so much extra peripheral vision!), but it requires a fairly beefy graphics card (because you need to push around 3x as many pixels). On the positive side, iRacing isn't very demanding, so it's not hard to get high frame rates even with 3 screens.

Failing both of those options, a single monitor will be fine. In general, the bigger the better. I wouldn't go below 22". If you can manage it, 27" seems to be the cost/size sweetspot. I just bought 3 of these which are great. They're only 1080p and 60Hz, but they work fantastically for me.

Looks great! If you wanted to get super technical, you could buy this https://www.amazon.com/Trimbrite-T1114-Pinstripe-Tape-Black/dp/B00029XAYW and cover the line between the blue and yellow. It would make the line perfect, and be just like the original. Good work though, I've tried my hand at painting a few helmets with mixed results.

https://www.amazon.com/Keyboard-Slide-Extension-Steel-Set/dp/B00AHFRUHE/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_60_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=VK085B067MNX13MMPGEP

Install these sliding racks and a piece of nice oak or a hardwood of your choice under the desk. To the right of your shifter is one mounting point and the leg on the left is the other. Then you'll have an easy to use pull out drawer to put both your keyboard and mouse on.

IMO the best solution is to build a quickie driving rig with a junkyard seat. You can have all the wood cut at Lowe's, home depot, or menard's if you have your measurements sheet. The seat should cost around 10 bucks on half off day or 20 at the worst (most pull your own yards have this and black friday is coming up when they have 75% off for one day.) For about the same price as a name brand keyboard rack you can have a nice custom rig.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buhFEla7Lq4

This youtube video is pretty close to what I mean. It's a little fancier than mine but it's around the same price plus he gets a ton of close-ups and explains the build fairly well. You can build a nice little PC rack on the side to keep everything looking crispy for when you start streaming :)

EDIT: wrong link

A lot of people are suggesting you build a pc, and I suggest you to build one too! My previous PC Build was good enough to run iRacing and, Including a BenQ monitor, cost around the £600 mark. I'll post my specs however some of the parts may be discontinued so I'll try and source similar components if they are.

Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P

AMD (Piledriver) FX-6300 3.50GHz

ASUS GTX 750Ti

Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB)

500W EVGA 80+ White Rated PSU

DVD Re-Writable(For Installing Windows)

1TB Seagate Barracuda Hard Drive

BitFenix Comrade Midi Tower


BenQ 22inch Monitor

Let me know if want any of the peripherals(Keyboard/Mouse etc) aswell

Total Cost = ~£543

You might be able to find components cheaper on different websites, especially American based ones(NewEgg).

As for assembly, I followed a tutorial from popular Battlefield YouTuber, JackFrags. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WQxr59KRto He uses old components but the build is more or less the same than the specs above.

You also may want to upgrade the Graphics Card, RAM or CPU. I recently upgraded the 750Ti to a 1060 3GB, FX 6300 to a FX 8350 and RAM by an extra 8GB. Remember, if you do upgrade anything like this, you will most likely need a bigger PSU.

Have fun building :P

Edit: As Raptord put, you should also think about getting a Ryzen CPU. But keep in mind, you would need to get a different motherboard as Ryzen uses an alternative socket to AM3+

I was suspect that they would be sturdy for this price but they really are. My screens measure about 24" across including the bezel. I think they are 22" screens??

The top screen is adjustable vertically (only a small amount) but it's still just a little bit off. Not horrible, but it's there.

Good luck duuuude!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009S7ALH8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Here's the video you were looking for!

You can also get it in book form, which I think goes into more detail.

If you're interested in going even deeper, Drive To Win by Carroll Smith is a good one, and you'll even learn what it takes to be successful in real-life racing.

Tune To Win also really good if you're interested in learning about set-up, but if you're just starting out then focusing on driving is by far the most important thing. The skippy car doesn't have many set-up options anyways.

Thanks for your post ! Since I created this post I saw some new wheel that might be cool. Right now I'm looking over :

https://www.amazon.ca/Thrustmaster-T300-Racing-Wheel-PlayStation/dp/B01M1L2NRL/ref=pd_cp_63_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=Y38YKBPK1V3WBAJDGN6A
or
https://www.amazon.ca/Thrustmaster-T500RS-Racing-Wheel-Playstation-3/dp/B004J6KRD6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494250893&sr=8-1&keywords=thrustmaster+t500

or should I keep G29 ?

Here is the one I got and I've gotta say it's wonderful. I mounted my gear shift onto a table because I like it to be lower than that placement, but other than that it's a wonderful rig.

Gotta start doing some studying, I know a lot of people have found sucess with this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Skip-Barber-Going-Faster-Barber-Going/dp/B0006A9I2A

This is also a great watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-sGV2XXUeU

This is the stand I own
https://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Stand-Pro-Wheelstand-Thrustmaster/dp/B0061EER58/ref=mp_s_a_1_9?keywords=wheel+stand+pro&qid=1570892273&sr=8-9

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0098Y77OG/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_52?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AR65LILXUWDP0

Not 75hz but I have 3 of these.

http://www.amazon.com/Thrustmaster-Ferrari-Wheel-Add-On-PC-6304300/dp/B005PPOBQE

You can do it yourself http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inkjet-Adhesive-Sticker-Paper-sheets/dp/B000W4H63S

Look into a powerline ethernet setup. Worked wonders for me.https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-AV600-Powerline-Ethernet-Adapter/dp/B00AWRUICG/ref=sr_1_4?crid=376ZQ5COBBWMQ&keywords=powerline+ethernet+adapter&qid=1572378386&sprefix=powerline%2Caps%2C215&sr=8-4

https://www.amazon.com/802-11ax-Adapter-Network-Wireless-Desktop/dp/B07SHPKKBR/

I can't find the exact PC model but this is very similar.

This is my wheel.

Not the best setup, but I race at 55 FPS on the next to lowest graphics setting. I have a decent purchasing plan to improve all this over the next few years.

Display compatibility depends on your video card, because that's where you plug it in.

According to NewEgg, the video card has two DVI-D ports. No HDMI.

Thus, you should buy a HDMI to DVI-D connector to plug your monitor into your video card. Voila.

Unless of course your monitor has a DVI port. DVI is preferred over HDMI, so go ahead and just buy a regular DVI cable.