Just bought a racing simulator

[Hyperion]

I just bought this racing simulator from a local guy. It's unfinished and not the greatest (but not the worst) build quality but was super cheap. I got a G25 wheel with H shift and three pedals, an old 32" LCD (no HDMI), PS3 (newest model) and a PS2 fat for just AUD$400. I was going to wait until at least the end of the year until I even thought about making a racing cab but this opportunity was too good to pass up. The seat is pretty ratty and it's set way too high but it's a good start.

You were expecting photos weren't you? Sorry, the seller just took down the post so you'll have to wait till the sun comes up to see for yourselves what it looks like.

[NIVO]

ok suns up now, make with the pics!

[Fursphere]

Can't wait to see another racing cab!

[Hyperion]

Don't get too excited fellas, she's a rough ol' girl. I've just bought a smart new seat cover to hide the shabbiness of the seat but otherwise it needs a coat of paint at least to make her household worthy:

[Fursphere]

Cool! You going to build a cabinet around it, or just level it an open cockpit style?

[Hyperion]

Cool! You going to build a cabinet around it, or just level it an open cockpit style?

I'd like to fiddle a bit with the height of the seat or the pedals but when I get it right I'll either build a cabinet around it or start again from scratch.

[evil eye]

Nice pickup! There's lots of potential there, all it really needs is some dressing up.

[Hyperion]

Nice pickup! There's lots of potential there, all it really needs is some dressing up.

Thanks Evil Eye.

The seat cover I bought makes the seat look like new but it doesn't hide how it smells. I doused it in hypochlorite but I think I may have to buy a new chair. It'll look and feel better but it means I wasted my money on the seat cover and the old seat is welded to the frame. I can grind it off but I just managed to haul it inside last night and there's a reason why you don't see many metal workshops with carpeted floors.

[evil eye]

Ouch, sorry to hear that. Welded on huh? Whoever built that wasn't playing around, but it sure seems a bit overboard! The good news is that there's some fairly cheap racing seats on eBay. Check Fursphere's build thread for reference. Good luck!

[Hyperion]

Ouch, sorry to hear that. Welded on huh? Whoever built that wasn't playing around, but it sure seems a bit overboard! The good news is that there's some fairly cheap racing seats on eBay. Check Fursphere's build thread for reference. Good luck!

Lot's of good buys on that thread but alas, living in Australia narrows the range significantly. The best I can get is a cheapo single seat with no belts AUD$140 - 170. Would like to get a 5 or 6 point racing harness but they are about $150-200 sold separately.

[evil eye]

Ah right, forgot you were an Aussie! Crazy that the belts cost more than the seat itself.

[Fursphere]

I've seen a lot of 5 point harness bet rigs go for cheap on eBay and craigslist. Those things have to be certified every year or so for real track racing. Which probably means replaced often as well.

Once its "expired" its not of much value - and for cabinets, certification means squat.

[Hyperion]

I've seen a lot of 5 point harness bet rigs go for cheap on eBay and craigslist. Those things have to be certified every year or so for real track racing. Which probably means replaced often as well.

Once its "expired" its not of much value - and for cabinets, certification means squat.

That would be awesome and I'd already thought of that scenario but wouldn't it be illegal to sell an uncertified harness? In any event Craiglist doesn't deliver to Australia (last I checked) and eBay Australia doesn't have any uncertified harnesses listed.

[zomboided]

You know, that looks like shit at the moment, but buying a proper sit down rig for my PS3 driving fun was one of the best things I ever did! Spend a few bucks and get it blasted and powder coated, get a proper size TV in it and just go play it! Gonna be awesome!

(ok, ok, so even after I bought a rig, I also spent a bit of time making brackets to get the pedals to sit EXACTLY where I wanted them....)

[Hyperion]

You know, that looks like shit at the moment, but buying a proper sit down rig for my PS3 driving fun was one of the best things I ever did! Spend a few bucks and get it blasted and powder coated, get a proper size TV in it and just go play it! Gonna be awesome!

(ok, ok, so even after I bought a rig, I also spent a bit of time making brackets to get the pedals to sit EXACTLY where I wanted them....)

Yeah it needs some work to make it look half decent. What size TV would you consider optimal? I thought 32" was about right but I'm open to suggestions. Ideally I'd like to get a triple monitor setup but then I'd need to spend a crap load on another high end PC.

