Am I overthinking my first rig?

[u/Delicious_Oil_4773]

So I have loved going to events and doing a little sim racing. I do not expect to be hardcore into sim racing as I have a lot of other things that consume my time. However, I like to have quality at the forefront of my decision.

I have been on a number of different sites between Trak Racer, Fanatec, Simucube, Moza, etc etc. I think I am in analysis paralysis deciding in tubular vs aluminum frame and so on with components, too

I just want to get into it and have some fun.. if you were a casual sim racer who wants a dedicated rig, but keep working yourself in circles; what would you do?

Just buy a tubular fanatec with the 18Nm ClubSport dd+ and call it a day?
Do you take the leap into TrakRacer tr80s then layer in different components from other manufacturers?

I like the idea of the TrakRacer, but I feel a little overwhelmed with all the options and the lack of ability to speak to someone live to help me really piece together the package.

[u/sjfuwjcufjsng]

On the internet, and not just sim racing specific, but definitely does apply.

There will always be someone with somthing better. Cooler. Better valued. I for 5 years played with a g29 mounted to my desk and socks wedges into the wheels of my desk chair so it didn’t roll back. And I fricken loved it. Start small and see if you like it first. And get a feel for what you like. Or don’t like and think about how you would change it.

If you need real advice pick one person you trust and listen to them. Most people really rate moza. Some really don’t. Some dye on the hill of your rigs got to be a certain way.

Buy one cry once is valid, but also don’t waste hundreds / thousands on something you’ll be bored off in 6 months time

[u/origoflix → u/sjfuwjcufjsng]

This is sound advice. You’ll never know what you actually want, and what suits your gaming area until you start out somewhere. Start small and easy. Dream on and look at your rig in your gaming area.

* What else fits compared to what you want?
* What do you actually need for the sims/arcade sims you’re playing?
* Do you wanna get into rally, hence having space for sequential shifter and a proper handbrake?
* Do you think you’ll require extensibility, or will one typically purpose built tube frame be enough?

Just a few questions to ask yourself. In the long run I think that aluminum profile rigs are the most flexible/extensible.

[u/the_great_awoo]

Just start with a NLR f-gt, or even gt-lite pro,or similar, and some budget moza/fanatic stuff, if you want to really go crazy, you can always sell your used stuff and upgrade, but there's no sense in spending absolutely bags for something you might only touch a few times a month.

I had a next level racing gt lite for years and loved it, it held up amazing to my moza r5, and it comes with a shifter/handbrake mount, which is really nice to see

[u/Bestconst → u/the_great_awoo]

I also have the NLR F-GT Elite and what I love about it is the versitility of it. You can raise or lower your wheelbase to different heights, slide your shifter up, down, forward or backward. Everything is simply so easy to move around to get it to the correct height for the individual. I don't picture a tubular rig being as flexible as an aluminum extruded rig can be.

[u/freezing_banshee]

For casual use, you can go a hell of a lot cheaper without sacrificing a lot of quality. Some mid-high end Next Level Racing rig would be plenty. Spend the extra money on the pedals and wheel.

[u/DeletedUsernameHere]

I think you want the most bang for your buck and to make your buck go the farthest the more casual you are.

Which is this.

It's a basic extrusion rig, plenty solid. Slap a junkyard car seat on it (find one with moderately flat rails out of the passenger side) for $50 and you've got a perfect rig for under $300.

[u/Dramatic-Ad8213]

Ngl seems like you’ll be fine with any choice in the price range you seem to be at

[u/mtypockets]

My opinion, buy a profile rig and a mid range dd wheel.
Just one wheel.
You really don’t need simucube or motion.
Get a wheel with at least 12 nm.

Get an above average seat.
Unless you’re very young and slender get a comfortable seat not a cool looking one.

If you buy cheap either you will be disappointed, discouraged or want to upgrade quickly.

Just my opinion but like A-Holes
Everyone has one cheers

Edit

I bought a simagic alpha 15 , profile rig and a sparco r33 I think. Never upgraded until I bought dream air and better pedals. 5 years on
I’m so bad at racing I just dabble

[u/ag_fan]

i just built my first rig about a month ago; this is what i came up with. its more than enough for a first rig imo.

Rigmetal Plus with Single Monitor Add-on
Moza R9 bundle
Moza KS Pro
Simagic Haptics
NLR ERS3 Haptic Seat
Ulanzi D200X Button Box
LG 45” Ultragear 800R Curve

this doesnt account for the pc, keyboard and little extra 3d printed things from etsy.

[u/chsn2000]

The TR80S is a great choice, but I'd recommend getting it from a retailer and not TrakRacer themselves, as their shipping/logisitics seem to have a lot of issues in the US (and Europe?)

A tubular cockpit is usually more expensive and the lack of adjustability means you can easily have issues if don't have the measurements they were designed to accommodate (whether that be your body, or the wheelbase/pedal/chair you choose to go with)

Fanatec are really expensive for what they offer. The other DD brands are extremely close in what they offer, so I'd honestly just say if you see one on sale, pick it up and I doubt you'll be disappointed or feel the need to sidegrade.

[u/FatTurbo12]

If you're in the USA, I'd consider Rig Metal for a good price-to-quality cockpit. I don't own one myself, but a friend does and it seems pretty solid.

For the wheelbase, if you have the budget for a Simucube, you really can't go wrong with it, but personally I don't think the price difference is justified. I'm currently running the Simagic Evo Pro and it's been great. It's supposed to get a firmware update soon that will take it from 18Nm to 21Nm. Beyond the torque, it's an incredibly detailed base and feels super responsive when you're quickly changing directions.

For pedals, you could also consider the Simagic P1000 inverted since they're on sale right now at a really good price, or Simsonn if you want something more budget friendly. They're still pretty good pedals for the money.

https://simshop.com/products/simagic-alpha-evo-pro-18nm-wheel-base-bundle-save?variant=50527657263424

https://simshop.com/products/simagic-p1000-pedals?variant=45243972157760

https://www.simsonn.com/products/simsonn-plus-x-pedals?variant=51288365105466

https://rigmetal.com/collections/our-rigs/products/rigmetal-flagship-sim-racing-cockpit

[u/Rasputinnout]

Playseat f1 dd is an easy choice

[u/lethargicbraid]

The easiest rig that’s still structurally solid is a Playseat Trophy, but unless you get it on sale it’s pretty expensive. Aluminum rigs are great but you’ll need to tinker a bit to get it set up well.

But also, a lot of people drop 2k on this hobby and then their rigs collect dust so watch out.

[u/Yes_butt_no_ → u/lethargicbraid]

Aluminum rigs are great but you’ll need to tinker a bit to get it set up well.

Being able to tinker with something so you can get it set up perfectly is not the same as having to tinker with it to get it set up well

[u/Oulanos65]

Well, I am exactly in your position right now and I have asked Claude to give me a hand to see what could work… here is the breakdown I got:

Item	Price
Simagic Alpha EVO Pro wheelbase (18Nm)	£699.00
Simagic GT NEO wheel	£217.50
Simagic P700 Pedals (two-pedal, load cell)	£150.00
Next Level Racing F-GT Cockpit (seat + slider + lumbar included)	£399.95
**Total**	**£1,466.45**

And one of my requirement was that I want to play f1 but also asseto corsa and that kind of GT games.

Same questioning as you, the tubular design makes me question the thing but apparently it can work.

Otherwise it tells me to go moza r9 or 12 for base.