Acelith Design Simracing has an exciting business concept, and one I quite enjoy. Acelith Design provides wheel modifications for some of the most popular sim racing wheels on the market. Now, modifying your expensive racing wheel may sound scary, but I promise these mods are done right.
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Why would you want to modify your wheel?
Your want to modify your base racing wheel will be dependent on a few things. First, what wheel do you have? Fanatec and Thrustmaster, along with other brands, offer sim racing wheels with several aftermarket options. My T300 RS, for instance, supports an open-wheel rim and rally rim, among others. Fanatec has even more options.
Not every wheel will offer you the option to swap wheel rims. Additionally, not every brand offers up the type of wheel rim you may want. In these instances, you may look into modification as an option.
Ultimately, the point of modification is to give you what you want when the manufacturer does not.
Acelith Design Simracing
Acelith Design enters the fray by offering very clean mods at an affordable price. They have everything from DTM style wheel rims (which I own), to open-wheel, and even GT style. They are all precision cut out of steel or aluminum and fitted with very comfortable 3D printed handles.
Installation is a breeze, unlike some other modifications on the market. Installing on my wheel required the removal of 9 screws, lining up the rim, and putting 6 of the screws back in place. That was it, over in a few minutes.
I opted for the steel model, which comes treated to fight corrosion. Acelith Design also applies a pretty slick carbon fiber decal to the front that makes the wheel look really good. The model I purchased is based on the BMW DTM wheel, so it comes with several stickers that can be applied. I opted to keep it clean and only put the Acelith Design badge in the center.
Acelith Design recommends wrapping the handles, as they are 3D printed plastic. You can do this by wrapping them with bike tape, gluing on fabric, or having a professional wrap them in leather or Alcantara. Acelith Design even offers leather kits if you want to do all of your shopping in one place. I wear gloves when I race, so I left my grips bare.
I can hear you wondering what all of this costs, and I think you will be surprised. My steel DTM wheel mod cost less than 100 USD, including shipping from Italy to the USA.
Performance Increase?
The Acelith Design Simracing wheel mods are not designed for performance enhancement, per se. I would argue that having a wheel that fits your taste would allow you to perform better. Additionally, I would say that the Acelith Design rim is more comfortable than most stock rims on entry-level or mid-range sim wheels.
There can also be an argument made towards the Acelith Design rims giving you better force feedback. On my wheel, changing from the base rim to the steel DTM mod gave me a weight savings of just about 400 grams. Acelith Design claims about a 50% total weight reduction if you go with an aluminum rim for only about 30 USD more than the steel option. Fundamental physics dictates that force applied to a lighter object will move it more quickly. That fact means more feedback at baseline settings.
Final Thoughts
I love what Acelith Design Simracing is doing. The mods are simple and effective. The easy install process is a massive win for them, as well. I very much appreciate the variety of wheel rims they offer. The fact that I had the option of two different DTM wheels blew my mind as a fan of that racing series.
Craftsmanship is top-notch. I have heard some people complain about the handles being 3D printed, but frankly, I think it is a great way to keep the overall cost down. If you wrap them or wear racing gloves, it doesn’t matter. It may even be an unpopular opinion, but I think the handles look better un-wrapped.
Ultimately, Acelith Design offers up an awesome mod at a reasonable price. I am excited to try more rims, especially the aluminum models. One thing is for sure, though; I have enjoyed racing more now that I have the DTM wheel installed on my T300 RS.
Check out all of Acelith Design’s offerings at Acelith.com
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