What Exactly is Sim Racing? (What to Send to Your Confused Friends!)

No matter who you are, I think it is safe to say you have taken place in some sort of competition, be it a sport, video game, or contest. We as humans are hardwired with this sense of pride in ourselves to try to push our abilities to a level that is superior than other people, and be declared a victor.

"Auto Racing began 5 minutes after the second automobile was built" -Henry Ford

The racing of cars has a broad appeal of all ages, whether it is two children racing die-cast cars down a Hot Wheels track, or two professional racers battling in the midst of a championship.

One thing I have learned from my five years of real life driving is that people like to push the limits, be it speed, handling, or performance, and thrive on the adrenaline rush it provides. However, dangers of driving recklessly, increase in safety regulations, increase of eco-friendly cars over performance cars, and with the overall cost of organized auto racing increasing exponentially despite the economic downturn, people are looking for cheaper alternatives.

One of the alternatives I have found the most satisfying is Sim Racing, and in this article, I will try to give an introduction to Sim Racing that will also help you understand why I enjoy this hobby so much.

iRacing Review: December 2013

When it comes to online sim racing, iRacing has definitely set a bar in terms of accessibility, variety, and precision when it was released in 2008. iRacing boasts many features, such as an advanced tire model, two separate rating systems based on skill and safety, a multitude of different disciplines of racing, and a consistent schedule of races that can keep you in the drivers seat. However, many new sims are on the horizon, iRacing will face some interesting challengers in the coming year or two. So the question is, how does iRacing stack up though as time has progressed?

Derek Speare Designs T500RS Wheel Adapter Review

One of the greatest aspects of the Sim Racing community are the modders, be it the sim modder that adds cars and tracks on the software side, or the hardware modder, looking to enhance our connection to the virtual road.

One of the more famous modders is Derek Speare. He makes a wide variety of components in the industry, ranging from button boxes, to shifter enhancements, to adapters that allow you to put a real life steering wheel on your T500RS or Logitech G25/27!

This month I purchased the T500RS Wheel Adapter, and we'll now see how the adapter works, and how it changes your experience!

Why I Enjoy Sim Racing

Whenever I discuss sim racing with my friends, they usually ask me the same question: "Why do you plunk down so much money towards sim racing?" (I have invested about $2000 over the past 5 years), and that question does get me thinking.

Why do I enjoy the racing so much, that I invest the amounts I do into it, and plan on investing more over the years? What is it that drives me (no pun intended) to try to maximize the experience out of it? Why do I sim race?

I will attempt to answer these questions in this post, but it's pretty tough to put it into words some of the reasons I enjoy Sim Racing so much, it basically comes down to trying it for yourself. I hope you enjoy this post!

Derek Speare Designs 2014 Track Boss (P)Review!

One of the greatest things about Sim Racing is that we get to place ourselves into the seats of many cars that we may never see, let alone sit in, in real life. However, one of the largest caveats is that we don't have the level of immersion that is sitting in the real life counterpart. Many actions that are second nature in a real car are simulated by button presses. The problem is, there are only so many buttons that can be on a wheel (I believe the Logitech G27 carries the largest button count, tipping the scales at 14 buttons and a directional pad). To get the most out of your simulation, you'll need more.

Why the #3 Returning to Cup is a Good Thing

As humans, we tend to cling to an idealism, that we like to call "Nostalgia". Being a racing fan, that idealism is amplified to an extreme level, where we latch onto whatever racing driver we have deemed our "favorite".

NASCAR has been overcome with a great sense of nostalgia in regards to their favorite drivers, that even extends to the driver's number! The prime example of that is Dale Earnhardt and the legendary number 3.

Now, I am appreciative of what Dale Earnhardt has accomplished, and truly regard to him as one of the NASCAR greats. There is no disputing that he is a legend, but it comes down to this question: Will Dale Earnhardt's legacy continue if another driver takes the mantle?

Assetto Corsa Preview: Version 0.3.1

Kunos Simulazioni stormed onto the sim racing scene in 2006, with their innovative simulator, Netkar Pro. The simulator boasted features such as advanced tire wear including flatspotting, a dynamic cockpit a la flight simulators, and telemetry from AiM-Sportline.

7 years later, Kunos has brought forth another title, Assetto Corsa, anticipating to bring the diversity of Gran Turismo and Forza titles, while bringing a physics fidelity and open ended structure to rival rFactor 2.

In November of this year, the long awaited release of Assetto Corsa came, but in the form of an Early Access Beta, with a planned update schedule to add new content, vehicles and tracks every 2 weeks. I joined in after the second update to the Early Access, version 0.3.1.

In this preview, I will give my impressions on the driving feel, and the content so far:

Thrustmaster T500RS Wheel Review

Well, after five years of owning my Logitech G25 (retrospective review coming soon), it came time for me to invest in an upgrade to my wheel. Already owning a TH8RS and a set of Clubsport Pedals, I just really needed the wheel base. I was narrowing it down to the T500RS and the Fanatec Clubsport Wheel, but I felt the CSW would be more of a gamble running almost twice the cost of the T500.

I was able to score the T500RS on a Black Friday special on Amazon last Sunday, and I was fully planning on doing a video first look and review, but a bike injury to my face decided otherwise. I then decided to do this in-depth review after doing some testing of it. I hope you enjoy this review!