Trak Racer Haptic Bass Shaker Kit Review

TweakTown Rating: 93%

Our Verdict

While its an expensive add on, Trak Racer has produced a great haptic kit that is worth real consideration to add immersion to your rig.

Pros

• Good Immersion
• Two channels available
• Solid build quality
• Includes a remote control

Cons

• Pricey to get started
• Lack of setup information

Should you buy it?

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Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing

Trak Racer recently sent over their TR120S V2 chassis for review, and it's the rig I now use here at TweakTown for testing various wheel and pedal kits, add-ons, and extras, most recently being the Nitro Concepts Wind Box Kit. Today, though, we are checking out another way we can build immersion into our rigs, this time with haptics.

The Trak Racer Haptic Bass Shaker Kit includes a 200W Stereo Bass Amp and a 100W Pro Haptic Shaker, coming in at $249. If you wish to add a second 100W Pro Haptic Bass Shaker, this can be added for an extra $69.

If you are considering a haptic kit, you will also need a way to mount it to your chassis, and Trak Racer offers mounts as an extra. These mounts bump up the price overall, depending on how you lay them out, with the TR80-OFCPLATE2 round mount priced at $49 and the TR-SHAPLATE3 under-seat mount at $89. Alternatively, Trak Racer offers a bundle with the haptic kit and the round mount for $289. This would be a viable option to save some money if you're jumping into haptic feedback for the first time.

This amplifier includes two 100W outputs, allowing an extra shaker to be connected, and is the setup I have been checking out over the past few weeks. Overall, the bundle's total cost for review today is $447.

Haptics for sim racing have been around for quite some time, with the ButtKicker Gamer 2 being one of the most popular bolt-on kits available. Their addition to a setup is somewhat a matter of personal preference; while some people swear by them, others see them as a gimmick. Personally, having used them over the years, I don't believe they make me any quicker; however, I do like them for the immersion aspect. So let's take a look at the kit and share my thoughts on the Haptic Bass Shaker Kit.

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Packaging & Unboxing

Trak Racer presents their Haptic Bass Shaker Kit very well indeed, with attractive packaging for the hardware. The front of the packaging, showing the amp and shaker, features an image of the included remote control and highlights the 2-year warranty for peace of mind.

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Around the back, Trak Racer keeps things simple, with information on the bundle and pictures below of the amp, shaker, and remote.

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With the box opened, everything is very well packaged, with a layer of open-cell foam covering everything. Removing this, we find that each component is individually bagged. There is an instruction manual that I will reference later, and a mounting diagram for attaching to our rig.

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The first part to take a closer look at is the amplifier itself. Looking at the front, this includes all our controls, power, channel volume dials, high and low cutoff switches, a high cutoff frequency dial, and a 3.5mm port for the wired remote control.

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Both sides of the unit feature ventilation holes, and it has isolation feet on the bottom. There are no mounting holes on the amp, so it can either sit on a shelf or under the cockpit floor to be tucked away.

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The rear of the amp unit includes our inputs, outputs to the shakers, a fan to keep the unit cool, and the primary power connection. There are several ways to connect this kit to your system, as covered in the user manual.

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Included in the package are connection cables for the amp to the shakers, the amp to your PC, some Velcro ties to tidy everything up, and the included wired remote control. For connecting to your PC, you can use the 3.5mm jack, or Trak Racer also includes a USB adapter for convenience.

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The included user manual details everything you need to know to get up and running, including the various ways the kit can be connected.

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Installation & Software

With the main package unboxed, we will need something to attach the haptic kit to the Trak Racer TR120S V2. Trak Racer has you covered here, with two mounting options available for your chassis. Here, I am using both options for my setup. First, I have the TR-SHAPLATE3 for the rear, a plate that sits between the seat rails and seat side mounts with a range of adjustment.

The bass shaker connects with three included bolts and tucks away nicely under the seat. This mounting plate is not limited to the Trak Racer kit, supporting the Dayton audio BST-1, Aurasound AST-2B-4, and various ButtKicker shakers. The only downside, really, is that there isn't enough horizontal space for two shakers in a left-to-right configuration. Installation was really straightforward; I removed my seat and rails, followed the included instructions, and didn't run into any problems.

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For the front of the chassis, I am using the TR80-OFCPLATE2, which is a more universal mount in terms of where it can be positioned and will also fit the shakers from other manufacturers, as mentioned above. Being more universal, you could use a pair on the left and right sides of the rig, or go even further and mount a shaker in each corner of your setup. Installation was again simple, using two T-Nuts to attach to the chassis rail under the pedal plate.

Of course, even the shaker mounts can be used on other simulator frames, not limited to just the frames produced by Trak Racer, offering universal fitment for most frames and cockpits available.

