Simucube 3: Upgrades, Tradeoffs, And What Matters Most

Ten hours of multi-class chaos at Petit Le Mans, countless laps in VR, and a belt tensioner that refuses to let us log off set the tone for a gear-heavy, detail-first conversation about where sim racing is going—and what’s worth your money right now. We start with why GTP racing grabbed us by the collar: how Porsche and Cadillac fight at the limit, why GT3s and GTPs together teach racecraft, and how time attack ghosts help you learn lines you didn’t know existed. That curiosity leads straight into the tech wave.

Simucube 3 lands with LightBridge, a bold move away from USB pass-through that bets on long-term reliability and a tighter, lower-latency ecosystem. We break down what that means for your current wheels, how the new tuner could unify LEDs, dashes, pedals, and effects, and why we’re holding preorders until independent reviews prove the feel is more than marketing. Meanwhile, SimLab teams up with Cosworth on an Indy-style wheel, and GSI unveils a universal Power Link QR aimed at “any wheel, any base, USB pass-through.” It’s a rare moment when premium hardware, open solutions, and proprietary bets collide—great for buyers, but full of tradeoffs.

We round things out with practical wins you can apply today. Get your triple monitors right by starting with physical angles around 60 degrees and matching panel specs before touching in-game FOV. If motion is on your radar, we explain why Cubic’s actuators and software pairing with belt tensioners makes sense for realistic cues over gimmicks. And because stability starts with wiring, we share the cable management approach that actually works: mount power bricks inside the rig, use powered hubs near peripherals, run a single tidy trunk to the PC, and label every cable for sanity.

If you love immersion, clean setups, and honest takes on pricey hardware, this one’s for you. Hit play, then tell us: are you going LightBridge, sticking with pass-through, or waiting it out? Subscribe, share with a rig builder who needs it, and leave a review to help more sim racers find the show.

Simucube Links: 

https://simucube.com/

https://simucube.com/simucube-3/

https://simucube.com/accessories/simucube-3-wheelbase-accessories/

Qubic Ultimate Motion Buyer's Guide: https://qubicsystem.com/ultimate-motion-system-buyers-guide/

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction
• 2:59 Announcements
• 23:24 Main Discussion
• 1:16:10 Closing Remarks

Transcript

Jason: 0:00

This episode is brought to you by Trophy AI, the ultimate performance coach tool for simracers. I'm your host, Jason Mavero, and I'm joined here by Jeff Smar. How you doing today, bud?

Jeff: 0:42

Dude, doing better than I deserve. Uh dude, I drove way too much this week. Um, I'm sure everybody's sick and tired of hearing about the belt tensioners. But if you want to drive less, don't get a belt tensioner because it has got made me want to get in the rig way more than I A should. Um, but it is it's just the experience, it adds to the experience of the immersion. It's just it's awesome. So um, yeah, I drove a shit ton. Um, actually got into some cars that I didn't think I would get into. So uh, which kind of we'll get into some of it on from my main point today. Um, but dude, I drove a lot. How about you? How was your week?

Jason: 1:23

Fairly straightforward, man. I finally had a break in breaking time here to find some time to play Battlefield 6 that just came out, which is yeah, it hurts a lot. Unrelated sim racing, it's not sim racing, and sometimes you need to step away from the rig. So this last week I didn't do much uh racing, more testing than than racing. Uh working on my next review for the for the brand for Track Go Sim Racing. And um yeah, man, I'm excited. I'm excited. Um video's doing really well. So if you guys um I'm telling you, the bell tensioner, for those that went to the expo, for those that have tried it, it was really hard to come back home and not come back home with something. And it's a lot cheaper than motion to get into to get your feet wet into kind of like you know, the immersive part. I think Jeff is raving more because in a VR headset, I think it just amplifies everything way over the top uh with the belts on.

Jeff: 2:29

It's funny you say that because I guess I didn't, you know, I had been driving this whole week. I think I drove 95% in VR, which is surprising. Usually I don't drive nearly that much in VR. Um but to your point, yeah, it it I feel maybe it does add a little bit more when you're in VR. Um, but yeah, I drove a certified shit ton in VR to this week.

Jason: 2:50

That's what's up, man. Yeah, all right. Well, fairly straightforward week. Um, we'll move into some announcements here, and I see that you have a few. Uh I'll I'll I'll cover one of these. iRacing Arcade demo has been released. Uh, you could play this. Um, I wish it was a mobile game.

Jeff: 3:09

Um I feel like it should. Like I've seen I have not played it, but I have seen people playing it. And it looks like it could very well be on a mobile game. It should be cool.

Jason: 3:21

It would be awesome. It would be awesome. Sorry, but it would it would be it would be great to have something in your pocket that you could just whip out, do a race. I don't see myself connecting a steering wheel to this. I don't know. I need to I need to try it, but um December, yeah. Go ahead.

Jeff: 3:38

Yeah, I mean it's I think they're talking like just you know, uh joystick or uh handholds uh controller would be is what you're looking for. So but dude, I saw playing, it was like the uh ASW, you know, like just the keyboard, and he was all over.

Jason: 3:53

Oh WASD, yeah.

Jeff: 3:54

Uh WASD, yeah. It looked it looked cool for what it is, it looked cool. You know, take it for what it is.

Jason: 4:01

Yeah, I mean, it's free right now. So I mean you can't beat free um for now, and it'll be released in December, like the full version.

Jeff: 4:12

So that's kind of my yeah, to pile onto that, you know. Look at iRacing, pushes out the arcade, and NASCAR just came out.

Jason: 4:21

NASCAR, yeah.

Jeff: 4:22

You know, so like here they are, just continue to pump out quality stuff, content, bro.

Jason: 4:30

Yeah, it's a it's Techtober, bro. Tech Tober and software games are coming out. Um, you know, we you mentioned two, we mentioned two here for for racing, and then we mentioned Forza last week coming out with their stuff early next year. So it's good, it's healthy, it's healthy. Um, what what else you got? What what what else is going on with you, bro? What you got for us for announcement?

Jeff: 4:54

Yeah, I have a good friend, uh Jason Rivera, that is a I say good friend, bad influence on me. Um, but he got me into I l I I straight up made him do it too. Um, you're gonna drive this thing, and yeah, so um I'll get into it a little bit more than our main point, but uh I got in and I've been driving the the GT, the Porsche GTP. Um and that thing by itself is a rocket ship. The 963 it is a rocket ship. Um yeah, super cool car. But, anyways, so I I've been kind of doing a little bit of you know research and just watching Instagram videos on the call on um uh prototypes. Um, and then I've found out, uh, forgive me here, I am not an IMSA dude, but I am slowly getting one that slowly, slowly but surely it's happening. Yeah, so this past weekend, uh by the time this listening two weekends ago, it was the IMSA, and I'm gonna butcher this, the Petit Laman at Road of America.

Jason: 5:55

Um Petit Laman, yeah, you got it.

Jeff: 5:57

Yeah, so they had GT3s and the GTPs racing on the same track for 10 hours. This was my first jump into the product, the the GTPs, um, and this is what I get to watch. So it was perfect timing that you know, I was driving the shit out of the the Porsche GTP and then got to watch them on, you know, together with the G, you know, a I think it was the champions, the last race of their series, so it sucks to get into it right at the end of their series multi-class. Yeah, but uh super cool. The um the Cadillac team won, at least for the GTP, won the race, but the uh the Porsche Penske team won the championship. So um I am it's cool because I you know I've kind of revolved my weekend and life around you know watching F1.

Jason: 6:42

That's what I was gonna tell you, bro. We can't watch F1 every single week.

