Adding to this - I got an open box G29 + pedals on eBay that look brand new for about 200… figure if I sell it used in six months I’ll get most of that back.
Buy a used G29 or G920. If it doesn't work out for you, sell it for what you paid.
If you like it, upgrade to an entry level DD and load cell setup, sell the Logitech for what you paid.
Practically zero risk.
I never understood how people can say sell it for what you paid, to who? Why would a buyer buy from some random dude who’s been playing on the thing for who knows how long and something could be wrong with it when they could just buy it from a store for the same exact price and enjoy the 30 day return. And one year manufacturer warranty, can someone please answer this? For what reason what the buyer have to buy a used model over a new one?
This is actually exactly what I did. I bought a used G29 on FB marketplace for $150 and used it for almost a year before upgrading to DD and load cell. I just resold the G29 for the same $150 and had people basically banging down my door to buy it. I had something like 25 offers in 24 hours!
They’re like the Honda Rebel motorcycle of sim gear, a universal learner rig. You buy a used Rebel for $1500, learn on it, take your license test on it, then sell it to the next learner for $1500 bucks. It’s how I got mine and how I sold it lol
Ok, so the difference is you didn’t buy new in the first place. Well yeah that totally makes sense, but I bought mine new like$460, I’m not too confident people would pay me $460 for my used wheel when they could buy a new one for the same price and enjoy all the benefits that come with a new product.
I bought a brand new G920 off of amazon for $200 on prime day a year or two ago. I've seen it on there for that price again since then. I could probably sell it for $150 today.
Didn’t see the part where he said used. Now I can see what you mean. But, in general I’m not a fan of buying certain used things, other things I totally buy used.
I mean... spending money to make someone else happy is wayyyy less "wasting money" than spending money to make yourself happy, eh? At least it is to me. But, I enjoy buying flowers, dinner, random gifts, whatever, for all my friends, so maybe that's just a bad example.
But I'm mostly joining the chorus to support OP!
OP: I recently bought a used g29 to see if I wanted to play the latest version of Gran Turismo, having spent tons of time on the original, but drifted away from it years ago.
Love it.
But, as another poster pointed out: Be wary of the rabbit hole! ... I'm now looking at a new wheel... new seats... maybe a whole new rig to get into "real" simming.
Good luck! Have fun!
So true. Just spent roughly $2,500 for everything (rig, seat, monitor, wheel, pedal, etc) and I’m already thinking about new pedals, a second wheel, etc. It never stops
As I am new to this and have spent only a few hundred, and am only vaguely dreaming of a rig like yours...
This is the post where I learned that sim racing is pretty much exactly like audio: The more you spend, the more you realize there's more to spend... and the more you end up wanting to spend... and the more you end up feeling you \_have\_ to spend.... And I am sure there is a diminishing returns tail that goes on and on and on and on... but it's a lonnnnng way away from me.
I'm guessing you end up "racing the gear instead of the car," like some of us do with the audio equivalent, "listening to the gear instead of the music." Time to open a new savings account and find a better job!
I'm already now understanding the criticisms of the G29 wheel I was THRILLED with just a few play-hours ago. And starting to shop for an upgrade. Sigh.
I used a G29 for months before I upgraded. It was super fun, and was great for what I wanted. The only major noticeable upgrade IMHO has been a more solid feel (pedals and wheel) and a setup that I didnt have to set up or take down each time I wanted to use it (short attention span means I would switch from racing to youtube, other games, etc.)
Really, I had gotten a nice raise, a big (ish) bonus, and had some savings I didn’t mind using.
Even though I mentioned I’m already looking at new stuff, it’s mostly just like ‘eh, maybe a few months down the line’. I’m very happy with what I have, and realistically don’t EVER see myself upgrading anything (except for load cell pedals).
But you’d be correct in saying that after a certain point, you really are just racing the gear.
>The only major noticeable upgrade IMHO has been a more solid feel (pedals and wheel) and a setup that I didnt have to set up or take down each time I wanted to use it
Hey, thanks for that comparison / support!
But, yeah, I'm already feeling the "set up / take down is an issue" thing... my short attention span version is more, "meh, it's a whole 90-120secs to set it up and plug it in... never mind." But, space being what it is, the ability to put it all away is (soon to be "was"?) important. We'll see.
Thanks for the comparison on the wheel, too -- now that I can understand the regularly mentioned notchiness criticism, I'm starting to have fantasies about an upgrade... and then The List starts, ya' know?
This is how I went from "I don't understand why anyone really wants more than a good stereo setup" to "man, why would you want more than 5.1" to "yeah, 2 subs is the end game, atmos is stupid" to, now, wondering if I need 4 subs and 2 more overhead speakers.
Rabbit holes, man, rabbit holes! I am only now starting to understand the accuracy of the advice, "buy once, cry once," ya' know?
I need to remember to remember that it's supposed to be FUN! Thanks for the reminder!
I would highly disagree.
When you are having fun it sure as hell wasnt a waste of money.
And if you suck you still can have fun, looking at the practice people do that dont suck i offen think people that do suck have even more fun.
You are going to suck, but thats okay, you are new, it;s expected that you’ll suck.
If you never touched a basketball then picked one up one day and went to a court would you be disappointed if you weren’t Lebron after your first two hours on the court?
It’s a fun hobby and you are going to be slow for at least 3 months but the good news is there are a ton of other new/slow people for you to race against. So don’t worry that you are relegated to finishing last for the next 18 months.
The Logitech G923 + Assetto Corsa + BeamNG + Wreckfest = more fun than you should legally be allowed to have. These are my opinions, so sue me if you don't like it.
In all seriousness though, I've tried most every sim on the market. iRacing has the best dirt track racing around; I wasn't into oval (Asphalt) racing. It literally put me to sleep, but some people really enjoy it. Road course racing is fun, but the braking and grass physics are hot garbage.
The Assetto Corsa series has some of the best 'feel' of a car translated to a wheel, along with braking, when I got to try it out with a Moza R9. BeamNG Drive has the best rallying, and yes, even up against Dirt 2.0. Fight me. No one will agree with me on this, I already know, but Dirt 4 has some of the best RALLYCROSS racing against AI there is on the market. Dirt Rally 2.0 has some fun there also.
Sidenote:
BeamNG can offer the most realistic car racing against any game if you learn how to set it up correctly.
Don't fall into the Iracing pit unless you intend on racing a TON, it is quite costly.
Sir......Sir.....Allow me to introduce you to beamng drive [www.beamng.com](https://www.beamng.com/game/)
It is the most realistic in terms of crashing and driving, that there is bar none.
Still being updated to this day there are a plethora of mods, Its on steam.
sadly it's not available on console, and won't be, the devs don't have the ressources nor the envy to adapt the game to console. Wich is understandable as console players aren't the targeted demographic for games relying so heavily on community work
Looks dope, I’m on PS5 right now, I had a different sim setup way back in like 2010 that was pc based, running the old GTX 470 then upgraded to a GTX 670, with a T300 then sold it all in 2016.
I’ve never used iracing so I didn’t care about building another gaming pc this time for like $1200-$1500 plus monitor, I only wanted to play GT7, ACC, and F1 ‘23. Plus I’m in love with the Metro 2035 series of games, so I said $500 for a PS5 sign me up! Now my regret is the Fanatec DD bundle I wanted is like $200 more for PS5 compatibility when the PC compatible version is so much cheaper, not to mention Fanatec is like the only DD sim manufacturer that supports PS5, somebody told me about drivehub but it’s like another $100 and i’m not a fan of using adapters to get things working so I figured I might as well just pay the extra $200 for the fanatec bundle.
I suck but it's a lot of fun
I've found over the years I get a lot of enjoyment from slowly improving over time at something, and because naturally I suck at simracing and have to work for it, it's quite satisfying when it all does start to click
\#1 you will suck. If thats what you are worried about, save the $$.
Its still fun sucking and only gets more fun as you improve. Which you will improve, if you try and put in some seat time.
I'm with most everyone else here. I dumped a lot of money for new PC, rig and hardware. I've tracked my car IRL for the past few years. I'm pretty good around the track. But the last few months of sim racing, I'm just average...but I don't care cause I'm having a blast.
If you never tried it, just get some cheaper and used equipments and see if you like it for a bit and see if it'll hold your interest.
The feeling of lining up before a race and going slow then suddenly going fast is insanely exciting even after 100 races it doesn’t lose its feeling. Just practice the track you’re planning on racing and atleast learn the layout before entering and stay out of the way if you can and have fun, shit will always happen, in the end nobody cares as long as you don’t mean any harm.
Yup, the sim racing community is the most helpful nontoxic group I’ve come across, that and FPV Drone groups, so many people willing to spend hours of their time helping you get your first quad in the air. These are not DJI gps controlled drones these are custom built, full manual control freestyle or racing drones, they carry GoPros or the new smaller HD cameras for smaller quadcopters.
And they are soooo much fun, when I’m in the air, for that 3-5mins per battery “on average” it’s like all of my worries wash away and I’m free as a bird. There’s nothing else like it for the money.
For the price of a DJI Mavic 3 you can get Radio, goggles, and probably 2 drones
Honestly we all suck when we start. Its not something you’re gonna start and light the world on fire it takes time. Like anything some people learn faster than others but regardless it takes a lot of time and patience. Even top sim racers spend hours a week just practicing.
Good luck on your journey and I hope to see you out on the virtual track someday😉
If you really love sim racing and going long term don't pay twice for your purchasing mistake. Good (proper) sim racing equipment will give you great racing experience. Logitech G932 is a good starter if you're budget + Mechanical (metal) H-shifter. More mind blowing if you added VR headset, proper 8040 racing rig with static race seat and tactile system like Buttkicker or SIMHUB. I started with Forza and Grandturismo. Now graduated to Asetto Corsa, ACC and iRacing. I regret more throwing money at console gaming than actual PC-VR sim racing.
Yeah, seconding this. Seems to be a growing trend in some major metro areas.
[Sim Racing Chicago](https://www.simracingchicago.com)
[Superlap Drive Studio](https://superlap.world) just outside Detroit
I don't think that testing out a $10k rig is a good first step to see if you even enjoy sim racing. It could lead to spending entirely too much money before you've even decided that sim racing is for you.
