In the world of sim racing, there has always been room for innovation and new technologies that take the experience of gamers to the next level. One of the most exciting developments in this industry is the concept of "Slip Angle." In this article, we take a closer look at what and who Slip Angle is, how it works, and why it could potentially revolutionise sim racers. So, if you are passionate about simulation racing and would like to know how this new system can transform your gaming experience, read on quickly because this experience is sensational!

Slip Angle

Who is Slip Angle?

Slip Angle is a still relatively unknown name in the world of sim racing. On the one hand, it refers to vehicle dynamics where the slip angle is the angle between the direction in which a wheel points and the direction in which it is actually moving. In other words, the angle between the focal plane and the direction of movement. On the other hand, in the world of sim racing a Canadian manufacturer of a highly innovative system that takes sim racing to a new and unprecedented level of realism. At a time when sim racing is becoming increasingly realistic and sim racers are striving for an increasing sense of realism and immersion, Slip Angle emerges as an exciting innovation.

What is Slip Angle?

Let's start by understanding the core of Slip Angle. It is an innovative system designed to make the experience of simulation racing more realistic than ever before. Slip Angle is all about creating the illusion that your sim rig is floating. This is achieved by placing your sim rig on four springs, making it look like you are actually on the track. The Slip Angle is one of the most innovative developments in sim racing and is causing a true revolution.

Using the Slip Angle, you place four haptic transducers (bass shakers) on top of four springs (isolators), which attach to your sim racing setup. This provides an unprecedented sense of vibration feedback and significantly improves the overall experience of sim racing. The Slip Angle kit gives you the feeling that your simulator is floating underneath you. Slip Angle opens up new possibilities for simracers to take their racing simulations to the next level and enhance the thrill of track driving.

The Magic of Feathers

But what is so special about those four springs? These springs are the secret behind the realistic sensation offered by Slip Angle. They simulate the movements of a racing car on the track, from taking sharp turns to feeling bumpy roads. This gives you as a sim racer the chance to experience the thrill of driving on the edge of grip, just like real drivers do.

Vibrations

Another crucial aspect of Slip Angle is how it handles vibrations. With traditional simulators, vibrations or vibration can sometimes be confusing and disturb your concentration. With Slip Angle, however, this is a thing of the past. The system is designed to handle all vibrations and vibration to 'insulating', allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the racing experience without distractions. The advantage of this spring-loaded system is that you better feel and experience the vibrations of the bass shakers where you want them, instead of these vibrations being lost and spread all over your simulator.

Vibrations are repeated cyclic movements and therefore your simulator must 'float' to use the force generated by the tactile transducers. Rubber can be used as an insulator, but it has a much higher modulus of elasticity than springs, which limits any movement. Moreover, it acts as a natural damper and reduces effects.

Without the freedom to move, your simulator either has very limited movement or is forced to take off from the ground. This causes noise and vibration to pass through the floor. Springs keep the rig suspended in tension, allowing it to move freely, and have very little damping, utilising most of the forces generated by the transducers.

What does the Slip Angle Bass Shaker Kit cost?

The Slip Angle is available in three different configurations:

• Slip Angle Isolators & Mounting Kit - A kit for those who already have bass shakers, a sound card and amplifier and are only looking for the vibration isolators with spring system.
• Slip Angle Bass Shaker Kit (100W) - Complete bass shaker kit. Everything you need in one box to mount a 4-channel tactile transducer kit on an 8020 rig. Includes sound card, 100W amplifier, 4 bass shakers (Dayton BST-1), mounts, vibration isolators and all necessary cables and montage supplies.
• Slip Angle Bass Shaker Kit (300W) - Complete bass shaker kit. Everything you need in one box to mount a 6-channel tactile transducer kit on an 8020 rig. Includes sound card, 300W amplifier, 4 bass shakers (Dayton BST-1), mounts, vibration isolators and all necessary cables and montage supplies.

The price of the Slip Angle Bass Shaker Kit starts at a very affordable $200. With this entry-level option, you will receive four isolators and montage brackets, which you can use to install your own bass shakers. So this kit is meant for people who already own bass shakers. This offers a great opportunity to upgrade your existing bass shakers setup to a whole new tactile feedback system for your sim rig.

For those looking for a more complete kit, including bass shakers and a sound card, Slip Angle has two options available. You can choose the kit with a 100W amp, priced at $499, or the kit with a more powerful 300W amp, costing $650. Both options offer a all-in-one solution for an immersive simulation experience.

The Slip Angle Kit is very competitively priced

What makes this Slip Angle kit really stand out is that they are extremely reasonably priced compared to other products on the market. Slip Angle strives to make high-quality tactile feedback technology for a wide audience, without straining the wallet too much. Because, do the math: if you have to buy four bass shakers, an external sound card, an amplifier, all accessories as well as the isolators and mounting kit separately, you will be more expensive. Slip Angle's products are a fantastic and competitively priced deal!

To save costs, everything is shipped directly from China. At checkout, you can choose from two shipping options; you can opt for shipping by air (about 8 days) or by ground and sea (about 35 days). I opted for the latter, and this tested my patience immensely ? Were I able to do it over, I would still have chosen the faster shipping.

More Power is More Reach

The greater the power of the amplifier, the greater the range. Tactile transducers have frequencies at which they operate most efficiently, this is usually in the 40Hz range and decreases sharply at the higher and lower ends of their range. Systems with less power do not have enough power to amplify frequencies in the less efficient ranges, limiting all feedback to the most powerful range of the shakers, resulting in one-dimensional feedback.

