Ultimate Sim Racing Beginners Guide (2023 Edition) 

This was so helpful.. I’m just getting into sim racing and everything I bought so far has been in the budget friendly category. I for sure will be upgrading the more I get into it… thanks for this

this video was super helpful. started this video with no idea about anything and now i feel like i got an idea about which path i want to take. thank you

This was so informative and truly a great video for beginners! Thank you!

Truly very helpful! Thank you for doing this..

i wanna get into sim racing not only to race but to generally drive, it seems so fun sim racing and its so competitive its really an amazing community out there

Before you go spending big make sure you are sure you are going to enjoy sim racing. Once you get the bug it gets expensive quick. Best thing I can say is get you a good set of pedals when or if you get hooked and a good rig. Having a quality loadcell brake pedal is your most important piece of equipment when or if you decide to get serious

Just upgraded to a house from a studio so I finally have the space to have a dope set up and this video definitely helped me in deciding what to get

If you really want to do sim racing, get a direct drive wheel. Don't waste your money on the Logitech 923 or G29. Moza R5 bundle is far superior for only a $100 more and will last you a lot longer. The amount of feedback you get from a direct drive wheel is night and day compared to those old-fashioned gear driven wheels. You will have a far superior experience. Take it from me who used to have a G29 wheel and could barely do laps without crashing out. With the Moza I won races against the AI. The driving experience and what I could feel the car doing was incredible.

I'm not a serious sim racer but I love the hobby more than anything. I use chase cam at all times, automatic transmission at all times and don't have any particular interest in the seriousness of "motorsport" lol. I recently lost everything thing in an apartment fire but I'll be rebuilding my sim rig asap. This time around it will be strictly on pc with a dd moza r5 rig most likely. Can't wait to get back into this hobby

This was extremely informative, thank you! I am a complete newbie looking to get started in Sim racing, leaning towards a PC & Playstation set-up as you're doing. You mentioned specs for monitors and other things in the video but do you have a recommendation or resource you can point me to for PC specs for building or buying a PC?

For beginners I recommend starting in the mid range of belt driven wheels. I got the TX for that reason. & HAVE NOT been disappointed. Now the Ts-xw is about 50 dollars more for the base/pedal bundle. The steering wheel itself isnt as desirable personally but the quality of the newer base is obviously better all around & a new wheel can be purchased later. The shifters are better than Logi as well. I dont recommend Logi, I know people that have made it work & always want more. Then others it didn’t live up to their expectations so the Magic dissipated & they got on less & less because of this. A gift for your children YES. get a low tier, for a grown person looking into the HOBBY. Id start at a decent level. & gauge your interest a year later. Keep in mind settings play a ton in the feeling and experience with any wheel. There is a lot to learn especially if you dont have friends to help.🎉

+1 for the G29. I played F1 for many years with a controller. But I'm an old school gamer. Back when the PS2 controller had a pressure sensitive button. I spent hours on the V8 Supercars games, Race Driver 3, across PS1 and 2. Acceleration and braking wasn't done with triggers. I got a wheel and it was just a standard PS2 wheel and I spent countless nights on Race Driver 3 until one night I raged and punched the wheel so hard the PCB broke. That made me very sad and for the longest time I never played racing games or bought a wheel. Then about 10 years later I have a PC, I'm on Steam, I'm interested in F1 again, getting back into it around 2015. Then I got the itch to drive again and bought F1 2016. Being older and with work hardened arthritic hands, and never having the best coordination anyway, using triggers was very difficult for me so in F1 2016 and every F1 game up until 2021 I would remap to use the old school layout and have to turn on assists and turn the difficulty down. Then I ended up upgrading the PC, then F1 23 was released. A friend of mine gifted it to me and I started my usual thing with the controller again but after my new PC upgrades I thought why not look at a wheel. I picked up the G29 and was able to even buy now and pay later. Best thing I ever bought. I'll never be a great sim racer, but I can be a mush better scrub sim racer and its very therapeutic to just sit and drive in my older years. Very affordable and adequate wheel.

Thanks for this. I'm just getting into it and curious on your thoughts for a monitor that will attached to an integrated stand on my rig. 34" Ultrawide or 38" Ultrawide? I'm afraid the 38" might be too wide at the edges for me to see with my peripherals.

