A few weeks ago, we introduced you to Lebois Racing’s SRT shifter. A real must-have for DIY enthusiasts. At the end of the article, we asked Lebois to lend us one of these shifters. And guess what, he did!
So we had the pleasure of testing the SRT gearbox for almost 3 weeks to give you our impressions. Has Lebois Racing succeeded in creating the best H-box on the market? Let’s check it out together 😉
Who is the SRT Shifter for?
Before going into the details of the SRT gearbox, it might be useful to remind ourselves who this simracing gearbox is for. It’s a model conceived and designed for DIY enthusiasts who own a 3D printer and enjoy building their own gear. Lebois Racing conceived the design, the mechanism, the options and delivers it all to you on its website and Discord.
With the support of his community of enthusiasts, he has been developing this shifter for several years now. At the time of writing, we’re already at V9!
If you don’t have a “fixed” simracing chassis, don’t bother. The SRT box is quite bulky, and the strength of its mechanism demands a perfectly stable and rigid support. Forget the coffee table.
To sum up, this is a simracing shifter designed for demanding, do-it-yourself enthusiasts with a 3D printer and a fixed chassis. Oh yes, and a bit of spare time to build it of course..
What does the Lebois Racing SRT Shifter look like in technical terms?
- H 6-speed reversegearbox
- Sequential gearbox
- Gearbox changeover in under 3 seconds
- 6 buttons
- Optional :
- E-clutch –> Blocks gear shifting if the clutch pedal is not engaged. This mode is activated and deactivated at the click of a button.
- Joystick –> Replaces the computer mouse directly on the shifter
- Pedals –> Connect your pedals directly to the shifter
- LED panel
- Magnetic sensors
- PC connection via USB
- All shifterfeel settings (left, right, up, down)
- Unlimited customization
I have to admit, as soon as we took the SRT shifter out of the box, we were in for a real treat. It’s a massive machine (37cm long, 9cm wide and 64cm high, including the round knob). The right-hand side is open, allowing us to contemplate the mechanics. But also to gain access to the numerous holes for attaching the box to your chassis.
Installing the SRT box on our chassis
As I said at the outset, this is not a box you can put on your coffee table. However, if you have a fixed simracing chassis with a shifter arm, or even better, a chassis made of aluminum profiles, installation will be a mere formality.
On the underside of the SRT, there are no less than 22 screw slots. On the left-hand side, you’ll find a further 20 slots. Extremely handy for attaching the shifter to a profile with T-nuts, for example. Or to fit a handbrake directly to the gearbox.
Once securely in place, it’s time to plug it in. This involves plugging a USB port under the hood on the top of the box.
For a little over a year now, I have switched to a Trak Racer TR8 chassis (old model). If the shifter arm has never been a problem with Thrustmaster, Logitech and Fanatec type gearboxes, I can’t say the same with the SRT.
My mounting arm not being sufficiently rigid, vibrations are transmitted to the rest of the chassis with each slightly muscular gear change. So be careful when choosing a chassis, every detail counts!
You can find the guide I created to avoid crashing by clicking right there 😉
E-clutch configuration
The next step is to configure the electronic clutch. Thanks to this little marvel, the H gearbox locks up if you don’t engage the clutch. A small revolution which adds enormously from a simulation point of view. Getting it to work is very simple: first you need the Simhub software.
If you don’t have it, don’t panic, it’s free and can be downloaded from their site. Once you’ve installed it, go to the Lebois e-clutch online manual. You’ll see that in 3 clicks and 1 copy and paste, it’s configured and ready to roll! It’s impressively simple.
Settings and “Tracks”: a stroke of genius from Lebois!
On the SRT gearbox, it’s simple: all shifter movements are adjustable. For lateral movements, there’s a knob in the center of the mechanism.
Turning it from left to right makes the movement smoother, and vice versa.
But it’s with forward and reverse movements that Lebois Racing puts a monumental slap in the face of all other shifters on the market.
It uses an innovative “Tracks” system. Tracks are pads that you can print out and modify as you see fit to create THE exact feel you want to achieve.
In other words, on each plate there’s a track for the H-box and a track for the sequential gearbox.
You can create as many tracks as you like, in any shape you like. You can even go one step further:
If, like me, you prefer to have two H-box tracks on the same wafer, that’s also possible. Or even two sequential ones. Anyway, you get the idea, anything’s possible.
