HF8 Unboxing and First Impressions - Haptic Feedback Gaming Pad by Next Level Racing

[@tamaz125]

The first really honest review I have seen of this product out of everything out there. Thanks for sharing your thoughts

[@DDFRacer]

I always try and be as honest as I can, but also as constructive as I can when it comes to review videos (the majority of my content is the actual races themselves). No point saying something is good if it isn't 😉 but no point in taking a dump all over something just for the sake of it either. It's best that people know what they're getting themselves into should they decide to buy whatever it is I'm reviewing, it's _their_ hard earned money on the line after all. Next Level Racing are on to something with the HF8 and I really like the concept but it needs a bit of work in my opinion, especially on the software side.

[@tamaz125]

@@DDFRacer negativity warranted sometimes hehe especially considering if it weren't for simhub you would be paying that hard earned cash to be a beta tester given the state of the next level software.

[@markhallowell4059]

Greta review Dan, I wouldn't expect anything else:) This video needs to be promoted within the Sim Racing Community as a no shill review.

[@DDFRacer]

Cheers Mark, thanks for the kind words mate. I initially wasn't sure about editing this video together since I remembered feeling very negative when recording the footage, and I don't like to put negative things out there usually. That said, when editing it actually came across a lot better than I expected. I really wanted to like the HF8 since I'd heard so many good things about it, and plenty of people have been suggesting some kind of bass shaker setup for a few years now, so the overall experience was quite underwhelming. Maybe I'd built it up too much in my expectations? I mean, it's not _bad_ by any stretch of the imagination, but I was definitely hoping for more. The positives about the HF8 aren't strong enough to outweigh the negatives in my opinion and I'd rather be honest and let people know about my experiences 👍

[@truantray]

In contrast to Mac Evad?

[@jorn-jorenjorenson5028]

Interesting review, Dan! I DIYed myself 6 transducers (medium sized bass shakers) to my playseat challenge, sitting direcly under/behind the padded fabric, 4 under the seat and 2 at the lower back. I had a similar experience as you, was not really happy at first. Took me a lot of time understanding and tweaking SimHub. Once I was through this, getting every type of effect at the right strength to the appropriate part of the seat, I thought "yes that's really nice", but it did not completely fullfill my expectations. I think it is the same as with the FFB of the wheel. You have to "learn" it somehow. Because, after a couple of weeks the transducers really started to work for me. Now, after more than a year, I don't really notice them, because I am so used to them. So they are obsolete? No, not at all, it's the opposite. There were a few times lately when the transducers did not work (because I forgot to turn them on or somehting was not working) and I did not even notice at first. But I remember how I felt totally unconnected to the car and had no feeling for it, until I realised the transducers were not working after a couple of minutes. I would say, they give me about the same amount of feedback as the wheel, though it is hard to distinguish between both as it really works together. All in all, I am very happy now with the immersion and the feedback the transducers give me. Not sure though, what my neighbours on the floor below think of it. : D I just hope it's not too bad, as the transducers are attached to the fabric and not to the metal structure and so should have a good damping.

[@DDFRacer]

That's fascinating to hear you went through the exact same process of not liking it at first and then dialling it in but still feeling underwhelmed for a while. I guess with more time I might have gotten used to the HF8 (like I said in the video, it's no longer with me as I had to package it up and send it back) but I can't imagine it would have become any more comfortable 😬 from your comment and a few others on this video so far, it sounds like mounting some motors/transducers to the seat or the frame instead of applying them directly to your body sounds like the right way to go. It's definitely something I want to get configured correctly as I've heard too many people say good things about shakers for it to be a coincidence, but this experience with the HF8 definitely took away some of the motivation. Noise going through the floorboards and through the house is also definitely a concern 😅 especially when I need to race with you Europeans at silly times of the night over here in Australia.

[@nicholasdoerner3735]

Really thorough review. I love the idea of the product and hope that Next Level Racing keeps at it and develops a version 2 with a more breathable fabric, better padding, and updated software. Good for them though of making additional feedback more accessible.

[@DDFRacer]

Couldn't agree more, the idea and concept of the HF8 is fantastic but the implementation needs to be a bit better. Thanks for the kind words about the review too 😀

[@randallkipker9990]

Unfortunately, I just loaded the NLR software and installed, and they haven't improved their software at all. I did test SimHub before seeing this and it worked... so I bought a license and seen this. I'll try the profile and tweak to my liking as well. Thanks...Randall @@DDFRacer Thanks for this help and review

[@GregoryShtevensh]

Your reviews are really good!

[@wrehtube]

Great video and thanks so much for the setup file !!! The feedback from the HF8 is really good now and it definitely improved my racing and lap times.

[@DDFRacer]

Right back at you 😎 thanks so much for watching, glad the video and the setup file came in useful!

[@bazwabat1]

Watched someone using this in VR in MSFS and found it totally made it more immersive. Didnt have as much trouble setting up but possibly becase there was already support for it.

[@DDFRacer]

Can't really comment much on the flight sim side of things as I don't run any, but if the default software was able to get up and running more easily then it would definitely make for a better experience. That said, using SimHub with the sim racing side of things can get you a really nice experience too but you need to spend a little more time tinkering with settings and dialling it in.

[@CaptainCrunch99]

Thanks for doing all the hard work setting it up so the rest of us can just get it going!

[@DDFRacer]

No problem! Although you'll probably need to keep on tweaking my profile as I only had the HF8 for a day and couldn't really fine tune it perfectly. Might be different for other sims and cars too, there's so many variables!

[@RamyHaramy]

Thanks for the profile mate! I appreciate you taking one for the team! I got this for now because my kids sleep in the next room. Once I move out to a bigger house, I will get the buttkicker and some Daytons!

