Optionals and Modifications

Optional Accessories and Modification by CGR

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1. Surround speaker mount

To maximize your experience, surround speaker setup is the right choice. With the correct 5.1 channel arrangement, you could hear what happened in your surrounding. You don't need to look into the rearview mirror, just hear the sound of your opponent through your rear speakers. A good game will also emulate the correct engine sound placement based on the engine layout, whether it is a front engine, mid engine, or read engine.

2. Bracket and mounting for Buttkicker /bass shaker

This device will add a new dimension to your gaming experience. It transforms low frequency sound into vibration that will shake your whole cockpit. You can feel your cockpit shaking because of the kerbs, bumps on the road, any contact with other vehicle, or even any crash.

3. Keyboard mount

This will come in handy when you are using a PC. Any in-game shortcut, or chat will made easy without you having to move from your comfortable seat. Keyboard mount can be place on the side of the rig, or on the center behind the wheel.

4. Logitech G25 /G27 inverted pedal mod

Inverted pedal will give you more benefit compared with normal arrangement:

- Longer pedal travel, movement itself will be very natural, just like your ordinary vehicle.

- Longer travel means will give you more precise throttle control.

5. Logitech G25 /G27 handbrake mod

This is a must-have mod for drifters or rally enthusiast. Performing a drift or rally need some usage of handbrake, and it will be more realistic if the handbrake mechanism is lever, instead of a push button.

6. Logitech G25 /G27 wheel swap 

To further improve the experience, some players choose to swap their steering wheel with actual wheel from a car. No more toy-ish feel with your "toy"

Wheels for your CGR

~This is a new section of CGR blog. You may access it directly from the link above~

There are a few Steering wheel brand on the market, especially in Indonesia. They are Logitech, Thrustmaster, and Fanatec. 

CGR is fully compatible with all of them.

Logitech

Widely known as computer peripherals provider, Logitech offers wide range of steering wheel, for PC and Playstation 2/3. From entry level driving force, the mid-level Driving Force GT (DFGT) to the company’s flagship G27.

The most commonly used is the G27. It is very robust and have the best value for money.  It feature leather-wrapped wheel, 6-speed H-pattern shifter, and stainless steel pedals. Most of the exposed metal of G27 are made of stainless steel. CGR is fully compatible as it was made originally to use with Logitech G27. See the prototype.

The prototype of CGR

Driving with clutch ON is a sheer pleasure. Its not the lap time that we are after, but the fun of it. You can polish your heel-and-toe techniques here without being worry about the pedal movement because CGR is rigid and ready to handle any maneuver of the user. Most of CGR owner use their rigs with Logitech G27.

Although this wheel is compatible with PC, it is very unfortunate this wheel is not compatible with XBOX. And Logitech didn’t supply XBOX-compatible wheel.

Other weak point of the wheel, based on community feedback, there is slight percentage of wheel failure from misalignment, mid-game recalibration, and lost of response. So make sure your G27 is covered by official warranty, just in case.

Thrustmaster

Thrustmaster is also an old player on gaming peripherals. The most recent hardware release is the mighty T500 RS steering wheel. Which became the new benchmark of high end wheels. It features detachable 12 inches wheel diameter, 1080 degree wheel rotation (compared with 900 degree of other brands), high resolution steering accuracy (16-bit resolution) using new HEART sensor technology. 

The most noticeable feature is the force feedback. It is powerful thanks to 3000rpm 150mNm industrial motor and belt mechanism (compared with gear from Logitech) provide smooth rotation. The pedals also in different class from other. Full metal construction, adjustable for floor mounted or suspended position.

CGR is fully compatible with this Gran Turismo 5 official wheel. The big and heavy wheel housing is easily hard mounted to provide rigidity. The bulky pedals also fitted nicely at the bottom, whether it is floor mounted or suspended style. CGR is the perfect companion if you own this wheel.

One small notice is cabling for the pedals. The cables are very small and soft compared to the heavy pedals assembly. Special care must be taken during usage or installation to prevent the cable getting pinched by the pedals. The problem posted on this blog

Fanatec

Fanatec is a German-based company and has been impressed many reviewers with their 911 wheels lineup. For a long time, there hasn’t been a quality racing wheel capable of supporting the Xbox 360, the PC and the Playstation 3. If sim racers wanted to enjoy not only rFactor and Richard Burns Rally, but also RACE Pro and Forza Motorsport 3, they had to own two wheels: one to drive on the PC, and a “low” quality wheel from Microsoft to drive on the Xbox 360. To fill this gap, Fanatec come with the product.  It impressed us on many levels, including not only multi-platform compatibility but also featuring a load cell brake pedal and super-smooth, belt-drive FFB. When the time came, the hardest of our hard-core sim racers had to give it a go: When partnered with Clubsport Pedals and the Fanatec Shifter Kit, it’s really something quite special.

It features official licensed Porsche wheel the same with one at the actual Porsche cars. The high end products like Porsche GR3RS wheel and Porsche Wheel Turmo S (PWTS) feature vibrating motor at the wheel housing. Wheel setting can be adjusted live by the buttons on the wheel. 

The pedals, especially Club Sport Pedals (CSP) is state of the art product. Fully alumunium, featuring vibrating motor at the brake pedal and load cell sensor for brake pedals. It adds new dimension and more simulating the real life.

CGR is fully compatible with fanatec wheels. The vibration motor really adds  a new dimension. The vibration can be felt from the seat, and you can feel it shakes more during high RPM driving. This high end wheel must be hooked up with a perfect cockpit setup and this is where CGR plays it role.

One downside of this wheel is the fact that Fanatec wouldn’t ship to Asia, so in order to get this wheel, one must handcarry from Europe/US. Retailers in in Jakarta usually procure it that way, and thus make the wheel price is very high.

CGR + Fanatec GT3RS CSP

A very classy wheel :) the wheel itself was wrapped with alcantara , authentic Porsche logo, and "invisible" buttons on the wheel.

There was no difficulties on installing the steering wheel to CGR as Fanatec supplied us with hard-mounting chart.

Pedals was also sit nicely on existing mounting, only need small hole adjustment for bolting

However, the shifter (not available on the pic) needs some adjustment, just like other rigs.
Overall, the package works nicely. Vibration motor from the wheel propagates until the seat !! :) you wouldn't need a buttkicker in this case.

And the club sport pedal is probably the best around (apart from custom-purpose built pedals) with Load Cell and vibration motor.

Once again, CGR had proven its flexibility. This high end wheel attached nicely and easy to CGR.

CGR + Thrustmaster T500 RS

So here it is, the one that I use everyday. Champion Gaming Rig (CGR) fitted with Thrustmaster T500 RS

This is the best available wheel for Gran Turismo 5 game so far. For those who are using Logitech G-series, there are some additional feedback from GT5 present here like track bumps, kerbs, and lost of traction. Separate review on the T500 RS will be made separately.

One thing that T500 RS requires is rigidity. The wheel's feedback is very strong, and the pedal assembly is heavy. All of those need proper rig setup and CGR has proven it's compatibility with this high-end wheel.

Pedals can be mounted in "F1-style" or "inverted" just like in normal car. On this setup, it was mounted like a normal car (inverted) and it provides nice feeling and an additional faceplate mounted on the back of the pedals to give nice finishing and put some logo there.

Champion Gaming Rig has proven its reliability after 2 months of usage with T500 RS on daily basis. It's the perfect companion for this high end wheel.