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You know you’ve thought about it. You and a bunch of friends are lapping the Nürburgring in a Ford GT on the latest rendition of Gran Turismo or Forza and you think, “This would be so much cooler if I was sitting in a racing seat with a steering wheel, shifter, and pedals in front of me.” For my friends and I, this dream has become a reality.
For years, my friends and I have filled the time between car shows and F1 races by sitting on the couch, racing each other around our favorite tracks to see who can post the fastest lap times. That is, until one evening I arrived at my buddy’s house to find a stack of lumber, a skilsaw, and a spare E30 seat instead of the Playstation controller I was expecting. Apparently, James had a different plan for that evening. Version 1 of the E30 Driving Simulator was built that night.
That first “simulator” was just the seat out of an old BMW, bolted to some 2×4s, with platforms to hold the TV and generic plug-in racing equipment (steering wheel, shifter, and pedals). However, with my friend’s vast understanding of the inner workings of computers (plus a couple years and about four versions later), we have what you see today.
Sitting in the driver’s seat is nearly identical, in both form and function, to the interior of an actual BMW E30. Everything works. The steering column gives the proper wheel angle, and the tape deck and CD changer offer up your favorite 80’s hits (”Danger Zone” anyone?). The gauge cluster gives accurate readouts of in-game speed and RPMs. You read that right… look down at the speedometer to check your speed before you hit the chicane at Laguna Seca. None of that on-screen sissy stuff.
OK, enough with the details and on to the pictures and video!
The cockpit features fully-functioning HVAC fan, backlit display, factory E30 stereo with CD changer, emergency brake, horn, ignition, E30 on-board computer, shifter, etc.
[LEFT]The gauge cluster is fully-functional and accurate, allowing the driver to check speed, RPMs, car temperature, and remaining fuel.[/LEFT]
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[LEFT]On the back of the simulator , a 14″ LCD provides passers-by with current car information (tire pressures, temps, RPMs, etc.) along with current and top lap times.[/LEFT]
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[LEFT]The electronics module operates the simulator’s computer (3.16Ghz Core2Duo, 2GB of ram, and a Geforce 280GTX), signal generators, and other electronics required to operate the instrumentation. Also shown is the small LCD showing more game stats and the Zotac nitro, which displays video card statistics.[/LEFT]
And finally, take a lap with James!
