Sim Racing with a physical handycap

[Daniel R.]

Hello dear Sim Racers and those who want to have a go on it,

first of all i´m not a person with physical restrictions.

I´m just a normal guy that loves simracing as much as maybe everybody that reads this right now.
It´s my favorite hobby by far and something that gives me huge pleasure everytime i´m in the (virtual) car.

What came to my mind some days ago was the question how people, that, f.e., can´t move there legs, use as hardware for simracing?

Are there any people here that have a disability that forces them to do sim racing with different technical solutions or maybe even aren´t able to do sim racing at all, since there is no appropiate hardware available for them or the hardware is just to expensive?

To be honest, i would found it challenging (from a mechanical side of view) and very exciting to create a hardware solution that enables people to do sim racing with physical restrictions.
There is so much cool technology available to really push the boundarys a bit there!

So what do you think about it?
What are your needs?

Cheers Daniel

 

[super_gt]

I can not see a loadcell in that pciture!

 

[djm68]

Hey Dominic,
I would really love to see pictures of your mods in your Cayman!!

Hi Daniel!

I took some pictures of my pedal setup on my Porsche this weekend. In order to build this system, I had to design and fabricate a lot of parts -- most of this is made myself in my own garage. There are many 'hidden design elements' that are not obvious, but make this very functional. for example, the aluminum mounting block, where the pedal shaft rotates, is offset to the front, with the mounting holes and bolts to the rear, keep this further back and out of the way of the drivers foot. Hard to explain, I think pictures make is clearer.

Anything is possible, if you try!

Cheers,
Dominic

This is where the business happens -- non-simulated cockpit!

Here you can see the left foot accelerator installed. The pedal is rock solidly mounted -- all movement in the left pedal is precisely transferred to the right pedal. This makes driving on the track quite pleasurable as, with this car, driving 'with the throttle' is a big part of controlling the chassis in high speed cornering.

A little closer...I replace the factory brake pedal cover with a larger unit, the brake pedal cover is offset slight to the left, putting it closer to the left pedal accelerator. This gives me the same reach as if I were using the right foot for driving.

How is this mounted to the car??!!

Remove the two bolts....

...remove the Rennline floor cover...

This reveals the solid aluminum mounting system I designed and built...

...remove the aluminum plate to reveal the anchoring system....

...and some details of the pieces....

 

[Daniel R.]

Hi Daniel!

I took some pictures of my pedal setup on my Porsche this weekend. In order to build this system, I had to design and fabricate a lot of parts -- most of this is made myself in my own garage. There are many 'hidden design elements' that are not obvious, but make this very functional. for example, the aluminum mounting block, where the pedal shaft rotates, is offset to the front, with the mounting holes and bolts to the rear, keep this further back and out of the way of the drivers foot. Hard to explain, I think pictures make is clearer.

Anything is possible, if you try!

Cheers,
Dominic

This is where the business happens -- non-simulated cockpit!

Here you can see the left foot accelerator installed. The pedal is rock solidly mounted -- all movement in the left pedal is precisely transferred to the right pedal. This makes driving on the track quite pleasurable as, with this car, driving 'with the throttle' is a big part of controlling the chassis in high speed cornering.

A little closer...I replace the factory brake pedal cover with a larger unit, the brake pedal cover is offset slight to the left, putting it closer to the left pedal accelerator. This gives me the same reach as if I were using the right foot for driving.

Hey Dominic,

this is very impressive, well done!!
Yes, anything is possible...

In the meantime i continued the loadcell/throttle paddles.

Added the throttle paddle. It´s the same as the loadcell paddle parts wise, but with a spring instead of a rubber component that puts pressure on the loadcell.
Also added a little button-box so that there is a unit to mount between wheel and wheelbase.

Will built it up soon for testing!

Cheers Dan

 

[Daniel R.]

Hi guys,
first parts are in the making...
soon time for assembly and testing...

 

[Daniel R.]

Hello People,

this evening I will take part in a club race in rfactor2 here at Racedepartement.

