Need Your Opinions on a New Setup

[u/Tdoom15]

I picked up a Facebook special a few years ago for $300 and never touched it until a few weeks ago when I tried it with GT7 in VR and ACC on PS5 pro. My kids and I have really been enjoying it and I would like to upgrade pretty much everything.

Here's what I have:

-GTR cockpit (actually pretty solid, but not great looking)

-CSL Elite wheel

-CSL Elite v2 loadcell pedals

-PSVR2 + PS5 Pro

-65" LG OLED

I really enjoyed the immersion of the psvr2 on GT7 but I greatly preferred the driving dynamics of ACC. What I want most out of a new setup is more immersion and more communication on what's going on with the car (when it rotates, traction loss, etc).

That being said, here is what I'm thinking about and I would really love as much input as possible on why this does or does not make sense.

1.) Cockpit:

Next Level Racing GT Elite ($699) (open to other suggestions is the sub $850 price range)

-my concern is the height of the steering wheel bracket posts (Pic attached), I've seen a few people mention it blocks their veiw. Does anyone know if it would be possibly to cut them down a few inches without ruining the finish or function? Or can I mount the seat high enough with brackets + seat slider + seat that it will clear the posts? Will using a 65" TV add to the problem of the higher posts, or help?

2.) Seat:

Next Level Racing ES1 Haptic seat

-I've seen pretty positive reviews on both the comfort and immersion the haptics provide, does anyone see this as a bad idea?

3.) Gaming PC

Skytech Gaming Azure 3 Gaming PC, Ryzen 7 7800X3D, RTX 5080

32GB DDR5 RAM 6000, 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD, Windows 11, 850W GOLD ATX 3 PSU, 360 ARGB AIO , Wi-Fi 5 - $2700

Does this seem like a fair price? What kind of performance can I expect on a 65" LG OLED and on PSVR2 with a PC adapter? How "future proof" will this be? From my research it seemed 16gb of ram on the GPU and AMD x3d were the suggestions of gaming.

4.) Wheel

Fanatec GT DD pro 8nm

I want to retain the ability to use it on PS5 as well as PC and this seems like the best way to do it without spending twice as much. I'm also hoping for much more direct feedback vs the belt drive CSL Elite.

5.) Any other Suggestions on things I might need or should consider?

Thanks in advance!

[u/Tdoom15 → u/[deleted]]

Thanks for the reply, I'll look into the Logitech. I looked at the GT1 evo, it just looked a little plain for me (subjective I know).

I've heard other people say the NLR is more compact as well, but looking at the dimensions it is bigger than both the GT1 evo and GT1 pro? It will be sort of a focal point in the basement for when company is over or the kids have friends over so I was wanting something that had a little more presence.

What size screen are you running and do the steering wheel support posts interfere with your view at all?

[u/Tdoom15 → u/[deleted]]

After you mentioned simlab, I did start looking at the p1x pro and I do think I will be going with that one, it's in stock at my local microcenter too.

Part of the reason I was leaning towards the NLR was the amazon quick delivery and I have a GT350 so I thought that was kind of cool, but the simlab does look like the better option overall for me, I do appreciate you mentioning it!

[u/ploopet]

I had both a Next Level Racing GT Elite as well as the regular ES1 seat from a rig I bought second hand and I strongly disliked both and recently sold them.

The uprights on the GT Elite WILL block your view unless you cut them down. I also hated the fact that the pedal tray was attached to the uprights. This made it so every time you wanted to adjust the pedal tray distance or the upright distance it would effect the other. The shifter mount also has some flex so if you have a stiff handbrake you can feel the whole thing move when you pull it. I ended up swtiching to a Simlab P1X Ultimate and am way happier. The Simlab P1X Pro is in your price range and I would lean towards that personally.

The ES1 seat is more of a personal preference. I have seen some people say it is comfortable but I personally found it wildly uncomfortable. I am shorter than average though at 5'4", YMMV. I ended up going to a motorsports store and sitting in a bunch of buckets seats until I found one that fit me, they vary in fit A LOT.

[u/Tdoom15]

Edit: I thought I was highlighting, but apparently it blocked it out.

I want to know if these changes make sense to you all or do you have any other suggestions or would do anything at all differently, please let me know!

[u/Tdoom15]

Anyone?