HARDWARE

A Thrustmaster T500RS

Hardware is an important part of sim racing. Racers can spend hundreds of dollars on equipment, ranging from steering wheels, pedals and shifters, all the way up to racing seats and full cockpits. Combine this with a triple monitor setup, and you have the basis of extreme immersion in a racing sim.

There are three main companies who make the majority of the wheels, pedals and shifters that sim racers use. Logitech, Fanatec, and Thrustmaster. Logitech is known for making the most basic wheel that a sim racer would use, the Logitech Driving Force GT. They also make two mid-range wheels, the G25 (which I have) and the G27. The DFGT comes with a set of pedals, while the other two come with both pedals, and a 6-speed (plus reverse) H-shifter, too. These are a little outdated, and are usually hard to find first-hand.

Fanatec makes both mid-range and top of the line equipment, the Porsche 911 GT2, GT3 RS and Forza Motorsport CSR wheels are their mid range equipment, and do not include pedals or shifters. These wheels cost between $170 to $250. They also have their Clubsport wheel. This wheel is actually a modular system, comprised of the wheel base (which costs $550 by itself) and a collection of wheel rims, including Formula 1 style wheels, GT, and oval style wheels. These are generally around $100 each. Attaching to these wheels are the Clubsport pedals and shifters ($200 and $150 respectively). On top of all this, they also sell a few other accessories, like a handbrake and a special sequential shifter (for simulating cars like GTE's and modern rally cars).

A Rennsport cockpit, with a full triple-monitor setup (not included)

As well as these, Fanatec sells both seats and cockpits. The CSL seat costs $300, and provides a racing seat and sturdy base to attach your wheels to. Finally, the Rennsport Cockpit costs a whopping $1000, and includes a full cockpit base that all of the wheels, shifters and pedals attach to. It also provides a surface to play 3 monitors on.

Finally, Thrustmaster provides mid- and high-range steering wheels, pedals and shifters. The T300RS costs around $450, but doesn't include an H-shifter or a clutch pedal while the T500RS costs around $580, and also doesn't include a shifter, which must be purchased separately for roughly $140.

Image Source for Rennsport Cockpit: http://f-wheel.com/sites/default/files/rennsportcockpit.jpg
Image Source for Thrustmaster T500RS:  http://www.openwheeler.co.uk/images/t500rs-wheel-and-th8rs-gear-shifter.jpg