Jeff: 6:46

Or unfortunately, coming down to the end of their season, too. But uh I I can't wait for this thing to start up again. Uh I'm gonna uh I it's cool because there's different classes, um, you know, and and the technology of these protocol or excuse me uh GTPs is you know mind-blowing for how much horsepower versus power there the the engine size versus what they're pushing out for power is just and they have no ABS, bro, in these cars, just no pure skill. The GT3s, though they do have they they got all the AIDS and stuff, but uh I'm slowly learning about IMSA GTPs, but uh I'll probably be sharing a bunch more as I you know learn about it as we bring it to the channel here. So uh super fun car to drive in iRacing, though. It it it it's it's out there to kill you every every time you go around that corner, it's trying to kill you.

Jason: 7:35

Hell yeah, man. Hell yeah. What about Laman's Ultimate? You're gonna you gonna pick that up, Jeff?

Jeff: 7:39

Let's not get carried away.

Jason: 7:41

Oh I don't know. I for real We're getting a bad rep on the internet right now. I'm sorry.

Jeff: 7:47

I've never even played it, and I'm just you know dumping it. Oh, come on.

Jason: 7:50

Okay.

Jeff: 7:50

So I don't yeah, I don't even own it.

Jason: 7:51

Well, if you get a PyMax, you get it for free. So that's I know that's a bargain.

Jeff: 7:57

What a bargain. Uh oh, so I forgot that uh opening lap, the GT3s, huge crash, huge crash. Um, guy spins out, um, another dude tries to go around traffic and just head-on collision, hood goes 20, 30 feet in the air. Oh, yeah, and it was a dumpster fire. And I was like, I I thought I was watching real cars, not iRacing, you know, it is.

Jason: 8:24

They're not playing games over there.

Jeff: 8:26

It just made me feel good that even the best in the world have shitty days.

Jason: 8:31

Yeah, dude. All the time. Dude, look at the Porsche Cup. You know, the super Porsche cup down the F1 TV. Every freaking race, you know, lap one, crash. Like every almost every freaking race. It's in the nature, they're built to be crashed, I guess.

Jeff: 8:51

And if you're doing that, you got the you got the dinero to fix them.

Jason: 8:54

Yeah, I hope you do. I'd hope you do. But yeah, man, that's what's up. Getting into GTP. GT3 might be uh how do you say a stepping stone for you started with GT3, bro? You started an iRacing, uh ACC. Let's not confuse it. Jeff was a GT3. Yeah, McLaren.

Jeff: 9:15

I don't want nothing to do with anything. I don't iRacing, nothing. All it was was ACC.

Jason: 9:22

ACC, uh GT3 on spa. That was his life for a while.

Jeff: 9:26

That was, yeah. It's funny how you evolve with um, you know, the as you stay in a hobby.

Jason: 9:32

You explore, right? Yeah, that's that's what sim racers do. They they explore, they find things. That's how come content manager is so awesome because if you ever wanted to do GTP and you don't find a lobby on iRacing because that one's a little difficult, or the you need a license, yeah license to drive there, you can go on um, you know, content manager and and download them mods right there and just go for it, you know.

Jeff: 9:59

Oh, I never thought of that. I've been driving them in time attack uh on iRacing, just as because it's cool because every time you get faster, iRacing gives you like the guy that's like three places in front of you, and you race his ghost car. You know, so it helps me find out where other people are, you know, with the advantage that they're taking. Yeah, so it's super cool for that to get faster and learn from that way. Yeah, and you still like it's not racing person to person, but like I know there was another dude that put drove that car, and if he went that fast, then I can figure it out to go that fast. You know, it's just fun to be able to push yourself and not just the GTPs.

Jason: 10:37

Yeah, it's kind of like a slide, you slide with it.

Jeff: 10:40

Um I'm just hanging out for deal life is what I do.

Jason: 10:43

And there's turns, bro, that you you feel like you should be on the brakes, but it wants more throttle, and you hit the throttle and the damn car makes the turn. That is that's the the best part of the best thing about them. When you when you floored, when you get the tire, first of all, get the tires warm because lap one in this car, any of them treacherous, bro.

Jeff: 11:05

I'd even say two laps.

Jason: 11:07

Maybe two well, I mean it's like maybe one lap on the Nords, right?

Jeff: 11:11

This was C bring, so it's not a it's not a short lap, but it's not a long lap. Yeah, um, but that first one under five, you know, you go into that raw, long swinging turn down the straightaway. You want your tires pretty warm, yeah. Before you get on her before you start hammering into that corner, that long dragging turn.

Jason: 11:28

Um, but yeah, so I'm excited for you. That's good. That's good. You know, you different class of racing, you know. Later on, you might get into some rally, man. You know, you you have a shifter, you got an e-break, and you never know. You never know what might be next for you. So that's what's up, man. So what else we got? We got some.

Jeff: 11:48

We also got some news coming out of SimLab and Cosworth partnership. I we see I saw this morning. Um, and it's interesting, it just kind of works out perfectly that we're talking about uh, you know, indie and uh GTPs because they are partnership to build an indie wheel, um, which is very similar to the wheel, at least that I'm seeing in a lot of the GTP cars. Um, so yeah, it's gonna be a Causeworth stamped wheel um in partnership with SimLab. And we're did we're just seeing more and more of these high-end wheels that are in relate or you know, in partnerships with I say the real world, in real life racing brands. Does that make sense?

Jason: 12:29

Yeah, for sure. I mean it it's it's a good there's a lot of partnerships happening, which we're gonna talk about today, of course. Um, you know, there's been some massive news media is coming out, uh keynote style presentations, uh, if you know, if you catch my drift. But yeah, this one is an exciting one. Uh it's it's good to see that. It's good to see that. I wish more car manufacturers got involved, though. Like, you know, we've had Porsche, we've had Ford, and what else? Ferrari. We've had Ferrari and Mercedes, too.

Jeff: 13:05

I think you know, uh Fanatech has some relationships with Porsche and Lamborghini and Lamborghini, that's the other one.

Jason: 13:11

Yeah, Lamborghini.

Jeff: 13:12

I think Moza has like a like a uh how do you say um something that they they envisioned out there somewhere too or something?

Jason: 13:23

Yeah, but the thing with like like it's based on the wheel, but it wasn't like officially uh partnered, you know, but it was ones though, right?

Jeff: 13:31

I mean, yeah, I mean look at the what was it? Is it Fanatech has the Porsche wheel that looks nothing like a wheel on a Porsche? It just looks like it would fly the space. Fanatech was the first one to do it though, yeah.

Jason: 13:42

They did it with the with the BMW, they had a B and W wheel, right? That was that's at that time in sim racing, two grand was uh unattainable.

Jeff: 13:52

That was possible, it's what gets used in the room. Nobody's an actual car.

Jason: 13:57

Yeah, nobody.

Jeff: 13:58

I don't know. There's some I I see some people out there with it.

Jason: 14:02

Yeah, I mean, it it was it was definitely available for purchase, is what I'm saying. It's not like now we're we're used to seeing things at that price range uh be the norm now. It's kind of weird, yeah.

Jeff: 14:17

You you know, you you took the words out of my mouth here. Is is SimLab and Mercedes have that wheel, the Mercedes F1 wheel, and damn, they want your kidney as payment for that thing. So I can't imagine this. Is not good like here's rewarding everybody it's not gonna be cheap for this Causeworth SimLab wheel.

Jason: 14:36

Like we'll see. I hope not. I hope because the Porsche wheel from BPG Sim surprised us all with its price, and for what you're getting, and pound for pound, weight for weight. Um, that's another wheel that I pre-ordered and probably gonna make a review on it. Um, but we've had first hands on it. You know, Jeff held it in his hands, he had the the the real wheel in his hands. We all did, and it was fun, man. That was a fun time.

Jeff: 15:04

It was super cool. So, but yeah, we're I think we're gonna see more of this stuff, which is great for everybody, right? Because it's cooler stuff out there, competition keeps prices down. Good for every everybody wins.

