Next Level Racing Motion Platform v3 (NLR-M001V3)

I've enjoyed racing simulators for many years, after a short-lived amateur career in shifter karts and Formula Fords. The simulators scratch my itch for speed and thrills at a fraction of the cost. I've always wanted to purchase a full motion platform, but the really good stuff was well into the 5-digits in cost. Along comes the Next Level Racing under-seat units, and I did a bit of research before diving in and purchasing this unit.The first big decision is seat mover vs. whole platform. Like many, I first thought that seat movers were inferior. Honestly, I was wrong. The trick to motion simulators is fooling your body into feeling the forces of actual racing. This is more than just g-forces in corners. It's engine revs, road feel, bumper strips, cobbles, surge, sway, and many, many others. And here's the secret: you need to feel the FORCE. A seat mover in many ways is superior in this respect to a full-motion simulator.If you'll excuse some basic physics, I'll illustrate why *speed* of the simulator is more important than range of motion. Sir Newton tells us force=mass x accleration. This works in 2 ways with a motion simulator. First, to really accelerate something to impart a force, you want to move as little additional mass as possible. A seat-mover just does this. It moves you and a relatively light seat, that's it. Full motion platforms move a lot more, much more. So they need bigger actuators, more room, and more $$$. The second part that matters is the actual speed of the actuators themselves. Far more imporant than range of motion is the acceleration of the platform itself. And the Next Level Racing v3 is FAST. Uber-fast. It can really jolt you around, much more than you'd think just looking at the videos.The actuators are very quick, giving sharp impulses when needed, and they update at ridiculous speeds, too (>400 times/s). This means fine movement and vibration is well simulated, including engine revs, road imperfections, cobble strips, etc. The v3 works brilliantly. I added the V3 to my RSeat RS-1 racing rig, using Next Level Racing supplied adapter plates. In addition to the motion platform, I run a Fanatec Wheel and Pedals, and can go either triple-40" monitors or Oculus VR. Took me about a day to get everything hooked up and working. One tip: the serial number is on the bottom of the unit. Write this down/take a picture of the name tag, as you'll need it when downloading the software from NLR. Once installed, it will be very hard to read that serial number.Now, here's the headline: motion + VR is MIND BLOWING. This is it folks. The point where virtual simulation stimulates enough of your senses to fool your brain into thinking you're doing the real thing. The motion sensation in VR is absolutely jaw-dropping. Project Cars in an open wheel series is the closest I've come in a simulation to reality. A little motion goes a long way, and the motion platform does far more than just track g-forces. It simulates engine revs, road texture, siding strips, bumps, just about everything. I found I had to dial-down the settings from stock. The amount of motion needed to trick your brain in VR is much less than what you see in the factory videos. The manufacturers want to sell you on wild movements in the videos, but that's much to much in practice. Dial back the amplitude of the motion, and let the ultra-fast actuators provide impulses and g-forces to your body that really does a fabulous job of mimicking the real thing.Beyond the bread-and-butter racing simulators, I've found the V3 excels for flight and (especially) roller coaster simulators! Here, in addition to the short vibrations and shocks from the track, you want to simulate the overall g-feeling of coasters. To do this, the platfrom moves a much larger amplitude, to change the position of your body with respect to gravity. And it works! In No Limits Coaster 2, I honestly feel like I'm on the rides, when used with the Oculus Rift. Here, the motion platform tilts the chair quite a bit, and it works brilliantly! Previously, I would get motion sick in the coaster simulators. With the motion platform, your body feels what your eyes see, and I haven't gotten any nausea at all since installing the V3. The Coaster Simulation is another great way to introduce your friends to VR/Motion Platforms as well.Overall, I'm thrilled with the v3 motion platform. It's not cheap, but compared to other alternatives, the $3k entry point is a bargain compared to other high-end solutions. You really do have to try this to appreciate it. This is a new standard in simulators accessible to the dedicated home user and enthusiast. With a good racing chair, wheel, pedals, VR, and the PC to drive it all, you can scratch all your racing itches and never buy a set of tires again. Bravo, Next Level Racing, and thank you for this excellent piece of hardware.

This motion only moves the seat, the price is high and the reaction is very slow. Not recommended

Good product. Adds a lot to sim racing. Incompatible with some sims if games are launched via Simhub. Regardless, highly recommended.

It’s perfect at what is advertised. But it is not what I was looking for, returned for a complete rig movement system, building my own via a 3d printer and the SFX-100 walk thru found on the net.

Having looked for a "reasonably" priced motion platform, I had my eyes on this one from Next Level as it seemed to offer a solid range of motion at a price that is far lower than anything I've come across. And not wanting to hack together a seat and cockpit, I ended up ordering the Next Level GTultimate seat for ease of mounting. My primary is use is for iRacing to really improve the immersion. Personally, I struggle trying to translate a computer screen to actual track days and this goes a very long way alongside my Rift. I couldn't be happier with the setup and would unquestionably recommend for someone that's looking to stretch their rig into motion. And while it's the cheapest motion platform that I've come across, it is incredibly sturdy and capable. This isn't some low-tier platform, this is a serious motion system that rightfully belongs in any conversation around the best motion platforms – seat or whole platform.Pros:- The motion is unbelievably believable. If I wanted to, I could have the intensity programmed to about throw me out of the seat.- Speaking of intensity, the software is really solid and allows for separate adjustments to the intensity of motion on bumps, direction, etc.- After downloading the driver and starting the software, I just selecting my sim of choice (iRacing in this instance) and I was good to go inside of iRacing without having to make any further adjustments/connections. They just recognized each other (Rift included) and I was off racing and shaking.- Incredibly quiet. I just use the Oculus' built in headphones and I can't hear the seat move at all.Cons:- One of the other reviewers mentioned the installation was a bit of a pain, to which I will concur. I completely lost patience with installing the buttkicker mount and punted that for another day. Considering I bought the coordinating cockpit, I would've hoped for an easier installation of the four bolts that connect the seat, but it was agonizingly awful. And it's only four bolts. I found that if I kept an allen key leveraged against the top of the nut that sits inside of the rail, I could SLOWLY screw the bolt in. Once it was threaded, it bolted down nice and tight.- With a unit this compact (and cost effective) you can't really get a sense of traction loss or losing the rear end. You do however get the lift sensation which is a helpful indicator that you're about to go spinning off.* As another reviewer mentioned, take a photo of the serial number on the motion of the motion platform BEFORE you assemble everything. Next Level requires you to provide the serial number in order to download the drivers and you really don't want to have to flip over your rig after you have it assembled.