SimXperience GS-5 G-Seat + DBOX 4250i actuators

[NetLawMan]

Following up on my other note:

-this is a great addition to the rig

-it is loud, but open back headphones drown most of it out and the rest seems like noises you could hear in a real car

-it’s a really great example of American ingenuity, which I hope people recognize and support by buying products.

-after so many year’s they could invest in next level electrical engineering to get the size of cabling and the control
Box down.

-while the seat is comfortable, there is flex in the back. I suspect that if it were in a real car, it would be braced from the sides or the back. It’s not to bad - I had to recalibrate my heusinkveld pedals and my brake force dropped from 80 to 65kg. Additionally, the top of the seat has a little more flex and does just very slightly impact the pull of the belts. Again, it did not impact the experience, so all good here.

All in all. Happy so far. My weeks are busy so I won’t get a chance to use the rig till the weekend.

 

[NetLawMan]

One more follow-up as the thoughts begin flowing:

Although I have not found a need so far to tweak profiles, I think intensity is one setting that is going to be very personal. We are all different shapes and sizes! Some of use have more “padding” than others.

For me, I found I needed to up the intensity of the bottom panels to match the feeling of the back panels. Only when they are matched do the work together to give you that true impression of g-force.

 

[metalnwood]

I wonder if they could get the price of it down a reasonable amount by offering a version with only the side panels.

I found it a be weird when used in motion and better when the bottom paddles were off. I think quite a few turn them off when used on a motion rig. The Gseat is a nice addition to a platform mover though.

With so many platform movers being sold since the gseat was introduced it would seem like a good offering to have a version alongside their current one at lower cost that brings the effects the platform movers dont have, the additoinal surge and side g effects.

 

[NetLawMan]

I wonder if they could get the price of it down a reasonable amount by offering a version with only the side panels.

I found it a be weird when used in motion and better when the bottom paddles were off. I think quite a few turn them off when used on a motion rig. The Gseat is a nice addition to a platform mover though.

With so many platform movers being sold since the gseat was introduced it would seem like a good offering to have a version alongside their current one at lower cost that brings the effects the platform movers dont have, the additoinal surge and side g effects.

It is so tough to compete with the factories pumping out less expensive hw with no sw strategy because they know they can rely on DIY. I am torn about anything the factories can then replicate. Simxperience might be thinking the same thing.

I might move from my current Fanatec gear if simxperience released a v3 wheel, just because I think their integration of the various sim systems is so nice.

BTW, I actually found that the two panels (bottom and back) working together give me the best experience, but that I had to tweak intensity for them to gel and act as one. Before that tweak it just felt weird. Note that I don’t use the g5 or Gbelt for anything other than acceleration, brake and cornering. I use the motion system for everything else. And I did have to tune the motion and simxperience systems to feel “right” together. But that is just some trial and error, and a few sliders.

 

[Alvise]

I've finally finished tuning the GS5 with D-BOX and G-Belts (in the meanwhile I received the Varjo Aero!!)... I think that GS5 + D-BOX and a DD wheel (I have the simucube 2 pro) is really close to perfection. I can now really feel with my body when the tires are loosing traction and react instinctively!

 

[vannib]

I've finally finished tuning the GS5 with D-BOX and G-Belts (in the meanwhile I received the Varjo Aero!!)... I think that GS5 + D-BOX and a DD wheel (I have the simucube 2 pro) is really close to perfection. I can now really feel with my body when the tires are loosing traction and react instinctively!

how do you feel traction loss?,through the wheel?

 

[NetLawMan]

I've finally finished tuning the GS5 with D-BOX and G-Belts (in the meanwhile I received the Varjo Aero!!)... I think that GS5 + D-BOX and a DD wheel (I have the simucube 2 pro) is really close to perfection. I can now really feel with my body when the tires are loosing traction and react instinctively!

Totally agree. Each game/genre needs initial tuning, largely because people are shaped and padded differently. Therefore since the point of the Gstuff is to have you perceive pressure, you need to adjust each game to what works for your body.

Specifically, my tuning focused on getting the corresponding bottom and back panel (on the left and right side) to feel the same (bottom panel needs to overcome more padding). I didn’t mess with the detailed settings. Just adjusted the main intensity slider for each effect. I also disabled all effects other than braking/acceleration/turning.

Second step is just a question of how much pressure I wanted to feel. This second point is where I was aligning the Gstuff to feel “as one”with the dbox movement, and meant I tuned both the Gstuff and the dbox. Generally, I increased the forward/back and left/right settings in dbox.

All in all, it is taking about 15 minutes per game. So far: AMS2; ACC; DR2.0;RF2

The one game that has proven a bit of a challenge is DR2.0. There is so much turning and sliding and accelerating and braking in lightning fast succession, that once in a while I say “that felt weird”

In summary, WOW….WOW…..WOW! In a different thread I highlighted how great it is to combine different systems to reach the pinnacle of immersion. My combination is now: dbox + Gstuff + Wind + pedal agitators + soundtrack based full frequency range transducer (Clark). I would say that the Gstuff took the whole thing from a 7.5 to a 9!

I might consider adding the pucks to the gseat since I am using sim commander anyway.

