Keyboard Tray Setup for Sim Racing: Positioning and Tips

Quick answer

Mount the tray so the keyboard sits just below your wheel deck and within a relaxed arm's reach, with a slight tilt toward you. Set it after your seat and pedals are final, then tighten everything and check that your knees clear the tray through full pedal travel.

A keyboard tray is one of those sim rig parts you only notice when it is wrong. Put it in the right spot and you can type, chat, or hit a shortcut without breaking your driving posture. Put it in the wrong spot and you will be reaching past your wheel, banging your knees, or twisting your wrist every stint.

The good news is that positioning a keyboard tray is a short, repeatable process. This guide walks through the order that works: finalize your cockpit first, then mount, adjust, and check the tray. You will also see which Sim-Lab parts are commonly used around the tray area, and where a small upgrade genuinely helps.

Set your cockpit position before the tray

Every tray measurement depends on where your seat and pedals end up. If you mount the tray first and then move your seat, the reach and height will be wrong. Set your seat distance and pedal tray angle, do a few laps, and only then start on the keyboard tray.

This order matters most on aluminum profile cockpits, where brackets can be loosened and slid along the slots. A tray that felt perfect yesterday can feel far away after a seat change, so treat the tray as the last adjustment, not the first.

• Checkpoint: your wheel, pedals, and seat should already feel right before you touch the tray.
• Common mistake: mounting the tray to a temporary seat position and never revisiting it.

Choose a mounting point that clears your wheel

The tray needs to sit below the wheel deck and forward of your knees, so your hands can drop from the rim to the keys without lifting your shoulders. On profile rigs, the usual approach is to attach the tray to the uprights or to a front profile section using the brackets that came with it.

Before you tighten anything, slide the tray through its full range and watch for contact with the wheelbase, shifter, or handbrake. A tray that only clears the wheel at one angle will rattle or block you later.

• Keep the tray just below the wheel deck so your forearms stay roughly parallel to the floor.
• If you run a shifter or handbrake, mock up its position too before locking the tray down.

Dial in height, angle, and reach

Sit in your normal driving position and let your arms hang. The keyboard should land where your hands fall naturally, with elbows bent around 90 degrees and wrists straight. If you have to lean forward, the tray is too far away; if your elbows tuck behind you, it is too close.

A slight tilt toward you, a few degrees at most, often feels better than a flat tray because your wrists do not have to bend upward. Start flat, type a sentence, and adjust in small steps rather than chasing a number.

• Checkpoint: you should be able to reach the far row of keys without moving your shoulders.
• Common mistake: setting the tray for standing height or desk height instead of your seated sim position.

Tighten, cable-manage, and test under load

Once the position feels right, tighten the brackets evenly so the tray cannot creep along the profile slots. Give the tray a firm push and pull in both directions; any movement means a bracket is loose or the tray is only supported on one side.

Route the keyboard cable along an existing profile run and secure it with clips or ties so it does not pull on the tray or catch on your leg. Then drive a full stint, including heavy braking, and check that your knees clear the tray and nothing rattles.

• Re-check bracket bolts after the first long session; profile rigs can settle slightly.
• If the tray flexes, add support rather than over-tightening one bracket.

Keyboard tray setup: step-by-step

1. Finalize seat and pedals: Set seat distance, pedal tray angle, and wheel height first, then do a short session to confirm the driving position feels right. Checkpoint: do not mount the tray until the cockpit feels settled.
2. Pick the mounting point: Attach the tray below the wheel deck and forward of your knees, using the uprights or a front profile section and the supplied brackets. Common mistake: mounting so high that the tray blocks the wheelbase or your view of the screen.
3. Set height and reach: Sit in your driving position and place the keyboard where your hands fall with elbows around 90 degrees and wrists straight. Checkpoint: no leaning forward and no elbows tucked behind you.
4. Add a slight tilt: Tilt the tray a few degrees toward you so your wrists stay neutral, then type a test sentence and adjust in small increments. Common mistake: over-tilting, which forces your wrists to bend backward.
5. Tighten and manage cables: Tighten brackets evenly, push and pull the tray to check for movement, and route the keyboard cable along an existing profile run. Checkpoint: the tray should not shift when you type or brake hard.
6. Test through a full stint: Drive a full session, including heavy braking, and confirm your knees clear the tray and nothing rattles or catches. Re-check bracket bolts after the first long session.

Sim-Lab parts that help around the tray

• Sim-Lab Cap Washers (Set of 6): Aluminium cap washers with the Sim-Lab logo engraved, supplied with extra bolts and washers so they fit common brackets, in black, blue, or red and M8, M6, or M5 sizes. Useful for finishing exposed bracket bolts near the tray so nothing sharp or unfinished sits where your knees or cables pass.
• Sim Floor: A 4mm aluminum diamond plate floor panel measuring 490 x 350 mm with four corner brackets included, compatible with P1X, P1X Pro, P1X Ultimate, GT1 Pro, and GT1 Evo (2020 model and newer). Gives your feet a defined, flat surface under the rig, which makes seated reach and tray height easier to judge consistently.
• P1X Pro Simracing cockpit: Aluminum profile cockpit designed for rigidity and adjustability, supporting direct drive wheels and loadcell pedals, with a modular design and easy assembly. Its profile slots and modular layout give you more places to mount a keyboard tray and adjust it later without rebuilding the rig.
• GT1 Evo Sim Racing Cockpit: Rigid structure with a sturdy pedal plate, side mount for accessories like shifters and handbrakes, and adjustable height and angle of the pedal tray. A good base for a first tray setup because the included side mount and adjustable pedal tray let you settle your driving position before adding the keyboard.

A keyboard tray only works when it follows your driving position, not the other way around. Settle your seat and pedals, mount the tray low and close, tilt it slightly, tighten everything, and test it under braking. Do that once and you can forget the tray and focus on the lap.