Sim racing can be a sweaty activity. I dare say I can write this from experience, but perhaps no more. I went for a test drive on the simulation device at CES 2025 from Nitro Concepts, which included a set of blowers that kept me cool and, more importantly, fully immersed while racing.
During my test drive, the blower cluster is located on both sides Meuse wheelbase on the Nitro Concepts E-Racer platform. This kit also includes large LED light strips that light up depending on what’s happening in the game, i.e. flashing yellow when a yellow flag appears, and a haptic rumble pad. This “immersive” equipment connects to a variety of controllers which are connected mainly out of sight.
I’m quite skeptical about the whole wind thing at first. Will it really feel like a wind or will it feel like someone in front of me turned on a fan?
The answer is both.
It does feel like a breeze, and the gradual increase and decrease in intensity keeps it from feeling too much like a fan blowing into your face. That said, a fan blowing into your face may very well work when you’re driving at full speed.
I’m racing at Spa Francorchamps, a race track in Belgium on the F1 calendar, and there are some fast straights that really allow the fans to come into full force. There’s something exciting about it – something in my inner brain is better tricked into feeling like I’m driving at high speed and the “wind” is hitting me in the face.
But if you think about it, not even This realistic when the wind hits your face in anything other than open cockpit cars. Modern race cars may not be completely sealed like a family SUV, but many of them at least have a windshield. However, I found that the wind really added to the experience – immersion doesn’t always have to be about pure realism.
I did one lap, then another, and would have happily gone for a few more if I had had time to stay. But as I step off the rig, a Nitro Concepts spokesperson tells me that wind simulation can be especially useful in VR games.
First, it keeps you cool while wearing the headset – sim racing and VR gaming are a particularly sweaty combination. Moreover, it is claimed that simulating the wind can help you avoid nausea. There’s something about the sense of direction through wind flow that tricks your brain.
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Wind settings aren’t an entirely new concept in sim racing, so I looked around to see if others report decreasing nausea when using them. In fact, there are anecdotal reports of wind simulations having this effect on humans. If you suffer from nausea in virtual reality, it seems worth trying it yourself.
There are also extensive wind simulator configurations. Compared to this, the Nitro Concepts option was quite elegant, although I suspect you could get more power from a larger unit.
I have no information yet on the availability of Nitro Concepts wind equipment, but lighting and touch systems can be found on the Nitro website $50 (LED controller only) i 1000 dollarsappropriately.
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