I use this product in conjunction with the Logitech GT for the GT5 Prologue (PS3). My main drive (no pun intended) behind this purchase was the following: I needed a stand which I could use in my living room, while driving on my couch. Our coffee table is too low so I looked around for options, including building my own stand. Several schematics are available on the web, but none of them met the aesthetics requirements of my better half... This stand, however, did. I took a chance and purchased one via Amazon. Now that you have the background story, let's get to the review.
The package arrived in poor shape, with the box partially ripped apart. I don't think this was the seller's fault, since the packaging inside was done with care (wrapping around all the tubing + additional foam pads) ; I'm assuming UPS decided to play soccer with the box at some point during transit ; fortunately for me, the content of the package was not damaged.
It took more time to remove the wrappings from the tubing than it took to put the stand together. And when I write 'putting the stand together', I really mean: inserting a tube in another tube. That is all that is required really. There are three positions for length (wheel) and three additional positions for tilt (wheel plate) to choose from. The construction seems solid enough and the ability to tilt the stand in a full upright position when you are done racing is a nice touch (although with the weight of the wheel, it is a bit unstable on carpet).
And now we come to what I think is a fundamental downside of this product. As you can see from the product's picture, there are two small bars below the wheel. Those fall to the side of your thighs when you are sitting down and rest on your sofa/chair. Here's the issue: those bars are far too small in height, which translates into the wheel almost sitting on your thighs. This position is incredibly uncomfortable for racing. As far as I'm concerned, those bars should be around six inches longer, or better yet, telescopic so they can be adjusted for each user.
I would consider myself on the 'lighter' side of racers/drivers, standing at 5'10 and weighing under 160 pounds so buyer beware ; if you want the wheel to be higher than your stomach, then you will have to modify it, at your own expense.
For those who would use this stand on a large sofa chair (my case), I simply squeeze a couple of paper rolls between my thighs and the arm rests. With this method, the two bars are heightened by a few inches (i.e. replicating the natural wheel-height in my own car). As time goes by, I may look for a better solution.
In conclusion, I give this product three stars. The construction appears solid and while the overall design is good, I think it suffers from one major flaw. Granted it can be addressed with a bit of creativity, but it shouldn't have to be...
Still, with GT5 coming to the PS3 in November (assuming it does not suffer another delay), I am happy with my purchase. I think this company has a potential winner of a product here, pending a simple design/manufacturing modification.
The package arrived in poor shape, with the box partially ripped apart. I don't think this was the seller's fault, since the packaging inside was done with care (wrapping around all the tubing + additional foam pads) ; I'm assuming UPS decided to play soccer with the box at some point during transit ; fortunately for me, the content of the package was not damaged.
It took more time to remove the wrappings from the tubing than it took to put the stand together. And when I write 'putting the stand together', I really mean: inserting a tube in another tube. That is all that is required really. There are three positions for length (wheel) and three additional positions for tilt (wheel plate) to choose from. The construction seems solid enough and the ability to tilt the stand in a full upright position when you are done racing is a nice touch (although with the weight of the wheel, it is a bit unstable on carpet).
And now we come to what I think is a fundamental downside of this product. As you can see from the product's picture, there are two small bars below the wheel. Those fall to the side of your thighs when you are sitting down and rest on your sofa/chair. Here's the issue: those bars are far too small in height, which translates into the wheel almost sitting on your thighs. This position is incredibly uncomfortable for racing. As far as I'm concerned, those bars should be around six inches longer, or better yet, telescopic so they can be adjusted for each user.
I would consider myself on the 'lighter' side of racers/drivers, standing at 5'10 and weighing under 160 pounds so buyer beware ; if you want the wheel to be higher than your stomach, then you will have to modify it, at your own expense.
For those who would use this stand on a large sofa chair (my case), I simply squeeze a couple of paper rolls between my thighs and the arm rests. With this method, the two bars are heightened by a few inches (i.e. replicating the natural wheel-height in my own car). As time goes by, I may look for a better solution.
In conclusion, I give this product three stars. The construction appears solid and while the overall design is good, I think it suffers from one major flaw. Granted it can be addressed with a bit of creativity, but it shouldn't have to be...
Still, with GT5 coming to the PS3 in November (assuming it does not suffer another delay), I am happy with my purchase. I think this company has a potential winner of a product here, pending a simple design/manufacturing modification.
