Direct Drive on a Budget? Feel VR Kickstarter is Here, But Act Fast!

[Paul Jeffrey]

We heard about the FeelVR Direct Drive wheel project back at the 2017 Sim Racing Expo, and now the plans are a reality with a new Kickstarter campaign launched today.

The team behind Feel VR had an ambitious target to develop and ship a Direct Drive wheel and pedal set for considerably less than any other DD product on the market, and it looks like they are now finally in a position to open up the long awaited Kickstarter campaign, having already surpassed their funding target in just 75 minutes!

At the time of writing the campaign has received over $200,000 in the first day, and if you want to take home an early bird discount you only have the rest of today to act!

I spent a considerable amount of time on a Skype video call with the team at the back end of last year, and it looks like the plans they have in place are very solid and well thought out, with several demonstration models already in action even back in 2017. In fact, the team would be at the Sim Racing Expo in September of last year, although unfortunately we didn't get an opportunity to pop over and say hi whilst we were on site ourselves.

So what is it the team are offering exactly? Well if done correctly, this could be something of a game changer for sim racers looking to invest in direct drive wheel technology - the team are offering a full Direct Drive wheel, and pedals, for the same price as a traditional mid range standard wheel setup.

At present "early bird" investors on Kickstarter can order a DD wheel, two rims (GT and Formula), all the cables and a set of load cell brakes for.... $549! That's cheap.. very cheap indeed..

So what does it look like, and what are the specs? Read on to find out..

The Wheel

As for the pedals, the team at Feel VR have developed an affordable load cell unit that promises to offer a more detailed and consistent performance that traditional spring loaded versions, as anyone who has tried loadcell can testify I'm sure, and if you wanted to pick them up as a standalone item, early bird prices are $149!

The Pedals

All sounds pretty good on paper, let's see what happens once the units begin to ship towards the end of the year...

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Like the look of these offerings from FeelVR? Will you be investing? Can a budget DD set such as this compete in a competitive marketplace, in your opinion? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

[CMGARAGE]

Hey Jim. Just wondered have you gone all in for the wheel and pedals. I'm interested but worried at the same time as I don't really have this sort of money that I can throw away. I would be using this should I get it on a desk, not a rig. Do you think it's worth the gamble?

Completely agree with Turk above. Do not take the gamble unless you have the cash to write off. These crowd funding campaigns come with inherent risk.

The wheel should still be available to purchase later if it is a success, or it'll force the established brands to reduce their prices/bring a competitve alternative, if there's the market.

 

[kamackeris]

Completely agree with Turk above. Do not take the gamble unless you have the cash to write off. These crowd funding campaigns come with inherent risk.

The wheel should still be available to purchase later if it is a success, or it'll force the established brands to reduce their prices/bring a competitve alternative, if there's the market.

Ughhhh... The voices of reason... I was just about to press the button lol. I dunno. Like I mentioned earlier my t300 has been double up shifting recently but it seems only in rf2? So I've had a look at the ts pc racer which is more expensive than This.

 

[Turk]

Ughhhh... The voices of reason... I was just about to press the button lol. I dunno. Like I mentioned earlier my t300 has been double up shifting recently but it seems only in rf2? So I've had a look at the ts pc racer which is more expensive than This.

If you want to wait for the consumer version you could either buy a cheap 2nd hand wheel to keep you going, but that eats into your budget for the feel VR, you'd have to be willing to lose a hundred euros (depending on if you can resell the cheap wheel) on a temporary solution then find funding for the feel VR wheel again.

Or, I'm not sure what the 2nd hand value is like on fanatec gear, you could buy the fanatec wheelbase new and sell it on once the feel VR wheel comes out, but you'd need to find out what the 2nd hand value of the fanatec is and if it's worth it. Of course, as CMGARAGE points out, there could be a price war once the Feel hits the shelves meaning you won't make as much money reselling the fanatec wheel. I don't think that's going to happen straight away, the feel vr would have to be selling at a tremendous rate to scare the big boys in this industry.

I know what it's like trying to use a wheel that not working properly. It can really kill the joy of sim racing. Your current wheel may even be worth something to someone that knows how to fix that problem.

I don't know what the timeline is like for the Feel VR, it could be more than a year before the consumer version is ready. So that's another thing to consider, do you really want to wait that long?

 

[Fat-Alfie]

Like I mentioned earlier my t300 has been double up shifting recently but it seems only in rf2? So I've had a look at the ts pc racer which is more expensive than This.

Not trying to convince you one way or the other, but I had a similar shifting issue with my T500RS. I took it apart, identified the faulty microswitch, ordered 4x replacements for 75 pence and now it shifts like new.

Just a thought...

 

[hotak]

I'm pretty confident they'll be able to deliver, but you'd still have to wait a few months using your T300. One solution that i'd propose (and is by default implemented in pCars2) is to use an external button-mapping program that lets you set a minimum time between two subsequent pressures of the button, this way you could prevent double-shifting via software.

