As I have finally completed my DIY cockpit, thought id post some pictures of it. Perhaps it will inspire someone else to make theirs. Seeing other peoples cockpits inspired me to build mine, and its the single best improvement I think anyone with a wheel can make!
Built from mainly pine (now painted black) and MDF finished in white formica (kitchen unit shelving), the whole frame was based around me, and how I like to sit while racing. I also deliberately triangulated every joint and one design principle was the the driver should be entirely suspended on the frame (ie the pedals dont touch the floor) which adds further weight to the rig to make it more stable. The seat is a passenger seat from a Prelude and is nice and deep whilst also being a fairly neutral colour. The screen is 24" (1920p) but being so close to the driver has around the same area as a 40" screen mounted on the wall.
It has 6 speakers (front and rears and two subs) at about 80wrms and various stands including one for the laptop. I chose two 2.1 sets rather than using one 5.1 as it was cheaper, gave me double the watts as there are two amps, double the bass and also stereo bass, and doesnt have a centre speaker to muddle the stereo image.
Finally it has my favourite part, a home made tactile transducer (aka bass shaker). Made from an old speaker and powered by the old stereo that you see under the desk which also utilises a home made stereo to mono convertor so it responds to sounds from both channels. I worked out its resonant frequency (about 40hz), and then mixed in some pure sine waves of that frequency into some of the games sound files like the crash sounds, skid sounds etc. Its bloody great fun.
Disregard the cost of the screen, speakers and wheel and the entire thing Cost $20 (US). It just took a little planning and basic tools.
If youre thinking of building one. Just do it! You wont be dissapointed
Built from mainly pine (now painted black) and MDF finished in white formica (kitchen unit shelving), the whole frame was based around me, and how I like to sit while racing. I also deliberately triangulated every joint and one design principle was the the driver should be entirely suspended on the frame (ie the pedals dont touch the floor) which adds further weight to the rig to make it more stable. The seat is a passenger seat from a Prelude and is nice and deep whilst also being a fairly neutral colour. The screen is 24" (1920p) but being so close to the driver has around the same area as a 40" screen mounted on the wall.
It has 6 speakers (front and rears and two subs) at about 80wrms and various stands including one for the laptop. I chose two 2.1 sets rather than using one 5.1 as it was cheaper, gave me double the watts as there are two amps, double the bass and also stereo bass, and doesnt have a centre speaker to muddle the stereo image.
Finally it has my favourite part, a home made tactile transducer (aka bass shaker). Made from an old speaker and powered by the old stereo that you see under the desk which also utilises a home made stereo to mono convertor so it responds to sounds from both channels. I worked out its resonant frequency (about 40hz), and then mixed in some pure sine waves of that frequency into some of the games sound files like the crash sounds, skid sounds etc. Its bloody great fun.
Disregard the cost of the screen, speakers and wheel and the entire thing Cost $20 (US). It just took a little planning and basic tools.
If youre thinking of building one. Just do it! You wont be dissapointed
But some day!!
