Racing simulators are all about immersion. Want to feel the thrill of driving a race car without spending a ridiculous amount of money on your own racing vehicle and track fees? Make friends with someone with a racing car. Barring that, racing sims can get you part of the way there and can be a lot of fun. It’s not a cheap hobby if you want good immersion, but it is a hell of a lot cheaper than real racing.

Immersion may not be as important to you. Maybe you just want to play racing games with friends. You don’t need a sim rig of any sort. Many people play with basic console controllers or even keyboard and mouse. However, it will be much more difficult to play competitively and won’t be as fun.

Least Expensive Setup

Literally any input devices you want that work with your gaming system. Use a keyboard and mouse – use a console controller – use a DDR pad. You can get started with what you have. Just keep in mind it will be easier in some games vs others.

The basics you will need for a sim rig are a wheel and pedals. There are very inexpensive wheels that don’t have Force Feedback (FFB) that work well enough. Force feedback is a lot of what makes sim racing fun, and if you lose that, it really takes away from the experience. If you’re on a very strict budget and can’t wait to save up for a FFB wheel, you can get one without FFB. However, be prepared to deal with some frustrations. Make sure that the wheel has an analog mode. Any pedals will do.

Low Cost Setup

Gear-driven FFB wheel
Pedals

Start with any wheel combo that has force feedback (FFB) and includes pedals. The least expensive combo from Logitech or Thrustmaster will probably be what you’re looking for. You’ll want to get the wheel and pedals set up so they won;t move, so attached to your desk, rig, etc. It is important that the pedal base is fixed in place. It can sometimes be tricky to mount. Finally, make sure your screen is setup well [link] with your seating position. Having a bad field of view (FOV) can make playing the game much harder and ruin the experience.

Medium Cost Setup

Belt-driven FFB wheel
Pedals with loadcell brake
Racing seat
Rig frame

Start with any of the upper tier belt-driven wheels: most of the Fanatec and some of the Thrustmaster line. Next, get a loadcell brake – some come in a combo with a wheel, some are a la carte, and some are upgrade kits. Then you’ll want a seat. Some seats are included with a frame. A popular option are automotive seats, ranging from a real life race seat to something from an auto wrecking yard. Now you’ll want a frame to mount your wheel, pedals and seat to so they are sturdy and don’t move. Everything combined is now your Rig. Set up your rig in front of your TV, your desk, or get a stand to hold a monitor right above it. The closer the screen is, the better. Ideally you’ll get the screen right behind the back of your steering wheel’s base. Then make sure to set your FOV correctly. Your rig will probably shake at least a little so mounting the screen separate from the rig is ideal so that you’re not shaking your screen while turning.

Money Is No Object Setup

Direct drive wheel
Loadcell or hydraulic pedals
Racing seat
Adjustable frame
Fancy monitor or VR setup

Start with any Direct Drive (DD) Wheel. Get a set of loadcell or hydraulic pedals. Get a drivers seat of your choice. Pick out a frame – you may want to consider motion options. Get a powerful PC and either triple monitors, an ultrawide monitor, or a virtual reality headset.

What wheel should I buy?

The one you can afford. One that is compatible with your system(s).
I would recommend to at least get something with Force Feedback (FFB). A lot of what sim racing is, is tied to real life behavior of cars. When you’re driving a car in real life, you can feel vibrations and pitches in the car when accelerating, braking, and turning. You feel a lot of what the car is doing and can better tell how to control the car. In sim racing, all you get is the force feedback from the wheel. Having a wheel without FFB will be more challenging when you’re trying to determine what the car in the game is doing.

Once you are looking at Wheels with FFB, the thing that matters the most is the strength of the FFB. The stronger the motor in the wheel, the higher the forces it can produce. Since all of the information you’re getting from the wheel is in the forces it can produce, the higher it can be set to, the more range you have for information. Think of it like this: how can you tell a big bump from a small bum? A weaker, lower force wheel might only be able to tell you you’ve hit a bump. A wheel with a higher force and more range can tell you how big or small the bump was.

The FFB wheels with the highest forces and most range are Direct Drive wheels. They are the most expensive wheels by far and are by no means necessary, but if you can afford it, they are the best.

After Direct Drive wheels, you will find high end belt driven wheels. They are the next most powerful type of wheel.  Belt drive wheels are probably the most common wheel you’ll find, and they have the most variety in terms of price range, strength, and features. If you were new to sim racing and could afford one I would highly recommend starting here.

The third type of FFB wheel is a gear driven wheel. Most commonly a Logitech, they make for a great entry point into sim racing and several professional sim racers use these to great success so it’s not absolutely necessary to spend more money. They will typically be the weakest type of wheel and some people describe the feeling of the gears as “notchy” and not as smooth while turning. These wheels will be the ground floor of recommended starting point as anything less expensive will risk just not being as fun or worthwhile.

