raceing wheels for pc ..

[stiz]

.. cant think of anywhere else to ask this so i'll stick it in ere :)

I've been thinking about getting a raceing wheel for a while now but only just got around to looking for one ... it seems the best are the logitec g25 and the bank emptying g27 .. i've seen loads of others at various prices but they only seem to have 2 pedals or really bad reviews.

I'm looking for one that'll be good in the more rally type sims, always wanted to try out RBR

So can anyone suggest a decent one, prefrably with 3 pedals, which is also below £100ish?? or would it be better to go hungry and save up for the g25/27??

thanks in advance :)

[Ferry_vO]

Save up for the G25 or G27, they're worth the price; best wheel I've had so far!

With the new G27 out the prices on the G25 might drop, so keep your eyes open for a good deal.

[wombat666]

Go for the G25, it's a better unit than the G27 and Ferry's right, prices are dropping.
However, the very best in my opinion is this.
http://www.fanatec.de/html/index.php?id=230〈=en (http://www.fanatec.de/html/index.php?id=230&lang=en)

[stiz]

thanks guys, guess i'll be going hungry, cheapest i can find the g25 for it around £279 .. and only from the logitec shop, everywhere else seems to have discontinued it and only stocks the g27 :isadizzy:

[wombat666]

Stitz, these are comments on a variety of wheels taken from a thread on NoGrip.
Makes for some 'interesting' hands on comparitive thoughts.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Assessment of the Logitech MOMO FFB wheel:

My experience: I've had this wheel for over two years and put over 100,000

miles on it in TDU. It has never given me any problem whatsoever. I use the

paddles to shift in both TDU and RACE ON (RO). The wheel does feel a little

loose in its housing, but it in no way degrades from the driving experience.

I set the Profiler settings very low, 25% to 33%, with Combined Pedals and

Enable Centering Spring unchecked. Then I set the FFB in the game I'm playing

to my desired preferences. TDU does not have good FFB settings, so I set that

a little below middle, and I set RO to 100% on everything. I do experience a

loss of FFB in RO every now and then, which is fixed (for some reason) by a

trip to Control Settings>FFB while ingame and then exit back to the race

track. It only seems to occur when turning hard to enter the pit exit lane,

never while I'm on the track. Turning the wheel first and then accelerating to

exit seems to work.

Pros: Well, with over 100,000 miles in TDU and a few thousand in RO/07/GTREVO

(I've been playing R07 since September), I guess it's a pretty strong wheel.
I like the 6 buttons on the wheel and use every one of them. I also use the

shift knob as my pit menu and confirm buttons.
I've heard that the paddles are weak and prone to breaking/wearing out but

mine are still solid as a rock.

Cons: Weak feel in the pedals. I have to drive barefoot just to get any feel

from them!
Wheel is kinda' small.
The rubber coating on the wheel can be a bother after a few hours (we've been

known to do 6 hour+ cruises in TDU, LOL), so I've resorted to using cheap golf

gloves with the fingertips cut off - instant driving gloves!

Bottom line: I really like this wheel and it's held up well. I'll be getting a

G27 come February (tax refund, yay!), but if I don't like it, I know I can

sell it and get another MOMO. Why would I do that? I've read in a few places

where people are having trouble getting the G27 to work with RO, although I

read an interview of a SimBin developer who said he used the G27 to help

develope RO!
Also, I'm kinda' worried about the clutch pedal. Besides wondering if it feels

like a real RACING clutch (not something from, say, like a Honda Accord), but

also the fact that I drive two-footed - right foot: gas, left foot: brake. I

know I would only use the H-gate shifter on the muscle cars, etc., but I

wonder if the clutch pedal will get in the way of my left-foot braking.
We'll see!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Actlabs's discontinued steering wheel and pedal system featuring force

feedback steering wheel, gas brake and clutch peddles and an 8 slot "H"

pattern shifter.
My experience with it: I have owned this beast since its release date back in

1998? (dont quote me on that). I've used it several hours a week for years and

years and it has "until recently" held up strong with no problems.

I got it on a frosty Christmas morning many moons ago and almost pulled a back

muscle sliding it out from underneath the tree. The weight of this thing took

me by surprise and its build quality was impressive. The leather wrapped

steering wheel has 6 buttons that can be easily reached by your thumbs without

taking your hands off the wheel. Very convenient for driver head movement,

headlights, horn, starter, and ignition in games like GT Legends. It also has

shifter paddles, a "D" pad, a button on the lower part of the wheel (which I

have never used) and 2 buttons behind the wheel on the "dashboard" for a total

of 11 buttons + the "D" pad. The force feedback is fairly strong and precise.