[@DDFRacer]

No problem at all, happy to help out with the profile! I only had a few hours to get the HF8 set up and dialled in before I had to repack it and send it to its rightful owner, so I think with a little more time I could have tweaked it some more. Not bad for a baseline though and, yeah, I'm thinking a buttkicker might be the way to in the future for me. I love the idea of haptic feedback but when a seat is designed to be ergonomic and then you slap another chunky layer like this pad on top of it...well, it kind of defeats the point of the chair being ergonomic I suppose 😅

[@RamyHaramy]

@@DDFRacer I am playing on the playseat trophy so I don't have that much support for a buttkicker. I think you have a solid rig so you can definitely either get a gamer 2, or go with the new ones like the pro or advanced. You can even install one on each side and put some daytons on the pedals (brake + throttle) or install it under the pedal set. The only thing is that you need to account for all the vibrations and noise you will make. So if you live in an apartment it might be a bad idea. But if you live in a house and have your rig in the basement you will be alright!

[@KarlSutton]

Thanks for the SimHub profile, much better than what I could come up with!

[@DDFRacer]

No problem Karl 😉 happy to be of some help mate!

[@deanbouvier8529]

I picked one up and after a day of initial testing I did what I planned, tore the internals out of the padding and stitched it into the back of my Herman Miller, since I have a lower back issue I figured the padding would become a problem over long durations, but I actually also found sitting on the shakers painful on the butt, so after a bit of hole punching and sewing work I'm pleased with the unit, I dialed back the settings from the padded values as now I can really feel the shaking nicely.

[@DDFRacer]

That's not a bad idea at all! There's someone on my Discord who had the same idea too and made a nice big project out of the whole thing, taking the seat apart and fitting the motors into the material itself. Like yourself it needed a bit of recessing too, but he seems pretty pleased with it overall.

[@nanoverse]

Any pics of how you did it. Is it possible to just get the innards out or in your opinion just the top foam out? This because I have it now on my Pleayseat Trophy under the seat.

[@Re_Mecs]

That's cool af.....and something I can use that won't totally drive my neighbors downstairs crazy

[@DDFRacer]

Ha yeah I can imagine it would go straight through the floorboards 😅 thankfully the only thing under my room is the washing machine and a utility closet.

[@julesindahouse]

A truly informative review that really helps, thanks!

[@DDFRacer]

Glad you found it useful 😎 I always try to keep a level headed approach when it comes to these hardware/software review type videos.

[@ACFUN34]

Great review mate. I appreciate that you have chapters in your videos . I believe every youtuber should make use of this ... i seen youtubers with milions of subscribers that don`t even bother to put chapters in their videos wich is crazy imo !

[@DDFRacer]

Least I can do 😉 I know not everyone is here to watch the whole video and might want to skip to a certain part, or maybe they see a 40 minute video and get a little less intimidated because they know there's a bit of structure to it and can break it down a bit more. It's a habit I've gotten into after live streaming for many years 👍 always go back over the stream at the end and put timecodes in for the race start, pitstops etc to make it easy for those watching the replay later.

[@b.s.7693]

Best video about the HF8 yet (I've seen all here on YT)

[@DDFRacer]

Thank you for the kind words 😁 glad you enjoyed the video!

[@suddenlysolo2170]

The HF8 works absolutely great, it was you who was expecting it to do things it wasn't designed to do. I have a motion simulator that provides the effects you are after, the HF8 simply adds vibrations.

[@DDFRacer]

Ah yeah good point, that makes sense. Next Level Racing also make pretty impressive motion rigs so I can see why they'd consider the HF8 just a complementary piece of hardware. Not everyone, myself included, can afford a motion rig though unfortunately. For the average sim racer this is way out of the budget whereas this HF8 is only a couple of hundred dollars, if that. Not sure if you made it to the end of the video but I did actually get the HF8 dialled in nicely to my preferences using SimHub 👍 but even then I still wasn't a big fan of how it felt for longer sessions, both in terms of comfort and breathability. If it could be integrated into a seat directly then it'd be superb though!

[@suddenlysolo2170]

@@DDFRacer I am a flight simmer so Simhub won't work - I use Simshaker Aviators. I'm with you on integrating it into a seat on a motion simulator, I'm surprised it hasn't been done already.

[@Leynad778]

Now that sounds like a honest review👍. I saw some others and just thought: it's probably not as good as they claim because they didn't mention that SimHub must be a lot better. Just Karl Gosling made a hones review and also about the proper one with real shakers called "U Shake6", but also more costly. I'm using 7 shakers with my GS-5 and G-Belt. 4 inside the seat, two for the pedals and one big Buttkicker under the seat. But if I would start again, I would just buy small pucks and mount them closer like directly to the pedals. Next step it Pimax 8KX. Going back to the "No VR, No Buy" gang😁

[@DDFRacer]

SimHub is the only way to extract the true potential out of the HF8, but then again I might be more tempted to use smaller rig mounted shakers like yourself after sitting on this thing for a few hours 😅 I can see those longer races becoming quite uncomfortable. Sounds like you've got a nice setup though and shakers are an area I've wanted to get involved in for a while...however using this pad has kind of dampened my enthusiasm a little since it was quite an underwhelming experience on the whole.

[@Leynad778]

@@DDFRacer The HF8 aren't shakers, but motors without the dynamics of transducers according to Karl. A good tactile feedback setup is quite immersive and I'm using shakers since 2016. I'm also using a passive suspension with pressure springs to isolate the sounds against neighbours with the side effect of amplifying the effects by adding micro motions. But this needs powerful ones and glad I could buy 100 watt shakers for just 30 bucks each here in Germany. The amplifier was more expensive and using a 15+ kg beast. Overall still a good bang for the buck.

[@Spybee007]

You kind of look like Paul Dano, the actor. Good review!

[@DDFRacer]

Not the first time I've heard that 😉 but I'll pay it, can't deny the passing resemblance.

[@paulhepden2536]

Hello downloaded your settings and I have to say thanks.they are so much better than the ones that I’ve managed to come up with.

[@DDFRacer]

Glad to hear that 😁 I only had a day to set up the HF8 and record this video before packing it back up again, but I spent probably half of that time tweaking settings so it's good to know it wasn't all for nothing.

