Simagic Alpha Ultimate Wheelbase
The Simagic ecosystem now consists of a very nice line-up of different products. For the Benelux, the marketing of Simagic is arranged through Simwear and we are offered the various products from this line-up for review through them. When we were recently present at Sim Formula Europe 2023, we received a nice package from Simwear, consisting of the Alpha Ultimate wheelbase and the FX Pro steering wheel, for us to review. Of course we will do this with great pleasure as always.
The Simagic Ultimate wheelbase is compatible with all steering wheels, pedals and shifters from the Simagic ecosystem. At the time of writing, purchasing this wheelbase will set you back € 1149.00 excluding any shipping costs. The Simagic Alpha Ultimate wheelbase is available through the Simwear web shop for which we also have a discount code available.
Packaging and Contents
At the Sim Formula Europe we received a package of around 11 kg containing a beautiful black product box with a silhouette of the Simagic Alpha Ultimate wheelbase. A quote ‘keep racing’ is printed on the top of the box, something we will definitely do with this wheelbase once we get home.
Once we’re back in our SimRaceBlog domain we can’t wait to open the box. In the box we find a large block of black foam which you slide out of the box as a whole. The block of foam consists of two parts and as soon as we lift the upper one we see several cutouts in the lower part with the Simagic Alpha Ultimate wheelbase in the center. In the cutouts around the wheelbase we find the power supply, a kill switch, a power cord with the on/off button, various mounting materials, a USB cable, an RJ11 cable, a short manual and an adapter to connect the Chinese plug to an EU socket. Everything is very firmly in place so that the products are well protected. Plus points for Simagic in terms of completeness, we love this!
The Simagic Alpha Ultimate Wheelbase
The Simagic Alpha Ultimate wheelbase is the top model of the Simagic ecosystem. The wheelbase has a 5-pole direct drive motor, has a maximum torque of 23Nm and a response time of 1ms. The wheelbase has a proven construction of which the housing consists mainly of aluminum and the front is finished with carbon. The dimensions are 326mm x 110mm x 110mm, the wheelbase is 10.5kg heavy and the housing gives it a nice, simple industrial look. The inputs and outputs are located on both sides of the housing, with the power and USB connection on the left and a USB can-bus and an RJ11 input on the right. The RJ11 input is intended for connecting the kill switch. The USB can-bus input can be used for Simagic peripherals such as pedals, sequential shifters, handbrakes, H-pattern shifters and more. If you want to simultaneously connect multiple devices to the USB can-bus, you need an optional adapter.
Simagic uses a standard quick release system from NRG, which we encounter on more and more wheelbases, especially from Chinese manufacturers. The Alpha Ultimate wheelbase has its own, as Simagic calls it, “wireless variant” of this quick release system. This means that you can click any steering wheel from the Simagic ecosystem onto this wheelbase without needing extra cables for connecting to the PC and exchanging input and telemetry data. If you want to connect a steering wheel from another brand to this wheelbase, you will need an optional Simagic quick release and in most cases you will have to use a separate cable for the functionalities of your steering wheel.
The supplied kill switch allows the wheelbase to be turned off immediately in the event of an emergency or crash. This kill switch has a hole in each corner of the housing so that you can easily mount it on your simrig. You cannot turn the wheelbase on or off via this kill switch. Simagic placed the on/off button of the wheelbase on the power cord.
Mounting
You can mount the wheelbase via a so-called front mount (4 holes on the front), bottom mount (four holes on the bottom) or side mount (2 holes on each side). We are going to mount the Simagic Ultimate wheelbase on our TREQ Ace simrig and opt for the front mounting. We first mount the front mount on our simrig and then we position the wheelbase behind the front mount and secure it with the 4 M6 bolts supplied. In itself, this job is pretty doable alone, but a few extra hands make it easier.
To connect the wheelbase we use the power supply, USB cable and the RJ11 cable. Because the inputs and outputs are on both sides, we find cable management more difficult than we are used to. While we normally bundle the cables with a wheelbase where the inputs and outputs are located at the back, this is not possible with the Simagic wheelbase and in our case the cables remain more visible. Of course, this is less present in a setup where your screen(s) are more on top, or just in front, of the wheelbase. After connecting the necessary cables, we are almost ready to race.
Software and Configuration
The Simagic Alpha Ultimate wheelbase is controlled by the Simagic SimPro Manager software. Simagic released this software in 2022 to replace the Alpha Manager software. The SimPro Manager software is intended to control and manage all components in the ecosystem. We have covered this software in more detail in our Simagic FX Pro review. At the time of writing, the software is still in beta status and certain components cannot yet work optimally.
The SimPro Manager software is a small program and easy to install on your computer. After installation, we immediately receive a message asking us to press the ‘Game Sync’ button. With this functionality you synchronize all installed games on your computer, and standard profiles from the Simagic database are then linked to them. When the game is started, the correct profile with the correct settings will be started immediately. These profiles can then be adjusted and saved to your own preference.
As soon as we turn on the wheelbase, it is automatically recognized by Windows and we are asked if we want to update to the latest firmware. You can perform the firmware update by clicking next once, the software will do the rest for you. After about a minute of waiting, the wheelbase is equipped with the latest firmware. We click our Simagic FX Pro steering wheel onto the wheelbase and we are ready to race. We will start with the standard profile offered by Simagic and fine-tune it where necessary. A nice extra; if you have a Simagic steering wheel with display, you can adjust the wheelbase settings on-the-fly on the steering wheel. If you have a different steering wheel, you will have to do this via the SimPro Manager software.
