First of all, I am definitely no alien here in sim racing. My sim racing journey started from all the way back in GT1 days, thou it was on the controller back then. In fact, my first ever steering wheel was for Sega Saturn now that I think back, but for sure the games back then was nowhere near how realistic the modern sims are.
However, I would still like to think I can share what I have learned over these years so that if you are just starting into sim racing, I hope this will help your journey a little bit easier – once again, many things that I am going to share here doesn’t mean I have mastered them – there is still a lot for me to learn and the idea here is to share thoughts and experience, and grow together 🙂
Gear
Choosing the right gear is an essential start to your sim racing journey, regardless to your platform of choice (PC or console). Do not be tricked into buying the expensive state-of-the-art gear when you are starting out because they often are not worth the money at this stage nor will make you a better driver (well, unless money is a non-object to you). On the other hand, I would suggest to not go for the cheapest ones either because you may develop bad habits with it.
Sounds confusing? Yes and no. Think about in Tennis or Football, that buying Federer’s racquet or Messi’s boot does not make you to be a superstar instantly, but if you go for those $20 AliExpress gear, you may develop bad habits/posture/skills because your body is trying to compensate the poor quality of the product, and in worst case scenario injuring yourself.
To start with, I would recommend a wheel set that has Force Feedback (yes, there are some that do not have FFB at all, e.g., Thrustmaster T80 or Chinese ones on AliExpress) A good starting point would be the Logitech G923 or Thrustmaster T150 (which is being replaced by T248). These are good gear/belt driven wheel with good enough force feedback to get you started.
For pedals, both of the aforementioned models come with pedal set included. Unless you are getting a H-shifter, you do not really need the clutch pedal at the moment, therefore the 2-pedal set is often good enough but it does you no harm to go for a 3 pedal set since at this level, the price difference is often negligible.
One thing to note that is the compatibility to your platform, not all wheels are compatible to Xbox or PS vice versa, check the product description before making your purchase.
Choice of sim
Next is to pick a sim that you would like to spend time with.
If you are a console player, you can choose between Assetto Corsa, Assetto Corsa Competizione and Gran Turismo (PS) or Forza Motorsport (Xbox). Here I am not going into discussion of which is more realistic which isn’t, the idea here is to choose a “sim-enough” software to start your journey, because there is still a lot more to learn in sim racing and any of these titles are still more than capable to teach you those.
If you are a PC player, then the choices are plenty. You get to choose any of the mentioned above bar Gran Turismo, plus the likes of iRacing, rFactor2, Automobilista 2, RaceRoom Racing Experience and more.
It does not really matter at this point which sim you choose, as long as you are choosing a sim that let you drive the type of car you enjoy, i.e. street, GT, LMP, TC etc.
My recommendation is if you are on PC, get Assetto Corsa Ultimate edition which often goes on sale at around $10, and there is a massive modding community that will allow you to virtually drive any car on any track that you want.
If you are on Playstation, Assetto Corsa Competizione or Gran Turismo are great choices (because Assetto Corsa on console does not support modding); similarly on xbox, you may choose between Assetto Corsa Competizione or Forza Motorsport (not Forza Horizon).
Here I am assuming you are into tarmac track racing, since I am not very familiar with Rally but if that’s something you are into, Dirt Rally 2.0 is a great sim.
Now you are ready to start your sim racing journey (grind) !! Buckle up and let your inner Senna out onto the track!