Stream deck for sim racing: Building a button box in an afternoon

A Stream Deck isn’t “sim racing hardware” — but sim racers love it because it solves a real problem: too many useful actions, not enough easy buttons.

You can use it for:

Pit macros
MFD shortcuts
Camera changes
Streaming controls (OBS scenes, mute, markers)

What to map first (so it’s actually useful)

Pit limiter and pit menu shortcuts
Fuel add/remove presets
Tyre change on/off
Reset/tow (with a “safety” placement)

Keep it simple: one page beats five pages

The biggest Stream Deck mistake is making it too clever. If you have to search for the button, it’s not a shortcut.

Mounting: make it feel like part of the rig

A Stream Deck works best when it sits in your “control zone” — reachable without twisting or leaning.

Rig-mounted brackets can help you mount controls cleanly on aluminium profile rigs.
A keyboard tray complements it nicely for setup work and text input.

Result: a calmer cockpit. Less menu panic. More focus on driving.