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The 9 Best Virtual Reality Headsets of 2020

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Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products; you can learn more about our review process here. We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links.
The best VR headsets transport you out of the mundane world we find ourselves normally surrounded by and into spectacular landscapes, alien worlds, and fantastical realms that were only previously accessible through giant leaps of imagination. After an initial explosion of interest, virtual reality adoption has slowed a little in recent months, but it continues to steadily drive sales and innovation, and every time there's a big step forward technologically there's an attendant spike in coverage.
If you've never gotten your hands on a virtual reality headset before,  More
 Ewing takes the Pole for our Preseason Daytona trial!! 
2.13.19
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​Shane Ewing put the #32 Nestle Crunch Camry on the pole and brings home the bacon as well in the inaugural VSimRacing Daytona outing.

There are still seven days left to sign up before the official points race begins!! Load up the hauler and go VSimRacing!!
New VSim iRacing league forming!
1.8.2019
Vsimracing to start Tuesday night xfinity car series on iracing. Click on league link above for details and to sign up!

AC or Project Cars; who does Laguna Seca better? 
12.28.17

DigiProst has put Laguna Seca side by side in Assetto Corsa & Project CARS 2, trying to figure out which PC sim does it better.
The Californian road course has recently been made available to Assetto Corsa drivers as part of the free Bonus Pack 3 DLC, allowing everyone to take a look at how it stacks up against the competition.
While Assetto Corsa’s version is based on laser-scan data, Project CARS 2’s take on the track is based on a (less accurate?) drone scanning data.
Two different approaches in track creation, which results in a more realistic looking venue? Watch below and decide!

​SimXperience AccuForce Pro V2

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Direct drive wheels are as popular as never before in the sim racing community. Many different wheel bases from many different manufacturers are available, SimXperience is one of them. The SimXperience Accuforce Pro was very popular due to, of course, its performance and the fact that it offered a very complete and stress-free package. Now, SimXperience has announced version 2 of the AccuForce Pro and you even have the chance to become a pre-release tester.
SimXperience AccuForce Pro V2?Compared to the original AccuForce Pro, version 2 does not really differ too much from its predecessor. There are some differences though: The slip ring / USB hub, the motor enclosure has been redesigned and most importantly the price has been dropped.
Three different packages of the SimXperience AccuForce Pro V2 will be available:
  • AccuForce Pro V2 “Complete” ($1299)
  • AccuForce Pro V2 “Your Way” ($899+)
  • AccuForce V2 DIY ($704)
Many of you will be happy to see that prices have dropped by $450 – $700 and whilst saving money none of the wheels performance has to be sacrificed.
Here is what SimXperience had to say regarding the price:
By optimizing our supply chain, increasing our purchase volumes, removing the slip ring / USB hub and giving the motor enclosure a fresh new look, we’re able to offer the V2 at $450-$700 less than the V1 ($1749) without compromising performance.
Want to try it out?Then you are in luck. SimXperience will choose five sim racers who will receive SimXperience AccuForce Pro V2 for testing. Shpping and a $699 refundable deposit + tax have to be paid by the tester and SimXperience expects testers to dedicate themselves to the process so they that can give useful feedback.
If you want to become one of the testers, you can apply right here.
There has been no word on a possible release date yet.

Scott Weiland; Resonance  S. Walter 12.5.15. 

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I am very saddened by the loss of Scott Weiland, the singer best known for his work with the Stone Temple Pilots.  I was driving home from work one evening many moons ago when Kirk McEwen from 98 Rock was rambling on ad nauseam about the talent of this new band to which I listened to somewhat cynically.  Kirk, time has proven you to be an early adopter and right on the money. 

​I was slow to accept the band as I already had Pearl Jam dominating my play list.  The first time I ever heard 'Creep' I thought it was Nirvana. As a guitarist when 'Plush' came out I learned that song and found the chord structure interesting.  My band later incorporated 'Vaseline' to open up our second set . I REALLY love the syncopation of that song even though we never got the timing down perfectly.  Crank this on your car stereo and you're guaranteed to add 7-10 mph to the speedometer! When STP did their unplugged appearance on MTV, it was a seminal moment for me.  Unlike the band Live, who I already loved and knew that platform would really accelerate their career,  I had no predisposition to STP’s appearance.  Some of the best movies I’ve ever watched have been ones where I have no opinions, expectations and have heard no outside viewpoints.  I simply sit back and am wonderfully surprised.  This was the case with their unplugged performance after which I became a big fan. Who else can rock a rocking chair!!  I encourage all to watch this performance and review Scott's entire body of work.

