Grizzly Simgineering Windsim Kit(s)
On the French border of Germany, in the well-known city of Saarbrücken, lies the company Grizzly Simgineering. This company is dedicated to producing innovative and high-quality sim accessories at fair prices. All their products are manufactured in Germany, with sustainability and quality taking center stage during production. They offer a diverse range of accessories, from small mounts to showcase your steering wheel to complete wind simulators.
A while ago, we received an offer from Grizzly Simgineering to review a new product for us—their wind simulation kits. Naturally, we were very curious to experience racing with a wind simulator on our sim rigs and to share our findings with you, so we gladly accepted the offer.
Grizzly generously provided us with multiple wind simulator variants, including the Polar Bear Wind Simulation Kit 140mm and two versions of the Wind Simulation Kit 120mm. This included both the standard version and the version with a hose attachment. As received, the 140mm kit is priced at €279.00, while the 120mm kit with the hose is priced at €299.00. Both prices are inclusive of VAT and come with free shipping.
Packaging & Content
Within three business days, we received two large brown boxes via DHL from Germany. The size of the boxes immediately stood out upon delivery. Upon opening, we weren’t greeted by typical retail packaging, which makes sense given the nature of the product. The wind simulators were carefully packed individually and secured with additional layers of paper to prevent damage during transport.
Inside the boxes, we found the wind simulators, several USB-C cables, mounting materials, and the controllers. No documentation was included. While some might expect a more elaborate unboxing experience, the focus here is clearly on delivering a straightforward product. Simplicity and functionality take precedence, with items that are ready to use right out of the box.
Engineering & Quality
As mentioned, we are reviewing two different products: the Polar Bear Wind Simulation Kit 140mm and the Wind Simulation Kit 120mm. While both wind simulators share similarities, they also have some notable differences.
The Polar Bear Wind Simulation Kit 140mm
The 140mm version of the wind simulator we received is built around a housing made of fiberglass-reinforced polyamide material. Inside this housing is the main feature of the wind simulator: a 140mm diameter fan. At its maximum speed of 3000 RPM, this fan can move a staggering 269.3 cubic meters of air per hour. To put this into perspective, that’s equivalent to inflating approximately 523 double air mattresses in an hour.
When running at full capacity, the fan generates 41.3 dB of sound, which is comparable to the noise level of a typical refrigerator. To ensure the airflow is directed precisely, the front of the housing features a conical design that focuses the air movement effectively.
On the underside of the housing, there is a connector socket for powering and controlling the fan. Next to this socket is a short arm with a ball joint, allowing the entire assembly to be aimed precisely where needed. This joint can be locked or loosened with a simple twist knob. Beneath the ball joint, there is a flat mounting plate with two holes, making it easy to attach the wind simulator to an aluminum profile or similar structure. This versatile mounting setup ensures secure placement and flexible positioning for optimal performance.
The fan control is handled by a sleek black controller that houses an Arduino. On the exterior of the controller, there are two connectors on each side, allowing for a total of up to four fans to be controlled simultaneously. The controller is equipped with a USB-C port for connecting to a PC, a power input for the included power supply, and an on/off switch for quickly turning the system on or off. This setup provides a straightforward way to connect and manage multiple fans easily.
The Wind Simulation Kit 120mm
The 120mm version isn’t fundamentally very different from its larger 140mm counterpart. The basic housing design is largely the same. However, there are a few notable differences. For example, the housing for the 120mm fan is slightly smaller and features an additional rim on the cone at the front to attach the included hoses. These telescopic hoses are 1 meter long, allowing the directed air to reach the desired location without taking up too much space.
The main difference between the two windsims lies in the fan itself. As the name suggests, this version uses a 120mm fan. While it might be expected that the smaller fan is less powerful, the opposite is true. Unlike the larger version, the 120mm fan spins at a speed of 6000 rpm—twice as fast. As a result, the airflow of these fans is significantly higher, moving up to 353.4 cubic meters of air per hour. The increased speed and airflow naturally result in higher noise levels. The 120mm fan produces 64 dB of sound, roughly equivalent to a normal conversation or a running dishwasher. Despite the increased workload, the smaller fan is designed for longevity. It boasts a lifespan of approximately 70,000 operating hours, which equates to eight years of continuous use at full power.
The fan control system is identical to that of the 140mm variant, utilizing the same controller for operation.
Mounting
Mounting the fans of the windsim is incredibly straightforward thanks to the baseplates attached to the ball joints of the fans. This design makes them easy to install almost anywhere. The most challenging part of the setup is deciding exactly where to position them. Ideally, we’d place them directly in front of us. However, due to the size of the fans and the fact that our monitors occupy that space, this isn’t immediately feasible. As a solution, we decided to position the fans so they slightly protrude above our screen, allowing us to enjoy direct frontal airflow.
For the windsim that was delivered with hoses, the situation is a bit easier. Here, we can place the fans wherever we have space on our rig, and then position the end of the hose, which is much smaller than the fans themselves, wherever we want the wind to come from. We placed this along the side of one of our Formula Sim Rigs setups for the best experience. However, we chose not to use the mounting brackets that came with the hoses, as they take up a lot of space. In a tight space, it wasn’t practical to use them, so we mounted the hoses in true DIY fashion—using tie-wraps.
Once we have the fans in place, the next step is to connect them to our computers. We plug in the provided cables, which are long enough, into the bottom of the fans and then lead them to the included controller. On this controller, we have four different connections to choose from to plug the fans in. At the initial connection, it doesn’t matter which port the cables go into, as they will be configured later. Finally, we connect the controller to our computer using a USB-A to USB-C cable and plug the controller’s power cable into the outlet. This completes the connection of our windsim.