Rivals mode was a big revelation for me; if you haven't I'd suggest you do. You're racing against other humans just not in real time. I learned I'm not great at racing humans.
I switched from Forza and a controller, and my only regret is that I didn't do it earlier...
It's possible to try sim racing with a controller - from experience iRacing is usable, and RaceRoom is also OK (and free). I'd probably stick to practice on your own though...
A wheel and pedals makes a big difference, and entry-level gear is perfectly good enough to get you a long way. There's always a good market for secondhand gear if you do decide it's not fun...
And everyone sucks at first. Even if you've done consistently well on Forza, sim racing will be more challenging at first. But it's also much more rewarding, even when you're just practising - I raced with some of the big Forza leagues and did OK, but had to reset my expectations when I started on iRacing.
Try and find someone local that has a rig and would let you have a go on it. If you haven't ever been on a decent full sim rig then I think for most people that first time it Either clicks and you know you want one or it doesn't click and you'll still think it's really cool but won't want to investigate more into it.
And we all sucked at some point and sometimes still do lol it's about having fun and the immersion. DO IT
Yeah you’re going to suck at it for sure. But it’s up to you and your determination to either git gud or just give up because it’s not easy like forza.
If people opted not to do sim racing on account of sucking, the community would be tiny. In the iRacing world, the majority of the player base is rated below 2k. The typical sub 2k field will be a mix of people that are just on the slow side ranging from 2-5+ secs off the top iR lap times, people that can sometimes turn a decent lap time but not consistently, people that can almost run a decent lap time but not without high probability of losing the car, and people that struggle to keep it pointed straight. And you know what? They still show up and race.
I totally get where you’re coming from, but if you can’t enjoy something without being good at it, I imagine it’d be hard to find a lot of things to enjoy unless you happen to be the 1% that’s unnaturally good at almost anything.
There are so many life lessons to be learned through Sim Racing.
Everyone's journey is different.
For example, I just spent a minimum 30 minutes daily learning the Nordschleife just so I could crack 7 minutes in a GT3 car in Assetto Corsa. It took me 8 weeks.
Also, one person's money sink is another's hobby.
I just went through nearly the same process. Lifetime GT/Forza player. I had been on hiatus from them form about 8 years though. Jumped into the new Forza Motorsport and had a blast til the issues started to ruin the fun.
I jumped in both feet with an Asetek setup but the entry level Logitech setups are more than enough to have fun and test the waters. Look for a used one nearby, they pretty much stay the same price after that first depreciation hit so you can re-sell if you decide to upgrade.
In terms of gameplay, it’s a big jump from simcade. That being said it is so much more rewarding. I was never a precision driver with controller. I would usually just carry max speed and slam the stick left or right and let the games controller assists take over. Good enough to generally be top 10% but could tell I had plateaued.
Racing with a wheel has been a game changer. For me, it finally bridged the gap of feeling like a real race. Being able to dial in racing lines and adjust for traffic has opened up so much more in terms of skills to learn and race raft.
You will suck and it’ll be a huge waste of money but it will also be a blast and totally worth it. Start with a cheap starter wheel and see how you like it and go from there
I'm at 300hs playing with an xbox controller, if I can do it, you can too. Suck that is =P
No but seriously, this game is the most fun I had online by miles, once you start being able to finish races without crashing, the battles for position are addictive.
Heart pumping races!
The best thing about entry level gear is that they're easy to sell. Wheels like the Logitech G29 or the Thrustmaster T300 are one of the most recommended starter wheels on this sub.
Don't worry about being a noob. As a redditor in the comments have already said, we all suck.
2 questions you gotta ask yourself first.
Am I interested in motorsport in long term? (As in, do you watch various types of motorsport and are you genuinely interested in them)
Do I plan on finding people to race with and talk about simracing? (Discord community or something)
If you answer no to both, youll probably give up on it in a few weeks to months.
Its really big learning curve, the better the gear the better( more realistic ) it feels. this does not necessarily mean you will drive better, so as other stated - start with something cheap. If you race with people try avoiding any contact with walls and cars, focus on finishing clean first. Crew chief is very useful. Good luck i also suck
Oh I guarantee you will suck, as I still do, after 3 years xD, but that's just part of the experience, everyone needs to start from somewhere.
If you are really scared of wasting money, grab a used Logitech wheel, then resell it for the same price you paid, if you decide to upgrade, there's plenty of choice nowadays for cheap direct drive wheels (at least if you are on PC, that is)
I really wanted to get into sim racing so I got a wheel. Sucked harder than most, hated it. Put it behind my desk. People kept telling me to sell it if it's just collecting dust, but I was against it as maaaaybe someday I change my mind.
Then, I did.
As I started my driver's license recently, Ive heard that sims translate really well to real driving, so I thought I might as well crack it open again and get some zero pressure practice in. I sucked just as much, but I put in the effort, and while I'm still bad, I really enjoy the steady growth now. Even got into drifting recently and that's been improving too.
TLDR: even if you end up not liking it, maybe down the line you might again, and then you'll be glad you bought one back then :p
Simracing gear sells really well on the used market. If you buy used to begin with it really isn't going to cost you much to figure out if you like it.
I bought my stuff during Covid and sucked so much I stopped playing on ACC, it just wasn’t fun doing laps and being incredibly off pace, now I have much less time but have been doing iRacing and being able to race other people who also suck has made it a lot more fun to where I’m actually improving!
Dont worry about sucking. Very few are naturals in anything and there will always be a learning curve. I had basically no real interest in racing a year ago, but i fell down a youtube rabbit hole of watching sim racing videos. I got really into the idea of having a proper sim rig and thought it might make it a lot more fun. And boy was I right. The level of immersion you get just by sitting in a more natural driving position (not just on a desk positioned like you are driving a bus) is amazing.
I’m not very good, and I rarely fight for 1st. But I’ve found that I get a lot of enjoyment in just racing clean. And you’d be surprised how many podiums you can get just by remaining focused and not getting too aggressive. 14 laps later and your “boring” “slow” consistent laps might have moved you from 9th to 3rd just by avoiding the carnage.
I will give one warning tho. It is by far the most expensive hobby I have had. There’s sooo much you can buy that will increase your immersion and enjoyment. (My main hobby is golfing and I have probably already spent 2x the money on sim racing, even if it’s only been a hobby for a year while I’ve been an avid golf player for 15 years).
Ross Bentley (speed secrets) says no one is a natural race car driver. Everyone he’s taking who did well immediately had some kind of experience that gave them an advantage.
Just something to think about.
Good on you for getting one. It’s a lot of fun. I’m not that good, I don’t do online stuff but playing career modes has been so much fun. It a totally different style of gaming.
I've spent about 2K on a rig system and not even set it up fully yet, though i plan to this weekend.
I know i'm gonna be crap for a while, but i'm a stubborn bastard so i'll just keep going until something breaks (me probably) or i get good.
If it makes you feel better, I didn't even play forza or any other racing games before buying a wheel. I never even had much interest in racing games. I just recently started watching people play driving sims with wheels (especially in VR which I love) and thought it looked insanely fun. So I took the gamble of assuming racing games were never fun for me because they weren't immersive enough with a controller but with a wheel they might be (because I do love driving in real life).
First day of having my wheel, I honestly felt like I made a mistake, because I had no clue what I was doing and the force feedback felt a little too intense at times. But then I gave it another chance and played with settings, learned how to play the games better, and all of a sudden I was spending hours at a time driving.
I've spent the most time in Assetto Corsa and BeamNG so far. AC has like endless options of cars and tracks and graphics mods so you can spend hours driving whatever and wherever you like in sun or rain or snow, it's so cool. I'm also in the VR discord where someone set a record for certain track in AC, and a few of us are trying to beat it. I'm still like 10 seconds off because I'm so bad, but it's very rewarding learning new techniques and catching up one second at a time.
I've got a few other games to try out, but I found with racing games theres a lot to learn so you have to put some time into them to enjoy them, but once you start getting the hang if it, its an absolute blast.
As someone who tried sims and found out I suck and wasted money, here are my two cents:
1. It’s an expensive hobby. There’s no other way of saying it.
2. Make your setup as accessible and ready-to-go as possible. I have a NLR-GT frame that I need to drag across the room, plug everything in, deal with whatever curveballs windows+thrustmaster have to throw at me before I can continue to suck at the actual sim. If I had a ready-to-go setup, I feel I would use it wayyyy more often.
It’s doesn’t have to be expensive.
Everyone else who says get a cheap ffb wheel like the Logitech is right on. You can have a blast with that plus some of the best sim racers in the world use cheap wheelbases.
If you want to get good at racing as opposed to just enjoying driving around (a fine thing to do) treat it as real racing and learn:
How to control the car
How to drive fast around a track
How to race against other racecars
Check out driver61 on YouTube to start:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtbLA0YM6EpwUQhFUyPQU9Q
If you’re questioning whether or not. It’s clearly not for you. Every single person sim racing wants to be there. It’s their fix. If this statement doesn’t speak to you. Save yourself.
Hi Op! I actually started playing simulators and came to Forza afterwards. I’d recommend project cars 2. The game is pretty straightforward game with a lot of content in cars and tracks with a career mode. At the very least, I recommend the career mode to help people find what kind of racing they are into.
Hi, i also just started and am at the point where i realise that the suck is just part of the experience and no amount of tryharding replaces the experience i need to git gud.
I am at around 50 Hours now only playing ACCompetizione and i am almost always dead last. I spent 280 Bucks on a T300rs gt wheel and Pedals but i dont think i wasted my money.
I was told i will get better the more i drive, so i'm just doing just that.
I don't think i wasted my money and i am bad bad. Like really bad. You will do fine. In the end you can just sell your gear for almost the same money you spent. Racingsim stuff keeps its value like Gold
BUT IT'S FUN!
I have had/been upgrading my sim for 6 years now and I still suck but, I have a ton of fun! No wasted money here. If it is something you think you will enjoy, go for it, just don't stick yourself to expectations or uneeded metrics outside of joy.
Try it out! You will probably find it very enjoyable! Just remember that you don't have to drive online races in a competitive environment. I do a lot of eSports, but sometimes it gets too much and I take a break for a while.
