Sim-racing setups differ from rider to rider. My personal preferences can’t be identical to yours, and the reverse is also true. It’s all about subjectivity in life, even in sim-racing.
The latest racing equipment has become highly developed, coming very close to what you’d find in a real race car. Official replica steering wheel, sim-racing cockpit imitating a roll cage, shifter, handbrake, pedals and Direct Drive base are just a few examples of today’s sim-racing market. What’s more, many motorsport teams and professional drivers use sim-racing equipment for their training. It’s cheaper already, and literally risk-free for the driver.
Speaking of similarities between simulators and racing cars, there’s one point that many virtual racers forget: buttons boxes. So, yes, the new sim-racing steering wheels incorporate a host of buttons, rotary, switches and funky switches, but so do race cars, and with buttons boxes. There are several examples that come to mind when I think of this equipment, such as starting the engine. Basically, you don’t have this on the steering wheel, and you’ll have to remap a control to get this action.
Some virtual pilots think that button boxes are unnecessary, while others take the opposite view. In this article, we’ll take a look at this equipment, determine whether you need it in your setup, and list the best button boxes on the market.
The best sim-racing button boxes on the market
Apex Sim Racing P911 Button Box
Apex Sim Racing is a sim-racing player that focuses much more on accessories than peripherals. The brand offers button boxes, such as the P911, dashboards, brackets, accessories and a steering wheel. The manufacturer also offers bundles with Simagic peripherals coupled with Apex Sim Racing accessories.
For this list, the P911 button box has been chosen. Its name refers to the Porsche 911 and the dashboard of the racing version of the car. The equipment uses carbon fiber for the front and back plate, giving it a racing effect at first glance.
There are 13 controls in all on the front panel, with a USB connection to the PC platform only. Console runners need not bother, as the P911 will only run on Windows.
This button box is more than adequate for fans of virtual car racing, and retails for around €290. As far as installation is concerned, you won’t really have any problems as long as your chassis is modern and has room for such equipment.
GTE V3 Carbon Fiber sim racing Button Box
For this button box, the brand has chosen a hybrid approach: having both a 5″ screen and buttons right underneath. It’s handy in some cases, but personally, I don’t use the screen because I prefer the button box on my right, and taking my eyes off the track isn’t really advisable. Nevertheless, for buttons, it does the job brilliantly.
So, as with the P911, here we find carbon fiber, a much more racing design and a total of 11 different controls. Buttons, rotary, switch and a RevLED on the sides of the screen; it pretty much ticks all the boxes for those looking for a compact and complete solution too.
Now for the price. The GTE V3 costs €237. Compatibility is PC only, but there are several titles that will be able to use this peripheral: iRacing, ACC, rFactor and Euro Truck Simulator are just a few examples.
Grid Engineering Porsche 911 GT3
Grid Engineering is a brand that manufactures race-typical sim-racing peripherals. Their catalog isn’t huge compared to what we’re used to seeing from sim-racing brands such as Fanatec, but for the segment covered by Grid Engineering, it’s qualitative.
Among the accessories sold on the latter’s store, we have the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup button box, which is an official replica of what’s found in racing cars of the same name. The box boasts a very motorsport design, with carbon fiber, bright colors and several controls. A total of 22 controls are present on the front of the device, with lots of stickers to personalize each input. When I say heaps, I’m not joking, because there must be 200 of them, each one different from the next.
This button box is mounted using the VESA standard, i.e. 75×75 mm at the rear, which shouldn’t be a problem with most chassis, such as those from SimLab.
Compatibility is PC-only, much to the dismay of console drivers. There’s nothing you can do about it, and it’s an elitist peripheral anyway, with an asking price that rivals that of the Xbox Series S.
Speaking of price, Grid Engineering’s Porsche 911 GT3 Cup button box costs nearly €400, making it a fairly expensive option to complete your setup, but for some racers, immersion is priceless.
What is a button box?
A button box is, as its name suggests, a box of buttons. It’s an electronic device that integrates buttons that can be mapped to perform different actions.
Basically, it’s a box that lets you add buttons to your sim-racing setup, thus adding extra functionality. Those of you in the streaming or music business know exactly what I’m talking about, as you use more or less the same electronic equipment.
Of course, you can also use a musical button box for sim-racing, but you should know that there are specific peripherals for this purpose, helping to enhance immersion in virtual racing. You can also configure a Steam Deck as a button box if you’re a bit of a Sunday handyman.
Are button boxes necessary for sim-racing?
If you race as a sports car enthusiast, then no, button boxes aren’t really necessary for most setups. And that applies to perhaps 85% of racers who are looking for setups to play F1 25 or ACC.
For the rest of the virtual drivers, button boxes are important to any setup that makes sense. Their usefulness goes beyond the visual, and is often related to a specific need in terms of functionality.
Button boxes add buttons to your sim-racing setup, something that steering wheels don’t have in abundance. Wheels have a limited space which is used by several elements, such as rotaries, switches or sometimes even screens. And if your steering wheel, like the F1’s for example, incorporates a 4″ slab in the center, well, there’s less space for the buttons you’ll be able to use while racing.
It’s in this sense that button boxes are useful in certain sim-racing set-ups, in addition to the immersion aspect of course. Because, frankly, one of the main aims of sim-racing is to blur the boundary between reality and virtual reality, and thus achieve a very high level of immersion.
Porsche 911 GT3
Best Button box Sim Racing in 2026
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