Race fans come in all ages. It could be a 10 year old who watches NASCAR on TV or a 55 year old enjoying a race at the track. Whichever you are, there is a chance for you to bring the track home without having to wrestle an ill-handling 1,550-pound Indy or a 3,700-pound stock race car. We are talking about your own Daytona 500 or Tokyo drift, right there in your living room or basement.
With the help of a racing wheel or a racing simulator cockpit, race fans can have a full sim auto racing experience at home. In this article, we will be discussing what you need for the best sim racing setup.
Plan your setup
The first thing to do is make a plan for your setup. You don't want to get all the equipment and gadgets and then see that it just doesn't fit. Create space in your home, in whichever room you intend to set up your gaming station. A full sim racing setup may take just a bit more space than a thread mill (depending on how far you want to go). You can use that as a reference.
Get a good PC
Of course, gaming consoles such as PlayStation and Xbox can play racing games. The next gen consoles are getting better with faster graphics cards and 4k HDR. But if you are serious about racing, you need a PC. PC sim gaming has better compatibility, is more versatile, and allows for more titles. Consoles can be pretty limiting and are not upgradeable.
If you are new to the world of sim racing, or you were born and bred in console racing games, then we highly recommend you look into PC sim racing!
One of the fantastic things about PC gaming is that PCs are upgradable. So as far as specs are concerned, you can either buy a new PC or build one from the ground up. We recommend purchasing a pre-built PC that is intended for gaming. You can find many comapanies out there that will build you a PC depending on your intended use.
Get a racing wheel and a race simulator cockpit
This is the real deal. Sure, you can play racing games with a mouse and keyboard. Why do that when you can actually press pedals and turn steering wheels? A good racing wheel is a great way to live in the moment, but a racing simulator cockpit takes the experience to another level. You can purchase one of these. No, you should purchase one of these if you're really looking to bring the track home.
Won’t a shifter be cool?
Outside a racing wheel, a USB shifter is also an excellent tool. Every race loves to see the motion of shifting gears at turns. USB shifters bring you a live racing experience. This particular tool really keeps you alert and active and is also a good arm workout.
Research the games
Many race fans buy a game even before buying a PC. They eventually find out that the game has PC requirements that their PC's don't meet. Before buying a game, make sure to research it and check for its minimum PC requirements. Research should always come first before anything else.