It gives you a real feel for the car when your drifting around corners in your

69 mustang.

The pedal system features metal gas, brake, and clutch peddles that have

different stiffness to give it that real car feel. The brake peddle gets

progressively stiffer as you push it in. The gas and brake peddles are close

enough together to allow experienced drivers to heel/toe, a nice feature for

those of us who really know how to race.

The shifter features an 8 slot "H" pattern with 4, 5, and 6 speed metal plates

that can be screwed in to block off the remaining slots. I find it very

inconvenient to have to screw in the plate every time I want to change it so I

just leave the 6 speed plate on at all times.

Pros:
-very durable system
-button placement on steering wheel was well thought out
-peddle placement is great
-strong force feedback
-features an "H" pattern shifter
-steering wheel is covered in leather

Cons:
-cost
-plastic tightening knobs (what were they thinking?)
-to many wires

Durability: What can I say? Its served me problem free for many years. A few

problems have came up in the last year though. The gas and brake pedals are

starting to wear out. They only give me around 90% throttle and brake. The

shifter no longer recognizes first and second gear. Good thing it has 8 slots.

lastly the force feedback is becoming noticeably weaker.

But again... what can I say. With the tens of thousands of gaming hours I got

out of this thing problem free, I think its earned the right to start wearing

out.

Bottom Line: A superb racing system and well worth the money!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Logitech Formula Force EX.

Well, where should I start. Currently I'm using the second of this type of

wheel, and for the price it's pretty good. You might think nah bollocks, there

is no good at a low price point... and yes there are naturally some drawbacks

if you don't want to sell one of your organs to by a wheel that is able to

cope with simracing.

The wheel wobbles a bit in the centre, and while the FFB effects and general

feedback is good it does it's work a bit loud. If you wan't to ask what the

biggest con on this wheel, I must say it must be the pedals. Well... they are

just barely copeing with the work they've ment to do. Although the pedals at

least have different "stiffness"... and that's in quotation marks for a

reason, since even the brake is pretty light compared to what you would call

normal in a real car, and the relative short travel does not help the case

either.

To say something positive about the pedals, I'm rather ashtonished how much

abuse they can take. My driving style is pretty heavy on the pots, since I

usually go pa-pa-pa-pa on the throttle in a corner, and still the pedals

lasted two and a half years under my feet, despite the abuse and the fact they

were on the carpet collecting dust.

So... what can I say to sum it all up, lets see. If you're getting in to

simracing and you don't wan't to take it too seriously, or you just don't want

to spend much money, or you can't afford the more expensive stuff, this wheel

isn't a bad choice. Being made by Logitech the drivers and the support are

pretty solid, also the construction and finish of the wheel is decent. With

all it's pros and cons, if you wan't to have good fun for not too much money

keep and eye out for this at that price segment.

Description:
Entry-level FFB wheel, at a low price point. With a decent feature set.

Pros:
+ Good FFB.
+ Loads of configurable buttons on the wheel, including a DPAD (or FOV).
+ Durable construction.
+ Logitech Support.
+ Comfortable feel, with nice rubber grips on the sides.
+ The price, it is CHEAP.

Cons:
- Pedals are a bit too flimsy, and lack feel a bit.
- Noisy FFB mechanics under quick movements (ie. correction counter steering,

etc.)
- Wheel is a bit small in diameter.
- Low degree of rotation.
- General precision (it's okay, but could be better imho.)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Logitech driving force GT

Well i picked up one of these wheels today at Dick Smiths here in Australia

for $98.

I have been using a G25 for two years now...Bah i hear you say why the hell

would you want to buy a DFGT then?

This wheel at this price is an absolute bargain, the wheel itself is not all

that far away from the feel of the G25 (although a leather rim would be

nice!), and in terms of force feedback effects it is on the money and IT HAS

HEAPS OF BUTTONS!! 17 all up i think (ok i forgot where i started counting)

and a nice red dial thing which is ideal to use as a brake bias knob in pc

sims.

Ok so what are the pedals like i hear you say? Well I cant tell ya,cos i

havent tried them yet but i have heard that they are no improvement over the

old DFP/MOMO/etcetera examples which is why i still have my G25 plugged in and

am using the pedals from that..nice huh?

