The DD1 wheelbaseWheelbase — direct drive
20 Nm of direct drive — far more than I need. I bought it for the headroom, not to use it: I run high detail with the torque well under max.
$1,199Check price
Real rig · I own this gearSim Racing
My iRacing sim-racing cockpit
The real Fanatec sim rig I race iRacing on — a Podium DD1 and ClubSport gear on a Trak Racer TR8 Pro, ClubSport V3 pedals tuned to brake by pressure, and a ButtKicker for tactile feel — tucked into a corner of my 10×10 music studio. The gear I own, how I set up force feedback, and why I run one ultrawide instead of triples.
Last updated 2026-06-28
Kyle Romero — I race iRacing exclusively, tune my own force feedback and haptics, and personally own every piece of gear on this page.
WheelbaseFanatec DD1 (20 Nm)WheelsFormula V2.5 + ClubSport RSPedalsClubSport V3 + brake kitCockpitTrak Racer TR8 ProDisplayLG 49″ ultrawide, 240 HzHapticsButtKicker + A800SimiRacing
The rig
The cockpit, and the room it shares
The whole rig lives in one corner of my 10×10 — the same room as my music studio. That dual-purpose reality drives a lot of the choices here, starting with a single ultrawide instead of triples: I just don't have the wall for three monitors.
The frame is a Trak Racer TR8 Pro and it doesn't flex at all under the DD1 — genuinely impressive for the price. If I built it again I'd go full aluminum extrusion for the expandability, and I'd pick a more padded seat: the Trak Racer GT Pro is rock-solid and realistic but firm, with very little cushion for long stints.
Feel
How I set up the force feedback
I keep the base settings deliberately simple and do almost all the real tuning per-car inside iRacing — it's far less fiddly than chasing it in the tuning menu.
Set the base
Force feedback maxed, sensitivity and rotation on Auto. The only knob I actually touch is the interpolation filter — I run it around 3, because any lower and the wheel just buzzes.
Tune in-game
Everything else happens in iRacing. Per-car FFB strength in the app keeps it simple and consistent, and that's where the real feel comes from anyway.
Respect the 20 Nm
The DD1 puts out 20 Nm — strong enough to break your thumb if a car snaps the wheel and you're not braced for it. I never run it near max; the headroom is the point, not the daily setting. Overkill, on purpose.
“Force feedback maxed, the rest tuned in-game — simple on purpose.”
The gear
The gear in this cockpit
The DD1 wheelbase
Wheel — formula
Lives on the base most of the time — my daily for sports-car racing and the odd open-wheeler.
$400Check price
Wheel — round
Swapped on for NASCAR and dirt — a round leather rim just makes sense for ovals.
$370Check price
Pedals — load cell
Fanatec ClubSport Pedals V3
Fanatec
Set super stiff with almost no travel so I brake by pressure, not distance — far more repeatable. The brake performance kit is what takes them from good to great.
$399Check price
ShifterShifter — H + sequential
H-pattern for older cars, flick to sequential for everything else — one unit covers both.
$300Check price
HandbrakeHandbrake
For rallycross and the occasional handbrake-into-the-pits moment. Not used every session, but I'm glad it's there when it is.
$200
Haptics — bass shaker
Bolted under the seat, driven by the Behringer A800 amp below, and tuned in SimHub. It's how I feel the rear stepping out and the curbs before I see them — I won't build a rig without haptics.
$200Check price
Haptics amp
A800 Reference Amplifier
Behringer
A studio reference amp (2×400 W) repurposed to drive the ButtKicker — far more power than a shaker needs, so it never strains no matter how hard I push the effect.
Owned — not in catalog yet
The TR8 Pro frameCockpit
Trak Racer TR8 Pro
Trak Racer
Zero flex under the DD1's 20 Nm — I've never felt the frame move. A genuine bargain; for the money it's hard to beat.
$629Check price
The GT Pro seatSeat
Rock-solid and realistic, but honestly very firm with little padding. For long stints I'd pick a seat with more cushion — learn from me.
$349Check price
The 49″ ultrawideDisplay
One 49-inch ultrawide instead of triples — a footprint call, because the rig shares a 10×10 room with my studio. I'd run triples if I had the wall for it.
$1,300Check price
KRK Rokit 5Sound
Not what I'd buy for the rig today — I just had these from my studio days — but they earn their keep. The upside over a headset is you don't cook yourself; sim racing with stiff pedals and a 20 Nm wheel is a real workout.
$400Check price
Braking
Pedals tuned to brake by pressure
The ClubSport V3s are great load-cell pedals for the money, and the brake performance kit takes them up a level — but the bigger thing is how I set them.
No travel, all pressure
The load cell reads force, not movement — so I run the brake very stiff with almost no travel and modulate on pressure alone. It feels alarming at first and takes a week or two to recalibrate your foot, but it's far more consistent than a soft, long-throw pedal.
