Equipment ... anything which made you faster ?

Before investing, did you already try leaderboard challenges? That helps me a lot actually

 

a loadcell doesn't just do "that"... there's more to it ^^ i changed from t3pa with rubber mod to CSP v3 (which has loadcell).. not only the overall quality of the pedals is far beyond the t3pa but also the braking feels very different and much much better. I had much more control than with the friggin rubber cone.

 

RaceRoom Gameseats are 2% faster than any other manufacturer! Believe me!

Tbh I just have a G27 + small singlescreen monitor and I am pretty fast. I think these other wheels, loadcell, VR, maybe good for immersion etc, but even on a G27 you get precise feedback and precise input. I think on RaceRoom it's not necessary from a competitive point of view.

 

Could you define "small", @Robert Wiesenmüller ?

 

@Robert Wiesenmüller, that's not my experience. I could improve, when I moved to loadcell pedals from G25 pedals.
To be fast or not, well everybody has his individual abilities and one can do better with more simple equipment than another with high end.
But these 2 % you have to explain.

 

Now I have a 22 inch monitor so it's not so small, but when I started RaceRoom I had a 19 inch 4:3 monitor. It was fine too.

I think it mainly comes down to how it feels and what you are used to. I feel like I get all necessary information through visuals and FFB, and I feel like I have precise steering and pedal inputs, so it's good enough for me. A better wheel will not make my inputs better, it could only potentially give me feedback that I can use better so it makes it easier for me to put the correct input... but I never really felt any of that.

Actually VR could objectively be better since you actually get more precise info. There I think it's just hard to really build up that feeling.

 

hm, on a competitive point of view, IMO the G27 can make you faster than a DD-Wheel for example. Might sound weired at first, but the G27 can give quite good details - the only problem is, that it is quite weak. But to be competitive it can be an advantage if you can feel a slide but can catch it more easily and fast without much strength or when you can more easily fight against forces to keep the car stable while driving over curbs...

VR is a thing that really made me a bit faster on some tracks... But that might be an FOV-Thing. Before VR I played on a 55" Single-Screen-TV with 1.0 FOV - perfect would have been FOV at 0.6 for that setup. That changes the sense of speed and makes it a bit more difficulte to hit the apex... Now with VR it's just perfect...

 

It took a time, until i accepted that racing with my 32" Samsung is dead. But its defenetly. Every minute racing on a monitor is wasted time imho.
F*** off the graphics. This imersion is indescribably. Everyone must feel this for himself. Words can defenetly not describe it (outside racing with special vr games (e.g. Arizona sunrise) its the same. I cought my self yesterday of putting my middlefinger after i overtook a guy who hold me up for 2 laps...

And after the first trys, i thought: OK, nice...for a couple of laps interessting, but 2h races only on monitor.

Thats why i dont like this Abt and Seyffarth "analyse" videos. The dont go into the deep. The take a game and start it out of the box. And thats quite not meaningful. Take place in my rig and give the RS01 GT3 a try in Long Beach on PC2. I bet that 90 % of the "antis" here would be very very surprised.

 

I have been an avid sim racer for as long I can remember so I guess my progression have been over a long period of time, just as long as my improvement and investment in my gear I use. But the 3 most important things I feel have made me not only faster but more consistent are.
#1 A good set of pedals (preferably a brake with load cell) But it is actually not the the load cell itself but the "elastomers" I use in combination together with the load cell that make it so much better. Instead of memorize how far you press your brake, it's now muscle memory that will be important (but with this you might need a proper sim-rig)
#2 Triple screens made a HUGE difference for me when it came to close racing and being consistent within ~0.3s/lap. It's also much more immersive and easier for me to hit Apexes and Exits better while staying in close contact with my opponent. (Also looks cool when showing it of for your fellow sim racing friends in a forum like this )
#3 A sturdy sim-rig makes it better in the long run but is the least of all the things I have that made me faster (but the first I invested in) It do make it easier on your body for endurance racing and is a must if you want a high grade steering wheel (more torque and better ergonomics) but mostly for the need to get the pedals attached properly if you have them setup with high pressure on the brake pedal. It's also way much cooler to slip in to a set of Sparco shoes and sit in a real seat and drive, than it is sitting on a kitchen chair pretending to be a race driver
(I still pretend being a race car driver with my shoes and my gloves and Sparco seat and all the other stuff... but it's hell of lot more fun )

 

it doesn't. load cell is just something that measures a pressure, returning the same feeling of a balance for people...

quality obviously helps but it is not the load cell that makes the difference. everyone with a CSP v3 who tried and A/B swap with/without the elastomer mod easily understand the point. like me or the friend here

exactly.

 

Got today a visit from a real racedriver who was really impressed at his first contact with a VR. Dump video but funny his reactions

 

As there are drivers around using the common G27-like stuff who are "unbelieveably"fast, (even compared to folks who own so-called state-of-the-art equipment) you should rely & improve your driving skills & technique first and foremost.
A good seat, a decent set of pedals will surely make you feel more comfortable & confident, but thats no guarantee to become faster - and as long you are no (highly talented) "Natural" only hard work (practice) will do this for you (IMO)...

 

I actually didn't get faster with my csp v3 pedals....but I would never go back. love them
I did get faster going from a g27 to T300.
I got the fastest switching from my tv a bit far away to monitor up close and in proper position.

 

Move from

to

for 779 VRP unbeatable

 

Agree 100%.
I have not the most expensive equipment but they are for sure not the cheapest, but I still struggle against others with more basic steering wheels and pedals but where they lack in equipment they make up for it in shear skill...

 

Thank you very much for all this input. Will improve my skills first, before really buying some more stuff.

 

If you have spare money to spend and committed to your sim racing, why not practice and improve with improved equipment, kill two birds with one stone, if you dont you will improve to the point of upgrade, upgrade, then be relearning what you just practised asking why you didnt upgrade earlier!

 

I'm on lowly G29, but upgrading from DFGT instantly made be faster anywhere from .5 to 1s.
This is due to much better (yet still subpar) pedals. I can imagine going to load cell wouldn't hurt.
Wheel, while nicer than DFGT didn't make any difference though. Logitech DFGT is a decent wheel, but pedals suck big time.

I'm still on single screen, and sometimes it's hard to see the apex, so 3 monitor/VR setup wouldn't hurt either.
New pedals (Heusinkveld) and rig (needed to install heavy duty pedals) are the first things I'll upgrade.

 

In fact a very good point.

Regarding pedals of Heusinkveld I had almost a heart attack recognizing the price...still in recovery I am...

 

It depends on how close you are to the limit of what the car can do, if you're already at the limit no hardware will make you go faster. That said if you're not at the limit anything that can help you gain confidence to get there will help you. Now you already have a good wheel so I'd say decent pedals and perhaps even more importantly a rig or wheelstand could be very beneficial for consistency, allowing for more confidence to find and stay at the limit.

That said I could buy something like Ferraris own simulator and @Robert Wiesenmüller would still smoke me any day of the week on the track, fast is fast.