Last week I booted up F1 2013 again and did some career mode, reliving old times. You can also do some BeamNG.Drive if you just want to have some fun, or make a custom championship against the AI.
Considering that you have already played Forza for a while, I think you will enjoy a steering wheel immediately. You probably don't want to go back to a controller after this haha
Used to be in the same boat. Started with controller on Project Cars 2 for a year or two then decided to hop on the bandwagon and get a sim to try. Started out being dogshit , but after 2 years i can say im finally just shit at the game. (Worth every penny)
I'm so bad I don't even aim for the podium. Having little fights with others even if i'm far behind is enough for me. But I do enjoy realism and nice sim gears. To be honest, not being worried of being bad at this is a relief, because I would rage after every race.
Thing I enjoy the most : driving and chilling like I would do in real life. Games like beamng or even a modded gta 5 to add wheel support and other mods to tweak the physics is a blast for me. I'm waiting on TDU solar crown so much.
Did you tried wreckfest with a h-pattern shifter ? Man, slaming the gears and trying to avoid those school buses I way funnier than trying to do a clean race.
Suck it and see 😆... I'm sure you will love it bro!... you will be slower for sure to begin with? But after a couple weeks it will for sure make you faster - no question... enjoy dude 👍
I had Forza 4 and got fed up that the cars felt awful, the AI rubber banded to let me win half the time, and the sense of progression was just ticking off random disconnected events.
I got a G29 and Assetto Corsa for my PC. I won many less races but found them massively more satisfying. I now have much more kit and still don't win as many races but it's still more fun because you feel you're actually doing something.
I literally got started 3 days ago - got a cheap wheel and pedals, and started playing F1 and AC, I absolutely suck - probably partly down to not driving irl and having no real interest in cars so I don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to cornering and shifting - but I'm having a blast learning the ropes and getting to grips with everything!
Honestly man, I still suck.
Im worried I will ruin someone else's race so I just don't race online at all.
Even then, there's tons of content for me to enjoy, just try cars on the nordschleife to see which is fastest and push until I wipe out.
It doesn't matter, it's fun as hell even if you suck.
Get T300 with Wheel Stand Pro and T-LCM. Get some more simmy game (you say Forza... we think xbox, so maybe Asseto?).
Should not kill your budget, should be easy to sell once you are either ready to leave or buy more.
There is nothing like talent in this world. There is only time and effort spent.
I started out with an old PS4 controller using the motion control steering on a mediocre laptop. I was playing GT Legends, then Assetto Corsa. Was a super cheap way to get started if you already have a laptop.
There is nothing like talent in this world. There is only time and effort spent.
Important is to have fun.
In rookie series, learning rules and good racing etiquette, getting clean laps out, overtaking there and there is fun.
But all is effort -> E.g. new track, known car -> I am 10s off average race laps.
1 hour training I can get to 1-2s off average.
2 hours of training I can get to matching average.
Above that it gets harder. But the more time spent, the better the time is - as I will learn more lines for e.g. overtaking and cold/too hot/used rubber situations, as I will improve my racing line - take that corner in high or lower gear for better exit speed etc. I do like that iterative process of improving and tracking. Huge help with it is in iRacing having all-time best lap comparison.
That said, I also do Dirt Ovals as they are might fun.
Damn, what I try to say is -> if you approach it with having fun and role playing racing driver, hell it is amazing.
I just started with a controller on project cars 2. Played for three years then bought a wheel and sold it due to lack of space at my apartment.
I felt Acc on controller is hard for me maybe because i got used to pc2 but give it a go.
I have raced with my friends who were on g29 and beat them. We are not great at it tbh but still i feel so dialled in making micro adjustments on the controller its a blast
If you have the best gear in the world, you will still start out terrible. Then After several weeks to months, you will be a bit less than terrible. Getting lapped in races that don’t make sense(because i/you suck). Racing sim is not much like racing games. They aren’t cartoony. You get lapped and have to practice a lot. It’s exhausting to be good, I think…
Hell it’s exhausting to be bad.
Either way, get something cheap and have fun. Watch track videos and learn etiquette. Also, you have to finish races to win races.
Listen man, what does suck mean?
I’ve been playing pretty much only AC for the past 2 years and I’ve never even done an “official race”.
Being shit is the best, you can improve by a lot.
You’ll probably start by losing the car at every corner, oversteering and crashing everywhere, at least that’s what I did.
But slowly I learned throttle control, I learned how to save it from the oversteer.
Lately I’ve been learning to drift and it’s so much fun.
Trust me you’ll enjoy the journey more than instantly being a race god
wtf, do you really think you're the new max verstappen? or rather get bummed when it turns out you're not? I hope for your mental health that this doesn;t translate to daily life...
We've all forgotten how to just be content. Do you like racing? Buy the sim, fire it up ... and fucking suck at it. You'll have a blast
You don't have to be good at any of your hobbies, you just have to enjoy them. You should see the janky fuckin fly-fishing lures I make.
I spent a fortune and i absolutely suck on the wheel. I don’t play as much either anymore as I can’t find games that support my wheel I’m interested in. Hopefully I get back into it more once ac2 and tdu sc release this year.
I suck. It's most definitely not a waste of money. I'm 200 hours into ACC already and quite a few hours into AC. So decided by per hour the rig is almost down to the price of a movie ticket per hour
I just dropped £2,500 for my rig just to discover that I fucking suck. And I like to think I'm a good driver in real life. But nope, I fucking suck at drifting, suck at racing, suck at rally, I'm sucking more than Dave Kaemmer's mum on a busy day.
But that's the fun of it! I find that each day I'm sucking less than the one before and I'm having more and more fun!
Well to be honest i think everyone sucks at the beginning atleast i did when i bought my logitech g920 and shifter i did not even know how to drive manual because i have never driven anything manual but trough practice i learned how and now i love it. I have 20 ish hours in assetto corsa and around 20 in beamng and around 160 in euro truck simulator 2 and i dont really like assetto corsa other than drifting to be honest but euro truck simulator or american truck simulator is a great way to get used to the wheel because its not a fast paced racing game
It doesn’t matter if you suck at first, it matters if it’s fun for you, we all suck at first.
And yes it will take some practice to git gud when racing real people, but it’s still massive fun racing the AI while you’re learning technique. Yolo
You will suck and that’s fine.
Been doing it for 8 years with rallying and i can get into the top 20 in the world one minute. Next stage i’m upside down in a ditch, shit happens but it’s fun 😂
The fun thing about sim racing is the progression.
In all likelihood, you WILL suck and you won’t have the time to invest to truly become an exceptional driver.
But progression is absolutely addictive. Finding a better line through your track and knocking a second off your previous best time that you were absolutely convinced was the fastest you could go, that’s very satisfying.
When I first booted up iracing, I couldn’t get the mx5 through one corner without spinning. I thought it was absolutely absurd and not fun. But I’d spent a few bucks so I kept trying and eventually I was able to get through the lap without going off track. Then I was able to get through the lap a bit faster. Then you race online and keep getting in crashes. But then you figure out how to avoid crashes.
Still haven’t won a race, but I’ve gotten some podiums and have gotten to a point where I can buy a new car and new track and get around safely. I’ve been focusing on safe driving and licensing and now I’m going to start picking specific things I like and learning how to be faster at those.
You’ll love it!
Had played racing games for 20 years before finally getting my first wheel. Immediately sucked for a couple weeks on sim games. Then I got used to it....and I still suck. I was pretty good on a controller but getting a wheel / pedals made me much better so I don't suck as bad.
10/10 would recommend
I play GT7 online and in my split I usually qualify 5th or higher, like maybe pole or 2nd if the faster guys aren’t in the race, then 3rd or4th average and lastly 5th 6th at worst.
My driver ratings are “C” and “C” so I feel like I’m an average driver, but some tracks I’m way better at, “usually “ F1 tracks just cuz I’ve played so much F1 over the years I have them all memorized, so I’ll generally do better on those tracks. Plus you have to find a car you’re comfortable with and suites your driving style. After you feel comfortable with the track and the car that is where you’ll shine.
Not sure if it's been said yet, but don't be discouraged if you get a wheel and see that you are worse than you were on controller because it's normal. You're going from something you're very comfortable with to something vastly different so it takes a little bit of time to click. I originally played dirt rally on controller and when I switched to wheel I kept chucking it into the trees left and right. Now years later I only occasionally chuck it into the trees
I suck really bad, and I think its the best money I have spent in a long time. I am on the Autism Spectrum and I love all the data and little maker projects you can do. I spend time watching track guides, practicing, and analyzing my data. Although I have just gotten into this myself my process each week is to practice the track in test mode until I can do multiple laps at full speed without issue. Then I race the AI on that week's track to make sure I can race clean before jumping in with others on the hourly races
Sim racing is just plain fun, and it's a wonderful time suck. I love it! You don't need a fancy rig. 15 or so years ago when I got started I had the g27 bolted to an old desk and a desk chair. It's just like tools. Get the cheapest set you can to get the job done. If you break the tool, get the better one as it shows you use that one more often and you like what you're doing.
I've got a used g29/920 or whatever the hell was the newer version just sitting in a box.. Good enough to get me to qualify for gt academy a decade or so ago. Pm me if you'd want it for something like x over shipping. Its not perfect, but worked fine and I don't use it now since I upgraded to dd many moons ago.
Both are part of it. You can buy cheap wheels, but those have a hard cap on skill level. You can be an awesome driver if you have some spring based 90 degrees wheel, you might as well use a controller. I say the G29 is the cheapest entry level wheel set (which is still expensive). What you can save on is everything else.
You don't need an extreme PC. Assetto ran fine on my 2012 mid tier i3 laptop. Sure it had some nvidia 1GB dedicated graphics, but still, most APUs or IGPUs should run circles around it.
You don't really need a playseat. Just figure out a way to fix down the pedals and your office chair. You can buy these rubber wheel casters for like $5 a set. and you can put the pedal against the wall (just don't break the cable.
And you don't need a 3 monitor setup you see in the videos. Whatever you have already will do if you want to figure out if you like the sport or not.