Usage
As mentioned, we will use the recommended settings through the standard profile offered in SimPro Manager. We test the Simagic Alpha Ultimate wheelbase in Assetto Corsa Competizione together with the adjusted rotation settings as advised by experienced ACC driver James Baldwin. See his YouTube video for a good explanation on this. We will also test the wheelbase in Assetto Corsa with the RSS Formula Hybrid 2022 mod from Race Sim Studio for the 2022 Formula 1 cars. For Assetto Corsa we also use the profile offered by Simagic, which is comparable to that of Assetto Corsa Competizione.
The first meters
As soon as we start racing in the mentioned racing games, our first impression of the Simagic Alpha Ultimate wheelbase is not very convincing. Everything feels very weak and the feedback is really minimal. The wheelbase needs some fine tuning because in our opinion it does not show its true potential here. This is immediately confirmed when we set the force feedback from 30% to 60%. The wheelbase comes to life much more and starts to show its true nature. After testing and fine-tuning for a while, we find the optimal settings for us, so that we can properly judge what the Simagic Alpha Ultimate wheelbase can really do in the racing games mentioned.
Settings
We think that Simagic is quite wrong with their standard settings. In the end we arrived at the following settings: force feedback 80%, smooth level 2, wheel return speed 80%, vehicle suspension 0, mechanical spring 0%, mechanical damper 0%, mechanical friction 30%, inertia 0% and interpolation 1. In addition, we immediately indicate that settings are personal and what we like does not necessarily have to be the case for someone else.
Enjoyable racing
After adjusting the settings mentioned, our impression immediately changes from ‘not very convincing’ to ‘impressive’. The wheelbase suddenly feels very mature. Where the wheelbase previously felt a bit weak and we could perceive little feedback, we now feel the grip, without loss of detail, on the virtual asphalt. The feeling with the car on the track is therefore very direct and the wheelbase reacts very quickly and accurately. We can anticipate and feel oversteer and understeer well. This makes it easy to catch the car and immediately provides more immersion. We do like a bit of work in our simrig. The Ultimate certainly does a good job there and still offers us enough room in the force feedback to take it up a notch when necessary. The wheelbase does not have active cooling, so the heat dissipation goes through the housing. We drove quite a few long sessions with the Simagic Alpha Ultimate wheelbase and the housing actually did not get more than lukewarm.
Question marks
Yet two things stand out to us in the ease of use and safety, of which we do not really understand why these choices were made. First of all, there is a separate adapter in the box to use the power cable with a Chinese plug in an EU socket. This power cable is used between the power supply of the wheelbase and the socket. We would have preferred to see an EU cable here so that you have a direct connection from the power supply to the socket without additional intervening components. Then you’d think ‘put a separate EU cable in the box’ but that brings us right to the second point; the on and off switch is mounted on this cable. Because we like a neat simrig with as few cables as possible in sight, we have placed the power supply under our pedal plate close to our power strip. We then have to crawl under our simrig to turn the wheelbase on and off, this is not very convenient to do. We would rather have just had an on/off button on the wheelbase and possibly an extra on/off button on the kill switch.
Killswitch
As far as we are concerned, the included kill switch is a must on a wheelbase with this much power. The kill switch makes it possible to switch off the wheelbase engine in an emergency. This works fine and as soon as you press the button, the wheelbase immediately stops. The kill switch has a sturdy aluminum housing and is easy to mount on our simrig using the supplied mounting hardware. As mentioned earlier, it is a pity that we cannot switch the wheelbase on and off with this kill switch.
Quick Release
A plus is the used Quick Release system from Simagic. You can easily click the steering wheel onto the wheelbase and also easily remove it from the wheelbase with a simple action. The system feels very firm and solid and ensures a good and play-free connection between steering wheel and wheelbase. If you use a steering wheel from the Simagic ecosystem, such as the FX Pro in our case, then you do not need any extra cables for the operation and use of the steering wheel. If you want to use an aftermarket steering wheel, you can purchase an optional Simagic quick release. The quick release then only serves as a hub, so you will have to use an extra USB cable for your aftermarket steering wheel.
Conclusion
We think the Simagic Alpha Ultimate wheelbase is an excellent addition to the Simagic ecosystem. With a torque of up to 23Nm, they position this wheelbase in the high segment of the market. After some fine-tuning, we find it to be a very powerful and good wheelbase with detailed feedback. The housing of the wheelbase is made of aluminum, has a nice industrial look and offers you enough different mounting options. We find the cable management a bit more difficult because the cables come from both sides of the wheelbase, making it more difficult to get rid of them.
The Quick Release system chosen is a plus, it feels very firm and solid and we do not experience any play. There is also a wide choice of Simagic steering wheels that you can use directly on the wheelbase. If you don’t want to be tied to the Simagic ecosystem, you can purchase an optional Simagic quick release and use an aftermarket steering wheel.
With the SimPro Manager software, Simagic is certainly on the right track and it works very well despite the beta status. We do not miss any functionalities and we can adjust all settings without any problems. The profiles offered as standard are very soft in our opinion and you have to do the necessary fine tuning to bring out the true potential of the Ultimate wheelbase.
A kill switch is supplied as standard which you can easily mount on your simrig and which functions very accurately. The on/off switch of the wheelbase is mounted on the power cable, making it difficult to access. A separate adapter is also included to connect the power cable with a Chinese plug to an EU socket. One is the result of the other, but we don’t quite understand why these choices were made. We would have preferred to be able to turn the wheelbase on and off via the wheelbase itself or via the included kill switch.
We now have some experience with wheelbases in this segment and think the Simagic Alpha Ultimate also belongs in this list. The wheelbase is for sale via the Simwear webshop for € 1149.00 excluding shipping costs. Are you just as enthusiastic as we are and do you want to order the Simagic Alpha Ultimate wheelbase and/or other Simagic products at Simwear? Please fill in our contact form and we will send you a personal discount code.
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