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Obutto oZone Cockpit Review

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#1 Fri, 07/27/2012 - 18:53
KRGDRK's picture
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Obutto oZone Cockpit Review

 

Hey guys.  Been a while since I posted but having recently purchased a Fanatec setup for sim racing I also treated myself to a new cockpit for my birthday.  As there are folks here with Fanatec Wheels and such I thought I would share my review of the Obutto oZone Cockpit.

 
[b]Obutto oZone Cockpit Review - Part 1[/b]
 
[b]Ordering[/b]
It took about a week to try and get in touch with the dealer here in Canada.  Once I did, he cited email technical issues but I was able to get the details I wanted and then order it the following week.
 
Ordering was a snap.  I went to their website, clicked on the oZone, added to my cart and paid via Paypal.  Nothing simpler.
 
Price was $469 CDN shipped to my door.
 
[b][color=Red]KRGDark's non-technical rating scale: 5/10[/color][/b] (Only because I shouldn't have to chase you to spend money with you)
 
[b]Shipping[/b]
I ordered it on the Friday morning.  I figured I wouldn't hear anything back until Monday and I was correct.  Monday morning I got an email with my order confirmation and shipping tracking number for Purolator.
 
Purolator picked up the box on Monday 2:22pm and it was on my front door on Wednesday morning 9am.
 
[b][color=Red]KRGDark's non-technical rating scale: 9/10[/color][/b]
 
[b]Unboxing[/b]
Box weighs in at 110lbs so its not a lightweight for sure so to spare your back get a 2nd person to help move it.  In my case it was going in the living room (my house, my rules!) so no worries there.
 
 
The contents of the box were packaged VERY well.  Everything was wrapped up in thick bubble wrap and clearly packaged so it would travel well.
 
 
 
 
Note my able helper arrived on queue to help inspect the contents of the box.
 
[b][color=Red]KRGDark's non-technical rating scale: 10/10[/color][/b]
 
On to Part 2...
Fri, 07/27/2012 - 18:56
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[b]Obutto oZone Cockpit Review - Part 2[/b]
 
[b]Assembly[/b]
Once I had everything unpacked and sorted it was time to get this baby together.  This cockpit is VERY solid.  Medium thick steel tubing, powder coated flat black and great welds.  I was impressed even though I had sat in another Obutto cockpit previously.
 
Inside the main box was a smaller box containing hardware, an instructions sheet and the smaller components for the cockpit (Monitor mount, keyboard arm, shifter arm, hardware)
 
 
I will say the instructions are lacking.  There is a comment right at the top of them that say "Assembly of the cockpit is not rocket science" and I would agree but its always nice to have clear, step by step instructions.  
 
Its great for those of us that have tools, and are generally handy but for those people that can't look at a bolt and go "oh 6mm" it would be frustrating.
 
There wasn't much hardware needed and all the parts were there so no issues at all
 
 
Mount the seat frame to the pedal/monitor base with 4 bolts:
 
 
Mount the seat to the seat frame again with 4 bolts:
 
 
The actual mounting of the seat can be a bit tricky as the holes in the sliders where the bolts go do not clear the back of the seat so you will need an angled allen wrench to get in there.  Again not a problem for people with tools but if you don't have one, its a pain to get the seat mounted properly.
 
A note on the seat.  Great racing seat overall.  Durable fabric with faux carbon vinyl areas.  Thick padding in the seat area and reclining as well.  It is also mounted on regular car seat sliders so you can adjust where you like.
 
The seat frame also has multiple hole locations so you can mount the seat as far backward, forward or somewhere in between for your liking.
 
Mount the keyboard arm and shifter arm and pedal tray:
 
 
This is where the cockpit really shines in my opinion.  There are 8 mounting holes on each side of the cockpit so you can position the shifter and keyboard wherever you want them.
 
The pedal support arm has two positions for elevation so you can go higher or lower depending on your preference.  The pedal tray also has different mounting points so again you can mount high, low, forward, back.  Its your call!
 
Aside from the lacking instructions and the trick with the seat, assembly was NOT rocket science and I spent more time fitting and fiddling to get things exactly where I wanted than I did for the initial assembly.
 
[b][color=Red]KRGDark's non-technical rating scale: 8/10[/color][/b]
 
On to Part 3
Fri, 07/27/2012 - 19:00
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[b]Obutto oZone Cockpit Review - Part 3[/b]
 
[b]Mounting Wheel and other gaming hardware[/b]
The wheel plate does not have any pre-drilled holes to hard mount any wheel.  This would have been a nice convenience factor but certainly not a show stopper.  I drilled the necessary holes per the Fanatec template and mounted the wheel where I wanted.
 
The wheel plate is height adjustable and between that, the multiple seat placements on the frame AND being able to slide the seat PLUS being able to adjust the pedal tray, I can't imagine anyone would have a problem getting the cockpit dialed in for your perfect driving position.
 
As I do FPS games and Skyrim, I knew I wanted my keyboard tray front and center.  I also like to have easy access to the keyboard while racing so I'm not taking my eyes off the track to adjust things (fuel load, brake balance etc). The keyboard tray is finished with a nice "mouse pad" material and should handle most normal keyboards.
 