[zomboided]

Yeah it needs some work to make it look half decent. What size TV would you consider optimal? I thought 32" was about right but I'm open to suggestions. Ideally I'd like to get a triple monitor setup but then I'd need to spend a crap load on another high end PC.

I sit my rig bang in front of a 40" TV, with the pedals right under it. I'm 6'4", so I'm sitting probably 3 to 4 feet back. Works just lovely. Big enough to be immersive, but not too big you get lost in it. My advice would be to get the pedal and seating position right and then play it a bunch before seeing if you think you need a bigger TV.

EDIT : I bought one of these http://www.gameracer.co.uk/detail.aspx?ID=3#

I've put the pedal plate flat and centred it between the brake and accelerator, plus I've used the seat rail kit to raise things up to get my perfect position. I spent a butt load of time moving the wheel and pedal distances around to hit the sweet spot that allowed me to 'drive' for longer than 10 mins. Maybe when you're working on updating this try and build some easy adjustability in? It's just a couple of metal box sections and a bolt fitting.

[Hyperion]

I just had a flash of inspiration for my driving cab build: Make it look like the Batmobile! The idea has been signed off by my wife and she even likes the idea of making it a 2 seater.

QUESTION:

What PS3 games support offline LAN multiplayer? I realize that I'll need to buy another PS3 and two copies of the game but I'm shocked at how little I've been able to glean from an hour of Googling. I think F1 2012 supports it but that's all I've found so far.

Does anyone know of any other PS3 racing games that support LAN offline multiplayer?

[Fursphere]

Wait. You want to use a Sony network product offline WITHOUT paying them?! OMG R U CRAZY!?

Jokes aside, I've never heard of a PS3 "offline" mode. Everything seems to run through the Playstation Network.

[Fursphere]

Here you go... http://www.co-optimus.com/system.php?id=2&sort=lan&direction=ASC

Sort by the LAN category. Using the filter options on the right - it looks like ONLY Racing LAN game is F1 2011....

http://www.co-optimus.com/system.php?id=2&direction=ASC&playerComp=%3E%3D&playerNum=2&lan=on&coopmodes=on&genre=16&esrb=%25&released=Y

Hell, according to that list there are only 4 racing games that support online mode? Is that right?

Time to invest in some PC Hardware.

[djvj]

Yea you may want to use a pC for LAN multiplayer, you won't find much on PS3. Rememeber their business model revolves around PSN, they want everything going through it.

If put together a list of racing games that work with LAN MP, I would love to see it.

[DamnedRegistrations]

PC has the best racing sims that'd be perfect for that setup, hooking it up to consoles is a waste. PS3 only really has Gran Turismo and for arcade fun, the Motorstorm series. Not much else. But for PC, you should check out the GTR series, Live for Speed, iRacing and rFactor. I still play GTR 2 from time to time, great sim.

[richie_jones]

Wow a bat car. My lad would love that...

Will you have the usual two player arcade games on like daytona. Sega rally etc

[Hyperion]

Thanks everyone. I did stumble across a co-optimus thread yesterday and the OP was requesting a the list of games I was after but had no replies so I moved on.

I agree that PC would probably be the ideal option but the cost is prohibitive. I just spent $950 on a high end PC and wouldn't be able to do that again anytime soon. I am exploring the console option because it's cheaper and more plug and play. Plus I've already got a spare PS3 and buying another is no trouble. Maybe two Xbox 360s? Is the Xbox 360 better than PS3 for LAN racing games?

[Hyperion]

According to co-optimus Xbox 360 only has F1 2011 as well.

[Hyperion]

PC has the best racing sims that'd be perfect for that setup, hooking it up to consoles is a waste. PS3 only really has Gran Turismo and for arcade fun, the Motorstorm series. Not much else. But for PC, you should check out the GTR series, Live for Speed, iRacing and rFactor. I still play GTR 2 from time to time, great sim.

Well, I had a look at the system requirements for those games and it looks like I might be able to salvage my old PC to run those games. It's got a Core 2 duo 3.3GHz and 4GB of 800MHz DDR2 RAM. It needs a graphics card but that'll cost as much as a new PS3.