Steering wheel.. good idea?

eyerer

Wondering out of the people that bought a steering wheel and pedal set for gaming, how many of you enjoyed it, keep using it and would recommend buying one? And how many bought it and hardly used it/regretted it?
Since the one I'm looking at is almost 200, and that's before the stand is added on, I'm interested in getting peoples' opinions.

Titzon Toast

eyerer wrote: »

Wondering out of the people that bought a steering wheel and pedal set for gaming, how many of you enjoyed it, keep using it and would recommend buying one? And how many bought it and hardly used it/regretted it?
Since the one I'm looking at is almost 200, and that's before the stand is added on, I'm interested in getting peoples' opinions.

Are you really into racing games or are you just casual about it? Are you a petrol head irl?

Dcully

If your into racing sims , then yes its a no brainer.
The immersion factor goes through the roof, you don't see real life racing drivers using a pad

What are you planning on playing with it?

ScumLord

Probably going to get very biased opinions in here. If you go down through my list of steam games you'll see no game that goes beyond 30 hours of playtime. Until you get to Assetto Corsa, I have nearly 600 hours in that sim.

Sim racing is closer to a hobby than a game, so like with other hobbies like golf, you need to buy some clubs.

Simulator software is a bit different from driving games. Many driving games on consoles are designed to work with a gamepads, the physics are for fun and break down a little bit with a wheel, so make sure you using software that works well with a wheel. If you're looking to get a wheel for the likes of the crew or driving games like that, it's a bit pointless.

H3llR4iser

I concur with ScumLord, here you'll mostly get "absolutely", "go for it" and such views.

My experience is a bit different - I'm not an "hardcore" simmer, but definitely a motoring enthusiast, so I do enjoy my racing games in a variety of ways; also, I'll assume we're talking racing games and not something like the "car sections" of a GTA and the likes

I won't lie to you, and will clear the air immediately:

- You'll have to re-learn most games;
- Some games (as SL said) have strangely balanced physics: a car that understeers with the pad might turn into a tail-happy disaster with a wheel and vice-versa;
- Gaming becomes a full-body affair; Not a workout by any means, but if you like to lay on the couch playing, it's an issue;
- Finally, if go for a wheel pick a decent quality one that is widely supported by your games;

Back in 1998 I got my first wheel with some cash from a summer job; It was a Thrustmaster T2, it was one of the best at the time and the experience was...horrible. The wheel was spring loaded (no FFB back then!) with zero feel and most games were designed for keyboard controls, resulting utterly unplayable with the wheel.

That's why you want a good wheel, solid build with good Force Feedback - if it has no feel, it's unusable, as you'd rely only on visual cues from the game. In such scenario, a pad and even the keyboard are a more enjoyable proposition to play, end of the story.

Finally, immersion wise it really depends on you - I personally have a very hard time with the lack of feeling on the pedals, especially the brakes; While I have no issue performing treshold braking on a real car, I might struggle quite a bit on a game due to there being no way to gauge the grip other than visual indications; same with acceleration without spinnig the wheels. It's something that can be corrected with a lot of practice, I guess.

Varik

€150 for a G29? older deal on here mentioned €220-230 being a good deal so I'm assuming it's a yes.

eyerer

Does the G920 have feedback in the peddles?
I've seen people talk about not enjoying peddles with no feedback.. I hoped a wheel that costs this much did have feedback lol

ScumLord

eyerer wrote: »

Does the G920 have feedback in the peddles?
I've seen people talk about not enjoying peddles with no feedback.. I hoped a wheel that costs this much did have feedback lol

The only pedal feedback I know of is the fanatics having an abs motor that vibrates when ABS is activated. Other than that no pedals do any kind of feedback.

Veloce

Hi all, sorry to piggyback on this thread. I'm a big petrolhead here - 350z owner (in real life!) but also love playing racing games.