I don't currently have a TM Shifter so I have put my G13 gaming keypad there for racing but will move it to the keyboard tray for FPS and Skyrim.
 
Here is how the "command center" looks:
 
 
 
 
[b][color=Red]KRGDark's non-technical rating scale: 9/10[/color][/b]
 
[b]Thoughts, impressions and Testing[/b]
Once it was all assembled and set up the way I wanted, it was time to test out the cockpit.
 
I cranked up V8s and re-visited Bathurst.  All I can say is wow.  I thought my homemade rig was solid but there is nothing like having a totally solid rig to race in.
 
The seating position is more ergonomic and therefore comfortable.  The pedal try doesn't slide around at all and everything is in reach so I can focus strictly on driving.  The height of the overall rig is perfect for my tv for viewing.
 
I ran about 10 laps in the cockpit and it never moved once.  There is a *slight* bit of flex on the wheel stand but it is really small and you would have to be actively looking for it to notice it.
 
I have not hooked up the monitor mounts as of yet but I will go down that road soon.  I will be getting the triple screen mount just so I have it when I go that route.
 
Overall I am very happy with the purchase and would have no problem recommending this cockpit to anyone looking for a solid rig.
 
 
[b][color=Red]KRGDark's non-technical rating scale: 10/10[/color][/b]
 
Overall including the niggly things and little "gotchas" I rate this as:
 
[b][color=Red]KRGDark's Overall non-technical rating scale: 8.5/10[/color][/b]
 
If anyone has any other questions about the cockpit I didn't cover or want pics of specific parts, etc, let me know.
 
Cheers!
Fri, 07/27/2012 - 20:50
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Looks great dark! I too am in the market for w rig with triple screen setup is $469 with the triple screen mount or without? I was contemplating the rig at ME but I think it was close to 7 bills with screen mount. Cheers
Fri, 07/27/2012 - 21:13
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Forza Motorsport 6

Great looking rig! Does look very sturdy. How is it getting in and out of, cuz it looks like it sits pretty low.

Sat, 07/28/2012 - 10:09
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Thanks guys!

 

@kurupt - The $469 includes the single monitor mount.  The triple screen mount adds $115 to the cost of the unit.  That puts you $584 shipped for a complete unit.  ME's unit is $750 plus tax  once you add the triple screens and the added cost for the keyboard/mouse tray.  I will say that the Obutto "looks" more polished than the Velocityracer.  How it stands up I'm not sure yet but time will tell.

 

@brntguy - The seat is 14" off the floor to the seating surface.  The way I have mine set up (with the keyboard in front), makes it slightly difficult to get into.  If you had the keyboard tray off the side, then getting in and out is no issue as I was doing that constantly until I had everything where I wanted it.

 

Hope that helps!

Sun, 08/05/2012 - 19:45
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[b]UPDATE[/b]
 
So I have had the cockpit for a little over a week now and thought I would update my original review.
 
I have now used it for several races both at GBR and at R2P as well as a ton of practice laps:
 
- The seat is incredibly comfortable and supportive and just the overall seating position is far superior to what I had before.  On long endurance races my leg would sometimes go numb with my old rig.  I don't have that problem at all and I've done multiple 1.5+ hour races.
 
- The cockpit overall doesn't move or flex and with one exception, nothing has come loose on it when I have been racing.  Getting in and out, my 200lbs frame will move the cockpit as it sits on a hardwood floor but I have since solved the problem.
 
- The bolt that holds the pedal plate to the support crossbar came loose.  Well actually it just finished its way loose as I realized that I had only hand tightened it for fitting purposes.  Just to be on the safe side, I applied a bit of Loctite to it and problem solved.
 
- A couple of folks had asked me if it was hard to get in and out of given where I had the keyboard and initially I felt it wasn't.  In actuality it became a pain in the ass.  I unbolted the seat and moved the whole thing to the rearmost mounting points and problem solved as I can slide the seat all the way back .  Getting in and out is no issue now.
 
- Getting in and out of the cockpit would cause the cockpit to move around as I have it on a hardwood floor.  As a result, I went to Ikea and purchased a little mat/rug that fit the dimensions of the cockpit almost perfectly.  The rug has tacky rubber on the bottom so it doesn't move and the cockpit stays in place when I get in and out.
 
- There is no cupholder but I am working on a solution to that.
 
- I moved the gearshift mount forward one set of mounting holes in anticipation of the arrival of my Thrustmaster TH8 RS gear shift lever.
 
As you can see, no major issues to date.  I'll update after a few months or if anything suddenly develops.
 
Cheers!
Mon, 08/06/2012 - 10:56
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That's a sexy wheel Dark!  wink

Nice rig.  Glad you're happy with it.

I think I'm going to shift priorities in the house, and try to get the office/race room painted and carpet tore out.  Then I can get my desk built then work on getting the monitor stand/table set up for the rig.  Once that's done, I can get the computer & rig out of the living room (and work on getting the triple monitors up and running).

Mon, 08/06/2012 - 11:00
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I too am working towards triple monitors.  I'm going to purchase the triple monitor mount in anticipation of that just so I have it.  As much as I love gaming on the LG TV, I want my cockpit to be a complete unit (sight, sound, inputs, etc) so I can move it out of the living room.

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