The best sim racing builds for every gamer’s budget

If you’re into cars and you’re into gaming, there’s every chance you’ve found yourself down the racing game rabbit hole – from fun-focused open-world options such as the Forza Horizon series, to my personal favourite, which is serious sim racing with the likes of iRacing.

Whether you’re currently using a controller and want to take the next step, or you have a basic wheel-and-pedal setup that you want to upgrade to the professional level, there’s equipment to suit your needs.

Sim racing can get very expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. Here we’ve highlighted what kit you can get, with something for everyone’s budget.

Remember, you can buy a brand new or used car right here on Carwow. And you can sell your car, too. We’re here to help you through every step of your car-changing journey.

Entry-level – Approximately £500

This setup is perfect if you’ve been using a controller and just want to dip your toe into something more serious. None of this kit is what you’d call cheap, but it’s affordable in comparison to the pro stuff – and it’s important to remember you don’t need to spend thousands to have fun, or be fast.

Steering wheel and pedals

Logitech G920 (PS5, PS4, PC) / Logitech G29 (Xbox Series S/X, Xbox One, PC)
Price: £249 (at the time of writing, usually £349) at Logitech G Store

The Logitech G920/G29 is the go-to steering wheel and pedal setup for beginners. It’s easy to mount to your desk so you could hit the virtual race track using this with your existing office chair.

The rim is quite small, so might feel a bit awkward if you have large hands, but the leather upholstery and stainless steel shifters mean that it doesn’t feel cheap to hold. The pedals can be placed on the floor in front of you, or mounted to a cockpit for more rigidity.

Force feedback – which is the artificial resistance that runs through the wheel to simulate the weight and grip levels of a real car – isn’t particularly strong. The gear mechanism that’s used in the Logitech wheel isn’t as smooth nor as powerful as a direct drive wheel, but it’s good enough to get to grips with and build your skill level.

Cockpit

Playseat Challenge
Price: £199 at Playseat Store

Don’t fancy racing from your office chair? Another staple purchase for anyone just starting their sim racing career – or simply anyone who needs to maximise space – is the Playseat Challenge. This is a folding chair with platforms to fix your wheel and pedals to. I had one of these in a small flat, and it was great because I could fold it up and hide it in a cupboard when I didn’t need it.

It’s fully adjustable so you can modify the driving position to fit your frame and can be set up in minutes. The microfibre upholstery is designed to keep you cool, even during a double stint of an endurance race.

Mid-level – Approximately £1,000

Things are starting to get pricey now, but if you love sim racing and want to get more realism from your setup, this kit will make you feel like you’re in a professional-grade system without spending silly money.

Steering wheel and pedals

Fanatec CSL DD Ready2Race GT3 Bundle (5 Nm)
Price: €459.95 (Approx. £397) at Fanatec store

If you’re looking to upgrade your system, a direct drive wheel base is a great place to start. These mount the wheel shaft directly to the electric motor for a smoother, more powerful force feedback system.

Fanatec’s CSL DD is a great value for money option for anyone making the step up, because you can choose the motor power from 5Nm to 15Nm depending on your needs and budget. Even at 5Nm you’ll notice it’s more powerful and responsive than a belt- or gear-driven system.

Fanatec offers bundles that include the wheel base, wheel rim and pedals so you don’t need to spend time mixing and matching items. There’s a wide range of rims to choose from, including circular drift-focused ones to super-cool rectangular items inspired by real GT3 race cars. You can also upgrade the pedals with a load cell kit, which converts the brake to work through pressure for a more realistic response.

Cockpit

Fanatec CSL Cockpit V1.5
Price: €630 (Approx. £543) including monitor stand and seat at Fanatec store

There are dozens of mid-range cockpits to choose from, but to keep things simple here we’ll stick with Fanatec, which has a cockpit designed to work with the forces exerted by its strongest wheels and pedals.

It’s built from aluminium and steel so it’s solidly put together, though you will need to spend extra for a television stand – which costs the same as the cockpit, therefore doubling the price – and a seat for about £112.

Top level – Approximately £4,000

If you’re at the top of your game and you’re looking for the marginal gains that top level equipment can bring to your lap times, this is the kit for you. Much of the kit here is the top-of-the-range model, so you can spend a bit less for similar stuff from the same brands, but if you want the best of the best, here it is.

