Controller → Wheel: First Day Reality Check And help needed

[i386]

Do you play/race just in GT7 or also other games/sims (you have made this thread in the gt7 forum so I assume you play exclusively gt7)?
I have to say that for me "connecting" to gt7 with a wheel takes more time than other games on pc (raceroom, automobilista 2 & rfactor 2)

I drove like a monkey

I still drive like a monkey with my wheel (gt dd pro + csl lc) especially in gt 7, but I enjoy it

 

[Tired Tyres]

Don't try to run before you can walk. Create a new account on you PlayStation and play through the game with the wheel. Get used to the FF cars, feel what they are doing and understand them. Then move on to a MX-5. Rear wheel drive and not much power but learn the car and then transfer that to the more powerful cars an your speed will naturally come on any track.

 

[RS60NR]

My two pieces of advice would be:

1. don't shy away from assists, especially in the early days, to help you counter that complexity spike. CSA is a great tool to reduce the need for micro-corrections, and TCS obviously helps with spinning out on corner exits. Don't worry about those assists slowing you down, this is largely a myth as long as you are not competing for the world record (even though what I said earlier about narrowing the range on both sides of course applies here as well). To this day I have both of these assists enabled a lot, and they haven't stopped me from reaching quite a few top 100 placements in online time trials

I’m going to disagree somewhat. While using the assists helps being comfortable and confident while driving and very useful in challenging conditions or managing tire wear, I’d suggest turning them all off for practicing

If I’m reading correctly, a major issue for the OP is refining control, then the assists will mask the details of what’s happening: TC lets you just mash the throttle and the systems sorts out wheel spin, while ABS does the same for braking and lockup

Practicing finer control of the throttle and brake by turning off assists gives the most immediate feedback, as frustrating as it might be initially

Back in race mode using weak abs and TC 1/2 gives you a backup but you’ll be depending on them much less because the muscle memory will have developed

 

[Lightpilgrim]

Hey guys, thanks a lot for all the answers — really appreciate it.

I think everyone gets that initial shock moving from controller to wheel. The inputs are completely different, so the adjustment period is totally normal. For me it’s not about comparing lap times right now — it’s about retraining my brain and rebuilding reference points:

• how to rotate the car
• how to approach corners
• braking timing and pressure
• throttle control on exit

Braking is actually the biggest positive so far. I feel much more control over weight transfer and the car in general — that part already makes sense.

Acceleration is much harder. There’s no smoothing or hidden correction like on a controller. If the car slides, it’s entirely on you to catch it, and that’s a skill I clearly need to build.

My biggest nemesis right now is steering, but I’m starting to understand something important:
👉 you don’t really steer the car with the wheel — you steer it with brakes and throttle.

I also did a comparison racing both wheel and pad to understand where I stand.

Daily Race B — Watkins Glen

• Wheel lap: 1:56.1
• Pad lap: 1:55.7 (~0.4s quicker)
• Won a race on pad
• Best result with wheel so far: P6

So the base pace is there — I should be fighting for podiums with this combo — but with the wheel I still can’t position the car exactly where I want lap after lap. Entries and exits lack precision for now.

Then I tried Daily Race A at Eiger Nordwand (Subaru combo), and this really exposed my biggest weakness. With the pad I managed to get into Top 100, but with the wheel I was several seconds slower. All those constant hairpins — I simply couldn’t rotate the car properly at all.

That’s where I clearly see my main problem right now:
👉 I still don’t know how to rotate the car on tight tracks with the wheel.

Early days though — now I know what I need to work on. Just practice and letting the new muscle memory build 🙂

 

[KAlex122]

My point of view exactly. And on top of that I don't care about my performances.

This is a big no no for the thread owner, as far as i know. ;-)

My feeling up to now i that Lightpilgrim gets his kick 99,9% out of comparing, competing, performing, understanding. "Fun" isn't even in the ballpark otherwise.

We all are very different about that.

 

[Lightpilgrim]

Hi Alex, I think what you’re seeing is that people are always more complex than what can be understood from forum posts alone. It’s hard to fully understand someone just through the questions they ask here, because what you read from me mostly relates to areas where I’m trying to improve and get on top of things — performance, competition, and reaching the highest level possible. That pursuit itself is fun for me; it’s one of my definitions of fun.

At the same time, there are many things I also do purely for leisure in Gran Turismo — designing cars and liveries, driving casually with friends, and just enjoying the lighter side of the game. I simply don’t post about those parts because I don’t have questions there.

