DXRacer has a prominent place in competitive gaming with its chair designs. Having previously reviewed one of these seats, the quality is worth the price of admission. DXRacer did not necessarily start off as a gaming chair mecca. Where they started is in the company's name itself and it was with racing simulator rigs. The company still sells the rigs and provided one of their PS/Combo/200 designs for review. DXRacer has a few different options ranging from the full rig to just a seat stand that will hold a steering wheel, shifter and the pedals in place. Other options include a leatherette seat that mirrors the design of the gaming chairs with fixed or adjustable height.
One of the worries behind a setup like this is going to be the lack of space. Going with the entire PS/Combo/200, I was surprised how ergonomic it was as the final product allowed enough room to slide the unit between the couch and the television in an apartment living room. The frame is comprised of steel to add the needed sturdiness and weight for a comfortable experience. The stand used for housing the steering wheel, known as the PS/1000, allows for the wheel to be screwed in to a flat surface.
While the stand is guaranteed to work for the last generation Logitech G27 wheel, the Logitech G29 wheel, shifter and pedals all matched up properly to the screw holes. While the wheel and shifter have had no issues coming loose, the foot pedals have had some issues during hard driving as the platform will move forward. The PS/1000, if used on its own without the entire setup, is fold-able for easy storage. The foot pedals sit on a thin metal surface that allow securing of the base to the surface with screws.
The chair models that are offered are the PS/F03 and F06. Both are actual racing seats comprised of a leatherette cover and can adjusted forward and backwards and can also be adjusted vertically with a seat adapter. Unlike the other gaming chairs DXRacer offers, this seat does not have armrests and doesn't come with any back or head support cushions. The comfort is in the aesthetics as plenty of real racing seats are normally just comprised of plastic and lack any adjustment features.
Much like the other chairs, the final product makes it worth the price, but the road to that final product is not easy. This entire setup retails for $449 and for as many giant boxes that this entire setup came in, having this pre-assembled would consolidate shipping and space. The instructions are a nightmare to understand as it groups all the parts into one manual. This is true even if you order the PS/1000. Lots of the information doesn't match up with the actual equipment and doesn't go any deeper than the surface. The PS/Combo/200 separates into two parts and the connecting piece only has one screw. The manual makes you assume there are two holes, but the problem is that the two pieces don't stay together. Also the flow of the instructions seems incorrect.
The racing seat comes in two piece, much like the rest of the seats do. This makes it difficult to screw both together for one person. The setup that was sent had the adjustments under the seat already screwed in. The problem with that is that the screws are over-torqued and cannot be loosened without special tools. The bar used to adjust the seat forward and back is too far under and will only move with a lot of pressure. The instructions stated that this should not have already been attached and once I was able to get the chair assembled to the base, I did not want to go back at a later time and adjust this. The chair is functional in terms of adjusting, but takes a bit of effort with the ungreased gears underneath.
Beyond the screw-in connectors for the base, the instructions lacked proper guidance on other pieces that needed to be attached. The piece that holds the shifter lacks holes to screw in, but hasn't flinched any even though it's just secured to an arm piece. There are no details on what screws to use or how to properly secure the foot pedals, which may be why they continue to move. A lot of this was more or less figuring out the right way to do something. But for nearly $500, while a solid setup in the end, these items need to come pre-assembled. It would be worth doing even for an extra fee.
Closing Comments:
DXRacer still gets the pole position with its seat quality and design. The small perks that come along with their racing seats make the price of admission worth it in the end, even though having instructions that lack guidance and information make the effort a pain in the beginning. Yes, the assembly process is quickly forgotten about once all is said and done and you're running hot laps around a track. The option to pay to have these setups pre-assembled would be worth it or to just pre-assemble these chairs and setups to begin with since customers are paying nearly $500. DXRacer delivers on its final product with a durable and surprisingly ergonomic racing simulator that accomplished what the design was intended to do.