I built my own gaming chair!
28.1.2024 by HenDaBen
My week didn't start like I wished in spring 2022. On a dark monday morning I was heading towards Helsinki. Near Loppi a deer jumped out of a bush and crashed into my Hyundai Sonata.
I didn't receive any notable injuries but the deer did die instantly, and so did my car. The deer bounched from my engine hood to the opposite side of the road. The front of the car experienced serious damage as the engine room had shifted to the right a few centimeters. Also, most of the cooling system fluids leaked away so I couldn't continue my trip.
At this point I knew this car wouldn't get back on the road. If you happen know the widespreadness of the car inspection in Finland, pretty much any damage will be found out.
And that's how the idea was born
I had the car on my yard for a while. For a sub 1,000 car there isn't much other left to do than selling it for scrap yard metal, so I came out with the idea of removing the driver's seat. What's the big deal it will get crushed anyway..
Next day I took my tools outside and the first step was about to begin.
I removed the seat and took it to the terrace. There I teared it apart so I could perform a deep clean, so any bacteria would get flushed away. I have this hot steam vacuum I have been using on my sofa, and it did a good job cleaning the old seat aswell.
Most of the plastic parts could be easily cleaned by any car cleaner liquid. Then began the thinking part - how to mount it so it could be used like earlier?
Wood as a solution?
I have a 3D-printer so producing small parts for a seat isn't a problem but the longetivity of plastic (or PLA in common) is one. It didn't take me long to realize I have some spare terrace building planks on my terrace (I already used those particurarly to protect the terrace from any sim bench project scratches.. Lol.)
One plank, four cuts and the mounting plate was almost ready. I polished the planks so it would eliminate any sticks left even though the cuts were clean.
The prototype is ready!
After cleaning the polishing with pressure air I took the bench inside and placed it on a mat. The mat reduces the movement as the bench has all the available options to change the sitting position. It works like a charm!
I fastened the bench to the frame with two screws and I think it is enough. The flexibility of the bench position really brings out good value as it is able to be adjusted for almost anybody.
The sim layout
Future updates
There are a few things I will be changing and or updating. First I think the color of the wood should be darker so it will most likely get darker (similiar to my sauna, I will make a separate blog post about it later this year).
The G29 was already replaced with T300RS GT Edition in the beginning of 2024. This was not a must but hell, it feels better to lift gears in ETS2 and ATS. The G29 shifter had 6 gears while the new TH8A has 8, which is a absolute win for ATS trucking.
I will make a blog post about the updated 2024 sim later this year.
My sistel tried some simulator trucking :D
