OpenWheeler Sim Racing Cockpit 2020 Review
Today I’m going to give an in-depth review of the OpenWheeler cockpit. It’s pros, cons, and everything I’ve experienced in the last six months or so that I have owned it. This review is NOT sponsored… obviously.
Coming in at just around $400, the OpenWheeler Cockpit is one of the most affordable sim racing seats in the market. New members of the sim world might be surprised by this, but when compared to other seats, this one almost seems like a bargain. But before you start taking out your wallet, here’s everything you need to know about the OpenWheeler sim racing cockpit.
Looking at its pros, let me just start by saying that there’s a lot. In terms of the look of the seat itself, I personally really like it. It looks sporty and aggressive and the bucket seat gives off the race car vibes. The amount of colors this seat is offered in is also extremely impressive. The colors available are the following: all black, blue, green, orange, red, and yellow. For my setup, I went with the red color way and I couldn’t be more happy. The red is very vibrant and aggressive and it gives a very cool look to my setup. The variety of colors available allow users to match this seat perfectly with their setup.
Moving on to the sturdiness of the cockpit itself, this was an extremely important aspect for me, and thankfully, the cockpit does a great job here. My wheel, which is the G29, is firmly placed in place and I have never had to worry about it moving around when racing. The same for the pedals, they are firmly fixed on the pedal mount and they have never given me any type of issue. With that being said, I’ve heard some people have had issues with heavier components and higher-end gear. I can’t confirm that however since I have never tried it out. So that’s something to keep in mind. The shifter arm came with the cockpit and it too does a fantastic job at maintaining my shifter in place. Only one of these arms comes with the OpenWheeler but you can buy another one from their website for around $30.
From what I’ve heard, this is one of the most adjustable cockpits in the market. And from what I’ve experienced, I would agree. Every time I have guests over, there has been no problem adjusting the seat to fit their needs. The seat can recline all the way back, so if you have ever wanted to go stargazing in your sim racing setup, this one is perfect for you. The seat can also recline all the way forward if you are in a tight room and need to move your setup out of the way when not in use. Furthermore, it can easily slide back and forth for quick adjustments. There are various rubber knobs around the cockpit which allow you to adjust various parts up and downside to side like a roller coaster. Note, the seat itself does not move up or down nor do the pedals. The wheel and the shifter can both have their height adjusted and the wheel can be tilted forward and backward and can be brought closer or away from you quite easily. And for you right-hand drive people, yes, the shifter can be mounted on either the left or right side of the seat.
The quality of this cockpit is definitely impressive. Given your paying $400 I would expect so however. The base and all the frame of the cockpit is made out of steel and the frame material is made out of alloy steel. You will notice some parts of the frame are not painted and I assume that’s to not make scratches as visible if you constantly adjust everything a lot. Personally, I think it gives it a cool, two tone, look. The seat itself is made out of fabric and it is very soft. When I purchased this seat I thought it was made out of some leather type material or something similar so I was a little disappointed when I saw it was fabric. Although it seems to work fine and the color has by no means faded or anything like that.
Moving on to the cons, there's a few things I definitely don't like about this seat.
I don’t think many people realize how low to the ground this thing actually is. I didn't realize it from the pictures when I bought it and I've noticed a lot of people complaining about how low it is as well. I for the most part have no real difficulty getting in and out. That being said, my father who is a lot older, a tad taller, and a lot heavier always has significant trouble getting both in and out. So this is something to keep in mind. Although I do have a bunch of monitors and other stuff getting in the way so without the shifter, monitor stands, and all that it should be easier.
Before purchasing this cockpit, I had read about several people complaining about the pole that passes in between your legs to hold up the wheel. I figured I had quite skinny legs so it shouldn’t be a terrible deal but I was a little wrong. While the cockpit is more than usable, I often find my leg rubbing against it or slightly touching it when using my right foot to both brake and accelerate. This does take away from the immersion, especially when using it with a VR, as you are constantly reminded that there's a pole holding up the wheel in between your legs.
The comfort is definitely where this seat lacks the most and it would be the main reason I would switch to something else. Before I say anything else, please note that a lot of people have no problem with the comfort and find it very comfortable. I chatted with some guy on Reddit who owns the same seat a while back and he said, and I quote, “I have no problems with it at all, I've completed several F1 races full practice quali and race in one sitting without the first cramp… I'm 260 pounds and thought it would be hard to get up and out of but really don't have a problem with that either”. So keep that in mind. But for now, I'm only speaking for myself, and the comfort of this seat hasn’t been great. You will note my seat has both the lumbar support and neck support pillows added. These do not come with the seat. I had to purchase them separately from the OpenWheeler website but thankfully they were not expensive at all. Without the lumbar support, I could barely last 10 minutes without having to put a pillow or something on my back to not die on the spot. With the lumbar support, the seat is great for the first half-hour for me. The seat is soft, keeps me in place well and the support helps. After the half-hour mark, my back does start to hurt and by the one-hour mark, I practically feel like I need to call an ambulance. So an hour-long race is more of endurance competition for me than anything else. I'm only 19, so I shouldn't have any back problems… but who knows... Maybe I do and I should see a doctor.
That's pretty much it from me relating to the pros and cons. I wanted to also mention a few things which can’t really be included in prior sections.
Things to Keep in Mind
If you have a ButtKicker, the placement of it on this seat is awkward. I recommend placing it on the shifter arm. The reason I don’t have it placed there is because it vibrates my shifter too much and makes it rattle, so I have to place it over here near my legs where I sacrifice a lot of its potential. So if you are in the same situation as me, where you are using your shifter mount for was its meant to be used for, I recommend buying a separate arm mount, which I previously mentioned can be bought for like 30 bucks on the OpenWheeler website, and placing it there.
If you plan on using this cockpit with monitors mounted on a monitor stand, you have to make sure to buy a monitor stand that can bring your monitors very low to the ground to accommodate the low seating position. The monitor mounts you see on my setup were all custom made out of wood so I don’t have any particular monitor stand I could recommend.
Overall, the OpenWheeler is a decent, relatively inexpensive sim racing cockpit for beginner and amateur drivers. It has a few flaws here and there but for the most part, it is a good, first, “real”, sim racing cockpit.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this, or any other cockpit in the market so make sure to comment down below. With that all said, I hope you enjoyed this review, stay safe, and have a fantastic rest of your day.
