REASONS TO BUY
Great value
Durable
Comfortable
REASONS TO AVOID
Looks aren't universally appealing
DXRacer Racing Series Review
Pairs exceptional comfort and durability, at a price you just can't beat
RELATED: Best Office Chairs of 2023
Our Verdict
The DXRacer is our top recommendation for anyone that wants a top-notch chair without spending a ton of cash. Our judges rated this chair as one of the more comfortable models, holding its own with top office chairs that cost hundreds of dollars more. While the DXRacer might not look at all like a conventional office chair, this piece of office furniture is surprisingly adjustable to match different body types and preferences and quite durable, sustaining almost no degradation throughout the course of our testing. If you are looking for an excellent office chair on a budget, the DXRacer is a great consideration.
Our Analysis and Test Results
Performance Comparison
Most people found the DXRacer to be quite comfortable.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Comfort
Our most significant metric — and the one that comes to mind immediately when thinking of these products — is comfort. Our diverse panel of judges rated and scored how comfortable the backrest, armrests, and seat of each chair are, as well as how many hours they could routinely sit in each seat before they became unduly uncomfortable. The DXRacer received overall great marks from our judges across the board.
Most of our judges gave very high marks to the DXRacer seat. Only two members of our panel felt it was closer to average compared to some of the more expensive options in our test suite. The cushion is on the firmer side but still provides plenty of padding when sitting in the chair for long periods of time. The Racer's backrest is more of a crowd-pleaser, with only one judge experiencing considerable discomfort. The height of the backrest doubles as a headrest, which most of our testers enjoyed.
This chair has an integrated headrest.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
The lumbar support is quite aggressive on this chair, with a more severe curvature than some of the other models in our test suite. This renders the chair uncomfortable if your spine has a more subdued S-curve, OR if you are a chronic sloucher. Some of our testers also noticed increased perspiration while sitting in this chair, especially where the lumbar pad is, making it slightly less comfortable for those in hotter climates.
The lumbar support can be a bit aggressive.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
It was a similar story when it came to the armrests on this chair, with only a single judge giving it less than a top score. These high marks across the board meant that most testers would be more than happy to sit in this chair for eight to ten hours a day, while a few were able to sit for 12 or more hours comfortably. Even the judge least enthusiastic about this chair found it to be more than suitable for four to six hours of sitting.
The DXRacer has a fairly impressive set of adjustable areas.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Adjustability
We examined the different ways you can adjust the chair and its range of motion for the armrests, backrest, and seat. We also paid special attention to the reclining tension adjustment and the ease of attaining a proper ergonomic sitting position; these factors were used to determine the overall score. The DXRacer again did very well in this metric.
The backrest has adjustable lumbar support in the form of a movable pad. This is unique compared to the usual adjustable bar and offers very aggressive support. This shapely cushion does not only move up and down but can be completely removed, which gives the Racer another level of adjustability. It is straightforward to adjust the vertical position as well as remove it, but it's important to note that without this pad, there is virtually no support — something to consider if you aren't a fan of aggressive lumbar support.
The lumbar support lacks ventilation and can get a bit sweaty.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
The armrests are almost fully adjustable, allowing you to move them forward and back, up and down, and swivel them, though you can't adjust how close they are to you. Despite this, most of our panel was more than happy with them and rated them all quite high.
This lever lets you lock the chair in a reclined position - a bit of a unique trait.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
The reclining lever is also fairly responsive, making it easy to get this chair into an ergonomic seating position, though the armrests can hit the underside of the desk, depending on the height of your desk.
We felt that the DXRacer can easily stand up to years of normal use without too much wear and tear.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Durability
For our next group of evaluations, we rated and scored the apparent durability of each office chair. While it is hard to conclusively make claims about the durability after only a few months of testing on a single unit, we spent a fair amount of time researching user experiences looking for commonly encountered issues. We also looked for any damage sustained in the course of our testing. Altogether, these evaluations account for a small amount of the total score, but because these chairs can get pricey, we feel this is a valuable metric that deserves some attention. We are happy to report that the DX scored highly in this metric.
During our user experience research, we did not find any commonly encountered issues or other problems. We also didn't find any major damage on this chair after testing it, though we could see how some of the elastic bits on the neck pillow may begin to wear with long-term use. Overall, we found this chair to be solidly built.
We could see how the headrest and lumbar support elastics could wear out a bit faster than the rest of the chair.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Ease of Assembly
Because building furniture can be very frustrating, we judged each office chair on how long and complicated the assembly and unboxing process was. We, of course including the clarity of the directions in this category as well. The DXRacer again delivered a superb performance in the metric.
This chair does not arrive fully assembled, which is the only reason it scores slightly lower than some of the other chairs in our test suite. That being said, it took us less than 15 minutes to have it unpacked and built. We did find that a small plastic piece of the armrest arrived damaged, but it appears to be mainly cosmetic and was easily fixed with a small dab of super glue. We also liked that there was thorough documentation with pictures and even QR codes to scan and see assembly videos.
This chair did take a bit of work to put together.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Value
All in all, this chair is a great value, matching much more expensive models in terms of comfort and adjustability.
Conclusion
The DXRacer is one of our favorite chairs when shopping on a budget. It's one of the best options in its price range, though it might not be the right look for you. However, we highly recommend it if you are looking to purchase a top-notch office chair without breaking the bank and don't mind the racecar driver aesthetic. I finished just behind some of our overall higher-scoring performers for a fraction of the price. While the DX is a little difficult to assemble, it is comfortable, durable, and highly adjustable.
The DXRacer is a great option if you want to feel like a racecar driver.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
—
Hayley Thomas, David Wise, and Austin Palmer
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