[@chriskonieczny9372]

@@DDFRacerI just bought HF8, installed and loaded your profile through sim hub. I like it but I’m missing vibration from gearshift to my back. How do I make them happen please?

[@discopooh]

It's the feelforce disaster seatpad under a new name I'm sure. Both feel the same to me. Great kit once tweaked.

[@DDFRacer]

Can't say I'm familiar with the other seatpad you mentioned 🤔 but definitely agree with what you said about the tweaks. Towards the end of this video once I starting using Simhub and really dialling it in, the HF8 came alive. Sadly, I had to package it up after making the video and send it back to its rightful owner so couldn't tweak some more, no doubt if I'd have had it on the rig since then it'd be even better now.

[@EzzraOG]

Respect this review Nice to see more honest reviews.

[@DDFRacer]

Thanks mate 👍 I'll always be honest in my videos, better to show people what the real deal is than lead them on with false information for fake views.

[@simplymentalOG]

If that's waffling, its top quality waffle! 😂 Very nice objective review, cheers 🍻 👍

[@DDFRacer]

Ha 😅 very kind of you mate, thank you! I've got a brand new rig in the works from Next Level Racing too, should have that built and another review video up in the next few weeks hopefully 👍 so plenty more waffle to come 🧇 🧇

[@simplymentalOG]

@@DDFRacer Thats great news, you will love it im sure 👍! Some low quality waffle below....🙃 I recently purchased a GTomega prime, wacked on my ageing logitec G27, and made it feel like i had a new wheel lol A zero movement super rigid rig makes all the difference, standardised my position now and able to start building some muscle memory without trying to hold table still, pedals sliding and seat moving, its been so frustrating I rarely got it out, setup and played 😫 🤣 When the mrs is out i now get to wheel it in front of the tv and have a session, had a couple of weeks in paradise and loving it 🏎💯❤ lol Tried it with my VR for the first time last night, was like playing a completely different game 😱. Guessing is was not only the immersion which was outstanding, but the faster frame rate than tv helped a tiny bit too. I literally stopped spinning out in so many ways due to the feeling of being locked into that virtual world, it made driving so much easier and natural and just started to flow. Need a 3 screen setup so can try keep that feeling and immersion, then able to do longer sessions playing better, i get eye strain after a while in VR and have to go back to the TV where I'm not knowing nor feeling half of much what the car is doing 🙄 😒 I may even attempt some car setup now using VR to be quicker, but would need a TV profile or be eating every hedge and wall when swapped back. Even the feedback rumbling in wheel also felt joined to that "real" virtual world and made sense for the first time, it was so weird yet so right 😁🥳 I was chuckling my head off most of the night 😂. I was all ready having fun, but the VR really stepped it up a level from that single screen. I do want to go multiple transducers eventually, hence found your review confirm what i thought. An hf8 has come up locally 2nd hand though, so as a quick n easy way to get more info, should be getting it Saturday lol (im an eager beaver🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️) I can't afford the transducer route I want to take yet, but can afford the HF8 right now and another few senses are better than none. When eventually get cockpit pimped i can wack the hf8 on my gaming chair upstairs for my daughter to use going back n forth with hers if gets too uncomfortable, win win 😆 Enough bad waffle....Cheers 🍻 and have fun, will be interesting to hear your thoughts and experiences on it when it arrives 😀 👍

[@caseyrybak]

Small fix needed: disable shaking for very low rpm, it shakes a lot when you stop the car(iRacing).

[@DDFRacer]

That's one small fix of many that would be needed to make the default HF8 software decent 😉 definitely the best way to get the most out of this thing would be to run it with SimHub. Sadly I can't tweak the custom SimHub profile I posted any more though, since I no longer have the pad. It was packaged back up and sent on to the guy who sent it to me for review 👍

[@G.Yam74]

Its nothing OutOfTheBox. After fine tuning these little thing can make a difference. Even if you have Bass Shakers this Product can help you tu split some Effects up.

[@DDFRacer]

Yeah the NLR software wasn't great although they've recently put a lot of effort into updating it so could be much better these days. Still, SimHub gives you much finer control over where the effects go and how much they send...but for me personally I still think that doesn't outweigh the ergonomics of the HF8. Having recently installed bass shakers on my rig I can absolutely see the benefits of having more localised feedback, but think something like this would work much better if it was integrated within the seat itself, instead of having to sit on top of it 👍

[@Maartwo]

Hey Dan. Thanks for the "real" review. Seems like another nice toy I won't be able to get in my country. Unrelated question: what does your screen setup look like? A Single widescreen monitor? Thanks for the enjoyable videos!

[@DDFRacer]

No problem mate 👍 I always try to be as honest as I can when making these kind of videos so that people can get a good idea of what to expect. About my monitors, I'm running a 34" 21:9 widescreen curved monitor and then I have a crappy old Dell monitor off to the right for my live chat and other reference stuff when recording/streaming. It's quite rare I actually drive using my monitor though, the vast majority of my rig time is spent in VR but I thought it would be nice for people to see more of my face and my reactions on this one.

[@drewedgeley2845]

great honest and entertaining review man. Good video, and instructive. Sweet. What about PS5 and Xbox Series X aswell?

[@DDFRacer]

Thank you for the kind words 😁 much appreciated! Although the HF8 works best on PC since you can use the software (ideally Simhub like I mentioned) to really fine tune the vibrations to what the car is doing, you can still use it on consoles. The major drawback is that it doesn't vibrate based on what the car is doing since it's using the audio connection, not USB. It doesn't take any data from the game (wheelspin, lockups, engine revs etc) but can only vibrate based on the audio coming from the game making it, essentially, a glorified subwoofer directly underneath your arse.