Dial it in
They're tunable enough for any feel — stiffer, softer, more or less travel — and I set the brake-force range in iRacing so 100% input lands right at my hardest comfortable press. Worth the time to get right.
“I brake by pressure, not distance — it's just more repeatable.”
The view
One ultrawide, not triples or VR
I run a single 49-inch LG ultrawide (5120×1440, 240 Hz). It's a footprint call more than a performance one — the rig shares the room, so triples were never on the table. If you have the space, I'd genuinely recommend triples; not being able to see beside you is workable, but less immersive.
VR is the upgrade I want next, but it's waiting on a PC upgrade to drive the pixel and frame demand. I'm eyeing the Pimax Dream Air for the small form factor and OLED — comfort matters a lot when you're in the seat for a couple of hours.
The machine
The PC it runs on
The same machine that does everything else I do — a gaming-leaning build, so iRacing on a single ultrawide isn't a stretch. VR is where it'll start to feel the limits, which is part of why that upgrade comes first.
- CPU
- AMD Ryzen 9 7900X$330
- GPU
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070$599
- Memory
- 32GB DDR5
- Primary storage
- 6TB NVMe SSD
On the rig
The software I run
Three things run alongside iRacing every session — one to tune the feel, one to get faster, one to keep me out of trouble.
iRacingThe sim
The reason I'm here. The fairest, least-spammy online racing, the best physics and sound, and a new graphics engine on the way. Graphics aren't its strong suit yet, but nothing else is close on the racing itself.
SimHubHaptics tuning
Where I tune the ButtKicker per-car and per-surface. Honestly a painful process to dial in — but completely worth it once it's right.
Trophi AITraining
An AI coach I use to find lap time fast — one of the quickest ways I've shaved tenths off.
CrewChiefSpotter
A smarter spotter than the in-sim one. Knowing exactly where cars are around you is crucial on a single screen, when you can't just glance sideways.
Approach
Why it's built this way
If there's one thing I'd tell anyone building a rig: don't skip haptics. Tuned right, the ButtKicker disappears — you stop noticing it until you switch it off and the whole thing suddenly feels flat and lifeless. A motion platform like a D-BOX would be the dream, but a well-tuned shaker gets you a surprising amount of the way there.
Two small things that aren't really gear: I wear gloves and grippy pilates socks every session. The gloves are mostly to protect the wheel — these rims aren't cheap and bare hands wear the grip over time — and they help grip too. The socks let me drive without shoes but still keep my feet planted; barefoot on stiff pedals, you slide right off once you start sweating. And you do sweat — which is half the reason I run speakers instead of a headset most of the time.
“Tuned right, the haptics disappear — until you turn them off.”
“20 Nm is overkill on purpose: you want the headroom, not the daily setting.”
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FAQ
Honest answers
What force-feedback settings do you run on the DD1?
I keep the base simple: force feedback maxed, sensitivity and rotation on Auto, and the interpolation filter around 3 (any lower and the wheel buzzes). Almost all the real, per-car tuning I do inside iRacing rather than in the tuning menu — it's far less fiddly.
Is 20 Nm too much torque for sim racing?
It's overkill, on purpose. 20 Nm is more than I need day to day and I never run it near max — but the headroom is reassuring, and the detail at sane settings is excellent. I bought the ceiling, not the daily number.
Single ultrawide or triples for iRacing?
I run one 49-inch ultrawide because my rig shares a 10×10 room with my studio — it's a space call, not a performance one. If you have the wall space, I'd recommend triples; losing the peripheral view is workable but less immersive. VR is my planned next step after a PC upgrade.
Are the Fanatec ClubSport V3 pedals good enough?
Yes — they're great load-cell pedals for the price, especially with the brake performance kit. The trick is the setup: I run the brake very stiff with almost no travel, then set the brake-force curve in iRacing until threshold braking is muscle memory rather than guesswork.
Is a ButtKicker / bass shaker worth it for sim racing?
For me it's non-negotiable. The honest catch is the tuning — getting it right in SimHub takes patience — and it ships as a transducer only, so you need a separate amp (mine's the Behringer A800). But a well-tuned shaker delivers a shocking amount of a motion platform's immersion for a fraction of the cost.
Is the Trak Racer TR8 Pro rigid enough for a DD1?
Zero flex under 20 Nm, and excellent value. If I built again I'd choose a full aluminum-extrusion rig for expandability and future-proofing — and a more padded seat, since the GT Pro seat is very firm.
Why do you race iRacing exclusively?
It does the best job of keeping racing fair and clean, and it has the best physics and sound. The graphics lag a bit, but a new engine is in development. I also run Trophi AI to train and CrewChief as a spotter during races.
Do you really wear gloves and special socks to sim race?
Yes. The gloves are mainly to protect the wheel rims (they're not cheap and bare hands wear the grip), and they help grip too. The grippy socks let me drive without shoes but keep my feet planted — barefoot on stiff pedals you slide off once you start sweating, and sim racing is a real workout.