A cursory spin through this blog and it's clear that thanks to zero actual budget I've spent a relative fortune on my sim budget. It's all simulation, right?
But what to spend some cash on this month... One thing that many reviewers (and some that don't have the gear for free even) have stated really improves their game is the Butt Kicker system - honestly I avoid online FPS games for the very reason I don't want my ass kicked, but this is different...
You see, one of the things missing in sim racing is haptic feedback on anything other than the wheel, which is very unlike real life where there's feedback all over the place, much is in the seat of your pants in fact.
And whilst my setup does have rumble motors in the wheel (not just the steering, it's complicated) and also some weedy things going on with pedals too, it doesn't really do much 'seat of the pants'. Somehow, and I'm not really sure, it does shake the frame occasionally, and whilst it's mild, it's certainly something that extends the immersion beyond the wheel - I want more!
Enter the Butt Kicker. In every sense, imagine stapping a sub-woofer speaker to your seat and then having it rumble for things like hitting the curbs. This is exactly what it is, just the official "butt kicker" does it in a nice package, pre-built and plug-and-play. It's also priced to suit the I don't care, I just want it, brigade. I'm not that.
What I am though is happy to drill holes in seats and frame (maybe not the frame) and to make up my own sweet solution for less. And this is that...
A bit of research and it's really not hard:
- A speaker/shaker
- An amp to drive it
- Some form of sound card output
- Software to make it work
- Just enough cable to make it look terrible, and not fit perfectly
The software is easy, https://www.simhubdash.com/ is free and actually has a module to drive third-party butt kickers - in fact, it's recommended for the official gear which has its own solution anyway.
The rest I've had to buy, I probably have the cables, but they'll be old and feeble, and frankly I'd like new gear!
(prices are in Aud$, which basically is ten times whatever you think you're spending).
Speaker
Research led me to the DaytonAudio driver, which if I get from a fancy shop is upwards of $200 easily, on Amazon is $170 or (And guess where I went) from eBay is $109 + $10 delivery. Bargain.
Fitting is going to be easy enough if I'm brave enough to drill holes in the base of my seat. Clue: I am.
Amp
Nobsound seems to be the way to go (why is everything butt/nob related!).
There are two options, one (Nobsound G2 Mini Subwoofer) which appears to be well tested and plugs into a sound card, and the other which can do Bluetooth & be a sound card. The latter seemed to have a few "it keeps dropping out" comments, and whilst it's the work of a moment to pause a movie (if you're using this setup for movie kicks) it's a pain if you're getting mixed messages whilst concentrating on making it to last within two laps.
So I've opted for the simpler (and slightly cheaper) option, which looks to be easy to set up in any case. I'm all for simple!
That was also an eBay special at $63 shipped. Also cheaper than anywhere else I might add.
The rest of it I got from Amazon. I probably could have hunted around on eBay for the cheaper cables, but frankly, it was a pain, and really down in the lower-priced stuff you're gambling a bit for a few dollars. One order it was then...
The princely sum of $53 shipped. And no stress over the sound "card" - this is not recreating the Teatro la Fenice, this is sending some rumbles so my ass (with less fidelity than my ears I reckon) can sense a gear change or something.. low-fi it is. Oh, and the sound card is needed for the Butt Kicker setup too, so not a unique cost.
Wrap up
So all up around $230 or so compared, and I just checked, to the $649 for the 'official' gear. Quite the saving and that was without adding in shipping.
Will it measure up? Some folks reckon it's easily as good as the official gear, time will tell. I certainly have the challenge of mounting this in a way that won't break my seat, something that I'm actually looking forward to - once I have the gear I'll figure it out.
I'll also post in a pt.2 to this once I've done it, detailing how I built it and how it plays out.
Till then!
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