Saturday, May 3, 2014

Logitech G27 Pedal and shift mods






I have a nact for Modding things upside down.

 *Edit my new Brake Spring arrived today so I'll add that part in this tutorial as well.

I'm doing this as a modular set instead of a set chair, because I want it to be accessible when I need it and out of my way when I don't. I'm noticing a trend in gaming, with it being more sandboxy. There is a merger of 3rd person fps, with RPG, driving, flying, and even boating. I figure at the very least this is a low risk , and relatively inexpensive weekend project. Be forewarned this does void the 1 year warrenty.

Maybe this can  even contribute to other gamers that would like to be a little bit more prepared.  I mean can you imagine if a game like WatchDogs had support for racing wheels? To all of the sudden get in to drive from an fps, you opponent is using a controller, while you just put down you mouse and pick up your wheel and pedals, and started drifting the corners; you'll be in a totally different league.

Tutorial

First I'm going to show how to open the case in order to change the position of the pedals, I'm doing this because I want to flip the pedals upside down from stock so that It would be like a real car, and because I want to still use the case to keep all the dust and dirt away from the circuitry.

 Start by using an Alan Wrench to take out the peddle heads, use a pair of pliers if its too tight

 Line up the parts you take out so you can use the same screws later.
 Get a box and flip it over to take out all 14 silver screws which include two under the carpet mat, you might need to use a smaller watch screwdriver and pliers to take those out, use the magnet tip screwdriver to help take it out without it falling after.
 line up your screws

 flip it over and slowly remove the cover and take out the two scews holding the cable.
 

 Flip it over again into the box and remove the 12 black screws careful to put the screw away to a map so you'll be using the ones to the same metal threads later

 Now the pedals will be labeled A, B, C from left to right  for Acceleration, Brake, and Clutch, but when we flip it upside down we would want it to be C, B, A, however I personally like having my Brake as far from the Acceleration as possible, So I opted for a B, C, A set up, 

*update
There are some notablely better springs for the G27 or G25 Brakes out there, Thanks to Inside Sim Racing for introducing me to GTEYE. It is the closest and cheapest I'll go for a brake mod without requiring a chair mount, but I will need light or thin sole shoes to to maximize the output now.

Alternatively you can find a spring specialist in your city or area to make if for way cheaper.


He placed it in the wrong way. It should have been loose side closer to the pedal head. 

I upgraded it, and used my former break spring as another upgrade for my overlysoft Clutch (I'll keep the old clutch spring as a spare for the gas, yeah it was that light)



at this point I just use some black electrical trap to secure the wires in good, non tightening positions and reinstalled the cover.

Time to go Shopping!

I did the price comparision between Home Depot and Rona, and found the former to be 2-4 dollars cheaper for the metal sink hole angles and rails I needed, however the help at Rona was the one that refered me to the proper specialty store for the screws I need to hardmount the pedals to the rack. Just saying.

I already had a board laying around, and I never really remember how much the little screws cost me so those might differ and offset the cost a bit.

For the Padels
  • 1       1/2 72" Sink Hole Steel Angle $15.99 ea
  • 2       1/2 36" Sink Hole Steel Rail    $  9.99 ea
  • 10     5/16 x 3/4 nuts    (2611)           $  0.??           For sink hole rack
  • 10     5/16 x 3/4 bolts   (2820)           $ 0.??             For sink hole rack
  • 1       Small Box of 8 x 5/8 woodscrews                For board
  • 8       Washers that fit 8 x 5/8 woodscrews             For board
  • 1       Black Matt spray pint&prime  $9.49 
  • 6      Metric 6 bolts HMC6-35(Canadian), or Metric 6 x 1.0 (US) For hard mount
  • 6      Metric 6 washers                                                                     For hard mount
For the Shifter 
I'll talk about this later.
  • 1      1/2 rubber Grommet, or O-ring
  • 1      Roll of Draft trap the small and foamy one 
All in all about $50 bucks I swear I will keep all receipts from now on just so I can show off that I can keep a better account of things however small.


 The dimensions of my board is 13.6' in length and 24' wide

use a Sharpie and outline at least 2 faces of the angle for a proper cut

use a Hack saw and a vice, and commence cutting, * note I'm almost ambidextrous at this point because I keep using my left hand to do  labour over long periods because it has a better, angle, which helps alot.

I brought in my pedals at this point to determine the height which is aobut 16 inches.

after some more cutting its time to mark and cut the side braces, which is the off the same material I shall be using for the back brace, just make sure you cute once off each 36" rail stock or you won't have enough.  Attach your nuts and bolts as planned when you are done. I love working with this material because I can try to mimic one side to another by counting the holes, That and I don't have cut as much through the steel when there is always a hole in the middle.

screw the angles down on the board with the 8x5/8 screws and washer, then plan your back brace to alight with at least one hole in the center to save some work. You'll have to use a sharpie once again mark out where you'll need to adjust, take time for the holes to hard mount.



The power drill did nothing for me, I have to manually take a circular filer and GRIND like a brute. this is the most physical, and psychologically challenging part of the project so wear ear muffs, and  Good Luck.

Take that same circular file and make a spot for the cable to run through, Before you spray paint it for looks.




Assemble the hard mount bolts to the back with their washers and Volla! An inverted peddle system to simulate real- racing.


 Next I'm going to further explain a short tutorial done by RichmoTech



Based on the feedback of the discussions off this vid, I've decided to try Drafting tape instead of the velco, which never made sense to me.

I disassemble in much the same way except I set it up so that I will 100% use the same screws I take out.

 I measured 5.8 inches in length after 3 tries which is ok because you can take the previous attempt to match up against the next cut with a little added length till you get it right.
 I start in 1st gear so the shaft would be out of the way as I enter the padding on a side.
 I then enter in reverse so that the shaft could put pressure up against the lip

Following in sequence to 4th , 1st, 3rd gears until everything is secured, but for good measure after I re-assembled everything I would leave it on one for the gears a day to make it soft and tight.






This is going to be the last Mod I do for a while, till the no-glasses 3d tablet and Kula deeper lens cap come out. If I were to mod the steering wheel as-well it would be expansive cause  I would need new Flaps, buttons, and lights, as well as the wheel, and socket port.  I just have something more important to do...