Showroom

Welcome to the virtual showroom of Force2Motion

Visits to the showroom are possible by appointment (from 01.05.2024 for a fee) . Here you have the opportunity to inform yourself about the various options and test the systems yourself.

From passion to profession

Few people can turn their hobby into a profession. And so in our daily business we usually deal with very "serious" topics around IT. But we are also a bit nerds and gamers. And we are all pretty car crazy. The combination results in something quite logical: car, computer, gaming and nerd topics inevitably lead to racing simulators, elaborate game computers and crazy self-made racing cockpits and flight simulators. Looking for an affordable motion platform for the race seat, I came across the Australian manufacturer Next Level Racing and the Motion Platform in 2014. That's what I needed, I thought when I was just about to pimp my gaming PC again. And then: Why not turn my hobby into my profession? And why not add products for real gamers and simulator fans to your own IT portfolio? Said, done. You see the result in front of you.

With Force2Motion we have created a platform for racing and simulator hardware with a focus on German-speaking countries. With a multitude of manufacturers and products, we offer a wide range of sim racing and flight simulators.

With the real sports car on the race track

Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of driving a few laps at the limit in a 100cc race kart with 30 hp on Michael Schumacher's home track or in a real sports car across the race track - maybe even the legendary Nordschleife or Spa Francorchamps - knows what centrifugal forces are and how brutal the braking of a hairpin feels (believe me - I know it). And that's exactly what's missing when you sit at your PC at home and go time hunting with your favorite racing game. Despite force-feedback steering wheel and elaborate gaming hardware, the forces that make car racing so unique are missing. And even the static flight simulator is just a tired copy of reality - or have you ever been allowed to steer a real helicopter (I've already done that)?

In Spa I duelled my way through a trackday with a Lotus Elise. A really hard thing! It was a lot of fun, but both of us didn't fight to the bone in view of the costs of the real sports cars and spared the material at the decisive moment. Sometimes he was in front, sometimes I was. The comment of the Lotus driver in the pit lane afterwards "Well, on the brakes the Porsches are my nightmare...". Nevertheless, he did well in view of the 130 hp difference. Performance isn't everything - weight also counts (unfortunately I know what I'm talking about here as well).

Spa Francorchamps TrackdayVirtual Fights with Motion Cockpits

Now the fight continues virtually. A crash into the pit wall only costs a restart with the gaming PC. Scratches are part of the painting and new tires are available as much as you want.

With the Next Level Racing Motion Platform V3 or alternatively the products from ProSimu, it will be possible for the first time at affordable prices to realistically simulate driving physics and the forces acting on the driver. You can feel every bump, every rumble, every strip of curb, the blows to the back during brutal gear changes, the acceleration and every braking process. Now Sim-Racer can bring this feeling into their living room. Of course, a simulator is never able to perfectly reproduce reality, but with a trick you can outwit the human brain. And after a few moments of getting used to it, you're right in the middle of the action. Not only does the steering wheel become light when over-braking - the whole body also flies forward. And right back again when accelerating out of the hairpin. And then a brutal blow to the back while shifting gears - a real adventure: Force2Motion - Adventures for real gamers!

Please move!

So there has to be movement in the cockpit. And please do so at affordable prices - not cheap, but inexpensive (in the sense of "worth the price") and at the same time somehow "wife compatible". Believe me, I know what I'm talking about here too.

Next Level Racing

That's why we started with the products of Next Level Racing, because: There are very few novelties in the world of gamers that can justifiably be called game changers. The Next Level Racing Motion Platform V3 is one such product and with the new Traction Plus System it has got another "big brother". And as if that were not enough. Since March 2022, there is number 3: the Next Level Motion Platform Plus. Not a replacement, but a supplement.

Fanatec, RSeat, Raceroom, Playseat

Meanwhile also articles of the companies Fanatec, Rseat, RaceRoom and others were added. For the Next Level Racing Motion Platform V3 we have developed some adapter sets and some of them are exclusively available. The platform can be used in the Fanatec Cockpit V2, the RSeat-Cockpits N1, S1 and RS1, some Playseat-Cockpits and last but not least in the RaceRoom-Cockpits.

ProSimu Full Motion Cockpits

In September 2019 we were able to win another professional partner with the French manufacturer ProSimu and now offer their products with German support in our online shop for purchase and in our showroom for testing.

Motion Systems

Since September 2021, we have also been an official partner of Motion Systems. Motion Systems is "the" manufacturer of ingenious "motion systems" - as the name suggests. Besides the V3 and the Traction Plus, which were developed and built for Next Level Racing, Motion Systems has much more to offer. You want to move a whole car, truck or plane on a simulator? "No" problem. Everything is solvable. But there are also novel and modularly expandable systems for the smaller purse: Let us introduce: The Qubic system. Fast, modular and worth the price.