I'm on the PS4 and have the following titles:

Dirt Rally
Project Cars
Assetto Corsa

What do you guys recommend for a good steering wheel that would work well with the above games? Logitech seems to pop up a lot.. thanks.

whiterebel

Veloce wrote: »

Hi all, sorry to piggyback on this thread. I'm a big petrolhead here - 350z owner (in real life!) but also love playing racing games.

I'm on the PS4 and have the following titles:

Dirt Rally
Project Cars
Assetto Corsa

What do you guys recommend for a good steering wheel that would work well with the above games? Logitech seems to pop up a lot.. thanks.

I'm waiting for a Thrustmaster T150 to be delivered from Amazon at the moment. They have a few in the Warehouse deals parts which come in at around £108. Reviews seem to be very good for it. Anything I've bought from the warehouse deals before was ok, I'll let you know how this one looks when the UPS drivers sweeps it off the floor of the van.......:p

Titzon Toast

Veloce wrote: »

Hi all, sorry to piggyback on this thread. I'm a big petrolhead here - 350z owner (in real life!) but also love playing racing games.

I'm on the PS4 and have the following titles:

Dirt Rally
Project Cars
Assetto Corsa

What do you guys recommend for a good steering wheel that would work well with the above games? Logitech seems to pop up a lot.. thanks.

Logitech are fairly well known for their reliability alright but the G29 uses a gear driven ffb system that's fairly old hat at this stage.

A T300 with a set of T3PA pedals would be great starting point for you I reckon.
It's a bit more expensive that a T150 though.

Domo1982

Veloce wrote: »

Hi all, sorry to piggyback on this thread. I'm a big petrolhead here - 350z owner (in real life!) but also love playing racing games.

I'm on the PS4 and have the following titles:

Dirt Rally
Project Cars
Assetto Corsa

What do you guys recommend for a good steering wheel that would work well with the above games? Logitech seems to pop up a lot.. thanks.

Have same game listing as you really. Don't like Project Cars. Played Dirt and GPL mainly until AC came along last week.

Picked up the G29 on sale last December. Also picked up Playseat Challange and couldn't be happier with the set up for pretty much an entry level simmer

Its defo worth spending a bit of cash on a wheel anyway. 5-6 years ago I had a 50 euro Argos job to play the F1 game on PS3 and it was still a gas and a way more fun than the pad

whiterebel

Physically perfect, all bits and bobs seem to be in the box. Amazon must be really fussy if they reckon the packaging is damaged. One corner is dented in a bit, but otherwise perfect. Will try out the T150 on the PS4 in the morning, and make sure all is in order. It can be returned under Amazon's 30 day policy if there is anything wrong.

eyerer

I had a look through the warehouse deals.. some prices better than ebay lol. Do they give you the usual 12 month warranty through Amazon? The site mentioned Amazon customer service..

ScumLord

Fanatec have released their new CSL elite series of wheel and pedals with PC and xbox support (not sure why no PS4 support anymore). €320 for the base. I'm kind of tempted. I was seriously considering something like the accuforce but it's all very complicated and expensive. I also looked at fanatecs clubsport wheelbase but that was in the price range of direct drive wheels and I wasn't sure if it was worth the money. The CSL seems like a better price range for a middle of the road wheel and can use the entire range of fanatec wheels.

Don't think it would fit with my PC table set up though.

whiterebel

eyerer wrote: »

I had a look through the warehouse deals.. some prices better than ebay lol. Do they give you the usual 12 month warranty through Amazon? The site mentioned Amazon customer service..

They say not, but it is in perfect condition. If anything goes wrong I'll be back to Amazon or Thrustmaster anyway.

eyerer

I love Dirt Rally, F1 2016 and I'm waiting to get a wheel before I get Assetto Corsa.
I've moved house so I'm ready to bite the bullet but unfortunately the steering wheels have gone upward in price so I'll have to keep waiting.
Do you guys have a driving seat like the Playseat Challenge I've looked at, or do you just use a stand and a regular house chair?