What wheel is the best?

1) Direct Drive – Relatively new with lots of recent entries. Like the wild west, no clear top or best brand.
2) Fanatec Belt Drive
3) Thrustmaster Belt Drive
4) Logitech

Do I need pedals?

Yes.
(Disabilities and limitations aside – If you need hand controls for throttle and brake, look here.)
When I very first started sim racing, I wanted to use buttons on my wheel to control throttle and brake because I didn’t have a good place to set up pedals and use them. Take my advice: use pedals, get a good setup/chair/position.

Do I need a loadcell brake?

Highly recommended! In sim racing, you want your brake pedal to be super stiff. In order to get really consistent at braking, you are going to have to develop muscle memory for how hard to push your brake pedal. In real life, you get to feel the car pitch forward and can sense how hard you are pushing the pedal. You don’t get that feeling with the games so you’ll need to develop this skill. The more resistance the pedal gives you, the easier it will be to learn. Almost all of the entry level pedals that come with a wheel have a some sort of extra add-on or conversion kit to make the brake stiffer. If you can’t afford a loadcell brake, then get the add-on. I cannot stress enough how much of a difference this makes.

I would recommend upgrading to a loadcell brake before any other upgrade. The difference between this upgrade compared to a better wheel, a seat, or triple monitors is still the biggest and most worthwhile. People really underestimate how important a stiff brake pedal is and often overlook it when getting started.

Do I need a stick shifter?

No, unless you’re playing rally games. Good for drifting too.  Otherwise, only if you want the extra immersion for cars that have a stick shift in real life.

Do I need a clutch pedal?

No, unless you want to use it with a stick shift. It’s possible to use one with a paddle shifter and you can use it for standing starts, but for most racing you won’t use it unless you are using a stick shift.

Field of View

This is super important, and one of the first mistakes people make when starting. There are plenty of YouTube videos and some online calculators to help you figure out your FOV. While you make not like the ideal FOV at first, and it may feel too narrow and limiting, it will help you judge distances and nail your apexes. With practice you’ll get used to positioning your car around other cars and the view wont feel so limiting.

Do I need triple monitors, an ultrawide monitor, or virtual reality?

No. They do help though. They all add more awareness and immersion. The triples will give you the most FOV and you will be able to see the most without turning your head. An ultrawide is like having 2 monitors instead of 3, but there are no bezels to get in the way and it looks the nicest. VR gives you about the same FOV as the ultrawide, but you can actually turn your head and look where you want. VR is very immersive and definitely the most fun if you don’t suffer from motion sickness. The downside of VR is that things in the distance still look blurry and, when racing, you are constantly looking into the distance.

Do I need a special driver seat?

No, but it can be very helpful. Driver seats are a different shape than normal chairs and help hold your legs up to use your pedals. Normal desk chairs, dining room chairs, and sofas aren’t the right shape with the correct angles to use pedals comfortably. Depending on the game, races can be quite long and it’s important to be comfortable. Racing in a desk chair is not a problem for 5 to 10 minutes, but can be frustrating and tiring after an hour. If you have a loadcell brake, you’ll have to push pretty hard on your pedals. A desk chair makes things even harder as you’ll have to stop the chair from rolling or swiveling away. While you don’t need on to get started, a driver seat makes things easier and more enjoyable and you’ll eventually want to get one. When choosing a seat, consider what would be most comfortable for YOU.

Do I need a frame to mount my wheel, pedals, and seat?

No. Again it is very helpful to have everything mounted together, but not necessary to get started. As wheels get better and stronger, hard-mounting your wheel (securing it with bolts or screws) becomes more necessary. Many entry level wheels come with a desk clamp, which is sufficient to get started, and helps move your wheel out of the way when you want to use your desk or table when you’re not playing a game. However, the clamps are usually barely good enough, and ideally you’ll want to hard-mount your wheel, pedals and seat so they are always in the position you left them, and most importantly, don’t move around while you’re driving. Which frame you get will depend on your budget and the amount of space you have to set one up. Around the time you are about to obtain a loadcell brake, I would highly recommend a frame to hard-mount everything. The amount of forces you’ll be putting on your equipment will require things being secured.

Why do people wear gloves?

Two reasons. The first is to prevent blisters. The force feedback from wheels can cause the steering wheel to move around a lot in your hands, and over time, can cause discomfort and blisters. Many professional drivers have their steering wheel grip custom molded to their own hands, but we don’t yet have this option in sim racing. The second reason is to keep your wheel clean. A lot of people get sweaty during races, and over time, that can make your wheel just gross. It is far easier to throw a pair of gloves in the wash than to clean your wheel. You can use a pair of inexpensive mountain biking gloves with good breathability. Many other racers use karting gloves. You don’t need gloves, but I would recommend them.

