My Ottoman Racing Cockpit (New seat installed)

Hi Guys,

Thought I would post up the project that I have worked on over the past couple of weekends.

I built the PVC based one about 6 months ago but that was WAY too big for the lounge room and I had nowhere to store it, i had to keep bringing it out and packing it up each time I wanted to use it and it just took too long.

The basic design for the Ottoman based cockpit was to create something functional as a race sim but still looked good in the lounge room (basically keep the missus happy ).

Here are some photos.



Lid opened, the actual steering wheel is stored inside already on a timber base that just needs to be lifted into place on top of the box. This is then locked into position with a couple of pins.

Gotta love the ole plastic school chair....need to upgrade that I think, but for now its not too bad.



Took the pedals out of the plastic base and reverse mounted them. Put down some blue foam to rest my heels on as just on the MDF base was hard as nails.





...and a bit of Dirt 2 action on the projector




Wanted to make it fully adjustable for other people to be able to use, therefore the seat, gearstick and steering wheel all push forward and are locked down with wing nuts and pins.

The dimensions are 1500mm x 500mm x 500mm. I am 180cm so fits me pretty well. I used 18mm MDF to build it.

Only takes me a couple of minutes to set it up to use. I put some timber feet on the box and sanded them real smooth so it glides easy over the carpet. Then take the lid off, put the steering wheel into position and insert the locking pins, plug in the power and USB and away I go.

All in all I am really happy with how it has come up, yeah there would be a few things I would change if I built it again but for a first run it works a treat, plus it doesn't look too bad in the lounge room. Another plus is that there is plenty of room inside it for storage too.





Update: Here is a pic of the new seat installed, more pics on Page 5.

 

That's awesome!

Can you post some dimensions please? Think I might have a crack at making one.

 

What a great setup

 

Looks great. There's this thing called the butt-thumper. I know it's meant for chairs, but i think it'd do pretty well on this thing as well aye matey

 

To much time on your hands.
A m a z i n g .

 

Ok, the dimensions are as follows

2 x 1500 x 400 x 18 (sides)
2 x 500 x 400 x 18 (ends)
2 x 1500 x 536 x 18 (lid and bottom)

So the inside dimensions of the box are 1464 x 500.

There are a couple of "locator" strips on the underside of the lid so it sits in the right position. These are just 42x19mm pine.












The pedals are attached to a piece 500 x 200 x 18. The angle is about 30 degrees i reckon. I had it at about 45 but the pedals were too close, they are now pretty much at right angles with the floor.

For the covering:

- 1500 x 540 x 25mm foam for the lid

- 4m x 1.2m fabric

- 2m x 1.5m wadding (padding inside the fabric)

Oh and a shedload of staples

 

Thanks for the replies all.

Just a question, does anyone know where I could get a padded seat, MAX width 50cm that could fold down on itself? Saw some at BCF the other day that may do the job.

 

Great setup, very high WAF

bugger the kids toybox this is a adults toybox

 

Haha, very nice. How's it feel having the pedals mounted from the top? One thing I could never stand about my pedals was that they pushed down instead of away like a car.

 

Yeah they feel great, way better than leaving them in the base. Its really easy to take the base apart to reverse mount them.

 

Hey mate, I assume you mean the Buttkicker? Was looking at those last night on YouTube, they look real good though a bit of research suggests they are not available in Australia. With the dollar so strong might be worth importing one.

 

Very nice work and it doesn't stand out!

I went the lazy route and put my G25 on a Wheelstand Pro. It's not as inconspicuous as your setup but it's easy to pick up as a whole and chuck under the stairs etc.

 

Maybe you should just foam the school seat? Might be the easiest option.

This is brilliant btw. Such a great idea. Massive props!

 

Wow, I'm impressed! Great idea and execution OP, well done

 

That, sir, is quite awesome.

Maybe you could mod something like this to fit: http://www.bunnings.com.au/products_product_chair-folding-camp-marquee-lounger-steel_5952.aspx

Not entirely authentic, but comfortable...

Edit: These might also be worth looking at if you've got an amp to drive them... and looking at your AV setup I'm guessing that may be possible
http://members.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=world-of-bass-shakers

 

Very nice ... The reason I stopped playing racing sims was because of all the setting up and such but something like this could solve that problem

 

its nice, i like the way its hidden, do the locking pins go through the wood and hit the fabric?

Still its awesome

 

Mate that is seriously awesome, just need some eyefinity to go along with it

 

Nah they don't go right through. I drilled about 12mm into the 18mm MDF

 

Great idea, all you need do now is make an ottoman in the shape of an F1 car