There’s nothing quite like immersing yourself in a good racing game, but to really take the experience to the next level, you need to get your hands on a great racing simulator seat. To help you with that, I’ve put together this list of the best gaming seat racing chairs in 2023.
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How to Choose a Racing Simulator Seat
The first question you need to ask yourself when choosing a racing simulator seat is ‘how basic or complex do I want my setup to be?’.
If you just want a nice ergonomic gaming chair to sit on while you play some Forza using your regular controller, and you aren’t interested in anything fancier than that, a standard racing seat will do.
If you want the whole shebang, you’ll need more than just the chair itself. You’ll also need a wheel, shifter, foot pedals, and various other racing sim accessories. In that case, you’ll need a racing simulator seat that comes complete with a frame to mount all those accessories on.
With that in mind, there are 3 different types of racing simulator seat set-ups you should know about:
- Racing-style Gaming Chairs (+ Wheel Stand)
- Full Racing Rigs/Cockpits
- Motion Cockpits
Racing-style gaming chairs are just gaming chairs like any other but which are designed after classic racing car seats. You can pair your racing chair up with a wheel stand (which you can purchase separately) to make it more of a real racing simulator seat if you want to use a wheel rather than your controller.
Full racing rigs or ‘cockpits’ are a little different. A cockpit is essentially a metal frame on which you can mount a seat, wheel, shifter, and other racing equipment. They enable you to create a complete set-up that fully mimics your car interior. Some cockpits come with the seat and other equipment included and attached to the frame, others require you to purchase these extra bits separately. Cockpits that come with their own racing seats are usually more expensive than regular racing chairs.
Motion Cockpits are – yep, you guessed it – racing rigs that include an element of motion. This means the seat literally moves based on what’s happening in-the-game. This takes the whole experience to the next level and makes it much more immersive. It blurs the lines between the reality and the game so you’ll feel as if you’re in a real car. These type of racing simulator seats are the most expensive.
Once you’ve decided which type of racing simulator seat you’d like to buy and are ready to start shopping around, here’s what you should look out for:
What to Look For in a Racing-style Gaming Chair:
- An ergonomic design
- A high weight capacity
- Highly-adjustable (height, tilt, armrests, etc)
- High-quality upholstery and build materials
- Stylish design
- Comfortable padding
What to Look For in a Racing Cockpit
- Multi-bar wheel support
- Compatibility with screen mount
- Included accessories/hardware (seat, shifter, wheel, pedals, etc..)
- Good build quality (durable materials and strong frame)
- Adjustable wheel support (height, tilt, distance)
What to Look For in a Motion Cockpit
- Full motion including tilt, turn and movement
- Integrated audio surround sound
- Affordability (motion cockpits can be very expensive)
- All the features you’d look for in a regular racing cockpit
Now that you know what to look for, let’s dive right into my list of the best gaming seat racing chairs in 2023.
So, the best racing simulator seats and cockpits are:
- Playseat Revolution
- Playseat Challenge
- Playseat Sensation Pro
- DXRacer PS/COMBO/200
- Conquer Racing Simulator Cockpit Driving Gaming Reclinable Seat with Gear Shifter Mount
- Chicago Gaming Company 8100 Redline GT Full Immersion Racing Simulator and Game Theater
- RaceRoom RR3055 Racing Cockpit
- Sim Lab GT2 Cockpit
- Next Level Racing F1 GT Formula 1 and GT Simulator Cockpit
- GTR Simulator GTA-F
- Secretlab Titan Series
- RESPAWN-200 Racing Style Gaming Chair
- SimCraft APEX Motion Racing Simulator
- RSeat N1 M4A Motion Racing Simulator
- DOF Reality Motion Simulator H3 Racing Cockpit Platform
Don’t run off to get your racing chair just yet, though. Choosing a racing simulator deserves a lot of thought as it’s usually a very expensive purchase. Before you buy anything, you should learn how to choose a racing simulator seat and explore all your options. Read on, and I’ll help you to do both!
1. Playseat Revolution
Category: Racing cockpit
Playseat is a name that will come up time and time again on this list, and for good reason. They’re probably the biggest and best racing simulator brands on the market. They’re so well-respected in the racing simulator space that even many world-famous F1 divers use their seats to train.
The Playseat revolution is my number one recommendation for first-time buyers and amateur racing gamers looking for a good entry-level racing chair.
The reason it gets my number one spot is that it provides a very good all-around package at a very good price. It’s one of the most affordable racing chairs on this list while also including all the most important stuff you need for a very basic racing simulator set up: a seat, a frame, and space to mount pedals and a wheel.
Playseat consulted professional racing drivers when designing this chair, and you can tell. It boasts superior build quality with a reinforced steel frame that eliminates wobble. The seat itself is comfortable, durable, and has a pretty good weight capacity of 300 lbs. It’s also fully adjustable for height and tension to accommodate all different kinds of users.
