Prosimu T1000 Review

Hi, here is my review for the Prosimu 2DOF simulator.

I have had the sim rig for about 3 months now so feel i have had some time to get used to it and get a good feel to it and it's movement's. This review is only based on Assetto Corsa as i have not got iracing subscriptions up to date etc.

So what is the Prosimu rig ? well it's a pair of SCN6 actuator's each sitting at the front about a metre apart which does a very good job of making you feel like you have two wheels and suspension out in front. SCN6 motors are fast and pretty powerful and seem very responsive with very little lag. This all sits on a well made metal frame and a very comfy OMP seat and the steering wheel height/forward/backward can be adjusted to suit any car or driving style. So all in all a very well made product.

On to the driving sensation that the rig gives, well just to give you some background i am only a pc racing driver since the DK2 days and don't have any real world experience (will be doing a track day soon) but that said i have played lots of driving simulators and have been in VR since 2014 and one thing that VR does to you is force you to find more ways to be immersed into what you are doing. VR and racing titles seem to be a match made in heaven but you quickly find out that something is missing after you get a decent steering wheel and pedals. That thing is motion, i have simvibe that does help you get vibration to simulate bumps in the road or any other real world effect that you can think of so check that out if you are looking for a cheaper alternative.

Ok back to how it feels lol. I can honestly say that i am amazed by how it tricks your mind into believing you are driving a real car. You will need software called simtools 2.0 for about £50 this takes data from Assetto Corsa telemetry and lets you feel all the bumps that a laser scanned track would give you and if you go to a bumpy track like say Barcelona in Spain and you feel every bump.

Effects,

Curbs. This is really where this design shows off as when you hit the cubs say with your left side you feel the car raise up (heave) and then you slam down back onto the tarmac. This has been the best thing about it as when you are pushing for those laptimes and you use the whole track it's such a wonderful feeling and feedback to what the car is doing.

Brakes and acceleration Another good force in either direction but let's talk braking. When you are driving at full speed and you hit the brakes you see the car drop and feel it but the only problem is you do not get that sustained g force but i may try a seat belt anchored in to tighten as i tip forward then when i put the power on i will feel the seat belt loosen.

Acceleration is another one that suffers from lack of sustained g force but the way the gear change works is the rig sort of drops on every gear change and that gives the illusion of going faster and faster with every gear change. The gear change is probably the second best sensation after the curbs.

Sway/roll Ok this one is a tricky one as i have missed results as it depends on the car as to what it feels like. If i am in a GT3 car then due to the huge spoiler the car is planted to the road and you can get the back end out it doesn't move much so any roll or sway you feel actually feels very natural and can in some cases give you the feel of traction loss like when you snap back slightly as you come down from the curbs.

Bumps and road texture Another great feel and really helps you feel speed and road feel. Each track is laser scanned and you bump around like the real world cars do and coupled with heavy braking and a force feedback wheel making your car move side to side under braking is fantastic.

Pitch Another great feeling when you pay attention to it as they is a famous track called spa that has a turn that you basically climb up to the right and then to the left and you feel the car go heavy at the bottom then lighter on the top of hill.

Ok i think you get the point that i love it and has actually helped me go faster during to the feel and feedback it gives me. Now onto some bad points.

The bad well it's expensive but actually cheaper than its competitors. If you want a hassle free setup and a great product then you cannot go wrong. I paid €1990 with the OMP seat and €40 in delivery.

Pretty easy to put together but could do with a better manual but i got it all up and running in a few hours and Patrick helped with any problems i had. The rig doesn't come with simtools 2.0 and that is needed (or any other software) to get it working.

Thanks

I'm now seriously thinking of a Prosimu now. I just had a try on a 2DOF simulator with Dbox actuators, frame mover. Being a more motorsports enthusiast, the main take away i had from the driving the simulator is lack of feel during the braking and acceleration, but mostly braking. When driving on the circuit, one of the strongest physical feeling is the G force during hard braking. From the simulator, i just could not get enough physical feeling or sensation during braking despite the using HPP pedals. I wonder if a 2 DOF seat movers will provide a better feel?

Hi Noorbeast, a little late to this discussion, but I've just been reading up on the Prosimu rig and wanted to know what you meant by your comment. Are you saying that a seat mover gives you more feedback as to G-force sensations than a full frame rig such as Prosimu? I'm just having a hard time grasping the idea that the motion in your seat alone gives a better sensation than that of a full frame rig. Although, I'm very new at this and have absolutely no experience in motion, so I'm just looking for some enlightenment. Thanks!

