Playseat Evolution Gaming Seat

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Racing games need a wheel, and wheels need to be fixed to something steady. I missed playing racing games because the standard controllers just do not fit the bill. The good news is that the seat is allowing me to rediscover racing games.

Despite being 6ft3 200+ lbs the seat is comfortable; I can even slide my 6 year old in, and play with him steering and me on the pedals. Both the pedals and steering wheel attachments are adjustable with its max range out of the comfortable reach of my legs. If anything, they should make it work for smaller folks like my 6 year old, who cannot reach the pedals. He is 4ft, I expect you need to be at least 4ft6. The seat folds, but think twice if you want it to pack away discreetly in a tight corner; in this regard the manufacturer's photos are accurate. The only thing that I would really add are channels to enable the wires to be discreetly routed; with just 3 cables for the wheel, it still looks like a mess of spaghetti. The steering wheel attachment could be a bit stiffer, but I do not notice this when playing. They also include loads of Velcro and ties to keep things attached. Bottom line, if you like racing games, and want to treat yourself, this seat will fit the bill.

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I use this with my XBox 360 wheel for both Forza 2 and PGR3. You'll never go back to using a stupid desk or fold-up table like I did after using a chair like this.

I have hard tiled floor, no carpeting, no padding. If I pay attention during transition periods between game play, the stem is a little wobbly but when I'm deep into racing and throwing my body every which way, I don't notice the wobble. I suppose if I want super solid stem, I could have paid for a $1000+ unit from a competitor. Not me! I'd rather save it for my next "necessity" ... three-panel set-up for my Forza 2! Bottom line -GREAT value ... unless you have alot of free time to make your own rig.

One more thing, the mounting bracket sucks if you have a Microsoft XBox 360 Wheel. That's because the metal mounting panel is too small for this wheel. If you don't have any wood panel scraps in your garage, you'll need to make a trip to the local hardware store ... cut yourself a 8" by 18" panel from half-inch thick particle wood board, drill a couple of holes for bolting onto the pre-drilled holes in the metal mounting panel and then use some plastic cable ties to strap in the wheel to your wood board in addition to using the flimsy mounting clamp on the bottom of the 360 wheel. Shouldn't take more than half an hour to do even if you're sub-par at carpentry skills ... I'm a geek software programmer and it was a breeze for me (but then, I was highly motivated to get the set up done so I could start racing ASAP Forza 2 in style).

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Edit (Feb 8, 2008):

I ended up getting a Logitech G25 wheel + 6-spead shifter so that I could practice manual shifting on "GTR 2: Realism Redefined" using my new gaming PC on the same LCD TV that I use for my XBox 360. Turned out that attaching the G25 wheel to the Evo mount panel was MUCH simpler than attaching the XBox 360 wheel.

The Evo has pre-drilled holes that line up with the bottom of your G25 wheel platform and your G25 pedal platform, though you will have to offset the Evo pedal panel mount quite a bit to the left (from the perspective of a sitting position) to where it's strange looking but not impractical from a functional standpoint.

If you have a G25, look into buying the additional Playseat Evo attachment for the G25 shifter. I don't think Amazon sells it ... I ended up getting that attachment from MaxWho.com.

I never drove with manual transmission in real life so I can't tell you how legit the Playseat + G25 shifter arrangement is. But a friend of mine who track races and is into the street culture scene tried it out and said it was pretty close to reality. He ended up "testing" my set up for hours ... I had to kick him out because it was getting to be past my bed time!

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I bought my Playseats Evolution Gaming Seat back in 2007 around the time that Forza 2 came out for the Xbox 360. I also purchased the Microsoft Xbox 360 wireless racing wheel. I also own a PlayStation 3 and a Logitech Driving Force Pro wheel that I have used with the seat.

I can't recommend this seat for the following reasons:

1. The included "seat" that gets mounted to the whole thing is very cheap and not even close to a real car seat. It comes "folded up" and you basically unfold the back section. Because of this, there is a metal rod that runs across right where my backbone hits the chair. Since this is a "cheap" chair, it does not have very good lumbar support and after a few races my back really begins to feel the metal rod.

2. The steering wheel mount is designed to pivot up and down, but it is very hard to get the bolt tight enough to keep it from pivoting up and down when you're actually using the seat. Occasionally you'll have to yank up on your wheel to pull this mount back into position.

3. Wheel support & Nickle and Diming. The Xbox 360 racing wheel I purchased with the seat didn't mount well and I had to hack together a solution using some foam material (craft store) and particle board. Eventually I made it work. Since I bought my seat, I see that Playseats has introduced a 360 wheel mount solution (for extra money) as well as seat rail sliders, stick shift holders, etc. For $300 all of this stuff should be included. Especially with how low quality the seat actually is.