I made this thread a year ago

Titzon Toast

eyerer wrote: »

I love Dirt Rally, F1 2016 and I'm waiting to get a wheel before I get Assetto Corsa.
I've moved house so I'm ready to bite the bullet but unfortunately the steering wheels have gone upward in price so I'll have to keep waiting.
Do you guys have a driving seat like the Playseat Challenge I've looked at, or do you just use a stand and a regular house chair?

I made this thread a year ago

My rig is home made, lengths of timber, a sheet of mdf, a bucket seat from an Sti Impreza and a couple of cans of black spray paint!

The Playseat is a sweet bit of kit though, I'd like to pick up something purpose built someday myself.

Mantis Toboggan

I've the playseat challenge and it works very well, handy to be able to fold it away to keep herself happy.

ShadowHearth

eyerer wrote: »

I love Dirt Rally, F1 2016 and I'm waiting to get a wheel before I get Assetto Corsa.
I've moved house so I'm ready to bite the bullet but unfortunately the steering wheels have gone upward in price so I'll have to keep waiting.
Do you guys have a driving seat like the Playseat Challenge I've looked at, or do you just use a stand and a regular house chair?

I made this thread a year ago

Whatever wheel you choose. I will strongly to get a some playseat or at very least a wheel stand.

I had g27 ages ago I snaped in sale. Used to screw it on my table and play away. Was fun, but then when I was done I needed to put it away. After a while you want to go for a lap ir two, but you could not be arsed setting all thing up. So in the end it sat in the box until I sold it for more then I bought it after few years.

My misses got me g29 for xmas in a pc world sale ( I winked at it and drove her to the shop lol ), but this time I got that gt racing wheel stand.
It was best thing I did for anything to do with sims.
It takes me less then a minute to push stand under the table, connect it, move monitor closer. So I can pop in for some driving a lot more often.
Best thing about stand is that its sort of modular too. You can get a railing to attach seat, or you can buy the whole seat and railing combo and have decent setup. There are addons like keyboard holders or monitor stands.

H3llR4iser

I did get the G920 (in the very same sale as ShadowHearth, I think), tested it once on the PC with a couple of games, then it sat for months in the storage cupboard inside its box - mounting to the desk was cumbersome, the height wrong, the rolling chair kept pushing away from the desk and in general was a royal PIA.

However, the idea was to use the G920 more on the Xbox One via the acquisition of a Wheel Stand Pro - so I did, and it's night and day really; It takes 20 seconds to set up in front of the TV, I just put it as close as I can get so that the screen fills most of my FOV; As everything is adjustable (wheel height, tilt and so on), I just pull the living room armchair in front of it - being that there is no "herself" around, when not in use I can just fold the Wheel Stand Pro and prop it against the wall next to the TV/XB1.

SO yeah, TL;DR - as long as you can get a seat/chair that is low enough on the ground and "buckety" enough (e.g. not a kitchen chair!), a wheel stand will work beautifully; I haven't played any XB1 driving games using a pad since I got the stand.

ShadowHearth wrote: »

My misses got me g29 for xmas in a pc world sale ( I winked at it and drove her to the shop lol )

Still, your missus is cool :cool:

bottar1

eyerer wrote: »

Wondering out of the people that bought a steering wheel and pedal set for gaming, how many of you enjoyed it, keep using it and would recommend buying one? And how many bought it and hardly used it/regretted it?
Since the one I'm looking at is almost 200, and that's before the stand is added on, I'm interested in getting peoples' opinions.

Bought a wheel in September along with Oculus Rift. Absolutely addicted to Project Cars 2 now, still play it every week. I have a group I play with, 200+ hours in the game.

It's a G29 I bought and it's great. Honestly, I love the wheel so much I've started putting money away for future upgrades, like a Fanatec wheel (maybe when they release the direct drive wheel?).

A controller is an absolute joke for immersion and driving anyway half decent.

eyerer

I got a G290 myself
I'm playing Assetto corsa when I get time, I love it, I've bought nearly all the DLC.
Rather than gaming with a controller, this feels like really learning how to drive a racing car