Sim Racer

FOV for sim racers: match the game to the angle your screen fills

Last updated 2026-11-11

Set the in-game FOV to the angle your screen fills. A 27-inch screen at 24 inches (60 cm) fills about 53 degrees horizontally. Check whether your sim wants a horizontal or a vertical value.

Training range

16:9

View A

Horizontal: 53°
Vertical: 31°

View B

Horizontal: 90°
Vertical: 59°

Drag a scene to look around. Arrow keys work when focused.Camera movement is synced.

A 53 degree view, like a 27-inch screen at 24 inches (60 cm), against a 90 degree view, pre-loaded. Change either angle or the aspect ratio to see how the target size and the width shift.

Edit in the full tool

Sim racers and flight sim players set a field of view in the game, but the screen on the desk fills its own angle. A 27-inch 16:9 monitor 24 inches (60 cm) from your eyes fills about 53 degrees of your view from side to side. When the in-game FOV matches that angle, the world shows at its real scale. Distances and braking points then look right when your eyes sit where you measured.

Why this matters for you

The angle follows from the screen width and your eye distance, and the FOV Visualizer works it out for you. At 24 inches (60 cm) a 27-inch screen fills about 53 degrees, and at 28 inches (70 cm) it fills about 46 degrees. Sitting closer widens the angle, so the right FOV changes when you move your seat. Measure from your eyes to the screen in your normal driving or flying position, then set the game from that number.

What a mismatch does

If the game's FOV is wider than the angle your screen fills, the picture is squeezed to fit. Take a 90 degree view on a screen that fills 53 degrees. A target in the center of the view ends up 50% shorter than it would at 53 degrees, so cars ahead can look farther away than they are.

A wider view does show more of the surroundings, and some players like that for spotting cars alongside. A 90 degree camera sees 101% more width on a plane 66 ft (20 m) ahead than a 53 degree one. The trade is a smaller view of what's right in front of you.

Work out the angle for your screen

Bigger screens and shorter distances fill more of your view. A 32-inch screen at 28 inches (70 cm) fills about 54 degrees. A 34-inch 21:9 ultrawide at the same distance fills about 59, and a 49-inch 32:9 super ultrawide at 31 inches (80 cm) fills about 74.

These figures treat the screen as flat. A curved panel wraps toward you, so the angle it fills depends on the curve too. The Display Curve Calculator covers curved panels.

Horizontal or vertical FOV

Some sims ask for a horizontal FOV, some ask for a vertical one, and some work it out from your screen size and seat distance. The two aren't interchangeable. A 90 degree horizontal view is 59 degrees vertical on a 16:9 screen and 45 degrees on a 21:9 one. A 60 degree vertical view is 91 degrees horizontal on 16:9. Check which one your game uses before you type a number.

Seat and desk

Your seat distance sets the angle, so measure it from your eyes to the screen. The Viewing Distance Calculator turns a screen size into a seat range, and the Desk Setup Visualizer shows whether your screens fit across the desk.

Verdict

Measure your seat distance, work out the angle your screen fills and start there. If you widen the view for awareness, remember that it shrinks the middle, so objects ahead look smaller and farther away.

Open the FOV Visualizer

Frequently asked questions

What FOV should I use on a 27-inch monitor?

Match the angle the screen fills. At 24 inches (60 cm) that's about 53 degrees horizontal, and at 28 inches (70 cm) about 46. Check whether your sim wants a horizontal or a vertical value first.

Is a wider FOV better for racing?

It depends on what you want to see. A wider FOV shows more of the surroundings, but it shrinks the middle of the view. Going from 53 to 90 degrees cuts a centered target's height by 50%. Matching your screen angle is the neutral starting point.

How do I convert horizontal FOV to vertical?

It depends on the aspect ratio. A 90 degree horizontal view is 59 degrees vertical at 16:9 and 45 degrees at 21:9. The visualizer converts for 16:9, 16:10, 21:9, 32:9 and 4:3.

Horizontal FOV explained

What a horizontal angle means and how the camera turns it into a picture.

Convert vertical FOV

Turn a vertical FOV into a horizontal one for your aspect ratio.

Game FOV and viewing distance

How your seat distance and the game's FOV work together.

21:9 ultrawide FOV

How the same horizontal angle looks on an ultrawide screen.