BUILD LOG: Racing + Flying VR Rig

Hello all! New sim racer here and looking to start a bit of a build log for a couple reasons:
  1. It seems like you guys like this stuff like I do :)
  2. Because I know I am going to need some guidance and input along the way
Before I get into the present and future of my build, first I'd like to briefly share a bit of background. I'm 100% new to sim racing (currently focusing on ACC only, as I love GT3 cars), but I'm not new to simming in general...

BACKGROUND

Around mid 2014 I heard about Digital Combat Simulator (DCS) and given I spent my entire adolescence wanting to be a fighter pilot (before the Navy told me the dream was dead due to me being red/green colorblind) it seemed like something that might be relevant to my interests. Boy was I right! As I assume most of you have experienced, I quickly fell down that peripheral rabbit hole. Said "rabbit hole" become more of a "black hole" that I was falling down at hyperspeed, and the rest is history. From one HOTAS to the next, I ended up becoming very enthralled with the high-end boutique peripherals. Over the ~6 years since I started on DCS, I've gone through waves of being on and off with playing - "off" times being mostly due to my career taking too much of my time and/or other personal life obligations - and I've ebbed and flowed with my level of seriousness with playing. I've joined virtual squadrons and fought in the SATAL league there, I've read military flight manuals front to back to learn more about operating the jets, etc. To this day I still retain a love and enjoyment for DCS, although I haven't played much the past year or so.

Around June of 2020, after years of thinking "I should get into sim racing" (and being told as much by some of my flight sim buddies), I started to get serious about it. Again, I fell down that rabbit hole and became determined to get a racing rig put together. The twist this time was that my wife and I were expecting our first child in July, and we had just bought a new home that was undergoing a lot of renovations...plus there was a small global pandemic going on. Not exactly optimal timing, but life rarely lines up perfectly, so I said "Screw it" and proceeded ahead anyway. With the learnings from my flight sim hardware shenanigans, I subscribed to the "Buy Once, Cry Once" philosophy from day 1 here with the racing build.

I had never sim raced before, but I own an AMG and have always loved fast cars. In 2018, I did an AMG Academy Track Day @ Leguna Seca which was incredible and gave me confidence that I would love sim racing the same as I do flight simming. That day I was told by "Nipper" (my instructor for the day) that I "was a natural", but still I never took the leap to get a racing rig put together. Now that has changed...

PRESENT DAY BUILD

At the end of July, after the baby had arrived, I started ordering the racing rig hardware and checking hourly for the out of stock items to come back into stock. Below is what I settled on for the build and I ordered as soon as the items came back into stock:
  • Rig: SimLab P1-X (Black)
    • Add-ons: SimFeet + Seat Rails + Seat Slider + Keyboard Tray + Mouse Tray + Cup Holders
  • Pedals: Wave Italy WAVE FORCE MONZA - SIM PEDALS PRO
    • I ordered the 2 pedal set with no clutch, as I have 0 intentions of ever racing a car that doesn't use clutch paddles
  • Direct Drive Base: SIMUCUBE 2 Pro
  • Rim: Ascher Racing F-28 Wireless
    • I wanted the F-64 but ran out of patience in waiting for Martin to get this back into stock
    • I might add a new rim in soon, but TBD (would be a F-64 or a Gomez rim)
  • Seat: Sparco Evo II QRT
The Ascher rim took the longest to come back into stock, which was painful, but by the end or end of October I finally had everything I needed. Those few months of waiting were rough. Unfortunately, the waiting didn't stop there as our new home had some undisclosed water damage/issues in the basement, which required a very costly waterproofing system to be installed. This also meant that the finishes of the basement needed to be totally ripped out as they dug the perimeter of the cement up to install all of that. While this was quite costly, it did mean that I had a clean slate to work with for remodeling my man cave...so that is exactly what I did.

The contractors were here for a month or so getting all of that done, and at this point everything is mostly finished besides some things I am going to DIY myself, and then having the painters come (which we cancelled in early December due to COVID spiking again, and we will likely have them come in the Spring once things hopefully have settled down).

Here are some photos of the build....

PROGRESS SHOTS:

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FINAL PRODUCT:

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I have since cleaned up all the wires with some TLC on cable management. I will get more photos of that up soon.

NEXT STEPS:
  1. Add a pedal slider to the racing pedals
  2. Add tactile feedback to the rig
  3. Add my flight sim peripherals to the rig
  4. Build button boxes for both racing and flight
  5. Add motion
With the guidance of @Mr Latte , I've gotten a small start on adding tactile feedback to the rig. Yesterday I ordered a Behringer NX3000D + 2x ButtKicker Concerts. Configuration of the two BK-CT's is TBD, but I am likely going to add one to the seat and one to the pedals. Unfortunately, the amp is on backorder under the end of January (yay, more waiting!) but once that is here it will mark the next big progress I am able to make on the rig. Once I get this all set up, I will work on adding anywhere from 4-8 exciters onto the seat. On my old flight setup, I used a JetSeat SE from Andre, which was very nice, but I know it will pale in comparison to what I am working on for this build.

