instructables

Budget Racing Simulator Cockpit

by shawndos

This project is my entry for Instructables' 2023 Student Design Challenge. I'm currently attending Dublin Jerome High
School and taking an intro course to Engineering and Industrial Design. In my spare time, I enjoy working on my Subaru
BRZ and occasionally playing simulation racing video games. While most of my work today centers around automotive
design and driving experience, I come from a graphic design background of more than 5 years.

Why Make This?

Sim racing can be an intimidating hobby to get into, especially considering the nancial toll it can take. Because of this,
newcomers will often compromise by setting up budget-friendly equipment with whatever they have around them. For
those who seek to improve the realism, comfort, and reliability of their setups, investing in a cockpit is the obvious next
step. However, prices for quality rigs are easily upwards of $300; the steep cost to upgrade can easily scare away budding
enthusiasts. This project demonstrates how you can build a dependable and realistic sim racing cockpit, completely
tailored to your preferences, for a fraction of that cost!

This Instructable is intended for makers with intermediate CAD skills and woodworking experience. If you're looking
to take videogame racing to the next level, you've come to the right place.

Supplies:

(5-6) 2 in. x 4 in. x 8 ft. Construction Lumber*

3/4 in. x 1 ft. x 4 ft. Plywood*
1 in. x 1 ft. x 2 ft. Board*
Truck/Car seat (Can be found at a local junkyard)
35 in. x 59 in. Oil Spill Mat - Link
(2) 12 oz. Semi-Gloss Black Spray Paint - Link
72 Count #9 x 3 in. Wood Screws - Link
(2) M6-1.0 x 80 mm Machine Screw** - Link
2 Count M6-1.0 Flange Nuts** - Link

*Lumber count, board and plywood dimensions will vary. Base these on your CAD model measurements.
**The metric measurement of the screws and nuts will depend on your pedal base.

Tools
150-Grit Sandpaper
Tack Cloth
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 Wood Glue
Stapler
Masking Tape
Measuring Tape
Ruler/Meter Stick
Phillip's Head Screwdriver
Wrench
Drill
Helical and Spade Drill Bits
Miter Saw
Jigsaw

Software
Autodesk Fusion 360

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Step 1: Making Your Measurements

Dial in your seat, wheel, and pedals to their optimal positions. While you should ultimately decide on the most
comfortable setup for yourself, these tips will help you minimize fatigue and nd the best seating position:
1. The pedals should be distanced where your knee maintains a slight bend when fully depressing any
pedal.
2. Your arms should form 90° angles when your hands are at 9 and 3 on the steering wheel.
3. Avoid excessive seat recline, try to keep your seating position upright.

Make measurements of the lengths, heights, and widths pictured above with a measuring tape in inches. If your seat has
a base, measure its dimensions. If it doesn't, measure the length of the bottom of your seat and the height you would like
to sit. Note that all measurements depend on your height and seating preferences, these speci c dimensions will
not be the same as yours.

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Step 2: Designing in Fusion 360

Using your measurements as a reference, sketch the dimensions of the frame and 4 oorboard supports on the x-axis
plane. Make sure that your measurements for the length and width of your frame match up with the innermost
rectangle in this sketch. The rst two supports should be within the measurement boundaries of your seat base, in
order to raise the seat above ground; this will make more sense in a second. Extrude the outer frame by 3.5 in. and the
oorboard supports by 1.5 in. upwards. Oddly enough, these are the real-life measurements of 2x4 lumber!
Then, create a sketch on the topmost face of any oorboard support. This will be your actual ooring. Make cutouts for
the dimensions of your seat base, as well as the front and rear table legs. For the base cutout, make a rectangle with the
actual measurements of your seat base and distance it horizontally from the opposing end of your frame so as to match
up with your measurements. Those rst two oorboard supports should now align with the left and right edges of your
base cutout, use the move tool to line them up if they don't. After that, center the rectangle vertically between the two
sides of your frame. The cutouts for your front table legs should be 1.5 in. x 3.5 in. since they'll stand upright. Because the
rear table legs are angled on this design, you'll need to widen the rear cutouts by around 1/2-1 in. I adjusted mine from
3.5 in. to 4 in. Finally, extrude this sketch by 0.7 in. upwards to represent the real thickness of your 3/4 in. plywood.

