Stroke and Position
Is 1.5 inch really "Good Enough" for Sim Racing?
- Assuming the front & rear actuators are 1000mm apart, and left & right actuators are 600mm apart.... a 1.5 inch (38mm) system gives you only 4.4° for Pitch and 5.2° for Roll
- Where as a 100mm system gives you 11.4° for Pitch and 16.9° for Roll. That's over 250% more Pitch and 300% more Roll on a 100mm system
- While the 1.5 inch system would be perfect to move your sofa when watching a movie at home, the extra range on the 100mm system is critical when simulating the Pitch and Roll effects while racing on tracks with sharp change of elevation and compression, such as the legendary Nordschleife, Laguna Seca, and Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (the Eau Range has a pitch of +5.7° pitch!)
Where should I place the actuators on the rig?
- A lot of people try to replicate the position of the "front wheels" by mounting the front actuators to the front of the rig. This is not necessary as telemetry data reflects the angle of the car, not the position of the axis or wheel on a car.
- Assuming the front and rear actuators are 1250mm apart (as seen on most of the aluminum rig in the market), it gives about 9.2° of pitch range.
- But on the same rig, when the front and rear actuators are reduced to about 900mm apart, the pitch range increases to 12.9°
- That's an increase of 38%, with the exact same equipment and no additional cost!
- This increased pitch range is almost identical to upgrading to 150mm stroke at the same 1250mm position.
Don't forget about the seat position!!!
- This is often overlooked and can greatly impact the experience on a motion rig for sim racing.
- When placing the seat too close to the rear actuators, it "lift" the driver upwards when Pitch down, and "drop" the driver when Pitch up.
- We recommend positioning the seat as close to the center of the distance between the actuators as possible. This puts the driver on (or close to) the pivot point of Pitch, providing a smoother Pitch and Roll effect, and minimising the unwanted "Lift & Drop" (especially important for racing in VR). It also keeps your eye more consistent with the horizon.