My cockpit project - Jamie

[Jamie Wilson]

Former thread title: Sim-Gear Lightning SST Shifter

Jamie's cockpit part 1 I guess,

I'm hovering over the buy button, and I know some guys here have it (Atti, Greger, and Dom off the top of my head) - so, guys: Sell it to me. I just need that final bit of encouragement to make me click. :p

For the unaware: Simulated racing gear and equipment. Sim-Gear.com

[Attila Domján]

well, honestly i never use it when i am racing for competition, just for offline fun. You are simple slower with it since the time what it takes more to release the wheel, move to shifter, get back to wheel, compared to the paddle shifter, 6-5-4-3-2-1 gear in 1 sec, while you have control over on steering too with 2 hands.... but it is a piece of art in its category, thats for sure, very precise, good feeling, and now it has also a centering spring as well. So for realism go for it, for competition racing i think you will not use it.

[Jamie Wilson]

I currently use my G25 shifter in H-mode for offline fun as well, but having had two G25s die on me in the past (and now I'm out of warranty), I want to start replacing it. As it's the most flimsy component, I thought I'd start with the H-shifter first.

I certainly appreciate the pros and cons of H-shifting - but there's nothing like throwing an E30 around the ring, or a FF1800 around Newbury in nKP with your feet and hands dancing around the place, right on the most ragged of edges.

The only bit I don't currently have a replacement lined up for is the sequential shifter, but hopefully someone'll either point one out or release one. The only option I can see is the Frex one, but it isn't standalone. I use the G25 shifter in sequential mode for everything except F1 cars, so the one-hand-off-the-wheel 'problem' isn't a problem for me. :p

[Attila Domján]

Then this one was designed for you m8.

[Kristofer Larsson]

Jamie ,check this out : osCommerce

[Jamie Wilson]

Thanks Kristofer, but I have three problems there:

1) I can't find any further details on it at all
2) It's a bit out of my current price range
3) I've heard good and bad things about VPP in the past. I haven't heard anything bad at all about the rack, it looks great, but everything else they produce seems to have very flaky support, and if I were to pay that amount of money I'd expect rather better than that.

Still, food for thought. I know of one more than I knew about previously, so thanks for the heads up.

Atti: I think I might be ordering something tonight then, pending an enquiry from a UK owner about import costs.

[Attila Domján]

i think generally in EU it should be around 20%

[Jamie Wilson]

Thanks Atti, but I think there might be one or two more costs even on top of that - It's not called 'Rip-off Britain' for nothing.

[Jarrod Crossley]

Rember if you are importing goods from the US ask them to mark it as gift. Then you have no import tax.

[Jamie Wilson]

I thought that loophole was closed some time ago, Jarrod.

[Jamie Wilson]

I just had an "Oh bollocks to it, *click*" moment...

Thank you for your payment

Congratulations - your payment was sent. You have successfully paid for this transaction.

I went for the silver one in the end; the black one looks great but would be a dust magnet, and I wasn't overly keen on the coloured ones; bit too.. "OMG LOOK I'M A SHIFTER WOW LOOK AT ME WTFLOL".

[Attila Domján]

looool congrats on your purchase Jamie

[Cam Wedgwood]

Originally Posted by Jamie Wilson

I just had an "Oh bollocks to it, *click*" moment...



I went for the silver one in the end; the black one looks great but would be a dust magnet, and I wasn't overly keen on the coloured ones; bit too.. "OMG LOOK I'M A SHIFTER WOW LOOK AT ME WTFLOL".

Congrats on your purchase Jamie! I have just done the same, except in black... I'm just wondering if your order has been shipped etc and if there is some sort of tracking available?

[Jamie Wilson]

In one of the paypal e-mails you should have a link to the USPS tracking site and the tracking number, then that same tracking number should work on whatever service they pass it over to in Australia (it works here in the UK for Parcelforce for example)

Mine is currently listed as being in 'advised' status, which to the best of my knowledge means that I should receive a letter in the next day or two with details on how to pay the import fees; then it'll be cleared for delivery.

[Cam Wedgwood]

Has yours arrived yet Jamie? Any quick thoughts about how it performs in the hands (hand) of a new user?

[Jamie Wilson]

Paid the customs charges yesterday; should arrive on Tuesday.

[Cam Wedgwood]

I just checked the state of my order to be extremely surprised to see this...:

Your item cleared customs in AUSTRALIA at 5:05 PM on May 25, 2008. Information, if available, is updated every evening. Please check again later.

WOW!! It was sent on the 20th! I was expecting at least another week!

[Jamie Wilson]

Recieved it today, Cam:



Initial thoughts:

- Reasonably well packed
- Actually slightly smaller than I was anticipating. Then again on the sim-gear site the picture is huge, so that's probably why.
- Built like a tank
- Peeling the little rubber feet things off the cardboard strip (to put underneath the top plate when clamping onto a desk) is a right pain in the arse, but doable with care
- Feels great; much more weighty than my G25, despite it still being classed as a 'light' feel
- My 7th and 8th gates seem to click very slightly louder than the others but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about
- It's crazily shiny. Shiny = good.
- As for the H-shifting process, I'm already used to that from my G25. Took me about 2 laps to get 100% used to the slightly tighter shift pattern.

[Warren Dawes]

Will be interesting to see how it goes over time.
It certainly looks more sturdy than the G25.

[Attila Domján]

Nice addition Jamie

[Cam Wedgwood]

Looks brilliant, so good in fact I am wishing I went chrome instead of black!!

Thanks for the initial thoughts.

This is where mine is according to USPS:

At Foreign Delivery Unit, May 29, 2008, 6:58 am, AUSTRALIA
At Foreign Delivery Unit, May 28, 2008, 9:45 am, AUSTRALIA

Surely it must be close... Would love it to arrive tomorrow before the weekend.

Congrats Jamie!

[Jamie Wilson]

Turning this thread into a full blown cockpit thread now, here are the images I posted in the other cockpits thread recently:

For the first time, some images of my current setup, with a new addition in the form of an SST shifter... Mainly for history-recording reasons, as the cockpit project proper starts now


The overall setup. Before today I had the G25 shifter on the left, might take me a while to adjust to shifting sequentially on the right now.



Arrived today . Clamped to the desk until I have a solution for having it at the right height.



My ingenius pedal raising box . My desk was built pretty high, so I had to raise them up, and it's angled such that the pedal faces are very nearly vertical.




My pride and joy, an Access Virus TI synth


My aging MIDI controller keyboard, tucked away out of use for tonight.


On the horizon:

Frex SimWHEEL

[Attila Domján]

heya dude, some pics for you

First is a pic from ECCI site about the Pocono 290mm leather, as i mentioned i felt it a bit big.

Second and third is my current 270mm Momo suede, i love it, both the smaller size fits me better, and the touch of the suede even now after more then half a year extensive usage when the surfaces where i touch is really shiny, still it is more soft feeling to touch then a leather wheel.
The pic is from the new condition status, at home i will make you one from the current look of it.

btw, all the Momo models you can get from 270-290mm size, but take care what you order, that the screwing is fitting, some wheels has 5 screw bolts others has 6. In case of my Momo with ECCI they customizing it for exactly matching the wheel base.

[Attila Domján]

Also from ECCI site a wheel, which i loved for the look of it, but it is quite large, 320mm

[Attila Domján]

what about this? 290mm Momo on the Frex site itself, so for sure it would fit to your future dream wheel

FREX GP