Many have and will concentrate on Scott’s seemingly endless dance with addiction and state they saw this coming for some time.  Others may focus on his supposed prima donna attitude.  It’s so easy to sit back and armchair-quarterback from afar.  I have no stats to back up this statement, but I believe 7 out 10 don’t handle big-time fame very well. Why judge when 99.5% of us have no clue how to deal with that type of pressure. I prefer to be appreciative of the power and range of his vocals and of the lyrical content of his music.  I’m thankful for the inspiration he gave to me personally and I’m sure the masses as well.

 Whenever I was in a down mood or feeling blasé I would belt out at the top of my lungs to my youngest daughter while we were in the car “ I am smelling like a rose that somebody gave me on my birthday death bed….. I am smelling like a rose…..etc’.  It was very cathartic to have this big energy release and to boot she always laughed which instantaneously made my mood swing to a happy place.

Even after STP or in between stints or however you look at it, Scott still had the artistry.  When Slither was released, a collaboration with Slash, I thought this is a great match. What a rockin' tune that is! 

To all of Scott’s immediate family and friends I offer my prayers and condolences.  If you want to make a donation, pick up the guitar, learn a new instrument or a hobby that nourishes the soul and inspires others.
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Thanks for so much Scott, RIP!!

Drone Footage of Dominion Speedway

Drone footage shows the latest status of Dominion Raceway, a BRAND NEW track in Thornburg, VA: Short track, drag strip and road course.   They are coming along nicely!!  I'm very excited about this track!!
Support James Petty; A humbling story - S. Walter 10.10.15
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Hi, 
My name is Wendy Petty and I have been married to James Petty for over 19 wonderful years. I know Jamie has always loved the iRacing community. All he does is paint those darn cars, lol. He always talks about how he likes to try and help people with not just painting but with whatever. It is something that he loves to do and thats all that matters to me. 
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Please forgive me, this is so embarrasing and he will kill me when he finds out but we are left with no other options. 
Support James

In 2004, right before his 30th birthday (turned 30 in the recovery room actually) Jamie had sugery to remove a cancerous tumor from his tongue and cancer from his throat area. Including reconstructive surgery to rebuild that half of his tongue that was cut out. They did this with a skin graph and artery harvested from his left wrist and arm. He was 29 and never chewed a day in his life. 

After 2 days in ICU and 2 weeks in a hospital room Jamie was released to rest and ready himself for radiation therapy. All of which was in the mouth, neck, and throat areas. 

Jamie returned to Virginia Mason in Seattle to do his Radiation Therapy. 30 treatments at 200 Rad per for 6000 Rad total in those areas. 7 Months later Jamie was back to work for the same company he has given over 21 loyal years. 

A few years later Jamie had to perform 30 hyper baric oxygen treatmens in a town about 1.5hrs away every day but holidays and weekends. These had to be done so he could have some oral surgical work done. Radiation therapy destroys your healing properties so oxygen must be forced into the blood to induce healing. It was a rough couple months but it went pretty well considering. Radiation did so much damage in that area it is amazing and the long term effects are devastating. 

In 2007 a chronic pain started in Jamies neck on one side. They tried everything from Physical therapy to acupuncture. Numerous MRI's, ct scans, blood work, and every test under the sun later and no cancer results from scans which is the only good news we have had from all of this. Eventually the Dr.s and Jamie found Fentanyl patches to work great. Pain levels were down to 2-4 which was an amazing feeling according to my husband. Like a whole new person. He was working through this whole process. It was a long process to get to the patches and the pain lvl's were increasing until that point. It was a great turnaround. 

Which brings us to why we are humbly asking for help. In the last 5 months Jamie has been in extreme pain. His new pain Dr's performed a few facet joint injections a few months ago with med changes but to no avail. 

The pain started getting so bad his mobility was fading fast. He tried working through this. Working half days here and there for a couple months so we could just try and survive. Hoping a solution could be found. 

Then the pain was just so bad he could not walk without help. So now he had to opt for Short Term Disability which gives us 60% of his check while he recovers at home giving the doctors time to fix the issue. He had to do it before in 2004 for 7 months. After sending in all available information from the numerous doctors he was denied. So we gathered more infomation and tried finding help from The STD (short term disability) company on what the issue was. They did not give any information why he was denied. This all went on for another 2 months or so. Even after he just spent 2 nights in the hospital they are still denying him. 

The STD company still claims that is not enough to keep him from work. Even with his Dr's telling them as of now, he should not even move without help. We have documentation of all this. 

Meanwhile, medical bills continue to grow, no money coming in and our Eviction notice just showed up in the mail. 

According to the Company he works for, he has about 30 days to pay for his medical insurance which is in lapse. 

