Direct drive, triple monitor or playseat

[alex_27995]

Hi all,
Boxing Day sales coming up and I have around $1000 NZD to upgrade my sim racing experience.
I currently have a Logitech g29 which is mounted to a next level racing stand, I use a gaming chair and I find I get sore after an hour or so.
I have a single 32” monitor, I struggle slightly with the lack of peripheral vision when using the correct field of view.

My question being, is it a better use of my money to upgrade to a direct drive wheel (there is a Moza R3 bundle for $660 or am R5 for $999). I’ve never used a direct drive wheel before and hope it would improve my performance and enjoyment.
The next option being to get a cockpit like a next level F-GT.
Lastly I was considering trying triple monitors with my current setup, or maybe even an ultra wide monitor if that would increase my view.
Thanks in advance for any advice

[Ancient Oldie]

Direct Drive is a gamechanger in force feedback. The R3 is not really worth it as an upgrade though. The R5 is ok, but my advice is going for a little stronger if you want to enjoy it in the long run and pick at least the R9 (R5 and R9 will do ok on a wheelstand, any heavier DD will need a cockpit or a very sturdy table).

I upgraded this year, coming from a Logitech G923 that was clamped on my desk with a single screen to Moza and a full cockpit setup with triples and I really love it. Some people do like a single ultrawide screen over triples though (streamers like Matt Malone and DaveCam prefer 1 big screen over triples).

Triples generate quite some heat also. I have a towerfan behind my rig to make some airflow to deal with that.

And if you want to run triples, make sure your GPU-card has at least 3 display-ports to run those screens as 1 exclusive full screen. (For iRacing it only works well if the 3 screens are the same specs).

My setup (all Moza):
- R16 + GS wheel
- CRP pedals
- H pattern Shifter

Rig:
- NLR GT Elite
- NLR quad monitor stand
- 3 x LG UltraGear 27 inch 144 Hz, 1 ms flat 1440p
- 1 x LG UltraGear 34 inch 144 Hz, 1 ms curved ultrawide 1440p

Computer: Ryzen9 7950x3D, 64 GB RAM, RX7900XTX
- Game resolution: 7680x1440
- avg fps in a race: ~150

[alex_27995]

Hi there, thanks for your reply. I was leaning towards a direct drive, thinking it would make the biggest difference. I’ve found a Moza R5 and F-GT cockpit on marketplace for $1200, might be a good bet at that price and maybe upgrade to triples later on.
R9 and up is unfortunately out of my price range at the moment

[Ancient Oldie]

Originally posted by alex_27995:

Hi there, thanks for your reply. I was leaning towards a direct drive, thinking it would make the biggest difference. I’ve found a Moza R5 and F-GT cockpit on marketplace for $1200, might be a good bet at that price and maybe upgrade to triples later on.
R9 and up is unfortunately out of my price range at the moment

Does it include a seat? Does it include a pedalset?

for comparison:

New R5 bundle (including 2 pedals) is ~500$ for ~700$ you can get a cockpit (excluding seat).

For the 1200$ you can really get a nice set and use it on the wheelstand you have now.
R9 + wheel (bundle) is ~700 and CRP pedals is ~500

[alex_27995]

Yeah it comes with a seat, and the pedals that come with the R5 bundle which I believe are the SRP lite pedals.
I’m talking New Zealand dollars, I think $1200NZD is a little under $700usd if that helps.

The R5 bundle is $999 and the F-GT cockpit is $899 retail so I figured $1200 for the both of them used is fair.

The R9 is $999 just for the wheelbase so by the time I get everything else needed I’d be over budget unfortunately

[Jason Cooper]

Honestly if you want to be quicker you need a load cell brake as trail braking is a lot easier, dd wheel they are a very good upgrade. for both i recommend a aluminium profile rig something like trackracer. They are solid will handle any wheel ect.. plenty of accessories to add what ever you want. hint buy a seat from the wreckers that's comfortable. After single screen its triples or VR these days your choice don't ever go bigger than triple 34 most ppl go 32. good luck have fun, this hobby is addictive.

[alex_27995]

I just picked up the R5 and cockpit off marketplace, think it was the best way to get two of the three things I was looking for and will definitely be a huge upgrade over the g29.
Have to wait until after Boxing Day family commitments to set it up with my pc.
Will definitely look at getting load cell pedals as soon as I can afford to.
Thanks for the input, really excited to get into it

[Ancient Oldie]

Originally posted by alex_27995:

Yeah it comes with a seat, and the pedals that come with the R5 bundle which I believe are the SRP lite pedals.
I’m talking New Zealand dollars, I think $1200NZD is a little under $700usd if that helps.

The R5 bundle is $999 and the F-GT cockpit is $899 retail so I figured $1200 for the both of them used is fair.

The R9 is $999 just for the wheelbase so by the time I get everything else needed I’d be over budget unfortunately

Ah, well, then it's a good price.

And as Jason said, pedals are more important then the wheel. There is a seperate loadcell kit for the SRP's, so you can allways upgrade those.

* I count in €uro but the US dollar is equivalent, didn't realize the Aussie dollars.

[Ancient Oldie]

Originally posted by alex_27995:

I just picked up the R5 and cockpit off marketplace, think it was the best way to get two of the three things I was looking for and will definitely be a huge upgrade over the g29.
Have to wait until after Boxing Day family commitments to set it up with my pc.
Will definitely look at getting load cell pedals as soon as I can afford to.
Thanks for the input, really excited to get into it

[DmAnd]

a VR headset is a great upgrade versus a monitor in my opinion but if you are still using the pedals that came with your logitech then i would recommend upgrading those first

[alex_27995]

Everyone was right about it being addictive.

I picked up the Moza R5 and cockpit and got right into it, found I wanted a better fov so I moved my old tv in.
That wasn’t great so I bought a triple monitor mount and three matching monitors, realised my pc couldn’t handle triples.
Sold off a bunch of my other neglected hobbies to fund a new pc and all is right.

This has consumed my entire Christmas break and is all I think about, it’s the middle of summer but I’m inside in a dark room putting in laps learning how to trail brake and shave a tenth or two off my lap times

[Ancient Oldie]

Originally posted by alex_27995:

Everyone was right about it being addictive.

I picked up the Moza R5 and cockpit and got right into it, found I wanted a better fov so I moved my old tv in.
That wasn’t great so I bought a triple monitor mount and three matching monitors, realised my pc couldn’t handle triples.
Sold off a bunch of my other neglected hobbies to fund a new pc and all is right.

This has consumed my entire Christmas break and is all I think about, it’s the middle of summer but I’m inside in a dark room putting in laps learning how to trail brake and shave a tenth or two off my lap times

LOL

[bozont_svk]

get a chair from a real car. those used in racerigs are everything just not usable. i have a driver seat from a golf 4...you can go up to the seat from a audi q7 with ventilation heating and massage :D:D:D

[Ancient Oldie]

Originally posted by bozont_svk:

get a chair from a real car. those used in racerigs are everything just not usable. i have a driver seat from a golf 4...you can go up to the seat from a audi q7 with ventilation heating and massage :D:D:D

I have a Smart-Roadster seat.