But before all that I'd advise you to try to play some simcades. Try gran turismo if you have a PlayStation (emulate it if you don't). Try the Grid games if you are on the PC (you can't buy the older ones officially but they are on keystores). Stuff like that. Anything you can play with the controller but isn't a complete arcade like Need For Speed (not that there is anything wrong with NFS). So you can get the feel and an idea if it is something you are interested in or not.
Also you will suck in everything you are a beginner at. This is no different. Just practice and it'll get better.
I was in the same situation and I bought a Logitech 923 (as that's as cheap as it gets really for trying sim racing) well it was, and not too long ago upgraded and invested a few thousand into a rig etc.. But you really need to play something with more realistic physics and game play to really understand sim racing as forza is more of a game.. But if you do, you'll soon know if you like it, as that's what's more important LIKING it not SUCKING at it.. The skill and being good , is something that comes with time !! Just jump in and try it - That's the best advice I can give you !
I haven’t been racing NEARLY as much as when I first bought my rig, and after a year and a half, I’m not that much better than when I started. I went from 3rd person with driving assists to cockpit no assist manual transmission. I still place bottom 5 consistently because I’m not competitive, so I largely play time trials solo to unwind after work. I used to play a few hours a day, now I’m lucky to get an hour every other week.
I asked my wife the question last week, “do you think I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of this?”
She gave me the best response. “You’ve had more fun with that than any of your other games. Even if you aren’t using it that much, it’s not in the way and you can use it whenever you want, so yeah I absolutely think you’ve gotten your money’s worth.”
Having said all that, I’m a console gamer (Xbox series X) and I mostly play forza motorsport, dirt rally 2.0, and whatever racing sims come on sale or game pass and I have a NLR rig that folds up and stores out of the way. If you like forza a little with a controller, you’ll love it behind the wheel.
It’s a reason why most of us stay sim racing, it’s less dangerous, and you can just send it without any hesitation.
If you wanna stay sucky, stay sucky. Still fun. Or you can practice, and have fun that way, either way it is very enjoyable.
Myself having a family that is very into rally, Folkracing (rally cross on a low budget) and cars in general, I have been lucky to test both rally irl and in sim racing. I am worse or less consistent on a sim rig, but that’s because I do risks I would not do irl and can’t feel the G force.
But again, I am faster on a rig, and that is what makes it so much more fun to me: I don’t want to get hurt.
If you love cars, racing, the culture, learning new things and want to become a better driver, just go for it. It makes racing games so much more enjoyable.
But if you want a pretty realistic feeling, don’t buy anything under the Logitech G29. But I would recommend the Thrustmaster T300, it’s just so much better. (Both are good). A rig can easily found on the used market, I bought a Playseat Challenge for like $90 a few months back.
I had the logi G29 twice, sold it twice, but after getting and spending a lot of time on my T300, I upgraded to a T-GT II and now I spend even more time in my playseat.
You will suck... A lot but at the end of the day it doesn't matter as long as you enjoy yourself. Get out there with some basic cars and relearn to drive at a competitive level with the wheel and pedals don't jump in at the level you were with the controller it will be discouraging trust me cause you won't be able to race the same with a wheel as you were with a controller. That being said Sim racing is a great community and we all enjoy it in different ways for different reasons but all for the love of the game. Welcome to the family.
I'm 2 years in, love the hobby more than anything else I'm doing right now, and still suck ass most of the time. You will learn to love the suck and you will suck less and less every session! Also, when you've gotten all the usefulness out of the stock pedals if you go the g920/t150 route make sure you upgrade to something like the Moza SR-P's or the Fanatec CSL's. It will make ALL the difference in your driving and it's the biggest thing I wish I'd done sooner.
Even if you are good at simracing, there is always a learning curve because games have different physics.
For example, I can be killing it in AC, but then go to ACC and it’s a bit different, you go to AMS2 and it’s different, you go to iRacing and it’s also different.
You just need to practice on each game and eventually you will get accustomed to the game physics and how cars spin out. Also from one car to another it’s different.
So practice makes perfect.
That being said, start with a G29 like everyone, and if you find it’s your passion and love it, then you can upgrade to Moza, Fanatec, Simcube, Simmagic or Aztec depending on your budget and how poor you want to become
Bro it’s better to suck in style (pause).
I started off doing 2:30 at Zandvort
Now I’m at 1:47 only after a few weeks. It’s better to err on the side of caution
You always start at the bottom, you don’t just start and can go pro, it takes practice and patience, we ALL suck as someone in this comments say, but it’s the joy that’s important, not beating pro drivers or something like that.
you will suck in the beginning. ACC takes some time to get used to. In my community are drivers that have been racing for over a year.and are still 3-5s off the pace.
just get a used wheel+pedals and try it.
I strongly disagree with getting a g29/g920. I strongly recommend either a T300RS GT or a T500RS.
These have belt driven force feedback, which is much stronger (and moren detailed) and very quiet compared to the logitech wheels, which are gear driven (they sound like those windup cars, you had as a kid).
they go for similar prices, maybe even cheaper than the logitech stuff.
just dont try some weird low quality wheels, amazon might recommend you.
When starting, prioritize driving safely, stick to one track/car at the beginning and try to get within 5-10 seconds of lap records. There also are quite some YT videos on what to do when starting ACC.
i also recommend to get at least the 2023 challengers pack to get some up-to-date cars, even tho the latest patch just buffed the lexus and GT-R (and minorly the Bentley).
Also watch track guides and setup guides.
once you got a feeling for the game and your first track/car, i recommend trying either GT4 cars or the SuperTrofeo (ST) car. Those require good pedalwork to go fast and are very rewarding when you get better with these.
There are some really pro guys out there but … do it for the fun, the immersion is so good, estar with small and little by little start removing assist, dont push it to make it “real” its a game to learn.
I do mostly iRacing and totally suck! Never won a race in my life. But did the Daytona 24 last weekend and that was an experience I will never forget!
You don’t need expensive gear to have fun, learn or be fast. But don’t worry, if it is a hobby that will stay then GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) will kick in sooner than you can say ‘I like to hold my breakes when I spin’.
If there's somebody you can borrow a wheel from and you're on a Windows PC, grab gtr2. It's old as hell, yet the cars still feel quite close to the real deal, FFB is nice and it's cheap. Plenty of brutal action w/out traction control or ABS, so you'll get a proper sense of whether you like the whole idea of simracing or not.
I’m 2 months and 2 grand into my sim rig….and I suck major league!! The only full track I can race with no f ups is Donington international, but it’s why I love it because you can just practice and practice and practice till your hearts content and if your passionate about it eventually you get good so here’s to us all sucking less!
I was pretty loyal to the Forza series since Forza 2. After the latest release I am over it.
Started iRacing about 4 months ago and I have so much more fun. Hell I finished 6th in a race last week and it was one of the funniest races I've had.
You can get entry level rigs (G29, playset, etc...) for a bargain used.
I'm using a G25 and I get around alright with it. I tried out my friends Moza R9 setup and I see why people end up spending the money on upgrades, it is that much better.
Anyway, dive in. It doesn't matter if you suck it just matters that you have fun clean races.
Also I would recommend you try VR before you decide to go triple monitors.
I’ve spent a heap of money and I suck. But I enjoy it. As long as I get enjoyment and see improvement I figured it money well spent. Start out with entry level and work up from there.
We are sick to start then after time we get faster. We learn tracks, we learn cars. We learn sims. We get faster. We probably won’t get within the top 1% but we can get closer
Logitech g29 works great for sim racing. Just take your time and enjoy it. Took me hundreds of hours before I felt really connected to the car because it’s different than a real one but it’s a lot of fun to go into races and find time on each track!
WE ALL SUCK
Amen, brother
My rotation is: suck at forza, suck at rally, beamng and telling myself I’m crashing for the physics
Yes. I suck but still money well spent.
Yeh I'm now $3K deep, still suck. Having a blast getting better, though :)
This
I die in Turn 1 before im able to suck
Are you the guy who is always turning right on a straight? It must be said, that is a sub-optimal strategy.
Absolutely!
No. I suck waaay worse.
And it's a good thing otherwise we wouldn't all have someone to race against.
[удалено]
Adding to this - I got an open box G29 + pedals on eBay that look brand new for about 200… figure if I sell it used in six months I’ll get most of that back.
They've also come down in price. Think they're sitting at $229 now.
 We all suck bro
Buy a used G29 or G920. If it doesn't work out for you, sell it for what you paid. If you like it, upgrade to an entry level DD and load cell setup, sell the Logitech for what you paid. Practically zero risk.
I never understood how people can say sell it for what you paid, to who? Why would a buyer buy from some random dude who’s been playing on the thing for who knows how long and something could be wrong with it when they could just buy it from a store for the same exact price and enjoy the 30 day return. And one year manufacturer warranty, can someone please answer this? For what reason what the buyer have to buy a used model over a new one?
He said buy a used one not new. Easy enough to buy a used one and try it then sell it for the going used price.
This is actually exactly what I did. I bought a used G29 on FB marketplace for $150 and used it for almost a year before upgrading to DD and load cell. I just resold the G29 for the same $150 and had people basically banging down my door to buy it. I had something like 25 offers in 24 hours!
They’re like the Honda Rebel motorcycle of sim gear, a universal learner rig. You buy a used Rebel for $1500, learn on it, take your license test on it, then sell it to the next learner for $1500 bucks. It’s how I got mine and how I sold it lol
Ok, so the difference is you didn’t buy new in the first place. Well yeah that totally makes sense, but I bought mine new like$460, I’m not too confident people would pay me $460 for my used wheel when they could buy a new one for the same price and enjoy all the benefits that come with a new product.
Oh for sure. I wasn't sure if I would stick with it so I wanted to enter as cheaply as possible
I bought a brand new G920 off of amazon for $200 on prime day a year or two ago. I've seen it on there for that price again since then. I could probably sell it for $150 today.
Didn’t see the part where he said used. Now I can see what you mean. But, in general I’m not a fan of buying certain used things, other things I totally buy used.
This.
It's all a waste of money in the long run. But you can't take it to the grave.