The amount of Joy that Sim racing brings, It's the best money spent IMO. I made a huge Mistake though and would like to help a newbie out. I use PS5. I bought a Logitech G923 Wheel and then spent another 100 $ on a Mod Rim. I now realized I should have just spent the money on a Fanatec DD. So now I'm selling my Logitech. Lesson Learned.

great video just wanted to add that you forgot to mention gear driven wheel bases as well similar to belt driven

Bite me! I’m glad I’m no longer a console peasant since 2019 lol, I get to customize, mix and match parts to my liking, I have an aftermarket shifter and an E-break on my logitech G920, which wouldn’t work on a console because they suck!

Thanks bro

About the sim rigs, I just want to play driving games for the experience, would I actually need to purchase a rig for the wheel and pedals or can I just attach to my desk and play with my own gaming chair?

Great video, I want to get a direct drive wheel, I am using a g29 I am very happy with that because I use it also with my pc I was going to get fanatec wheel that supports pc and ps5 but I have heard issues getting a fanatec equipment sent to the UK which you also mentioned. This is concerning.

I had a PS Logitech belt driven steering wheel, shifter and pedals. Sold it about 2 years ago. I was 63 years old then..not competive enough but I want to try again. 65 going on 66 years old....damn...i'm a manchild. Going with your suggestions thanks

keep in mind that the more you get into it the more youre gonna spend. Fanatec DD is a good place to start. Keep in mind you usually cant mix and match Fanatec with other companies. Can be done, but more money down the road. PC is the only way to go if you're interested in Iracing or ACC. Console games are much better but not on par physics wise to PC. Using USB ports you can run just about any hardware on a PC. Consoles are limited. Lastly, as far as I know you cant run triple screens on a consoles. Choose carefully as $$$ increase as you want to change things. READ ALOT!!!!

Should create a video explaining how to setup streaming/vid with your rig

And when it comes to homes? What do you suggest? Because I need to buy bigger home to have room for my simracing setup :)

Used mid tier gear is all over Facebook and Craigslist.

Hey Andrew love these videos Sorry I didn't see when you first uploaded I was at school

Hi! I’m starting up racing on F1 23 on PS5. Looking for budget wheel. Will the Thrustmaster T80 work on PS5 or do I need to look at the T150 or the T128? Potentially looking at upgrading to the Logitech GW29?

So I can mix and match parts like a Logitech wheel and pedals with a moza shifter? (On pc)

Can you recommend any handbrakes for ps4. I am using the g29. Playing dirt rally without handbrake sucks. And is the trustmaster TSS really woth 300€

Just started sim racing last week now it’s my new hobby

Does every wheel goes with every wheelbase? Same thing for pedals too?

Excellent video sir. I'm reconsidering getting a rig. Having house built and will have a media room for movies & will most likely build a sim rig for my PC & PS4/5. Was considering a real race car build but my back injury & cost is preventing me from doing so. Question for the wheel. Why do you recommend a yoke style over flat bottom wheel? I haven't used a wheel in a decade or so, had G7 for PS3 GT 2 or 3, can't remember. Thanks again, great job.

i reccomend moza r5 bundle moza handbrake and nlr gtracer cockpit

okay soooo what do u need apart from all this do i need like special cables etc?

the issue with VRs is that you can't see your own rig. I know you shouldn't look at your gear shift or hand break, but in reality they are always in your peripheral vision, but not when wearing a VR.

Is the MOZA Racing R5 Sim Bundle good?

Im using playstation Gran turismo and xbox one forza motorsport streeing wheel logitech g 29

If I was starting again, PS5, GT7, foldable rig, 32” tv, fanatec cheapest wheel, wheelbase and pedal combo from Logitech. That’s all you need to start. Work from there. How I started. (Have progressed since, from PS4 and GT Sport).

so for the trak racer tr8 pro you pay 600 without an seat?

What about ultrawides for monitors?

