It’s time for my SimXperience Accuforce Pro First Look and Impressions. My first look at a prototype was back in November of 2013 and couldn’t wait to get my hands on it here in the Inside Sim Racing man cave to tune it how I want. For those that want to read, or want a little more insight as to what I thought, here’s my script from the show.
The accuforce is the first direct drive wheel on the market that is semi affordable and within reach of someone that’s serious about sim racing. Sure the Bodnar wheel has been out for a while now, but at about $5,000, that’s a tad out of most people’s budget. You can save for the Accuforce without breaking the bank or potentially using that disposable income on something else.
Speaking of pricing.. Here’s what it goes for and what you get.
The Accuforce Pro goes for $1748 us dollars or if you’re an owner of Sim Vibe you get an $89 discount and it then goes for $1659.00
· Base Unit with 6ft (2m) cable.
· Force Feedback Controller
· Wheel Button Box with Paddle Shifters
· Premium Suede 320mm Steering Wheel
· 2 – 3ft (1m) USB cables with ferrite filters
· 3ft (1m) IEC Power Cord (same as used on PC’s) with U.S. plug
· Mounting Screws
· Sim Commander software
If you’re a do it yourself type person, you can also get a DIY kit that runs for $1449.00 or $1360 for Sim Vibe owners. and it comes with:
· A DIY Motor with 6ft (2m) cable.
· Force Feedback Controller
· 2 – 3ft (1m) USB cables with ferrite filters
· 6ft (2m) IEC Power Cord (same as used on PC’s) with U.S. plug
· Sim Commander software
Shipping will vary depending on your location.
To see all the specs on the wheel, you can find them HERE.
Currently they are back ordered and shipping in batches due to the high demand. I’ve talked with Berney at SimXperience and they’re building a new production facility and hope to have it available for instant shipping in the not too distant future. That means no more batches and you will get one soon after you order it unless you pick it up at the SimXperience facility in Ohio the day you order it.
Now onto some impressions:
Packed nicely all in one box and safe from potential shipping damage or mishandling.
Heavy.. This has got to be the heftiest wheel base I have ever had my hands on.
It will mount to a deck that is drilled for a T500, T300 or TX and has two M6 screws that you can use. I recommend drilling two more for extra stability due to the weight and get two extra M6 screws to attach it. I used this wheel deck I had, added two extra holes and then attached to 80/20.
I get a lot of people asking if the accuforce would work with certain wheel stands, or rigs.. I would say there’s not a wheel stand on the market that could handle
A) The weight of the base or
B) The forces it potentially generates
Some features that I’m really enjoying so far:
Paddles are adjustable for a shorter or longer throw. Also can adjust the angle of how they sit.
Can also move them in or out depending on the size of rim. I tried it with my cheap 290 mm suede rim and the paddles would have been fine, but I wanted them in a little bit. Then I went to my 350 mm NASCAR style rim. The paddles are a little out of reach since it’s a deep dish rim, but for stock car, or NASCAR style racing, I use my TH8A shifter anyone and can use the paddles to look left or right if I want. The horn button fit right on the hole like the stock accuforce wheel so I still can use that button as well for NASCAR racing. You can swap out the rims fairly quickly and I would actually like to get an extra button box and quick release when they become available.
Love that you can adjust the top button modules to fit the other rims as well. Very nice touch and makes swapping rims out that much easier.
There’s a list of compatible rims in the SimXperience Owners club forum. My Mod 27c will need either a spacer to clear this part of the button box, or I would need to notch the back of the rim. I’ll be getting the spacer so I can use it.
Fit and finish.. This thing looks like it could be mounted in a racecar. It also seems rugged and feels like it’s indestructible
So how does it perform..
I tried it with iRacing, Assetto Corsa, Project Cars and Dirt Rally
So far iRacing and Project Cars were my two favorites. I need more time to tweak Assetto Corsa and Dirt Rally.
