Heavy Racer Looking for Build Advice

I built a PVC racing rig last year for Gran Turismo 6 and now I'm looking to upgrade to a 2DOF for Project Cars. Looking around at all the designs, I'm noticing that I'm quite a bit heavier than most of the people building these projects. I'm thinking of building something like this: http://www.xsimulator.net/community/threads/diy-2dof-simulator.4793/

I weigh around 280 lbs (127 kg). I was wondering if the wiper motors could handle my weight and the seat assembly together. Does anyone have any experience with heavier racers using 2DOF rigs or can provide any build advice? The last thing I want to do is spend a bunch of time and money only to find out I can't use the rig I built.

Hi @matiez
The motors of the mentioned project will certainly move you. @Historiker is also a strong guy. See his project here: http://www.xsimulator.net/community...-pit-to-steel-motion-rig-24v-big-motors.4603/
He's using winches to drive his platform.
I wouldn't advice wipers though.

hello @matiez , the project listed, the builder ends up using 50:1 or 60:1 gearboxes for the extra torque.
If you are that size, a rear shoulder mount motor setup would be the go to throw you around.

Thank you for the responses. I'm highly looking forward to building this, now!!!

Motor is simply one part of the equation. You also have to make sure the power supply is able to deliver the power required to move the setup and an h bridge that can handle the amps continuously.

Or just run JRK's and Forget all about Codes and H Bridges all together.

What is a JRK? Also, what is an H-Bridge? It seems I have a lot to learn over the next two months before I start my building.

Agree! First read and take your time to get all needed information. There are many ways, but remember you can waste money and time so you should to be confident before building a sim. Good luck

A JRK is a micro controller and h-bridge in one. Micro controller does the talking, h-bridge drives the motor.
Alternatively, you could use an arduino for "micro controller" use and a separate h-bridge to get the motors going.
JRKS is simpler to set up but more expensive. No coding of it though.
Arduino and h-bridge and cheaper , but more complicated to get right due to it needs coding.

@bsft I would not argue the Arduino + h-bridge are more "complicated". Only there are a few more steps before running it.

Apologies, wrong selection of words on my behalf.
As I am code hopeless its complicated for me

Even I am code hopeless. Writing a code is difficult/impossible for most of us but modifying or making some minor changes to existing code is what is required in implementing Arduino + H Bridge. Also there are many codes available on this forum for different types of H Bridges. In that case its just uploading them to your Arduino in click of a button.

There are many problems in implementing JRKs. Firstly, the amount of power available to move the Sim is very limited. If you check the videos of simulators built using JRK's, you can see the difference in the movement. However, less movements will give you a better satisfaction in the long term if you race regularly.

The way I like it is to upload the code once and forget about it. In the case of JRK, I assume an extra software is required on the desktop to run the Sim though I have not used jrk and not sure about this. Anyway, JRKs are of great quality and will last longer than others.

Also, with Arduino, we have lot of options in choosing the type of h bridge we want.

I'm a software developer, so coding is not a big deal to me. If I went the h-bridge route, do I need 1 adruino and 2 h-bridges? I believe that's what I'd need, just want to make sure.

@Mazhar Salam , the JRK uses a utility program to help set the PID and motor power commands. Yes there is no code to write for it and it uses and industrial PID .
I am not sure what you mean by looking at the videos and comparing.
Maybe you can enlighten me.
Ive posted a zillion videos and the nearest to even what a JRK performs like is Pits sim. There hasnt been a match in performance that I have seen or heard of yet.
As for power, they will run a 250watt motor, considering its overdriven to nearly 550 watts, and with a good gearbox selection, it will allow plenty of power.
Aldoz proved that ages ago with 3 x 12v boat winch motors on a full lift frame.
Nothing really has been doen further with testing with custom actuators like the parts I sent to @eaorobbie due to time.
Granted they may be restricted to 16v max, more like 13.8v really, for a beginner wanting to get going, for the sake of trying to save a bit of money, they are great little boards.
For your information, the only arduino code I have used is for my dash board, that, yes, I clicked to upload and set up.
As most of the sims here are based around 12v motors, you have the choice of arduino and h-bridges or JRKs.

You need 1 Arduino where you can upload the Code that will communicate with the PC (simtools) and also control the H Bridges.

and

Some Cards have 2 H Bridge chip in 1. For example, Pololu dual VNH5019. That is you can drive 2 motors, however, Only 1 power supply can be used. I prefer using 2 seperate h bridge like the Semiconductor BTN7971 available on ebay that can deliver up to 1000 Watts of Power

There are many choice of H bridges, however most of them simply uses the same h bridge chip on their PCB.

