R-Pod MkII Driving Simulator

[ericleroi]

Current state of the project:

Main build log starts:

I've not posted here for a while but I thought I'd share some of my progress on my latest project. It's a rig for racing sims. I wanted it to match the rest of the projects I now have in my games room. It's taken quite a long time to get this far and I have some way to go yet. This is a bit of a cut and paste from posts on another forum.

This is what my current racing setup looks like:

First job was to acquire some new equipment. I’ve gone for the Fanatec ClubSport series kit. This includes the pedal set, wheel base with detachable rims and an H-pattern/Sequential shifter.

This will be configured to use Simvibe which takes telemetry data out of the Simulation software and uses transducers to simulate various effects. It works extremely well.

The first challenge was to figure out how to mount the transducers to my new seat (there will be more attached to the pedals and underneath the shifter):

I used some 4mm aluminium plate and drilled some holes and bolted it directly underneath the seat. This transmits the vibrations very efficiently throughout the steel frame:

I tidied things up a bit by using some split convoluted cable sheathing to hide the bolts:

Next stop was the seat base. A simple construction with risers to allow room for the transducers:

This was then covered in automotive carpet with some T-Molding applied around some of the edges:

The speaker cable from the transducers is wired into a small project box:

The remaining speaker cable is fed through some smaller convoluted sheathing through the seat base:

The base of the system was then started:

The seat base sits on isolators to keep the vibrations from the transducers localised:

Once complete, I set about designing a console to accommodate the shifter and spent some time figuring out where to position it:

The outside of the console was designed to look like this with recesses for various inlays:

Logo (this will sit behind 3mm acrylic sheet):

Logo test:

Mesh test:

A template was cut for the ribbed rubber sheet and then glued on before test fitting:

Ribbed rubber sheet close-up:

The inside of the shifter console has a cut-out for leather material inlay:

Cut-out:

Cut-out after routing:

The top of the shifter console which will house the shifter itself was designed to ensure that everything was a tight fit. The shifter is at an angle so has made the job that much trickier to implement:

A top plate for this has been included as well to hide the cable recess.

Cut the side panels:

This required some sanding and filling to get the finish correct.

The top shifter panel was covered in leather vinyl material:

Close-up:

Close-up of inside face of the shifter pod which is also covered in leather vinyl:

.... fast forward to today ....

The shifter pod is finally finished aside from a few minor tweaks which need to be done once the whole R-Pod is built. I reckon it's taken about 50 or so hours to get this done so excuse me while I get a little self indulgent and post a whole load of pictures!

A fire extinguisher has been attached to the back face of the pod for a bit of fun.

The last picture shows that the top panel is not quite true. I will sort that out.

I will also need to raise the shifter itself by a few mm. I wanted to set it this low initially to give myself some options later.

[Polemicist]

Ignore the thumping sounds and the sudden slamming of a truck door. Just borrowing ya cab.

Nice work bro.

[HazzardActual]

holy shite man. you really paid attention to detail. looks like something you'd pay thousands for. do you have links for the hardware? ive never really looked into high quality racing stuff before

[ericleroi]

Thanks for the feedback. It did take a long time to complete!

@HazzardActual, I'm using Fanatec ClubSport gear. The website is here:

http://eu.fanatec.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=702

The wheel base allows you to use quick release rims. Everything is very solid and high quality.

Simvibe software takes telemetry data out of the sim through a second soundcard and feeds transducers (ButtKickers in my case). This avoids having to rely on just low frequency output and can simulate various effects such as Road Texture, Gear Shifting, Engine Revs etc. It really makes things exceptionally immersive.

Simvibe:

http://simxperience.com/Products/SimVibe/SimVibeSoftware.aspx

Buttkickers:

http://www.thebuttkicker.com/

I'm using the Mini LFE's

[vaad]

That is flipping sexy man. But the shifter looks very high in relation to the seat.... Have any photos of them side by side ?

[ericleroi]

Thanks vaad. The seat also attaches to a base unit which raises it quite significantly. I spend a couple of hours getting the height just as I needed it. You can see things better in these pictures:

If anything, for a racing setup, it's slightly low but it's what is comfortable for me.

[zomboided]

That a ridiculous amount of effort and money to play Daytonaaaa. I totally approve. Really nice workmanship too.

[dark13]

Really nice build For the shifter I guess you can use a metal frame and a leather shifter's cap like in real cars.

[ericleroi]

Thanks for the feedback

@dark13, I'm not sure what you mean by the metal frame. The shifter I have is the Fanatec which lets you use standard shifter knobs. It comes with two, one for h-pattern and a larger one for the sequential.

So I couldn't let today pass without making some progress. I figured I'd spend some time on the base, the boring bit. I wanted to tidy up the board that sits underneath the seat base. It's exposed so I needed to cover it.

Slot cut on each end for T Molding:

I then applied some of my DIY laminate to each end using blackboard vinyl:

The T molding was then fitted:

This was then screwed back onto the frame:

I also worked on the side panels of the base, beveling some of the edges, cutting a slot in case I wanted to use T Molding there too and also applying some vinyl inside and out:

[HazzardActual]

so of course the cab is beautiful. what type of hardware are you putting in this beast?