[@RiotActFilms]

Great honest review 👏

[@DDFRacer]

No point hamming something up if I don't believe what I'm saying 😅

[@JURacing]

Hey Dan, long time so see (well that's my fault then) 😃 Thats the review I was hoping for. Very fair and very detailed and far from those 'I can't say anything bad about it because they sent this for free' - reviews. That was very helpful - well done!

[@DDFRacer]

I always like to be honest in my videos and streams, even if something _is_ sent to me for free...which in this case it actually was, but not by Next Level Racing 😉 a very considerate subscriber instead. I have mixed feelings about the fact that I couldn't try it for a little longer before sending it back to them though. On one hand I think some additional time would have allowed me to get used to it more, however on the other hand I can't imagine it would have become more comfortable. I'd rather share my experience "'as-is" and let people make their own decisions, instead of making a video that showcases a product in an overly positive but dishonest way to help bump up sales.

[@rickyquanjr.8923]

Lovely honest review

[@DDFRacer]

Lovely comment 😎 thanks, glad you enjoyed the review!

[@dogzero1]

I took the chance and bought the Hf8 a month ago. I can't afford a motion rig or the expensive butt kickers. I only use it for DCS, IL2 and all my race sims. I do not use the software that comes with it. I use SIMHUB. At first I wasn't sure about the HF8, but after turning off some and just using a few of the tuning options........I love it. I have lateral g-force set up and gear changes along with wheel lock up and braking. It really adds some imersion for me. So along with my T500RS wheel, my Rift S and this HF8, it feels so great. I love it.

[@DDFRacer]

Awesome, really happy to hear you're having a good time with it 😁 it's definitely something you need to spend a little time configuring (like you said, through SimHub instead) and getting used to. How do you find the comfort of the HF8? I couldn't get used to sitting 'on top' of it so to speak but my seat is quite firm, I've spoken to other people with softer seats and they said they didn't notice it as much.

[@dogzero1]

@@DDFRacer I have it on my racer office chair and it is hardly noticeable to be honest.

[@Daisudori]

how is it for flight sim? can u vibrate it on near stall? thatd be great for dcs

[@dogzero1]

@@Daisudori Yes I think you can use simhub too for various effects for DCS etc. I use it for weapons release and landing gear.

[@jiltjes]

Cheers Dan! Ordered it and gonna use your settings!

[@DDFRacer]

No problem, happy to have made this video mate 👍 hope you have better running with it than I did.

[@christopherpope1800]

Great review, glad you pointed out how confusing the initial setup guide and register is. Got there in the end tho. Also AMS2( my sim of choice) is so poorly implemented at the moment. Hopefully that will change over time.

[@DDFRacer]

If you're using the HF8 then I can't stress enough how important it is to use SimHub to get the most out of the motors, honestly it made a *massive* difference! Default implementation through the bundled software needs a bit of work in my opinion but once you get it configured to your liking using SimHub it really comes alive.

[@gozzyboy1989]

I love mine sure it might not be great if you used something more expensive but with some tweeks its a upgrade if you dont have anything like this

[@DDFRacer]

Yeah it's definitely something nice to have if you've never used motors or shakers before like myself, although even with that in mind I don't think I could run it for longer sessions and it's not super practical either. Especially here in Australia it gets very warm very quickly 🥵 and my racing rig also doubles up at my general purpose computer. If there were some quick release straps that made unmounting the HF8 a lot quicker/easier for when I'm not racing then it would definitely be more appealing.

[@SlickWillie]

thanks for the video!

[@DDFRacer]

No problem at all 😎 thanks for the comment

[@sensasianone_battlestation2433]

Receiving mine this week, great vid and any new updates. Sub incoming

[@DDFRacer]

No new updates unfortunately, I had to package it up and send it back to its rightful owner after making this video. Glad you enjoyed the review though, hopefully you can make better use of the HF8 than I did!

[@kuku6031]

it’s on the wish list ….. one day 😏

[@DDFRacer]

Well...Christmas is a little while away yet so hopefully you've got a birthday or major event that falls a little sooner 😆

[@kuku6031]

@@DDFRacer i’ve sowed a seed , will see how it goes , but i just ordered a TR80 profile rig last week as they are leaving NZ so 50% off . case of now or never. so that might be my budget for the rest of the year 😜

[@YummySoopy]

Thought you were gonna lose a finger trying to get that box open

[@DDFRacer]

I didn't realise it at the time but yeah 😬 watching the footage back when editing was making me a little nervous.

[@harrysmith1986]

Thanks for the video. Was you using AMS2? Your profile sim specific? Cheers.

[@DDFRacer]

Yeah I did the majority of my testing in AMS2 in this video and tuned my Simhub profile using it, mostly because it was what I was driving at the time anyway but also because there's a lot of data transmitted out of that sim that 3rd party software can work with. The Simhub profile should be transferrable between sims though and work decently 👍 although I had to package the HF8 up after making this video and send it back to its rightful owner so I haven't been able to test it further to what you see here.

[@Vlad-bu3mr]

that unboxing made me queasy 🤣

[@DDFRacer]

Imagine how the box felt 😉

[@jimmie3times]

Thank you for showing me how sim hub works from a high level. Do you have a more in depth video that shows how to adjust it?

[@DDFRacer]

Happy to help 😎 but unfortunately yeah, I don't have any other videos on SimHub that go into greater detail unfortunately. It's on my to-do list but it's a _massive_ piece of software which can do a lot of different things, although I mostly use it for my custom streaming overlays.

[@stickdeath1980]

Awsome review like others have said looked at other reviews and thought too good to be true..was looking at this too wonder if I chuck my memory foam on top would help? ❤

[@DDFRacer]

Hmm 🤔 memory foam might help but then you're increasing the profile of your seat even more. Don't get me wrong, once you get SimHub dialled in then the HF8 becomes a really nice addition, but it's definitely something you realise you're sitting on all of the time. Maybe if there was a way to build it into the actual seat itself it might be much more comfortable, but then you get into the territory of a serious refurb project.