See the thing is with the G25 i had to build a dash (based on leos button

board http://www.leobodnar.com/products/BU0836/ ) in order to have enough

buttons for car controls,chat commands and stuff, but with the DFGT the amount

of buttons on the wheel itself i dont need my dashboard anymore.

OK so the DFGT is a good wheel with every button you will need and good force

feedback but no H shifter (although it does have a knock shifter ala the DFP)

and average pedals and cost me $98.......

While the G25 has a good reputation, a slightly better feeling wheel (with few

buttons) an average H (or sequential) shifter and pretty darn good pedals and

costs roughly three to four times as much here in OZ,,

So what it boils down to is, if you have got into sim racing and are looking

for a decent wheel at a bargain price to start off you CANT GO WRONG with the

Logitech Driving Force GT

Oh and by the way the DFGT can be used on PS3 or PC (with the latest logi 5.04

drivers)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thrustmaster F430
I've recently had my interest in Sim Racing re-ignited by the decent but

flawed Race Pro on the 360. I've played a bit of GTR2 / rFactor / LFS

intermittently over the years but Race Pro prompted me to get hold of GTR

Evolution and I am completely hooked!

I've owned a couple of wheels but had gotten rid of them for different

reasons; the first was a Logitech MOMO which I liked but wasn't really using

it much so got rid of it to make room for a MS 360 Wireless wheel in

anticipation of the release of Forza 2 and also on the premise that it would

work with PC games. Big mistake as the wheel, Forza 2 and the FFB-less PC

drivers were all complete turkeys so this wheel also went on eBay.

Having initially been playing Evo with an Xbox controller and getting on OK, I

came to the conclusion that I needed a wheel. Having considered another MOMO

and the ever popular, increasingly expensive G25 I went for the F430 based

partly on the price but also on the review (advertorial) on Inside Sim Racing

Tonight. There doesn't seem to be much love for Thrustmaster based on previous

problems and a lot of people seem to be dismissing this wheel despite having

any real reason to so I though I would post a review:

Features

The F430 features an 11" ergonomic rubber wheel which feels great, metal

'flappy paddle' gear shifters and a whole plethora of easy to reach,

assignable buttons. There are 6 simple push to make switches on the front, 2

on the back near the gear paddles, a further two on the body of the unit, an 8

way POV switch and the 5 position, back lit, Manettino switch which is a very

attractive 5 way toggle with a push switch meaning that 5 different on/off

settings can be assigned. All in all this gives 23 assignable buttons!!

The F430 features 270 Deg of rotation compared to the 900 Deg offered by some

of the more upmarket competition.

The pedal unit features a metal faced brake and throttle with no clutch. The

unit itself is pretty heavy and the pedals have a decent level of resistance,

particularly the brake which uses magnetic technology.

In action

Setup was easy and I was racing in Evo within seconds using the generic

Thrustmaster FFB wheel profile.

The feel of the wheel is exceptionally smooth and the operation is near silent

(unlike the budget Fanatec wheel also featured on Sim Racing Tonight)! The FFB

is pretty firm out of the box and gives a good sense of 'realism'.

The pedals are great, even without tethering they stay put and the control of

throttle and brake you can achieve immediately is superb.

Pros
General quality of the thing, particuarly the feel of the wheel itself.
The number / quality of the buttons.
The sexy manettino switch - turning it really makes you feel like an F1

driver.
The pedals which are light years ahead of the MOMO
The lack of grinding sound which seems to affect a lot of other wheels
The flappy paddles are incredibly solid with a reassuring click as you shift
The price - £65 from Novatech.

Cons
The superficial finish on the metal isn't perfect
Not that keen on the clamp - its well made enough but doesnt match the 3 point

logitech system. The unit does have 2x 6 millimeter holes for inclusion in a

cockpit.

For some the rotation, the lack of clutch and shifter will be a deal breaker

but if like me you are relatively inexperienced or don't need these features

then IMO this is the wheel for you and I would definitely recommend it over a

MOMO.

Given than its little more than a third of the price of a G25 it represents a

bargain.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thrustmaster Ferrari FFB (made by Guillemot)

Description
Quite an old design but has been updated a number of times over the years and

is still sold by thrustmaster to this day, with some minor changes.

My version of this wheel (V1) has F1 paddles, dual analogue paddles behind the

wheel, sequential shifter, 4way pad, 8way hat switch + a couple of buttons.