Changing the insert takes about 2 minutes. You’ll need a 17 mm wrench and a 2 mm Allen key. And to switch from sequential mode to H mode, simply turn the cylinder to which the pad is attached.
It literally takes less than 3 seconds.
And I’d like to add that, from that point on, Lebois Racing has already kicked the crap out of every other model on the market.
Because in concrete terms, if you can create exactly the shifting feel you want, then you’ve got potentially the best simracing shifter in the world on your hands.
But what does this mean in practice?
From the very first turns of the wheel, I’m smiling. I finally feel like I’ve got a real gearbox in my hands. We’re thousands of years away from the entry-level and mid-range models on the market. And yet we’re the same price!
I haven’t mentioned it yet, but this gearbox actually costs less than €200 to build! That’s less than the price of the Fanatec shifter. And I’m telling you straight out, it’s got NOTHING to do with feel. We’re talking top-of-the-range here.
As for the feel of the SRT shifter in H-box mode, I was able to test 4 tracks provided by Lebois. Each with its own personality. My favorite is the S with its 3-step feel. But there’s something for everyone, and again, if you want a different feel you can create your own track.
On the sequential gearbox, however, I was left wanting more. It’s better than the mainstream models, but it lacks a little something.
You don’t really get the impression of “shifting” a gear. And whatever the sequential track, I wasn’t blown away. A slight downside for the sequential, but a huge surprise for the H.
And as far as the mechanism is concerned, the model Lebois sent us has hundreds of hours of use in it.
It has toured the world and been tested by a number of YouTubers. After testing it for dozens of hours myself, I can confirm that we’re dealing with very durable material that holds its settings perfectly.
In terms of design, it’s a masterpiece.
A slightly noisy shifter
Another point that can be improved by DIYers, but which Flo pointed out to me, is the noise. During my test sessions, everyone deserted the living room. And for good reason: the box is quite noisy. I didn’t realize it while I was driving, because I was enjoying the experience to the full, but Flo did point it out.
On Lebois’ Discord, other users explain how to fix it by putting rubber pads on certain parts of the mechanism. Personally, of course, I haven’t touched it, as the box was only lent to me.
Is the SRT shifter the best simracing gearbox in the world?
The concept of this shifter works, period. The mechanics are precise, resistant and adjustable at all points… The tracks allow you to create exactly the feeling you want. As far as the H YES gearbox is concerned, the SRT shifter is still unbeatable.
No matter how much you spend on a top-of-the-range model ($1,000 or more), the simple fact of being able to change tracks puts the SRT head and shoulders above the rest. In fact, tracks kill the “subjective” feeling argument, period. And again, it doesn’t even cost 200€ to build.
As for the sequential aspect, it’s not yet at the same level of pleasure, but I’m sure that within one or two versions, Lebois will find the solution to make it the perfect gearbox 😉
As for me, if it were my box, I wouldn’t even bother with sequential tracks. I’d make 2 H tracks per pad to get a “recent” car feel and a vintage car feel each time.
Lebois Racing’s advice on choosing a 3D printer
I have to confess something: I don’t have a 3D printer, and this shifter made me want to buy one. So I asked Lebois which model of printer he would recommend with good value for money. He recommended this ender3 model, which costs around 200€. Here’s the link ! On his Discord you’ll find all the resources and explanations you need to get started without making a mess 🙂
The plug & play version of NSH Racing
And for those who don’t have the time or inclination to get their hands dirty, NSH Racing has released a Plug & Play version of the SRT shifter in partnership with Lebois.
For €650 you can have their version with standard E-Clutch and a beautiful carbon fiber finish.
Shall we conclude with the SRT shifter?
Well, it was quite an experience to test this gearbox. And I’d really like to thank Lebois Racing for lending us this shifter. You should really keep an eye on his work, as he’s about to announce some new products that will once again bring some HEAVY DUTY to the world of Simracing!
Not only did the SRT box give me a slap in the face in terms of racing feel, it also made me want to try out even more DIY (do-it-yourself) equipment. It’s an exciting world out there, and I hope to be able to show you more original creations like this soon.
I’d be delighted to chat with you in the comments. Do you use a shifter? I’ve heard that H-box users are becoming a rarity, so we can happily talk about it just below 🙂
