on Meta Quest 3 !! Something I certainly inherited from my father is a passion for motorsports — the technical details of each car have always captivated me, and the underlying layer of on-track racing adds a riveting drama to every event that I can’t get away from.

Whether it’s as basic as out-braking your opponent into turn one or tricking them into a defensive line with a weak exit and taking them with greater speed out of a chicane, this V8 game of chess has been a favorite of mine since I first played Gran Turismo.

Anyway, speaking of the PlayStation racing mainstay, that passion of motorsport grew into an adoration of sim racing, making this activity accessible to anybody willing to pay for a wheel and pedals. Playing on a standard TV was already an enjoyable experience for me, but when the opportunity to switch to racing in meta quest 3 VR presented itself, I jumped at it and haven’t looked back since.

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What’s my setup?

So, before I begin, I should mention that VR sim racing is not inexpensive to get into. You only have to consider the fact that you’re spending over a thousand dollars to obtain the greatest Gran Turismo 7 experience with a PS5 and PSVR 2, which is on the lower end of the spectrum for fantastic immersive racing.

With that in mind, I’d like to be open about my system, which consists of a mix of strong hardware and low-cost peripherals. It all starts with the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 8 and Meta Quest 3 headset, and I can guarantee you that the RTX 4070 in here is more than capable of running F1 23’s VR mode at medium graphics settings.

To link it everything, I could have used the relatively expensive Meta Quest Link cable. However, for half the price, you can get JSAUX’s 5-meter connection cable, which allows for much more flexibility of movement while still enabling the high data transmission speeds required for games.

Moving on to the real racing setup, the Logitech G923 wheel and pedals are linked to the Next Level Racing GTLite seat. Essentially, this is one of the less expensive options for obtaining a SIM card, as well as one that is easier to store in a cabinet while not in use.

Finally, if you have sensitive hands like mine (don’t laugh), my Sparco Meca-3 gloves will come in handy. They are technically mechanic gloves, but they outperform any more costly sim-specific gloves I’ve tested in terms of durability and grip. Sparco Hyperspeed gaming socks provide a stronger grip on the pedals, owing to my unwillingness to purchase flamboyant sim racing shoes.

In the hot seat

This isn’t my first experience with VR racing; I participated in a GT7 competition at IFA 2023 (spoiler alert: I defeated everyone). That sight piqued my interest in recreating the experience for myself, so I followed the PC path to gain a larger range of sim experiences I prefer, including F1 23, DiRT Rally 2.0, and Assetto Corsa Competizione (ACC).

So I settled in, and after a very simple setup procedure of attaching wires and linking the Quest 3 to Steam VR, I was in. And after a little season of F1 23, I rapidly fell in love.

There’s immersive gaming, and then there’s this – an absolutely breathtaking experience that may be distracting at first. Trust me when I say you’ll get caught up watching everything pass you by looking left and right, just to miss a braking spot and crash into a wall.

But after you get past the initial shock, the sensation of sitting in a car and pushing the pedal to the metal in VR is unparalleled in my years of gaming. Every second is spectacular, whether you’re witnessing obstacles like homes or trees breeze by you in DiRT Rally 2.0 or seeing all the minute features of your GT World Championship car’s interior in ACC.

But it’s not just because this experience is more immersive than playing on a conventional screen; it’s also because you realize you’re missing out on racing characteristics. For example, when braking and turning into a corner, keep your gaze fixed on the section of the apex you’re guiding toward. This aspect of VR sim racing allowed me to experiment with bringing greater speed into every bend and begin to get the most out of each sector.

Close to pole position

There appears to be one inevitable drawback, however. No matter how much I changed the graphical settings, there was always at least one instance of stuttering. Fortunately, most of the time in F1 23, this happened on a straight, but when it happened in the middle of a turn, you’re left praying that your vehicle is still spinning around the bend!

The most troublesome scenario is when this occurred in DiRT. Don’t get me wrong, it happened far less frequently than in F1, but when it did, my beloved Subaru would generally finish up wrapped around a tree in a horrible disaster.

Where’s the bottleneck, though? I am not sure. Could a more powerful RTX 4090 GPU assist in this situation? Or does the cable need to be capable of supporting a higher transfer rate than Meta recommends? Further testing will provide answers to these questions.

Take regular pit stops

Aside from that one issue (which has no bearing on ACC), the contrast between standard sim racing and VR surpassed all of my expectations, much like the graphics change between PS1 and PS2.

Not only is it a fantastically cool experience to be engaged in, but it’s also a valuable point of view. Special thanks to the Quest 3’s spatial audio for providing a good surround experience to know where rivals are around you.

Allow me to leave you one critical piece of advice, though. VR racing is great and all, but just like any VR game, motion sickness and headaches are real — ramped up by several levels when you go over 200 miles per hour. Make sure you take regular breaks after every race.