SIM SPACE: Immsource ET3 Sim Racing Wheelbase + FD1 Wheel

Published: Thursday February 17 2022
Would I buy it? yes.Should you buy it? if you're on the hunt for a new, cheap DD wheel but don't want to wait 3 months for a Fanatec...yes.Is there some teething issues? also yes.Will they take over the market and dominate? I doubt it.

The lead-up to christmas is incredibly busy for most people…but its common to not think ahead and plan what-to-do during those few days between Christmas/Boxing Day, and New Years. In the past I have been one of those countless people who spend this time sitting on the couch bored out of my brains with nothing to do.

However this holiday season (I know, its Mid February now), I got the opportunity to try out a new and exciting piece of equipment in the Sim racing market: The IMMSOURCE ET3 Wheelbase and FD1 wheel! All in the name of Racekraft product reviews, I had actually tried the wheel out before on one of the in-house RK rigs, a lazy Sunday morning hanging out with RK pro-sim-racer Anthony “Jewellzy” Jewell, I put an hour or so into the rig, whipping a Porsche 992 cup car around the Tsukuba circuit in iRacing.

But now Jon wants me to do a full set on this new little number…a full unboxing, build up and test drive on my own rig at home. What a way to fill the spare time during the holidays, in between the 5x Speedway events filling the calendar between Dec 26 and Jan 2.

So, the first part needs an unboxing…lets get into it!

Jonny says the thumbnail looks a bit suss – I dont see it

At first it looks like a re-made Simucube…which is exactly what most newcomers to the market should be looking to replicate, Simucube are the benchmark for feedback (and price) in the high-end sim racing market.

But for a newcomer, what are they aiming for anyway? With the surge in new manufacturers to the sim racing space lately, and an uprising of Chinese makers aiming at the low-cost, Direct-Drive market…how do they stand out?

They firstly need a good product, good marketing, solid support to compete with the big-boys like Fanatec, and a price that can draw budding consumers away from brands like Simucube. Even then, the ET3 + Fd1 combo comes in at $1800AUD approx at the time of review – a steep amount for a ‘new’ and ‘untested’ brand… its still miles and miles cheaper than the ‘established’ top-tier brands.

The actual product itself though? quite impressive:

My full, unfiltered final thoughts.

Would I buy it? yes.
Should you buy it? if you’re on the hunt for a new, cheap DD wheel but don’t want to wait 3 months for a Fanatec…yes.
Is there some teething issues? also yes.
Will they take over the market and dominate? I doubt it.

Honestly… I was surprised how good it was, even though I was happy to step back to ‘old faithful’ (My own Simagic Alpha Mini and GT4-C wheel) the Immsource system left an impression on me. Mostly with its software IMMPLATFORM, I would love to have some of those features available on my own rig 24/7. But if I bought every piece of kit that Jon sends my way for review…I would be flat broke.

In the end, its a win for consumers in the Sim racing world. Sim racing is just-as-much a hobby of expression as it is about competition and eSports (racing over the internet). More manufacturers means more choice, which means consumers can customize their own ‘Sim Space’ at home ’til their hearts content.