Sim racing Wheel guide.

c0rn3y

Hi all,

I have seen a couple of times people asking about different wheels and what they should get, here is my thoughts about wheels and pedals. Of course this is just my opinion about them and I am not part of any of the below companies.

Quick note as well, I saw in a other thread that someone said that the Logitech G25 is not nice in RBR, it just needs some tweaking and it is super good in RBR. I can post some tweaks and how I set it up if anybody needs some help.

I have had many many wheel over the years and my trusty old G25 is wonderful. I use a Fanatec GT2 at the moment and I love it but will upgrade later to the Fanatec Clubsport wheel when it is released.

Logitech Wheels
Logitech Driving Force GT (PC, PS3): Wonderful wheel and a lot for the money, I just do not like the pedals. Could never get a good feeling from them.

Logitech G25 (PC, PS3): Great wheel, good pedals and includes H/sequential shifter. Rattles a lot (dont care with headphones on), this is because of the way it handles FFB (with gears).

Logitech G27 (PC, PS3): Updated G25 with more buttons on wheel, same pedals, H shifter but sequential switch has been removed shifter. Same type of FFB as above.


Fanatec Wheels
Fanatec GT2 (PC, PS3, XBOX360): Just the wheel, alcatel leather rim (soo nice), perfect replica of a real Porsche 911 GT2 wheel. Can use Fanatec pedals (more info below) or use Logitech G25 or G27 pedals with adapter. Very silent when driving and will not make your wife angry.

Fanatec CSR (PC, PS3, XBOX360): Updated version of GT2 wheel, upgraded internals based on the same base as the GT2. Has more GT type rim. Some people have complained about a plastic seam on the wheel that does not feel nice.

Fanatec CSR Elite(PC, PS3, XBOX360): Heavy use of metal makes it very strong and durable, while lots of ball bearings and smooth instead of toothed belts provide extreme smoothness. Instead of one, this wheel uses two Mabuchi 550 series motors for faster, sharper and stronger force feedback effects. Together they consume up to 120W of power and are cooled by a big and silent 80mm fan. CSR Elite also has two smaller vibration motors embedded in its rim's hub for rumble effects on Xbox 360 or ABS and motor vibration simulation on Playstation 3 and PC.

Fanatec Clubsport (name could change)(PC, PS3): Built on the same base as above but will not work on the XBOX. You will be able to buy different types of rims (wheels) for this one. E.G. F1 wheel, GT wheel. See LINK for more info.

Fanatec Pedals: There is a lot of information about the Fanatec pedals and for the best info I would recommend taking a quick look here, if there is anything that is unclear just ask and I will do my best to explain. One thing to note here is, some Fanatec pedals come with a load cell on the brake pedal and this is a very good thing. "Load cell braking" is based on the strength/pressure you use to press the pedal, e.g. the harder you push the harder you brake, normal sim racing brake pedals work on the principle, the further you move the pedal the more you brake.


Trustmaster
Trustmaster T500 RS (PC, PS3): I have not personally tested this wheel but from what I hear it is really good. Strong FFB, good rim and extremely good pedals. As I have not tested this wheel/pedals I will post a LINK to a review and let you read there instead.

Trustmaster F1 Wheel: You can also change the wheel on the T500 RS for a F1 Wheel, do remember that you of course need to T500 RS if you buy the F1 rim. And I have not tried this one so will post a link to a review instead, LINK


I will try and update more info here as I find more info about wheels. I have excluded many of the cheaper wheels that are out there as I do not feel that they are "good" for sim racing but are rather better for arcade racing games (just my opinion). I have skipped the really highend wheels like Frex and ECCI, if anybody would like me to write a bit about them as well I will add that info.

I will also update with more about pedals and shifters from other companies out there.

Have fun and go RACING!
See you on the track!

ScumLord

I have a thrustmaster FB Ferrari 430 and while it's not really suitable for most sims as it only has just over 180 degrees of rotation it actually comes into it's own on go kart sims as that's all those wheels turn anyway from what I can see.

The force feedback is extremely strong too, it will ware out your arms it full settings (even at reduced settings, I haven't tried other wheels but I couldn't see how it could be any stronger) which again is very much like the real thing when it comes to karting. Pedals are cheap though and permanently attached to the wheel.

c0rn3y

@ScumLord: Yeah I have heard good things about that wheel and it is a good alternative if you are short on space that is for sure.