I want to share my own experience with Sim-Lab since everybody is praising this company for the quality of their products and the committed customer service.
The product.
I came from a US 80/20 supplier, 4play racing, with a solid rig that works perfectly with the simsteering wheel, or AFv2 for the matter, a super adjustable pedal set and the right room for the V3 motion seat from NLR. Since neither company was considering providing a custom front mount, I decided to sell it and finally go for the trendsetter: the P1-X.
When I made the order online (over $1k without monitor stand), I made clear I did not have a standard pedal, but a Tilton set and they answered right away I only needed to drill the four holes myself and everything will go into the right place.
I found out it was far from true and after I started mounting the rig, more issues came along that are not still solved despite the promises they made already months ago. They simply do not follow up, like any other ghost company in nowhere internet land.
1 - If you are tall enough and your seat allows for a low center of gravity like the V3 – using Sim Lab brackets - the pedal plate needs to go below the top of the main frame. Unfortunately, this option is not viable because the screws are not countersunk and get in the way with the side profiles. You can only mount the pedal set on top of the frame. This is to me no sense because they made a bracket for the V3 and they should know it is not ergonomic with any set of pedals if you are taller than 6’2” with a GT style as it should be for this item.
2 – the promise of making four holes was just a lie. I had to build myself a platform to adapt the Tilton to the PX-1 and use the original design in a different way to find enough parts to mount the pedals.
3 – the design of the aluminum floor is just no sense. The edges are rounded and due to the reduced size of the pedal platform they do not fit in the profiles even if you are using the brackets. Pure simple bad design and probably the reason why they do not post pictures of how to install it as some requested already. Completely waste of money there.
4 – they did not supply the standard feet, but I did not care because I had a set myself. Can’t imagine the frustration for someone that did not have those and could not use the rig right after spending half a day of mounting it. But this may happen and is not a deal beaker at all. In fact they provide so much extra hardware I can open a store (read, they did not have a check list for all the parts as they have now).
5 – the brackets for the motion V3 are too narrow to hold it in place and I need to use additional brackets to lock the seat. Sim-lab acknowledged the issue and they promised to send me the new version that overlaps the profile correctly.
6 – much more disappointment is the way the side mount is designed. Only 4 short screws are holding the whole weight of the profiles, the deck mount and the wheel on each side. After had to dismount the rig couple of times and slide it back and forth to find the right seating position, they are not holding into the frame and now there is a half an inch free movement when driving. Asked for a way to replace those screws since are EU specs, but again no answer and cannot find replacement in the States, if any, without knowing the particular thread. This is unacceptable.
7 – I’m 6’3” and for a GT setup the lateral profiles are simply too short. This flaw is confirmed by Will in his review on YT (Boosted Media). He is 1 inch shorter and in my case the front mount barely fits (read sits outside the side profiles).
The Customer Service
Well, after dozen of emails, last communication two weeks ago was "we should have the parts available at any moment", which would imply they will ship whatever I need to finally have my rig as designed and functional. Never heard from them anymore, so I guess it's all on me and I have to spend the extra $ to find options locally, which includes custom metal plates!
You might believe I am just a negative person and I am here out of frustration because I did not get what I paid for after three months and all promises from the company’s owner, whom actually was not willing to help to begin with.
Indeed, I am, but there are other companies I can praise for the quality of their products and even more for their outstanding customer service. From my own experience I can name Next Level Motion, Ricmotech, OpenSimRig and 4Play Racing. They always responded in a timely fashion and help me out going even the extra mile if necessary to make it happen.
In this case, I am not even close to what I paid for.
Real intention is to alert prospects, that is not all as good as it looks, so they can make their own decision based on real users’ feedback.
Happy to provide documentation.
The product.
I came from a US 80/20 supplier, 4play racing, with a solid rig that works perfectly with the simsteering wheel, or AFv2 for the matter, a super adjustable pedal set and the right room for the V3 motion seat from NLR. Since neither company was considering providing a custom front mount, I decided to sell it and finally go for the trendsetter: the P1-X.
When I made the order online (over $1k without monitor stand), I made clear I did not have a standard pedal, but a Tilton set and they answered right away I only needed to drill the four holes myself and everything will go into the right place.
I found out it was far from true and after I started mounting the rig, more issues came along that are not still solved despite the promises they made already months ago. They simply do not follow up, like any other ghost company in nowhere internet land.
1 - If you are tall enough and your seat allows for a low center of gravity like the V3 – using Sim Lab brackets - the pedal plate needs to go below the top of the main frame. Unfortunately, this option is not viable because the screws are not countersunk and get in the way with the side profiles. You can only mount the pedal set on top of the frame. This is to me no sense because they made a bracket for the V3 and they should know it is not ergonomic with any set of pedals if you are taller than 6’2” with a GT style as it should be for this item.
2 – the promise of making four holes was just a lie. I had to build myself a platform to adapt the Tilton to the PX-1 and use the original design in a different way to find enough parts to mount the pedals.
3 – the design of the aluminum floor is just no sense. The edges are rounded and due to the reduced size of the pedal platform they do not fit in the profiles even if you are using the brackets. Pure simple bad design and probably the reason why they do not post pictures of how to install it as some requested already. Completely waste of money there.
4 – they did not supply the standard feet, but I did not care because I had a set myself. Can’t imagine the frustration for someone that did not have those and could not use the rig right after spending half a day of mounting it. But this may happen and is not a deal beaker at all. In fact they provide so much extra hardware I can open a store (read, they did not have a check list for all the parts as they have now).
5 – the brackets for the motion V3 are too narrow to hold it in place and I need to use additional brackets to lock the seat. Sim-lab acknowledged the issue and they promised to send me the new version that overlaps the profile correctly.
6 – much more disappointment is the way the side mount is designed. Only 4 short screws are holding the whole weight of the profiles, the deck mount and the wheel on each side. After had to dismount the rig couple of times and slide it back and forth to find the right seating position, they are not holding into the frame and now there is a half an inch free movement when driving. Asked for a way to replace those screws since are EU specs, but again no answer and cannot find replacement in the States, if any, without knowing the particular thread. This is unacceptable.
7 – I’m 6’3” and for a GT setup the lateral profiles are simply too short. This flaw is confirmed by Will in his review on YT (Boosted Media). He is 1 inch shorter and in my case the front mount barely fits (read sits outside the side profiles).
The Customer Service
Well, after dozen of emails, last communication two weeks ago was "we should have the parts available at any moment", which would imply they will ship whatever I need to finally have my rig as designed and functional. Never heard from them anymore, so I guess it's all on me and I have to spend the extra $ to find options locally, which includes custom metal plates!
You might believe I am just a negative person and I am here out of frustration because I did not get what I paid for after three months and all promises from the company’s owner, whom actually was not willing to help to begin with.
Indeed, I am, but there are other companies I can praise for the quality of their products and even more for their outstanding customer service. From my own experience I can name Next Level Motion, Ricmotech, OpenSimRig and 4Play Racing. They always responded in a timely fashion and help me out going even the extra mile if necessary to make it happen.
In this case, I am not even close to what I paid for.
Real intention is to alert prospects, that is not all as good as it looks, so they can make their own decision based on real users’ feedback.
Happy to provide documentation.