 

[NetLawMan]

I should point out that it is noisy as hell! Still well we’ll worth the auditory cost, but it would be great if SimExperience came out with a limited “silent” edition!

Seriously, Simexoerience should get their due. What an amazing platform they have built! They just need to get a new wheel out there (or adopt someone else’s), and move from seat mover to actuators. I am rooting for them !!!!!

 

[thaOnePLE33]

Hey guys - my quick review after getting it setup and tuning it for a few hours.

1. Similar to others - I found the GS5 seat loud. Louder than my gBelt but with similar pitches and electrical whining. Anybody that has this needs to wear headphones - I race mainly in VR with HP G2 and have to bump up the volume to 70. Also helps to lower the strength of the GS5 and gbelt and finding the happy medium to quiet it down.
2. I had a simlab seat + seat slider before and with the GS5 - I had to tune up my dbox strength and found out I had to remove my seat slider. The seat slider and heavy seat made the seat flex from left to right. All better when I removed my seat slider.
3. The GS5 + gBelt + dbox compliment each other but I do think takes a bit away from the dbox unit. I do think its due to my point above.
4. I've tuned the GS5 and gBelt to be used for Cornering, Braking, and Acceleration. I'm still testing the Traction Loss. All other affects are handled by dbox and my tactile.
5. Having tactile on the GS5 is awesome. I purchased the Dayton Audio TT25-8 and its a perfect fit. You need to cut the holes on the panels but they fit nicely and provide great immersion especially being right against your butt and back.

 

[NetLawMan]

update:
F1 2021: boy I had a hard time dialing this in. Anyone else have a similar experience?

Flex: I have no lateral flex. Note I don’t use seat sliders. There is a small amount of flex in the back of the seat itself when pressing on the brake. As I said in a previous post, in a real car, I suspect the seat is braced. Also, on kirkey’s other seats, they have some reinforcing elements. I don’t think this is causing dbox dampening.

D-box dampening: there is some. But I think it’s more for vibration than movement. Probably relates to the fact that we are sitting on the panels isolated from the seat. It does give it a bit of an analog feel, but I did need to raise the Dbox sliders a bit.

 

[NetLawMan]

how do you feel traction loss?,through the wheel?

For me: through the wheel.

 

[pihops]

I have similar setup DBOX + GS5

- the seat slider are flimsy and create most of the flex. I had good car slider (porsche gt3 oem) before and they were rock solid, much more heavy duty.
- the seat itself squeak and is not as good as hardback seat. I really wished someone had implemented moving the GS-5 actuator onto a stronger seat base I really think it would be so much better. but it is already pretty great so ..

I have a question for @NetLawMan , about your soundtrack based full frequency range transducer (Clark).... Does that add a lot ? I mean you have dbox + gs5...
I am wondering myself about adding some vibration so that the dbox can focus on movement and not have too much vibration on the whole rig... I am thinking using the gs-5 puck but still on the fence, thinking dbox vibration is not that bad...

but if you have the Clark transducer and also think about adding the puck... I guess I can improve on the vibration

 

[NetLawMan]

It does. But not in the way some would think. It’s not about replacement feedback (I.e., providing substitutes for things you would feel in a real car). In my opinion, if you have motion and a gseat/belt, you are much much better off letting them do their job. It is about making everything feel full (fully fleshed out). In game - sounds like engine, transmission, gears, rally driver pace notes, environmental sounds - all have the depth and bottom end they need (No more tinny or hollow sound - especially when using headphones). This is important because the lower frequencies match the audible sound of the game. Outside of actually racing: menu music and everything else - it jus feels right, it builds excitement. It is also great for other types of games as well.

Keep in mind, it is only software, so you can switch between soundtrack enhancement and telemetry-based haptics any time you want. Thus you could experiment and try yourself to decide what works for you. A few weeks ago, based on some partially-healthy debate here, I decided to try turning off engine vibration in d-box and use the Clark’s via telemetry in both sim commander (sim vibe), and sim hub. I did not like the result and it felt it muddied the experience and competed with d-box road/surface texture effect. The vibration feeling was also too separate from sounds I was hearing, and even when it was close, I missed the other benefits I get from the sound track approach.

The Clark’s are full frequency and so they blend really well with whatever speakers or headphones you have. I just added a second Clark to the pedal deck. The first one is attached directly to the bottom of the gseat.

setup note: sound card optical out to mini-DSP, then the mini-DSP out to (a) speakers via RCA/headphone jack, and (b) headphone amp/DAC via optical. I use the mini-DSP to blend everything together and adjust levels. The mini DSP has 4 config slots. I have one slot for headphones, and another for headphones and speakers (when I have guests). The other two config slots are the same but with reduced bass (some games overdo the bass). I switch mini-DSP configs with a remote control.

 

[pihops]

@NetLawMan thanskf or the detailed feedback, it really helps me understand the value added now I never thought about bringing a more 'full sound' experience via the Clark 'device'. That is an interesting approach. I may give it a try.

I have to say sometime I play without sounds and just the d-box virabtion and it is pretty fun to driving only based on the vibration feeling. Amazing how much the sounds/vibration/ motion all bring something different to the experience.