Can anyone tell me what are things need to make complete setup at home

BEGINNER? TIPs: Go buy two pieces of wood and screws and make a RIGID box frame. The 300-600 u just saved can be put towards hardware like, all in 1 bundles, or triples. If you have a 3080/4070 above u run 2k triples Anything less 1080 triples. 2k/4K = 32 inch 1080 = 27 inch IMO great video, here’s my last opinion. More attention to frames and screens for rigid hi res immersion. Don’t need to cost everything. Black Friday, price trackers etc, buy and sell different screens try different things. All u need is a cheap bundle and frame to start. If you’ve shown usage over 2 years then upgrade seasonally. Don’t fall for the expensive hobby bs… assetto corsa, alone would provide hundreds of hours of free content. I could go on but after 10 years. I’d say u must know ppl have phases. Dedicate a space, and twice a month minimum sessions to justify spending upgrades. Some ppl daily, some ppl use a day off here or there. Just don’t buy stuff and then never experience how good it can be because u didn’t stick with it. (I winter sim to supplement IRL summer driving, Canadian) Just don’t be intimidated go try stuff!

I have a good pc and want to get into sim racing what are good racing sim games I can get ? I like GT style or formula 1 racing

*Im just tired of paying speeding tickets- this is the way* 😂😭

Kinda disagree on the TV as monitors depending on what panel type you use. If you use oled tvs, it'll give some of the best input lags.

Track time! find a local HPDE event and spend some time on the track in a real sports car. Learn about weight transfer, friction circle, driving line, etc. (HPDE is high performance drivers ed). That makes driving on a sim so much better, being able to translate the experience of the track. expensive, but worth it cuz it'll also make you a better driver on the road.

Thanks

how much more realistic will it be if I add vr into my setup

The average sim racer does not need to drop thousands into a rig and equipment to be competitive or even more important to have FUN. These days the entry level DD systems make sense cost wise but if you run across older gear that works well such as a Fanatec CSL belt drive wheelbase for a killer price where someone upgraded it will work just fine. The biggest advantage of a higher powered wheelbase is for the headroom to accurately give the feedback when things start getting rough rather than clipping where the feedback is being lost in the clutter. Modern cars and even race cars use power steering, if you look at most real life race car drivers they are not all muscle bound jacked up hulk hogan looking guys and most are usually on the smaller slighter build side as they are not fighting the wheels forces that much. Listen to a lot of people talking about the amount of power a wheelbase needs to be "real" and if you listen to them you better get a planet Fitness gym membership for 6 months before you try to drive a sim rig! Biggest improvement is in pedals and yes for the brake a load cell is best. But even with a load cell you can set the amount of maximum pressure required to hit maximum brakes in the software so you do not need to stand on them to get good feeling solid braking experience. But it is easier to develop muscle memory applying pressure over muscle memory using ankle/foot position. Buy the cheaper wheelbase if need be and get better pedals for the biggest improvement in your driving. Fanatec is the only manufacturer that a single rig can be used on x-box, PX and PlayStation 4 and 5 with the proper wheelbase and wheel setup. Most racers get carried away and keep upgrading then after a while sort of get burnt out or tire and find themselves racing less and less and have a ton tied up in their full rigs. I was one of those myself started small, went from a wheel stand with a Logitech g29 then to a CSL elite setup and then to a full rig and DD setup. I sold the full rig and DD set up about a year and a half ago. I do still have my Fanatec csl belt drive, two wheels both a round and a McLaren GT and a set of load cell pedals which I had kept as a backup for my dd gear and recently have been thinking of just getting a wheel stand and going back to racing and having fun here and there. Be careful as it is easy to get sucked in to spending a bunch of money that you do not need to spend to have fun with driving/racing sims.

Hey, I’m thinking about buying a sim racing setup. Does the ps edition of the thrustmaster 300rs still work on forza or do you need an Xbox wheel?

Do you need a rig to sim race?

I have a RTX 3060ti, I really want triple monitors, but I've been looking around for triple monitor mounts and I'm scared the mount will fail and trash my monitors. Currently I only have a 32 inch LG IPS Nano, but I'm thinking I should get triple 27 inch ones. Unforturnately no one really talks about the good triple monitor mounts and what to get.

yo can anyone rate my combo that i want to buy? its the THRUSTMASTER T80 RW FERRARI 488 GTB and Thrustmaster Ferrari F1 Wheel Add-on do they work together?

I have a 5k budget, what should i get?

Any advice on shifters? not a fan of paddles. Looking to get in to rally racing sims.