I have started working minimum wage to try and help but 20 hr / week is not helping much. I have trouble working that many hours because I need to be home to take care of my husband. Jamie has already sold what he can. We literally have no more options, money and little hope on how we will survive. 

Again, please forgive us. We truly are out of options. This is our absolute last resort. It would mean the world to us if anybody out there would be able to help. Every little bit counts and it would help us tremendously. There are not enough words in the world to express how much this would mean to us. Thank you! 

Sincerely, 

Wendy Petty (Jamies Wife)
​Support James
Chicago Nis Fixed B - S. Walter 9.18.15
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This race was truly a blast. I think this is the perfect track to showcase the new dynamic track feature iRacing recently released, fast, smooth and wide! To boot, all three NASCAR divisions are running in Joliet this week so it’s icing on the cake to be able to compare all three vehicles. I know setups can make a big difference, but it’s still a convenient luxury.

Cars started slipping and sliding after twenty laps. I lost count of how many cars took off-track excursion exiting turn two through the wild green infield yonder.  Some were damaged, others made spectacular saves and for the most part the yellows didn’t fly on those occasions. With significant tire wear (heavy on the right rear) and the subsequent speed drop-off it put much of the outcome in the hands of the diver, and the racing was anything but an endless parade lap.

Drivers were experimenting with the low line, the middle line and the Harry Gant line. The high line really came into play the more the laps unfolded.  I can’t recall being this attentive during a race since Darlington.  I didn’t know what was going to happen or when.

I found myself backing up the corner and rolling smoothly on to the throttle for stability. Some people would drive it in too deep and then have trouble turning. Others nailed it perfectly but due to track position had to lift coming down the straight because they didn’t want to chance having to make the inside pass stick. There was a lot of give and take.

On restarts you felt like Superman.  For about five or six laps that puppy would stick almost anywhere and a lot of track positions were gained and lost early in a run.  Naturally, this will make for a more traditional iRacing sprint type endings, but everything in between was a breath of fresh air.

Everyone is still trying to wrap their head around this update because it involves major changes to both the track and the tire models.  I’m not sure if this gives setup makers additional room to move producing their weekly works of art but I’m glad I’m not in that position. This is a true landmark for sim racing and if this track is an early indicator, iRacing’s future is so bright you’re gonna’ need shades, or perhaps an Oculus headset!  I’m glad to be a part of it and will enjoy the ride.
Justin Wilson 150  via @iracing 
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iRacing will honor Justin Wilson, an outstanding human being, one of the finest racers of this (or any) generation and enthusiastic supporter of iRacing, on Saturday, September 12. The event features the Dallara DW12 in a 100 lap, 150 mile race at Texas Motor Speedway, site of the last of Justin’s seven IndyCar wins. 

Open to all license levels, the open setup race starts at 12 noon (eastern)/ 16:00 GMT and will be preceded by a 15 minute warmup. As the race is scheduled for a Week 13 weekend, single car qualifying sessions will be run every half hour once the new build is released. Splits will be determined by iRating; grids will be set by qualifying times first and then iRating. 

Those wishing to support Justin’s family during this difficult time may make a donation here: 

Click to Donate 
Car: Dallara DW12 
Track: Texas Motor Speedway 
Laps: 100 When: Saturday 9/12/15 at noon eastern (16:00 GMT) 
Setup: Open 
Servers: US only 
License requirement: Rookie – Pro/DWC 
Resets: One (1) 
Warmup: 15 minutes 
Field size: Max 30 
Cautions: Yes, full course cautions 
Incident limit: 24 
Qualifying: Single car qualifying, every half hour after build comes out 
Divisions: none 
Splits: Set by iRating 
Gridding: Set by Q time, then iRating. Qualifying is not required to participate.
Forza Fuel  challenge  9.1.15
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Join a team, download the Forza Motorsport 6 demo, and race the rival challenge.

Three lucky winners will join our captains on anall-expenses paid trip to Circuit of the Americas, Texas, for the ultimate Forza challenge. Two spots are reserved for the drivers who set the fastest lap and one driver chosen at random. So no matter how good your driving skills, everyone is in with a chance.

With Forza Fuel, everyone is a winner, you’ll get an exclusive Forza Fuel livery just for taking part. If your team goes on to win the Forza Fuel Challenge, you’ll be entered into a prize draw to win one of 10 copies of Forza Motorsport 6.