The Xbox 360 pedals work fine w/ the pedal mount if you jam them back under the lip which causes some scuffing and wear to the pedals. The Logitech Driving Force Pro wheel works well with the steering wheel mount but there is no reasonable way to attach the pedals. I don't believe zip-ties and velcro are an acceptable mounting solution (though PLENTY are included).

4. This may come down to personal taste, but, the between the legs design results in a very flimsy, unstable feel to the whole thing.

As some other reviewers have mentioned, I also wondered if I received a "used" product. My box was very badly damaged (but everything inside was okay).

If you can pick this up for $150-200 and are willing to put some work into it (replacing/fixing the seat rod issue, welding the steering wheel mount so it doesn't pivot, etc) then it might be a decent value.

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Bought two of these seats to race my 10 year old son with his old PS2 and new XBox 360 games. Both racing wheels fit nicely and seats adjust fine for me 6'3" and my son 5'. Changing steering wheels is tedious because of the wires but the seats are incredibly great. I still can't drive a virtual car as well as my son but using a steering wheel I can at least compete. Has been great father son time indoors now that its 20 degrees outside. Buying two seats seemed expensive till my wife reminded me of the cost of the XBox originally. Solid construction and they fold and dissasemble partially for storage in a closet. they get an A+ in my book.

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I am a 40+ year old female who loves racing games, Gran Turismo being my all time favorite.

I use to use a Logitech Force Feedback steering wheel mounted to a small table while sitting in a dining room chair. UGH! That set up actually caused a lot of discomfort and fatigue when playing for any real length of time. My braking foot needed to hover in a very uncomfortable position and my legs just ached. Try as I may it was very difficult to mount/place everything at just the right distance and angle for any long term fun.

When the Evolution Seat went on sale for $239 thru Amazon with free shipping I couldn't resist.

Quality and comfort are both excellent and of course it makes racing even more "simulator like" than before.

The bottom of the chair (it's metal frame) is smooth and slides easily and damage free across my living room carpet, which is fairly important as it's a little too heavy to lift and move single handed. If you needed to store it you do have the option of folding the seats back down after removing the pins. You can also remove the steering and foot mounts from the center crossbar to shorten. Luckily I have just the spot for it as I do not think I would care to make such an effort.

Next is comfort...no complaints here! You can adjust the foot pedals and the steering wheel to just the right distance meaning no more foot fatigue or discomfort in my arms from overly bent elbows. The chair itself is extremely comfortable and I am 6' tall and actually eat. :)

I can easily sit for 2 or more hours and never feel the least bit uncomfortable. The seats comfort is equal to that of my Honda and exceeds that of my Ford.

If you really enjoy using a wheel with racing games then this is certain to enhance your enjoyment and realism. If you rarely play racing games with much enthusiasm then this will probably end up collecting dust and taking up valuable floor space, which leads me to measurements.

MEASUREMENTS

From the seats floor frame to the end of the pedal mounting plate is roughly 50" (this is adjustable for your height). The chairs height from floor to top (headrest) is 40" (this is stationary though the seated can fold forward). The top of the seats cushion is approximately 12" off of the ground, which places this at an ideal seating height to view my LCD TV which is placed on a TV stand. At it's widest point it is about 20".

MOUNTED A BUTTKICKER

For a little more fun I added the Buttkicker gamer to the chair. In order to mount it I made a metal X frame from 2" wide, 1/8" thick flat steel which I sandwich and bolted in between the seat and it's floor frame. In the center of that X frame I welded a 3/4" OD steel pipe with a threaded end. I of course used the pipe for the Buttkicker's mount. I also installed a metal cap to the threaded end of the pipe to keep the Buttkicker from vibrating down and off of the pipe. This is a convenient way to mount the Buttkicker and it distributes the vibrations well WITHOUT any changes or alterations to the chair or Buttkicker themselves. Now there is force feedback in both the steering wheel and the chair itself.

You get the idea I kinda like this stuff ah? :)

**** UPDATE 3 1/2 YEARS LATER ****

Oh yeah, I'm still driving my little heart out. The biggest issue I have with the Playseat is where the steering wheel support post is mounted (right between your ankles). Be aware that they now offer a Playseat Limited Edition Gran Turismo® 5 Revolution Gaming Seat where the post comes from beneath the seat, I would assume this would be a favorable change though I am upgrading to a rig that has no center post.

After moving up to the Logitech G27 (with clutch) and then to the Thrustmaster t500 I found the bar to be a real pain! If you are a heal/toe driver then this creates a problem. My ankles feel bruised after a long session using the clutch. I've hard mounted my pedals to avoid movement and must unbolt and move them depending on what I'm driving... have the post between the gas and brake for left foot braking (Rally, F1) have the post between the brake and clutch for right foot braking (using clutch).

My other gripe has been the non-adjustable pedal plate. When my foot is off pedal my foot is pulled back in an extreme angle. This creates some shin splint like pain after long races. I eventually got the MIG machine out and bent the pedal plate to a far more comfortable angle and tacked that in place.