[@aldyrinc6870]

I can't imagine sitting on that is going to be comfortable. At my age, if i get up too fast, the warning lights turn on

[@DDFRacer]

Can confirm after an hour or two I started getting some upper back pain as it was extremely frim (well...it's made of motors after all) and wasn't allowing me to use the normal contours of my seat, can't imagine it'd be something you'd really get used to over time either. Maybe if it was somehow integrated into the seat itself and built _underneath_ the fabric it might work better, but then that becomes a monumental project and kind of defeats the point really.

[@williamg2620]

@@DDFRacer Do u think it's possible to feet it behind the fabric of a seat ?

[@nathanpritchard266]

Hey @ddf racer do you have any screen shots of your settings please thanks nath I’m using it on gt7 and really struggling

[@gmarch4618]

Really good stuff.

[@DDFRacer]

Thanking you kindly 😎 glad you enjoyed it

[@randallkipker9990]

FYI... I installed my under the cushions on the race seat... so if I can increase the feel of the motors... It will be better. RK How about a link on what else is available for me to research

[@DDFRacer]

Unfortunately I think the max strength is the max strength on the HF8, although maybe the cushions could have a bit of padding taken out perhaps? I know a guy who got an old car seat from a wreckers yard and actually fitted this thing into the seat itself underneath the material. Pretty impressive stuff and makes a lot of sense but could be quite a big project to take on!

[@TranceCarXperience24]

This is top notch, much appreciated! Forgive me for being a bit slow-witted but I can´t find the setuo file/link, would it be possible to copy/paste it here? Sorry and thanks in advance!

[@DDFRacer]

Sorry for the late response mate! Thanks for the kind words 😎 here's that link: drive.google.com/file/d/1AXgHVBeASbSD9k52R-Rch39XXEe1fnV-/view?usp=share_link

[@bobjackson3237]

great and honest video, downloaded your profile, now waiting till it arrives on Monday.

[@DDFRacer]

Awesome stuff, thanks for the kind words and hope you enjoy the HF8 when it arrives 😎

[@qazeqaz]

I got the pad for 50 usd from Dell, glad I did not pay full price. I am not sure if it is just me but I could not get the pad to work with the V3 and the Traction Platform.

[@DDFRacer]

I've never had the opportunity to try either the V3 or Traction Platform so couldn't really help you out with suggestions unfortunately, but it does seem odd that the HF8 wouldn't work with it being another Next Level Racing product. Did you try posting up on their forums or getting in touch with tech support? Generally they're pretty good at responding 👍

[@roadcyclist1]

It is also used for flight sim...not just racing.

[@DDFRacer]

Fully aware of that 😉 however as a sim racing only content channel I didn't think it was worth going into that side of things in this video. I also don't own any flight sims so that might also be a slight restriction for me 😅

[@Matiz69]

thanks for the nice video 👍🏻 why do you have Skovakian Scarf over there? 😄👍🏻

[@DDFRacer]

One of the guys who regularly does my community races and one of my best friends from the channel is from Slovakia 👍 he sent me that scarf and also some other things as a gift one day which was super nice and unexpected!

[@skardunas]

Hey, what's your motor configuration like? I found your simhub profile, but it does not import your motor configuration and which motors are on for which effects. I also could not find that info in the video too, just You mentioning about moving some of the effects around to the back and such, but never showing full setup 😅

[@DDFRacer]

Odd 🤔 I thought the motor configurations would have been imported too unless perhaps Simhub has changed that in a recent update. I've had people download the file previously with no issue and, unfortunately, I'm unable to go back in and check the settings as I don't have the HF8 any more. This was a loan unit from a subscriber so pretty much as soon as I finished recording the video I packaged it back up and posted it to them 🥲

[@skardunas]

@@DDFRacer Ah, maybe then my previous messing around with it thrown things off, and it’s on me. Basic gist I assume is road/tyre effects on the bottom motors, and rpm/gearshift on the backrest?

[@billwright1880]

A question for other haptic users. Do the other devices, like a Butt Kicker, also have the "lag" I describe in my comment (below)? Because now that I've experienced something like this I can't see going without it.....

[@DDFRacer]

Hey Bill, thanks for the comment, although I can see that it hasn't gotten any responses yet unfortunately. Based on the limited amount of views that this video is getting you might have better luck asking these questions on a sim racing forum or similar? I would love to be able to help out but personally don't have any experience with haptic devices other than what you've already seen 👍

[@seebarry4068]

This looks alright, would be nice in my fold up rig. Only problem might be that I’m quite close to the wheel already, and I’m chunky. Basically steering with my tummy isn’t good. Would this be more immersive in vr?

[@DDFRacer]

To be fair, the HF8 isn't _that_ thick for it to make a significant difference, but when you're used to sitting in a very particular position then even the smallest changes become noticeable. Depending on how much give your seat has, you might have better mileage than me 👍 my seat is quite firm and the HF8 sat on top of it completely, instead of being pressed into it, and it acted kind of like a thin booster seat. About the VR side of things, I reckon it would be a good addition. Although I'm driving on a monitor for this review, 99% of my driving is usually done in VR so that's what I'm used to. I had a quick go with the HF8 and my Oculus combined after recording this footage and must admit it did add to the immersion, but I don't think it would make too much of a difference with or without the headset at the end of the day.

[@johnmitchell3883]

Hello new to your channel but really enjoying it, I have an HF8 myself and since the video I have downloaded Simhub and managed to put on the settings from the list with the percentages and anything what I can see on your video but for some reason I cant get the link you have put on to open with any software, so not sure which motors you have assigned or where you put on the curve any help would be appreciated

[@johnmitchell3883]

Have you put the settings for it on your discord by any chance ? Thanks in advance

[@DDFRacer]

Hey mate, I just went to reply to your comment but realised you might be the same guy who posted on Discord too 😉 I replied there instead, with a few screenshots too! Hope that sorts you out.

