Mastering a racing game is a lot easier with your hands on a steering wheel instead of a tiny thumbstick, but after shelling out hundreds of dollars on a console and $US60 ($82) on a game, do you really want to cough up another c-note for a racing wheel? If you’ve got access to a 3D printer, you could make this cheap rack and pinion mechanism instead and add a tiny thumb-steered wheel to your controller.
This brilliant, goofy little add-on was created by Thingiverse contributor Pixel2, who shared all the requisite source files as a free download for anyone who wants to print their own.
Is it the perfect alternative to a full-size racing wheel? No. It only works with Xbox One hardware, you’ll probably want to slip some felt in behind the gearing mechanism so the plastic doesn’t scratch up your controller and it blocks the buttons that you’d normally use for switching gears when driving in manual mode.
But it’s a cheap, unusual way to try to improve your simulated driving experience — adding an option that may feel less clumsy than thumbsticks to some, so you can shave a few precious seconds off your lap times.
[Thingiverse via Make]