Sim racing is the new trend on the block, and you cannot continue feeling left out. You need to start your gaming experience now instead of waiting for when you have the money to build your sim racing rig. You may not know how to get into sim racing, though; hence, we have prepared a little guide for you to use.
However, we want to introduce the concept before getting into practical details briefly. Although sim racing is a type of gaming, it is pretty advanced, and you need to be prepared for what you’ll get from the fun experience.
A Brief Introduction to Sim Racing
Sim racing or racing simulation is a gaming setup that attempts to emulate real-life racing as much as possible. You need a sim racing rig for sim racing because the rig is designed to ensure you experience the same physical, visual, and auditory effects that you would during actual racing.
The sim racing rig requires several components to operate, like the chassis, monitor(s), seat, steering wheel, button box, pedals, gaming CPU, etc. It is expensive to build, a standard one costing around $30,000 on average, so it is much better to rely on sim racing rigs for rent when starting.
How to Enjoy Sim Racing Without a Rig at Home
You don’t necessarily need to have a fancy rig at home to enjoy sim racing e-sports because several gaming canters have bought rigs and allow players to rent them for a few hours. You can also connect with the sim racing community and see if anyone is willing to share their setup for some time.
It is rare for first-time players to directly get rig because they need time to adjust to the gameplay and understand their preferences before taking action.
How to Get into Sim Racing
You have a basic idea about sin racing, so it’s now time to provide tips on how to get into sim racing. The good thing about learning in the current age is that we have YouTube, digital guides, and search algorithms that will list places renting their sim racing rigs.
Let’s start looking at the options one by one.
YouTube
YouTube is the ideal place for learning about activity because you know a tutorial exists amid the billions of videos the platform has. Luckily for you, sim racing is fairly popular, so it gets more than just a few videos to help beginners get started.
Jimmy Broadbent is our favorite sim racer to follow on YouTube and has more than 781K subscribers on his channel. You can check out his playthroughs to know the types of games in sim racing and the playing experience. That will familiarize you with the gameplay before you officially begin gaming.
Aris.Drives is another channel worth following because it provides a lot of knowledge and how-tos, which are incredibly helpful for new players. Nils Naujoks takes this further by providing coaching videos, so follow him when you start playing to learn tips, tricks, and strategies to implement during racing.
Lastly, Nitro Nights is a must-follow when you consider building your sim racing rig. The channel reviews games and hardware and provides honest assessments, helping you steer clear of the sketchier versions when possible. They go by Overtake on their social media, so you’ll see both names pop up.
Sim Racing Events
Sim racing has been growing for the past few years, so you won’t have trouble finding events. For example, iRacing is a great place to participate as a racer because they have a sizeable community and frequently holds competitive events.
You can participate in these events once you have had a little practice and gauge your skills against real players. The SRW Calendar is a must website you need to know about because it keeps track of all the events sim racing happening across several communities.
Once you gain experience, you can also leverage these communities to organize your sim racing events.
Renting or Buying Sim Racing Rigs
The first thing you’ll need to start sim racing is a rig, and those can be expensive to buy. However, there is a way you can find a cheaper solution until you save enough money to get the sim racing rig of your dreams.
Rentals
The good news is that several businesses offer sim racing rig rentals for events so that you can try approaching the nearest ones in your area. Rentals are a good option if you only want to use the rig to participate infrequently.
Car dealerships/ Secondhand Rigs
Another option is finding car dealerships or secondhand equipment marketplaces to buy sim racing rigs for reduced costs. Carolina Sim Works and Race Department are two businesses dealing in sim racing equipment, so you can check them out or head over to eBay or Facebook Marketplace.
Our only concern with the last two is the risk of scammers hiding among legitimate sellers. So, opt for established businesses selling secondhand equipment to ensure you don’t lose your money.
What to Expect When You Begin
A guide on how to get into sim racing would be incomplete without setting expectations. Sim racing is a unique experience, even for people who have been avid fans of racing games.
You’ll need to get accustomed to the obvious newness, but a few other factors will affect the first few games you play.
1. The Physical Effects
Sim racing emulates real racing, which is the primary experience they are selling. It sounds incredible in theory, but it also takes a little adjustment. Prepare to feel surprised the first few times when you jerk to the side at a particularly sharp turn.
We aren’t accustomed to experiencing the physical impact of our rash virtual driving, but that’s where sim racing is different. You’ll feel nearly every bump and bounce, so gear up!
2. Separation from Reality
All sim racing equipment is designed to immerse you into the world of gaming, and it can feel unsettling at first. The visuals are hyper-realistic, audio systems are designed to copy real-life sound generation, and even controls are structured to respond realistically.
Prepare to feel a little overwhelmed at first before your mind slowly accepts this new form of gaming.
3. Differences in Equipment Capabilities
Sim racing rigs require several components that respond differently depending on their make. Since you’ll likely start with rented equipment, you can expect to feel a slight difference in the experience based on the gear you get to use.
Keep this in mind for competitive events to minimize negative impacts on performance until a build a rig at home.
Final Thoughts
We hope you enjoyed reading our guide on how to get into sim racing and will use the recommendations to improve your experience. It would be great if you knew someone with a sim racing rig, so you can try the activity and get an idea. It would help you make the right choices when renting or building your sim racing rig.
We hope you enjoy yourself and do check out our other blogs for more information about sim racing.