[@WA7S0N]

Thanks for the awesome review Dan! I've got a quick question. Can I use the profile you've shared and apply those settings towards a different game? I was thinking about buying this and using it for the new Forza Motorsport (Simhub has updated their software to support it). Thanks in advance!

[@DDFRacer]

You sure can 😉 that's the great thing about SimHub, as long as the sim transmits that data then it'll pick it up and plug it into the profile. Same for the overlays and hud I use when streaming, it's super easy to switch between different sims and it just works.

[@WA7S0N]

@@DDFRacer Thank you so much for the quick reply! I've ordered the HF8 and you've definitely earned my sub! 😂

[@Jmab-rv7jc]

What do you think abt the hf8 paired with one buttkicker? Hf8 for left and right curb and buttkicker for gearshift and engine vibration? Coz you also dont wanna put to much effect on the buttkicker coz you wont be able to tell which one is which.

[@DDFRacer]

Not too sure about this to be honest 🤔 since you could put the engine vibrations on the rear of the HF8 instead of using a buttkicker. If you're using it via the software (preferably SimHub for finer control) then you have access to 8 motors, 4 under your legs and 4 on your back 👍

[@antiWhiteism777]

@ddfracer --- How does it compare to the Interactor Cushion?

[@DDFRacer]

Can't really help you with that one unfortunately having never used the Interactor Cushion...can't find too much about it online either, no official page or website with more info, only a 2nd hand one being sold on eBay.

[@obtv6827]

Had mine a month and one of the feedback motors has quit sending back tomorrow. May be related to problems I had getting it to work in the first place. hf8 software sucks.

[@DDFRacer]

Ah sorry to hear that 😬 hopefully they can either repair or replace it for you! I haven't used the HF8 since I made this video (had to pack it up and send back to its rightful owner) so can't comment on what software updates that Next Level Racing have made since then, but at the time it was a much better solution to run things through Simhub instead of their built-in app.

[@matthiasgrunwald895]

Thanks for your profile. Any updates for the profile?

[@DDFRacer]

No worries, happy to help 😎 no updates though unfortunately. As soon as I finished making this video I had to pack the HF8 up and send it to its rightful owner so haven't had the opportunity to use it or refine my settings since then.

[@zebraafs]

With simhub it's outstanding

[@DDFRacer]

Sadly I had to pack up the HF8 and send it to it's rightful owner after making this video, so I wouldn't mind giving it another go now and spending more time playing around with settings. Right at the end it started to get in the sweetspot with Simhub so couldn't agree more with you 👍

[@VishnuRajam4x4]

What happened to iRacing? Would love to see more

[@DDFRacer]

Same here, but I just haven't found time for it in my schedule for a while. My real life situation limits me to one, maybe two races or videos a week so I can only do so much 👍 and recently I've had prior commitments to ongoing seasons and events in RaceRoom, AMS2 and DiRT Rally 2.0. Once my AMS2 championships have finished I'll have a little more time so will look into getting back on the iRacing servers then, although the AUSNZ league I used to race with don't host regular series anymore unfortunately and I much prefer hosted than public racing.

[@billwright1880]

just installed my newly purchased HF8 Gaming Pad,. The device is attached via PC/USB. I'm running the Pad on iRacing, using the HF8 software. i9/RTX2080Super/32GB/Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO I've spent approximately 30 minutes getting the setting to where I want them on the HF8 software. I've never had any haptic devices on my rig before. Overall it is a positive addition to my racing rig. However, there is a noticeable delay from the moment an object is encountered and when the effect takes place, and another noticeable delay from the moment an object is cleared and the effect stops. Does anyone know of any way for me to reduce this "lag" in the application of the vibrating motors? It is significant enough that it affects my immersion, and if it can't be reduced/eliminated I'll probably be sending it back. Any advice/help is appreciated.

[@DDFRacer]

Have you tried bypassing the HF8 software and using something else instead? I wasn't a big fan of the HF8 software either so set it up using SimHub instead (instructions included in the video) and noticed a significant increase in the quality of effects and immersion...although that said, I didn't notice much of a lag so can't really comment on whether this would fix your issues. Could be worth a try before sending it back though 👍

[@focusflute]

Is it possible for you to try this on a console with Gran Turismo 7 and give us a review?

[@DDFRacer]

Unfortunately not. I don't have a console or Gran Turismo 7 and the HF8 was packed up and sent to its rightful owner after I recorded this video a few weeks ago. Based on my limited experience though I definitely wouldn't recommend getting it for console, since it would only add vibrations based on the audio signal, not based on what the game is doing. It'd effectively be like sitting on a subwoofer. To use the HF8 to its true potential you'd need to be using it on PC but bypassing the built in software and using a third party tool such as SimHub.

[@_pjd]

Will that fit in the herman miller embody gaming chair?

[@DDFRacer]

That's a good question...and not one I have the answer to unfortunately as I don't own either product 😅 I would _imagine_ so, as the HF8 claims to be compatible with most chairs/seats, but don't take my word for it. Sorry I couldn't help!

[@aitezazahsan2948]

Do you know the settings that i would have to enable or disable in iracing for it to work? similar to the experience you were having with automobolista around the 6:42 mark. I've set mine up but iracing doesn't seem to detect it?

[@aitezazahsan2948]

Found it! Options, Misc, and check mark the Enable LFE box. Thanks for showcasing this error message you got man. Your video was the only one that mentioned it. So appreciate that mate!

[@DDFRacer]

You beat me to it 😅 glad you found that setting and got it up and running! There's no mention of it in the manual and you have to actively go looking for further instructions on how to get each sim configured. If you know, you know I guess 🤷‍♂️ but that's why I left that part in the video edit. It makes me look like a bit of an idiot but it might also help out someone else, just like yourself, in exactly the same situation.

[@Marctyler91]

If you can’t justify the price tag on this, what else would you recommend?

