It is the first question we get, and one that rarely gets an honest answer. "From a few thousand euros" tells you nothing, because a racing simulator is not a product — it is a stack of choices. Below is where the money actually goes, with our starting prices at the time of writing. All figures exclude VAT.
The four parts that set the price
Whatever you buy, you are paying for four things: a frame to mount everything on, a wheel base that puts the force in your hands, pedals to modulate with, and optionally a platform that moves the whole thing. Everything beyond that — screens, seats, a dashboard — is comfort and immersion.
1. The chassis: from € 1,999
The frame is the least exciting part and at the same time the part you keep longest. A solid aluminium profile will still be standing in twenty years while the electronics on it get replaced three times. Do not save money here. A frame that flexes under a strong wheel base makes every later upgrade worthless, because you end up feeling the frame instead of the car.
2. The wheel base
This is where the jump in feel is. A direct drive wheel base couples the motor straight to your wheel, with no gears or belts in between. The difference against an entry level wheel is not "somewhat better" — it is a different kind of information. You feel the moment the front tyre gives up grip, instead of seeing it on screen afterwards.
If you are looking for the one upgrade that gives you the most, this is it. Individual wheel bases are listed with their prices in our web shop — note that those figures include VAT.
3. The pedals
After the wheel base, pedals deliver the biggest gain in lap time, and that comes down to one thing: a load cell brake measures pressure, not travel. You brake with your leg, not with your eyes. That is exactly how a real brake pedal works, and it is why drivers who switch get their braking points consistent within a few sessions.
4. Motion: from € 12,500
This is where the roads part. A motion platform on its own, to go under an existing rig, starts with us from € 12,500. If you want it delivered as a complete simulator, you are looking at € 29,000 and up.
And then the honest caveat: motion does not make you faster. It makes it more believable. You feel the rear stepping out before you see it, and that changes how you drive — but the lap time comes from your wheel base and your pedals. If your budget is limited and you still want to be quickest, buy better pedals first.
Or simply: a simulator that is finished
Building it yourself is fun if you find that sort of thing fun. If you do not, buy a base simulator: assembled, set up and tested before it leaves. Ours start from € 10,900, including chassis, wheel base, pedals, seat and screen. With a motion platform under it, that becomes € 29,000.
That first figure puts people off until they lay it next to the individual parts and notice they do not come in much under it once they buy the same quality — and then they still have a weekend of work and a setup to figure out.
Where people overspend
- Three screens before a decent wheel base. A wider view is pleasant, but it will not make you faster and it costs a multiple of a pedal upgrade.
- An expensive seat on a flimsy frame. The seat feels luxurious; the frame ruins the effect.
- Motion on an entry level wheel base. Your platform moves nicely while your wheel tells you nothing. That is the order reversed.
Come and feel the difference
We are lucky enough to run our own simcenters in Waregem, Kortrijk and Lubbeek, with the same hardware we sell. Which means you do not have to take our word for it: book a session, drive with and without motion back to back, and decide afterwards. A session starts from € 17 — a fraction of what the wrong purchase costs.
Current prices for all parts are always on our page about buying a racing simulator, and in the web shop.