My 1st generation (v1) wheel is so old it has a soundcard game port plug, "NOW

with USB!"
(incase you have one of those high tech, expensive, top of the line pc's that

come with a usb port (/sarcasm) )

Pedals connected by PS2 cable, so using a mouse extension was great for

routing cables over and behind the desk. all versions since do not use a PS2

cable anymore though.

2x true analogue F1 style paddles behind the wheel for finger tip analogue

throttle/brake when pedal unit is unplugged. great for those who have limited

use of their legs.

One single large FFB motor, running "immersion co." ffb. but the FFB is

actually very good in this wheel (feels better than my G25, imho)

Dual silver pedals with pre-drilled holes, head of the pedal pivots

independant to the actual motion for added comfort.

Pro
F1 paddles + sequential shifter.
2 additional analogue paddles behind the wheel (below F1 digital paddles)

become active when pedals are unplugged. great for those who have limited use

of their legs.
2 buttons, 4way pad, 8 way hat switch.
Dual pivot pedals with pre-drilled metal look instead of just black plastic.
FFB is very good in this wheel.
Rubber coated steering wheel for added comfort.
I actually prefer the FFB on the guillemot/thrustmaster wheel to that of my

G25.

if you have limited use of your legs or are just darn lazy you can unplug the

pedals PS2 plug from the unit and the true analogue paddles behind the wheel

(seperate to, and beneath the F1 digital paddles) become active so you can get

true analogue thr/brake control at your finger tips.

Con
F1 paddles work great but dont have any clicky microswitch feel and when they

activate it feels a little soft (no hard back stops) which may cause some

rough users to damage the paddles due to excessively hard paddle squeezing.

Weak points
shifter does get a little slop in it if you beat the shifter around but this

takes quite some time to wear. Does not cause any problems other than the

slop/play, and this can easily be fixed with a simple mod using about 1/4 of a

block shaped pencil eraser to take up the slack.

No hard stop or clicky feel to F1 paddles may lead to abuse of the paddles.

Durability
very good. but dont abuse the sequential shifter.
Mine (and also a friends) is still working great after about 10 years of use

due to some simple common sense + care.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fanatec Porsche GT3 Clubsport

Description
Top-of-the-line steering wheel, comparable to the Porsche 911 Turbo Wheel.

Includes aluminium clubsport pedals.

Pro
Durable wheel, excellent force feedback, three pedals including clutch, H-

shifter and sequential shifter, plenty of buttons on the wheel.
The clubsport pedals offer very durable full-metal construction. superb

flexibility to adjust them to your liking, pressure-sensitive brake pedal and

a vibration feedback motor in the brake pedal that can be used through a

plugin to indicate when, for example, the wheels lock in the game.

Con
Separate shifter units for H-shifter and sequential shifter so some (dis)

assembly work is required when switching between the two.
Standard mounting of the shifters is not very rigid, though this can be solved

by buying the additional table clamp.

Weak points
Not known yet.

Durability
The first batch of wheels had some issues in the "quality control" area that

could result in performance problems of the wheel but that are relatively

easily fixed.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[stiz]

cheers wombat! going by reviews n such the logitec driveing force GT is a good cheaper option if you can put up with the pedals?

[Ferry_vO]

Play.com has a good deal on the Driving force wheel: £79.95 at the moment. Of course that wheel lacks the gated shifter and the clutch pedal that the G25 and G27 do have but of course they cost three times that much. Looks like the Logitech Momo is out of stock, even at the Logitech shop.

BTW why would anyone want a wireless wheel? Speed is quite essential for control, so why use a laggy wireless connection?

[Tako_Kichi]

I have the Momo and quite like it although I don't use the wheel much. The pedals however are used almost daily in FSX/9 and have been for a couple of years now with absolutely zero issues (one day I will be able to afford a proper set of flight sim pedals!)

[wombat666]

cheers wombat! going by reviews n such the logitec driveing force GT is a good cheaper option if you can put up with the pedals?

I do think it's the best option at this point given your budget and lack of an available Logitech Momo.
They seem to be still around (the Momo) at most retail outlets in Aus but shipping costs to the UK makes that a no go.

Strange about the high cost of the G25, only 6 months ago they were selling for around A$275.00 compared to the G27 at A$475.00!

My personal view, get the two pedal less costly option and get your feet wet.
If you really enjoy the racing experience consider saving for a G25.