Jason: 15:14

Everybody wins. That's the key takeaway here is the more options we have, the better it is. And we keep mentioning that because keep your eyes peeled. You know, next month is Black Friday. I keep cannot stress that enough. Like, if you're waiting, just wait a little while longer. If you want to try iRacing, Black Friday is a great time to start iRacing. But yeah, man, so I guess uh we can cover this. Uh I we can cover this wheel with a little more detail in a future episode, but um yeah, just an announcement.

Jeff: 15:51

Um, there is zero you know existing wheels um that are already ready to go, but it just announces that it's gonna basically look like your indie wheel.

Jason: 16:01

There you go. And which is good because we don't technically have many too many of those, right?

Jeff: 16:08

So yeah, and I think that they all use the same wheel. Don't quote me on that, but I'm pretty sure because they're they're technically all the same cars from what I am what I believe.

Jason: 16:17

Kind of like NASCAR, and they're just like skinned out or something. They have well NASCAR has like three, right? They have the Camry, the Chevy, and the Ford.

Jeff: 16:24

Yeah, and these are all like Delara or Dalara saw, I forget what they are, the the model they use.

Jason: 16:29

IR something, yeah. Okay, if you and if you're the Penske in the Indie, you just do whatever you want to correct us in the comments because we're not we're not in the ordinary.

Jeff: 16:38

We're slowly getting on to it. We're slowly getting on to the indie stuff, which I'll get to here uh later in in the show.

Jason: 16:45

All right, man. So excuse me, for today's sim industry update, we have three things for you. And three things. One of them is that the simicube three is officially announced, announced, excuse me, and you can pre-order it today. Um, the second thing is, well, I you know, I want to give this to Jeff. This this was came from Jeff. So, Jeff, what is the second thing? After the SimiCube 3 was announced, it was funny how that happened, huh?

Jeff: 17:12

What kind of got announced right away after Yeah, you know, after the announcements happened for the the Simicube 3 and a little bit of their, hey, this is what it's gonna be, this is what it's gonna do, this is gonna probably be hook up your wheel. SimLab was like, hold my beer, watch this. And they just happened to put it. I I think I saw it on Instagram, it might have been, I don't know where I saw it from, that they're gonna have pass-through on their direct drive that's coming out eventually.

Jason: 17:42

Um they had them at the expo. We talked about it.

Jeff: 17:45

Oh, did they? You're right, the one we went to, but they weren't, they didn't have this. I don't believe that there's a date for release yet, is there?

Jason: 17:52

I don't want to judge it just yet because I tried adjusting feedback there and we didn't have time, and it felt a little on the weaker side. Again, it's a very it was a very early product, and that's not fair for me to do or or or any of us, right? On the Chicane podcast, not fair.

Jeff: 18:15

And there was a million people waiting to get in behind you, so you can really you know spend some time to tweak it. You just kind of got what you got.

Jason: 18:21

And we're not gonna spend 30 minutes driving on the thing and making everybody wait, like you know. So like some people were like like like like some folks that we've seen out there, you know, shots fired, uh pun intended 100% intended. So now that we have those two things, right? Then GSI comes in the scene and is like, oh, you guys want to talk about QRs? They've probably been in the works because you know, Dan Suzuki has made the his QR mod, right? That you can print out, you can get it ordered, you can get the soldering, but he works for GSI. So we knew that eventually something was gonna give a prototype or some sort of speculation. This is all speculation, by the way. Um, but they did share something, and I'll share it here on the screen for us to see it.

Jeff: 19:13

And everybody, I don't know if we we teed this up for everybody, is the Simicube 3 does not have pass-through or some type of oh, we're gonna get there. Yeah, okay. All right, I just want to make sure everybody knew why we were bringing this up.

Jason: 19:28

We're gonna get there, trust me. We're gonna get there because I have a breakdown in in detail about what it is, and I guess we can express our thoughts about it. But anyways, going back to the Power Link QR, and it's marketed any wheel, any base, USB pass-through. And here it is, right here. So this is a universally mounted. This is the GSI. Um, this is uh the well, the power link hub, right? It says dedicated USB C power works with any base, sim hub compatible, locking USB C hub, magnetic rig mounting, backward compatible, future-proof, and an open ecosystem.

Jeff: 20:13

Jason.

Jason: 20:14

That that says a million words, bro.

Jeff: 20:17

A million talk dirty to me. I know. I mean, that's that's speaking my love language right there. All those words.

Jason: 20:24

Yeah, man.

Jeff: 20:25

Other than is that whole unit the the direct drive they're coming up with? Or is that just the hot?

Jason: 20:30

This is just a QR. This is just a QR for your wheel, whatever it is.

Jeff: 20:34

I don't understand how we go from that picture to the next one.

Jason: 20:37

Because this is how the connection is made. This is the wire, and this is how the connection okay. This is how they achieve that connection.

Jeff: 20:44

So that goes inside the other unit.

Jason: 20:46

I'll read it to you, brother.

Jeff: 20:48

Okay.

Jason: 20:48

It says the system connects, and this is from Gomez himself. So shout out to Gomez. Nice guy. Super dude, awesome guy. We gotta get him on the show because uh we we spoke to him about coming on, so I need to follow up on that. The system it says here the system connects through a locking USB-C hub on the base side, creating a clean, secure, and reliable connection every time, available in both slippering and non-slipping versions to fit any setup that uses a 70 millimeter pitch circle diameter, which is 99.99999% of the wheels out there. Um, enjoy true compatibility across platforms with seamless connectivity and and endless possibilities. Yes, it even works with the semicon 3. Everybody's piling on this. GSI Power Link Freedom Connected coming in early 2026. That's the one that hurt me. Yeah, I don't want to hear this, and I even asked for the link here. This is like a this was a this was an Instagram post that I was asking for a link already, like to buy it. So, for those of you, right, before we even get into our deep dive discussion, for those of you that are thinking about pre-ordering the Simicube, and you've read the news. I'll get into it again, but you've read the news, there's options for you out there. Um, or if you decided not to upgrade, there's options for you. You see what I'm saying? So you're not left out in the dust. You don't have to pick up a simlab base, you don't have to pick up anything. And here on the show, we're straight no chaser. I mean, I'm gonna tell you how I feel. I'm gonna tell you Jeff's gonna tell you how he feels. And spoiler alert, I am not pre-ordering the Simicube as of today. As of today, I am not pre-ordering it just yet. I'm going to wait for those reviews to come out, or if I get one myself, which I'm working on that, then I would, yes, I would love to make a video and produce it and compare it side by side with what used to be the absolute best wheel on the market uh wheelbase on the market, which was the Simicube 2. Everybody knows this, they're the king. Um, but just because a bigger king came out or was announced doesn't make your base like useless, you know. And I'll get into it, I'll get into my thoughts um and opinions on this. But there is a there was a presentation that was made uh by Simicube, very, very high-end, very professionally done. It looked like I was watching an Apple keynote.

Jeff: 23:30

I heard I heard people say that they I didn't know I was watching an Apple, you know, uh unveil here.

