Funny how professional drivers always seem to have issues driving these so-called “simulators”. It just shows the divide between real racing and iRacing/rFactor/etc which are just, in the end, video games. I’ll still to real cars thanks.

Funny? There’s nothing to laugh at as they do not have troubles with simulators. Did you pull that fact out of thin air? The reason F1 drivers can get onto a track and immediatly run the time they need is because of simulators. Also, since sims have taken hold, more and more progressing drivers have sims to thanks for their victories. Afterall, showing up at a track already knowing braking distances, issues with certain corners, and proper apexing, is quite the upper hand.

I would never ever trust my life (which depends on braking distances and issues with certain corners:track knowledge, generally speaking) to a sim. This is what practice sessions are for. It can help to get the basics of the track down but it will not make you win. F1 drivers get the time they need because they are F1 drivers.

her in red bulls rfactor pro simulator http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av4YVAD1olI

Exactly, and these aids which are nice for lambda people become a big handicap for experienced drivers as they prevent the car to react the way it is supposed to do (on purpose power slides and everything “not natural” for an everyday driver but that a real pilot use to go fast)

I’m absolutely not a real pilot but just a several years experienced sim racer and i just can’t drive rfactor with all aids enabled because of that, imagine for a real pilot who have experience of the “real thing” and expect the sim to react as close as possible.

The limitation of all sims (even pro sims) is lack of gforces. Yes I realize the pro sims move around and all that but having tested a motion sim myself they personally feel less real then a static rig. Sims are very real as far as how inputs effect the car. You just have to adapet to the limited feedback. This is why people don’t just jump in a sim and do well. Once you adapt to the limited feadback you do fine. The motion sims feel nothing like a real car. I personally felt it was a bigger distraction. But with time you could probably adapt to that feadback and use it to your advantage. But that dosn’t make it anymore realistic.

I personally own two of these types of chassis and service three others. They are Hyperstimulators.  I actually had my 22″ and 24″ monitors mounted on the steering box with the monitors angled toward the driver (same parallel angle as the face), and this has been a pretty realistic distance view distance, provided the aspect ratio is set correctly.  The steering and pedal boxes were pretty awsome, and honestly are what I consider pretty ‘bullet proof’ reliable.  The hardware in them are amazing.  Unfortunately time moves on, and as these boxes are about 10+ years old in technology. They do lack what many of us experience today…FFB steering and high resolution accuracy for both the steering and braking/throttle applications.  It improved greatly when after a greatly long, long overdue update was finally put into place just three years ago.  Going from serial port connections to USB! 
  Even though I updated all the chassis to this, after about one year I replaced them, as response and accuracy are extremely important and vital in sim racing.  After some relatively easy conversion work, I placed Logitech G27s and Todd Cannon’s CST F1 pedals.  All of you know about the good basic quality, customer service and performance of the Logi G27, and I’ve been happy thus far, but I must tell you that the CST F1 pedals have been a god send.  The resoultion and performance have been mindblowing with their accuracy, adjustability (angle, pedal distances, pedal face placements, and more importantly the throw distances, resistance, stiffness, and check this out… brake and throttle ramp up percentage adjustability!)…sublime experience I tell you.  Hall sensor and load cell are key ingredients to the CSTs but more importantly they match the Hypertimulators in that they are bullet proof due to their beautiful build quality…solid and overbuilt!  The old Hyperstimulator boxes used potentiometers, which had to be changed every so often and required out of game calibration from time to time.  Don’t get me wrong, the old boxes were great for their time, and the 12 button ‘butterfly’ f1 wheel (which could be easily changed to a gt type wheel while still leaving the buttons in place) was pretty cool and gave you a good racer feeling, but it was time to move forward.  The still valid positive(s) of the Hypersitmulators?  Seating position, solid build, in-person-see-for-yourself good looks/eye candy (immerses you, friend, guests and clients into the motorsports racing atmosphere), and varying options of customizing colors and trick details of logos, and hardware pieces.  Want a Jimmy Clark Lotus look, a Nigel Mansell Williams Cannon, or a Ferrari Michael Schumacher era chassis?  You got it!  Oh and one thing I did keep from the original Hyper chassis.  The sequential shifter.  It is solid, bullet proof, placed perfectly and responds and feels so good that it borders on a near religious experience, ha, ha.  …and I have been in countless upon countless different types of simulators.
  Unfortunately about two years ago Hyperstimulator (headquartered in Lillydale, Australia, with licensed distributors world wide) went out of business.  Fortunately about a year and a half ago a group out of New Zealand bought the old Hyperstimulator assets and opened their doors for business with yet even better customer service.

What?

Anyone else notice the second cockpit says D. Riccardo? I find that quite telling of the current situation in F1. RBR didn’t even bother to put M. Webber on their gaming cockpits.