Discussion | Direct Drive Wheels: The Good, Bad And The Ugly

[Paul Jeffrey]

Discussion time! Direct Drive wheels are becoming increasingly common in sim racing, but which one should you get?

Long gone are the days of just one or two niche manufacturers developing DD wheel solutions for a hardcore few. In 2020, the discerning sim racer has a wealth of choice when looking to make the switch to Direct Drive... but with so many options, and such a high price point, what constitutes a good purchase?

I am not going to even try and pretend I am an expert on all the different DD bases available today, far from it in fact, so I thought it worth throwing up this thread for our community to discuss their own experiences, and offer up advice to those still thinking over their next steps.

For the record, I run the Bodnar SimSteering V2 and absolutely love it; however at the price point they are asking, you will probably want to follow the route I took and purchase it second hand!

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

Fi22le: don't you need anything to stop wood on wood from sliding and slithering, i.e. some non-slippery material tucked in-between?

 

[5-Card-Major]

Fi22le...........

Those clamps you linked that open up to approx 2" wouldn't work for me, as the top of my desk is almost 1 1/2" thick. Then you have to allow for the thickness of the piece of wood. And if the wheel is a DD like the AccuForce V2, the FF force would destroy a piece of wood mount that was only 1/2" thick I believe.

The AccuForce V2 was the wheel base I really wanted... but no desk clamp...

(Ken Miles won Le Mans in 1966.)

 

[Fi22le]

Fi22le: don't you need anything to stop wood on wood from sliding and slithering, i.e. some non-slippery material tucked in-between?

Firstly let me say I have a non DD wheel, and I've never used one, so it 'might' not apply such wheels (but I think it would, the reason I'm in this thread is because I'm toying with the idea of DD, and I feel fairly confident my solution would work).

But in short 'no'.

I was surprised at how well my solution worked. I guess if you think about the forces involved with a wheel (rotational torque through a single hub) it makes sense. If you have ever done any carpentry you will probably know that two tight clamps can hold two pieces of wood really firm. I would imagine using a longer piece of wood (meaning the clamps are further away from the hub) would offer even more resistance.

Basically, I did it as an experiment to avoid paying the Fanatec rip off price for a taple clamp, and it works really well. I'll upload a photo when I get a chance.

EDIT: I just checked how well secured the wheel is, I'm pretty certain that no wheel could generate enough force to move my set up.

@5-Card-Major: My original plan was to use two carpentry quick release clamps like these:

IRWIN T5462EL7 QUICK-GRIP 150mm (6") Mini Clamp - 2 Pack : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

Free delivery and returns on all eligible orders. Shop IRWIN T5462EL7 QUICK-GRIP 150mm (6") Mini Clamp - 2 Pack.

www.amazon.co.uk

I intended to cut off the excess length of slider, but then I found those other clamps. I would imagine a larger version of the clamp I used does exist, it's just a case of finding the application they are used for...

 

[Fi22le]

Ignore

 

[5-Card-Major]

Firstly let me say I have a non DD wheel, and I've never used one, so it 'might' not apply such wheels (but I think it would, the reason I'm in this thread is because I'm toying with the idea of DD, and I feel fairly confident my solution would work).

But in short 'no'.

I was surprised at how well my solution worked. I guess if you think about the forces involved with a wheel (rotational torque through a single hub) it makes sense. If you have ever done any carpentry you will probably know that two tight clamps can hold two pieces of wood really firm. I would imagine using a longer piece of wood (meaning the clamps are further away from the hub) would offer even more resistance.

Basically, I did it as an experiment to avoid paying the Fanatec rip off price for a taple clamp, and it works really well. I'll upload a photo when I get a chance.

EDIT: I just checked how well secured the wheel is, I'm pretty certain that no wheel could generate enough force to move my set up.