Click to Join a team
Understanding Force Feedback and Clipping - 8.19.15 Paul Pearson
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I see a lot of questions on the forum about force feedback (how much is too much, how to set it in the sim, what does the F bar in iRacing mean?..etc.) I started thinking about a way to represent it graphically and together with some descriptions on how to translate all of this information in to a place for folks to reference. The following are my thoughts (and understanding) on what is happening in the sim and some ways to correct/adjust to get the most out of your hardware and maybe help shape your decision making on future hardware purchases. Feel free to give me input or corrections if I have misrepresented anything. 

Looking at any wheel, there is going to be a maximum force that it can output. This is a function of the motor, the drive mechanism and the More
Dominion Raceway  7.21.15 -  S. Walter

Dominion Raceway is a brand new under construction paved oval track, road course and drag strip in Thorburg, Va on schedule  to open in the fall of '15 . Since the historic Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, VA was sold to developers two years ago, this new construction is a godsend to Virginians who are desperately missing their local track action.  

Exciting times in Va, go check out their site on fb and follow along as this wonderful new venue takes shape.

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NiS Top Split at Sonoma, High Noon 6.27.15 - S. Walter
I still need to find a lot more speed around this joint if I want to even think about a top ten finish.  With two NiS races I gained a lot of experience on the track but can't quite run consistent 118's yet. The leaders ran 116 and 17's throughout their entire run.  Below is a little action from around the track. Apparently I didn't have Trading Paints loaded. 

Congrats to Rob Read on the Sonoma trifecta. The pole, most laps lead (only 55) and the win. Rounding out the top five were Justin Bolton (fastest lap of the race 1:15.499), Michael Abrams, Tyler Hudson and Anthony Roselli. Thanks for the lessons gents, I have some great footage to study!
Free RaceRoom content All Weekend 6.26.15 - S. Walter
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Have you tried the Race Room experience lately? They just released a new patch and have absolutely the best sim racing deal of the weekend, perhaps the month. ALL CONTENT is FREE to TEST!!  Starting today, you’ve already missed at least eight hours (what are you waiting for) since they kicked it off at midnight and will last until Sunday 6.28.2015 at midnight. It’s ALL yours for the taking, ANY car and ANY track. Supposedly the UI has improved and wheel setup is much less time consuming. Watch the developers talking about the all the updates including dedicated multiplayer app on Steam.  So go try out the BMW 320, M4, Mercedes AMG or, Audi RS 5, whatever car your heart desires. I’ve heard that they don’t have SLI or triple screen support but am unable to verify.  Hit me on tw If you learn differently @vsimracing.  The custom championship feature has also been released.  Want to race against the AI, this may very well be your cup of tea. Warning, the R3E bug has a fairly viciously addictive bite.
Concerning Engine Sound: - S. Walter

I was in a band for many years and the primary sound tech as well. There’s enough info in the 400 pages of the Yamaha Sound Reinforcement Handbook to make your head spin. I also drove a real race car, so here’s my take. 

Outdoor sound is a very very very difficult beast to slay. The dissipation (intensity diminishing over distance) is affected by temperature, wind, humidity, density, obstacles etc etc. On a race track you have multiple sources of sound and attenuation (absorption and scattering). The waves reverberate off the pavement, walls and other cars and into your ears (with plugs) which are likely covered by a full-faced helmet. 

Everyone has a sweet spot of sound that seems ‘right’ to them. Several studies have shown this varies even more so between men and women. In other words the perfect sound to you is likely not the same to me. So I don’t get very caught up in the overall tone that is generated on iracing and most sims, it’s sufficient and in some cases very good. 

If I wanted to nitpick and tell what I’m missing compared to sitting in an actual race car it’s this. The sound varies in intensity and sources as you move around the track, the Doppler effect is only one of several factors. It bounces off of other cars, the track and the walls and it hits your ear(s) in an uneven ebbing and flowing stream, volume and tone(s) all while you and your car are vibrating. Just your car, your car against the wall, your car in turns 1-2, in 3-4, your call against the wall with a car inside, outside, in front of you, behind you, all around you. Each of these generates a unique sound, some of these differences are subtle, some not. It’s not the simple roll on and off of the throttle and hearing multiple exhaust frequencies sampled from different locations. 

Many have stated that Dale Earnhardt could see the wind. I’m convinced that he paid closer attention to these unique sounds (with the possibility that his ¾ helmet aided his cause) than any driver before or since. 

 What I learned form iSpeed - Carl Vetters

Suzuka is an excellent track to learn to exploit the specific behaviour of the SRF. You hit the brakes only twice (before entering T1 and between T1 and T2). The esses-section is taken without braking and shifting and that is the right moment to learn to take advantage of the throttle off oversteer character of the car. As long as you do not master that, you won't go fast. It's a question of timing. I don't know any other section on a track which is so appropriate to learn that more

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