@Newgun - I have built both a full frame and a seat shaker, so in @noorbeast absence, I'll answer this one.

I started with a full frame and IMHO they cannot be beaten for the sensation of pitch. Awesome for flight sims and also very good at emulating 'suspension' in a car for that "close to the tarmac" feel.

A seat shaker, however, lets you feel smaller feedback from the track so the overall feeling of motion is amplified. Surge and heave in this design are more pronounced and sway is little "faster" as well. Pitch can be hard to get right in just a seat design as your feet don't move, but as @noorbeast points out, when you brake your feet and arms are pushed into the wheel and pedal, and as you accelerate you are pulled away from the wheel and pedals (as you would in a car)

I could go on for days about the differences and it really is a personal choice. I flight sime more these days, so I am thinking of going back to a full frame.

One thing I will add is to imagine someone grabbing your legs or thighs while you are seated and shaking you around with force. Lots of flex and lower movement fidelity reaching your upper body/brain.

Now imagine someone grabbing you at the shoulder and shaking you around with the same force. You will feel that more for sure in your upper body/arms/brain.

It's true that a seat mover gives you a motion cue for accelerating and braking more than a full frame but the cue is completely incorrect as it physically moves you closer and further away from the pedals and steering wheel. This makes it more difficult to make an accurate turn in when profiles have large movements. There is also a negative effect when turning sharply as your body goes to one side of the steering wheel giving a very un-natural feeling when gripping the wheel. Basically your elbow gets pulled in on one side which can cause unwanted movement on the steering wheel if the movement is sharp enough.
To avoid all this you can just simply lower the overall axis movement. Having to compromise like that has made me lean towards re-making my sim to a platform mover (one of these days).

Basically I found myself fighting the sim, taking away from the immersion.

Having spent some time in race prepped cars you simply do not move in the cockpit. The only thing that can move is your head. Hard turns do not have any difficulty in holding the wheel in any way nor when braking heavily is it hard to move your feet. You do not get "pressed" into the steering wheel as such but you do feel the force in your chest very much. So having that pressing feeling in your arms is just wrong and off putting. I understand full well that cars such as GT3 and open wheelers (F1 etc) will have these forces amplified but at no stage does your body move in relation to the controls of the car.

Please never compare a sim to what you feel when driving a road car, unless of course you are playing a game that simulates a road car.

In my opinion a seat mover is simply just the first baby step that one takes when entering the bottomless pit of motion simulators.

Whatever deficiencies a platform mover has it would seem the movements will be far more natural for an overall better immersion. Pair a frame mover with a G-seat and you are set.

@Archie, thanks for the thorough explanation and analogy on force movements with either legs or body being shaken. I do tend to agree with what @Alexey is saying. I've only been on the real track a few times and it's true that the only thing moving is your head - the rest are the sensations of G-forces pushed against you in all directions, and at no point should you feel disconnected from the wheel and pedals. With your harness in place and your body snugged in a bucket seat, the only thing throwing you around are the physics of the car.

But then again, we're talking about sim racing here being that the ultimate goal is to simulate or trick the mind and body - which both seat movers and frame movers surely accomplish. With that said, I'm still unsure which to choose for my first motion rig. I need your help, please!

Hopefully you guys can help me decide. I hope I'm not hijacking this thread for advice. If so, I apologize and will open a new thread if needed. I've read so much here on this great forum, and very much appreciate the help from the community.

My first option is the Prosimu T1000-3 dof. I like the size, the footprint, and the professional finish of the product. But I'm a bit concerned about the squeaky noises of the SCN6's. Actually, that's my main concern. Also, the traction loss doesn't seem to offer a lot of travel. I believe it uses an SCN6 20kg 100mm, which means there's only 50mm of travel in each direction for traction loss. I haven't read any complaints, but at the same time also haven't read any high praises.

Or second, I was thinking of the Simukit SK1 Kit. https://simukit.com/accueil/54-kit-sk1.html
Sorry typing on an iPad so I can't upload pics. But the Simukit SK1 is a compact seat mover that has pitch, roll, and heave. It looks like a good option to marry with the SimLab P1 Cockpit due to the high seating configuration the Simukit SK1 demands.

What do you guys think?

Got it. Thanks @noorbeast!