@5-Card-Major: My original plan was to use two carpentry quick release clamps like these:

IRWIN T5462EL7 QUICK-GRIP 150mm (6") Mini Clamp - 2 Pack : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

Free delivery and returns on all eligible orders. Shop IRWIN T5462EL7 QUICK-GRIP 150mm (6") Mini Clamp - 2 Pack.

www.amazon.co.uk

I intended to cut off the excess length of slider, but then I found those other clamps. I would imagine a larger version of the clamp I used does exist, it's just a case of finding the application they are used for...

Those clamps in the pic with the wheel are nice...

 

[Deleted member 197115]

New contender

 

[5-Card-Major]

It's in the running for me....

 

[djm68]

Impressive unit, especially considering the price point. Good to have some competition in the DD wheel market.

 

[TedBrosby-]

For anyone curious, I've been on the waitlist for VRS since the end of May.
So far, I've moved up to 28% in the queue lol.
Per VRS staff: the queue is based on regions. There's EU, US, non-EU but still Europe-ish (glares at UK) and then everything else.
The way the queue fills is based on people who reserved before you and after you. They are on a "small batches every few days" pace with currently two distribution/fulfillment centers - one in EU and one in the US. The stock is different for the two, I'm guessing they source components from geographically better positioned sources to support the two.
Non-EU but still Europe also includes regions outside of Europe that have high demand, I've gotten confirmation that Australia is in this region but it's possible China is as well.
If your price on the store page shows "N/A", you're in the "everything else" region, which means they haven't figured out the logistics of shipping to you yet.
Your position in the queue could mean units shipped ahead of you, but it could also mean more people reserved after you. They don't confirm queues for individuals. But unboxing and first impression videos are popping up online.

In my opinion, take any of these with a grain of salt as someone could be experiencing confirmation bias, and also might not know enough to really tweak the settings of a given DD wheel to really push it to the limit.

Personally, I'm considering just going Simucube 1. The advantage is that because I'm located in Japan, if I had issues with any of the components, I could replace them on the fly without having to ship an entire DD wheel base to the manufacturer (encoder, controller board, power supply or even the MIGE itself). If I shop around, I might be able to get an SC1 and IONI Pro for a decent price. My distance to China means the shipping for a MIGE is actually not as expensive as other countries.

With how slow the VRS is moving, I'll be lucky to be able to order it by October. And SC2 Pro is not only super hard to get ahold of, I just don't feel confident it's worth $1500.

 

[metalnwood]

Keep in mind, if you do find a SC1, it will probably be second hand and if it did go bad you may not be able to replace it anyhow. A guy bought my sc1 when I moved to the SC2 pro and it died, nothing to do with the SC1, his whole system fried and killed all the usb peripherals attached.

SC1 would have been out of warranty and it certainly was not the fault of granite devices. No one selling SC1 motherboards. GD were very good in their support and emailed through a suggestion. Removing a protective device that took the hit brought it back to life. So it was without that protection now but hey, its working and whats the chances your computer will die and fry everything connected to it again when most people can own a dozen computers over 20 years and never have that happen.

So all was good there, but a point still remains, and reading from a few of your posts you are quite worried about something going wrong and it is driving your decision on what to get.

If you are really concerned about a failure, go for the current model, dont go for a SC1 that if it dies you may never source another SC1 motherboard and if you do you may have to buy someones entire system just to get it.

Personally I wouldn't let 'if it fails' be such a big factor in my purchase. You would be more than happy with an SC1, just not sure an SC1 backs up your reason to actually choose it

 

[TedBrosby-]

Keep in mind, if you do find a SC1, it will probably be second hand and if it did go bad you may not be able to replace it anyhow. A guy bought my sc1 when I moved to the SC2 pro and it died, nothing to do with the SC1, his whole system fried and killed all the usb peripherals attached.

SC1 would have been out of warranty and it certainly was not the fault of granite devices. No one selling SC1 motherboards. GD were very good in their support and emailed through a suggestion. Removing a protective device that took the hit brought it back to life. So it was without that protection now but hey, its working and whats the chances your computer will die and fry everything connected to it again when most people can own a dozen computers over 20 years and never have that happen.

