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"Rocking Chairs
Hot Seat Simulators Mimic The Real Thing
Fitted with force-feedback steering wheels and pedals, g-inducing full-motion cockpit actuators and brain-pounding Dolby Digital surround sound, today’s simulator chassis can cost more than the vehicles they emulate. But they’ll never be real race cars, and sim racing won’t ever duplicate racing in the physical world. But it can come close, and if you want to get the most out of your software even a modestly priced chassis can make all the difference in the (virtual) world.
To prove it, we trekked to the Terryville, Conn. Headquarters of Hot Seat, the company that claims to have started the industry in 2005. Founder Jay Leboff, a car guy who owns a factory full of metal-bending tools, devised a prototype in response to his son’s request for something sturdier than his “bedroom gaming rig.” It was a short evolution to the full-blown, multifunction systems the company manufactures today.
All of Hot Seat’s racing chassis are essentially variants of its Racer GT base platform. If you own a game console, a steering-wheel-and-pedal setup and a monitor, you can start pretend driving for about $1,000. If all you have is a room and a 110-volt outlet, you’ll need at least $2,700. And if you want a whole-hog stationary platform (roll cage, NASCAR-style netting and enough computing power to shake your teeth loose), bring $4,750.
The big variable will be software. We “drove” an open-wheel Skip Barber car at Lime Rock—A track we know well—via iRacing.com’s superb, anatomically correct software. And although the racing was simulated, the adrenaline was authentic." - Auto Week
Click image to view article. |
"Rocking Chairs
Hot Seat Simulators Mimic The Real Thing
Fitted with force-feedback steering wheels and pedals, g-inducing full-motion cockpit actuators and brain-pounding Dolby Digital surround sound, today’s simulator chassis can cost more than the vehicles they emulate. But they’ll never be real race cars, and sim racing won’t ever duplicate racing in the physical world. But it can come close, and if you want to get the most out of your software even a modestly priced chassis can make all the difference in the (virtual) world.
To prove it, we trekked to the Terryville, Conn. Headquarters of Hot Seat, the company that claims to have started the industry in 2005. Founder Jay Leboff, a car guy who owns a factory full of metal-bending tools, devised a prototype in response to his son’s request for something sturdier than his “bedroom gaming rig.” It was a short evolution to the full-blown, multifunction systems the company manufactures today.
All of Hot Seat’s racing chassis are essentially variants of its Racer GT base platform. If you own a game console, a steering-wheel-and-pedal setup and a monitor, you can start pretend driving for about $1,000. If all you have is a room and a 110-volt outlet, you’ll need at least $2,700. And if you want a whole-hog stationary platform (roll cage, NASCAR-style netting and enough computing power to shake your teeth loose), bring $4,750.
The big variable will be software. We “drove” an open-wheel Skip Barber car at Lime Rock—A track we know well—via iRacing.com’s superb, anatomically correct software. And although the racing was simulated, the adrenaline was authentic." - Auto Week