D-BOX Generation 3 4250i Motion System Review

As some of you may know, I have been using a Generation 2 D-BOX 4400i motion system for almost 2 years now as my go to Sim Racing motion system. I was looking forward to testing the Gen3 system once it was announced. Now that I have spent some quality time with new GEN3 4250i system, I can say there are noticeable differences when using it. There seems to be a bit more power being delivered by the actuators. As the out of the box motion code configuration feels more intense in the motion and
vibration ques. And the new GEN3 controller boxes have venting holes and fans in them to keep things cool. Which would suggest my initial impressions are on point. When you add more power to electric motors you will usually increase the heat that it generates in the supporting circuitry design. The build quality of the actuators and controller
boxes is of typical D-BOX high level quality. The actuators have a nice smooth powder coat finish. The connecting cables between the actuators and controller boxes is thick
and heavy. Terminating with large high quality steel cable gland connectors. Everywhere you look you can see the attention to detail on this systems construction. The D-BOX engineers have gone to great lengths to mitigate the possibility of EMI/RFI interference. With a robust shielding solution implemented at every possible source. The data and power cords are individually shielded. Then they pass through the thick outer cables that themselves are constructed with a dense wire braid on the inner circumference. Then the data cable terminates with a shielded rj45 connector on the controller board. While the power cables are looped through a ferrite choke in a proper shielding fashion before
they terminate to a 4 pin connector. I do like the ease in which the user is able to detach the connecting cables in the controller boxes. This simplifies the process of returning an actuator for maintence or repair if ever needed. The new GEN3 systems have a different port configuration the GEN2 has. This to allow you to add actuators to you existing setup with minimal dramas. Just add the controller box to the existing configuration using a daisy chain method, drop the new configuration using the configurator tool and you are good to go. The D-BOX software is easy to install and gives the user very good control of the tuning options that are available with its user friendly GUI. When driving the GEN3 I noticed right away that is was a more intense experience than I had with the GEN2 system. So much so that I ended up adjusting the available settings more in the
negative power direction than the positive. And I was able to get it dialed in to my personal preferences without much drama. The performance of this system is very good. D-BOX has been in the motion and vibration game for a very long time and the end result show it. The motion is quick and in sync with what I was seeing on screen and feeling in my DD wheel system. I could actually feel bumps passing under the cars chassis through the motion and vibration queue that only D-BOX has. You can’t overlook the
impact that the Haptic element in this system brings to the table. When going over bumps, curbing, or rumble strips it shakes the cockpit in a way that other tactile systems I have tried cannot. This system is more than just a tactile solution bolted on to an existing cockpit. Its integrated with actuator motion in way that the two elements feel as one.
And really something you have to try for yourself to understand how well this all works together. Now one of the main complaints about a D-BOX motion system was not about how it preformed, but how much it cost. The good news is now that cost has gone down by a considerable amount. The way I calculated it the price drop comes in at around 5000.00 for this 4250i system. I think most will agree that this is great news. D-BOX has another winner on their hands with the Generation 3 system. Now there are other less expensive motion systems out there. But they don’t deliver the build quality and feature sets of the D-BOX system. Which still happens to be the easiest bolt on motion system to get up and running that I have tested to date.