Our Verdict
Pros
- Much stronger chassis than the ART cockpit
- Nice looking design
- Included add-on mounts
- Almost no chassis flex under normal racing
- Comfy seat
Cons
- Seat a little snug for bigger racers
- Slight sideways chassis flex
GT Omega PRO Sim Rig Review and Unboxing
From the moment you open the two boxes containing the GT Omega Pro, you get a sense of how well-designed and built this sim rig is. The two large boxes are packed extremely well, with no real room for damage.
The construction of this sim rig only took around two hours, as it is extremely easy to put together. This is a touch longer than the smaller GT Omega ART cockpit. And that is due to the extra framework that is included in the Pro cockpit.
The GT Omega Pro rig comes with a few extra mounting sections, including a built-in mouse and keyboard mount. And a couple of speaker mounts at the rear of the chassis.
If you were to compare this side-by-side with the GT Omega ART rig. You will notice how much extra work has gone into making this Pro cockpit a much sturdier, and more professional cockpit.
The cockpit’s sides have extra bracing, and the chassis is longer than the ART chassis. This means the chassis shouldn’t flex as much as the smaller GT Omega rigs.
The pedal plate itself has been redesigned and is mounted directly to the underside of the chassis. This is much better than the hinged mounting of the ART cockpit and reduces the movement under heavy braking.
When it comes to mounting your wheel and pedals to this rig. Both the pedal plate and the wheel plate come pre-drilled to fit Fanatec, Thrustmaster and Logitech wheels. This allowed us to attach our Fanatec CSL DD racing wheel and ClubSport V3 pedals to the rig without issue.
The attachable keyboard and mouse mount are on a swivel and is very nicely designed to move in and out of range. We didn’t test the speaker mounts so can’t comment on those. But they attach to the rear of the chassis, giving you a full surround sound experience.
It is great to see this much extra hardware in the package. Many sim rig manufacturers would look to charge extra for keyboard mounts, and speaker mounts. But GT Omega does a good job of keeping overall add-on costs down.
The seat design itself is decent and tries to replicate a real-world car seat. We did find that the RS6 seat from the ART cockpit was a little tight, and the RS9 we tested here was very similar.
Overall, we had no issue with the width, and I come in at 6’1″. However, we are sure that it would start to feel tight if someone a little larger were to try racing in it.
How well-built is the GT Omega Pro?
All of the materials used in the construction of the GT Omega Pro are extremely durable. All of the framework is made from thick metal tubing, which eliminates any concern about not being able to support high-end racing wheels.
The chair itself is the same chair found in the ART cockpit. There are two variations: the RS6 and the slightly nicer RS9. In our ART cockpit review, we used the RS6 seat, and we found it to be reasonably well put together. So, we thought it best to order the RS9 seat for our review of the Pro cockpit.
Both the RS6 and RS9 seats are made of synthetic leather and a few plastic detail pieces. The synthetic leather itself feels nice to the touch and, in our testing, comes across as hard-wearing.
We raced around 300 hours in the GT Omega Pro with an RS9 seat and found very little wear and tear. Due to how easy it is to get in and out of this cockpit, there was almost no wear to the side bolsters, which is normally where the seat starts to wear first. Overall the seat is built to last.
Going back to the frame design, there are a few key changes from the ART cockpit, most of which have been brought in to give this rig even more stability.
Does the GT Omega Pro rig hold up well during racing?
Our main issue with the GT Omega ART, (you can read about this in our full GT Omega ART review) was the flex that was present in the pedal plate and wheel mounting plate.
The guys over at GT Omega have done a good job, ensuring that that flex won’t be an issue with the Pro cockpit. The side brace framework has been moved closer to the seat, and links directly to the wheel mounting plate. This has been done to solve the rocking motion we felt in the ART cockpit.
This has significantly reduced the forward and backward flex that plagued the ART cockpit. The only remaining flex comes when you violently rotate the wheel from one side to another, for example, when you are trying to correct a snap oversteer.
This results in a slight sideways flex on the whole frame, which can be felt. This is minor, however, and won’t cause you to lose any force feedback.
Other than the minor flex, the frame as a whole holds up well. The pedals are mounted to the same piece of framework that links to the wheel. You can feel some of the force feedback vibration from the wheel, in the pedals and seat.
Some may not like this, but we really dug it! It isn’t enough to be able to feel the car any better, but does add a little extra immersion to the whole racing experience. Think of it like a very very small ButtKicker in your rig. Just about noticeable, but a nice touch when you do notice it.
Compatibility and direct drive support
The minor sideways flex that I mentioned above is certainly not enough of an issue to avoid using a direct drive wheel. Unlike the ART cockpit, which we wouldn’t really recommend using direct drive with. The Pro cockpit does seem strong enough to support direct drive.
We tested this Pro cockpit with our Podium DD1 racing wheel. The wheel flex that was present in the ART cockpit is all but gone. You only really experience any flex during harsh sideways movements, as mentioned above.
Overall though, you don’t lose any force feedback and can quite comfortably run direct drive with this cockpit.
Is the GT Omega Pro cockpit worth buying?
Would we recommend someone buy the GT Omega Pro cockpit? Absolutely!
When we reviewed the GT Omega ART cockpit, we said it was a solid first sim rig capable of handling most racing wheels. This Pro upgrade is certainly strong enough to handle any wheel, including direct drive.
This cockpit does sit a little longer than the ART, so if space is an issue, this may not be the best choice of cockpit. But as a whole, it performs outstandingly and should be a serious consideration if you are looking to upgrade.
Technical Specifications
Review written by Felix König