Jason: 23:37

They had the music, they had the drums going off and stuff like that. They had the announcers. Um and we got to see familiar faces that we all met at the sh at the expo, which is kind of cool. We kind of felt like, oh yeah, I know that I've seen them before. Uh and yeah, it was it was a great presentation. It was a great presentation. I just um let me get into it before because my my feelings are coming out before I even talk about this thing. So I'm just gonna give you guys, I'm gonna read this through because it's a lot to talk about. And this is some information that's been on the internet with CEOs being interviewed and everything, all the information I can possibly gather, and I shrinked it down to fit it here on the show so that way you guys can have a clear vision on what this is. So the Semicube 3 uh quick release is one of the new one of the new things. Um, it's highlighted for its um rigidity and lack of flex, and it's stating that there's basically absolutely nothing like it, right? Um the next the next key point I I found about about the base is decision against USB pass-through and introduction of a new technology called LightBridge. So, according to SimiCube, USB was not designed for high-power electronic devices, and that Simicube did not find a way to make a USB pass-through that would last 10 years reliably. Unlike the LightBridge technology, professional audio and video industries have also moved away from USB for reliability uh reasons, and this is true. The same thing with our microphones. Our microphones, yes, some of them are USB-C, but a lot of them have an XLR output. Um, the need for us to use powered USBs just to keep up with the power demand, and still sometimes we have issues. So I have no doubt that Semicube has found something extraordinary, right? Revolutionary that that surpasses what USB can do. Um, the main issue is that it's kind of a proprietary system, right? It's kind of locked, it's kind of locked to uh Semicube, is what I'm saying. So let me go over and then I'll give I'll give you guys the the the verdict here. Open ecosystem in collaboration with wheel manufacturers. So semicube aims for an open ecosystem working with many wheel manufacturers and providing them with light bridge modules. So there will be a wheel that you can buy in a light bridge version, for example. Let's say you were buying a soul pack and you could buy it with a light bridge or without, but the wheel will still be able to connect via USB, which is good. So that keeps technically, it keeps the ecosystem somewhat open because you have the choice. You know what I mean? This this misinformation that's going on the internet, we need to come down a little bit and be real with ourselves just a little bit. These modules are also technically superior and can be connected directly to a PC, like I just said, via USB, if a manufacturer chooses, allowing for flexibility outside of the Simicube wheelbase. So the software platform and one-click race vision. The Shicane podcast interviewed Hanu, which is the CEO of Simicube, and he touched on this without revealing that there was going to be a Simicube 3, even though he said one day, and that one day is today or sometime in November. Um he had a vision for uh uh a place in an ecosystem that truly worked in unison with itself, right? So, you know, Simicube is basically developing a software, the their new tuner, to streamline the sim racing experience. This platform would allow wheel manufacturers to integrate their software and plugins with tuner, aiming for one-click race experience. They're even trying to put mouses on the steering wheel that you can control with your finger, which is kind of cool, right? I think it's it's a step in the right direction for that. Simhub support for LEDs and displays. Simhub has launched SimHub support for pedals through their API and plans to extend this to their wheels and LEDs. Display support is trickier due to how displays are rendered on the wheel, but might come in the future. Tuner will have customizable dashes. So again, lovely dashboard ecosystem partnered up with Simicube, and they're going to be developing stuff for the tuner, but that doesn't lock you into the tuner, right? It only locks you in if you're connecting via that that um what do you call it? I just had bridge. The Link Bridge, yes. Is it Link Bridge or Light Bridge? The Light Bridge. We just butchered it 100%. Okay, but we're live. This is us live. Yeah. Okay, so listen to me carefully. Potential for open communication protocol. The possibility of giving wheel manufacturers access to the Light Bridge communication protocol for communic custom electronics was you know, was basically revealed. You know, they indicated they've been they've been hinting at um giving wheel manufacturers tools so that they can start building new wheels in accordance with their new system. That can be for many things. It can be for audio, it could be for video, it can be for mouse, it could be for dashboards, it could be for, it could be for all kinds of different things that none of us have probably seen before. And and just to do a quick pause here, this is a change in this is kind of like revolution. It's kind of like when the iPhone came out and it was the first phone to feature a touchscreen keyboard. Nobody wanted it. You know, there were some that are that are worked for it, and there's some that didn't like it. And here we are today, and it's become a standard. Now every single cell phone has keyboards on screen. You know, there's no more physical keyboards like like the Blackberry used to be. That's how I'm comparing this for now. Okay, so let me just uh go over maybe two or three more points. Uh Tuner 3 and Simicube 2 compatibility. So while Simicube 3 introduces new features, Cimicube aims to bring as many software benefits as possible to Simicube 2 and 1 users. And this was confirmed by Hanu himself with us and said that even their 10-year-old bases are still compatible with most of their features today. Umicube 3, uh excuse me, wireless wheel support and QR adaptability. Simicube 3 still supports wireless wheels and you know their old proprietary wheels. An adapter for Simicube 2 QRs is not currently available, but it could be made if there was enough community demand. And I will say this is that with the Simicube 3, um, I might have some illustrations, but with the Semicube 3, they have um an adapter that converts their square looking um front side of the of the wheelbase back to a 70 millimeter, and that's when I almost hit the buy button. But then I want to I still want to give it time to see what the there's only like three creators that have this Micube 3 right now, and they have it in a box, they have it literally in a box, and the software is not even out yet for them to even review or yeah, you heard about that. Okay, yeah. Dan Suzuki's one of them. I think uh Lawrence DeSouza, shout out to Potato Nation, he's got one, and I think Boosted Media, of course, uh has one as well.

Jeff: 32:15

And I saw one dude that should connected it with software, but he was like, But this software is not gonna be what the software is, you know, to the consumer. So he actually was driving. I think he even drove with it, but yeah, it's it leaves a lot more questions than answers with this.

Jason: 32:34

So I I typed up a summary here. I'm gonna summarize my thoughts on this, and then I want to hear your opinions, Jeff. Um, because we can spend the entire episode talking about Simi Cube 3, and some people feel a certain way about it. But again, whenever new technology arises, you have to adapt to it. You have to really, you got to give it a chance to see what are we doing here. You know what I mean? Like, is this gonna be revolutionary or is it gonna not, or is it not gonna do anything? So here's my here's my summary. The the headline is their light bridge decision. No more USB pass-through across rotating uh interface because long-term reliability matters more than spec sheet convenience. USB and slip rings weren't designed for high power EMI noisy 10-year duty cycles. So they moved to an optical data link with an inductive power that has no wearing contacts because it's you know it's kind of like magnetic almost, I believe. The the plan isn't to lock the ecosystem, as I just said. Semicube supplies improved displays, uh display electronic modules to wheelmakers. Those modules can still do straight USB to PC on other bases, so your current wheels will still work. While Simicube 3 uses LightBridge and their new tuner platform, a push toward a one-click race experience, wheel marks uh mark uh makers can ship their own plugins tabs inside tuner so you can manage your own wheels, LEDs, dash, pedals, and force feedback in one place. Simhub will still be a thing. I have a blurb on simhub here. Simhub already talks to their API for active pedal, LED control for wheels is on the roadmap. Dashes are trickier because Lightbridge renders on wheel, but tuner will ship with quality dash presets for now. You know, for now, they'll try to bring as many tuner 3 features to the Semicube 2, and they're open to discussing protocol access with engineering for third-party um and you know, do it yourself can participate without breaking reliability. So on the numbers, they won't publish a slew rate because modern bases are already past the threshold where the spec limits feel according to Cimicube. According to CIMICUB, I would still want to know the numbers. I don't care what anybody says, I don't care. That's like you going to shop for a car and the car has 700 horses, and I asked the guy, well, how much does a new model have? Oh, it already has over 700. You don't need over 700. No, I want to know how much how many horses are in there. You know, you know what I'm you know what I'm trying to say?

Jeff: 35:42

Yeah, fair enough. Fair enough. It's like more than you more than you need.

Jason: 35:45

Go go back there, get the brochure, you know what I'm saying? And let's sit down, get me some coffee, you know.

Jeff: 35:51

Because I'm gonna go find out to make sure you put every single one of those in here.

