Pick the Playseat Trophy if you want a light, all in one cockpit with a seat in the box and a quick setup. Pick the SIMGASM Club if you want a 40x80 aluminium profile frame that you adjust in every direction, upgrade with any brand and finish in your own colour. The Trophy is a complete package, the Club is a platform that grows with you.
Both look great in a sim racing room, but they follow very different ideas. Here is the full comparison.
Frame and construction
The frame decides how the cockpit feels under braking and how far you take it later.
Playseat Trophy: a light steel frame with an integrated seat
The Trophy uses a steel frame of about 140 x 58 x 100 cm, and retailers list it at around 16 kg. The ActiFit seat is a frameless shell of stitched material that is part of the frame itself. Reviewers found the frame sturdy with direct drive bases and load cell pedals, with only slight movement in the wheel deck arms.
SIMGASM Club: a 40x80 aluminium profile platform
The Club aluminium sim racing cockpit measures 500 x 1350 x 620 mm and uses a 40x80 mm main profile. Its pedal deck is rated for 200 kg of braking load. Every profile has T slots, so you place the seat, pedals, wheel and accessories exactly where you want them. The video above shows the bigger Pro, but the build quality and finish are the same family.
SIMGASM | Club Aluminum Sim Racing Cockpit - White
Adjustability and fit
A cockpit that fits your body makes you faster and keeps long races comfortable.
Trophy adjustments
The Trophy is made for drivers from 120 to 220 cm tall and up to 120 kg. You adjust the pedal plate angle, height and distance with hand nuts, the backrest through telescopic tubes and the seat distance with a telescopic section. The wheel deck height is fixed, and there are no seat sliders.
Club adjustments
On the Club, the pedal deck, the brace plate under the wheel and the seat brackets all slide along their slots. You set the wheel height and angle freely, then retighten the eight upright bolts. Add a seat slider when you share the rig. Our guide on which cockpit suits your height and weight explains how to set it up for your size.
SIMGASM | Club Aluminum Sim Racing Cockpit - Gold
Seat, accessories and upgrades
This is where the two cockpits differ the most over the years you own them.
The Trophy includes its seat, which is great value on day one. A shifter and handbrake attachment costs extra, and reviewers note there is no way to mount monitors to the frame as one unit.
The Club ships without a seat. You choose a bucket or reclining seat from the sim racing seats range. It does include the Core side profile shifter and handbrake arm. Monitor stands, keyboard mounts and other parts bolt straight onto the profile. Want to grow step by step? Read how to upgrade a cockpit without replacing the frame.
SIMGASM founder Johan Akkerman learned this lesson early. He started sim racing in 2008, welded his first frame from used gas pipes and later tested an extensive range of cockpits at international exhibitions. His view: a simulator should last for years and adapt to new hardware, not end up in the attic after one upgrade.
SIMGASM | Club Aluminum Sim Racing Cockpit - Purple
Looks and personal style
Both brands care about style, but in a different way.
The Trophy comes in a few fixed finishes, such as black and red. The Club comes in many colours plus race liveries like JPS, MARINI, RothBros and Aichi. SIMGASM print specialist Michal Nevrela brings more than fifteen years of print experience and turns colours, numbers and full liveries into real parts. Comparing more brands? Read SIMGASM Club vs Fanatec CSL cockpit too.
The verdict
Here is the short answer for each type of racer.
The Trophy suits racers who want one box, a seat included and a light frame they rarely change. The Club suits racers who plan to upgrade wheelbases, pedals or screens, and who want a stiff aluminium sim rig in their own look. Compare more options in the full sim racing cockpit range.
Questions about Club vs Playseat Trophy
Quick answers to the most common questions.
Is the Playseat Trophy good for direct drive?
Reviewers found it stable with direct drive bases, with slight movement in the wheel deck arms. Retail listings describe it as recommended for direct drive wheels.
Which one is easier to adjust?
The Trophy uses quick hand nuts on the pedal plate. The Club needs a tool, but every part slides along full length slots, so the range is wider.
Does the SIMGASM Club include a seat?
No. You choose your own seat, which lets you match it to your driving style and body.
Want to learn more? The SIMGASM experts are happy to help.