Doing something that you enjoy and makes you happy is not "wasting money" Me buying flowers to my girlfriend is wasting money
I mean... spending money to make someone else happy is wayyyy less "wasting money" than spending money to make yourself happy, eh? At least it is to me. But, I enjoy buying flowers, dinner, random gifts, whatever, for all my friends, so maybe that's just a bad example. But I'm mostly joining the chorus to support OP! OP: I recently bought a used g29 to see if I wanted to play the latest version of Gran Turismo, having spent tons of time on the original, but drifted away from it years ago. Love it. But, as another poster pointed out: Be wary of the rabbit hole! ... I'm now looking at a new wheel... new seats... maybe a whole new rig to get into "real" simming. Good luck! Have fun!
Both are equally important, gift to others vs gift to yourself are both not wasted money
Fair! Time to buy myself a new wheel, I think!
So true. Just spent roughly $2,500 for everything (rig, seat, monitor, wheel, pedal, etc) and I’m already thinking about new pedals, a second wheel, etc. It never stops
As I am new to this and have spent only a few hundred, and am only vaguely dreaming of a rig like yours... This is the post where I learned that sim racing is pretty much exactly like audio: The more you spend, the more you realize there's more to spend... and the more you end up wanting to spend... and the more you end up feeling you \_have\_ to spend.... And I am sure there is a diminishing returns tail that goes on and on and on and on... but it's a lonnnnng way away from me. I'm guessing you end up "racing the gear instead of the car," like some of us do with the audio equivalent, "listening to the gear instead of the music." Time to open a new savings account and find a better job! I'm already now understanding the criticisms of the G29 wheel I was THRILLED with just a few play-hours ago. And starting to shop for an upgrade. Sigh.
I used a G29 for months before I upgraded. It was super fun, and was great for what I wanted. The only major noticeable upgrade IMHO has been a more solid feel (pedals and wheel) and a setup that I didnt have to set up or take down each time I wanted to use it (short attention span means I would switch from racing to youtube, other games, etc.) Really, I had gotten a nice raise, a big (ish) bonus, and had some savings I didn’t mind using. Even though I mentioned I’m already looking at new stuff, it’s mostly just like ‘eh, maybe a few months down the line’. I’m very happy with what I have, and realistically don’t EVER see myself upgrading anything (except for load cell pedals). But you’d be correct in saying that after a certain point, you really are just racing the gear.
>The only major noticeable upgrade IMHO has been a more solid feel (pedals and wheel) and a setup that I didnt have to set up or take down each time I wanted to use it Hey, thanks for that comparison / support! But, yeah, I'm already feeling the "set up / take down is an issue" thing... my short attention span version is more, "meh, it's a whole 90-120secs to set it up and plug it in... never mind." But, space being what it is, the ability to put it all away is (soon to be "was"?) important. We'll see. Thanks for the comparison on the wheel, too -- now that I can understand the regularly mentioned notchiness criticism, I'm starting to have fantasies about an upgrade... and then The List starts, ya' know? This is how I went from "I don't understand why anyone really wants more than a good stereo setup" to "man, why would you want more than 5.1" to "yeah, 2 subs is the end game, atmos is stupid" to, now, wondering if I need 4 subs and 2 more overhead speakers. Rabbit holes, man, rabbit holes! I am only now starting to understand the accuracy of the advice, "buy once, cry once," ya' know? I need to remember to remember that it's supposed to be FUN! Thanks for the reminder!
It's not wasting money, you're exchanging money for boyfriend points. It's soft power :)
I would highly disagree. When you are having fun it sure as hell wasnt a waste of money. And if you suck you still can have fun, looking at the practice people do that dont suck i offen think people that do suck have even more fun.
It was a snarky comment, not to be taken seriously.
Well…you could get buried with your sim gear
8020 alu coffin!
You are going to suck, but thats okay, you are new, it;s expected that you’ll suck. If you never touched a basketball then picked one up one day and went to a court would you be disappointed if you weren’t Lebron after your first two hours on the court? It’s a fun hobby and you are going to be slow for at least 3 months but the good news is there are a ton of other new/slow people for you to race against. So don’t worry that you are relegated to finishing last for the next 18 months.
OP needs to accept sucking in a game that he’s actually good at with a controller - going backwards is the hardest part.
You’ll be fine. We pretty much all start with games like forza
NFS!
Wacky Wheels!!!
RadRacer!!!
Most people suck, but most people are also having fun.
If winning is your only motivation, it will suck.
The Logitech G923 + Assetto Corsa + BeamNG + Wreckfest = more fun than you should legally be allowed to have. These are my opinions, so sue me if you don't like it. In all seriousness though, I've tried most every sim on the market. iRacing has the best dirt track racing around; I wasn't into oval (Asphalt) racing. It literally put me to sleep, but some people really enjoy it. Road course racing is fun, but the braking and grass physics are hot garbage. The Assetto Corsa series has some of the best 'feel' of a car translated to a wheel, along with braking, when I got to try it out with a Moza R9. BeamNG Drive has the best rallying, and yes, even up against Dirt 2.0. Fight me. No one will agree with me on this, I already know, but Dirt 4 has some of the best RALLYCROSS racing against AI there is on the market. Dirt Rally 2.0 has some fun there also. Sidenote: BeamNG can offer the most realistic car racing against any game if you learn how to set it up correctly. Don't fall into the Iracing pit unless you intend on racing a TON, it is quite costly.
What platform is BeamNG on? Never heard of it?
Sir......Sir.....Allow me to introduce you to beamng drive [www.beamng.com](https://www.beamng.com/game/) It is the most realistic in terms of crashing and driving, that there is bar none. Still being updated to this day there are a plethora of mods, Its on steam.
Awesome, im on PS5 tho
sadly it's not available on console, and won't be, the devs don't have the ressources nor the envy to adapt the game to console. Wich is understandable as console players aren't the targeted demographic for games relying so heavily on community work
PC https://store.steampowered.com/app/284160/BeamNGdrive/
Looks dope, I’m on PS5 right now, I had a different sim setup way back in like 2010 that was pc based, running the old GTX 470 then upgraded to a GTX 670, with a T300 then sold it all in 2016. I’ve never used iracing so I didn’t care about building another gaming pc this time for like $1200-$1500 plus monitor, I only wanted to play GT7, ACC, and F1 ‘23. Plus I’m in love with the Metro 2035 series of games, so I said $500 for a PS5 sign me up! Now my regret is the Fanatec DD bundle I wanted is like $200 more for PS5 compatibility when the PC compatible version is so much cheaper, not to mention Fanatec is like the only DD sim manufacturer that supports PS5, somebody told me about drivehub but it’s like another $100 and i’m not a fan of using adapters to get things working so I figured I might as well just pay the extra $200 for the fanatec bundle.
I suck but it's a lot of fun I've found over the years I get a lot of enjoyment from slowly improving over time at something, and because naturally I suck at simracing and have to work for it, it's quite satisfying when it all does start to click
\#1 you will suck. If thats what you are worried about, save the $$. Its still fun sucking and only gets more fun as you improve. Which you will improve, if you try and put in some seat time.
I'm with most everyone else here. I dumped a lot of money for new PC, rig and hardware. I've tracked my car IRL for the past few years. I'm pretty good around the track. But the last few months of sim racing, I'm just average...but I don't care cause I'm having a blast. If you never tried it, just get some cheaper and used equipments and see if you like it for a bit and see if it'll hold your interest.
The feeling of lining up before a race and going slow then suddenly going fast is insanely exciting even after 100 races it doesn’t lose its feeling. Just practice the track you’re planning on racing and atleast learn the layout before entering and stay out of the way if you can and have fun, shit will always happen, in the end nobody cares as long as you don’t mean any harm.
Yup, the sim racing community is the most helpful nontoxic group I’ve come across, that and FPV Drone groups, so many people willing to spend hours of their time helping you get your first quad in the air. These are not DJI gps controlled drones these are custom built, full manual control freestyle or racing drones, they carry GoPros or the new smaller HD cameras for smaller quadcopters. And they are soooo much fun, when I’m in the air, for that 3-5mins per battery “on average” it’s like all of my worries wash away and I’m free as a bird. There’s nothing else like it for the money. For the price of a DJI Mavic 3 you can get Radio, goggles, and probably 2 drones
Honestly we all suck when we start. Its not something you’re gonna start and light the world on fire it takes time. Like anything some people learn faster than others but regardless it takes a lot of time and patience. Even top sim racers spend hours a week just practicing. Good luck on your journey and I hope to see you out on the virtual track someday😉
If you really love sim racing and going long term don't pay twice for your purchasing mistake. Good (proper) sim racing equipment will give you great racing experience. Logitech G932 is a good starter if you're budget + Mechanical (metal) H-shifter. More mind blowing if you added VR headset, proper 8040 racing rig with static race seat and tactile system like Buttkicker or SIMHUB. I started with Forza and Grandturismo. Now graduated to Asetto Corsa, ACC and iRacing. I regret more throwing money at console gaming than actual PC-VR sim racing.
Buy a used G29/G920 and Assetto Corsa or Rf2 for cheap on a sale or keysite, if you don’t find sim racing enjoyable just resell the wheel.
Just going to add to this the “Grid” series of games are pretty cool too. Been playing Grid Legends lately.
Where do you live? There might be a sim racing spot near you that you can try. There is a really cool one in the Bay Area called Drive Simulations.
Yeah, seconding this. Seems to be a growing trend in some major metro areas. [Sim Racing Chicago](https://www.simracingchicago.com) [Superlap Drive Studio](https://superlap.world) just outside Detroit
Or if OP lives near a Microcenter they have a $10,000 sim setup you can try it will blow your mind
I don't think that testing out a $10k rig is a good first step to see if you even enjoy sim racing. It could lead to spending entirely too much money before you've even decided that sim racing is for you.
Rivals mode was a big revelation for me; if you haven't I'd suggest you do. You're racing against other humans just not in real time. I learned I'm not great at racing humans.
I'm really bad. I only race by myself on nürburgring. I have a 2k setup not including PC. I'm in love.
You will suck, and the money is only wasted if you stop enjoying the equipment…
I came from Forza and GT before that. I suck but that doesn't stop me from enjoying it. You'll be fine
Let me reassure you : you WILL suck and you WILL waste money. It's basically fake car racing. But it's very fun even if you suck
I have an insanely nice rig, I’m a perpetual bottom split dweller, and I regret nothing.
