Winter is on its way (for those of us up north) and it looks like it's time to finally man up and order a motion rig. I'm looking at the SimXperience Stage 1 with the Rear Traction Loss mod and 4 or 5? ButtKickers. Of course I have some questions. Based on my snooping, the SX rig appears to be quite dependable - several reports of 2 hour/day usage for a minimum of 2 - 3 years. As long as you don't slam the actuators against the stops. It also appears that with the ButtKickers the added sensory effects lessen the need for large motion from the actuators. There were complaints in the past of non-responsiveness from SX in the past because they didn't have a dedicated customer relations person - which I heard they were going to address. Some degree of panic factor wondering if the rig was ever going to be delivered or money seen again. For those of you who have a rig - or are in the know - I have some questions. 1) Reliability/Performance - Would like to hear your experiences. I'm only 140lb (64kg) so I will not be putting a big load on the system. 2) Is the Loss of Traction Control mod worth the cost? 3) Have the customer relations issues been sorted? 4) If I go with the chassis ButtKicker set up (LF, RF, LR, RR) can I also add a 5th channel, like the seat? I think I can but I've read some things that make it sound like it's either/or. 5) Recommended amplification is 50w - 150w per ButtKicker. Is this (for you audiophiles) REAL RMS power or Car Stereo/Cheap guitar amp PEAK POWER? And, will a good 5.1 surround sound amp handle 5 ButtKickers. 6) What add on sound card do you like for the SimVibe? Probably a 5.1 card? Brand/model? I think that does it for now. If you have any comments you don't want to make publicly please private message me. I won't tell a soul. My racing tastes are toward all types of road racing - no drifting, ovals or off road, if that influences the answers. Thanks, Greg
I am glad to hear you decide to go with motion rig. I have their 3DoF motion kit. Once you taste the motion rig, you will never go back to the stationary rig. I am surprised that not so many of sim-philes here go with a motion rig. I saw some ones spent $$$ on a wheel or pedal, but still with stationary rig. I just do not get. My rig evolution is reverse way: first motion kit, then updated pedals and wheel. I am never regret. Here are my inputs: 1) The actuators are very reliable. Japan made. I have them for 4 years (maybe 3 yrs) now I think. No issue at all; However, I do not use that often. I do not hear others complain either. 2) The 3rd actuator (traction loss) is must to have! There is day-and-night diff between 3DoF and 2DoF on cornering. Slipping, sliding, spin etc all feel on your butt, just like real one! 3) No, but no phone support. Sometime very slow on email communication. They shall add phone support. I have no idea why a firm like this with no phone support. 3-4 years ago, they did have phone numbers listed so I can call. Now, they no longer offer phone support. I am not a fan of their customer support. 4) I had chassis mode SimVibe setup (7 buttkickers) with two extra sound cards. The chassis mode is a joke for such Seat-mover motion solution. Just forget the chassis mode (four kickers on the chassis). All you need is two kickers (one under seat and one on the pedals). 5) Use sub-woofer amps, at least >100 watts. You need sub amp can go down 5Hz. Go partsexpress.com to get two plate sub woofer amps; 6) I added two good sound cards (I think called “SoundBlast”?) for my sound and SimVibe, and used onboard sound card (cheap) other buttkickers. You may just need one extra sound card if you do not want the chassis mode. BTW, most of time, I turned OFF the Simvibe and sound. they just too much for me. Motion is enough for me. Otherwise you will die soon for sure.
> I am surprised that not so many of sim-philes here go with a motion rig. 1) all of the motion rigs are noisy & transmit vibrations 2) The actuators have their own level of lag
If setup correctly they are incredible, I built a custom one using scn6 actuators, its total immersion !
Noise can not be heard with headphones on, vibrations are good , no detectable lag scan actuators are totally rapid & update 300 times per second, You need to try a GOOD setup (there are lots of bad ones out there )
SimXStage1 here. There is no noticeabel lag. The actuators are incredibel fast. I plan to do the upgrade to the third actuator soon. Very happy with the Solution. First two ore tree weeks it was 90 % work and 10 % drive. Because I merged my motionless rig with the SimX Stage 1. And you have really to take care of all connections and that the bolts and nuts are not loose (save them with loctite or use special nuts with stopper.).
