The best sim racing gear shifter

Looking like a short throw shifter from a Caterham, this from Logitech has six forward gears and one reverse, which you push down for access. Handy when you’ve got yourself stuck. Shrouded in leather and plastics, this convenient little shifter gives that sense of reality when driving. Add sim racing gloves for the ultimate pro gear shift feel.

Not just a gear shifter but one built into a steering wheel with pedals to match. Think of this as a clutchless manual, as you bang through the gears with a push-up or pull-down of the lever.

Looking like a seven-speed H-shift gate out of the Audi R8 manual, sadly, you don’t get the same feel through the gears as you do with the hunk of burning petrol V10 behind you. This little shifter from Thrustmaster could be all you need. You can, if you want, take the seven-speed gate off and have a push-and-pull gearbox instead. The choice is yours.

If you got a pro sim rig, you’re probably looking at the above options thinking it’s all a bit Micky Mouse. These little shifter paddles will help you customise your rig if you want full Walt Disney. The shifters are manufactured from high-grade aluminium and feature a strong magnetic snap action with an adjustable actuation force tailored to individual driver requirements. Ascher has got fine-tuning down to a tee.

Yeah, all right, the Ascher paddles are a bit sim specific, so here, how about this little sequential shifter? Release full rally mode and go maximum attack with this as you bang through the ‘box all the break horsepower your sim has to offer. There is a clamp to mount this onto either a table or onto your sim up to 40mm. This allows the shifter to be either side or base mounted and allows for a degree of rotation to provide the best possible angle for use.

Okay, you’re starting to play with the big boys now, and this shifter has been developed with racing drivers to give you the most realistic gear shift possible. Instead of just pushing it into gear, this shifter will provide you with an initial resistance before changing gear, hopefully reducing those annoying gear changes. The EVO SQ sequential shifter can be mounted to sim cockpits via the groves in the base, which offer a wide range of adjustability so you can get the shifter in the perfect position.

So you’ve got your shifter but nowhere to mount it – don’t worry, the RaceRoom Shifter Bracket is a sturdy plate to which you can mount your shifter. Depending on your preference, it will mount directly to RaceRoom Race Seats and can be put on either the left or right-hand side. These RaceRoom Shifter Brackets are available to mount the most popular brands, such as Logitech, Thrustmaster and Fanatec.

If you’ve got a Playseat, you might consider a purpose-built mount. There are a few options to help you customise your play seat, but this shifter mount works well. It fits perfectly with the Logitech mentioned above G Driving Force Shifter.

This mad concoction looks slightly over-engineered, but we love it. It’s designed to be mounted to the Sparco Evolve sim racing chassis to allow the use of sim racing shifters and handbrakes (unsuitable for the Evolve GP chassis). Made from steel and finished in Satin paint to give a proper finish to your rig. The mount can be used with Thrustmaster, Fanatec or Logitech handbrakes and sequential gear shifters. The shifter mount is a left-hand side mount and can only be mounted to the left-hand side of the chassis.