Nitro Concepts Sim Racing Range Review: The New Kid On The Block

Since the pandemic, it feels like the sim racing market has absolutely exploded. That’s good for us racers, leaving us with a shedload of choice when it comes to choosing our equipment.

Breaking into it as a new name, though? That’s a different story. It’s what German-based Nitro Concepts is aiming to do, however, and it’s gone guns blazing with a full range of high-end sim racing gear.

Is it worth considering? We’ve been trying out its top-end equipment.

E-Racer cockpit

At the crux of everything Nitro Concepts offers is the E-Racer cockpit. This is an aluminium profile rig like many others and could serve as a stepping stone for those going from foldable or steel rigs into the world of modular profiles for the first time.

It’s Nitro Concepts’ top-end offering, sitting above the steel S-Racer and budget-friendly C-Racer, though it competes with many of the established manufacturers’ ‘Lite’ offerings. That’s to say it’s a little less beefier than many really high-end rigs, although still offers a semblance of modularity. Its £334.99 RRP reflects that fact.

Putting it together is a breeze for anyone who has done this sort of thing before. Instructions are clear, parts neatly labelled and alternative positioning options are made pretty clear before you get to the sweary bit of realising you put something on wrong.

Those final adjustments are a little trickier to make, particularly if you’re doing it as a one-man band. There are a lot of heavy parts to shift around, so I’d suggest roping a friend or family member in to help with getting your ergonomics to your liking. Maybe promise them a go in return.

Delightfully, mounting your chosen hardware shouldn’t be an issue at all. Over the course of testing, I’ve used Moza, Fanatec and Logitech wheelbases on the rig and all have been easy enough to mount. Equally, the easily adjustable pedal tray offers a lot of holes without introducing lots of flex thanks to some pretty thick construction.

That’s a story that goes for the whole rig, really. It dealt with all 11Nm from a Logitech G Pro without even remotely flexing, so I’d have confidence in the profile taking even more powerful wheelbases.

Really, the only downside is the lack of slots for accessories – particularly so if you run the E-Racer LED kit. That does at least make the rig look nice.

You can also get lights to relay in-game information via SimHub if you pick up the Immersion LED box (think flags and warning lights). They work well, but they’re a little out of your direct line of vision so the actual functional use is pretty minimal. It’s one of those things that makes you think “Well, I’ve bought the rest of the setup so I might as well grab it” but it’s by no means a necessary addition.

R300 seat

To keep things on-brand, you can go for Nitro Concept’s own R300 bucket seat. This is pretty much a par-for-the-course fibreglass bucket with velcro cushion inserts. At £249.95, it’s good value compared with like-for-like alternatives.

It’s pretty comfy if you’ve got a relatively skinny frame like me, and a few larger guests haven’t had any complaints. It’s pretty solidly built with no flex either, although it’s a little disappointing that you’ve got to pay an extra £49.99 for a seat slider to fit it.

Fancy integrating haptics into your rig too? Nitro Concepts also has a separate Immersion Metahaptics system which we feel transforms sim racing. We’ve got a more in-depth dive into that, in case you’re interested.

SM1 Sim Racing monitor and stand

For the final piece of the puzzle, Nitro Concepts will even sell you a 49-inch, 32:9 1440p monitor and compatible stand to complete your sim rig. Ignoring its credentials for a second, the fact that one brand can sell you the whole thing is a new one for me. Kudos for that alone.

It’s not cheap, costing £668.99, but it’s not bad value compared with other screens of this size – often costing north of £1000. Granted, those will be crisper OLED displays but the SM1 hasn’t left me wanting for too much more.

Its 144hz refresh rate is perfect if you’re pushing higher frame rates and, because it’s all been designed to work together, getting the monitor, stand and rig itself in position isn’t hard at all. Convenience is always welcome in the world of buy once, cry once.

That said, a 32:9 isn’t for everyone. I know there’ll be plenty of racers out there wanting a triple-screen setup – something which Nitro Concepts doesn’t offer itself. The £99.95 monitor stand is claimed to support triple screens, but this isn’t something I’ve been able to try for myself.