So the perception probably comes from seeing only one aspect of what I do — shaped by what I choose to ask about here — rather than the full picture.

This is a big no no for the thread owner, as far as i know. ;-)

My feeling up to now i that Lightpilgrim gets his kick 99,9% out of comparing, competing, performing, understanding. "Fun" isn't even in the ballpark otherwise.

We all are very different about that.

 

[KAlex122]

Hi Alex, I think what you’re seeing is that people are always more complex than what can be understood from forum posts alone. It’s hard to fully understand someone just through the questions they ask here, because what you read from me mostly relates to areas where I’m trying to improve and get on top of things — performance, competition, and reaching the highest level possible. That pursuit itself is fun for me; it’s one of my definitions of fun.

At the same time, there are many things I also do purely for leisure in Gran Turismo — designing cars and liveries, driving casually with friends, and just enjoying the lighter side of the game. I simply don’t post about those parts because I don’t have questions there.

So the perception probably comes from seeing only one aspect of what I do — shaped by what I choose to ask about here — rather than the full picture.

Well said. It was also not meant as criticism as in (one is a better way than the other or something like that). Just a observation of your posts. Cool to see you are enjoying other aspects of GT7 too.

Are you into other sims/racing games too?

 

[Scaff]

I think everyone gets that initial shock moving from controller to wheel. The inputs are completely different, so the adjustment period is totally normal. For me it’s not about comparing lap times right now — it’s about retraining my brain and rebuilding reference points:

• how to rotate the car
• how to approach corners
• braking timing and pressure
• throttle control on exit

I was always the other way around, but I came to sim racing from real world driving, including a lot of track time.

The most important factor to understand is that, like any new skill, no shortcuts exist. It will take time, just as it took time to get to the point you are with a controller.

Braking is actually the biggest positive so far. I feel much more control over weight transfer and the car in general — that part already makes sense.

👍

Acceleration is much harder. There’s no smoothing or hidden correction like on a controller. If the car slides, it’s entirely on you to catch it, and that’s a skill I clearly need to build.

Indeed, it's also not helped by the weird throttle mapping that GT has.

My biggest nemesis right now is steering, but I’m starting to understand something important:
👉 you don’t really steer the car with the wheel — you steer it with brakes and throttle.

Sort of, you steer with both, and knowing how much of which to use, and when, is just as important.

A couple of tips (and you may already know these):

• Hands at 9 and 3 on the wheel, professional drivers do this for a reason. It mentally maps the front tyres steering direction to your hands, as well as providing optimal leverage for steering input
• Do not grip the wheel too tightly, you don't need to and will have a lot more control and gain a lot more from FFB with a light grip. It's also a lot less tiring during longer sessions.

 

[Lightpilgrim]

Alex, I completely understood your intentions. I know you didn’t mean anything negatively, and I genuinely didn’t read your comment that way at all. Your observation was fair — I only wanted to clarify my perspective.

When it comes to other racing games, not really. Time is simply too limited, so realistically I can only focus on Gran Turismo. I used to enjoy F1 23, skipped 24 entirely, and although I bought F1 25, I tried it for about ten minutes and it just didn’t click for me. I had high hopes for Project Motor Racing, but after seeing the reception, I decided not to purchase it. For now, I’m fully sticking with Gran Turismo — it’s so broad and deep that mastering it alone feels like a lifelong journey.

On the topic of competition and reaching the highest level in anything we do — yesterday I watched a Mount Panorama race on YouTube by Mikail Hizal, and honestly, I was speechless. The way he drives looks completely effortless. Watching him flow through the downhill sections and technical corners felt like the car was on rails. I haven’t seen many people drive with that level of control and precision. You can’t help but be impressed by that level of mastery.

It’s inspiring, because ultimately that’s what many of us are chasing — that sense of freedom where you flow with the track, feel the grip naturally, and instinctively know how to position the car. What looks effortless from the outside is always built on enormous effort and countless hours of work. It reminds me of watching Federer play tennis: elegance and simplicity on the surface, but supported by immense discipline and practice. When someone reaches that level, it becomes a real pleasure to watch — and a strong source of motivation for everyone else.

Well said. It was also not meant as criticism as in (one is a better way than the other or something like that). Just a observation of your posts. Cool to see you are enjoying other aspects of GT7 too.

Are you into other sims/racing games too?