Sim Racing Report: Conspit,Thrustmaster,and Trak Racer Updates
1. Conspit Ares Wheelbase, Steering Wheels
Conspit made three major announcements at ADAC: a wheelbase, a steering wheel, and a wheel hub. First up is the new Ares wheelbase. It comes in 10 Newton-meter and 18 Newton-meter versions, priced at 589 Euros and 879 Euros respectively. Conspit is equipping them with 23-bit high-precision optical encoders, as well as what they're saying is a deeply optimized high-performance force feedback system, so it will be quite interesting to test out these claims once we get our own hands on one. Both units appear to be exclusively PC-compatible for now.
Alongside these wheelbases, the new 290 GP steering wheel has also been released. It is a 290 millimeter Formula Style wheel with a 4.3-inch dash and dual clutches. What is probably most interesting about it though is its highly ergonomic design with deeply curved contours. Conspit's marketing is rather curious--they have included a huge amount of unusual technical information, including references to hypothenar eminences, and tensile modulus reported in hundreds of thousands of Megapascals. Anatomy and mechanical engineering lessons aside, they've also launched their H.A.O steering wheel hub, which will be compatible with three different wheel rims: D-shaped, round, and open styles. And if you were worried, rest easy--this also has a tensile modulus of 140-thousand Megapascals.
2. Thrustmaster's Next-Gen Direct Drive
Thrustmaster has also kept things busy with its T-598 wheelbase. Coming in at 5 Newton-meters, it features a small race dash screen, which lets you visualize your race information at glance. On top of that, it is also PlayStation compatible, comes with a 300-millimeter round wheel, and is priced at 500 USD, making this bundle likely targeted towards the audience of things akin to the Moza R3 and R5. Thrustmaster also introduced a new 320 millimeter oval shaped wheel: the Hypercar Wheel Add-On. It features their next-gen quick release system, as well as Alcantara accents and leather grips. Speaking of that new quick release system, a 30-dollar quick release upgrade is also out now, so legacy Thrustmaster wheels can now be mounted onto newer-gen wheelbase models.
3. Trakracer x BWT Alpine F1 Wheel
Trakracer announced an upcoming steering wheel of their own: the BWT Alpine F1 Team A522. Developed through their partnership with the French BWT Alpine F1 Racing Team, it is an exact 1-to-1 replica of the F1 car's wheel. The company also seems poised to release a huge number of their own new products very soon, including TrakRacer branded wheelbases, two TrakRacer GT wheels, two TrakRacer Formula 1 wheels, and Trakracer branded pedals, shifters, and handbrakes. It seems that they have also upgraded their smaller Direct Drive option from the originally quoted 13 Newton-meters to 18 Newton-meters, so it will be interesting to see where all these torque ratings eventually fall upon release. New cockpits and seats are in development, so all that remains to be seen is when official release dates arrive.