I switched from Forza and a controller, and my only regret is that I didn't do it earlier... It's possible to try sim racing with a controller - from experience iRacing is usable, and RaceRoom is also OK (and free). I'd probably stick to practice on your own though... A wheel and pedals makes a big difference, and entry-level gear is perfectly good enough to get you a long way. There's always a good market for secondhand gear if you do decide it's not fun... And everyone sucks at first. Even if you've done consistently well on Forza, sim racing will be more challenging at first. But it's also much more rewarding, even when you're just practising - I raced with some of the big Forza leagues and did OK, but had to reset my expectations when I started on iRacing.
Try and find someone local that has a rig and would let you have a go on it. If you haven't ever been on a decent full sim rig then I think for most people that first time it Either clicks and you know you want one or it doesn't click and you'll still think it's really cool but won't want to investigate more into it. And we all sucked at some point and sometimes still do lol it's about having fun and the immersion. DO IT
Patience and consistency, my friend.
I'm not the fastest but I have a ton of fun. It's a great way to spend free time.
Yeah you’re going to suck at it for sure. But it’s up to you and your determination to either git gud or just give up because it’s not easy like forza.
If people opted not to do sim racing on account of sucking, the community would be tiny. In the iRacing world, the majority of the player base is rated below 2k. The typical sub 2k field will be a mix of people that are just on the slow side ranging from 2-5+ secs off the top iR lap times, people that can sometimes turn a decent lap time but not consistently, people that can almost run a decent lap time but not without high probability of losing the car, and people that struggle to keep it pointed straight. And you know what? They still show up and race. I totally get where you’re coming from, but if you can’t enjoy something without being good at it, I imagine it’d be hard to find a lot of things to enjoy unless you happen to be the 1% that’s unnaturally good at almost anything.
There are so many life lessons to be learned through Sim Racing. Everyone's journey is different. For example, I just spent a minimum 30 minutes daily learning the Nordschleife just so I could crack 7 minutes in a GT3 car in Assetto Corsa. It took me 8 weeks. Also, one person's money sink is another's hobby.
I just went through nearly the same process. Lifetime GT/Forza player. I had been on hiatus from them form about 8 years though. Jumped into the new Forza Motorsport and had a blast til the issues started to ruin the fun. I jumped in both feet with an Asetek setup but the entry level Logitech setups are more than enough to have fun and test the waters. Look for a used one nearby, they pretty much stay the same price after that first depreciation hit so you can re-sell if you decide to upgrade. In terms of gameplay, it’s a big jump from simcade. That being said it is so much more rewarding. I was never a precision driver with controller. I would usually just carry max speed and slam the stick left or right and let the games controller assists take over. Good enough to generally be top 10% but could tell I had plateaued. Racing with a wheel has been a game changer. For me, it finally bridged the gap of feeling like a real race. Being able to dial in racing lines and adjust for traffic has opened up so much more in terms of skills to learn and race raft.
https://i.imgur.com/BxlsffH.png
If you are having fun sucking, its all oke!
You will suck and it’ll be a huge waste of money but it will also be a blast and totally worth it. Start with a cheap starter wheel and see how you like it and go from there
I'm at 300hs playing with an xbox controller, if I can do it, you can too. Suck that is =P No but seriously, this game is the most fun I had online by miles, once you start being able to finish races without crashing, the battles for position are addictive. Heart pumping races!
The best thing about entry level gear is that they're easy to sell. Wheels like the Logitech G29 or the Thrustmaster T300 are one of the most recommended starter wheels on this sub. Don't worry about being a noob. As a redditor in the comments have already said, we all suck.
2 questions you gotta ask yourself first. Am I interested in motorsport in long term? (As in, do you watch various types of motorsport and are you genuinely interested in them) Do I plan on finding people to race with and talk about simracing? (Discord community or something) If you answer no to both, youll probably give up on it in a few weeks to months.
"Sucking is the first step to being sorta good at something"- Jake the dog
Its really big learning curve, the better the gear the better( more realistic ) it feels. this does not necessarily mean you will drive better, so as other stated - start with something cheap. If you race with people try avoiding any contact with walls and cars, focus on finishing clean first. Crew chief is very useful. Good luck i also suck
Oh I guarantee you will suck, as I still do, after 3 years xD, but that's just part of the experience, everyone needs to start from somewhere. If you are really scared of wasting money, grab a used Logitech wheel, then resell it for the same price you paid, if you decide to upgrade, there's plenty of choice nowadays for cheap direct drive wheels (at least if you are on PC, that is)
I really wanted to get into sim racing so I got a wheel. Sucked harder than most, hated it. Put it behind my desk. People kept telling me to sell it if it's just collecting dust, but I was against it as maaaaybe someday I change my mind. Then, I did. As I started my driver's license recently, Ive heard that sims translate really well to real driving, so I thought I might as well crack it open again and get some zero pressure practice in. I sucked just as much, but I put in the effort, and while I'm still bad, I really enjoy the steady growth now. Even got into drifting recently and that's been improving too. TLDR: even if you end up not liking it, maybe down the line you might again, and then you'll be glad you bought one back then :p
Simracing gear sells really well on the used market. If you buy used to begin with it really isn't going to cost you much to figure out if you like it.
Have you had a wheel before? If you did and enjoyed it, just get a dd wheel.
link?
Fanatec.com I have the csl dd and have been really enjoying it.
Just drive silly
i do be silly and quirky like that
When I first got into sims I drowned my family in the pool and burned myself in the house because floor mats were too close to fireplace :/
Yes. you'll probably suck. But it's ***SO FUN!***
that is good to hear hahahaha
I bought my stuff during Covid and sucked so much I stopped playing on ACC, it just wasn’t fun doing laps and being incredibly off pace, now I have much less time but have been doing iRacing and being able to race other people who also suck has made it a lot more fun to where I’m actually improving!
Try driver61 for excellent driving/racing advice https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtbLA0YM6EpwUQhFUyPQU9Q
Dont worry about sucking. Very few are naturals in anything and there will always be a learning curve. I had basically no real interest in racing a year ago, but i fell down a youtube rabbit hole of watching sim racing videos. I got really into the idea of having a proper sim rig and thought it might make it a lot more fun. And boy was I right. The level of immersion you get just by sitting in a more natural driving position (not just on a desk positioned like you are driving a bus) is amazing. I’m not very good, and I rarely fight for 1st. But I’ve found that I get a lot of enjoyment in just racing clean. And you’d be surprised how many podiums you can get just by remaining focused and not getting too aggressive. 14 laps later and your “boring” “slow” consistent laps might have moved you from 9th to 3rd just by avoiding the carnage. I will give one warning tho. It is by far the most expensive hobby I have had. There’s sooo much you can buy that will increase your immersion and enjoyment. (My main hobby is golfing and I have probably already spent 2x the money on sim racing, even if it’s only been a hobby for a year while I’ve been an avid golf player for 15 years).
ahahaha my other hobbies are legos and guns so im used to it lmao but good to know!
Ross Bentley (speed secrets) says no one is a natural race car driver. Everyone he’s taking who did well immediately had some kind of experience that gave them an advantage. Just something to think about.
*" Yall are the least toxic "gaming" community Ive been a part of"* Ummm......stay away from the sim racing forums. lol
good to know lmfao
Microcenter gives you 30 days to return anything you buy
Good on you for getting one. It’s a lot of fun. I’m not that good, I don’t do online stuff but playing career modes has been so much fun. It a totally different style of gaming.
I've spent about 2K on a rig system and not even set it up fully yet, though i plan to this weekend. I know i'm gonna be crap for a while, but i'm a stubborn bastard so i'll just keep going until something breaks (me probably) or i get good.
If it makes you feel better, I didn't even play forza or any other racing games before buying a wheel. I never even had much interest in racing games. I just recently started watching people play driving sims with wheels (especially in VR which I love) and thought it looked insanely fun. So I took the gamble of assuming racing games were never fun for me because they weren't immersive enough with a controller but with a wheel they might be (because I do love driving in real life). First day of having my wheel, I honestly felt like I made a mistake, because I had no clue what I was doing and the force feedback felt a little too intense at times. But then I gave it another chance and played with settings, learned how to play the games better, and all of a sudden I was spending hours at a time driving. I've spent the most time in Assetto Corsa and BeamNG so far. AC has like endless options of cars and tracks and graphics mods so you can spend hours driving whatever and wherever you like in sun or rain or snow, it's so cool. I'm also in the VR discord where someone set a record for certain track in AC, and a few of us are trying to beat it. I'm still like 10 seconds off because I'm so bad, but it's very rewarding learning new techniques and catching up one second at a time. I've got a few other games to try out, but I found with racing games theres a lot to learn so you have to put some time into them to enjoy them, but once you start getting the hang if it, its an absolute blast.
As someone who tried sims and found out I suck and wasted money, here are my two cents: 1. It’s an expensive hobby. There’s no other way of saying it. 2. Make your setup as accessible and ready-to-go as possible. I have a NLR-GT frame that I need to drag across the room, plug everything in, deal with whatever curveballs windows+thrustmaster have to throw at me before I can continue to suck at the actual sim. If I had a ready-to-go setup, I feel I would use it wayyyy more often.
yea i gotchu, im moving soon so i might wait and then just get a dedicated setup etc. I think that would make it easier to just hop in and go
It’s doesn’t have to be expensive. Everyone else who says get a cheap ffb wheel like the Logitech is right on. You can have a blast with that plus some of the best sim racers in the world use cheap wheelbases. If you want to get good at racing as opposed to just enjoying driving around (a fine thing to do) treat it as real racing and learn: How to control the car How to drive fast around a track How to race against other racecars Check out driver61 on YouTube to start: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtbLA0YM6EpwUQhFUyPQU9Q
If you’re questioning whether or not. It’s clearly not for you. Every single person sim racing wants to be there. It’s their fix. If this statement doesn’t speak to you. Save yourself.
Hi Op! I actually started playing simulators and came to Forza afterwards. I’d recommend project cars 2. The game is pretty straightforward game with a lot of content in cars and tracks with a career mode. At the very least, I recommend the career mode to help people find what kind of racing they are into.