I’m currently using a beta version of Sim Commander that’s available in the owners club forum. They are on phase 4 of testing to add more flexibility to Sim Commander and give people some modes that are more raw or responsive. When they initially developed the accuforce they were basing the default setting in Sim Commander off of what real world drivers wanted based on feedback they provided. Berney of SimXperience has found that most sim racers that have never driven a real racing car want more feedback where as a real world race car driver wants it to feel closer to their race car.
Both ways make a lot of sense to me. You would think that everyone would want it to feel like a real race car but in reality, us sim racers want more feedback to tell us what the car is doing. Although it may not be as realistic compared to their real world counterparts, it give us sim racers more insight into how the car is reacting. What they have done now is given us the best of both worlds. If you want more road feel as a sim racer, you can dial that in to the point that it’s practically ripping your arms off. Or if you’re a real world racer, you can dial it in to feel close to how your race car feels.
Sim Commander is probably one of the most power pieces of software in all of sim racing. It powers Sim Vibe, SimXperience motion systems, has telemetry functions, in game dash boards plus a ton of other features. Now it also lets you tune the accuforce to run exactly how you want. At first look, the tuning options can look a little overwhelming, but for those that want a plug and play experience, it can be had by just plugging in the wheel and adjusting these basic settings. For those that want to get the most out of the Accuforce, you can create a profile per car and per track and tune it to exactly how you prefer.
There’s also an “Auto Tune” feature built into Sim Commander where you can drive with the default settings and then tune it to your best lap. Sim Commander will then adjust things based on peaks or clipping so that you get the best possible force feedback from the game. .
There was a video published recently where multiple testers ran multiple types of direct drive wheels and the accuforce was said to not have a lot of road feel. That may have been the case with the way they had it setup, or maybe it was the way Sim Commander in an earlier state made the accuforce wheel feel. I can say that with the beta version of Sim Commander and firmware I’ve tested it with and profiles I’ve used, I feel a ton of effects from road bumps, rumble strips, oversteer and more. The new version that has all these settings will be available within the next week or so. If you want it now, you can get it in the Owners Club forum.
In regards to road feel, check out how much action I’m getting in the wheel while running the Lotus 79 and Limerock. Matter of fact I almost hurt myself when wrecking it and half to let go of the wheel to avoid injury when the wheel is at the more intense settings. Then I go to a new track like Circuit of the Americas and it’s a lot more tame. It’s all going to vary per track, per car and per simulation.
That being said, I’m going to wrap up my first look with some final thoughts
I’ve tried the ECCI 7000, the Frex wheel and just about every wheel down to a low budget Logitech or Thrustmaster and this wheel is a game changer in my opinion. I truly feel that I have an advantage over other sim racers that are running a non direct drive setup. Sure it may take some extra time to get the profiles the way you prefer. You may need to create a profile for each car and track combo but in the end, it’s worth it because I have yet to have run with a wheel that feels this realistic and that can be tailored to perform exactly how you want.. It’s like setting up a chassis to get the most out of the sim car you’re driving. Some setups make work with the same car at different tracks, and some may need to be tuned specifically for that layout. That’s how you can get the most out of the accuforce. The software allows you to tune it the way you want or you can run it with the default settings and still adjust it to feel great.
Due to how much extra development has gone into both the hardware and software and the fact that they continue to develop it to make it even better, for the price and comparing it to the other direct drive options, SimXperience offers in my opinion the best turn-key solution on the market by a company known for quality and innovation.
Last thing I’ll say about it is that if you buy one, watch the tutorial videos Sim Xperience has created and make sure to frequent the Owners Club forum to get the most out of your investment. You can also email me for help if you need it since I just spent a good amount of time learning everything I could about the Accuforce to get the most out of my experience for this video and beyond. My email address is darin@isrtv.com and don’t hesitate to drop me an email if you need help.
Hope you enjoyed my first look and impressions of the Accuforce by SimXperience. More coverage to come soon !