I will give my possibility mockup nr. 2 a try.

Wish me luck, hope I can make it to the end...

Cheers Dan

 

[Daniel R.]

Hey Guys and Girls,

so, the race is over and the video is still uploading:

(still uploading...)

I have to say it was a very interesting experience.
Managed to do 10 laps before the race...so not a lot of practice.

As you know i recreated a setup that Zanardi drove in the BMW M8 GTE.

In detail this means:
Throttle = left paddle on wheel
Upshift = right paddle on wheel
Brake = Loadcell Handbrake (Push not Pull)
Downshifts = Trigger button on Handbrake Lever

The hardest thing for me was to adopt to the new control setup in general. Braking itself was relatively easy and natural, i think especially because it was a loadcell handbrake.
But getting the up- and downshift phylosophy and layout right was pretty hard and needed a lot of focus...

But:

I think and i´m convinced that it´s just a question of practice and simply getting used to it.
The Human itself is good in adopting to new circumstances. So he should also be in this case.

So what could be better?

Brake is good i´d say!!
Throttle could be analouge but it also works good with just a button. Question is if after a lot of practice a analouge throttle paddle would be an advantage. i would also say that it should be a quite big paddle to make sure that you can reach it also while getting wild at the wheel.

The Up- and Downshift phylosophy is just a matter of getting used to it.

What are your thoughts?

Cheers Dan

 

[sokrates020]

I am interested in entering simracing with a wheel and two hand operated analog triggers. Since I cannot use pedals. Does anybody have ideas or experiences for a reasonable solution?

 

[Daniel R.]

I am interested in entering simracing with a wheel and two hand operated analog triggers. Since I cannot use pedals. Does anybody have ideas or experiences for a reasonable solution?

How much you wanted to spend?
What FFB wheel are u using?
Are you more of a practical guy that can assemble stuff?
Do you maybe have hands on a 3d printer?

To be honest, technically it's pretty easy, I wanna built up the Loadcell Paddle I wrote about earlier. Somebody needs to test it ;-). And it would make more sense if it is somebody who really could make use of it.

Cheers Dan

 

[djm68]

I am interested in entering simracing with a wheel and two hand operated analog triggers. Since I cannot use pedals. Does anybody have ideas or experiences for a reasonable solution?

I believe this is exactly what you are looking for and it quite reasonably priced as well:

Hand Controller HC1 -> Throttle and brake – Gaming is possible! (PC) | 3DRap

ENG: it is a "Hand Controller" for disabled simmers, which unfortunately can not use the legs for accelerator and brake. Our device is worn on the hand, with an ergonomic solution, and allows you to accelerate and brake with your thumb. It is a device, completely designed and manufactured by...

www.3drap.it

 

[sokrates020]

How much you wanted to spend?
What FFB wheel are u using?
Are you more of a practical guy that can assemble stuff?
Do you maybe have hands on a 3d printer?

To be honest, technically it's pretty easy, I wanna built up the Loadcell Paddle I wrote about earlier. Somebody needs to test it ;-). And it would make more sense if it is somebody who really could make use of it.

Cheers Dan

Hi Dan,
I plan to start with an entry wheel model about 300,- bucks; and may invest some 200,- more for trigger stuff
I can do practical work, like soldering, sawing, drilling, etc.
One of my friends works a lot in 3D printing, so I could get access to.
thx, Alois

 

[Daniel R.]

Hi Dan,
I plan to start with an entry wheel model about 300,- bucks; and may invest some 200,- more for trigger stuff
I can do practical work, like soldering, sawing, drilling, etc.
One of my friends works a lot in 3D printing, so I could get access to.
thx, Alois

OK, sounds great. Will continue cad and then we see.
If you go for budget wheel, go for Thrustmaster. They have a quick release system that makes it much easier.