It’s also a versatile racing chair that you can use with pretty much any major console (Xbox One or PS4), as well as PCs. It also supports 3rd party equipment such as pedals and wheels from brands including Logitech and Mad Catz.
The only major downside to this chair is that it doesn’t come with a shifter mount or racing wheel, but, given the affordable price, I guess that’s to be expected. It also doesn’t have a screen mount, but you can always pair it with a Playseat TV Stand PRO to mount your screen at eye level while you’re sat on the Revolution.
2. Playseat Challenge
Category: Racing cockpit
Up next, another Playseat racing chair – the Challenge. In case the Revolution wasn’t quite affordable enough for you, this definitely will be.
It’s my top budget racing chair pick for those looking for something quick and easy to set up, portable, and affordable.
The reason it’s so affordable is that the manufacturers have cut costs on the build quality. Instead of padded cushions and a solid frame, this chair is essentially just a piece of fabric (albeit nice Alcantara suede fabric) draped over some steel tubes.
But don’t let looks deceive you. It might look like a glorified garden chair, but it provides all you really need for a basic racing simulator set up.
It includes length-adjustable multi-bar wheel support that sits on top of your lap. You can also mount foot pedals to the bottom bar by clamping them to it. It’s incompatible with a screen mount (no surprises there, considering the price) and there’s no shifter mount but, other than that, it’s the whole package.
This cockpit has been designed more for storage than for comfort. There’s no lush, thick padding to keep you comfortable, and the design can’t be called ‘ergonomic’. Nonetheless, one thing you have to give the Challenge credit for is how portable it is. The lightweight, no-frills design means it’s totally collapsible and very lightweight. You can pull it out and set it up in minutes, and pack it up and hide it away again just as easily.
Considering it looks a lot like a garden chair, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it has a decent weight capacity too. It can support up to 268 lbs, which is plenty enough for most people. Like most Playseat chairs, it’s also fully compatible with PC, Xbox, and PlayStation consoles.
3. Playseat Sensation Pro
Category: Racing cockpit (can be upgraded to motion cockpit with additional purchase)
The first 2 chairs on this list represent Playseat’s best budget racing chairs. The Sensation Pro, on the other hand, is a high-end seating solution that really represents Playseat at their best.
The build quality is excellent, with a powder-coated steel framework that is fully adjustable and super durable. It includes height-adjustable, multi-bar wheel support and is pre-drilled for you to mount your own third-party wheel and pedal.
Unlike the other 2 Playseat chairs we’ve mentioned so far, this one includes a screen mount (woohoo!) that you can mount screens up to 55” on for a more immersive display.
My favorite thing about the Sensation Pro is without a doubt the seat. It’s super comfortable and follows a bucket seat design, with a curved backrest and armrests that support you really well. The seat can also recline and is incline-adjustable. The upholstery feels great too!
Despite the high price tag, this isn’t a motion cockpit. However, you can purchase the Playseat Motion platform separately and mount this cockpit on top of it to turn it into a motion platform, but it might hurt your wallet.
4. DXRacer PS/COMBO/200
Moving on from Playseat, we come to another world-famous gaming brand, DXRacer. DXRacer has a huge range of regular gaming chairs, but the PS/COMBO/200 is one of their only full racing cockpits.
The package includes the PS/F03 racing-style gaming seat, cockpit frame, and two shifter stands – one for the left cockpit, and one for the right.
One great thing about this cockpit is how quick and easy it is to assemble. It features a foldable design which makes it easy to fold away and store it out of sight when you’re not using it.
Like all DXRacer chairs, the build quality is great and the seat is very ergonomic. It’s also fully adjustable for both seat height and recline (up to 180 degrees). Thanks to the sliding rails, you can also adjust the distance between the seat and the foot pedals to account for the length of your legs, just like in a real car.
5. Conquer Racing Simulator Cockpit Driving Gaming Reclinable Seat with Gear Shifter Mount
The Conquer racing simulator cockpit is a complete basic cockpit complete with shifter mount and seat. This racing simulator chair gets top points for adjustability, which is pretty much unlimited.
In addition to all the regular adjustments you’d expect (chair height and tilt), you can also move the entire mount forwards and backward along the center bar via the seat slider mechanism. Not only that, but the steering wheel mount is also adjustable for distance and height, and the pedal angle can be adjusted too between 10 and 40 degrees.
The Conquer racing simulator cockpit is very stable and won’t rock when you use it, the foot pedals, in particular, are solid.
You can use it with most consoles as it’s compatible with PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. You’ll have to buy equipment/hardware like the wheel and foot pedals separately, but this cockpit is compatible with many major racing hardware brands, like Logitech and Thrustmaster.