Price might be a holdback for most, but I wanna know how young dads are managing to find time to do this hobby.

When it comes to a monitor. I am using a PS 4 pro. The console doesn’t support refresh rate over over 60hz . What is the best size for monitor for a single monitor sim rig?

I have a Next Gen GT lite. The Fanatec bundle at $399 would work ok, I think. Whats a good game to teach a 11 year old to drive? I downloaded Project Cars 3, and picked up a Logitech 920 and sent ot back quickly after seeing a few videos.

It amazes me how Playstation gamers have no clue that PC and Xbox go hand in hand. Ever heard of Microsoft! You don't have to Frankenstein anything because if you have Game Pass you can play on console or PC. That means you can play Forza or AC with the same equipment no problem (as long as you have a capable PC).

They make tvs now that have 120hz refresh rate that are comparable to a monitor.

I havent got the place for a Rig. So maybe a Wheelstand is the next best Thing? Is there any really stordy Wheelstand. I bought the 8nm Fanatec Wheel so it has to be.. thx guys

I’m 25 and I think I’m a hell of a driver in real life. Is it too late for me to start competitively?

No wheel is locked in if you don't get a warranty lol

Can anyone put a rig together for me? Budget is abiut £200-2500 That's excluding monitors.

Lmao max as one of the budget points is fucking funny dude😂😂

would a laptop work?

Consegue un dd o ddpro uma boa baquete e a trabalhar! Paçinhos de bébé se não fonsiona vende tudo!

How much is it I want to buy

Newton-meters should be Nm not nM

Fanatec bundles are from 399 now so there is no better choice

I play with 65" Sony Bravia 4K television. No need for refresh rate. PS5

What monitor would you recommend for ps5

very cheap for you guys, but for filipinos who want to be a professional sim driver like me i want to have one sim racing set up for f1 but we really cant afford to have one 😢

Hi Andrew ❤😊

belt driven wheels: shows a logitech that uses gear cogs instead of belts

Hi

brooo since when were you into sim racing?

Can I use a laptop for a racing simulator?? I have the 2023 asus g14. With the 4070 gpu ryazen 9 7000hs and 46g ram. Will that run the games ? Or do I need a tower ??

I love how a $500 wheel is considered budget, just wild.

Hey Fanatec, where is my order?

does sim racing actually translate into real life driving abilities?

So we're just going to forget about manual shifters?

im not sure i want to focus on "being competitive" a sim should simulate

Hello!

Any chance to get a full cock pit for under 1000$ I already have a 42inch oled monitor and a 4090 pc so I just need a good chair/stand and wheel/pedals. I don’t know much but I think it’s direct driven wheels that give resistance? Like I want my wheel to vibrate and move with the car. I don’t wanna play competitively I just want it to feel as realistic as possible without going broke 😅

What sound track is that at 10:45? I’m please tell me!

“Hydrolic”?

Simple. Buy a used g29, clamp it to ur desk....there we go

Hiiiiii andrew

my budged 0$

i cant cuhhhh no moneyyyyyyyyyyy

The edit at 11:10 is so bad 😅

I do not know why Microsoft does not make xbox X to be able to use PC type flight controllers with it. Why even buy it when it lacks flight and driving sim controllers. Sounds better just to buy a good ASUS gaming laptop for a gaming setup and hook it up to your TV for display with a gaming chair, seems to give you way more options for controllers using this with game pass. WAKE UP MICROSOFT and SONY and start making more sim PC controllers to work with Xbox X or PS 5 or just stop making and selling them. Seems you're better off just using a PC laptop to TV for gaming due to lack of sim controllers for consoles.

Who would game on a mac? 😂😂😂😂

send me so stuff and i will start sim racing

$800 PC isn't going to get you much now a days :(

This is not very budget friendly

Do not buy the Turtle Beach Wheel for X-Box ! The Display does nor work with any X-Box Game, Non of them, You would think it would as dissplayed in their ad ! $700. bucks for half the functions !

This whole idea is a waste of time and money!

Stop recommending the logitech wheels. They're not a good inexpensive starting wheel. They're overpriced trash designed to make people hate sim racing.

IT IS A RIPOFF!!! FAILS AFTER WARRANTY!!!!