 

[onearmedbandit46]

For sim racing my disability (paralysed left arm) is minor, in fact the pain would be more intrusive. However it does mean I don't have the need for an H shifter (I can drive manual irl and still ride motorcycles) which ruins immersion a little. I have my up gear change mapped to the normal paddle and my downshift mapped to the O button on my G29. I'd love to upgrade to a DD wheel but I think that would overwork my shoulder and arm.

 

[BrunoBæ]

Im partly disabled in my legs so I have to use a fully handcontrolled wheel.
A few years back I ordered and recieved from Glenn Sidman/SimAbility this adon Thr/br Paddles for Thrustmaster.
They are working more or less perfect and does probably give just as good fine control as high end pedals.
The finish of Glenn Sidman products are extremely high and I can only recomment him to disabled people who want the highest quality.
But I have to say that it looks like Glenn are having some health(?) problems nearby - so he will only sell what he has in stock for the rest of 2020.

F1 Paddles for Thrustmaster T300/TX

F1 Paddles for Thrustmaster T300/TX

www.simability.com

SimAbility : Making sim racing accessible

SimAbility makes hand controls for sim-racing wheels. We make paddle systems and ring systems for a variety of wheels.

www.simability.com

 

[Daniel R.]

For sim racing my disability (paralysed left arm) is minor, in fact the pain would be more intrusive. However it does mean I don't have the need for an H shifter (I can drive manual irl and still ride motorcycles) which ruins immersion a little. I have my up gear change mapped to the normal paddle and my downshift mapped to the O button on my G29. I'd love to upgrade to a DD wheel but I think that would overwork my shoulder and arm.

Well, you don´t have to run the dd wheel at high tourque.
They are more direct and precise in FFB i think. So it should be better nonetheless.

 

[Daniel R.]

Im partly disabled in my legs so I have to use a fully handcontrolled wheel.
A few years back I ordered and recieved from Glenn Sidman/SimAbility this adon Thr/br Paddles for Thrustmaster.
They are working more or less perfect and does probably give just as good fine control as high end pedals.
The finish of Glenn Sidman products are extremely high and I can only recomment him to disabled people who want the highest quality.
But I have to say that it looks like Glenn are having some health(?) problems nearby - so he will only sell what he has in stock for the rest of 2020.

F1 Paddles for Thrustmaster T300/TX

F1 Paddles for Thrustmaster T300/TX

www.simability.com

SimAbility : Making sim racing accessible

SimAbility makes hand controls for sim-racing wheels. We make paddle systems and ring systems for a variety of wheels.

www.simability.com

Yeah. saw that before. Is it potentiometer based?

Anyway, nice finish and looks good quality as you wrote!!

 

[Bryan Birtwell]

Hello guys/gals,

Bryan here from the F3 Fanatics on rF2.
5 years ago I had most of my right foot removed.
I still try to race. I have made my clutch pedal my throttle and use auto clutch.

So, instead of being a middle of the pack guy, I just watch people drive away.

The only place I'm going with this is that I'm looking for some slower guys/gals to race with.

Any suggestions? I've Googled the light out on this subject for a while and come up empty
handed. ttb57 gave me this link.

Thanks,

Bryan

 

[Kek700]

Could try our Racedepartment race series here. They cater for a wide Cross section. Especially the Assetto corsa group. Race three or four times a week? In different car types.

 

[stigs2cousin]

There will even be a F3 series that follows the F1 calendar on the F1 tracks.

Though I have to admit that I find the F3 cars rather taxing and do like slower cars which are easier to drive....

 

[Daniel R.]

Hello guys/gals,

Bryan here from the F3 Fanatics on rF2.
5 years ago I had most of my right foot removed.
I still try to race. I have made my clutch pedal my throttle and use auto clutch.

So, instead of being a middle of the pack guy, I just watch people drive away.

The only place I'm going with this is that I'm looking for some slower guys/gals to race with.

Any suggestions? I've Googled the light out on this subject for a while and come up empty
handed. ttb57 gave me this link.

Thanks,

Bryan

Hi Brian,
how do you brake ?
Cheers Daniel

 

[slideways]

If people would like to start something up we (F3-Fanatics) would be happy to host a server.