Another disgusting post … you’ve just been deleted from my rss feed 
(you dont care, i know)
Keep earning dollars have fun
Be careful, you appear to be on your way to ending up at a local track. once you find out that it doesn’t cost $100k to get started, you’ll be doomed… I started with video games but soon moved to the real life thing. First Autox, then went to Rally, and eventually ended up buying a used One Lap of America car and went out and hit the nearby (less than 5 hour drive) tracks. I don’t even own any racing video games, there’s just no comparison to actually going out and doing it. Warning though, while it may not cost the $100k to start, you’ll spend it eventually in repairs, upgrades, and entry fees!
As far as us geeks having expensive hobbies, maybe you don’t, but… Head out to any local track (road course, not quarter mile as that’s completely different) and pretty much everyone you meet is an IT person. Same for out at the local General Aviation airports…
As somebody who routinely races a $100k car around the track, I have to say, your setup is fantastic, and I’m a little bit jealous.
I’m thinking I might put something like this in my basement, to help learn some tracks before I show up on them, as track-time on the well known tracks is limited and expensive, and I’d love to make the most of it.
Now I’m wondering how accurate the tracks are in these sims, if they’d at least be useful for memorizing the corners and the elevation, even if the braking/acceleration points and the lines were all wrong.
Super-cool.
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Knoblauch is right about the cost, btw, but it’s a huge hole.
I started with auto-x, then bought a race-prep mustang and tooled about in a local spec series for a few years, then I popped for a Panoz GTS and now I use that to burn gas and rubber.
Each car has ended up costing more than the MSRP of the car, per year, in tires, parts, etc.
Be warned.
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Take it from someone that actually go to the track and race. I am sure that you are not getting the full experience in this. You don’t feel the g-force, fear, seat movements, etc…
Can you actually feel the difference in your turn in a dry or wet road? Can you actually adjust the gas pedal by the sound of your tires? What about after the race? Can you go pop the hood of your car and show what you are running?
Some of these things will always be better in real life.
Not to take the thunder away from your rig, that thing is pretty cool, at least your insurace won’t go up
Jeff, thanks for fixing my post.
The sim, which is running on the laptop in the picture is a very accurate simulation of the model, and is controlled by plugging the radio transmitter for the model into the computer. (the transmitter is the black box to the left of the laptop, unfortunately its fallen in its face)
Because I only get to fly the model twice a week at most, and only in summer, I’ve never really had enough practice to progress, but the sim is helping hugely to overcome that.
If you do take up autocross as suggested above, you will probably find its not that big an adjustment from any of the more accurate racing sims. The main issue is bravery or consequences, as opposed to technique.
If you do, tell us which racing sim driving style transfers best.
Now I’m wondering how accurate the tracks are in these sims
There’s a British show called ‘Top Gear’. One of the presenters timed his lap in Gran Tourismo 4’s Laguna Seca, then went and did the same thing in real life (in the same car). He found there were some details of the track that weren’t quite right in the game.
[ed: great show, I’ve seen that episode. Videos can be found through this search: http://www.google.com/search?q=top+gear+laguna+seca+nsx+turismo ]
What about simulating a luxury slut? 
Awesome post. I was once a car-sim freak too, although I only had a Logitech Formula Force wheel and no other peripherals.
I was reasonable at EA Sport’s F1 2002 and Simbin’s GTR 2002 (GTR’s forerunner) and even skinned two cars for the latter:
-http://www.bhmotorsports.com/download/3418 (http://www.bhmotorsports.com/previewfile/3418)
-http://www.bhmotorsports.com/download/2539 (http://www.bhmotorsports.com/previewfile/2539)
Mind you, I was 16 then 
Still, there was nothing better than blazing a Lister Storm or Marcos down Spa Francorchamps or even better Valencia for multiple hours straight.
Sadly I don’t have money but especially time for this anymore, plus I lost my interest in Formula One (it’s really boring nowadays) thus racing for a great deal.
However, blaze on It’s post like these that set your blog apart from the general “programming blog”.
Have you considered Forza 2 and the Five XBox 360 setup?
http://kotaku.com/gaming/forza-motorsport-2/gdc-07-the-forza-2-super-set-up-242090.php
To me it looks as if using the pedals would bring you into conflict with the steering arm (straddling it with your legs to engage the pedals.) Maybe the angle isn’t as severe as it looks.
Nice rig, but a car would have cost less and been much more fun. I used to play racing sims but now when I have the chance I just go for a drive in the real thing.
Buy a second hand Lotus Elise (around 9k in the UK) and take it on some windy roads.
I have the exact same speakers. Best Buy Ever. Really.
Nice rig, but a car would have cost less and been much more fun. I used to play racing sims but now when I have the chance I just go for a drive in the real thing.
You can usually get a z4 for about $30 if you shop around
That is one of the reasons I don’t play car games any more
Sweet setup my friend! Sweet setup indeed!
For those seeking “cheaper” alternatives, my buddies and I got away with similar experiences using simply a projector and a Mad Catz wheel setup for a PS2. I think the wheel and the large screen give such an enormous dimension of realism added to the situation.
While I don’t get to use my wheel setup much anymore, the one benefit over the “real deal” is that I can take my McLaren up a small hill at 140 mph, jump over a police car barrier, land on the hood of a cop car, steady the card when I hit the ground keep going, and not worry about death or anything like that 8^D
That and taking our the death star in the original X-Wing PC game are still easily recalled in my brain. Yeah, I’m a wimp, but I still have fun. 8^D
Very cool setup! However, I have a couple suggestions for your speaker placement. The rear speakers are fine, and the base is absolutely perfect. But my time spent in first person shooters has taught me that your placement of the front left and right speakers is less than optimal. In a narrow, open space like that one you’re not getting clear definition between your lefts and rights, and probably have some echo effects from the back wall.
First, you want to move those speakers forward, so that they are closer to you. This will make the front sounds a little louder than the rear sounds, which helps with placement. You’ll get a much better effect of hearing a car approach from behind, and be better able to tell where a car is as you pass.
Secondly, you want to turn the speakers iso they face the wall/i. This sounds strange at first, but the effect is really straightforward. As it is, in a room like yours that’s a perfect rectangle with very little on the walls to absorb sound, a lot of the what you hear is actually echo off the far wall. By facing the speakers towards the wall, maybe 3 to 6 inches away, you really get to hear the sound from the intended direction.
Hey Now Jeff,
How are the ergonomics of your car? http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000938.html
Coding Horror Fan,
Catto
Wow. Very nice. Although I’d argue the “not terribly expensive” part, but hey - whatever works. Needless to say I’m jealous. I want my own gaming Boom Boom Room. I’m a Guitar Hero-er and having that projection setup would totally rock nuts.
…there’s something about saying “Boom Boom Room” that just makes me smile.
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That looks pretty cool. Guess it also makes sense for driving whilst under the influence!
Wondered if you ever had a look/play with the freeby race car simulation software at http://www.racer.nl/ as that lets you define all manner of parameters and import tracks, vehicle graphics, etc?
Still reckon you should go for it with the real thing though…