Sim racing generally is a sweaty enterprise. I dare say that is one thing I can write with expertise, however maybe no extra. I went for a check drive in a sim rig over at CES 2025 from Nitro Concepts that included a set of blowers that stored me cool, and extra importantly, lots immersed whereas racing.
For my check drive, a set of blowers sit both aspect the Moza wheelbase on the Nitro Concepts E-Racer rig. This set-up additionally consists of giant LED gentle strips that gentle up in accordance with what’s taking place within the recreation, ie flashing yellow when there is a yellow flag, and a haptic rumbling cushion. This ‘Immersion’ gear all connects as much as numerous controllers which can be attached largely out of sight.
I’m initially fairly sceptical about the entire ‘wind’ factor. Will it actually really feel like wind or will it really feel like somebody turned a fan on in entrance of me?
The reply is: each.
It does really feel like wind, and the gradual scaling up and down of depth stops it feeling an excessive amount of like a fan blowing in your face. That mentioned, a fan blowing in your face may also just do as effectively when going at full pace.
I’m racing round Spa Francorchamps, a racetrack in Belgium on the F1 calendar, and there are some excessive pace straights that actually let these followers attain full whack. There is one thing fairly exhilarating about it—one thing in my interior mind is healthier tricked into feeling like I’m travelling at excessive pace with the ‘wind’ hitting my face.
But if you consider it, it is not even that life like to have wind hitting your face in something apart from open cockpit vehicles. Modern racecars may not be solely sealed up like a household SUV, however there’s at the very least a windshield on lots of them. Nevertheless, I discovered the wind actually added to the expertise—immersion would not at all times need to be about pure realism.
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I put a lap in, after which one other, and I might’ve fortunately gone for just a few extra had I the time to stay round. But as I’m climbing out of the rig, a Nitro Concepts spokesperson tells me that wind simulation could be particularly helpful for VR gaming.
Firstly, it retains you cool whereas carrying a headset—sim racing and VR gaming is an particularly sweaty mixture. Though what’s extra is that it’s claimed that simulating wind may help hold nausea away. There’s one thing to having a way of course by the stream of wind that tips your mind.
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Wind set-ups aren’t a model new idea for sim racing and I had a go searching to see if others report an diminishing nausea whereas utilizing them. There are, in actual fact, anecdotal experiences of wind simulation having this impact for individuals. If you endure from nausea in VR, on the very least, it seems value attempting for your self.
Also, there are some beefy wind simulator set-ups on the market. The Nitro Concepts possibility was fairly modern by comparability, although I believe you would possibly get extra oomph out of an even bigger unit.
I haven’t got availability data on the wind gear from Nitro Concepts simply but, however you could find the lighting and haptic techniques over on its web site for $50 (simply the LED controller) and $1,000, respectively.