Why do people wear socks and no shoes while driving?

Entry level pedals are very easy to press, and just wearing socks helps you to better feel pedal pressure and position.

Why do people wear driving shoes?

Higher end pedals and loadcell pedals are quite firm, and you’ll want something more than just socks on your feet. Driving shoes have a thin sole and let you feel pedal pressure without it hurting to push the pedals. Driving shoes also have a rounded heel, which helps some people tremendously in terms of comfort. I used to get the worst heel pain after an hour of driving before I got some driving shoes. Another popular option are water-shoes. They have a similar sole and feel to driving shoes while being far more breathable, just without the extra heel support of driving shoes.

Get a fan pointed at you.

Sim racing is often sweaty business and having a fan is really nice.

Which game is the best?

Opinion time. Don’t take this as fact – just one sim racers opinion trying to lend some advice to people who are new/ haven’t considered some games.
It depends on what you want and what system(s) you have.

The games all have strengths and weaknesses, but you can consider some as being the best for certain categories.

Best game for:
Oval Racing – iRacing
Online multiplayer- iRacing, Gran Turismo Sport
Drifting – Assetto Corsa
Modded content – Assetto Corsa
Rally – Dirt Rally 2.0
F1 – F1 2019/2020
Single player Career – F1 games, Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, Project Cars 2, Dirt Rally 2.0, Forza Motorsport
Online Private League racing – iRacing, rFactor2, Automobilista 2, Assetto Corsa Competizione, Project Cars 2, RaceRoom Racing Experience, Forza Motorsport, Gran Turismo Sport

Which game is the most realistic?

None.
Several games are in the running. They all have flaws, and it just depends on what you can get more immersed in. iRacing can be very realistic at times, but iRacing has a lot of issues with tire modeling and, depending on what build version it’s on, can be amazingly good or laughably bad. rFactor 2 is known for having really good FFB, as well as Automobilista 2, but they have their own quirks and can be hard to find good racing on. The F1 games have made big strides the last few years in feeling less arcade-like, but they still aren’t close to being a realistic sim. Unless you get to use a professional race team’s multi-million dollar simulator, you’re just not going to find much realism in your home. So pick your poison and have fun. There are several great games out and some really great racing to be had.

Why does sim racing cost so much?

It all depends on your perspective. Many people consider sim sacing a hobby, and hobbies can be expensive. Some sim racers come from a real life racing background, and a single track day weekend with your own car can cost much more than a standard sim rig setup which can be used for years. The fees to use a track, cost to replace tires, brakes, etc. add up fast in the real world – not to mention you’re using a relatively slow car with very limited time at one track. Compare that to setting up a sim rig and being able to drive multiple cars at multiple tracks anytime you want. The cost of running one race season of spec Miatas in real life can easily exceed tens of thousands of dollars. That much money put into sim racing would buy you top of the line equipment and have some to spare. So to some, sim racing is not that expensive.

I would like to add that the initial investment does seem pretty steep, but once you get most of your gear, the cost to continue sim racing is relatively inexpensive. A decent wheel and pedals should last for many years and your expenses just become normal gaming expenses.

Why does iRacing cost so much?

It’s a service – not a game. /s/

iRacing is unique in the sim racing world. iRacing hosts all of the races on their own servers. This helps with lag and latency tremendously and makes it possible to race pretty close with people from all over the world. While not always perfect, it is the best around and, with no other game having as much support, there is little chance of that changing anytime soon.

The way iRacing structures and schedules races on their servers means that you can find people to race just about any time of the day, and the racing will be some of the highest quality available.

iRacing has a Sporting Code and actually enforce it pretty well. They have a replay system, and if you feel someone wrecked you on purpose, you can send a protest to iRacing and they will actually review the incident. If they find the other person was guilty of malicious driving they may actually ban the person. The only way you will find cleaner online racing is through private leagues, and leagues usually don’t have races around the clock.
This isn’t to say all racing on iRacing is 100 percent clean. People can get away with quite a lot and only the most egregious of bad driving will be penalized. It is, however, still the best out there and most of the racing is clean, as clean or cleaner than any other public lobbies from other games.
All of this comes at a price though. The cost of having and maintaining servers, having staff to enforce rules, etc. means iRacing has to charge more than other games.

If you can afford it, and are interested in online racing, I would highly recommend iRacing. If you are more interested in a single player experience or can’t afford it, then there are plenty of other good sims out there.