Regarding adding my flight sim equipment to the P1-X, I still have some more thinking/planning to do on this one. Since we all love photos, here are some shots of my current gear...

FLIGHT GEAR:

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  • Rig: WheelStandPro for TM Warthog
    • Add-ons: Left Side RSG module
  • Pedals: Slaw RX Vipers
    • Add-ons: Motorcycle damper
  • Throttle: Custom made Throttletek F/A-18C throttle
    • Add-ons: Made with Halls sensor instead of a standard pot, and I procured ~$500+ worth of custom switches for them to use in the build, these are the OTTO mil-spec switches that are used in the real jet
  • Stick Base: Virpil VPC T-50 base
    • Add-ons: Sahaj 15cm Black extension
  • Grip: Thrustmaster F/A-18C Replica
    • I also have my old A-10C/F-16 Warthog grip from when I had a TM Warthog HOTAS
I've got some plans to change some of this stuff up a bit as well, but one step at a time...

Regarding the button boxes, I have about $1500 worth of mil-spec switches, rotaries, and other misc stuff that I purchased when I was planning to build a 1:1 replica cockpit of a F/A-18C Hornet. These are mostly Honeywell and EATON/Cutler Hammer, and are incredibly high quality with a great tactile feel. I've also got a landing gear handle from a GR-4 Tornado fighter jet that I will need to build into one of the botton boxes as well, as well as a landing HOOK handle. My point here is that I've got a lot of the materials already on hand that I can use for a racing box, I'll just need to add a few things here or there maybe.

While I've never soldered a thing in my life, and am largely not "handy" whatsoever, I did acquire all the necessary soldering equipment before...despite never finding the time to use any of it :) Hopefully that changes in 2021, but I'm not so sure given it seems that newborns take quite a bit of your free time, and I've got a lot already on my plate. Someday, though.

That is all for now....the baby needs fed again...but I hope you've enjoyed reading. I'll get the specs of my rig and VR put up sometime soon. Looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts and feedback!

Happy New Year to all!

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Edit to add PC specs:

GAMING RIG:
  • GPU: Nvidia RTX 3090 Founders Edition
  • CPU: Intel i7-9700K
    • Still searching daily for a AMD 5900X to come into stock and allow me 2 seconds to be able to add it to my cart before the scalpers, and which point I will just go ahead and update the mobo, RAM, AIO, etc.
  • Motherboard: Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Master
  • AIO Cooler: Corsair H115i RGB Platinum
  • RAM: 32GB Corsair Vengeance Pro RGB 3200
  • Monitor: Dell U3415W Curved 3440x1440
  • VR HMD: Reverb G2
 
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Recommended exciter is:
Dayton Audio DAEX32EP-4 Thruster
32mm Exciter Speaker 40W 4 Ohm



This cable looks decent but shop around on ebay or other musical equipment stores.

I did get some progress with the isolators, looked at several springs and different compounds of isolators. Its not been easy finding a good match in fit/stiffness.

Here are two options, a new spring combo compared to a sandwiched isolator. Other vibration/sound-deadening materials will be added with whatever options works out best.

It's getting a good combination that fits well and also can work better than a standard or single solution.



To mount these better would need a wider profile
Something like 80mm drilled in the center.

Still some options I want to look at but my focus is on my own build at present.

Sounds good on the preferred exciters, those are the same ones I linked, so I'm on the right track. Regarding your recommendation to search eBay for the Dual Male XLR to 3.5mm cable, I had posted the below which seemed to be the right one? I know absolutely nothing about audio though, so I will wait to order until it's confirmed to be the right one.


The new isolators look great, and glad to hear you're focusing on your own rig build. Looking forward to continuing to follow along with your progress!
 
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I think I began experimenting with the exciters @ April 2019 so the general discussion thread has plenty of info on the early tests did with them. They will surprise you with the power they have in the 40Hz range when directly mounted to the seat. It is however the best way to place specific effects to body zones and highlight stereo sensations in a seat.

Personally, I don't like the messy cables, so Id recommend drilling the seat and routing the cables on the inside as much more professional looking and the cables exit out the bottom of the seat. The alternative is to use 8020 profile extensions up the back of the seat and these then drilled to the seat and you can hide the cables in the profile.

Don't fret on the cables, the ones RC or myself linked are fine.