[@DDFRacer]

That's a good question, I'd have to look into it a little more 👍 although I'm not necessarily sure there would be a cheaper option out there that does a better job. Speaking to someone who made a DIY shaker setup which connects to simhub, they said it costs a similar amount as the HF8 and I honestly think that would be a more convenient set up at the moment unless you can find a way to integrate this into the seat directly. Being sat on top of it is very noticeable and does become a little uncomfortable over time so having something which mounts to the side of the seat/frame instead would be my preferred option if I was going to do down the shaker/motor route.

[@KuSQ3N]

Looks like it works much better on iracing

[@DDFRacer]

I did have a quick run on RaceRoom, AC and iRacing after playing around in AMS2 and it felt pretty much the same to me to be honest, although I didn't bother including the footage in the edit though since the video was already up above 20 minutes and didn't really add anything extra that I hadn't already said 😉

[@KuSQ3N]

@@DDFRacer I think it was Dan that said, the road texture is much more define on iracing compared to the other sims.

[@EdCapone]

So this doesn’t work with PS5? Only computer?

[@DDFRacer]

You can use it on ps5 but it'll be in audio only mode, will basically be like a big subwoofer that you sit on 😉 but no unfortunately, no advanced data specific feedback outside of PC.

[@randallkipker9990]

Had and issue loading your simhub settings... file error

[@DDFRacer]

Sorry for the late reply! Did you get it working? At what point did you get the error? Could you download it or was the error in Simhub? Normally you just double click the file and it should auto-import into Simhub so odd to see that's not the case 🤔

[@randallkipker9990]

@@DDFRacer I got it all good Thanks

[@Slow370Z]

Please review the Ushake6 by sim racing studios!!

[@DDFRacer]

If you send me one then sure thing 😉

[@Username_Invalid]

The big selling point for this I would assume is that it basically has zero noise and can be used in apartments un such as the Buttkicker. Luckily I don’t live in a apartment so I got Buttkickers turned up 🔊

[@DDFRacer]

Ah trust me, it still does make noise and send vibrations all through your seat and rig, through the floorboards etc 😉 especially when the motors kick in to their full strength! I've never used a Buttkicker so can't compare the noise levels but definitely wouldn't say the HF8 is zero noise.

[@nanoverse]

How to import your settings?

[@DDFRacer]

Download link is in the video description 👍 then load the profile in SimHub in the ShakeIt Motors section and it should import my settings. Fair warning though, I made this a long time ago and only after one session so it might not be great 😅 unfortunately I haven't been able to tweak it any further since making this video as I had to package the HF8 up and send it back to its rightful owner (this was a loan unit from a friend for the review).

[@SwiftyNShifty]

How do you configure the games? I am trying to look online and when I hit the help button it takes me to their contact page. TIA

[@DDFRacer]

Hey Kelson 👋 it's been a while since I've used the software (after the video was made I packed up the HF8 and sent it back to its rightful owner) so apologies if they've updated it since then or it's incorrect...but when you select a game in the HF8 software and can assign your motors and strengths, there should be a Help button in the top right corner which provides additional instructions. That said, I would recommend avoiding the HF8 software and using something like SimHub instead 👍 it's free and offers much more in terms of customisation and quality.

[@BRANDON.MUSTANG]

Is it loudy do you recomment it honestly im close to buy it?

[@DDFRacer]

It does make a bit of low rumble but mostly vibrations through the seat itself. Shouldn't be a problem if you have your own place but if you have people living below or next door in close proximity then it might travel through the floor and walls.

[@scuderiabazzane6064]

tried it for two days, it's of little use and it's really really uncomfortable! returned...

[@DDFRacer]

Although I would disagree with it being of little use (once you use it with SimHub instead of the default software) I couldn't agree more regarding the comfort. If it was somehow built _into_ a seat, instead of being placed on top of it, then perhaps it might be a little less noticeable but yeah, unfortunately it's not too great as-is, especially for longer sessions.

[@scuderiabazzane6064]

@@DDFRacer I uninstalled the software after one hour and moved to simhub; I am receiving much more inputs from the bass shakers... Long sessions were the real problem

[@gozzyboy1989]

Have you made an updated settings and if not are you willing to find the best setting on this or simhub and share

[@DDFRacer]

Unfortunately I don't have the HF8 any more, this was a loaner from a subscriber so once I made the review I packed it up and sent it to its rightful owner. There's a link to my initial SimHub settings in the video description though 👍

[@gozzyboy1989]

@@DDFRacer thanks man was hoping you spent a little more time on it after these months to gets it's maximum potential, will give it a go

[@lugs118]

I might be missing the point but when I lock the front right in a real car I don’t feel it only under my right thigh and locking the left only under my left thigh so how is this immersive? If you are struggling to feel what’s going on through the ffb you could save £230 and run a sim hub overlay with indicators in a visible but unobtrusive position. I would add that if you are not feeling wheel slip and locking through the ffb then lowering the damping, friction and interpolation filters (or whatever your software calls them) helps compared the per game defaults that I think feel heavy / numb / lifeless.

[@jorn-jorenjorenson5028]

Well, ffb in the steering wheel is far off driving a real car too. Still, after some time you get used to it and it makes you "feel" the whole car and it gets really immersive. From my experience it's the same with shakers under your legs/back (I have 6), it takes some time but it definitely increases the immersion quite a lot.

[@lugs118]

@@jorn-jorenjorenson5028 I understand bass shakers under the rig, my point was specifically about having such localised feedback. As for the wheel ffb, I agree it’s not ‘real’ but I didn’t claim it was, my point was you should be able to feel slip and lock at all 4 contact points through the wheel ffb but I will add that good audio and visual information is also important for this.

