Start Sim Racing CHEAP!

did you happen to catch any nascar races this year if you did you might have noticed something a little different that's right thanks to the pandemic even the greatest names in racing switched over to simracing for a little while now lucky for you you don't need to have bubba wallace's orlando norris's paycheck to get into sim racing there are plenty of cheap ways to get onto the virtual race track without spending your entire life savings and help maybe this is the start of your professional virtual racing career so it'll pay for itself so if you've been thinking about hitting the digital race track hit that subscribe button and keep watching because i'm about to tell you some of the cheapest ways to get into sim racing today all right let's break this down for you so it's easy to follow the first step is you need to decide which system you want is it console or is it a pc before you do anything you need to answer this question you don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on the wheel just to find out it doesn't work with your system there are essentially three options for any sim racing platform xbox playstation or pc and if you already own one of those the decision has kind of already been made for you the cheapest way to go about this would be to just use what you have but if you're new to the game and you don't have any of them i would definitely recommend starting and finishing on pc i know a console is cheap 400 bucks and you're done that's fair but just know that you're really limiting yourself and with the ps5 and the new xbox coming why buy a console right now now if you already have a playstation or an xbox there's not a lot of money you need to commit to get into sim racing but if you're just a die hard console user and i had to pick one i would definitely recommend the playstation simply for the fact that you get the gran turismo franchise but take it from me either way you're delaying the inevitable you eventually will end up on pc if you get into sim racing sure it's a higher price point to begin with but there are just so many more options in terms of software and hardware for pc now if you do decide to go with the pc there are a number of different routes you can take if you're kind of a diy-er you can build yourself a pc that'll run most sims for about 500 bucks now i won't go into exactly how to build a 500 pc there are a million channels doing a million videos about that every day but it's pretty realistic to say that for about 700 bucks all in you'll have a pretty solid setup that includes the monitor the keyboard the mouse everything and if your family or you already have a pc consider that you can use a lot of its parts to save you money when building your new pc bonus building a pc yourself is actually really fun it's one of my favorite hobbies now if you're afraid of doing it yourself there are some sellers like skytech on amazon that have ready to go rigs for around 650 bucks i'll have a link for that down below now luckily most sim racing titles aren't that demanding and can run on pretty much any gaming computer so try not to overspend in this area and save that money for where it counts the wheel what's the deal with the wheel well i'm glad you asked buying a wheel and the base that goes with it is the first step on your journey to sim racing nirvana now it's true most sims are compatible with an xbox or a playstation controller and even a keyboard but if you're using these is it really sim racing it's more of a video game i mean how many cars have you driven that are controlled by four little buttons and a joystick you want your hands gripped around a real wheel and your feet pressing down on real pedals as you rip around turns at a racetrack and that's why you have to get a wheel and pedal set to get into simracing now i know what you're thinking this all looks really expensive and it is but there are cheap options out there that you can buy today and if i were to tell you to go out to a store and buy a brand new wheel and pedal set today i would definitely be recommending the logitech g920 or g29 they're both the same depends on what console you're going to connect them to and if you're going on pc they're both the same wheel and they're perfect for people who want to get into sim racing but don't want to spend a ton of cash yet now cheap is all a matter of perspective right now the msrp on these is about 320 bucks and i have a link down below if you want to go check it out now if that's out of your price range and you don't mind something somebody else has been touching you can get a used g25 or g27 on ebay or craigslist for about 150 to 200 bucks these are the predecessors to the g29 and give you nearly the same experience for a lot less cash now the other company that makes wheels for buyers on a budget is thrustmaster there's a lot of models but expect to spend anywhere from 250 to a thousand bucks on the decent setup i know the title says cheap but it takes a little bit of mula to get into the game and i always just remind myself what i used to spend on racing real cars in real life and this is just a drop in the bucket compared to that [Music] now regardless of which wheel setup you choose the one thing you really want to look out for is force feedback which is a measure of force that the wheelbase has to simulate traction suspension braking crashes as you grip the wheel in your hands for example even some like my newt surface changes are usually programmed in the most modern sims and being able to feel in your hands where the track gets loose or tight is going to be the difference between setting pole and qualifying eighth plus what fun is it if you can't feel a v8 roaring as you hold the steering wheel and the wheel and pedal sets i've recommended so far have pretty solid force feedback functionality and essentially the more money you spend the better it gets and a 200 wheel will get you the same lap time as a 2 000 wheel in most cases so if you're a first-time sim racer it's best to stick with the budget stuff to start with it's a great way to get your foot in the door or on the gas pedal i should say now if you're amazon savvy like me you've definitely seen some cheaper options out there but a lot of them aren't even worth the 3.99 prime shipping that takes to get them to you sure they'll work for a day or two but almost immediately you'll be regretting your purchase as you shop for something better it's all right you picked your system you've picked your wheelbase you're ready to log in and hit the virtual road now which sims should you start your virtual race car driver career on well this is where the