VRS Sim Racing Wheel Base full torque locked behind paywall

The company VRS (Virtual Racing School), known for selling sim racing equipment, has launched a product, the uDFP20 Wheel Base, which is readily capable of certain performance, but this performance is locked under an additional software purchase.

In the sim racing market, there are a lot of different options when it comes to wheel bases. Most of the time, the consumer will choose an option based on budget to performance of the wheel base.

The performance of a wheel base is more often than not tied to its peak torque capacity. Force feedback is another factor, but the choice most generally comes down to how much power the wheel base is able to make.

VRS sells a wheel base, a piece of hardware, that is fully capable of a 20Nm torque output, at a price of $449. For this price, the base will be shipped set-up with a firmware lockout limiting hardware torque output will be limited to 6 Nm.^[1]

If you want to enable higher torques, you need to purchase a "software unlock code". To use the full 20 Nm of the same wheel base you already have, you'd have to pay an additional $398, totalling to $847 for a single product. However, VRS also offers the option to buy the 20Nm wheel-base as a serparate product, the DFP20 for a price of $799.^[2] Both products have the peak torque adjustable up to 20Nm through software as with other similar products in the market, yet the uDFP20 is more expensive than the DFP20.

The company defends this practice saying "this new product is a separate offering for those that like the idea of buying in steps".^[1]

1. It is not a "new product" by any means. It is a separate offering for the exact same piece of hardware.
2. When "upgrading" your output torque, you are effectively purchasing nothing since this is something you already own.
3. They sell the exact same product that is not software locked $48 cheaper, and you can still adjust its power to your liking via their software.^[2]

To best inform customers when making a purchasing decision, the following solutions can be implemented:

• Completely stop this misleading practice and remind people that they can adjust the peak power of their wheel base via its provided software.
• Re-adjust the price of the product so that both "upgradable" and "non upgradable" versions are the same price after reaching the 20 Nm mark, since they are the exact same product.