Wheel base

VRS DirectForce Pro DFP20
Price: €899 (Approx. £776) at VRS

Professional-grade sim racing setups are incredibly expensive, but even at the best part of £800, the DFP20 wheel base is actually kinda good value compared with alternatives – it’s not hard to spend over £1,000 on a base alone.

I used to run a VRS DirectForce Pro wheel base and was hugely impressed with it. It’s incredibly smooth and easy to get to grips with, and you can adjust the feedback levels to suit your personal tastes. It’s so powerful you’ll never get close to its full capabilities.

Regardless, you get so much detail through the wheel that you can feel exactly how much grip you have – or don’t have – meaning you can drive closer to the limit more of the time.

Wheel rim

GSI Hyper P1
Price: £1,262 (ex. VAT) at GSI

Gomez Sim Industries builds some of the best steering wheels in the sim racing game, with a choice of GT and Formula styles. The top-of-the-range model is the Hyper P1, which has a Formula-style shape with a built-in touchscreen that displays lots of useful information from which gear you’re in to lap timing.

There are loads of buttons and switches that give you up to 70 potential inputs. Most important of all, it looks incredibly cool.

You’ll have to browse the available add-ons to see if you need an adapter for your wheel base, too.

Pedals

Heusinkveld Ultimate+ Three-Pedal Set
Price: €1,199 (Approx. £1,035) at Heusinkveld shop

Heusinkveld makes the most luxurious pedals you can get for your sim rig. The metal construction feels like it’s of the quality you’d expect in a real race car, and the load cell in the brake pedal gives up to 140kg of force. With multiple resistance settings you can adjust the pedal to simulate the feel of a brake pedal in the real version of whichever car you’re driving.

You can also use Heusinkveld’s software to manually adjust the input of each pedal, mapping the feeling of the pedals to what you’d expect in the real car, or just for personal preference.

Cockpit

Sim-Lab P1X Ultimate
Price: £952 at Sim-Lab

A fully aluminium profile cockpit is essential for any top-level sim racer, and Sim-Lab makes some of the best in the business. The P1X Ultimate is the top-of-the-range model, coming with slotted profiles so you can fit accessories and adjust the rig to suit your needs.

You can also get different wheel mounts, so make sure you select the correct one for your base. The price above includes a single-monitor arm, but you can pay extra for a triple-monitor setup for full immersion.

Seat

Sim-Lab S1 Enduro GT Seat
Price: £393 at Sim-Lab

There are loads of racing seats you could add to your setup, but since we’re using the Sim-Lab cockpit let’s keep it simple and stick with the Sim-Lab S1 Enduro GT seat. It’s designed to simulate the driving position you’d get in a GT racing car, and if you’re going for proper authenticity, it even has slots for a four-point harness.

What else do I need to consider for my sim racing setup?

PC or console?
Some of the equipment listed above works with both consoles and PC, but it’s important to note that some are PC-only. The most serious sim racing games tend to be on PC, so if you’re currently using a console and really want to level up your gaming experience, that could be the next step. You can still have a great time with console racing, though, with titles such as Gran Turismo.

What are the PC requirements for sim racing?
With the latest graphics and complex physics running behind the scenes, you’ll need quite a high-end PC to get the most out of sim racing, especially if you’re using a virtual reality headset. Check Steam or the game’s official website to see the recommended specs.

Single-monitor, triple-monitor or virtual reality?
If you have the space (and the budget), a triple-monitor setup is widely regarded to be the best option. It means you get a huge field of view while avoiding the eye strain or motion sickness some people get with VR headsets. Some sim racers use an ultra-wide monitor for simplicity, but you can still be competitive with a regular single monitor. My personal choice is VR, purely for immersion, but I ultimately switched to triples because VR can get very uncomfortable on longer stints.

Car change? Carwow!

Looking for a new set of wheels? With Carwow you can sell your car quickly and for a fair price – as well as find great offers on your next one. Whether you’re looking to buy a car brand new, are after something used or you want to explore car leasing options, Carwow is your one stop shop for new car deals.

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*Savings are made up of the maximum dealer discount off RRP – subject to dealership, location and trim. Prices correct at the time of writing.