I'm still feeling like I'm pretty well done with my rig, but the tweaks are not over.
Now I'm tuning the tactile better. Wheels Slip is about the only tactile effect that can help you in a race. The rest are great for immersion, but this is the one that matters most.
Below is not where I ended up and it is just a starting point for Wheels Slip in SimHub.
I ended up using separate output channels and naming them Front Wheel Slip and Rear Wheel Slip.
The reason I split them is that my pedal transducers mounted to the pedal deck are dampened with the rubber mounts and they absorb higher frequencies. I ended up running 60-70 Hz on the seat for real wheel slip and 48-58 Hz for the pedals. I've got them set so that I can feel the wheels starting to slip before they let go.
However the Gamma and threshold need to be different for different cars. For example a road car like the MX-5 is sliding a LOT and you really don't want this kicking in until there is more slide going on. But with a GTE car you want this to start a lot earlier since they stick much better and you want to know when they are just starting to slide.
Engine rpm is an effect that is mostly something you feel when you turn the engine over and while it is idling. At higher rpm I have it set to disappear until 95% at the end of redline. I don't want to feel the engine at all most of the time.
The Road bumps and impacts are working well in iRacing. I'm feeling the rumble strips perfectly as I go over them and hear them and more texture if I go off track.
I have the NLRv3 dialed back for bumps in iRacing. It will kick me up a bit if I hit a curb, but I didn't want that to be too distracting.
I'm very impressed with how it is all working together. I know there are more advanced motion systems, but in VR I feel like I have everything I want. The same goes for my transducers. I know I could get a more powerful amp and add some BK LFE's, but I'm getting all the information I need and texture I want for immersion.
Speaking of VR, the recent updates to SteamVR and iRacing have made it so I'm now running 120fps in all my races on all tracks and it looks fantastic!
My rig feels GREAT and I say that with no reservations!
Either the seat has broken in to fit me or I've gotten used to it. Either way it feels WONDERFUL and I absolutely love it. Great support and this morning after racing for a couple hours, I felt like I could race another couple hours. I haven't felt even the slightest discomfort with my back.
Other than my seat the other two contact positions are my hands and feet, so I had an impulse buy and got some new gloves and shoes.
The Sparco KG-7 gloves do feel better than my previous Hypergrips, don't have the annoying velcro wrist straps and are very grippy. All the silcone beads on the Hypergrips had worn off.
The Ferrari Drift Cat 5's feel great and I like them better than my first pair of Puma driving shoes. In the picture below are my 1st pair (way too tight) which I sent back. Make sure to buy these a FULL size larger than your typically size. They are very narrow. I tend to run 9.5-10 and I needed size 11 for these to be comfortable. For some reason I feel more serious putting them on.
Revisiting the SC2 and FFB, I have the power setup very nicely and it can be helpful as I load and unload the wheel. I have a very good idea how fast I can give it throttle and if I give it a bit too much I can correct pretty quickly. The same goes for braking. I get a real sense of how much I can turn without breaking traction while I'm using trail braking.
I've not hurt myself with it since soon after I got it, but I absolutely pull my hands back by reflex if I'm about to hit a wall.
Yesterday I was driving the MX-5, Porsche 911 Cup car, and the BMW M8 GTE. I was amazed by how immersive and different each car felt. The MX-5 drifting in all corners at LimeCreek felt like the little car it is. The M8 GTE felt heavy and FAST. When I first hit Donnington with it, I felt like it was scary fast for a while as I was coming over blind hills with turns. I had a real sense of fear and felt like I was in the car and going too fast. I got over that, but the sensation was cool. The 911 Cup car felt in-between at Watkins Glen. It was much faster than the MX-5, but easier to slide around than the M8. I really had to be smooth on the throttle coming out of a turn or I would get over steer.
The bottom line is that I feel like this rig is a complete success. I just got my Class C license in Road Racing and will be competing in both the BMW 12.0 Series ( min Class D) and Porsche Cup series ( min Class C). I spent a lot of time learning the fundamentals doing hot laps and with the recent addition of AI to iRacing, I've been practicing driving in a pack. Finally I decided I was ready to race again.
As a bit of history, my results in the Ferrari 488 GT3 fixed cup last season were abysmal. I would qualify near the back of the pack and then typically mess up, spin off the track, and end up being lapped by the leader by the end of the race. Pretty embarrassing!!!! So I threw in the towel after a few races and decided to just focus on my fundamentals. Granted I was spending a lot more time tweaking my rig than actually using it.
Yesterday I qualified P5 in a race and then slowly reeled in cars until I was chasing the leader for the last 3 laps for a 2nd place finish! Now that was an exciting race! In another race this morning I finished in the bottom half of the pack, but I battled for position and managed to pass a few people. So I still have a long way to go, but now I'm in the fray and really starting to have fun with racing real people and not just building my rig.