Soundcard - Amp (Purchase the length you need)
3.5mm Male - Dual XLR Male

Each cable supports 2 channels
If buying exciters then get cables now or later.

Isolators.
The spring option shown I think is best so far, I have another manufacturer/supplier I want to look into options they have but they don't normally sell to retail or in small quantities. Price is also a factor and the current option shown may work out best. I will order another similar size and compare/test 4 on a flat surface with a large BK. Might take a few weeks though.....
 
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Definitely planning to drill into the seat and run the wires internally with some grommets around the holes to keep the cabling/holes neat as well. I saw someone's thread here at RD that did it on the same seat as mine and it looks great -- I plan to replicate that.
 
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I installed 6 dayton units + 2 bigger shakers and can´t recommend enough drilling and good routing for cables, otherwise it could ruin a decent rig asthetics and trigger OCD.

Very much agreed.
There are several ways around that too, from drilling or using cable braiding/wrap.
Those are easily obtained in various places.

For my own build, one thing I had considered long ago was to use an AV wall bracket. Have it placed just behind or beneath the seat. So only a short cable run from the exciter units and then using banana plugs to connect up to 8 units.


Thin cable is all that is needed and using SpeakON plugs for the exciters is maybe excessive.
This is tidy and compact.


Many different plates are available.

For coming out of the AV plate, use an 8-pole speaker cable as that's only a single cable going back to the amps, not several pairs of cables. This approach offers a nice installation but also, it's easy to disconnect or replace any exciter units from the AV plate.

At the same time look a bit more stylish.
 
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It will be a little unnerving drilling into the new Sparco seat, but I 100% intend to specifically because of how much better/neater it looks.

@Mr Latte that little AV plate is a great idea, I could hide that under the seat somewhere easily and it would make cable management back to the amps so much easier. Appreciate the tip!
 
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It will be a little unnerving drilling into the new Sparco seat, but I 100% intend to specifically because of how much better/neater it looks.

@Mr Latte that little AV plate is a great idea, I could hide that under the seat somewhere easily and it would make cable management back to the amps so much easier. Appreciate the tip!
Also consider by drilling you are reinforcing the link between the seat and shaker, so effects would transmit better
 
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Also consider by drilling you are reinforcing the link between the seat and shaker, so effects would transmit better

Yes, for sure --- the BK Concert was always going to be drilled into the bottom of the seat, or at least since the day I started this thread. That is definitely the optimal mounting solution for the reasons you mention.

I was more speaking to being nervous about drilling the holes for the wires on the exciters, like this guy did brilliantly:

79d957c3-d325-4598-ac92-228cab026daa-jpeg.372198
9366ee7b-4af1-406c-b848-34bf91a0e881-jpeg.372200


I will still stick the exciters on with some 3M tape (so no benefit of an enhanced mounting), but but will drill for the wires to be routed internally.
 
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Yes, for sure --- the BK Concert was always going to be drilled into the bottom of the seat, or at least since the day I started this thread. That is definitely the optimal mounting solution for the reasons you mention.

I was more speaking to being nervous about drilling the holes for the wires on the exciters, like this guy did brilliantly:

79d957c3-d325-4598-ac92-228cab026daa-jpeg.372198
9366ee7b-4af1-406c-b848-34bf91a0e881-jpeg.372200


I will still stick the exciters on with some 3M tape (so no benefit of an enhanced mounting), but but will drill for the wires to be routed internally.
Very interesting solution, let me find that thread.
I´m giving some thoughts how to attached the daytons to the seat with some kind of aluminium "U" bracket. Then using the small center with a bolt. But I´m worried that method could increase the overall noise of the rig.
 
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Very interesting solution, let me find that thread.
I´m giving some thoughts how to attached the daytons to the seat with some kind of aluminium "U" bracket. Then using the small center with a bolt. But I´m worried that method could increase the overall noise of the rig.


:thumbsup:
 
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Would this soundcard work for the NX3000D? I can get a pretty good deal on a used one, I’ve been keeping an eye out for X3’s at @Mr Latte ’s recommendation, but no luck yet.

 
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Would this soundcard work for the NX3000D? I can get a pretty good deal on a used one, I’ve been keeping an eye out for X3’s at @Mr Latte ’s recommendation, but no luck yet.

I would rather spend into good shakers/exciters, unless I´m much mistaken from reading this forum, the soundcard is not a key element of a tactile rig.
In fact I´m just buying a 7.1 external $20 card to put under the bucket seat so I get rid of a million of cables going from the seat to the computer.
 
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I would rather spend into good shakers/exciters, unless I´m much mistaken from reading this forum, the soundcard is not a key element of a tactile rig.
In fact I´m just buying a 7.1 external $20 card to put under the bucket seat so I get rid of a million of cables going from the seat to the computer.