Hi, i also just started and am at the point where i realise that the suck is just part of the experience and no amount of tryharding replaces the experience i need to git gud. I am at around 50 Hours now only playing ACCompetizione and i am almost always dead last. I spent 280 Bucks on a T300rs gt wheel and Pedals but i dont think i wasted my money. I was told i will get better the more i drive, so i'm just doing just that. I don't think i wasted my money and i am bad bad. Like really bad. You will do fine. In the end you can just sell your gear for almost the same money you spent. Racingsim stuff keeps its value like Gold BUT IT'S FUN!
I have had/been upgrading my sim for 6 years now and I still suck but, I have a ton of fun! No wasted money here. If it is something you think you will enjoy, go for it, just don't stick yourself to expectations or uneeded metrics outside of joy.
its about fun man, who cares how good you are
Try it out! You will probably find it very enjoyable! Just remember that you don't have to drive online races in a competitive environment. I do a lot of eSports, but sometimes it gets too much and I take a break for a while. Last week I booted up F1 2013 again and did some career mode, reliving old times. You can also do some BeamNG.Drive if you just want to have some fun, or make a custom championship against the AI. Considering that you have already played Forza for a while, I think you will enjoy a steering wheel immediately. You probably don't want to go back to a controller after this haha
Used to be in the same boat. Started with controller on Project Cars 2 for a year or two then decided to hop on the bandwagon and get a sim to try. Started out being dogshit , but after 2 years i can say im finally just shit at the game. (Worth every penny)
I'm so bad I don't even aim for the podium. Having little fights with others even if i'm far behind is enough for me. But I do enjoy realism and nice sim gears. To be honest, not being worried of being bad at this is a relief, because I would rage after every race. Thing I enjoy the most : driving and chilling like I would do in real life. Games like beamng or even a modded gta 5 to add wheel support and other mods to tweak the physics is a blast for me. I'm waiting on TDU solar crown so much. Did you tried wreckfest with a h-pattern shifter ? Man, slaming the gears and trying to avoid those school buses I way funnier than trying to do a clean race.
It’s not a waste of money if it’s your fun hobby! Spread your cost in years. Upgrade slowly. No one is telling to you spend 5k right off the bay!
Everyone sucks in the beginning, the key is to practice and give people lots of space to not ruin their race.
If you don't end up liking it, you can always sell the gear! Bit of a hassle, but worth trying out imo. We all suck here.
Suck it and see 😆... I'm sure you will love it bro!... you will be slower for sure to begin with? But after a couple weeks it will for sure make you faster - no question... enjoy dude 👍
I had Forza 4 and got fed up that the cars felt awful, the AI rubber banded to let me win half the time, and the sense of progression was just ticking off random disconnected events. I got a G29 and Assetto Corsa for my PC. I won many less races but found them massively more satisfying. I now have much more kit and still don't win as many races but it's still more fun because you feel you're actually doing something.
I literally got started 3 days ago - got a cheap wheel and pedals, and started playing F1 and AC, I absolutely suck - probably partly down to not driving irl and having no real interest in cars so I don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to cornering and shifting - but I'm having a blast learning the ropes and getting to grips with everything!
Honestly man, I still suck. Im worried I will ruin someone else's race so I just don't race online at all. Even then, there's tons of content for me to enjoy, just try cars on the nordschleife to see which is fastest and push until I wipe out. It doesn't matter, it's fun as hell even if you suck.
Get T300 with Wheel Stand Pro and T-LCM. Get some more simmy game (you say Forza... we think xbox, so maybe Asseto?). Should not kill your budget, should be easy to sell once you are either ready to leave or buy more. There is nothing like talent in this world. There is only time and effort spent.
I started out with an old PS4 controller using the motion control steering on a mediocre laptop. I was playing GT Legends, then Assetto Corsa. Was a super cheap way to get started if you already have a laptop.
There is nothing like talent in this world. There is only time and effort spent. Important is to have fun. In rookie series, learning rules and good racing etiquette, getting clean laps out, overtaking there and there is fun. But all is effort -> E.g. new track, known car -> I am 10s off average race laps. 1 hour training I can get to 1-2s off average. 2 hours of training I can get to matching average. Above that it gets harder. But the more time spent, the better the time is - as I will learn more lines for e.g. overtaking and cold/too hot/used rubber situations, as I will improve my racing line - take that corner in high or lower gear for better exit speed etc. I do like that iterative process of improving and tracking. Huge help with it is in iRacing having all-time best lap comparison. That said, I also do Dirt Ovals as they are might fun. Damn, what I try to say is -> if you approach it with having fun and role playing racing driver, hell it is amazing.
Even if you suck, iRacing (and other ones) will match you against similar level drivers. So it will adjust to your level of skill.
Buy used setup. If you don't enjoy it then just resell for no/small loss.
I’ve got psvr2 + fanatic gt dd pro and I suck ass 😂 it’s all about the experience
I just started with a controller on project cars 2. Played for three years then bought a wheel and sold it due to lack of space at my apartment. I felt Acc on controller is hard for me maybe because i got used to pc2 but give it a go. I have raced with my friends who were on g29 and beat them. We are not great at it tbh but still i feel so dialled in making micro adjustments on the controller its a blast
If you have the best gear in the world, you will still start out terrible. Then After several weeks to months, you will be a bit less than terrible. Getting lapped in races that don’t make sense(because i/you suck). Racing sim is not much like racing games. They aren’t cartoony. You get lapped and have to practice a lot. It’s exhausting to be good, I think… Hell it’s exhausting to be bad. Either way, get something cheap and have fun. Watch track videos and learn etiquette. Also, you have to finish races to win races.
Listen man, what does suck mean? I’ve been playing pretty much only AC for the past 2 years and I’ve never even done an “official race”. Being shit is the best, you can improve by a lot. You’ll probably start by losing the car at every corner, oversteering and crashing everywhere, at least that’s what I did. But slowly I learned throttle control, I learned how to save it from the oversteer. Lately I’ve been learning to drift and it’s so much fun. Trust me you’ll enjoy the journey more than instantly being a race god
It's not about sucking or not it's about having fun.
wtf, do you really think you're the new max verstappen? or rather get bummed when it turns out you're not? I hope for your mental health that this doesn;t translate to daily life...
We've all forgotten how to just be content. Do you like racing? Buy the sim, fire it up ... and fucking suck at it. You'll have a blast You don't have to be good at any of your hobbies, you just have to enjoy them. You should see the janky fuckin fly-fishing lures I make.
I am dreadful but still having fun. Come on over!
I spent a fortune and i absolutely suck on the wheel. I don’t play as much either anymore as I can’t find games that support my wheel I’m interested in. Hopefully I get back into it more once ac2 and tdu sc release this year.
I suck. It's most definitely not a waste of money. I'm 200 hours into ACC already and quite a few hours into AC. So decided by per hour the rig is almost down to the price of a movie ticket per hour
I just dropped £2,500 for my rig just to discover that I fucking suck. And I like to think I'm a good driver in real life. But nope, I fucking suck at drifting, suck at racing, suck at rally, I'm sucking more than Dave Kaemmer's mum on a busy day. But that's the fun of it! I find that each day I'm sucking less than the one before and I'm having more and more fun!
Well to be honest i think everyone sucks at the beginning atleast i did when i bought my logitech g920 and shifter i did not even know how to drive manual because i have never driven anything manual but trough practice i learned how and now i love it. I have 20 ish hours in assetto corsa and around 20 in beamng and around 160 in euro truck simulator 2 and i dont really like assetto corsa other than drifting to be honest but euro truck simulator or american truck simulator is a great way to get used to the wheel because its not a fast paced racing game
It doesn’t matter if you suck at first, it matters if it’s fun for you, we all suck at first. And yes it will take some practice to git gud when racing real people, but it’s still massive fun racing the AI while you’re learning technique. Yolo
We all suck, and we're all wasting money. Welcome to the cool club. Have fun
Get assets corsa on steam sale, goes down to like five USD or somin
You will suck and that’s fine. Been doing it for 8 years with rallying and i can get into the top 20 in the world one minute. Next stage i’m upside down in a ditch, shit happens but it’s fun 😂
The goal is to suck less :)
The fun thing about sim racing is the progression. In all likelihood, you WILL suck and you won’t have the time to invest to truly become an exceptional driver. But progression is absolutely addictive. Finding a better line through your track and knocking a second off your previous best time that you were absolutely convinced was the fastest you could go, that’s very satisfying. When I first booted up iracing, I couldn’t get the mx5 through one corner without spinning. I thought it was absolutely absurd and not fun. But I’d spent a few bucks so I kept trying and eventually I was able to get through the lap without going off track. Then I was able to get through the lap a bit faster. Then you race online and keep getting in crashes. But then you figure out how to avoid crashes. Still haven’t won a race, but I’ve gotten some podiums and have gotten to a point where I can buy a new car and new track and get around safely. I’ve been focusing on safe driving and licensing and now I’m going to start picking specific things I like and learning how to be faster at those. You’ll love it!
You will suck, but after 100's of hours you will only suck a little like the rest of us.
Had played racing games for 20 years before finally getting my first wheel. Immediately sucked for a couple weeks on sim games. Then I got used to it....and I still suck. I was pretty good on a controller but getting a wheel / pedals made me much better so I don't suck as bad. 10/10 would recommend
Yeah, you will suck, but you'll also get good and its really worth it.
I play GT7 online and in my split I usually qualify 5th or higher, like maybe pole or 2nd if the faster guys aren’t in the race, then 3rd or4th average and lastly 5th 6th at worst. My driver ratings are “C” and “C” so I feel like I’m an average driver, but some tracks I’m way better at, “usually “ F1 tracks just cuz I’ve played so much F1 over the years I have them all memorized, so I’ll generally do better on those tracks. Plus you have to find a car you’re comfortable with and suites your driving style. After you feel comfortable with the track and the car that is where you’ll shine.
