PC Racing Wheel

So I've really gotten into the whole PC racing scene as of late and am really loving it. Currently I drive with an Xbox 360 controller and while it works well, I'm looking for something a bit more realistic.

I'd like something with both paddle shifters and a clutch pedal. What would be your recommendations? I'd love to here some input from some owners.

While my dream wheel would be the Logitech G27, it's just a little bit too steep for me!

 

Ive been using the logitech driving force gt, and its pretty sweet! The forcefeedback is excellent, though the only negatives i can say about it is that there isnt a clutch and the pedals dont provide as much resistance as a real car's would. But beyond that its rock solid.

 

Vicious I thought made a review of various racing wheels or at least I thought there was a thread with reviews and input from various racing fans.

 

I tried searching, couldn't really find anything. Anyways, there seems to be a real lack of reasonably priced racing wheels.

 

Fanatec Gameshop
This is probably the best wheel for the price.

I am saving up for this one though...
Fanatec Gameshop

 

All the reasonably priced wheels of yesteryear are gone. No more Logitech MOMO or G25. Now it's just the Logitech Driving Force GT without a Clutch for $150 or the Thrustmaster Rally GT which has mixed reviews for about a $100. Saitek no longer makes wheels and I've never heard of Fantec.

I wouldn't mind going for the Driving Force GT IF it had shift paddles and/or clutch, sadly, it has neither.

Radioshack appears to sell Thrustmaster products but I couldn't find the Rally GT on their website. I wonder if I should go to a store and see if they have it...it'd be easier to return if I didn't like it VS buying on-line.

 

Did you see the 911 Carrera wheel I posted? $160 for wheel, 6 speed shifter + paddles, and pedals with clutch.

 

I believe the paddle shifters are extra $$$ on top of the $160. At least that's what I'm getting from their website.

 

Yeah you are right it doesn't have "paddles" but it does have buttons with mounting points on the back that can be used as paddles. If you do buy paddles for it you would mount them on these buttons, the paddles just give a better feel.

 

I got a Logitech MOMO and it's cool, but it's only got 270-degrees of rotation and the force feedback feels a little off.

If the Logitech Driving Force GT had paddles it would be perfect for me.

@Erik, I really don't want to spend $160 on a wheel from a company I've never heard off.

Gah.

 

trust me, fanatec is the best manufacturer out there of sim racing wheels.

 

Best Buy has the Driving Force GT (PS3,PC) for $99.99. I've found out it does have paddle shifters, just not very good ones, although I think I may be able to improve them through a little simple, modding.

But you know what, the MOMO I got today isn't half-bad, sure it only goes 270-degrees, but it's mad fun. I'm just worried about future game support.

As for the Fanatec, how many PC game developers have support for those wheels in their games?

 

I had a momo (the black one) and loved it. Was a good wheel and very competitive.

I have the G27 now top of the line and the noisy gears on feedback and hassle of setup almost make we wish I had saved my money and just stuck with the momo.


If I was a sim racer I would appreciate it more, but I play games like Dirt 2 and Burnout Paradise where the momo actually was better suited.

 

Your right, they are considered to have the best wheels by many if you dont mod a Logitech G25 or 27.

 

The Momo would be perfect if it had more than 240-degrees of rotation, right now I'm going to try and acquire a Driving Force GT and compare them side by side and return the one I like least.

 

fanatec also design their steering wheels after real life cars. like their porsche/gt2 wheels are styled after a real porsche's/gt2's steering wheel.

that's kind of the problem i am having right now. some friends pitched in and got me a logitech g27 (on backorder so should be here some time in january) for xmas. i'm tryin to figure out where/how i'm going to set the thing up at. can't wait for some gran turismo 5 + a g27.

do u know what kind of mods are available for the g27? i've never owned a wheel before, so i'm completely new to this genre.

 

I know of a shifter mod for the G27, though the shifter was fine for me.

For the money the stuck G27 beats the competing Fanatec product IMO the wheels are about even in quality if not the G27 slightly ahead.

The belt driven system of the Fantec wheel is noise free and that is great, but it also takes a bit of punch out of the force feedback and makes it feel a bit rolled off. The hardcore sim racers seem to prefer the G27 and pull in slightly better race times with it. Also its a highly modable wheel, even the wheel itself can just bolt off and put your own real race car wheel on there

The stock G27 pedals being super strong and made of metal and all that are way better than the stock Fantec.

Now if you upgrade the Fanatec pedals to the club sport stuff though, then it starts to pull ahead of the stock G27 but your spending about 2x more.

When your paying more its hard to simply say its "better" because a lot of people buy based on quality for the price paid more so than just "whats best" else we would all be driving million dollar cars around and using 30" monitors.


Now my issue with the G27 is that its really made for sim racing more than arcade racing where the wheel gets lots of back and forth force feedback. There is a small gap right in the center of your steering where the force feedback is changing from one gear motor to the next and if your running off road in dirt 2 it causes this clicking noise, the momo didnt do this since it only has one motor.

The Fanatec wont do this since its belt driven.

The Fantec also works on xbox 360 a big plus if you have one and plan to use it, I personally do not game on consoles except the Wii so that did not come into play. I also can find the G27 on sale for well below the MSRP all the time (half price even) so thats why I got the G27 instead of the Fanatec.

The G27 also has more cables and is slightly harder to setup than the momo was, cables have to be routed and its just sort of a pain to deal with. The momo also had 3 clamps while the G27 only has 2 so it camped down easier and more solid.

There are quite a few comparisons between the wheels, youtube has the inside sim racing guys they did a big wheel shootout that was worth watching. They also have done individual full reviews of the Fanatec and G27 wheels.

 

Best Buy has the Driving Force GT on special for $99.99 but they're all sold out thanks to all the GT5 kiddies. Whatever I'll just order it off Amazon.

I bet when they come back in stock they will want $149.99 cause you can't even order the wheel online.

 

I'd thought I'd update everyone on my decision for future reference for anyone else looking for a racing wheel. I went with and have kept the Logitech Driving Force GT. It's advertised as a PS3 wheel but it works perfectly on the PC. In fact, most newer PC racing games support the Driving Force GT.

Why I kept the Driving Force GT: The Driving Force GT occupies a much smaller footprint than the MOMO while still having a larger wheel and more useful buttons. It also has much more realistic and precise force feedback whereas the MOMO just felt jerky and you missed some of the force feedback effects. Finally, it's newer so you pretty much have guaranteed support for newer games whereas developers may stop adding MOMO support in the future.

 

glad u liked it. i almost picked up the driving force GT when i was at best buy cuz they don't carry g27's at the store. my buddies got me the g27 (on back order) for xmas, so it should be here around the 11th.

 

I have the G25. Its great but its difficult to move out of the way for normal PC use. Kind of has pros and cons in terms of heal-toe work as well. The G25 pedals are very close so if you get in the habit of relying on that you miss the throttle blip on a real car. The clutch/shifter relationship is pretty liberal to say the least and the shifter has no resistance, so concerns again with real shifting.