03-26-2023, 11:30 PM
Just wanted to share a quick review/feedback on a bass shaker setup that I recently installed. Really quite amazed on how well these perform, wasn't really sure what to expect. These shakers really add a lot of immersion to racing, it's quite astounding what you get for the $ spent. Even if you have to buy the whole package (bass shakers, wiring, amp, software), it's going to be less than $200. And if you already have some of the hardware (I had an old amp that I was able to use for this, just make sure it can handle 4 ohms impedence, and is at least 2x50 watts), it's going to be even cheaper. That, combined with VR, is probably the next best thing to a full motion rig, for a fraction of the cost. Being able to feel the bumps in the road, and the rpms of the engine adds so much, it actually feels weird turning the shakers off.
Here's what I installed for my setup. 4 Dayton TT25 (16ohm) Mini bass shakers, 1 Dayton BST-1 shaker (the big one). I put 2 of the minis under my pedal foot plate, 2 towards the front of the rig, and the big one in the back, under the seat. I wired the minis in parallel to one channel on my amp (4x16ohm = 4ohm impedence), and the big shaker (4 ohms) to the other channel. Simhub (the software for this), will allow you to set up different channels with different effects, so that you don't have everything coming from all shakers. Generally, using less effects is better, otherwise you're going to get a weird mix that's not very distinct. But setting up a few important effects per channel works great, like ABS effect for the front. Simhub is free, but the free version only runs at 10hz, which introduces a bit of lag/delay. The full version runs at 60hz, and it's really cheap, under $10.
So in summary, do I think it's worth it? For me, yes! It will take a bit of time to adjust and fine tune all the settings (and every rig is different, so the effects will also need to be adjusted to suit every individual rig), but the added immersion, all for under $200, is really quite amazing. I wish I had done this a lot sooner. There are a lot of youtube tutorials to help with getting things set up.
Just wanted to share some thoughts, in case anyone has considered getting these, but isn't sure if it's worth it. When I turned on the ignition on an old Camaro Stock car in Iracing today, and then pushed the starter, I could "feel" the engine come to life, I could feel the rpms of the engine. Moments like those just add so much to sim racing.
Anyways, see you guys on track!
cheers, Alex
PS: I attached some pics to show what shakers I bought, and where I installed them.
Here's what I installed for my setup. 4 Dayton TT25 (16ohm) Mini bass shakers, 1 Dayton BST-1 shaker (the big one). I put 2 of the minis under my pedal foot plate, 2 towards the front of the rig, and the big one in the back, under the seat. I wired the minis in parallel to one channel on my amp (4x16ohm = 4ohm impedence), and the big shaker (4 ohms) to the other channel. Simhub (the software for this), will allow you to set up different channels with different effects, so that you don't have everything coming from all shakers. Generally, using less effects is better, otherwise you're going to get a weird mix that's not very distinct. But setting up a few important effects per channel works great, like ABS effect for the front. Simhub is free, but the free version only runs at 10hz, which introduces a bit of lag/delay. The full version runs at 60hz, and it's really cheap, under $10.
So in summary, do I think it's worth it? For me, yes! It will take a bit of time to adjust and fine tune all the settings (and every rig is different, so the effects will also need to be adjusted to suit every individual rig), but the added immersion, all for under $200, is really quite amazing. I wish I had done this a lot sooner. There are a lot of youtube tutorials to help with getting things set up.
Just wanted to share some thoughts, in case anyone has considered getting these, but isn't sure if it's worth it. When I turned on the ignition on an old Camaro Stock car in Iracing today, and then pushed the starter, I could "feel" the engine come to life, I could feel the rpms of the engine. Moments like those just add so much to sim racing.
Anyways, see you guys on track!
cheers, Alex
PS: I attached some pics to show what shakers I bought, and where I installed them.