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Step 3: Steering Wheel Mount

Extrude the faces of your front legs from the oorboard support to the table height you measured. From there, create a
sketch on the leftmost face and draw out the top of the table and the sides to connect the front with the rear legs. Extend
these faces by 12 in. backward. Select the inner face of a front leg and make a sketch on that plane, this will be for the
rear legs. In order to connect the sketch with the oorboard support, use the Intersection tool and select the right edge
of the oorboard's topmost face. Draw a line connecting that edge with the bottom right edge of the tabletop. Make a
parallel line 3.5 in. away, and create the hidden edges of an angled rectangle (refer to the image above). This is purely
meant to help you measure and cut your [Link] sure not to select those areas and extrude this sketch by 1.5 in.
backward. Use the Move/Copy tool to duplicate the new body to the other side of your frame.

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Step 4: For Seats With Bases

Create a sketch on the top face of the oorboard and dimension a 1.5 in. perimeter around the cutout for your seat base.
Extrude this upward by 3.5 in. and you're done!

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Step 5: For Base-less Seats

A majority of car seats don't have bases like the one I picked up, as they are primarily meant to house a spring for truck
seats. To achieve the same level of comfort and durability, reference your measurements and create a secondary
platform similar to the one pictured above. If you take this route, you'll need to buy more lumber and a second, thicker
board. Additionally, you'll need to space out the rst two oorboard supports in order to create a wider, sturdier area. I'll
be honest: I prefer this look more...

Why Design This In CAD ?

While it may seem irrelevant to design a digital version of the cockpit, the model you create in Fusion 360 will determine
the measurements of lumber that you'll need to cut, and ultimately the amount of lumber you need to buy. This is
crucial to guarantee proper tment between your parts and to work out any issues before working with consumables- in
the long run, it'll save you both time and money.

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Step 6: Measuring and Cutting Your 2x4s

After nding the measurements for your parts in Fusion 360, make a checklist of all the di erent sizes, counts, and types
of wood. For now, let's focus on cutting the 2x4s to length. Start at one end and, use a measuring tape and pencil, mark
the wood, and draw vertical lines with a ruler in order to create sections corresponding to the lengths on your checklist.
When deciding what order to measure out your parts, you may have to do some math to minimize the amount
of scrap wood you have left on each 2x4. Repeat this process with all your lumber, until you have every 2x4 part on
the checklist.
When you nish measuring, bring your lumber to a miter saw and make vertical cuts at the lines you drew; make sure to
line up the 2x4s to the guard on the miter so your lines are straight. If you don't have access to a miter saw, a hand saw
would work ne but it would require signi cantly more time and energy. Make sure to line up the 2x4s to the guard on
the miter so your lines are straight. You should end up having all the parts to construct your cockpit beside the
oorboard and tabletop!

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Step 7: Measuring the Rear Leg Angle

Remember those hidden edges from earlier? Here's where you can thank yourself. You should have two pieces of 2x4
that are the length of the rectangle in the rear leg sketch. To remove the top and bottom areas where these pieces would
run into the oorboard and tabletop, simply nd the dimensions of the triangle intersections and trace them onto paper
using a ruler. Both your top and bottom intersections will have the same measurements, so you only need one template.
Trace your template onto the ends of your pieces and angle your miter saw along the lines. I would recommend making
a test cut close to your line rst to check if it's parallel or not.

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Step 8: Prep and Paint

Sand everything except the oorboard and its supports with 150-grit sandpaper, this will help with paint adhesion
and remove any splinters. There's no need to go overboard with sanding, just make sure to lightly rough up the faces of
your wood and get rid of any staples or stickers that are commonly found on store-bought lumber. After you sand, use a
tack cloth to pick up wood particles and prepare your parts for paint.
Lay the parts on a at disposable material in a well-ventilated area. I used a cut-up leaf bag, but newspapers will work
just as well. Spray light coats of paint with a few minutes between each, moving around to cover all sides of your parts.
The pictures above illustrate roughly how thick each coat should be. After 3 coats, allow an hour for the paint to properly
dry then ip your parts over and repeat with another 3 light coats of paint.

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Step 9: Floorboard Cutouts

Now it's time to move onto the oorboard. Draw the cutouts measured in your CAD model with a measuring tape and
meter stick. Take your time on this and try to make your measurements accurate. For the front and rear leg cutouts, it's as
simple as using a jigsaw to cut along your lines. However, the seat base cutout requires some creative thinking. I used a
spade drill bit at each of the 4 corners and used them to insert the jigsaw. There are probably easier ways to do this, but
hey, it worked for me! Once I had all those sections cut out, I used sandpaper to straighten the edges and remove any
splinters.
Remember, you can't turn a jigsaw 90°. Cut straight to the angle's vertex one way, go back and make a rounded cut,
then make another cut to the vertex going the other way.