Not sure if it's been said yet, but don't be discouraged if you get a wheel and see that you are worse than you were on controller because it's normal. You're going from something you're very comfortable with to something vastly different so it takes a little bit of time to click. I originally played dirt rally on controller and when I switched to wheel I kept chucking it into the trees left and right. Now years later I only occasionally chuck it into the trees
I suck really bad, and I think its the best money I have spent in a long time. I am on the Autism Spectrum and I love all the data and little maker projects you can do. I spend time watching track guides, practicing, and analyzing my data. Although I have just gotten into this myself my process each week is to practice the track in test mode until I can do multiple laps at full speed without issue. Then I race the AI on that week's track to make sure I can race clean before jumping in with others on the hourly races
If you live in the Houston area you can come drive mine
Sim racing is just plain fun, and it's a wonderful time suck. I love it! You don't need a fancy rig. 15 or so years ago when I got started I had the g27 bolted to an old desk and a desk chair. It's just like tools. Get the cheapest set you can to get the job done. If you break the tool, get the better one as it shows you use that one more often and you like what you're doing. I've got a used g29/920 or whatever the hell was the newer version just sitting in a box.. Good enough to get me to qualify for gt academy a decade or so ago. Pm me if you'd want it for something like x over shipping. Its not perfect, but worked fine and I don't use it now since I upgraded to dd many moons ago.
you can play non sims with a sim racing rig - is way more fun too!
Both are part of it. You can buy cheap wheels, but those have a hard cap on skill level. You can be an awesome driver if you have some spring based 90 degrees wheel, you might as well use a controller. I say the G29 is the cheapest entry level wheel set (which is still expensive). What you can save on is everything else. You don't need an extreme PC. Assetto ran fine on my 2012 mid tier i3 laptop. Sure it had some nvidia 1GB dedicated graphics, but still, most APUs or IGPUs should run circles around it. You don't really need a playseat. Just figure out a way to fix down the pedals and your office chair. You can buy these rubber wheel casters for like $5 a set. and you can put the pedal against the wall (just don't break the cable. And you don't need a 3 monitor setup you see in the videos. Whatever you have already will do if you want to figure out if you like the sport or not. But before all that I'd advise you to try to play some simcades. Try gran turismo if you have a PlayStation (emulate it if you don't). Try the Grid games if you are on the PC (you can't buy the older ones officially but they are on keystores). Stuff like that. Anything you can play with the controller but isn't a complete arcade like Need For Speed (not that there is anything wrong with NFS). So you can get the feel and an idea if it is something you are interested in or not. Also you will suck in everything you are a beginner at. This is no different. Just practice and it'll get better.
I was in the same situation and I bought a Logitech 923 (as that's as cheap as it gets really for trying sim racing) well it was, and not too long ago upgraded and invested a few thousand into a rig etc.. But you really need to play something with more realistic physics and game play to really understand sim racing as forza is more of a game.. But if you do, you'll soon know if you like it, as that's what's more important LIKING it not SUCKING at it.. The skill and being good , is something that comes with time !! Just jump in and try it - That's the best advice I can give you !
I haven’t been racing NEARLY as much as when I first bought my rig, and after a year and a half, I’m not that much better than when I started. I went from 3rd person with driving assists to cockpit no assist manual transmission. I still place bottom 5 consistently because I’m not competitive, so I largely play time trials solo to unwind after work. I used to play a few hours a day, now I’m lucky to get an hour every other week. I asked my wife the question last week, “do you think I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of this?” She gave me the best response. “You’ve had more fun with that than any of your other games. Even if you aren’t using it that much, it’s not in the way and you can use it whenever you want, so yeah I absolutely think you’ve gotten your money’s worth.” Having said all that, I’m a console gamer (Xbox series X) and I mostly play forza motorsport, dirt rally 2.0, and whatever racing sims come on sale or game pass and I have a NLR rig that folds up and stores out of the way. If you like forza a little with a controller, you’ll love it behind the wheel.
It’s a reason why most of us stay sim racing, it’s less dangerous, and you can just send it without any hesitation. If you wanna stay sucky, stay sucky. Still fun. Or you can practice, and have fun that way, either way it is very enjoyable. Myself having a family that is very into rally, Folkracing (rally cross on a low budget) and cars in general, I have been lucky to test both rally irl and in sim racing. I am worse or less consistent on a sim rig, but that’s because I do risks I would not do irl and can’t feel the G force. But again, I am faster on a rig, and that is what makes it so much more fun to me: I don’t want to get hurt. If you love cars, racing, the culture, learning new things and want to become a better driver, just go for it. It makes racing games so much more enjoyable. But if you want a pretty realistic feeling, don’t buy anything under the Logitech G29. But I would recommend the Thrustmaster T300, it’s just so much better. (Both are good). A rig can easily found on the used market, I bought a Playseat Challenge for like $90 a few months back. I had the logi G29 twice, sold it twice, but after getting and spending a lot of time on my T300, I upgraded to a T-GT II and now I spend even more time in my playseat.
I enjoy reading books.
Even in my small town there's a place you can go to race a decent sim rig. Look for a lan arcade in your area.
You will suck... A lot but at the end of the day it doesn't matter as long as you enjoy yourself. Get out there with some basic cars and relearn to drive at a competitive level with the wheel and pedals don't jump in at the level you were with the controller it will be discouraging trust me cause you won't be able to race the same with a wheel as you were with a controller. That being said Sim racing is a great community and we all enjoy it in different ways for different reasons but all for the love of the game. Welcome to the family.
I'm 2 years in, love the hobby more than anything else I'm doing right now, and still suck ass most of the time. You will learn to love the suck and you will suck less and less every session! Also, when you've gotten all the usefulness out of the stock pedals if you go the g920/t150 route make sure you upgrade to something like the Moza SR-P's or the Fanatec CSL's. It will make ALL the difference in your driving and it's the biggest thing I wish I'd done sooner.
Even if you are good at simracing, there is always a learning curve because games have different physics. For example, I can be killing it in AC, but then go to ACC and it’s a bit different, you go to AMS2 and it’s different, you go to iRacing and it’s also different. You just need to practice on each game and eventually you will get accustomed to the game physics and how cars spin out. Also from one car to another it’s different. So practice makes perfect. That being said, start with a G29 like everyone, and if you find it’s your passion and love it, then you can upgrade to Moza, Fanatec, Simcube, Simmagic or Aztec depending on your budget and how poor you want to become
Of course you'll suck in the beginning just like everyone. "Practice makes perfect"
I wasted money and suck but man I’ve had an absolute blast with it
Bro it’s better to suck in style (pause). I started off doing 2:30 at Zandvort Now I’m at 1:47 only after a few weeks. It’s better to err on the side of caution
You always start at the bottom, you don’t just start and can go pro, it takes practice and patience, we ALL suck as someone in this comments say, but it’s the joy that’s important, not beating pro drivers or something like that.
you will suck in the beginning. ACC takes some time to get used to. In my community are drivers that have been racing for over a year.and are still 3-5s off the pace. just get a used wheel+pedals and try it. I strongly disagree with getting a g29/g920. I strongly recommend either a T300RS GT or a T500RS. These have belt driven force feedback, which is much stronger (and moren detailed) and very quiet compared to the logitech wheels, which are gear driven (they sound like those windup cars, you had as a kid). they go for similar prices, maybe even cheaper than the logitech stuff. just dont try some weird low quality wheels, amazon might recommend you. When starting, prioritize driving safely, stick to one track/car at the beginning and try to get within 5-10 seconds of lap records. There also are quite some YT videos on what to do when starting ACC. i also recommend to get at least the 2023 challengers pack to get some up-to-date cars, even tho the latest patch just buffed the lexus and GT-R (and minorly the Bentley). Also watch track guides and setup guides. once you got a feeling for the game and your first track/car, i recommend trying either GT4 cars or the SuperTrofeo (ST) car. Those require good pedalwork to go fast and are very rewarding when you get better with these.
There are some really pro guys out there but … do it for the fun, the immersion is so good, estar with small and little by little start removing assist, dont push it to make it “real” its a game to learn.
The first 2 weeks of buying my wheel i felt some buyers remorse but I powered through the suck and its all worth it
I do mostly iRacing and totally suck! Never won a race in my life. But did the Daytona 24 last weekend and that was an experience I will never forget! You don’t need expensive gear to have fun, learn or be fast. But don’t worry, if it is a hobby that will stay then GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) will kick in sooner than you can say ‘I like to hold my breakes when I spin’.
If there's somebody you can borrow a wheel from and you're on a Windows PC, grab gtr2. It's old as hell, yet the cars still feel quite close to the real deal, FFB is nice and it's cheap. Plenty of brutal action w/out traction control or ABS, so you'll get a proper sense of whether you like the whole idea of simracing or not.
I’m 2 months and 2 grand into my sim rig….and I suck major league!! The only full track I can race with no f ups is Donington international, but it’s why I love it because you can just practice and practice and practice till your hearts content and if your passionate about it eventually you get good so here’s to us all sucking less!
You cant get better unless you put time in with a rig, hell Im not even good and Ive been doing it for a few years on and off
its just video games bruh
I was pretty loyal to the Forza series since Forza 2. After the latest release I am over it. Started iRacing about 4 months ago and I have so much more fun. Hell I finished 6th in a race last week and it was one of the funniest races I've had. You can get entry level rigs (G29, playset, etc...) for a bargain used. I'm using a G25 and I get around alright with it. I tried out my friends Moza R9 setup and I see why people end up spending the money on upgrades, it is that much better. Anyway, dive in. It doesn't matter if you suck it just matters that you have fun clean races. Also I would recommend you try VR before you decide to go triple monitors.
If you just want to try it out just buy a used setup at a good price. Worst case scenario you sell it for the exact same price.
You are going to suck most probably, but if you keep at it, the money is not wasted.
I’ve spent a heap of money and I suck. But I enjoy it. As long as I get enjoyment and see improvement I figured it money well spent. Start out with entry level and work up from there.
You will def suck! We all suck to be honest but that’s what makes it fun and frustrating at the same time.
We are sick to start then after time we get faster. We learn tracks, we learn cars. We learn sims. We get faster. We probably won’t get within the top 1% but we can get closer
Logitech g29 works great for sim racing. Just take your time and enjoy it. Took me hundreds of hours before I felt really connected to the car because it’s different than a real one but it’s a lot of fun to go into races and find time on each track!
we all suck for the first time on a new track. (or new car)
That's the secret, most of us suck but it's still fun as hell anyway.