A sim racing cockpit can significantly add excitement and fun to your sim racing times. However, sim racing cockpits don’t come cheap. So if you are looking to get one that doesn’t break the bank, you should consider learning how to build a sim racing cockpit from scratch.
Building a racing cockpit from scratch will cost you only a fraction of the price of the ones available in the market, like the ones from nextlevelracing. Moreover, you will be able to customize it as per your requirements. So without further ado, let’s find out how to build a sim racing cockpit at home.
Tools and Equipment Required to Build a Sim Racing Cockpit
Building a sim racing cockpit begins with buying and gathering the right tools and equipment. You will need the following tools and equipment:
- Gaming Chair
- Pedals
- Steering Wheel
- Chop Saw with Table
- Cutting Saw (optional)
- Lumber Wood; measuring 1.5†x 3.5†x 8’
- Lumber Plank; measuring 1.5†x 5.5†x 8’
- Lumber Wood; measuring 1.5†x 3.5†x 10’
- Fasteners; 10 x 2.5
- Wood Screws; 10 x 3.5
- Screwdriver
- Wrench
- Wood Glue
- Flat Wood Plank to Place Under the Chair; measuring 0.5†x 2’ x 2’
- Flat Wood Plank to Place Under the Pedal; measuring 0.5†x 2’ x 2’ (optional)
- Flat Wood Plank for the Steering Wheel Table; measuring 0.5†x 2’ x 4’
- Sandpaper
- Type C or Wood Clamps
- Spray Paint or Paint with Paint Brush
How to Build a Sim Racing Cockpit
The process of building a sim racing cockpit is divided into an easy-to-follow step-by-step procedure as:
Step 1 – Preparing the Gaming Chair for Use in Cockpit
Gaming chairs are usually attached to a set of wheels. However, using a gaming chair to make a sim racing cockpit will require you to remove the wheels under the gaming chair. This task can be carried out with the use of screwdrivers. If you don’t already own a gaming chair, we recommend getting one that doesn’t have additional mounting frames, so you can save even more time.
Once the wheels are removed, mount the chair onto the flat wooden plant using wood glue. Make sure that you glue the seat to the center of the flat wood plank. You can cut off the excess wood on the sides using a cutting saw and sand the edges. On the other hand, you can also measure the size of the gaming chair and cut off the plank to the size using the chop saw.
Step 2 – Building the Frame for Chair and Pedals
While we have given the measurements for the wood planks that you can use to build the wooden frame, this step is highly customized. There are no one or correct measurements for the cockpit frame. DIY cockpit frames can be different due to the difference in the gaming chairs used or the height of the gamers.
The size of the wooden cockpit frame you are building will depend on the gaming chair and the pedal station you have used. You can either make a fitted space for the pedals or mount them on a flat wooden plank cut to size and placed over the wooden frame. Both options work well for the pedal. The best option out of these is that you prefer and find more comfortable.
Using the clamps, hold the wooden planks together. Then, place the plank with the chair on one side and the pedal on the other side. Sit on the chair to find a comfortable distance between the chair and pedal. Using a sharpie, mark this distance on the wooden plank. Marking the points where you have placed the chair and found it comfortable will also help.
Once you have placed the markings for both the pedal and the chair, you can cut the wood pieces to size using the chop saw. Attach the wooden planks to make a frame by using the wood screws or gluing the wood pieces together. If you glue the pieces, use clamps to hold them together until the glue dries and the pieces are attached.
Attach the plank with the chair on the frame once the frame is ready. If you end up making a plank for pedals, attach it to its marked space on the frame.
Step 3 – Building the Table for Steering Wheels
To build the table, you will need to sit on the chair to determine the height of the table and its distance from the chair. Don’t hesitate to ask a friend or a family member for help, as this step can be tricky to execute alone.
Once you have figured out the distance from the chair to the steering wheel, measure the depth of the steering wheel. Add the distance and the depth. This will give you the distance between the chair and the table. Mark this distance on the frame on both sides.
For the height, measure the upward distance from the wooden cockpit frame to the steering wheel’s attachment point. Take the wooden plank and cut four legs for the table. Attach two legs on the sides of the frame at the measured distance from the chair to the steering wheel table.
Attach the remaining two legs at the end of the cockpit frame. Once again, you can either glue the table legs to the cockpit frame or use wooden screws.
Once the legs are attached, take the table measurements. Cut the remaining wooden plank according to the measured size. Place this plank on a tabletop using either glue or wooden screws.
Step 4 – Sanding and Painting the Wooden Cockpit
Your wooden DIY sim racing cockpit is almost ready. The only steps left are sanding down the completed wooden frame and painting it. You can paint it whatever color you wish.
However, most gamers paint their cockpits black to match the gaming chair, pedals, and steering wheel. But feel free to paint whatever colors you desire. You can repaint your wooden sim racing cockpit frame anytime you want.
You can paint the wooden cockpit frame with spray paint or with paint and paintbrush. Make sure to paint on the inside frame and let the frame dry before you assemble it.
Step 5 – Assembling the Sim Racing Cockpit
Now that your DIY wooden sim racing cockpit is ready take it to your gaming room or corner. You can use the empty tabletop to place the screens if they aren’t mounted on the walls.
Attach the steering wheel to the end of the table in front of the chair. Place the pedals on the designated wood plank or the space left for it. You can now enjoy sim racing in a custom-designed sim racing cockpit, which costs you hardly 20% of what is available in the market.
We hope you’ve now learned how to build a sim racing cockpit in the easiest possible way for our readers. Let us know if you found it helpful!