Jason: 35:55

So, what can you expect versus uh uh uh uh you know a Simicube 2? A new motor control stack that basically the testers say it's better. But these people that are saying it's better are Semicube partners. You see, you catch my drift? Uh they say it feels better, they say it rattles free. This thing doesn't rattle. I don't know where they're getting rattle from. Uh precise QR, two-handed, two-hand pull by design to keep tolerance, tolerance is silent. Nothing in NRG or any other respectable quick release can't do. Wireless wheel support continues. And while there's no SC2 QR adapter at the moment, um you know, if there's a demand, light bridge features wouldn't pass through it anyway. You know, so you're kind of stuck with the old tech on the SC2, you know, they don't have like an adapter so that way it doesn't have the electronics in there, you know what I'm saying? So the quick stop torque adjust puck needs SC3 ports, so you can't use it on a Semicube 2. And you know what I'm gonna say about the uh about the emergency stop. While it looks great and it has a knob for you to control the force feedback, it's nothing I can't do with um simhub control mapper. I made a whole guide on my YouTube channel, and we have Stream Decks that you can program shortcuts.

Jeff: 37:28

It's it's not it's like two buttons in iRacing by itself.

Jason: 37:32

It's an option. What Simicube is trying to do is give you everything so you don't have to do anything, and I understand that that that standpoint. So it's not a knock on them. I'm just I'm giving you guys examples on how you can achieve 90% of this, right? Telemetry braced effects in SC3 layer on top of the game's FFB rather than replacing it end-to-end to avoid latency. This sentence is what I want to see. This is why you buy an SC3, is for that next level telemetry um feedback, that next level one. So, you know, we all know the price. I'm I I don't I don't I don't think we need to go over the price or I think it's your first kidney, your uh excuse me, one of your kidneys. It's up there, it's simicube, it's high quality. They they're gonna they're gonna price it. Uh, you know, and and and again, honestly, to be fair to Simicube, this is new tech. This is new tech, and new tech has uh a large cost. So I kind of get them 100%.

Jeff: 38:40

And you're buying a premium quality piece of equipment, right?

Jason: 38:44

And they only have the pro and the sport um for now, and the ultimate will come in 2026, which would be almost double the price. And I don't like to try it. I would like to try it. So November is your cutoff date. Um, all the major uh what do you call this dealers? Have them. Appy V, you can go through podium one, you can go through anywhere to um mostly you know US-based ones, anywhere you can pre-order. You can pre-order to get this. Um, so what are my thoughts? Want to have a live coach available on demand? With Trophy AI, you'll be able to practice with Manso AI at your convenience. A real-time coach in your headphones to navigate and guide you through the track, helping you achieve race base. This tool is awesome as it provides full brake, throttle, and steering telemetry on screen with a live review getting you ready for your next big race. Check links to Trophy AI in the description and also use Shicane12 in all caps for a 12% discount. I want to see what this feedback is about. Why? Because me personally, I would not rely on this new QR system that they have because it severely limits um all my shortcuts that I program. It's just it messes with the way I personally use my rig. Someone may not care about this. Someone may, you know. And also it remains to be seen how this reacts with other simhub plugins, right? Because we know that they work with LEDs, but we don't know. We it's again, all these things need to be tested. What do you think, Jeff? You saw that you saw the you saw the the keynote, you saw the news media, you've seen all the people, all the other companies basically saying, hey, you can get a pass-through QR. You know, there's already two or three options that came out like the same day. So what do you think?

Jeff: 40:54

I think it goes back to the uh the argument or the discussion that we have quite a bit is uh, you know, there's a line or a graph you could say where it says improvement in quality and feed for speedback and all the things that you telemetry that you feel in the car from the the unit, and then on the up and down is the cost. And eventually you start going where it goes exponential more cost for improvement. And I think this you know, the the SC3 is a perfect example of that next tick in performance and a lot more money. Um, dude, the the the CBCube 2 is it's freaking good, yeah. You know, like it's I I was when I got time to really jump in a bunch of the rigs at the expo, I was like, man, this is this is nice. Yeah, it's it's probably a lot more money for the three than the two. And is it is it worth that extra bump for perceived? We don't even know yet. I I'd be very surprised if they got a lot of pre-orders. And the only thing that people would pre-order because they're just they're but they they trust the brand, because the brand does produce very high quality stuff. That said, you are getting first of tech. Um first batch. I would be very skeptical of buying it without with that first batch, you know, like maybe after Christmas and they've been out there for a month to two months, you start seeing reviews of people that didn't get it free, you know. And I'm not saying that those reviews don't carry any weight, uh, but just let the masses be your another data point, if you will. Watch all the reviews, but then look at holistically where the graph is on people having frustrations and then people that what they enjoyed from it, where the you know and things like that. So it's a lot of money for some perceived improvements. You don't I do like that, you don't have to run the freaking cable. Um right. But my I got one other point here I want to hit is by them giving that protocol to the other wheel manufacturers and saying, hey, here's the protocol that we're asking you to put into your wheel so it's it's compatible with our bases, which acknowledge it is Sumicube is the premier base. You're adding cost into those companies' wheels that they're gonna make to make it compatible. And they may or may not be willing to do that. They're like, hey, our goal is to keep it under a thousand bucks, under 500 bucks. Pick your pick your number, right? And adding that protocol and that software, hardware, whatever it is to make it compatible is a cost, you know. So there's just a lot of stuff out there that we don't know yet, you know. And I guess I've said a lot of time.

Jason: 43:44

You know, Jeff, come on. At the time of this recording, the the German Expo, the Sim Gaming Expo in Germany. I keep saying German Expo, no offense. But the Sim, the not the Sim Gaming Expo, the Sim Racing Expo in Germany that's happening on the 17th. You guys, for those lucky enough, got your hands on it. You know, and we're a podcast, we're a week at a time, but these are our initial thoughts as of the uh what days before um the expo and what the and what the reviewers say or the content creators that go out there and what they say. So to me, it's kind of like this. What do you buy a wheelbase for? Do you buy it because you want the wheel to be wireless, or do you buy it because you want fidelity and you want force feedback and you want telemetry? That's what's gonna sell me on it being a successor to my wheelbase. And I would love to test one because there's no other way. There really isn't no other way. You can watch a thousand, you can watch a lot of videos, but you're gonna have to make that decision. This is a reality. You're gonna have to make that decision whether I'm gonna I'm gonna go with Simicube or I'm gonna go with another brand. Now, I will say this Simicube has been making an SC2 Pro for the last seven years. The last seven years, and you've had how many companies show up? Simmagic, moza, acitec, uh got Sim Lab getting into the SimLab, and they're still trying to compete with seven-year-old tech, and they can't beat it. They can't beat it. You you see what I'm trying to say? Yeah, if that you know, yeah, they have a track record of having the best stuff, and I trust them, I really do. I am a fan of Simicube. I gave you facts about Simicube, but I am a fan of it. Do I want one? Yes. I want to wait and see basically a week after today on what what's the deal with this wheel.

Jeff: 46:12

Yeah, and I hope tons of people buy them so that they put their their Simicube 2s on uh up for sale. I'm I I mean, you know, because I'm still kicking myself for not freaking staying for one more day at the expo. There's there's not a week that goes by that I still don't kick myself.

Jason: 46:27

Yeah, but it your your wheelbase is not terrible, bro.

Jeff: 46:30

No, it's not, absolutely not.

Jason: 46:32

But that deal is. I know I I know I know the itch. The the sim racing itch, right?

Jeff: 46:37

To have yeah, and I've dropped a shit ton of money the last couple weeks on the rig. So of course you did. We can cool off. We we both did, yeah, we did.

Jason: 46:46

We did it together, though. That's the important thing to do.

Jeff: 46:49

And it was it was well worth it.

Jason: 46:51

So I'll tell you SimiCube three. Um is trying to do something no one else is doing, and I respect him for that. I really do. Like, you know, I regardless of everything that I've read to you, this is them attempting to push the bar that much higher.

Jeff: 47:11

Yeah, they're trying to.

Jason: 47:14

Yeah, they could have just said the wheel has improved slew rate and it has 40 newton meters of force. Go buy it.

Jeff: 47:22

And people would have.

