My adventure with space and racing sim rig

This post will contain more images and videos than text - one reason is that I lost the SimHub config file I created a few years ago, along with the PCB designs (code for Arduino is generated by SimHub automatically, so no code is needed either).

A few years back, I was often checking out racing and flight rigs built by others, especially on Reddit, and I thought that maybe one day I would build one.

After gathering some manual skills (and money), I started to design such a thing on paper with the intention of making it real.

I bought a used BMW E36 instrument cluster, put an Arduino Nano inside, and started to tinker with SimHub - it allowed me to control the speed and RPM needles through PWM pins with data pulled from telemetry servers of supported games.

I saw that SimHub allows displaying the current gear on an additional 7-segment display, which of course turned into designing and building one to fit the empty space below the RPM gauge.

Some time later, I found a good deal on a Thrustmaster T16000 with the intention of flying in Elite Dangerous (unfortunately, I couldn't make it work with No Man's Sky).

Also, during some kind of seasonal sale, a wild T300 appeared, being a great deal (around 900 PLN with gas and brake pedals). The whole rig frame was designed around those two controllers - mount holes, distances from the operator, among other things.

With the cluster working, I started to build the actual rig. The car seat is from some kind of old Ford (at least that's what I remember), and the frame is built from 20x20mm and 30x30mm steel profiles welded together. I added some chipboard to support the controllers and made a stand for the screen and gauges, and voilà!

Dirt Rally 2.0 was a real pleasure on this, although it would need some adjustments in terms of the driver's position in the seat, a more rigid construction, and easier entry.

In the same year, I enrolled in Computer Science engineering studies, which effectively reduced the amount of free time I had available, and the rig started to gather dust.The T300 was sold (prices of new units rose to about 1100 PLN, which means I sold my used one without loss).

The frame was dismantled - the profiles found their use elsewhere, the seat was returned to the scrapyard, and the T16000 still lies in my closet, waiting to be uncovered sometime in the future.

The idea is not dead, but next time it will be done much better - an actual car dashboard cut from a real car, along with seats and a floor, will make it one piece, and then we will turn it into something beautiful.
Of course, an update post will follow when this happens.