The Chicane Podcast

A 24-hour race will test your pace, your patience, and your team. Ours did all three. We started P8 at Daytona in a stacked split and clawed to a proud P5—after an early high-speed spin, five minutes of repairs, and a long stretch nursing a bent car while refusing to fall out of the draft. The turning point came when the damage trickled away stop by stop, our fastest driver lit up the timing sheets, and we surged to P2 with qualify...

A polished rally sim lands, a free dirt rocket arrives, and iRacing doubles down on realism—so why are we still talking about sound? We kick off with AC Rally, a brutal but beautiful love letter to Richard Burns Rally that actually works out of the box. Then we dive into iRacing’s Season One plans: Adelaide and Miami join the track roster, Rockingham gets a full rescan without erasing history, and Bathurst is set for a striking vis...

Two minutes of repair can change your whole 24-hour race plan. We kick off with a gritty Monza debrief: late to qualifying, a sausage curb roll that tagged the engine, triple stints through the night, and the math of half-tenths adding up until an hour later you’re on someone’s bumper. We explain how we stabilized, why consistency beat heroics, what team iRating and safety looked like, and how we’re carrying those lessons into Dayt...

A Porsche wheel shows up early, and everything changes. The moment we bolted on the VPG cup-style rim—with its lighter build, crisp stiffness, and tidy 70 mm adapter—the wheelbase came alive. More texture, more trust, and a real sense of what the car is doing made the first test laps feel like a new sim. With a 24-hour run at Monza on deck, we talk about how a lighter rim reshapes force feedback, why build quality matters, and what...

Ever wonder why GT3 seems to be everywhere—from ads and thumbnails to league banners—when F1 and prototypes steal the headlines on TV? We pull back the curtain on the class that grabbed sim racing by the scruff: approachable electronics, road-car glamor, and a deceptively high skill ceiling that keeps you grinding for tenths long after your first clean lap. Then we get practical about growth. If you’ve lived in GT3, you may be miss...

Missed the Sim Racing Expo? We did too—so we gathered the biggest reveals, the honest impressions, and the practical takeaways that matter when you get back in the rig. From Fanatec’s podium DD and load cell pedals to SimLab’s DDX torque sync wheelbases, we talk about why expo testing is helpful yet imperfect, and where these products actually seem to be headed once you dial them in at home. We also share why Simagic’s missing acti...

Ten hours of multi-class chaos at Petit Le Mans, countless laps in VR, and a belt tensioner that refuses to let us log off set the tone for a gear-heavy, detail-first conversation about where sim racing is going—and what’s worth your money right now. We start with why GTP racing grabbed us by the collar: how Porsche and Cadillac fight at the limit, why GT3s and GTPs together teach racecraft, and how time attack ghosts help you lear...

A week of chaos in F4 lobbies, a slow news cycle, and a big stack of gear talk turned into a surprisingly honest look at what really upgrades a sim rig. We start with the VR landscape—Bigscreen Beyond 2’s micro‑OLED clarity and eye tracking, the hidden cost of base stations, and the DisplayPort tax—then pivot to Pimax’s more complete, modular approach with integrated tracking and ultra‑wide FOV options. If you’re weighing spec shee...

What makes a sim feel alive isn’t a flashy launch; it’s teams that keep building, communities that keep showing up, and drivers willing to grow beyond hotlaps. We kick off with a heartfelt farewell to Eric, swap travel notes, and then head straight into the spicy stuff: Max Verstappen’s GT3 win at the Ring. Was it proof of elite, transferable racecraft—or a PR-boosted outlier? We disagree (loudly), but agree on this: Chris Lulham’s...

Discover the extraordinary journey of Cam Ebben, a 14-time iRacing champion and professional MX5 driver who shatters the myth that expensive gear is necessary for sim racing success. From his first laps at age 11 using a Logitech Wingman wheel bolted to a desk, to reaching the elite 10,000 iRating milestone and winning real-world championships, Cam's story is a masterclass in racing development.

Growing up near Road A...

What separates elite sim racers from the rest of us? In this revealing conversation with Jared Bridwell, a 4K iRating driver from Impact SimSport, we uncover the journey, mindset, and techniques behind high-level sim racing performance.

Jared walks us through his evolution from playing Forza with a controller in 2017 to competing in elite iRacing leagues today. Unlike many who jumped into sim racing during the pandemic, Ja...

There's something magical about meeting people you've known online for years—that surreal moment when virtual connections transform into genuine friendships. This is exactly what happened when the Chicane Podcast team converged on Chicago for the first-ever North American Sim Racing Expo, an event that exceeded everyone's expectations.

What began as uncertainty about who would attend evolved into a groundbre...

The ultimate display upgrade dilemma: are triple 42" OLED monitors worth it for sim racing? We dive deep into the reality behind this immersive but demanding setup, exploring everything from connectivity challenges to performance requirements that no one tells you about. 

Making the jump from curved 32" monitors to flat 42" OLEDs isn't just about size—it fundamentally transforms how games look and feel....

The competition between racing simulators is heating up as multiple platforms push to deliver major updates before year's end. This exciting development cycle means more options, better features, and ultimately, a better experience for all of us sim racers.

We dive deep into Assetto Corsa Evo's significant 0.3 update, which finally brings multiplayer functionality with 16-player online racing. The update also del...

The countdown to gaming history has begun! In this electrifying episode, we're joined by George Anzaldo, the visionary founder behind the SimGaming Expo – America's first-ever major simulation gaming convention happening September 5-7, 2025, at the Schaumburg Convention Center near Chicago.

George reveals how this groundbreaking event has expanded to include over 50 brands and more than 40 physical booths since o...

Gear up for an adrenaline-fueled dive into the world of high-end sim racing hardware as we explore VPG Sim's groundbreaking release: the officially licensed Porsche 911 Cup wheel. This isn't just another peripheral—it's an authentic Porsche product manufactured in the same facility as the actual race car wheels, yet surprisingly accessible at $1,595 compared to similar offerings.

The wheel's full carbon...

Racing endurance events demands a completely different mindset than sprint races—something Eric Kelly discovered firsthand during his inaugural hour-long race at Spa. While sharing his experience streaming his first GT7 endurance race, Eric revealed the unexpected mental fatigue that comes not from driving itself, but from the inability to break concentration for even a moment. "It's different when you can't get up, ...

When tsunami warnings struck Hawaii this week, our hosts had their priorities straight – figure out how to save the sim rigs! Jason and Jeff hilariously debated whether to move their wheels to the attic while evacuating PCs to higher ground, perfectly capturing the dedication of true sim racing enthusiasts.

The team doesn't hold back when discussing LMU's recent 1.0 release, with Eric delivering some hard truths ...

The line between virtual and real racing continues to blur as sim technology advances at breakneck speeds. This week, we explore how physical feedback transforms the sim racing experience through an in-depth comparison of bass shakers versus the popular Butt Kicker system. Eric shares his experience with a budget-friendly Dayton Audio setup that delivers impressive performance at a fraction of the cost, while we debate the optimal ...