After seeing a few custom steering wheels for various simulators, I decided to give it a shot myself. Here is the final product (click for big):
I drafted the layout in AutoCad over the course of a couple weeks while I was choosing electronics. The wheel itself is a .160" foam-core carbon fiber sandwich. Mounted on it are 12 push buttons and 7 rotating dials. Each rotating dial is technically two buttons; one button press for turning one direction and another button press for turning the opposite direction. I've mapped the buttons to a number of different functions and I'm going to do (or attempt
) some scripting magic to make the dials do real-time adjustments without having to reach for F keys.
The shift lights and gear indicator are controlled by the same unit (a USB HID device) that drives all the buttons. The LCD is a CrystalFontz character display connected via USB. My G25 now requires three USB connections to run.
I use both InSim and OutGuage to get information from the game to the LCD, the shift lights, and the gear indicator. The software is written entirely in Python using DarkTimes' fantastic Pyinsim library. Right now it displays all the stuff you see there (position, lap, fuel remaining, fuel consumption, speed, RPM) and some things you don't see there (lap time, best lap time, splits, sector times). I'm currently working on different display modes for qualifying and racing--in qualifying it will display the pole position time and the next-quickest driver's best time (unless you're on pole, then it will display the 2nd quickest driver's time), and in race mode it will display the times to the drivers immediately ahead and behind.
This is my first try at making something like this and I'm very pleased with it, but I've already identified some things that need improvement. The foam-core panel isn't quite as rigid as I would like, so the next version will be a solid CF sheet (I used foam-core to save a few bucks, I should have paid the premium for the real thing). I'll also try to find someone to laser-cut the panel because cutting with a band saw and grinding to shape with a rotary tool was kind of a pain in the ass. It could also use a few cosmetic touch-ups here and there, notably the grip tape around the handles. I would also install a USB hub inside the chassis to cut down on the number of cables.
More pics (again, click for big):
By request, pics of the back:
I'll create a short video when I get a chance this evening.
Let me know what you think!
I drafted the layout in AutoCad over the course of a couple weeks while I was choosing electronics. The wheel itself is a .160" foam-core carbon fiber sandwich. Mounted on it are 12 push buttons and 7 rotating dials. Each rotating dial is technically two buttons; one button press for turning one direction and another button press for turning the opposite direction. I've mapped the buttons to a number of different functions and I'm going to do (or attempt
) some scripting magic to make the dials do real-time adjustments without having to reach for F keys.The shift lights and gear indicator are controlled by the same unit (a USB HID device) that drives all the buttons. The LCD is a CrystalFontz character display connected via USB. My G25 now requires three USB connections to run.
I use both InSim and OutGuage to get information from the game to the LCD, the shift lights, and the gear indicator. The software is written entirely in Python using DarkTimes' fantastic Pyinsim library. Right now it displays all the stuff you see there (position, lap, fuel remaining, fuel consumption, speed, RPM) and some things you don't see there (lap time, best lap time, splits, sector times). I'm currently working on different display modes for qualifying and racing--in qualifying it will display the pole position time and the next-quickest driver's best time (unless you're on pole, then it will display the 2nd quickest driver's time), and in race mode it will display the times to the drivers immediately ahead and behind.
This is my first try at making something like this and I'm very pleased with it, but I've already identified some things that need improvement. The foam-core panel isn't quite as rigid as I would like, so the next version will be a solid CF sheet (I used foam-core to save a few bucks, I should have paid the premium for the real thing). I'll also try to find someone to laser-cut the panel because cutting with a band saw and grinding to shape with a rotary tool was kind of a pain in the ass. It could also use a few cosmetic touch-ups here and there, notably the grip tape around the handles. I would also install a USB hub inside the chassis to cut down on the number of cables.
More pics (again, click for big):
By request, pics of the back:
I'll create a short video when I get a chance this evening.
Let me know what you think!
Nice work. That had to cost lots of hard work to make it.