system you chose in part one really comes into play you see there's tons of sim racing software out there but it's not available to everyone if you chose pc the world is kind of your oyster there's a multitude of titles on pc from arcade racers to the sims that the pros use but if you're driving on an xbox or a playstation your options are a little more limited there are console exclusives like gran turismo sport which are fairly realistic and have a good competitive scene but isn't a true sim and then you have a bunch of games that are really fun but are not anywhere near a sim like forza and need for speed but don't worry you can have fun on any platform you choose especially with the universally available games like assetto corsa dirt rally f1 2020 assetto corsa competizione or project cars all are fairly solid sims available on every platform they're not the best in the business but in most of them you get a huge variety of cars and tracks and things like weather systems and time of day and many of them have a really robust multiplayer scene especially project cars and a settled course of competition with ranking systems and safety systems that ensure that you get matched up in a fair fight now if you were smart enough to go with a pc you can buy most of these titles on discount on steam regularly and i mean some of them go for really cheap like five bucks this is yet another reason that pc is the perfect platform for sim racing now if you get really into sim racing all roads eventually lead to eye racing the racing sim that's so good they televise virtual nascar events on tv during the pandemic rather than hold the real events in person and the sim of choice for that was iracing it's also the most popular sim for real racing professionals to train on now eye racing isn't cheap so we won't go into it here i can make a whole video about the pricing structure on iracing just know that if you really get bit by the simracing bug you will eventually get iracing and probably a second job to pay for it so yeah no matter what platform you choose there are fun and affordable games for you and at this point you're pretty much done you don't need to spend any more money a system a wheel and a game and you're good to go but to take your sim racing experience to the next level having the right rig which is what you mount all this crap to can really make you feel like you're sitting in the driver's seat of your favorite race car but do you need to spend tons of cash to get a fancy racing rig let's find out now if you've looked up sim racing at all on youtube or on the internet or you have a friend who's super into it you probably have an image in your mind of someone driving a super legit super expensive racing rig especially the kind with the motion simulators and the three monitors strapped to it but do you really need anything like that to start simracing the answer is quite simply no sure it will make you feel like you're sitting in the cockpit of a high-powered race car but you don't need some giant aluminum monstrosity like mine to be competitive in sim racing and you don't need to spend thousands of dollars to get your wheel in the proper position either you see the cheapest way get yourself a logitech or a thrust master and just clamp it to your desk slide the pedals underneath and you're good to go having your wheels and pedals mounted to something though will make you a more consistent racer there's nothing like having your pedals go flying when you break into turn one now if you really feel the need to get into a racing rig there are actually some semi-affordable options out there for you to start you can use a racing wheel stand which is basically like an ironing board that you mount your wheel to they're typically around a hundred bucks on amazon like this vivo one that i found for 98 bucks that i'll put a link to down in the description these work with basically any office chair and fold away when you're not using it so it's pretty handy if you live in a small space but with the seating position that it has it's gonna feel more like you're driving a big rig than a race car now another affordable option that gives you a truly immersive race car experience is the playseat challenge which is a chair and a rig for your wheel and pedals all built into one that also folds away and fits in your closet when you're all done and i actually use one of these for two years and can honestly say it's one of the best deals and sim racing rigs out there so of course there'll be a link down below now the rig i'm using today is a sim lab evo i think i spent about 700 bucks on parts accessories and shipping which is definitely not cheap but what is cheap is building a rig like this by yourself out of plumbing that's right pvc pipes steel tubing and even wood are great materials to build your own racing rig out of and there are a ton of resources online to find plans that other people have already made and you can even use things like seats out of a car from a junkyard to really keep the cost low which means if you have the tools the know-how and the time you can build yourself a rig just as good as this one for about a hundred bucks whatever you decide to do i hope you realize that you don't need to be a millionaire to get into the sport of sim racing it's actually pretty accessible now with that i hope all you aspiring sim racers are ready to grab some gear and hit the track and this is the first time on ideal media that we've actually talked about sim racing so let us know what do you think should we make more content like this please i want more excuses to use this let us know down below along with any of your budget-friendly sim racing solutions and no matter what you decide to do decide to hit that subscribe button down below and the like button it's how we know you liked it it's why it's called a like button and definitely check out some more ideal content on the channel i've been the squid and remember always keep living the virtually ideal lifestyle

Channel: Ideal Cars

Views: 699,436

Rating: 4.9316125 out of 5

Keywords: logitech g29 review, logitech, logitech g29, g29, racing wheel, review, racing, sim racing, g920, ps4, gaming, online racing, steering wheel, assetto corsa, logitech g920, iracing, inside sim racing, project cars, wheel, f1, simulation, gran turismo, g29 review, racing simulator, thrustmaster, logitech g920 review, sim, game, gamer, simracing, forza, simulator, playstation 4, assetto, force, nascar, hardware, sim racing cockpit, racing pedals, xbox one, gran turismo sport

Id: oN4PEd-P8o4

Length: 10min 30sec (630 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 14 2020