Had I known that even an entry-level racing wheel stand would solve my biggest complaint about sim racing at home, I would have bought it sooner. But Monoprice’s Dark Matter GT Folding Racing His Wheel Stand does just that, and all at an affordable price. $153.
What’s your biggest problem with SIM racing at home? Your pedals slip or come off your feet when you apply the brakes. For me, choosing between fluffy carpet or slippery stone floors, it’s a constant concern and neither pedal seems to stick. It was a disaster for my sim racing career. Or what is there.
Some pedals perform better than others in this regard. The new Logitech Pro Racing Pedals are fairly heavy and have a stable base. With the Fanatec CSL Pedals LC set up properly and with a wide enough stance, it’s not too bad. But in general you find all the moves over time and it comes to mind during the race.
At one point I tried all sorts of DIY fixes to fix this problem, like grabbing a log and stuffing it between the pedal set and the wall. Properly sized logs will fit snugly into a decent setup, but can have some weird slippage from time to time. Also, this only worked well with my setup back then, and now it’s nowhere near a wall to prop the pedal up against.
Stand specifications
flame: steel
size: 622×837×820mm
Load capacity: 20kg
Included: Cable routing clip, shifter mount
Pedal tilt: 7°/12°/18°
guarantee: 1 year
price: $153
For all the high-end SIM racing cockpits out there, including the Playseat Trophy Logitech G Edition I’m also testing, I’ve found a folding racing wheel stand like this from Monoprice is really all I needed. . It’s not as snazzy or comfortable for long periods of time as the play seat I’m sitting on as I type this, nor is it a proper racing position. But it’s fairly affordable, fits comfortably on my wheels, and conveniently folds down to a stowable size.
Most importantly, the Dark Matter GT stays in place when you press the brake pedal. I screwed his T3PM pedal set of Thrustmaster T248s into the base and they stuck in place no matter how much I poked them.
To be honest, this reminded me of a lot of the joys of sim racing, but how much the pedals jerking around when I brake affect my desire to take off the racing wheel Or I didn’t fully understand it until now.
As for the Dark Matter GT, it’s a pretty lean concept. There are no chair components found in many cockpits, so you’ll need to provide your own (preferably without wheels). This is a simple folding frame to house the wheelbase, pedals and shifter (if any).
Setup was quick and easy. The core frame ships mostly assembled, the only things you need to add are the hinge covers and a few small parts. It wasn’t too difficult and I was able to assemble everything in about 15 minutes.
The wheel base mount has screw holes for several different base layouts, but noticeably fewer than the more compatible Playseat. Still, for a cheap base with a desk mount like the Thrustmaster T128 I was using, it’s a perfect fit. That’s because it seems specifically designed to support the desk clamps that come with the cheaper Thrustmaster wheels, as they fit snugly and horizontally under the desk.
The pedals that came with the T128 didn’t really fit the Dark Matter GT, but we consider this pedal set to be a bit more garbage than a reflection of the stand. His T3PM pedals on the T248 fit perfectly. If you really want it, you can easily drill a few screw holes into the mount and make just about anything work.
The Dark Matter GT has height adjustability, and as a 6’2″ guy, I found the longest setting to be perfect.
You can also adjust the pedal angle using the three included notches. I’m sticking with the middle option for now, but I’m thinking of taking it a notch down to a less aggressive angle. Just a little too steep for my taste.
All these adjustments are easy to make. Because there’s not much to mess with in Dark Matter GT. It’s certainly a lot easier to build and tune than the Logitech G Playseat, but it’s noticeably less robust. The Dark Matter GT feels solid during the race, but it’s not too much work when it comes to set-up and clean-up.
Dark Matter GT was perfect for my purposes. Admittedly, the quality of some of the parts makes it feel a bit pricey, even if it’s not that expensive given the overall plan for the racing setup. Still, it serves its purpose well.