The SCN5 or SCN6 actuator do make noise. but with your audio level this noise to your signal ratio is acceptale if you turn up the volume of your sound. You will not be able to notice the noise unless you turn off the sound or turn down the volume. The vibrations is pretty "realistic" to me. The actuator is pretty fast response. I checked the torque curve, at 10-20 the speed can be up to 100mm/s or even higher for SCN6. I do worry about the life time though, in the spec, it stated only 3 years or 10,000 km life time for the cylinder. Here is my video showed how "accurate" for the vibration vs sim suspension bump/drop and vibration, and the seat level sync with track surface level: the suspension drop and bump/bounce on rF2 could be very accurate in comparison with real car. DrRacing blog did F3 car comparison between real one and rF1: https://drracing.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/fr-damp-blog.jpg The delay of those actuator is about 4 ms according to the spec. If you concern their customer service, you do not have to go with Simxperice if you are DIY guy. There are many of open 3rd vendor motion SW (free).Like the X-sim SW supports up to 6DoF motion (I am not sure if the SimTool will do, but definitely supports 3DoF). This X-Sim: http://www.x-sim.de/software.php?lang=eng&page=gamelist You may need to buy the controller from distributor of SCN5 and make sure the controller with USB adapter works with motion SW. To move your whole rig seem to heavy. You shall consider to move your seat only, this is proper solution though. Just cut off your seat and add a U-joint. The SCN5 (150mm) cost about $450 each if you order directly online: https://www.miraiintertech.com/home/scn5.php
I own the basic motion base and i DIY the framing and also the rear traction loss for very little money. I can assure it is extremely easy to break pin inside actuator but it is also easy to fix it with a 1 mm diameter driller and a 1mm bolt to replace pin or also you can weld a new pin. I run 4 bass shackers just using low filter pass to have vibration through the bass of the 5.1. It is ultra cheap and i obtain very good feelings under my seat, under hpattern, under pedals and under wheel. The rear traction loss is a nice effect but not worth the money of the addon kit thats why i did it myself. https://youtu.be/W6LMKW64vMQ Feel free to ask .
@Joe - Thanks for your input. I started out looking at x-sim but find myself in the nice position that I would rather spend the money for something more plug and play than spend the time building something from scratch. @jkn87 - Thanks. Barcelona? Me gusta. Voy a volver en la futura! Aside from the mini hijack only 2 people responded to my questions? I've read a lot more comments about SimXperience rigs than that but they were all old. Does this mean nobody uses theirs anymore? I have a hard time believing there aren't a lot more people on the forums that have them.
Well, for "plug-to-play" with rear traction loss, you need go either their Stage 3 ($5200) or Stage 4 ($5800) kit. Stage 1 + rear traction loss kit will not work. I bought their stage 1 kit plus a 3rd Actuator for under $3000. I DIY my own platform for dirt cheap. Seat-moving solution, such as by SimXperience, Frex, CXC, Next Level Sim, D-box, etc, is very limited on g-force effect feel. For bounce/bump/shaking, etc, plus rear traction loss, such solution is excellent. This is one of reasons I will think of why lack of people are interested. I am still puzzled how the hell CXC could sell their simulator for $70,000. Just beat me! For a good g-force feel, one needs to go with 6DoF full motion. You can DIY for under $10,000. I recalled years back, the BlueTiger sim selling their 6DoF sim for under $20000 (I think was about $1200). The company was at Taiwan at that time.
Joe I understand what you are saying. I don't need complete plug and play. I already built a rig - it's just not a motion rig. When I looked at doing all the electronics and mounting I just decided I wanted something MORE plug and play than doing it ALL myself. I also plan on isolating the rig to enhance the effect of the ButtKickers. I saw where one guy actually mounted his rig on motor scooter shock absorbers (dampers). I'll probably just use coil springs. Realistic G forces is always going to be a problem on the home equipment level. The only rig I've been on where it was semi realistic was a centrifuge simulating an oval. Seat points in direction of travel. On straights it is free to swing out, so no side g force (unrealistic downward force though). For the turns it's pulled back in toward vertical so you have side g force. Doesn't work on road courses - left AND right turns.
