If you have not read the previous article, I suggest you start there as it answers many of the questions you’d otherwise have by just reading this.
Much like building a racecar, there were multiple trips to the hardware store to purchase additional items that I needed. Mentally I wanted to discount several of these expenses from actually being attributed to the racing cockpit and most likely would have been successful if I didn’t want to capture it all for you. And then on top of that, there are a few upgrades along the way which are all too tempting and “it only makes sense racer logic” comes into play. Admittedly it hurt to put the below cost spreadsheets together. While I believe that I succeeded building a quality simulator on a modest budget, it ended up costing a bit more than I had hoped. That said, I absolutely think it is worth it! Here are the numbers.
| Simulator Cockpit Plans – Rocmotech RS500 & RS3
Supports 3 monitors and Thrustmaster steering wheels |
$50 |
| Wood and hardware for the cockpit
(I decided to use birch plywood for the floor which was a bit more expensive but nicer looking) |
$222 |
| Gaming Computer | $795 |
| Wireless keyboard & mouse | $26 |
| 3 1080 HD Monitors | $350 |
| Speakers (optional but the speakers on most monitors are lacking) | $70 |
| Thrustmaster T150 steering wheel – I already had one but this is the price if purchasing new today | $160 |
| Seat from a car bought from a salvage yard (I think I got a bit lucky on this one but found many other seats going for $150) | $106 |
| Cables for PC to Monitors: I was not expecting these to be this expensive and believe I could have gotten them less expensive if I had planned better | $112 |
| 12 Month iRacing subscription (you can buy shorter subscriptions) | $56 |
| Surge protector | $25 |
| Total expenses | $1,972 |
Additional Tools and Expenses
While I either had most of the basic tools required to build the cockpit, there were some that I either needed to borrow from someone or purchase. While the below expenses might not apply to you, I would account for some unexpected necessary purchases. In the build article I will include a list of the needed tools to build the cockpit I made.
| (2) 6 inch and (2) 24 inch quick release bar clamps | $18 |
| Clamp light: the lighting in the basement was too dark therefore this was necessary | $10 |
| 24 inch I-Beam level | $7 |
| 12 inch rafter angle square | $6 |
| Angle finder (Or you can print one online here) | $6 |
| Center countersink set | $7 |
| Sandpaper | $10 |
| Jigsaw blades | $8 |
| 21 piece drill bit set (in reality you only need a few different drill bits) | $20 |
| Extra sheet of ¾ in MDF
On my first trip to the Home Depot, after asking them to cut one piece in half the instructions never said which way in half. I called Racetech on the next business day and they said it should be the long way, which of course I didn’t have Home Depot do. In the end it would not have mattered which was it was cut, and I now have a scrap sheet of MDF. |
$28 |
| Additional iRacing cars and tracks not included with the initial subscription which I wanted | $43 |
| Total Expenses | $163 |
In addition to the expenses listed above, I did not include absolutely everything which some might nitpick and state need to be accounted for. Examples include the internet service that I already use, an Amazon Prime account that we already have to get free shipping, time spent building the rig, and of course beer consumed along the way.
The next article will include a detailed recipe including links where you can purchase the various items or at least get a better idea of the various specifics of what I bought.
