When looking for an 8020 sim rig it can be tricky to know which one to get. Manufacturers can be unclear about why certain models are cheaper than others and it can take some digging just to get to find sellers in the first place. This is why I decided to create an overview of 8020 sim rigs. I went through official websites, reviews, videos and compressed it all into something that’s hopefully easy to follow and gives a better outlook on how the different options compare.

Why choose an 8020 sim rig?

There are a few options to go for when buying a sim racing cockpit and in most cases, price reflects the experience. Lower-priced (non 8020) metal rigs tend to have a lot of flex, are not suited for direct drive wheel bases and often need to be completely replaced when upgrading your setup. This is where 8020 sim rigs stand out, they have unrivalled stiffness and customisation possibilities which allow you adjust to all sizes and add parts modularly as you upgrade your setup.

There are essentially 3 routes to go when building an 8020 sim rig:

1. Top of the range pre-designed – Get the best optimised cockpits from professional builders with years of experience in perfecting their rigs. These are the most expensive 8020 sim rigs but they have maximum adjustability, absolute stiffness and no flex whatsoever. Perfect for the dedicated sim racer.

2. Budget pre-designed – get all the benefits of an 8020 sim rig without breaking the bank.  These rigs are cheaper but without the full adjustability of the more expensive models and they generally have a small, barely noticeable amount of flex. Great for sim racers looking to hard mount their wheel and pedal set for the first time or those tired of flex in other forms of setups.

3. Build your own – full flexibility in design to suit your exact needs, whether that is simply keeping the price to a minimum, getting exactly the seating position you want or you just like designing and building your own things.

As all these cockpits are quite bulky it is important to make sure you are using your regional store and to check shipping costs to your address as they can add significantly to the overall price.

The rig costs shown here are without seat and all prices are in euros including VAT.

1. TOP OF THE RANGE PRE-DESIGNED SIM RIGS

If you are looking for rigidity and customizability without compromise these are the cockpits for you.

Sim Lab P1-X 

Established in 2015, Sim-lab has become the most popular 8020 sim rig builder and for good reason. Their top of the range P1-X sets the standard for rigidity and adjustability in an off the shelf sim racing cockpit.

OVERVIEW:

• Very rigid
• Highly adjustable
• Great rock solid mounting options for Fanatec, Simucube, OSW as well as all others
• The go to standard in 8020 sim rigs
• Comes in grey, black colour is extra
• €783.85 INC. VAT

Also, great options for seats starting at €229.95 (without VAT) including brands like Sparco, Sabelt, Sim-lab seats and even their formula style SF1

Sim Racing Garage Full Review : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NePNyCguqSk

Trak racer TR160

After many years of building steel sim cockpits Trak Racer have entered the 8020 sim rig market looking to rival Sim-lab’s dominance. They use steel instead of aluminium for the pedal and wheel mounts because they believe that steel has better qualities in rigidity and longevity when it comes to an 8020 sim rig. Their top of the range TR160 seems to be a match for Sim-lab’s P1-X in terms of stiffness and adjustability. 

OVERVIEW:

• Highly adjustable
• Very rigid
• Mounting options for Fanatec, Simucube, OSW as well as all others
• Comes with black finish
• €799.00 INC. VAT

Trak Racer sells 2 seat options with their rigs, a rally style seat and a GT style both for €199.00 INC. TAX 

See it in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR1r5UAmtTo

JCL V2

JCL Sim Racing has been in the sim racing business for a while and they make incredibly impressive (and expensive) motion simulators. However they also sell the 8020 rig part separately which is a great option in itself. Cheaper than the top of the range options from Trak Racer and Sim-lab, JCL’s V2 cockpit maintains the stiffness and adjustability of its more expensive competitors.

OVERVIEW:

• Very rigid
• Very adjustable
• One rock solid wheel mount covers all bases
• cheaper than the other top of the line 8020 sim rigs 
• Comes in Grey, option to pay more for colours
• €629.00 INC. VAT

An old Sim Racing Garage review: 

• Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5wK2yQB-5U
• Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBrzkCSR_Iw

(there have been a couple changes to the V2 since this review was filmed such as improvements to the pedal adjustability but it is still worth a watch if you are considering the V2)

---

2. BUDGET PRE-DESIGNED 8020 SIM RIGS

If you don’t want to spend too much money but still want to get a solid base for your sim racing gear then these are the rigs for you.