Software
With our wind sims connected to the PC, we can move on to the next step: controlling them. The actuation of the wind sims is done via the well-known SimHub. Here, our fans are immediately recognized and can be found in the “ShakeIt Wind” menu in the left sidebar.
In the “ShakeIt Wind” menu, we can fully adjust our Grizzly Simgineering wind sims to our liking. SimHub provides three tabs for this: “Wind profile,” “Output configuration,” and “Controls.” We begin the setup in the “Output configuration” tab. Before we can use the wind sims, we first need to ensure they’re being controlled properly. This is a simple task that can be done with a few clicks. First, we activate the Arduino, and then we need to set all channels to center. Once this is done, the wind sim is fully functional. The channels can also be set to left or right, but we’ll come back to that later.
With the fans ready to be controlled, we go back to the first tab, “Wind profile.” This is where we can fine-tune the wind sim to our liking. We can adjust both the “Idle wind,” the wind when we’re not racing, and the “Speed based wind,” the wind when we are racing. The “Speed based wind” allows us to adjust the power of the fans to a strength that feels comfortable and also set at which speed the maximum intensity should kick in. Additionally, the wind sim can create a difference between the left and right fans to simulate cornering and blow extra hard when we are in the slipstream of another car. However, to simulate the wind during cornering, we need to specify in the “Output configuration” tab which channel will send the signal for left and right. This can be easily done by selecting “left” or “right” instead of “center” in the dropdown menu.
The “Idle wind” allows us to use the wind sim essentially as a fan on our rig. This is really useful for figuring out which channel the left and right fans are connected to. In the menu, we can choose to control only the left or right channel. Using a small trial and error method, we go through the channels in the “Output configuration” tab until the correct fan is activated. Once we’ve identified the correct channels for both the left and right fans, we’re all set to put the wind sim to the test.
Before we start testing the wind sim extensively, we first take a look at the third and final tab, “Controls.” This tab is fairly straightforward, giving us the option to bind buttons to specific actions. For example, we can assign a button to turn the wind effects on or off, or we can adjust the intensity of the wind.
Using the Windsims
With everything properly mounted and set up in the software, we are ready to feel the wind in our hair. We test the wind sim in iRacing, Assetto Corsa, and Assetto Corsa Competizione.
Right from the moment we leave the pit lane, we are immediately greeted with a pleasant breeze blowing toward us. However, we quickly notice that the fans aren’t perfectly aligned. By simply loosening the ring on the foot of the fan, we can adjust the fan’s position, lining it up better so it blows comfortably in our face. Within about ten seconds, we’re back in our seat and ready to continue racing.
Although we’ve driven with a wind sim at expo’s before, it feels refreshing to have cool air blowing our way while in our own rig. Especially when we hit the long straights for the first time, and the speed steadily increases, we can’t help but smile as we feel the fan blowing harder and harder. Once we hit over 200 km/h, the fan is running at full speed, and there’s a significant airflow. At that point, we quickly decide to reduce the fan’s maximum power. In terms of noise, the fan is quite noticeable when the sound is coming through the speakers, but with headphones on, we hardly hear it. The main reason we reduced the power was because of how strong the wind was blowing in our eyes. Fortunately, with a simple adjustment in SimHub, we can dial down the maximum power until the wind feels more comfortable while driving. However, even with reduced fan power, we did find that after about 30 minutes of racing, our eyes started to feel very dry, and we had to turn off the wind sim briefly to give them a rest. Since we wanted to keep testing for longer periods, we eventually decided to wear sunglasses while racing to protect our eyes from the wind. This helped significantly, allowing us to race for extended periods with the wind sim.
While driving, we realize that we enjoy racing with a wind sim more than we initially expected. It’s not just on the straightaways that we get an extra layer of immersion, but even in the corners, the wind sim adds a subtle touch. In SimHub, we’ve also set it up for cornering. This introduces a speed difference between the left and right fans, which creates a sense of directional change. Aside from enhancing immersion, the wind sim has an unexpected side effect: when it’s hot in the room and we’re almost sweating out of our rig, it provides some cooling. This makes it much more comfortable to race on warmer days without feeling like we’re sticking to the chair.
Conclusion
All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed testing the Grizzly Simgineering wind sims. It was a surprising experience that left a positive impression on us.
Thanks to its simplicity in both assembly and software setup, both of the wind sims we received were ready to use in no time. During use, we were able to easily and quickly make adjustments for final tweaks. Once everything was set to our liking, the wind sims performed well, and we even felt they had excess capacity, so we dialed them down a bit. In terms of sound, the fans can be noticeable when driving without headphones, but with them on, we barely hear the fan.
Despite reducing the power, racing with the wind sim still feels a bit uncomfortable without protection for your eyes. However, if you wear glasses, you won’t experience any issues and can race for hours without dry eyes. In the worst case, the direction of the airflow can be adjusted, so it doesn’t blow directly in your face. This doesn’t take away from the quality of the product itself. If you own a VR headset, we believe the wind sim would truly shine and be an absolute must-have for maximum immersion. We’ll certainly continue enjoying the Grizzly Simgineering wind sims in the future.
If you’re also interested in one of Grizzly Simgineering’s wind sims, you can find them available in their webshop. The Polar Bear Wind Simulation Kit 140mm is priced at €279.00, including VAT and free shipping. If you’re more interested in the Wind Simulation Kit 120mm, including the hoses, it’s available for €299.00, including VAT and free shipping.
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