[dark13]

I mean something like this

[connorsdad]

I've been following this over at BYOAC, very nice

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

[BlueScreenTT]

Sweet :-)

i want one

[ericleroi]

I mean something like this

Ah, gotcha! I understand now. I'm going for a bit of an industrial look with this one as well so I'm going to leave it as is. The top panel also took an age to get everything to line up.

I've been following this over at BYOAC, very nice

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Thanks connorsdad

Sweet :-)

i want one

I now want the rest of the rig to go with it!

[ericleroi]

so of course the cab is beautiful. what type of hardware are you putting in this beast?

Thanks HazzardActual

Hardware (already purchased) will be:

External PC running a GTX680 core I7 2600k

Pedals, wheel base, wheel rims and shifter by Fanatec

Monitor is a 29 inch ultrawide resolution 2650x1080

Buttkicker amp

4 Buttkicker mini LFE transducers

Wireless headphones (more immersive and masks any sounds made by the transducers)

Simvibe to power the mini LFEs

TrackIR for head motion tracking

[HazzardActual]

Jesus! I cant wait to see it finished!

[momentarydogma]

What do you mean when you say "DIY laminate"? Did you use blackboard vinyl for all of the wood or just for that one piece?

[ericleroi]

Jesus! I cant wait to see it finished!

Me too! I reckon another 6 - 8 weeks to get it to a point where I consider it to be operational. Probably a few more weeks after that adding finishing touches.

What do you mean when you say "DIY laminate"? Did you use blackboard vinyl for all of the wood or just for that one piece?

It's just for faces which are flat momentarydogma. Anything which is shaped is painted. If you're interested, this is the technique used:

A standard wood primer for the base coat (2 coats), blackboard paint on top of that (2 coats) followed by matt polyurethane varnish (3 coats). Everything is water based and applied with a foam roller. I sand down very lightly between coats with 320 grit - it really doesn't add too much time to the process and is definitely worth doing. The polyurethane needs to be used fairly sparingly (but not too little to leave it patchy) which I then go over a few times to take any small bubbles out. It's best to use continuous strokes if possible. It's not completely perfect but considering the time required to complete the task, it's the best technique I've tried. IT does take a little practice and patience to get it looking reasonable.

Two more LFEs arrived today:

One will be placed in the shifter pod:

The other will be positioned on the pedal system. MDF isn't the greatest at transmitting vibration but this could work to my advantage; I will initially be running all 4 LFEs from a single amp and- I don't want overpowering effects on either the shifter of the pedals. I will look to purchase separate amps for each of these at some point in the future to be better able to fine tune the effects. Funds don't permit to do that at present unfortunately - this build is becoming expensive!

[momentarydogma]

It's just for faces which are flat momentarydogma. Anything which is shaped is painted. If you're interested, this is the technique used:

A standard wood primer for the base coat (2 coats), blackboard paint on top of that (2 coats) followed by matt polyurethane varnish (3 coats). Everything is water based and applied with a foam roller. I sand down very lightly between coats with 320 grit - it really doesn't add too much time to the process and is definitely worth doing. The polyurethane needs to be used fairly sparingly (but not too little to leave it patchy) which I then go over a few times to take any small bubbles out. It's best to use continuous strokes if possible. It's not completely perfect but considering the time required to complete the task, it's the best technique I've tried. IT does take a little practice and patience to get it looking reasonable.

Sweet, thanks for the tips-- looks amazing in the photos, so I want to emulate that as best I can!

[ericleroi]

No problem momentarydogma. Best of luck with the build.

I've started the adjustable pedal system this weekend. This is managed by seat runners:

These were very stiff when they arrived so time for some lubrication:

The pedal base plate is 1 cm narrower than the base of the pod to allow a bit of give. The adjustment mechanism on the runners meant that I had to cut 2 pieces to fit on that side:

Threaded inserts were used to attach the runner to the pedal base. The same approach will be used to mount this to the pod base:

[ericleroi]

Some more progress with the pedal system:

Sides complete:

Top section cut:

T-Molding applied to the top and bottom of the top section with a slight overlap to integrate with the rubber sheet:

I will need to cut out areas of the rubber sheet to fit the pedals:

Pedals attached:

[ericleroi]

Just fitted the Buttkicker to the pedal base:

I took it for a test drive to check the feedback in Assetto Corsa. Not bad, although not as good as the seat; probably about what I was expecting. All the effects can be felt so I'm happy with the setup.

[ericleroi]

The runners have now been hard mounted to the base and use risers. This will give the appropriate clearance to ensure the runners don't interfere with/catch the carpet when that is fitted:

Everything looks to be lining up correctly (i.e. the base won't interfere with the sides once those are on) and the pedal base is surprisingly easy to move. Must be that special Castrol grease I used!

Unfortunately the pictures are a bit poor due to the lighting in the room.

[ericleroi]

More work on the pedal assembly. The rubber backing needed to be cut to allow the pedals to sit flat. Good old grease proof / baking paper was use to trace out the position:

Applied to the pedal base (this will need to be glued down once everything on this phase is complete:

I've always found myself wanting a foot rest so I figured that this time I would make one:

This needs to be secure as it's likely to take a bit of a kicking. A couple of 50mm screws are holding it in place but I wanted to make sure it didn't flex. I constructed an adjustable bolt mechanism to ensure that it fits tightly. I'm still working on the piece behind the main foot rest. This will need to be finished cleanly:

I'll need to cut a hole in the rubber matting to get a good finish.

[sic]

Impressive! ?