Logitech G27 + SimGear Lightning SST Shifter

[John]

Well, as the title suggests I'm curious as to weather a full Logitech G27 setup with wheel, pedals and shifter will work along side the SimGear Lightning SST Shifter as I'm buying one next month.

I'm planning to use the shifter for 6 gears, flip a button on the G27 shifter and go through another 6 and would like to keep it all working together.

Thanks
John

[Max]

as the game can track many devices and can even have their inputs mixed, so it should work.
i can try similar setup tomorow and tell you.

[John]

If you could try it would be great!

[Cadde]

The game supports up to three devices through the control setup interface. For instance, i am using my G27 with shifter, My G940 throttle (the throttle is the parking brake and the lit buttons are for various functions) and my Saitek X52 joystick where the switches map to other various functions. They all work fine.
So if you have room in your device list then no problems, you will simply map your gears to the new shifter and as they report as buttons they will work fine.

If you need more devices attached however (haven't actually tried it myself though) it is possible to manually edit the config file to map to say a 4th, 5th or Xth device.

[John]

So judging by that theory this setup SHOULD work?

[barrygade800]

It should work because I am using a Fanatec CSW wheel, Clubsport pedals, Thrustmaster Th8RS gearstick, and a Thrustmaster Warthog Throttle as a button box, and my setup is perfect for the game, so you should not have any problems.

Barry

[Reef]

Can i ask firstly why the SimGear Lightning SST Shifter instead of the G27 shifter? and also is this shifter really something special that its worth spending nearly 200 dollars on?

Saw someone with the shifter i want, would love to know where to get it from (i suspect it was built by the user) check this guys video and look at his shifter.. (that sounds so wrong but you know what i mean )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... -jvaarnLGc (scroll to 18:25)

[Cadde]

@Reef, that looks custom made (the one you wanted) and making a custom shifter is actually rather simple when you think about it.
Of course you need money, tools and the shifter knob you want etc etc. As well as some electrics knowhow but you can make any custom device you want with just some research.
There are plenty of guides/showcases on the net that explains how to proceed in making your own.

The last thing you'd want to do however is modify your G27 stick etc because they are only made strong enough for the design they currently sport.
If you want a shifter that is like the one in the video, making your own is the way to go as that will have the strength and durability required. And it would actually fit as well.

As for the SimGear Lightning SST, it's a big step up from the G27 shifter. It has much clearer response, it sports 8 gears (doesn't require you to push your stick down to go to reverse etc) and doesn't wear out as fast. On my G27, which i have been extra careful with, i can already feel it's wearing down ever so slightly, i have been using it a lot over the past 2 years.

When you realize that the actual function of the stick is that it hold down a button (switch) inside when placed in a particular gear it should become clear to you how easy it would be to make a simple gearshifter at home. The more features you want on it the harder it gets but not exponentially harder.
So in the case of the Logitech one, due to keeping cost down and maximizing profits they use lots of plastics, cheap and easy to make solutions.
Mass production has it's pitfalls...

But in the end, you could just as well pull a gearshifter from a disused truck and attach some switches in the proper places on it, re-use or buy a game controller board and you have the real deal.

[Silent_alarm]

If you're going to source a real shifter from a truck, i recommend either Scania (The R series shifter is really good, older ones are decent), Volvo (any Volvo shifter from 80's F/N volvos to newest ones is good) or Eaton Fuller shifter (has been the same forever?). They are the only ones that fit hand quite nicely. In any case DON'T go for ZF sidethrow thingamajag shifter as it massively s**** ba**s.. sorta numb and not ergonomical at all or then italians have massive and hypersensitive hands. It's the MAIN reason i don't EVER want to use Iveco as the tool for the job IRL.

Personally I'd go for Scania or Eaton shifter. Or Volvo shifter if i could source out N12 shifter and wheel and driving column with the electonics and mod my g27 for the job. But on the other hand i play racing sims too so i'm happy with the g27 atm...

[John]

The idea of the SST shifter is more for my sim racing, however i'd also like to use it in ETS2 due to wear and tear on my G27 shifter.

In sim racing I do a lot of drifting which requires handbrake work, so I will use the G27 as a handbrake and the sst to shift gears, where now I use paddles to shift! I'm also not spending $200 but £70 from my friend

Thanks for all the responses!