 

[kamackeris]

So I decided to get it with ten mins to go... And the wheel and pedal pack out Nov is no longer available... Damn it

 

[Turk]

So I decided to get it with ten mins to go... And the wheel and pedal pack out Nov is no longer available... Damn it

So could you not buy it or you just missed the first batch and will get the wheel later?

I hope it works out for you, well, we'll all benefit from another wheel on the market. The lads involved seem genuine and driven to get the product done. I think at the very least they should be able to fulfill any orders, what happens after that I don't know.

 

[Michael Lowe]

I was a backer, but changed my mind yesterday. I just don't feel like we quite know enough, I was hoping to learn more in the past month. At the end of the day if it comes out and is a great piece of kit, may Be it can be picked up for around 1k? Even that would be a bargain once it's performance is proven. Fingers crossed for those that have backed.

 

[kamackeris]

So could you not buy it or you just missed the first batch and will get the wheel later?

I hope it works out for you, well, we'll all benefit from another wheel on the market. The lads involved seem genuine and driven to get the product done. I think at the very least they should be able to fulfill any orders, what happens after that I don't know.

I could have paid more something like 50 quid but the date for shipment was like Feb. I may as well wait till the first reviews come out. By Nov I don't think I could afford the wheel but I could right now. Oh well too late, just hope my t300rs lasts!

 

[Paul Blythe]

I pulled out of getting the full kit (wheel & pedals) on Kickstarter. Now backed them with Indiegogo, ordering just the wheel with a February ETA.

Main reason for dropping out initially is due to being made redundant at work, however, decided I'd give it a try. With the February date, hopefully, if there's any initial teething problems with the Nov' batch, the Feb' batch might get tweaked...

 

[DayGlow]

I'm wary of hardware statups .

Ossic headphones raised over 6 million, and went all the way to just before production before it folded

https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/ossic-x-3d-headphones-kickstarter/

There is a lot of money needed togo to production. Oculus succeeded because Fadebook bankrolled them.

 

[Paul Blythe]

@DayGlow - wow, those Ossic X 3D headphones were something else... The amount of tech needed to do that is stupid, and they were trying to cram it all into a set of headphones.

Hopefully Feel VR won't go that way. The basic setup looks to be pretty solid, they're looking at tweaking the design of the GT Rim's button box and Formula Rim. The bigger question marks are over the proprietary wheel mount (new quick release system) and the software drivers... Then longevity.

 

[kamackeris]

@DayGlow - wow, those Ossic X 3D headphones were something else... The amount of tech needed to do that is stupid, and they were trying to cram it all into a set of headphones.

Hopefully Feel VR won't go that way. The basic setup looks to be pretty solid, they're looking at tweaking the design of the GT Rim's button box and Formula Rim. The bigger question marks are over the proprietary wheel mount (new quick release system) and the software drivers... Then longevity.

Hoping the table clamp will be good enough

 

[Brandon Wright]

Wheel looks tiny, almost like a funny car drag racer wheel?

It's about the same size as the Fanatec Formula rim (which admittedly is a bit too small for my liking).

 

[Paul Glover]

Hey, was just wondering. How are things going with those who handed over their cash, any updates?

 

[Martijn van Bommel]

@Paul Glover ,
Things are going slowly but surely .
just happens i got an e-mail last week( as i regularly do) explaining what kind of troubles they ran into and that they are aiming for a 1st Q shipping.


They're also starting a survey to see who needs what in their country (220V or 110V),
so i dont think it will be that long anymore.

 

[Paul Glover]

@Paul Glover ,
Things are going slowly but surely .
just happens i got an e-mail last week( as i regularly do) explaining what kind of troubles they ran into and that they are aiming for a 1st Q shipping.

Good to know that things are still moving.

I have backed smaller kickstarter projects, one had two years of delays. Some went really well such as the pebble watch, please do share the updates.

I hope this one goes well and that you guys have backed a winner.

 

[Martijn van Bommel]

$450 or $499 isnt much for a DD wheel with 2 rims and a peddel set.
I know there are other (maybe) better wheels out there,but
dont forget i'm still holding a G25 "every" evening,so for me it will
always be better especially for that amount of money.

I dont have the cash right now to fork out a $1100 or $1200 (or even more) for just a peddel set,then still needing a wheelbase and a rim.
That will easely set me back $2000.
Now $500.
And i will most certainly expect it to be better than my good old trusty G25.

 

[Turk]

They're also starting a survey to see who needs what in their country (220V or 110V),
so i dont think it will be that long anymore.

That sounds a bit strange. Can't they just google it? I would have thought most countries are standardised one way or the other?

 

[Martijn van Bommel]

Maybe they want to know some extra info with that (adress ,ect ).
Havent got the survay yet,just the announcemend.