As sim racing enthusiasts we all love to feel that our gaming experience is as close as possible to the real thing. With that in mind, it’s inevitable not to think of buying a racing cockpit as we make progress in the sim racing ladder. And when we start our research for it we ‘ll see the name “Trak Racer” feature a lot.
Trak Racer is a company specialized on products and accessories suitable for sim racing. Starting all the way back in 2008 the company has an abundance of experience in designing gaming platforms and simulators, receiving praise from many racing enthusiasts. More recently they even started a collaboration with the Alpine F1 Team, producing simulators that can be used by professional esports players or even the F1 team itself.
Although -fear not- not all the products are massively priced and inaccessible to the simple racing game fan. Trak Racer offers simulators with different features and different prices, each one to serve different purposes. This article aims to unfold all these crucial information that you must have in mind should you wish to buy a Trak Racer simulator, starting from the cheapest all the way to the most expensive option. Consider it a helpful tool in order to decide which of the products suits you best.
What to consider when buying a sim racing cockpit?
Aside from the products themselves, when you make the decision to buy a simulator you need to consider other accessories that will be needed so you can enjoy the best sim racing experience.
These accessories are seats or chairs (you can also buy seats according to the style of racing that you will race in, i.e. rally or GT seat), monitor stands or monitors themselves, keyboard, mouse pad and speaker stands. How many of them you need and which ones is in your discretion, although as this article will show you, each product provides you some choices. Also, make sure to always check the size and the dimensions of the product you buy according to your height or your body structure.
And with that in mind, we can now proceed with the review of the Trak Racer simulators!
All Trak racer cockpits:
TRAK RACER FS3 STEERING WHEEL STAND
Starting with the cheapest product, the FS3 Steering Wheel Stand/Simulator is basically a base in which you can build your sim racing universe. It is compatible with both PC and gaming consoles, as all the Trak Racer simulators that follow. It’s a steering wheel stand that gives you an abundance of customisation options. The wheel stand is easily folding and it’s suitable for people with restricted space for storage in their houses. At the same time, it has a wide leg stance that allows you to put your own chair –even simple office chairs!- in it.
The FS3 Steering Wheel Stand/Simulator may be a simple construction, but has adjustable mounts for gear shift lever, steering wheel and pedal plates. It’s also compatible with most of the shifter, steering wheel and pedal set constructors. You have the option of adding stuff like keyboard, mouse pad and speaker mounts and also a single or even triple monitor.
The simulator’s price is €169.00 (all the prices from here on are indicative of the time of writing), making it suitable for those with limited budget. Still, it’s a solid construction and it allows a series of customisation options, suitable for those who already have racing accessories bought and it’s also a simple and easily folding construction.
TRAK RACER TR80 LITE RACING SIMULATOR
The price takes an upwards turn with the TR80 Lite Racing Simulator, starting at €429.00, but can get even higher should you choose some optional add-ons.
TR80 Lite offers all the commodities of the FS3, but is more technically sophisticated. With carbon steel pedal mount, it offers more stability, especially under braking, and a more rigid wheel base construction and stronger aluminium walls makes it an even more solid construction. The optional features are a seat slider and the TR One Expandable shifter mount, offering more comfort to the hand.
Overall, the TR80 is a more stable, rigid and strong construction suitable for hours of fun racing gaming experience.
TRAK RACER RS6 RACING SIMULATOR
The RS6 Racing Simulator comes will all the adjustment and compatibility features of the previous products, but with more exciting improvements and addons. All these are reflected in its price, starting at €499.00, with a plethora of options that can elevate the price a lot.
The main technical improvement is the chassis, which is even stronger with iron reinforcements, its adjustable pedal deck that can slide forward and its side shifter slide that allows more movement.
You also have the option of having a standard wheel base mount, but also a Universal Direct Motor Mount and a Side Fanatec DD Mount, plus bases for multiple dimension monitors.
They come at a price, but considering the improved construction of the simulator it makes it a buy that can live up to more than 8 years, according to Trak Racer.
