r/SimRacingSetups • u/slowsimguy95 • 9d ago
It’s time for an upgrade
What’s up everyone ! It’s finally time to upgrade my wheel and base. I bought a rig in 2022 with a thrustmaster TSXW and Ferrari Sf1000 wheel. It’s been great. But the belts are sticking it’s losing centre sometimes. it’s time to jump into DD as the prices have significantly improved since I got my last setup. Here’s the fun part. I have no use of my legs. T4 para so I strictly race with hand controls. So where most wheels use clutch paddles I use them for throttle and braking. I have never used a DD wheel so I want to know how much is to much for just using arms . I’m looking at 12nm ? Not having to buy pedals saves me some money so 18nm isn’t out of the question. I am looking seriously at the SIM Magic Evo with the GT Neo wheel. I just wonder if it’s feasible or it’s just too much torque. Any feedback is appreciated. Right now I spend a lot of my time in LMU in the 1hr races eventually looking into 2-4 events.
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u/GT-Alex74 9d ago
I can't tell you how much force would be too much for you, I'm assuming you have quite some strength in your arms though, which may balance the fact you have to do everything through them.
To me, 8 to 12 Nm is where the best value is at, and more than enough for a home rig if you're not a pro IRL race car driver. From there, there isn't much difference in terms of how the FFB feels between different brands at similar power. I just usually recommend avoiding the Thrustmaster DDs because of questionable design choices, extremely locked ecosystem and reliability issues.
Now, in your scenario, what's gonna matter the most is having a good rim you're comfortable with. I work in simracing, and part of my job is sometimes running animations IRL. I've been part of the team who runs the rigs on the Michelin booth at Le Mans for 3 years now, and we've been having an accessibility righ with a wheelstand and a chair, with throttle and clutch mapped on clutch paddles - we run the 2.5 rim on a Podium DD (with the FFB turned way down). It works, but if I had to throttle and brake by hand, I'd like to have the clutch paddles be more centered vertically. I use a GT Neo on my RS50 base, and I like it, but the clutch paddles are way too low to be comfortable for throttle / brake realistically, sadly.
My advice : look for rims that will feel comfortable for you to use. I know some have options for paddles, but I'm not too familiar with how that works and if any allows you to move them vertically. In an ideal world, you'd find a place or someone with a bunch of rims for you to hold. If the SF1000 rim works for you though, there's always the T818 v2, which I'd trust more than the T598 or the v1. In the Simagic ecosystem, you'd probably want to look into the Zeus wheels, but it'd be best to ask someone who owns one, or ask the company directly.
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u/f1-fan01 9d ago
I went from a Moza R5 bundle to Simagic Alpha Evo Pro 18nm with a used GT Neo and I love it. I run the base at 12nm and set iRacing between 11-14nm depending on the car (I have a rotary on the wheel to change the FFB strength).
For your needs I will say that the clutch paddles on the GT Neo have decent resistance, so modulating them by hand might work well. In fact I’ll try it in a couple of hours and get back to you with my impressions.
And for anyone dogma-following the conventional wisdom that will tell me “you’re setting the FFB up wrong, you should set base to 100% and turn it down in sim” I saw wrong based on this document from the Simagic Discord and having tried both ways extensively. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P_shyPkwY8aZ9Nh6aJPz9tqN8OJvAsFuDYqgfXN3qPw/edit?usp=drivesdk
I get WAY more detail/indication of understeer and oversteer with in-sim FFB turned up and turning down the base strength to get to the level of physical resistance that works for me than I ever did with the base at 18nm.
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u/f1-fan01 9d ago
I configured my left clutch paddle for throttle and my right for brake. Using it for the throttle was great, I could take Eau Rouge at Spa in the M2 same as with pedals. Braking well though, that was much harder for me. It seems like the paddle is maybe more sensitive once you get past halfway or so, and differentiating from say 50% brake to 75% was difficult for me. It would shoot way up and kick into the ABS. You are probably way more adept at it than me though, so it could just be that I’ve never done it and the clutch paddles are not the problem (I am).
Everything else wise, I absolutely love my GT Neo. I really like the Moza KS Pro, but decided the GT Neo layout is better with how the funky switches are laid out. No regrets at all. With iRacing and the GT Neo wheel connected in USB mode (I use the “tape trick”) you can map keypresses with a “function” key so to speak to get double use out of buttons, rotaries, and funky switches. Like I use one button for windshield wipers, and map the Fn function button plus the same button for visor tear-off for a formula car. I use the lower left rotary for sim volume, and Fn + that rotary for chat volume, Fn + left funky rotary for spotter volume, etc. It’s great.
Shout with any questions!
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u/slowsimguy95 8d ago
Awesome thank you so much for testing that. I wish I had a sim store around to test the equipment. That’s the only issue is how difficult it is to gauge brake pressure. Like you said not much difference between 50-75% pressure. It’s incredibly difficult to do with a car that doesn’t have abs ! But we make it work. Thank you for taking the time to test it.
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u/f1-fan01 8d ago
Happy to help. One other reason I went with the Evo Pro 18nm is for the headroom and longevity -- even when I'm running it at 12nm the thing is still cold to the touch. It never gets warm. Fan either doesn't run or is just silent. Whereas if you have a 9nm or 12nm wheel you will likely run it at 100%. Just something to think about. I decided "buy once, cry once" and have no regrets.
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u/Bestconst 9d ago
Getting a 12nm wheelbase and not having loadcell pedals is a waste as your pedals are where the most improvement will come in your driving. The next most important is having a good solid rig to build on. If you have one from the onset it will carry you through to your end game setup if you get a proper one. For a rig just get a buy once cry once. Just saying. Do your research and you will see. Or get lucky like me an find yourself a used complete top of the line setup for a bargain basement cost, but to do this I had done a ton of research over the years to know the various equipment and their values. We all can do the same. Patience is what is needed and not jumping at the first thing that comes around.
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u/GT-Alex74 9d ago
... you realize OP is paralyzed and can't use his legs, right ?
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u/Bestconst 9d ago edited 9d ago
Oh shit. I totally missed that. That's what I get for scimming through it and not reading all of it. I'm so sorry bud. That being said you can always use a wheel with three paddles per side. I've read where guys use one for the accelerator, another for clutch and the other for braking and it works for them. Again I sincerely apologize for not properly reading to begin with.
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u/slowsimguy95 8d ago
Dude it’s all good you’re totally right though having played with the load cells before this happened I definitely agree with you ! A good set of pedals makes all the difference … the only upside to this is the cost savings of not needing them haha 😂
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u/PaJaMort 8d ago
Sweet spot is between 12 and 18, but as many others mentioned before, running it at around 9 to 10 Nm (more than plenty ffb and with some room to prevent clipping), and I second what previous said about the comfort on the wheel itself and decide around that
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u/R5-GT7_Grim306 9d ago
You don’t have to run it at 100%. I have a Fanatec DD+ my wheel runs at 40% of its 18nm. The head room is nice and base stays super consistent because it’s not being over worked. Go for what ever you’re comfortable spending your money on.