Living room racers rejoice: Grassroots Motorsports forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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March 26, 2009 8:30 a.m. BradLTL New Reader

I am usually pretty up to speed on most things tech, I am amazed at how long it took for me to even hear about this. I myself am an online racer (mostly GTR, GTL and GTR2). I've avoided Gran Turismo 5, even though I have the PS3 ready. The wife is fine with me playing games, but will not allow a giant seat contraption to take up residence in the living room. So I've left the racing for the computer. Racing on my computer is easy, I can attach my wheel to the desk and I am in a reasonably good driving position. Racing in my living room has been a bit of an issue.

That was until I found this....

Wheel Stand Pro

I'm not affiliated in any way, but I am probably going to spend some of my money with them. This looks to provide the best solution for living room racers. It gets good reviews, is reasonably priced and can be moved quickly and easily.

Anyone have any first hand experience?
March 26, 2009 9:53 a.m. xci_ed6 Reader

It doesn't look sturdy enough to work well with force-feedback wheels.
March 26, 2009 10:56 a.m. DirtyBird222 Dork

loooks cool, but I think I could make something for a lot less cheaper, a freakin laptop stand could work just as well. $25 at wal-mart. One of my summer projects is going to be building a nice small setup that I can dismantle easily
March 26, 2009 11:10 a.m. amg_rx7 Reader

I still wouldn't want it in the living room. Let the wife watch the all the chick shows she wants on TV while I go racing somewhere else in the house w/o being bothered to turn it down. :)
March 26, 2009 11:10 a.m. Ian_F New Reader

xci_ed6 wrote:

It doesn't look sturdy enough to work well with force-feedback wheels.

Agreed... or even a std wheel...

Funny.. .I have that same Ikea chair and have dreams of setting it up for driving games...
March 26, 2009 8:51 p.m. billy3esq Dork

It might be more stable than you would think because the weight of your feet and legs will be on the pedal base which is on top of the wheel stand base.

That said, I use a TV tray when I'm in front of the couch or otherwise bolt a wheel to the table my gaming TV sets on.
March 26, 2009 9:04 p.m. MrJoshua SuperDork

There used to be an ebay one that had arms that rested on either side of your legs on the couch. It worked well with force feedback wheels. You could push it forward and it would balance out of the way while you got another beer. I haven't checked to see if they are still around. $99 IIRC
March 26, 2009 9:21 p.m. ReverendDexter Reader

Looks nice, but not for $180 (yes, I have a G25). If I'm gonna spend that much money, I might as well spend the extra $120 for a full-on rig.

If these were half the price, I might consider it.
March 26, 2009 11:15 p.m. grafmiata Dork

amg_rx7 wrote:

I still wouldn't want it in the living room. Let the wife watch the all the chick shows she wants on TV while I go racing somewhere else in the house w/o being bothered to turn it down. :)

That's why all three of my brothers have in their homes what we've dubbed the "anti-family room". Computer, stereo, TV, beer fridge and alot of guitar stuff, all neatly compacted into a spare, off-limits room.

Fortunately for me, I'm single with no kids... My whole house is an anti-family room!!!
March 27, 2009 7:59 a.m. nickel_dime HalfDork

DirtyBird222 wrote:

loooks cool, but I think I could make something for a lot less cheaper,

That's what I was thinking but then I realised that it would take me two years of bouncing design ideas around in my head and then probably $247 in materials.
March 27, 2009 11:11 a.m. billy3esq Dork

grafmiata wrote:

That's why all three of my brothers have in their homes what we've dubbed the "anti-family room". Computer, stereo, TV, beer fridge and alot of guitar stuff, all neatly compacted into a spare, off-limits room.

Before my oldest son was born, I created an anti-family room. The game room (which is the only thing upstairs in my house) has the pool table, my computer, TV, gaming system, decor my wife finds unacceptable for the rest of the house (e.g., car pics, actual traffic light, and Michelin memorabilia), etc. It was originally intended to be off-limits to the kids.

I took my older son up there once to let him roll the billiard balls around on the floor (colors and numbers--it was educational). Now it's his favorite room in the house, and I rarely go up there without him. Usually the first thing he wants to do is crank up The Who on the stereo and start the traffic signal flashing. Mrsbilly3 loves it.