Jason: 47:23

And people would just buy it. But they're telling you listen we're taking something that we've been designing in the in the low-key and the back and the lab, and we're trying to make it significant. It's so significant that wheel manufacturers are actually buying into their tech, which is why I have a I have a lot of faith in it. You know what I mean? Because, like you said, that's gonna drive up the cost, but they seem to think that it's worth it. You know what I mean? Because they don't have to, they don't have to agree to anything. Um, and yeah, the price of the QRs, $200.

Jeff: 48:05

Yeah, that's another thing, is you have that, and then what's the I could have sworn I saw a box that you that you had to buy if you didn't have something else.

Jason: 48:13

Oh, the the the semi-cube link.

Jeff: 48:15

Yeah, which is another hundred 150 bucks.

Jason: 48:18

The only reason why I'm not concerned about it is because it came with my active pedal. I know that's very, very selfish.

Jeff: 48:26

It's a data point, right? Because you're talking about 300 bucks, 400 bucks.

Jason: 48:32

Yeah, if you want an extension, they'll sell you both extensions. I don't understand why they sell, why can't you just sell me one extension? That's another 250 bucks if you want to use their extension for yeah, so yes, definitely it has a high cost, has a high penny, but we must we must give it the benefit of the doubt. We have to give it the benefit, benefit of the doubt.

Jeff: 49:01

They've earned that, they're not gonna they've earned that. Knowing them, bro, honestly, bro.

Jason: 49:07

Knowing them, they're not gonna just say that something is better and then slap a higher price tag on top of it. I would be shocked if that is what they did.

Jeff: 49:18

But oh, I'm with you on that one. After talking to them in person, yeah, they're not gonna be able to do that. After talking to them in person and rebrand something, yeah.

Jason: 49:26

No, uh, I don't see that in them. I don't, I don't, I really don't because technically, let's you know, let's just be honest with ourselves. If Simicube wanted to make more money, they wouldn't even develop anything. Simicube 2 is still selling like like it's no one's business, still selling, still selling, still selling. Now they're gonna they're gonna reach a limit, right? Where sales might go down a little bit because you already got your wheelbase, everything is good to go, you know. So how do they how do they innovate? They waited seven years to release a new version. If you told me that seven years ago I bought a simicube too and I was gonna get seven years out of updates and usage, I am a happy camper, you know. Compare it to another base that dropped, you know. I'm gonna use SimMagic as an example. They dropped their base, and then you literally a year and a half later, they have an improved version, an Evo with an LED on it, which I still don't understand what the LED is for, but it's there. Um just a little small knock, you know, on them. But but that's my topic, man. Um, please leave comments below. I love to hear what you guys think, you know. Even uh, you know, I'm pretty sure there's somebody gonna say, Oh, I'll never spend that kind of money on a wheelbase, but then there might be a day that you might, you know, because everybody, the longer you stay in this hobby, bro, 90% of us, we outgrow things pretty quickly, you know. And if we know something is out there that's a little better, you know, I just told Jeff your base is perfectly fine, but then you're like, nah, man, but that's kind of cool that you know, you you you kind of get what I'm saying, Jeff.

Jeff: 51:16

Yeah, I mean, especially when you get to try them out, and that's the benefit of going to these things, is like, yes, you know, it was just wow. I was like, wow, you can feel a lot of detail.

Jason: 51:24

All right, so that's my topic for today. Um, like I said, guys, drop a like, leave a comment, let me know how you feel. Let us know how you feel. Send us an email if you don't want it to be public. Send us an email at the shakanepodcast at gmail.com. Let us know your roles with this uh release and this announcement. And if you're excited for one, I I'm excited for new technology. That's what the Shikane Podcast loves to hear is news and things coming out and all those you know experiences and new experiences that keep getting better and better. So I have high hopes for this one. Like I said, I will not be pre-ordering just yet, just to be on the safe side. But next week, I might have a pre-order receipt. Who knows? You know, I'll be able to do it. Yeah, I know, right? Like Jeff invites me over to his house to try the butt, the belt tensioner, and he tells me, son, you know, we mentioned what it was, the device that he's connecting the belts to. I said, you know what, that just became a very personal thing. I'm gonna take your word for it and I'm gonna try it myself. And I went and bought it. And but honestly, we tried it at the expo. We tried it, we loved it, we experienced it on many different different platforms. The belt tensioner is what I'm talking about. And that's why it's important uh for you to go to these things, right? So, for those that can go to Germany, if you went to Germany and you follow us, drop a comment. Let me know how it felt. Let me know how the the new basis felt because we're not gonna be able to make it out there this year.

Jeff: 53:01

This year. I appreciate you adding it this year.

Jason: 53:03

This year. So for now, I mean, track of the week is still part of this show. For those that are just waiting for a new track of the week, until the news doesn't calm down.

Jeff: 53:16

Um I know we just had some killer, you know, content when it comes to topics here that just you can't cut it short because it it's it's it's righteous to talk about it for this long.

Jason: 53:28

And I don't want to cram everything into one episode. I really don't. I want to give you guys I'll keep you guys fed with content, right? That's I that's just my vision for I guess. I don't know. I looked up at the time, it it's way past the time that I thought it was.

Jeff: 53:47

So I know, and we have like a backlog of tracks. We have tracks on tracks on tracks to to get to here. So we will get to them, we promise. I uh I know there's a bunch of comments for them that the you know the the listeners really appreciated. So we will get to them.

Jason: 54:01

But we do got to get to your questions, as we always say on the show, and we'll start with um one that we received uh quite a while back. I'll take the first one, Jeff. Go for it. It is titled Triple by Harry M. So Harry M Harry. I am, I apologize deeply for the time it took to respond, but here we go. It says, hello, Jason, Eric, and Jeff. Good meeting you at the Sim Racing Expo with triple screens, with triple screens. Can you touch upon these two questions? Okay. Being at the expo, you'll see various setups. What's the rule of thumb of setting the angle of the physical monitors? Jeff, what do you think the rule of thumb is? Because I have a I have a theory on this.

Jeff: 54:56

Well, it's what works for yeah. I totally had Jason to help me out, but mine would be start start at where you think you'd like it, get in there, Google. There's calculate, there's a couple calculators out there that you can do, you know, Google your angles, your distance that you're sitting away from, the size of your monitors, bezels, etc. Hit calculate, and it'll tell you what is probably the best place. And I would say that's your starting point. That is a starting point. What's for you like it? And if somebody else says gives you a hard time about your FOV being off, tell them to screw. It doesn't matter, it's not their setup, whatever you like. That's my thoughts. But I'll pass it to you as the professional with that comes to this stuff.

Jason: 55:36

Well, I feel the same way. And you know what I do is I take the screens and you use a uh one of those rulers that measures angle, angle, excuse me. And I usually go for 60, which is the the gold standard, right? 60 on each side. But that doesn't always work in a space, depending on what kind of space and the size. So I look at them, I I base them on a 60 angle and I measure screen size. Do not go by the screen size, go by the body size. So if you go for the monitor, you go on the website, it should tell you what the total size is with all the plastic and everything. And that's how you do it. And then you go for a 60, and then you start at 60, and then you align the monitor to be flush, depending on if it's a flat screen or a curved screen. That's this that's the simplest answer I can give you on this. And Harry, good luck.

Jeff: 56:42

Whenever you get triples, put at least two hours to the side of when you're gonna sit there, put the first one on, you're gonna put one side on, then the other, and you're like, oh no, and you're gonna go back there and make a half a million micro adjustments, and it's gonna be the most pain in the ass thing ever. But once you get it, it's perfect, and then you don't ever let anybody even look at it to screw it up, to bump it or anything. Don't even look at them.