6. Chicago Gaming Company 8100 Redline GT Full Immersion Racing Simulator and Game Theater
Compared to the other cockpits we’ve mentioned so far, the Chicago Gaming Company 8100 brings something new to the table. This is a racing chair for people that aren’t very DIY-savvy and don’t want to have to go through the hassle of assembling their own.
The 8100 Redline GT comes fully assembled, complete with 42-inch-display screen mount, F1-style seat, five-way adjustable cockpit, telescoping Logitech steering wheel with force feedback, rapid-adjust tri-pedals, quick-set armrests, and much more.
The only thing you’ll really need to buy separately is the screen itself. Everything else is already done for you, which will save you a ton of time.
As you’d expect from a ‘gaming company’, this racing simulator has an arcade-esque decide. The panels make it look fancier and a lot more ‘permanent’ than frame-only cockpits. It’s also a lot heavier, at 300 lbs, so you’ll need plenty of space to set this up permanently.
The driving controls on this thing are superb. In fact, Chicago Gaming claims they’re the most advanced on the market. The seat itself is upholstered in rich leather and offers good lateral support.
As if all that wasn’t enough, it even has some high-tech immersive features like a powerful vibration transducer that will rattle your bones, 4-speaker surround sound, and ‘lightning’ effects.
The only real downside is the price tag. This cockpit is very expensive. That being said, if you’re an arcade-game enthusiast and want to add something really special to your man-cave, there’s nothing better.
7. RaceRoom RR3055 Racing Cockpit
Next up is the RaceRoom RR3055 Racing Cockpit. This racing seat consists of a racing seat, length-adjustable wheel bracket, ergonomic pedal pad, and heavy-duty steel frame. It’s also compatible with a screen mount up to 27 inches, which isn’t huge but is plenty big enough for most people’s tastes.
A cool feature of this racing chair is that the backrest is foldable. You’d think that might make it a little ‘weak’ and compromise the back support, but it really doesn’t. It’s plenty sturdy enough to support your back when in use and can fold away to save space when you’re not using it.
The design on the seat itself is pretty cool, with stylish red and black upholstery and cool-looking RaceRoom logos printed on the side.
The metal frame is ‘infinitely adjustable’ in length, so it really doesn’t matter how long or short you are, you can modify the dimensions to suit your own body shape and size.
8. Sim Lab GT2 Cockpit
The Sim Lab GT2 is the first cockpit in this list that doesn’t come with the actual seat itself. This means that you’ll have to purchase your own racing chair to mount on it separately, which can make it a little more costly than some of the other options.
However, I had to include it in this list regardless of that fact because it’s just so darn well-designed. The manufacturers have designed using the concept of ‘front mounting’. The advantage of this kind of design is that it gives you much more knee room for added comfort.
It’s made for comfort in other ways too. For example, it inclines upright at a 60-degree angle for extra comfort. It’s also been designed to have a more compact and ergonomic size. The solid aluminum frame is rigid and durable, and the frame is overall very durable.
The multi-bar wheel support is tilt and height adjustable, and it’s compatible with a screen mount and pedal mounting.
9. Next Level Racing F1 GT Formula 1 and GT Simulator Cockpit
The thing that first strikes me about this chair is how cool the design looks. The slim seat and frame look really legit and professional, which makes sense considering this chair was designed based on feedback from real, professional drivers.
It boasts completely adjustable positions for your wheel, gear shifters, and pedals, as well as a dual-position cockpit which enables you to position yourself in real F1/GT racing positions.
This is a chair for serious sim racing gamers and even people who want professional driver training. It comes with a gear shifter holder and a lumbar support cushion, which is a nice touch that many other racing simulator seats on this list lack.
10. GTR Simulator GTA-F
The GTR Simulator GTA-F includes a reclining seat (with a 4-way adjustable seating position), steering wheel plate, a heavy-duty frame (with adjustable length), and shifter mount. It also comes with wheel support to mount a wheel on, but the wheel support isn’t adjustable, unlike some other racing seats on this list.
The GTR Simulator GTA-F is completely compatible with PCs and almost any gaming console you can think of.
The standout feature of this racing simulator, though, and what makes it unique from many other simulator seats on this list is the triple monitor TV stand.
This is a feature that many other racing chairs lack, and a feature than serious gamers often really want. The triple monitor TV stand means you can mount 3 separate monitors at once and have a ‘curved’ screen. The reason this is so desirable is that it creates more of a true field of vision, similar to what you’d get on a real racing track.
11. Secretlab Titan Series
The Secretlab Titan Series isn’t a racing cockpit, but it is a racing-style gaming chair that will provide you with all the ergonomic support you need to race in comfort, without all the frills. It doesn’t come with a frame to mount hardware on, but you can pair it up with a standing wheel mount if you’d prefer to use a wheel than a controller.
Secretlab is a brand which is very open about the fact that they take inspiration from real racing seats. They say on their website ‘our chairs are inspired by car racing seats’. This means their chairs feel a lot like legitimate car seats and will help you to feel like you’re really on the racetracks.