The first systems will be arriving shortly and surely one or the other will also find its way into our showroom. Then we will have the opportunity to test these systems as well. This will certainly not make the decision for a specific system any easier, as every motion system and every cockpit has its advantages and disadvantages. But it is better to test everything beforehand and discuss it with us than to have bought the wrong system afterwards.

Showroom

Apropos "Showroom": An investment of several thousand Euro for a Motion Cockpit needs to be well considered and therefore we offer our Demo-Cockpits for extensive testing and comparison after making an appointment by phone. We can then immediately investigate which concept is better: a seat mover, a traction loss system or the Prosimu concept, in which the entire cockpit is lifted or moved. Spoiler alarm: There is no right or wrong, but only the personal impression of which simulator better depicts reality.

But in fact we are already in the middle of the ongoing discussion about so-called "seat movers". Is this the right way to simulate the movements and G-forces in a racing car? The Motion Platform V3 is such a seat mover and moves the seat up to 10° to the left/right or front/rear. This makes something very familiar with the subconscious, because the fact that the steering wheel and pedals "stand still" suggests to the brain through the force acting on the upper body, arms and legs that centrifugal and acceleration forces are at work - just like in a real racing car.

Seat-Mover vs. Full-Motion-Cockpit?

But doesn't the whole cockpit have to move, because in real life braking doesn't change the distance between the steering wheel and the seat? This topic divides the Sim Racing scene. We have a suggestion. With the simulators from the French manufacturer ProSimu, we have been offering full-motion cockpits since autumn 2019. The cockpit is lifted at the corners or moved sideways with a traction loss extension. With a 5-DOF system, bumps, compressions and robbing over the curbs come across particularly well. Everything good now? Not quite: Here I miss a little the effect of braking, if I am pressed more or less strongly into the belts in the direction of the steering wheel, depending on the brake pressure. That's why we integrated a Next Level Motion Platform V3 into the ProSimu cockpit. This is "Cream on top". And here, too, you have various options: Either the Beast based on the Next Level Racing GTTRack cockpit or based on the Fanatec Racesport Cockpit V2.

Or you combine the new Next Level Racing Traction Loss System with the GTTrack cockpit and the V3. In addition to the seat mover function described above, the entire cockpit is shifted sideways at the front and rear independently of each other, so that you can simulate a very authentic understeer or oversteer and lateral lubrication over all four tyres. Also a very great concept.

But you can also take everything from one manufacturer and then the new Qubic system from Motion Systems is very interesting because it can be expanded modularly from 2DOF to 3DOF to a 6DOF system.

Choice is spoilt for choice

Now you must decide. May we help you? We would be happy to advise you personally about the advantages and disadvantages and how to get a cool motion cockpit into your home hobby room. In our showroom in Würselen near Aachen many of the systems can be extensively tested in different configurations before purchase.

Testing in the showroom for a fee

We usually keep a considerable amount of very expensive equipment in our showroom for testing and trying out. In recent years, we have constantly expanded some of the cockpits or completely replaced them with newer developments. This costs and ties up a lot of money and the test systems are later sold at a considerable discount.

In order to maintain the high quality of advice and the possibility of testing various cockpits, motion systems and add-ons, we are unfortunately forced to charge a small flat rate for private testing in the showroom from 1 May 2024. The test fee of €100.00 incl. VAT will be offset against a later purchase with a value of goods of at least €1,000 incl. VAT (please note different conditions for system consulting at racing event centres and commercial solutions). In the end, the test was free of charge, but never for nothing. Because even if you come to the conclusion after a test here on site that none of the solutions really work for you, that's okay. Like us, you will have invested time and money in the visit, but you will have avoided an expensive bad purchase.

Here you will find the corresponding article for booking the consultation fee (please make an appointment in advance).

Do you have a commercial idea relating to sim racing? Then please note the conditions for a system consultation in this area via this service article.
 
Have a look at our shop. We have compiled a lot of product information and videos. And in our blog we report regularly about new products, tips and tricks. Here you should find what you are looking for. And if not: Simply make an appointment by phone (+49 (0)2405/479490) or e-mail (service@Force2Motion.de) and visit us.

And bring money and a big car with you, because interested people rarely leave us empty-handed ;-).

And what else? If we don't heat with Fullspeed over virtual circuits, then we take care of the everyday computer problems of our customers...
More under: www.KaeferLive.de

See you soon. Thomas Käfer

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