VNH2SP30 is used on JRK, Pololu VNH2SP30 and the Monster Moto from Sparkfun.

i mean, the videos of simulators in action based on JRKs,

Anyway, the reason why we do not see better performance than JRKs in videos posted here is because of the two popular recommendations. 1 is from racingmat that recommends monster moto which is the weakest h bridge in the market and the second is the JRKs (ridiculously overpriced) from BFST. I dont know why such a group of innovative hobbyists are not exploring other h bridges that are cheaper and powerful.

most of the first time builders will end up with problem like this and the problem is the lack of power in the h bridge. When its driven beyond its capacity, a protection circuit will take over and stop the bridge.
http://www.xsimulator.net/community/threads/problem-motors-shutting-down.5888/page-2#post-62967

pls no negetive ratings...

Looking around, I found the MotionDynamics website from a few other posts. After some googling, I still haven't found another site that sells gearboxes.

I think these winch motors would work for me, but then I'd have to find a gearbox. For about $50 more, I can get the motor and gearbox from MotionDynamics.

Which of these 50:1 motors would be best, #9 or #11? The only reason I have to not buy from MotionDynamics is the shipping cost.

I'm in the USA. I'll look into crab pot motors.

Edit: You're right, I had completely forgotten about the "Shopping guide" FAQ that calls out those crab pot motors. Much cheaper, and I can get it in 50:1 flavor. How much of a difference is the 80 RPM max on the crab pot going to make? Is that too slow for a sim?

Edit 2: I'm assuming now that the "80 rpm" is the "at shaft" rpm and not the motor rpm. By comparison, the 3200 rpm motor would be 64 at shaft. I think I'll go with the crab pot motors.

no negative ratings, just blunt information
You obviously have been ignoring EVERY video on the JRK thread builds then.
You want JRK videos?
https://www.youtube.com/user/bsft/videos
Is that enough?
Racingmats design is not his, he stole it, listed it as his and when the original owner found out, Mat had to change things the say it was from someone else. The build is flawed because of trying to keep it the same. Even the basic code is not his.
The JRK is the easiest to set up despite the cost and overall the best performing. There is NO CODE that can match the performance of a JRK. Got it! Rufusdufus code is the nearest thing, but still it doesnt match the performance.
The JRK boys have laid down a challenge to see whom can produce a code and so far no one has done that.
Arduino and h-bridges are cheaper, yes.
Ard guys have asked how they can get vibrations like this

its not just a profile , its PID settings and motor settings of which are LESS lines of any code to have to write up.
And as its JRK, they cannot get that sort of vibration.
Look at the "motors shutting down thread", do you see that with JRK? No, why? because they work.
I can run a 250 watt motor overdriven to nearly 600 watt spikes with NO PROBLEM.
Yes its the same chip, but Pololu have hard coded a proper industrial PID into it.
Yes JRKS may be restricted to max 14v at 250 watt motors due to being overdriven, but that doesnt mean we are not looking at options.
Others have more time than me and again, you have obviously not looked at @eaorobbie work with the K8055 coding.
You have annoyed me.
Bluntly, I have 2 autistic kids and a full time job and a home to run.
I DO NOT have time to mess around with endless codes and h-bridges. I paid "top dollar" as you called it for JRKS, for simplicity.
I spent time on motor research, and by the way, I was the FIRST to introduce the larger worm gear motors on to the scene.
I also spent time on frame design so I could see what works with the motor combination.
I have lost count of how many of my designs have re-spawned into other peoples builds.
How many sims have you designed? Or are you just going to dig at me again because I am Arduino ignorant.
Go and read through the threads again, LOOK at the videos and THEN come back here.

EDIT: I am not a software programmer. I am a forklift driver working in a warehouse and I pick and lift boxes. I am good with my hands , but rely on simpler technologies to get me through things.
If it wasnt for @eaorobbie , and his bringing the JRKs to life, Id be still stuck or have tossed out the idea of motion.
I like some things simpler. My air-conditioning system at home is a geothermal ground loop system I installed myself, but when the control board failed, I was offered a more complicated one, but I chose the simpler. I only need on and off. I didnt have the time to have to re-wrire half the damn thing to get things like extra timers or pump pressure.
Understand? Simplicity, even if its more expensive.
Dave out.