I've gone back and forth on whether a "better" soundcard is worth it or not, but have never seen anyone definitively do an A/B test to say whether it's warranted or not. Have only seen @Mr Latte say "system is only as good as it's weakest link", but I don't know that he's tested cheaper USB cards side by side vs his recommended Soundblaster X3.

Like you, I'd very much like to buy a $30 card instead of a $100 card (and invest the difference elsewhere), but I don't want to let a $70 delta get in the way of maximizing the $1100 investment I've already made on the BK CT's, NX3000D and premium cables/connectors....
 
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Well firstly, you want a soundcard that has 7.1 outputs
Not all are colored but typically Green/Black/Grey/Orange (4x3.5mm) jacks.

The X3 is a great card, I get satisfaction from its styling too and being USB its usage for other purposes if needed can be enjoyed. 7.1 or Virtual 7.1

Though to be fair, being confident it offers quality performance was key, its place is deserved when matching with other quality components in my view.

Most will buy cheaply as they don't really care...

For me, the other factor was as a newish card driver and support were not a problem like with some older cards I tried. Windows loading to be presented with some Dolby error stuff with U7 (no thanks Asus).

The cards I used are cheap £20 card (lower dB output but seemed fine)
Creative Onboard Audio / Asus DGX / Asus U5 / Asus U7 / Sound Blaster Omni

The X3 is my fave card from those options, but its not hard to also enjoy it for primary audio on the PC or other devices when not used for tactile.

Some places do go deep into soundcard reviews but the focus is never on low bass usage.
More on things like SINAD (Signal to Noise and Distortion).

Not all cards are close to being equal but will average joe with cheapo tactile and amp notice. Honestly hardly likely or much interest to them.

Get what makes you content.
 
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Well firstly, you want a soundcard that has 7.1 outputs
Not all are colored but typically Green/Black/Grey/Orange (4x3.5mm) jacks.

The X3 is a great card, I get satisfaction from its styling too and being USB its usage for other purposes if needed can be enjoyed. 7.1 or Virtual 7.1

Though to be fair, being confident it offers quality performance was key, its place is deserved when matching with other quality components in my view.

Most will buy cheaply as they don't really care...

For me, the other factor was as a newish card driver and support were not a problem like with some older cards I tried. Windows loading to be presented with some Dolby error stuff with U7 (no thanks Asus).

The cards I used are cheap £20 card (lower dB output but seemed fine)
Creative Onboard Audio / Asus DGX / Asus U5 / Asus U7 / Sound Blaster Omni

The X3 is my fave card from those options, but its not hard to also enjoy it for primary audio on the PC or other devices when not used for tactile.

Some places do go deep into soundcard reviews but the focus is never on low bass usage.
More on things like SINAD (Signal to Noise and Distortion).

Not all cards are close to being equal but will average joe with cheapo tactile and amp notice. Honestly hardly likely or much interest to them.

Get what makes you content.

Right. The conversation spurred from me asking if the G6 (which I've read multiple places is preffered to the X3) would also work for this application. Recall that I don't even know or understand what 5.1 or 7.1 means, haha. It is USC and says it is 7.1, but I don't see the 4 jacks on it.

I asked about the G6 because I think I might be able to get it for around $75.

 
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Recall that I don't even know or understand what 5.1 or 7.1 means, haha. It is USC and says it is 7.1, but I don't see the 4 jacks on it.
5.1 means left + center + right + right rear + left rear + subwoofer,
where the .1 is motivated by subwoofers being nominally 20-200Hz, while other channels are 20-20,000Hz.
For driving amplifiers, G6 would indeed need at least 4 TRS jacks. If that card actually implements 5.1 or 7.1,
it would only be via e.g. optical out with Dolby-licensed software (not SimHub).
Creative may also implement some optional fake surround for headphones...

Getting low frequencies out of a sound card (or indeed any audio gear) requires either large and pricey capacitors or careful DC balancing of directly coupled output circuitry. For someone to recommend a sound card for such an application without actual experience involves some combination of naïve optimism and deficient integrity.
 
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G6 is more of a combo unit suited for console owners, being a soundcard headphone amp and DAC. It offers virtual 7.1 (gives a surround like sound over 2 channel stereo)

You want a soundcard with 4x output jacks for offering up to 8 channels.
Spend time and read the cable guide on the first page if you are so unsure about audio
 
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Its simple, you state a price you want to pay and then someone will recommend you a card that is suitable. The X3 may be cheaper direct from Soundblaster website as they sometimes do offers but I got two of mine cheap on ebay for not much more than lesser cards.
 
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