The Titan Series is also my overall favorite gaming chair in 2023 thanks to the solid construction, comfortable padding, and excellent ergonomic support.
12. RESPAWN-200 Racing Style Gaming Chair
The RESPAWN-200 is another no thrills, racing-style gaming chair. It boasts superior ergonomic comfort thanks to the molded foam seat filling, innovative, open back seat design, adjustable headrest and lumbar support, and solid steel tube frame for extra support/
This chair can be adjusted in 4 dimensions; you can raise or lower the seat to adjust the height, tweak the armrest height and depth for better wrist support, and recline up to 130 degrees with infinite tilt lock.
13. SimCraft APEX Motion Racing Simulator
The SimCraft APEX Motion Racing Simulator is the first motion cockpit on this list. It’s also one of the best. SimCraft themselves refer to this as ‘the premier professional racing simulator’. It represents the very best of the best in the professional racing simulator market and has a price tag to match.
There’s a lot to talk about here, but let’s start with the seat. The included ‘bucket seat’ has a 500 lbs weight capacity, which makes it one of the most heavy-duty gaming chairs around and suitable for the biggest and tallest racers. It’s also made for professional racers and has an ergonomic, versatile, highly-adjustable design.
The cockpit itself features ‘full motion’ capabilities. Full motion is a term used to refer to the full range of movements possible in a 3-dimensional space, also known as the ‘6 degrees of freedom’. This seat can roll, yaw, pitch, sway, heave, and any other movement-related verbs you can think of!
Driving this chair actually feels like driving a real racing car at high speed. Combine that with the triple-monitor mount for a full field of vision, and the 5.1 surround sound system, and you’ve got yourself one of the most immersive racing simulator seats possible.
14. RSeat N1 M4A Motion Racing Simulator
The RSeat N1 is another incredible motion racing simulator that boasts many of the same professional-quality features as the SimCraft.
There are too many cool features to mention here, but the important thing to note this chair also has full motion functionality for movement in 6 degrees of freedom. There are 3 models to choose from: the M4A 1500, the M4A 3000, and the M4A 6000. The number represents how high the cockpit can raise, 1.5 inches, 3 inches, or 6 inches respectively.
15. DOF Reality Motion Simulator H3 Racing Cockpit Platform
The DOF Reality Motion Simulator is a more affordable alternative for people that want a motion cockpit (which is also a great option as a flight simulator cockpit) but can’t afford the extremely high price tags associated with professional models. It doesn’t quite have full motion, but it is compatible with 3-dimensional movements like pitch, roll, and yaw. You can also get a real drifting sensation as you take those tight corners.
It’s not just the seat that moves with this cockpit, but the whole platform, including hardware like the wheel and pedals.
The main drawbacks are that this only works on PC, doesn’t include a seat, and isn’t compatible with a monitor mount, meaning you’ll have to use it with a VR headset instead.
Related Questions
What is the best gaming seat racing chair in 2023? My top pick for the all-around best gaming seat racing chair in 2023 goes to the Playseat Revolution. It’s a very affordable option that still has all you need for a complete racing rig. It’s also cross-console compatible, comfortable, and boasts a solid, durable construction.
What’s the best racing game to play on a simulator seat? One of the best racing simulator games available is Assetto Corsa. It has a great force feedback feature and is compatible with Xbox, Playstation, and PC. The best Xbox-specific racing game, in my opinion, is Forza Motorsport. Other great racing simulator games include the F1 series, GRID, RaceRoom, and Driveclub games.
What’s the best wheel stand? The best wheelstand for you will depend on your gaming setup and personal preferences, but some great options include
How much do racing sim wheels cost? Racing simulator wheels come in many different price bands. The cheapest wheels will cost less than $100 but won’t include important features like force feedback and will be very limited in accuracy and functionality. Mid-range wheels are priced between $200 and $400, typically include force feedback, are very accurate, and have large maximum rotations. They’re good enough for most people. High-end, ‘Direct Drive’ racing sim wheels can cost upwards of $1000 and are super-accurate. They’re only used on the most professional, luxury gaming sim rigs.
What should I look for in a racing sim wheel? Some things you’ll want to look out for when shopping for a racing sim wheel include compatibility with multiple consoles, force feedback, a high maximum rotation, durable frame, and compatibility with other accessories such as shifters.
What’s the cheapest racing simulator setup? The cheapest setup is a DIY racing sim setup. This means you don’t have to buy any expensive hardware or equipment and can make it yourself instead. Unless you’re great with tools and technology, though, this can be difficult. The next best thing is to buy a racing wheel and wheel stand and use it in conjunction with your existing chair or sofa. You won’t get the ergonomic benefits of a purpose-built gaming/racing chair, but you’ll save money.
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