Our Verdict
Pros
- A very sturdy addition to the wheel stand
- No flex or movement in the frame
- Compatible with many racing seats
- Can form the base of a complete sim rig
Cons
- Tricky to mount to the wheel stand
- Heavy to move once constructed
GT Omega Apex Rear Seat Frame Review
We’ve had the GT Omega APEX wheel stand in our studio for some time now, and do believe it is one of the best stand-alone wheel stands you can pick up today.
But the problem with all racing wheel stands is that your chair isn’t attached to the wheel stand. This means that if you’re sitting on a desk chair, you may end up sliding back every time you press the brake pedal. And with a chair without wheels, you could even force the chair backwards using a strong brake pedal!
The GT Omega Apex Rear Seat Frame is designed to alleviate these issues. It is a platform that joins your wheel stand to your racing seat, essentially turning the APEX wheel stand into a full sim racing rig.
In this review, I will talk about how easy the Apex rear seat frame is to assemble, how sturdy it is, and how well it performs as a complete sim racing rig.
What is the GT Omega Apex Rear Seat Frame?
The GT Omega Apex Rear Seat Frame is an add-on to the Apex wheel stand. It expands your racing wheel stand into something much closer to a full sim racing rig. It comprises a selection of steel frameworks that extend the Apex wheel stand’s functionality.
Once combined, these steel frames are attached to the wheel stand from the bottom, acting as a base for the wheel stand to sit on. Then the rear seat mount attaches to the rear portion of the wheel stand.
It is worth noting that the Apex rear seat frame only consists of the parts required to extend the wheel stand. It does not include the wheel stand or a racing seat. But good news. Almost all sim racing seats are compatible with this rear seat frame, including all of the seats produced by GT Omega.
For this review, I tested the rear seat frame only with GT Omega’s XL RS racing seat.
Is the Apex Rear Seat Frame easy to build?
If you’ve read my GT Omega APEX Wheel Stand review, you’ll know that the wheel stand was extremely easy to assemble. Most of it came assembled with only a few elements such as the wheel plate needing to be assembled.
The rear seat frame is slightly different, as it comes in 9 pieces, each piece being a single piece of heavy-duty steel. To assemble the whole rear seat frame, you have to piece these steel lengths together to create the frame.
The instructions that are supplied are extremely easy to follow, making the whole process relatively smooth. You start by assembling the seat base where your racing seat is assembled. This is really simple to do. All of the bolts supplied fit like a glove and come together extremely smoothly.
The next part is to build the frame that the wheel stand sits on. This part is slightly fiddlier as you have to deal with the rather heavy wheel stand. To attach the supporting frame underneath the wheel stand you have to lay the wheel stand on its side. Before doing this, you may want to ensure you don’t have a racing wheel currently mounted to your wheel stand.
Once you have the frames mounted underneath the wheel stand, and the rear seat portion fully assembled, it is simply a job of attaching the two parts together. Again, this is done from underneath, meaning you’ll need to lay everything on its side to insert the bolts.
Ultimately, the rear seat frame is much more involved to assemble than the APEX wheel stand. This is due to having to manhandle the heavy wheel stand while also having more segments to piece together.
How strong is the GT Omega Apex Rear Seat Frame?
Once the frame is fully assembled and after you’ve set it back on its feet, you will find that all of the work was well worth it. The rear frame itself is mounted extremely securely to the wheel stand, forming a rather sturdy sim racing rig.
The framework is constructed from heavy-duty steel, like the wheel stand, ensuring minimal movement during use. Eight feet are strategically placed along the rear seat frame to support it.
You certainly won’t be able to pull this rear seat frame apart, and if you plan on moving it after construction it remains extremely rigid. It is certainly heavy to move once constructed, meaning casters would be ideal if you are planning on moving it about.
How well does the APEX rear seat frame perform?
During use, the rigidity of the rear seat frame remains, and the extra supports that the wheel stand sits on make it sturdier than it originally was. This extension to the wheel stand ultimately makes this whole sim rig as rigid as many complete all-in-one sim rigs available.
The rear seat frame portion of this sim rig does not move or flex during use, and the racing seat mounting area remains stable throughout use. The only real flex comes from the wheel stand.
Much like I reported in my APEX Wheel Stand review, you can notice some flex in the wheel plate. This is due to the plate being much thinner than the rest of the frame, and that it is only mounted using three bolts. The rear bolt is where the weakness is, as this can allow some movement.
I was racing with a Fanatec CSL DD with the McLaren GT3 V2 steering wheel and the Fanatec CSL Pedals for this review. This sim racing setup is generally looked at as a decent mid-range racing setup and is the ideal sim racing wheel choice for this wheel stand.
The power of the direct-drive racing wheel causes a little movement in the wheel stand, but this isn’t overly noticeable during racing. The pedal plate is also extremely sturdy, with no flex at all when stomping on the brake pedal hard.
I was also using the GT Omega XL RS racing seat for this review, and there was some movement noticeable in the chair. But this isn’t due to the rear seat frame; instead, it is due to the chair’s recline.
Compatibility with racing seats
While I’m on the topic of racing seats, the GT Omega Apex Rear Seat Frame is compatible with a wide range of racing seats. The seat frame has multiple mounting points, allowing you to mount a chair from the bottom or to mount a seat position slider.
If you are looking to side-mount a bucket racing seat, you will need to purchase some side mounts. These can be directly mounted onto the rear seat frame, and the bucket seat mounted to the side mounts.
Is the GT Omega Apex Rear Seat Frame worth buying?
If you already own an APEX Wheel Stand and are looking for a more permanent sim racing rig, the rear seat frame isn’t a bad option. While you could purchase a complete rig for $350/£300 upwards, you could simply purchase a rear seat frame for just $115/£75.
For this, you get just the frame portion, and you will still require a racing seat, but this is common practice when buying a sim rig. GT Omega offers fantastic options for racing seats if you fancy keeping an entirely GT Omega sim rig. Alternatively, other racing seats will fit this rear seat frame.
If you don’t currently have a sim rig at all, you could look at this rear frame combined with the APEX Wheel Stand as a potential complete sim rig option. Together they would come in at under $300/£250 which is pretty good value for a sim rig. Many competitors offer sim rigs that start from around the $350/£300 price mark, making this a solid complete sim rig option!
Technical Specifications
Review written by Felix König