TRAK RACER TR80 RACING SIMULATOR MK5
This is a pretty exciting simulator, adding a very important feature, the Hybrid Formula and GT pedal system. The Trak Racer TR80 MK5 cockpit system allows the pedal plate mount to be rotated in a higher position to simulate Formula racing conditions and in a lower position to simulate GT racing conditions. This isn’t an optional feature, it’s included in the starting prize of the simulator, which is €559.00.
What’s included in the add-ons is the TR One wheel mount, another exciting feature. The TR One gives you the option to change one part of the wheel mount in order to use different wheels bases and, subsequently, the wheel bases you consider more suitable for each category of cars you race in! More customization options in the TR One wheel base can be included in the simulator you order.
The TR80 MK5 is a perfect fit for sim racers that wish to explore many different racing categories and get as much accuracy in these simulations as possible. So, if you really want to get a feel of the differences between Formula racing and GT racing, this wheel is a good starting point.
TRAK RACER TR120 RACING SIMULATOR
The TR120 Racing Simulator is all about aluminium. What makes it unique is the strong construction of its chassis, with extruded aluminium. It is wide and it has to be said – you need space in your home to fit it. But if you have space, and the budget of €639.00 (starting price), this is a great simulator for you.
The TR One system is included once again, albeit this time it’s an add-on and costs a bit more, along with its different wheel base options. What’s new to the TR120 and is included in the starting price is the Strengthened Hybrid Pedal Plate option.
These features include the hybrid interchange between the Formula-style (high) and the GT-style (low) pedals, plus an option of inverted pedals, which are basically the standard pedals upside down!
TRAK RACER TR8 PRO RACING SIMULATOR
The Trak Racer TR8 Cockpit Pro lacks some of the technical configurations of the TR80 or the TR80 Lite, but its design is smart and its strongest point is its convenient assembly. While you may spend almost 7 hours to assemble the other two simulators, this one will take you just 1, according to Trak Racer.
It might support just the standard wheel plate and no Hybrid Pedal system, but it contains a plethora of improvements in its design, such as strengthened pedal plates and wheel/shifter mounts.
These improvements alone make the simulator have the starting price of €659.00. Optional features include an integrated monitor stand, which is another commodity for quick assembly and a tablet holder, but you have to be prepared to pay for them.
TRAK RACER TR160 MK4 RACING SIMULATOR
The Trak Racer TR160 is one of the two Trak Racer simulators approved by the Alpine F1 Team and, as expected, it contains all the basic features that have already been reviewed in other simulators. Therefore, to buy this simulator you need to be prepared to pay big, with its starting price at €769.00.
It’s probably the strongest of the Trak Racer simulators, containing once again extruded aluminium. It also contains the strengthened TR Hybrid system, similar to the TR120 and the TR One wheel base system with all its configurations, albeit optional with a bit more money.
What stands as its biggest advantage is its wheelbase torque at 25Nm, which is bigger than any other Trak Racer simulator and allows an impressive amount of mobility of the wheel.
TRAK RACER ALPINE RACING TRX
The Alpine Racing TRX is a collaborative effort of Alpine and Trak Racer and it’s not surprising that current Alpine F1 driver, Esteban Ocon, uses it to train for the F1 Grand Prix’s. What’s not a surprise either is its massive starting price, currently at €1.599.00.
The Alpine Racing TRX has been patiently awaited by sim racing fans for years and is really unique, but also a simulator that requires some savings for the simple sim racing fan to afford. It’s probably more suitable for esports players but, still, if you ever get your hands on it you will be serviced with almost every commodity of the already reviewed simulators, plus some more.
What makes it more special is the speed in which the chassis can switch from the Formula to the GT position (and vice versa) in 3-5 minutes, according to Trak Racer. It’s also easy to assemble. Somewhat surprisingly, though, it’s not applicable with the TR One wheel mount system, but still you have the option to buy the wheel mount you prefer.
Along with the simulator you can optionally purchase a monitor stand, single, triple or even quadruple.
The head-to-head differences
The answer to the question of “which one to pick?” can only be given by you and it’s determined by multiple factors:
- What is your budget
- What kind of sim racing wheel and sim racing pedals you own
- How much space you have in your home
- Which kind of game you play (f1 games, oval racing, GT cars, etc) and how realistic you wish your experience to be