[@jorn-jorenjorenson5028]

@@lugs118 Ok, get your point. You're absolutely right, audio and visuals (and also knowing what to expect from the car), that all works together somehow and after some time gives you a very detailed feel for the whole car. About the localised feedback, I think you get used to it and after a while you don't experience it as so localised anymore and it adds to the wohle immersion. I don't know this specific gear and how it exaclty feels, though. Surely it also depends on the seat. I totally agree, having big and strong shakers at all 4 corners of the rig would be better. But your neighbours/family might disagree, when they feel/hear every curb you take. ; )

[@jkwes1]

Really informative Dan - thanks

[@DDFRacer]

For me personally it's not so much about the immersion factor (since I can get that plenty through my VR headset) but more about getting additional feedback which tells me what the car is doing. I know people who've gained several seconds a lap by fitting bass shakers to the four corners of their rig as it allows them to know when a wheel is losing grip, so I was expecting the HF8 to have the same effect since it's a much more direct form of feedback. That said, I completely agree with you when you say about not feeling the car through the FFB, and I actually mention this in the video a few times as well. The HF8 doesn't give you any more information than you already have through the wheel or audio/visual cues so it's just an extra layer which _some_ people may find useful.

[@seebarry4068]

Careful, hit the right frequency and your bowels will release.

[@DDFRacer]

Probably not the kind of skidmarks you're used to seeing on the track 😬

[@L-double-J]

What hud is that on simhub?

[@DDFRacer]

That is a custom overlay I've designed myself 👍 it's available for download on my Discord server, link in the video description.

[@greezyweezy5836]

needs simhub app. the end

[@DDFRacer]

100% agreed. The Next Level Racing software falls short out of the box sadly, but I'm sure they're working on patching it up. The way SimHub integrates (and consistently too) across all sims is superb though, I use it all the time for my streaming overlays and it just...works.

[@kenbarthSimAV8tor]

Considering if on sale; maybe eh :)

[@DDFRacer]

It's definitely a great idea 👍 and if the price drops a little bit then might be worth a punt. Maybe my seat is a little too firm and that's what made it uncomfortable, I was speaking to someone else who had the HF8 and their seat was much softer and allowed it to get pushed into the material a little more when they sat on it, was hardly noticeable apparently. Whatever you do though, make sure you set up SimHub if you decide to get one as the default software integration leaves a little bit to be desired. EDIT: Just noticed AV8tor in your username so perhaps SimHub doesn't apply as you might be a flightsimmer, not a simracer 😉 my bad if so!

[@EdCapone]

Can I use sim hub with ps5?

[@DDFRacer]

I'm afraid not mate, SimHub is PC only as far as I'm aware

[@Followyourpassions]

​​@@DDFRaceryes😉. Connect your pc with ps5 IP adress. Works just the same.

[@mostwanted2000]

You focused only on a game. Maybe iRacing would have had better configs.

[@DDFRacer]

I had a try and unfortunately iracing is actually worse than AMS2 as it doesn't output nearly as much useable telemetry data for SimHub to pickup. RaceRoom was pretty good, along with Assetto Corsa as well, but the video was already pretty long by that point so didn't really see the point of including the footage 👍

[@mostwanted2000]

Oh.. the guy from Boosted Media said that he got better results in iRacing.. He didn't use the "sim" custom app, just the bundled app.. Well then I believe is not worth buying it. I bought Tactsuit X40 and it's not impressing me at all in HL Alyx either..

[@vsm1456]

Looks like the software is shamefully bad. Forces you to register, has problems running, and most importantly cannot do what it's supposed to do.

[@DDFRacer]

100% agreed, don't even bother with the software if you plan on using the HF8. Hopefully this video can save people a bit of time if they decide to get one, since they know it's best just to jump straight into SimHub and use it through that instead 😉

[@vsm1456]

@@DDFRacer Definitely, your review is very informative and helpful!

[@TheRealTyphon]

Hate it. Put it on the seat sat in it and i instantly didn’t like. Thing was mad uncomfortable. I would prefer to sit on a thumb tack.

[@DDFRacer]

Can't say I disagree with you to be honest, it's definitely something that you can't ignore when you're sat on it. I know a couple of people who have modified an old seat and put the HF8 _inside_ the fabric itself but that's a big project to take on and shouldn't be necessary. The idea behind it is good though 👍

[@pozkodeth]

bad box cutter safety

[@DDFRacer]

Very bad. The worst. Any thoughts on the HF8?

[@alexsp7086]

It is great your just using the wrong software 😂 really thier software is so shit that it just feels like a cheap massage chair. Now with sim shakers it’s a night and day difference.

[@DDFRacer]

Not sure if you watched until the end of the video but I ditched the Next Level Racing software and used the HF8 with SimHub instead... And noticed a big improvement 👍

[@NextLevelRacing]

HFS was launched in Beta with no intention of being a refined product immediately. Regrettably, this is the reason why we stress the compatibility of HF8 with other third-party software like SimHub or SimShaker.

[@LowBlow]

Looks rubbish

[@DDFRacer]

I definitely think there's a lot of potential there, especially using the SimHub software, but it does need a little bit of work 🤔 definitely wouldn't recommend just using it out of the box as-is though.

[@dogzero1]

That's some great info right there. Lowblow says it looks rubbish so it must be. Some no name kids gives us all some advice.😏

[@DDFRacer]

@@dogzero1 everyone's entitled to an opinion 👍

[@LowBlow]

@@dogzero1 ok asshole XD

[@rubbingisracing6951]

the reason its not great because the settings u have,follow nextlevel settings video and it be alot better

[@DDFRacer]

I gave them a crack but was still a little disappointed 🤔 the way the Next Level Racing software interprets the data in-game doesn't make sense to me as it's not physics based, it's mostly input based. Acceleration doesn't convey the g-forces of accelerating, instead it basically conveys how much of the accelerator pedal you have pushed down which....well, I already know that with my foot. That said, when I switched to using Simhub instead of the NLR software I noticed a *big* jump and, once I spent a little while getting it dialled in, I actually really enjoyed it and did find it to be quite great. However, the feeling of being raised up in my seat, the increased temperature and the lack of being able to unclip it and remove it quickly were enough to say it just wasn't for me. The concept is great though and if this kind of thing can be integrated into a seat by default, instead of being an added extra, then I could see it being a big success.