I've dug up my Logitech Wheel that I got for GT4, and now I'm feeling like building a frame to put it on. Clamping it to a snack table sucks. What has the GRM crowd done? What construction materials have you used? Wood, metal, PVC pipe?
Pictures help. 
we made a simple one out of wood.
No pictures, but it was pretty simple. Length wise boards to bolt and old E30 seat to with crosses for support, then a board for the wheel to clamp to with a couple supports on either side... Pedals on the ground.
Worked well, however it needed longer boards to sit on as the seat put your weight almost directly over the very back of the base making it just barely stable.
As far as what to make it out of.... What you got? Metal, wood and PVC are all popular choices, and I would go in that order when choosing what to work with.
If you can weld, metal would be heavy... but very awesome. If I had the room, and a welder I would basically just build a cockpit FSAE style (or contact a school that participates and try and buy and old frame, cut out the rear and weld in a support for the wheel and pedals.
Wood is pretty do-able for most people. We just used a pile of 2X4's and a couple of guys with no wood working experience. As I said, turned out OK, but if I did it again I would probably go MDF and make more of a "monocoque" then a frame. Wood does not look as cool as metal, especially for a race car... but it will function good.
PVC seems like it would be easy with little tools... but I can't help but think it would be weak and flexible. No real experience of any kind with PVC though.
I have a wood one I made that sounds pretty similar to the one RedS13Coupe built. I built it primarily for my Microsoft Wireless wheel for Forza and it has been fine. I think I just used scrap wood that I already had around the house. There is no seat attached to the stand, but the 1x3 wood framing on the base extends back for stability, I made it so it could slide back and forth on the floor while sort of "straddling" the base of the seat from a conversion van I used to have. It also can slide under the couch I currently have it in front of, so I can pretty much use any chair that is the right height.
It felt a little flimsy with a Logitech DFP I had for a few months but worked, and was better than nothing. Some additional bracing would have helped.
I have promised SWMBO that I will build a new stand this year that isnt such an eye sore. Ill probably just use wood again because its cheap and easy to work with.
I have a desk with a 22" monitor and an office chair. The pedals sit on the floor underneath on a rubber mat so they don't slide.
I had grand plans of making a cockpit but - then I'd need to constantly be moving the monitor & CPU around for work vs play because I can't afford a 2nd setup just for games. Also - its one more thing cluttering up the joint.
So... my plans now include modifying the desk to house real Tilton overhung pedals with a load cell where the master cylinder went. I will convert an E30 sport seat into an office chair at the right adj height for the pedals with locking casters for playing.
I am aiming for subtle, useful and efficient. I'll take 2 out of 3.
I made mine out of a Rigid-brand Flip-Top workstand I picked up for $25-30 at Lowes Depot and some scrap wood to hold the pedals. There are pics in a thread somewhere on this board. It folds up pretty compactly. When set up it fits right between the skids of my IKEA-special bentwood armchair.
i built mine and miatame's out of 2x 48" long 1" square tube frame laddered with 3/4" square tube along with 4 upward legs and an MDF table top across the uprights at whatever angle needed for the right steering wheel angle (mine's a g27, his is xbox MS wheel), and i used our e30 challenge car's replaced seat, he used one of those cheap 'race' seats you can find on ebay for like $100.
Carefully measured to place wheel, pedals, and shifter in the same spot as a miata.
Thanks for the insight. I'd like to build something that's foldable/knockdown/etc. I dont' have a 'gaming' room, so it'd have to be stowable.
This is not mine, but it's the same table I used. I made a sloped platform out of some scrap wood that u-bolts around the front leg of that stand, so it can hinge up for storage. The table folds at the top of the Y, too. It's really stable.
RealMiniDriver wrote:Thanks for the insight. I'd like to build something that's foldable/knockdown/etc. I dont' have a 'gaming' room, so it'd have to be stowable.
Something like this? - http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=914885
Duke wrote:This is not mine, but it's the same table I used. I made a sloped platform out of some scrap wood that u-bolts around the front leg of that stand, so it can hinge up for storage. The table folds at the top of the Y, too. It's really stable.
Yup! I'm doing the same thing. Only with a camping chair and it's working beautifully!
ooooh I really like this one:
A reacecar, cleverly hidden in a bench...Genius!
4cylndrfury wrote:ooooh I really like this one:
A reacecar, cleverly hidden in a bench...Genius!
Dude, that is genius!!! I just got permission from swmbo to go ahead with the project. I can't believe I never thought of that before absolutely brilliant 
Yeah, the racing bench is an amazing idea, I can't believe I have never seen that before.
The only problem is before long come race time you will find a neatly folded gigantic stack of sheets, pillows and trinkets crammed into your cockpit.
How realistic do you want it to be?
$850