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I didn't photograph the front-mount installation, purely because I couldn't get a decent image of it under the pedal plate, as it's a dark area. The rear-mount installation is shown, with the cables routed to the amp located under the floor plate. Installing the remote control was also really easy. Add two T-Nuts to our profile, and use the included screws to attach the remote. Two rubber covers complete the look, with the Trak Racer logo embossed. Now that we are all set up, it's time to move on to the software.

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Trak Racer has launched its own software, the Trak Racer Device Manager (TDM). At the time of writing, it only covers their haptic kit, but looking around the Trak Racer website, they will possibly be extending its use beyond this, with images showing a handbrake and wheel, so we will be keeping an eye on this going forward.

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Downloading the software was painless, and installation went smoothly. Once installed, the only confusion I had was during the initial setup, waiting for my PC to recognize the extra input device named AB13X. Once this appeared in the software device selection, things were plain sailing. Setting up the haptics here lets you cover a wide range of effects, from engine to road surface, gear shift, and more. For each effect in the Trak Racer software, you can use feedback for either an individual channel or both. Depending on how you set this up, front to back or left to right, will affect how you assign these, and the percentage effect in play. As with other immersion aspects, it will be worth dialing in some settings here.

One thing that Trak Racer doesn't clearly detail is the setup side of things, and whether you need their own TDM software or if this can be set up with SimHub alone. A little extra help with a guide to everything would be helpful for newcomers to haptics.

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Moving on to Sim Hub, after the kit was detected, I could then start configuration. Again, a wide range of options is available within SimHub, too many to list or go over individually, including the option to set up individual profiles. I will use the standard values that SimHub specifies for testing.

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Interestingly, SimHub includes an auto-tune option for haptics over time, learning your driving style and adjusting accordingly. I left this set to fully automatic, and while I don't have a comparison, everything tested well.

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Final Thoughts

Hitting the track across a range of titles over the past few weeks, I have spent a lot of time with the Trak Racer Haptic Bass Shaker Kit and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Riding curbs always feels good, and getting tapped by a fellow racer now doesn't just feed back through visual clues and wheel reaction; I can feel it throughout the rig, too. Grabbing third gear sends a jolt through my body, with the kit telling me about bumps, road texture, and even idling. It's an addition that adds to the immersion right away, sitting on the grid at Brands Hatch in a BTCC car, with the engine purring at idle, that sent a warm vibration throughout the rig.

When you start sim racing, most people end up cranking everything to the max, but over time and with experience, you learn that less is more in most cases. You see, the thing about sim racing is getting as close to the track as you can, and with the Trak Racer Haptic Bass Shaker Kit, you won't be disappointed. Don't forget, this kit can also be used for flight sims, with SimHub again offering in-flight effects to add to your long-haul flight or dogfight, depending on your piloting preferences.

Having this kit set in a front-and-rear configuration probably wasn't the best implementation; left and right might be better suited, but I wanted to look over both mounting options Trak Racer offers. If I were to put this together again, I would go with two of the mounts I used at the front for a left- and right-side setup under my seat. I think this would offer not more, but perhaps better use of the dual-channel amp. While front and rear feedback are good, side feedback could offer more immersion.

I'm not saying that how I had this setup was wrong, as the overall experience I have had has been more than a pleasure. Flight sim users may opt for a different mounting configuration with haptic feedback, just like other add-ons, a personal preference. The inclusion of a remote control was also great, at my fingertips for fine-tuning the output. Of course, SimHub includes button mapping, so if you don't want to take your hands off the wheel, you can control it via your wheel too.

Given the kit's strength, ensuring your chassis is rigid is quite essential for a couple of reasons. First, it helps transfer the effects to your body. There are plenty of forum posts on isolating your frame and the many ways to do so. Second, I found that I got some resonance back from my frame, which I narrowed down to being the seat slider handle. I removed the handle, bent it out slightly so it fit a little firmer, added some foam padding, and it seems to have eliminated the problem. The occasional wire not strapped down, or even an Xbox controller sat on the floor plate, will be rumbled around quite annoyingly, so just make sure you spend some time with cable management and general rig tidiness so you don't have to trace a rattle during use.

Would I recommend this Trak Racer kit? Yes, absolutely. As you progress through the sim racing walk of life, you upgrade the essentials first, such as the wheel or chassis, with add-ons like a haptic or wind kit coming later down the line. There is that point where it all clicks, and you go from turning everything up to the maximum, to when you realize that mid-range is suitably best, and having the Trak Racer Haptic Bass Shaker Kit puts a little more icing on the cake for me. Yes, it is an expensive add-on, but the smile it brings and the silly feeling of being 12 again are well worth it.