And FWIW, my lovely wife purchased the 'best' of the Fanatec series for my birthday after listening to my grumping about the (very) few faults in my G25 ......... and she really did her research to work out the one that would really suit me.
:jump:

[stiz]

well went ahead and ordered it, should be here in a few days :jump:

[stiz]

few days my ar$$ ... anyway arrived this morning, gotta say i'm loveing it, pedals feel cheap but they do the job fine, tis very playstationie but heck, its a cheap wheel which works ... however now i have to learn to drive all over again! :icon_lol:

[Ferry_vO]

Congrats on your purchase Stiz; what games will you be using it in?

[stiz]

Richard Burns rally mainly, more intrested in the rally stuff, allthough some of the mods for rfactor have caught my eye, paticulary that 1955 f1 mod

[Cazzie]

Hey stiz, you don't have to race, you can drive in the new FTX-PNW in FSX, it's that good!

Caz

[stiz]

one problem with that .. i dont have FTX PNW :icon_lol:

I have been wondering how to use the pedals in fsx, but i'm not sure how to go about doing it ... any ideas?

[UKVoodoo]

Rfactor is definately worth the purchase alone

Im loving bombing round the Top Gear Test Track with my Momo wheel in fact ill show you the fun :jump:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKw87mq9g8g

check out www.rfactorcentral.com it felt like i'd logged into heaven when I went to this site :icon_lol:

Thanks
Matt :salute:

[Tako_Kichi]

I have been wondering how to use the pedals in fsx, but i'm not sure how to go about doing it ... any ideas?
I use my MOMO pedals as rudder pedals in FSX and it's easy to set up.

1. Plug the wheel/pedals into a USB slot as well as your flight stick.

2. Go into the windows game controller settings window (or your wheel settings window if it has it's own control panel) and make sure your pedals are set to 'combined axis' and not 'separate axes'.

3. Start FSX and go into the 'Settings/Controls' panel.

4. Click on the 'Control Axes' tab and select your wheel from the drop down menu.

5. Work down the 'Assignment list' and delete ALL assignments that it has for your wheel EXCEPT the rudder axis which should display as 'combined pedals'. You may also have to check the 'Reverse' box if the pedals work backwards.

6. If you like you can now select you main flight controller from the drop down menu and delete the rudder control function as the rudder will now be controlled by your pedals.

7. Go test to see if you need to reverse the pedal operation (see 5 above).

8. If you find the rudder is too sensitive (or not sensitive enough) click on the 'Calibration' tab of the 'Settings/Controls' panel and adjust the sensitivity and null zone sliders to your preference. I find with my MOMO pedals that I need to have the 'Sensitivity' slider at the mid point and the 'Null zone' slider about 1/4 up from the left. I find this easier to judge in external view in game with the AC on the ground. If the rudder moves to full deflection before the pedals are all the way down then you need to reduce the sensitivity and vice versa. The 'Null zone' slider controls how much 'dead space' there is in the middle before the rudder starts to move. Setting this too low means that the slightest touch on the pedals will move the rudder whereas a higher value means that you have to move the pedal a little way before the rudder on the AC starts to move.

Hope this helps.

[wombat666]

Richard Burns rally mainly, more intrested in the rally stuff, allthough some of the mods for rfactor have caught my eye, paticulary that 1955 f1 mod

You'll do OK with that combo stitz, look on it as step one into your race sim journey.
:ernae:
The 1955 rFactor mod is sadly limited to the W196 Benz, albeit in several colours.
RBR is arguably the best WRC sim when it comes down to physics, and has enormous modding support at http://forum.rallyesim.fr/viewtopic.php?p=61310#p61310
They do have a 'Franglais' option as well, so have a look.
:applause:

You can set up a MOMO for FS2004, so I imagine FSX would be the same.
Larry has covered it very well, I should add that I've used the MOMO combination often as a full flight system for aircraft such as the Cessna 206 and even the Boeing 747.........feels more natural.

[wombat666]

From DiRT 2.
Not great but a total blast and difficult enough in the 'Extreme' career mode.

[wombat666]

Plus more.
:ernae:

[wombat666]

Odd.
It appears the we can only insert 4 images per post.

[wombat666]

Looks as if I'm right.
Another four.

[wombat666]

Four more.

[stiz]

thanks Larry got it working :applause:

I did look at Dirt2 sure does look pretty!