Sim Lab GT1-Evo 

The GT1 Evo offers a wallet friendly introduction to the stiffness and versatility of 8020 sim rigs. Their standard seating fits most people but if you want to deviate from that, you may want to choose another model. Otherwise, it is still a great quality product for the money.

OVERVIEW:

• Small flex at wheel mount otherwise very solid
• One mounting option
• Very cheap
• Relatively low adjustability for 8020 sim rig
• Comes in grey, black colour is extra
• €429.00 INC.VAT

Sim-lab have great options for seats from their store starting at €229.95 (without VAT) including brands like Sparco, Sabelt and their own Sim-lab seats and even their formula style SF1

Sim Racing Garage Review

• Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33VJrFgAJ9U
• Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHdBvBNMoB4

Trak Racer TR80

Trak Racer’s TR80 aims for a middle ground between adjustability and price. It is more adjustable and solid than the GT1 Evo but also more expensive.

OVERVIEW:

• Very rigid
• Flat wheel deck included in price. Fanatec Podium and Simucube/OSW mounts cost extra
• Small flex if using wheel deck
• Better pedal tray adjustability than cheaper models but not quite as good as the more expensive ones
• Comes with black finish
• €499.00 or €599.00 INC. VAT depending on wheel mount, direct drive mounts being the more expensive.

Trak Racer sells 2 seat options with their rigs, a rally style seat and a GT style both for €199.00 INC. TAX

Sim Racing Geek Review of the TR80:

• Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cktVm2HrnvY
• Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lX05_hTEbU
• Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNVPrUoU3f0

Very informative Reddit thread on the TR80: https://www.reddit.com/r/simracing/comments/ev12tz/trak_racer_tr80_built_answering_questions/

Swedish Rig Designs

Launched in May 2018, Swedish Rig Designs is a relatively new company and their designs aren’t as refined as some of the others on this list. However, they do offer very good value for money and are generally cheaper than their competition.

SRD Overview

They have a variety of rigs on their website but generally they all have these qualities;

• Small flex on the wheel mount otherwise solid rigs
• Cheap compared to their competitors
• Relatively low adjustability for 8020 sim rig

SRD Models

• SPRINT is the least adjustable
• PRO increases pedal adjustability
• ULTIMATE is the stiffest overall as the base is made of a thicker aluminium profile
• SWITCH allows you to switch between f1 and GT style seating positions
• MOTUS includes mounts for the Simrig SR1 motion actuators

• Sprint      €350.00 INC. VAT
• Pro          €395.00 INC. VAT
• Ultimate  €550.00 INC. VAT
• Switch     €515.00 INC. VAT
• Motus      €470.00 INC. VAT
• Swedish Rig Designs sell 2 very inexpensive Bimarco seats for €165.00 and €180.00 INC. VAT

Sim Racing Garage Motus Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22R4-9D9sJw

The motion simulator SRD have built in collaboration with Simrig also offers great value for money at just over €3,000

---

3. BUILD YOUR OWN 8020 SIM RIG

If you want to have more control over the final product and save a bit of extra money, you also have the option of building an 8020 sim rig yourself. You can order aluminium profiles, fastening bolts and everything else you need directly from manufacturers such as Motedis or 80/20 Inc to name a few.

Aluminium profile is basically sim racer lego so as long as you learn the basics you can create anything you want. You can use free programs like Frame Designer by FrameXpert to visualise and create a design. Here are some helpful videos to get you started: 

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZdBNHGvjGo
• https://youtu.be/8MCJFOGrIQM
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9FNnPLsAUY

If you are keen to build your own 8020 sim rig but you feel like you need something to start from, you can find plans scattered around the internet or purchase them on Open Sim Racing for as little as 10 EUR. https://opensimracing.com/collections/metal-sim-rig-plans

CONCLUSION

When it comes to choosing an 8020 sim rig, it is just about picking the setup that suits your budget and personal set up preferences. You can’t really go wrong with any of these pre-designed rigs. If you find that they don’t totally satisfy you out of the box you can always adjust or modify them to suit you, such is the magic of aluminium profile. Hopefully this article has given you a better idea of the kind of route you want to go down while entering the wonderful world of 8020 sim rigs.