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Step 10: Adding Carpet

This is where things start to come together! On a at surface, lay out your oil spill mat facing down. Then place your
oorboard on top, tracing all the edges with an easily visible marker. For cutting out the seat base opening, pinch the mat
and cut a slit in the center of your base markings to be able to cut from the inside. For the leg cutouts, cut a smaller
rectangle about 2 mm away from each side and cut a slit from the corner of that rectangle to the corner of the actual
oorboard cutout. This will allow the legs to slide in seamlessly from the top.
After cutting the mat to size, staple the perimeter of the seat base cutout to hold everything in place. The staples won't
be visible since they'll be covered by the restraint. Lift up the edges of the mat, one side at a time, and spread wood glue
along the sides with a piece of cardboard or scrap wood. Apply liberally around the edges of the oorboard's leg cutouts
to prevent the mat from bending upwards when the legs are inserted. Avoid spreading the wood glue too thin as it
might dry out before you're able to lay the mat down.

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Step 11: Assembling the Restraint and Frame

Trace the end of a 2x4 onto a piece of paper or cardboard to measure the proper spacing for drilling, and poke holes with
a pencil through your markings. Although this template is meant mostly for consistency, it will prevent you from drilling
through a spot that doesn't connect with another part.
Use the template to screw together parts for the seat base restraint. When drilling, make sure that you're pressing
both parts together against a hard vertical surface like a wall to create a ush tment. After you've assembled the
restraint, center it with the oorboard cutout and tape it down with masking tape. Flip the oorboard over to make
markings along the perimeter of the cutout, then drill. Set that aside and gather the parts to make up the cockpit frame.
After you've assembled them, measure out the distances for your rst two oorboard supports by referencing your CAD
model, then drill them into place. Here, I used masking tape to mark the measurements so I wouldn't need to measure
both sides for the support and the template.

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Step 12: Mounting the Pedals

Pedal position may be subjective, but the dimensions and hardware compatibility of your pedals are not. To nd out how
to mount your pedals, look up the make and model of your speci c pedal set and add "dimensions" or "measurements". If
this doesn't work, add "forums", as these details most likely can be found in a sim racing forum. If you're able to nd a
diagram directly from the manufacturer, make a note of the size of the mounting holes, as well as the distances
from the holes to the back of the pedal base and to the centerline. The hole size will determine what kind of
machine screw and ange nut you need.
On the underside of your oorboard, line the pedals up with the back edge and move them to your desired position. If
your pedals are centered, you can skip to tracing an outline. If you prefer having the pedals toward your right, move the
pedals to a mirrored location on the left side, then trace. Use a ruler to draw a line down the center of your outline and
mark the distance from the back of the pedal base to the holes. After that, horizontally mark the distance from the
centerline to each hole and place a nal mark to drill. Place some scrap wood underneath the spot where you're drilling
to keep the carpet from lifting and drill through using a helical drill bit that matches the size of your mounting holes.
Then, attach the ange nuts onto the machine screws by hand and poke them through the oorboard from the back.
Line them up with the threads on the pedal base, screw them in with a Philips's head, and tighten the ange nuts with a
wrench.

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Step 13: Assembling the Steering Wheel Mount

Begin by lining the table legs up with the connecting side piece and screwing them together, repeating this for the other
side as well. Choose one side to rst attach the oorboard supports on and place a scrap 2x4 underneath to make it level
with the side piece. Once you screw the supports in, slide the oorboard in place and sandwich it on top of the other
side's front and rear legs. Because of the angled design, there's no way to assemble the oorboard after both sides
are connected, so this assembly might be tricky. Having a second pair of hands is extremely helpful here; screw the
oorboard supports to the other side, using a scrap 2x4 again to prop it up again. Now, place the legs and oorboard into
the frame. Use masking tape to line up your template with the legs, and put screws through the frame and each leg.
Finally, place your tabletop onto the legs, and screw them together.

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Step 14: The Final Stretch

At this point, all you need to do is carefully lower your seat into the base restraint and mount your steering wheel! For
heavier seats, I'd recommend nding someone to help you put it into place; I was moving my truck seat around to test for
tment and got a week's worth of back pain. In the end, though, I'd say it was worth it.
I hope you enjoy the realism and comfort of your new racing simulator cockpit! It's time you hit the (virtual)
streets with con dence. If you followed this Instructable I'd love to see some pictures, share them on this post, or email
me at namedshawn@[Link]!

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