In the Slip Angle system, weaker frequencies can be boosted while stronger ones are pushed back. This allows shifts, road noise, pavement edges and so on to be set at different frequencies. This provides richer and more varied feedback.

What's in the box?

Since I already had a bass shaker setup I went for the Slip Angle Isolator Kit gone. Inside the well-packaged box you will find:

• 4 insulators (2 brown and 2 blue)
• 4 mounting brackets
• 2 extra stiff (grey) springs
• Bolts and screws

Installation of the Slip Angle Bass Shaker Kit

The manual provided is quite limited and sometimes a bit unclear. Slip Angle's website lists a slightly different manual and this one is easy to follow. The very first step is to unscrew the screw from the Slip Angle Isolators. Next, attach the supplied mounting brackets to the isolators and tighten the screws back. Next, attach the four bass shakers to the mounting brackets with the screws provided. The brown, stiffer, springs are for the back and the blue softer isolators are for the front. Now that you've fitted all four isolators with the mounting brackets, bass shakers ánd the mounting screws, it's just a matter of sliding the isolators into the aluminium profile. A child's play. Or does it?

Struggling

In all honesty, installing the Slip Angle Isolators and bass shakers was a huge struggle and challenge ? My sim racing setup is so heavy and fully loaded that it was hugely challenging to install the isolators under my Sim Lab P1x. For this, I needed some lifting bean attributes like a shovel and some leftover aluminium profiles that I could then place underneath to lift my simulator up. It looked and felt like I was performing a pit stop with my own simulator. Fortunately, I can laugh about it afterwards ?

My simulator is quite close to the wall, so I had far too little space on the left side. Partly due to the anti-slip mat of Speedy Rugs (which does a fantastic job!) the whole thing was very difficult to get moving. So all in all, this took a lot of sweat and effort in my situation. Among other things, I ended up having to remove my three monitors to lighten the setup. Once I lifted my setup up, attaching the isolators at each corner was pretty easy.

Provide sufficient space

When mounting, make sure there is at least 30 mm space between the top of the insulator and the screw. I had unfortunately overlooked this, so after montage of the four isolators I found out that I had left too little space between the spring and the top of the isolator. As a result, my simulator was way too low on the ground, allowing little to no movement. In the left photo below, you can see that I have enough space between the ground and the horizontal aluminium profiles, but the vertical profiles - to which my monitors and wheelbase are attached - are touching the ground.

Getting this right took me quite some time, as I had to keep lifting my simulator up and making adjustments to the screw spacing. In my situation, I kept almost the maximum 'ride height' (about 40mm), so that when I sit down in my simulator, the Slip Angle Isolators have enough space to not sag completely. The result is great, see the right-hand photo above. This is perfect!

Download and Install SimHub

Now that all the hardware is installed, it is time to SimHub and install it. Once you have done this, open SimHub and navigate to 'Shakelt Bass Shakers'. Download on the website (at the very bottom) of Slip Angle the basic profile. Follow the guide and set the profile to your personal preferences. Once you have followed these steps, you are ready to hit the track!

Our extensive testing experience

As avid sim racers, we had the privilege of extensively testing and reviewing Slip Angle. I am tremendously elated and excited about how this system transformed my sim racing experience. It felt like I was really on the track and had a moving and living car underneath me. The accuracy with which Slip Angle simulated the movements of a race car can be described as subtle and impressive.

As soon as you step in, you immediately notice that your simulator comes to life and wobbles. This movement is subtle and feels fantastic. Since your simulator is on springs, this raises the expectation that your rig moves a lot. I myself had this thought too, but so that is not what you can expect from this system. The movements are extremely subtle and controllable.

A Perfect Balance

When you race a lot force feedback experience, you feel the movement well of floating your setup. This wobble feels very pleasant and subtle. Too much movement wouldn't be good either, this makes it uncontrollable and can lead to unrealistic movements. If the springs are too stiff, you will get less haptic feedback because your simulator cannot move freely. If the springs are too soft, they will be completely compressed and 'out-bottom'. Therefore, I think the stiffness of the springs and the movements are in perfect balance and harmony.

Lively and subtle vibrations

Because the vibrations of the tactile transducers are isolated by the innovative spring system, these vibrations are much more dynamic and you can feel them much better in every corner of your setup. This makes your simulator really come alive. And all this in a very subtle and pleasant way, without shaking through your entire simulator. I can conclude nothing but that the Slip Angle brings your simulator to life.

The Revolution in Sim Racing

Now comes the big question: is Slip Angle the new revolution in sim racing? Our answer is a resounding yes. This innovative system has the potential to completely change the way we approach sim racing. It offers unparalleled realism and thrills that every sim racer will love.

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Conclusion Slip Angle: Why You Should Have This

In this article, we have taken you through the new revolution in sim racing: Slip Angle. We have explained what it is, how it works and why it is a gamechanger for sim racers. Let's face it, if you are passionate about sim racing, you want the best of the best and are constantly looking for more experience and realism. Slip Angle offers just that. It takes your sim racing experience to new heights and lets you experience the excitement of racing like never before.

If you really want to enjoy the ultimate sim racing experience then Slip Angle is an absolute must-have. Don't miss this chance to take your sim racing experience to new heights, as this kit is truly a fantastic and affordable choice that will transform your setup to unprecedented heights.