SR300 Simulator Cockpit by Simpros Review by Jan Kohl

The ultimate in cockpit simulators, at a great price! Thanks to John Houle, I got to test this unit to let everyone know about a nifty idea in building a simulator. Much of the detail can be gleaned from the picture here, but I'll give you the full rundown. Click on the picture to see the SR300 in better detail.

Sherman Tank simulator?
First off, the construction of this unit is solid. You get it in a box, delivered to your door. The most impressive thing that pops out at you initially is that there is a real racing seat in there! Yup, with pad! You will get an instruction set with it, and they should be adequate for anyone with rudimentary skills of building things. You will need a wrench, a hex head set, and a Phillips and flat tip screwdriver. However, if you could never put together Lego sets when you were a kid, perhaps you should seek help. Me? I didn't even look at the directions, and got it right the first try...however, they also have instructions at the website. Took me about 30 minutes.

F15 Eagle simulator?
Let me stress that this is not just for sim racing...it can double as a flight simulator if needed. And it's big...I need to say this before some of you who live in an single story apartment go hog wild...it takes up about the same amount of floor space as a rowing machine. While it does disassemble rather easily, it's not something you want to keep taking apart and putting together every time you race.

Versatile is the name of the game...
This unit should fit any wheel/pedal/flightstick combo you can throw at it. It's solid, as I mentioned, but it also has adjustable points to fit almost any pedals or wheels that you want to mount to it. The pedals work on an ingenious lever/wheel arrangement that allow you to fit your current pedals in the unit, and the SR300's pedals will then depress YOUR pedals. You throw your monitor on the front deck, place your keyboard in the keyboard tray, and away you go!

But does it work?
Considering I usually sit in an office chair, and race at my desk (yes, the same one that all the workings of The Pits goes on at), this unit works great to simulate a vehicle cockpit, not to mention, get all your controls where you can reach them. The keyboard is right there, your monitor in front, and you have the pedals and racing seat to complete the ensomble. At my desk the keyboard is underneath my wheel, makes it a real pain to do keyboard commands while racing. Not so with this. All you need now is a radiant heater at your feet, crank your speakers up full blast, put a subwoofer under the racing seat, and then an automatic arm with a boxing glove that comes out and belts you one when you stuff it in the fence at Darlington...

I ran several touring car races with it while it was in my care, and it worked like a charm. Mine was a demo version, so some of the things you get in your version are better than the one I had. But the racing seat fit perfectly, wheel/pedals were easy to adjust to where I needed them, and everything worked flawlessly.

Ok, Bob Barker, but is this the Price is Right?
Yep! Considering what other racing simulator cockpits cost on the market, this one is a steal. The base model SR300 goes for $300 (Dec 99 prices), and you will be hard pressed to find something else out on the market for that price. Please note, this unit does NOT come with a wheel or pedals, you must supply your own.

All in all, a great piece to get your significant other(s) this Christmas, or whenever, or get it for yourself. If you've been looking for a cost-effective, solid alternative for a racing/flight cockpit, this is for you! Get more info on the product line from SimPros.