Jason: 57:08

Super tight dude, don't ever get them. I mean, I was crazy, but I took a freaking, what is it? Uh a driver, and I drove these screws in so that they never ever move. Unless I need a driver to get these off. There's no way I'm taking these off by hand. But that's just me. That's just me. I'm crazy like that because I got tired of accidentally bumping the screen. Now I lost the entire angle. The plastic thing that you the the bezel eliminator goes flying, it disconnects. It will get you upset, bro. Thinking about it, it will get you upset. You're like, I just want to sit down and race, and I can't. I'm sitting here wrenching away.

Jeff: 57:52

So stupid ass knock the screen with my knee or something. Yeah, like clumsy ass. Harry, once you get it all up and run, send us a picture. We'd love to see it when it's done.

Jason: 58:00

Hell yeah. And then the second thing he asked, do you also set the angle in game so that the image is not distorted? On the other absolutely. And distorted images happen when you use in different monitors, when you use different monitors. Make sure you get the same monitor. If you have 32-inch monitors, for example, is what the gold standard is, what people get. If you have an NVIDIA card, NVIDIA surround. It is the biggest pain in the ass in existence. But when it works, it solves all of these things for you. Um, but make sure they're physically right before you touch things in game, right? Because you don't want to have an adjustment on top of another adjustment, then you don't know where to start. I'd say get the middle monitor centered to your eye line, right? So if your eye line is here, this is the middle of the screen and the distance. From there, you start bringing in the other monitor. You do one at a time, as Jeff said. So, yeah. Okay, so that that covers this question from Harry M. I'll let you take the next one, Jeff.

Jeff: 59:10

Sure. All right, so this is from Hassan, I believe is how you pronounce it. Hello, gents. Want to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Hassan, and I am an avid listener of the Shikane podcast. Well, thank you very much for your time and listening and support to the podcast. It's been a Monday morning, must-listen for me. I appreciate it. And I really appreciate the mix of insight, humor, and authenticity you bring to each episode. It's clear how much passion and knowledge you have for racing and sim culture. Thank you, man. We are definitely prideful and really enjoy uh sim racing. So I'm glad we're to share it with you guys. So he continues to say, I'm an avid sim racer, although I admit my skill level is solidly below average for now. For now, buddy, but I'm determined to improve and I'm currently cons uh considering in uh investing in a motion platform. And I recall Jason mentioning that he's exploring one as well. I'd love to hear. Which system, which motion system you're leaning towards and what drives your decision. Also curious, what's your thoughts on e-racing labs? Their setup looks intra uh intriguing, and I'd love to know how they compare in terms of realism and reliability. Keep up the incredible work. The podcast continues to be the highlight of my week. Best regards. Assign. Okay. Jason, I'll let you go because you are far more knowledgeable on motion than I. So I'll pass this to you, buddy.

Jason: 1:00:28

Um so there's a lot of new, there's a lot of motion system platforms out there that are using the same type of actuator and just putting their brands on it. But then for me personally, right now, I'm leaning towards a cubic system. Why am I leaning towards a cubic system? Because I have a belt tensioner, and the belt tensioner was built to work seamlessly with one of their platforms. Doesn't have to be, it doesn't have to be their most expensive one, but they were engineered to work together. You know what I'm saying? Um it's kind of like buying a uh a gas and a brake pedal. You wouldn't buy, well, in my case, I have an active pedal, but if you were buying pedals, you want the whole set from the same brand, from the same everything, same software. It works all together, you know, kind of like that concept. Um, cubic motions have been doing it for a while. They've actually worked on military equipment um in the past. And if these guys know how to build an actuator, you know, they have the experience. They also, which you know, which is a great segue, honestly, uh, into this one thing I wanted to share.

Jeff: 1:01:53

We got to test uh uh a number of their motion platforms too. I think we got to try maybe two or three of them when we were at the expo.

Jason: 1:02:00

Yeah, we did. Um I'm gonna go over to the cubic website because the cubic website actually just dropped something that might help you out. Um, it and it doesn't have to be a cubic system, but that's my preference.

Jeff: 1:02:19

Um, you're getting that. Um I got it here. You know, as I just from from somebody else that considers themselves average at best, I like I said, I might not be the fastest on the track, but damn, there's not many people that have more have as much fun as I do when I'm in my rig. So you don't have to be fast to have you know to be out there to have fun. That's really why we bought this stuff was to have fun. So make sure you're not tying your enjoyment to what you place in races or how fast you are. So very true. Yeah, just want to make sure, and not saying you are or aren't, but just want to make sure that you know, and this kind of goes to everybody, is just to make sure you're doing this stuff for the right reasons. Uh you should be having fun, not you know, get out of it frustrated with yourself. So, all right, Jason, off to you.

Jason: 1:02:59

So, here on the screen here, I have on display um a buyer's guide, and also our friend the Sim Racing Den also released a video, which I highly recommend you watch. But these guys break down the terminology, the basics, how do they work? Why does it matter? Uh, what's a 2DOF? What does DOF even mean? What does a 3D OF, four, five, six, you know, the myths, the common myths, introduction? You have this guide is free and explains it in detail. But let's say you're not a reader, let's say you like to listen to a podcast such as the Shicane Podcast. Well, um, these guys have thought of everything, and they've, if you go over to their website, which I will link, uh this is the cubic system website. All you got to do is click on download guide, and they will not only send you this same PDF that I just displayed, they will also send you an MP3 file where it's narrated in English and they'll read it to you. I believe it is in English, I believe, because uh this is a Polish company from Poland, um, but it should be in English, and I don't know why my internet is taking so long to open this link. Um, but yeah, we're having some internet problems right now. But anywho, if you click on download guide, that will take you to um this download page where you can sign up with your first and last name or just first name and put your email and they will email you the guide. Um, let me know if you need help with this. Right now, for some reason, things are not loading. So I'm gonna leave it there. But that will be my recommendation on how to make an educated decision because you also got to think about your budget. You gotta think about um your budget, your space. We just covered monitors, right? And that this is a big part of it is space being uh one of the biggest challenges, and that's how come when I'm still building this rig, it is it was uh upgraded. Uh, how do you say this? Slowly to get it slowly ready for motion, but right now it is 100% ready for motion, and I can't wait. So that'd be my recommendation, Jeff. Um is a cubic system.

Jeff: 1:05:37

Cool, yeah, good answer.

Jason: 1:05:39

Just because I know I know many creators and friends that have them and they're super happy with them, and they've been using them for years. That's why, you know, and the company too, it's a legitimate company. And Jeff can tell you about the build quality of their bell tensioner, and if that's entry level, then show me what's not entry level, if you know what I mean.

Jeff: 1:06:02

Yeah, I mean, to pile on to the cubic thing is you know, because the bell tensioners are managed through their software that handles also their full motion rigs. Um they thought about everything. What you know, even it's just a very thought-out, well-laid out, you know, software to manage just the bell tension. So if it's that level of granularity, uh, it probably would be just as good, probably if not better, um, with a hundred percent.

Jason: 1:06:30

100%. And we got one more from our very own, Mr. Roy Wheeler, the GOAT, uh OG, the OG cable management, which is a topic that's just dreadful. Why are why are you doing this to us, Roy? What are you doing, bro?

Jeff: 1:06:47

Makes my skin crawl. I'm just glad you can't see. And let me go like this so nobody can see the cable management dumpster fire that's back there. But go ahead. Sorry. Sorry, man. It's embarrassing sometimes.

