Does better sim racing gear make me quicker? | TREQ

It’s an everlasting discussion between sim racers. Does better sim racing equipment make you a better/quicker driver? Jim is going to find that out by doing two time trails. One in a so called ‘pro’ sim rig (with Fanatec Podium and Heusinkveld gear) and another stint in a ‘basic’ rig (with a lower-end Thrustmaster wheel and pedal set). Watch the video for the fastest laps, as well as the stint times.
Used rigs:
Treq One: www.treq-sim.c...
Treq Ace: www.treq-sim.c...
Find more rigs, accessories, monitor mountings and racing seats in our shop: www.treq-sim.c...

[@silasbluhm]

my rig is so weak that i can feel the ffb in my seat, and my wheel is a G920 lol

[@neilbezuidenhout9284]

Well u answered, the question. Your faster in ur rig because u are use to it. Random call sign was faster with a g29 and pro pedals than with the dd and pro pedals. Some of the fastest times in esport have been done with low ffb wheels. Many people in my circle of racing have gone from low powered gear to dd and load cell and were initially slower, but once accustomed to their new setups run the same pace as with previous gear.

[@NeoGeo822]

t3pa with conical brake mod is the way to go

[@treq7946]

Jim personally wasn't a fan of the CBM when using T3Pa's back in the day. It still measures distance, instead of force using that. He rather drove without the rubber insert. But a lot of people do like the mod indeed.

[@ewartdebruijn8137]

And does a Treq sim rig makes you faster :-)
I can answer this now and I promised to post if a flex to non-flex rig with high end equipment makes you faster.
Log story short, it definitely does.
On average, I was 1,5 seconds faster with the ACE compared to my PS evolution.
Most time was gained in the braking zone, non-flex makes you feel the details while braking and that helps a lot.

[@treq7946]

You're about to find out! On a serious note: a setup that has no flex lets you feel more of the feedback from the equipment than a wonky setup will do. The wheelbase feels like it's been upgraded when you go from desk to alu-sim rig. So I do think it makes you quicker.

[@ewartdebruijn8137]

@@treq7946 yes indeed, going from a flex to non-flex rig with high end dd steering and load cell pedals. Really looking forward how the ace experience will be. If I don’t forget, I will post a time comparison

[@sebas20vt]

Yes. And no. I can do similar times with the logitech. But with my fanatec. I drive the time 10 times. And with the logitech I need 10 Laps do get 1 good time.

[@riscracing5538]

Interesting. While you can be on one lap (with hours of testing with the basic rig , you said you can get the 1.39 down into the 1.38.x)) nearly as fast as with the pro rig (~ 0.5 seconds slower) the biggest advantage of the pro rig is the consistency!
Just compare the lap times from lap 2-9 :
Basic rig: All laps within 3.4 seconds (1.39.5 to 1.42.9) , if i skip lap 6 there is still 1.5seconds (1.39.5 to 1.41.0)
Pro rig: All laps within 6/10th of a second (1.38.0 to 1.38.6)
Lap times with the basic rig are about 1 to 3 seconds slower than the pro rig (1.38.6 to 1.39.5 and 1.38.0 to 1.41.0)
If this had been a competitive race the basic rig (only using lap 2-9 for comparison) looses about 18 seconds during the whole race!
And that´s a lot.
Even if you can do a hotlap in Qualifiying with the basic setup and for example get P5 you will struggle in the race due to the bad consistency compared to the pro rig.
There will be only one way in the race with the basic rig from P5 and that´s down the line into P1x if all others are using pro rigs and their consistency is better....
Nice video indeed!
My personal conclusion: Pro gear (Direct Drive, Loadcell or hydraulic pedals) can make you faster (obviously not 5 seconds per lap) but the consistency is the vital part that will increase (also the immersion and the better more detailed feedback will make you faster) and will get you better overall race results compared to the basic setup.

[@RossBearman]

I wonder how close your times would be if you only switched in the pro pedals, but kept all the other basic gear?

[@treq7946]

While I think the pedals are indeed the biggest differentiator, if you are used to a 20 Nm wheel, the Thrustmaster feels kinda numb. While I do remember back in the day I thought 4 Nm was a lot when I first tried something like that!