So all was good there, but a point still remains, and reading from a few of your posts you are quite worried about something going wrong and it is driving your decision on what to get.

If you are really concerned about a failure, go for the current model, dont go for a SC1 that if it dies you may never source another SC1 motherboard and if you do you may have to buy someones entire system just to get it.

Personally I wouldn't let 'if it fails' be such a big factor in my purchase. You would be more than happy with an SC1, just not sure an SC1 backs up your reason to actually choose it

no offense but if I had an SC2 and your situation happened I’d be out of luck anyway because Simucube’s warranty doesn’t cover power surges.
your argument doesn’t support buying an SC2, it would support buying an SC1 because a power surge would fry the controller board or maybe the PSU but not every component of the DD system.
but a fried SC2 controller board requires an entire replacement because it’s a single unit.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

There is still separate controler board and other components, just attached to the back of the motor. And PSU is standalone Meanwell unit.

 

[BP]

For anyone curious, I've been on the waitlist for VRS since the end of May.
So far, I've moved up to 28% in the queue lol.
Per VRS staff: the queue is based on regions. There's EU, US, non-EU but still Europe-ish (glares at UK) and then everything else.
The way the queue fills is based on people who reserved before you and after you. They are on a "small batches every few days" pace with currently two distribution/fulfillment centers - one in EU and one in the US. The stock is different for the two, I'm guessing they source components from geographically better positioned sources to support the two.
Non-EU but still Europe also includes regions outside of Europe that have high demand, I've gotten confirmation that Australia is in this region but it's possible China is as well.
If your price on the store page shows "N/A", you're in the "everything else" region, which means they haven't figured out the logistics of shipping to you yet.
Your position in the queue could mean units shipped ahead of you, but it could also mean more people reserved after you. They don't confirm queues for individuals. But unboxing and first impression videos are popping up online.

In my opinion, take any of these with a grain of salt as someone could be experiencing confirmation bias, and also might not know enough to really tweak the settings of a given DD wheel to really push it to the limit.

Personally, I'm considering just going Simucube 1. The advantage is that because I'm located in Japan, if I had issues with any of the components, I could replace them on the fly without having to ship an entire DD wheel base to the manufacturer (encoder, controller board, power supply or even the MIGE itself). If I shop around, I might be able to get an SC1 and IONI Pro for a decent price. My distance to China means the shipping for a MIGE is actually not as expensive as other countries.

With how slow the VRS is moving, I'll be lucky to be able to order it by October. And SC2 Pro is not only super hard to get ahold of, I just don't feel confident it's worth $1500.

I wouldn’t say they’re moving slow. Reservations opened from back in December 2019 and that’s when those guys who have videos up reserved. I reserved in January and mine was shipped last week i.e. There is (i’m assuming) a long list of people that reserved before you, couple that with the pushback in release dates due to COVID delays from China, plus your shipping region being in Japan and you see why it’s moving at this speed.

is it imperative that you upgrade now (broken/sold your current wheel)? Other than the uncertainty of when they’ll ship to Asia, personally I’d wait. I agree the price to performance ratio doesn’t make an SC2 worth it, with the VRS being nearly half the price, and I assume you’ll get better customer service should any problems arise with the VRS setup vs. Building essentially an SC1 from various parts or buying a used one which would be out of warranty by now.

 

[Sigmar Bomar]

I am not sure how many used SC1s get sold outside iRacing forums but there are quite many popping up for sale for good prices. I sold mine for really low price (400Eur condition like new) because there is literally close to zero interest for higher end simracing equipment where I live and with all the covid and shipping costs it was not worth it to send to other country. Nothing wrong with SC1 as such, I already had SC2 Pro for half a year and was too lazy to sell SC1 before that covid crap started. Buyer basically got a really good deal (at least I think so). So if you are on a budget then used SC1 could be a great deal.