Jason: 1:06:57

You're all good, bro. So it says, I need some tips and tricks. With all the peripherals used on a rig, how in the hell do you keep all the cables and power bricks organized? I have power bricks for base shakers, wheelbases, pedals, monitors, ambient lighting, and who knows what else. Then you add all the cabling. I have cables coming out of my ass and ears. I love this, by the way. Uh, so my question is: what kind of accessories do you use to hide manage all this crap? I know a lot of it is just taking the time to organize everything and a lot of advil to ease the pain in your back and knees. Keep up the great videos, Roy Wheeler. So, Roy, I'll start here, I'll let Jeff finish. Um, I want to start because I just did this. And the the concept of cable management is that you have to put all the cables behind the PC. That is the the number one thing that goes through your mind when you build, when I at least for me, when I started building mine. But I did it in reverse fashion. I kept all the cabling underneath the rig side. Because what do you have inside the rig frame? Nothing but profile, and you can start mounting things to the profile. You can 3D print um mounts for your power supplies, or you can buy them on Etsy. They have they're not too bad, right? I I would still tell you to buy a printer for the amount of money that you guys are going to spend on 3D stuff. You can get yourself like a basic uh bamboo mini, like a mini, a small one, just to start printing out parts, or just an A1. I would pony up and get the A1. Honestly, so you can get the full bed, the full bed size for PLA plastics that are not being stressed at all. You know, they're not really being stressed down there. Um that's what I did. I mounted all my power supplies on the walls in the interior and ran the cables back. And I have two, I have a 16-port, 90 watt um USB hub and another 10-port back there, which is 60 watt, I believe. One is 90, one is 60. And I just ran the cables, the um, some long powered cables you can find on Amazon. Just coiled them up. I bought a little snake, and you snake them, and all you see that's coming from in front of the rig is just that one snake going up to the PC. That's it. Everything else behind here, the sound bar, the lights up here, the monitor, uh, my streaming setup can stay back there because there's no real reason to run the cables all the way back down and about, right? You want to run the cables that are like right in front of you, like your wheelbase, your shifters, your butt kickers, um, or whatever else. Now belt tensioners, whatever. My belt tensioner is plugged in right down here. I didn't even uncoil the cable, still coiled. They give you this long ass cable, and it I just plugged it in right there. Um, you can go the cheap route with zip ties, which I did because zip ties are easily replaceable. Um, or you can buy the fancy spancy ones that screw into the rig and you can run the wires in that way. And those are good too. There's a place and time for those as well. Um, so yeah, I kind of have a mixture of both. What about you, Jeff?

Jeff: 1:10:45

All right. I have been putting off cable management for a while, knowing that I'm moving the rig in like two months. So I am a dumpster fire right now. But what I am going to do, um, because I did the 3D printed cable management little clips that you turn in 90 degrees, put the white, put the cables in, or the wires in, put in 90 degrees, turn it, and it locks into the the the rig. They're nice. Until you need to either add or take out a wire, a cable, and then it's just a pain in the ass to like take it out. You try to take one out, seven come out, you put them back in. So, what I'm gonna do next time is I'm going to do velcro ties, you know, the velcro strips that go onto themselves. So I think that would be easier to use.

Jason: 1:11:29

Cost effective too.

Jeff: 1:11:30

Reusable. Yeah, it'll be black, it'll match the rig, you'll hide them, and it'll be easier to manage pulling onesie, twosie wires out or adding them. I can just, you know, slide it in and then pull it tight. That's my plan, is what to do those. Um I'm gonna probably try to do a lot better putting the power supplies onto the rig on the inside. Um, I think that's kind of comes with it's hard to do cable management as you're slowly building your rig out to be you know what it's starting to do.

Jason: 1:11:57

But you don't think you're gonna have that much stuff.

Jeff: 1:11:59

You don't have the forethought, right? And then my problem is when I get something, I don't want to run cable management. I know, I get a try use it. And then like three or four things later, I guess have no idea.

Jason: 1:12:11

Jeff's smart, bro.

Jeff: 1:12:12

Rat's nest by luck, bro. So this guy it is it it is what it is.

Jason: 1:12:19

But I'm surprised that he actually straps in like these two might one use one strap. Ah, good enough. Oh, good enough.

Jeff: 1:12:27

Yeah, so um, yeah, that's what I plan to do when I have to re-rebuild the rig from scratch, will be just buy a couple hundred of the uh the the velcro straps, use those.

Jason: 1:12:38

The clips are the clips have their space too.

Jeff: 1:12:40

They do, they absolutely have their place. Um one of our one of our listeners uh sent that as a tip for an email, or I think it was an email uh a while ago. This way back, but uh good luck, buddy. Let us know how it goes, take some pictures. Um, and I am 100% positive that the people that post their rigs and the wiring is like you can't see any wires. It's either they just move the rig or they're just took that picture and that's the picture they post, send it to everybody, and that's doesn't look like that all the time.

Jason: 1:13:08

I mean, I'm gonna say here, if your rig is as clean as that, because it it kind of gets it gets out of hand, you know, from time to time. And if that's not happening to you, then you're not racing, bro. You're just building rigs, you know. You're you're building turnkey, turnkey setups, right? Turnkey setups, that's easy because it everything is laid out, they know exactly how far. We are building these things at a time. And when you want to add something, it'll take you a good hour to figure out where the hell am I gonna put this? How am I gonna wire it?

Jeff: 1:13:45

And that's the thing I'm looking forward to, is because I like you have two USB hubs. I think I have 12 on each side. Um yeah, but like when I was building it, I only had one, and now that I have two, it's like, oh, I should take this one because it's on this side, move it from over here, put it in there. You know, that was a pain in the ass. So that'll be better thought out when I re rebuild the rig here. Um, yeah, it's a thing, Roy. It's a thing, and we don't I don't have a good solution for you other than take it all apart, all apart, and then put it back together.

Jason: 1:14:18

And take your time. Because the worst thing you can do is do one side nice and the other side look like not so nice. Yeah, how do I know that? Because of yours truly, right here. And then you go back and you're like, shit, I I this one side is really nice and the other side is not. Just make a system where it's comfortable for you to work on. Don't get them so tight that you can't access things because sometimes USBs freeze. How do you find them? Oh, a big tip. That's a here you go.

Jeff: 1:14:55

Great.

Jason: 1:14:56

Get yourself a tape label and start labeling cables one by one. Just get the cheapest one you can find, a tape label, one of those label makers, uh, brother, I think it's called. One tape should do it, and you're gonna have unlimited of those. Um, and start labeling wires because when you want to find a wire, and they all look they all look the same.

Jeff: 1:15:23

And you're like trying to move it, and you're like separate.

Jason: 1:15:26

Good luck tracing this wire through the contraption, through the loops and ups and downs. Hell no, bro. Label that right at the end, right before you plug it in. That way you know, okay, that's the stream deck. Okay, that's the belt, that's the belt, that's the semi-cube, those are the pedals, these are the shifters. Okay, good. I'm having a problem with this. Unplug Yank, see what's going on. Uh yeah, yeah. And also, I would highly recommend to label out your extensions because uh USB hub extensions, because some extensions are calling for a 3.0 slot, uh 3.0 USB, and some of them are only calling for a 2.0. And yes, you tech person out there is gonna say, yeah, you can plug a 2.0 and 3.0, but sometimes vocal screens they get angry, they get upset, they don't like you putting themselves into something that has more data. I don't understand why, but that's just how it goes. It's it I've had way too many crashes in my life on PCs. Respect the rules, those are the rules. You know, until SimeCube comes out with this light bridge thing that might solve all our issues and it might adapt to other devices. We are stuck with USB protocol and it's not reliable. It isn't reliable, it is not reliable. That's just a fact. So I think that's about it, man. Yeah, dude. I think that's about it. We had quite an episode today. Thank you, Jeff. Go on and on and on. We had more. Good luck, Roy. We had more. Roy, God bless you. You know, but um Godspeed, Roy. Godspeed.

Jeff: 1:17:07

We're all praying for you.

Jason: 1:17:08

Yes, Godspeed. So, guys, if you have any questions, anything we covered today, which was a lot, it's a handful, uh, just email the show, chicanepodcast at gmail.com. Like, subscribe, like again, share it to uh, I don't know, go on incognito and like that shit again. No, I'm just kidding. Uh, Jeff, thank you so much. And uh all you viewers and listeners out there, have a great start of your week. Thank you.