Ds3 vs wheel

[ionstriker]

is it possible to set a lap with a ds3 that is equally fast as a top lap set by someone with a wheel? Im always usually 5 to 4 seconds behind the fastest lap during seasonals and i use a ds3 would i be faster if i had a wheel?

 

[Carson79]

Some are quicker with a pad and some are quicker with a wheel. I prefer the wheel but it is a learning curve coming from a pad, most people are slower to start off but should find it more rewarding

 

[Sick Cylinder]

Carson is right - I'll just add that I have a friend who is equally quick with either his DFGT wheel or his DS3 - he is always much faster than me on my wheel - speed comes down more to your skill level than what equipment you have and some people seem to have amazing skills.

 

[markituh121]

Like everyone is saying, it all comes down to the player itself. If you wanna play in a competitive level i do recommend the wheel, but it is obvious that you wont be quicker just by having the wheel. You need hours of practice and getting used to it. And then it all comes to your skill as well, even after all the hours of playing with the wheel, you will need to know the basics of racing. I cannot afford a wheel just yet. But i am gaining so much skill with the DS3 that i am reaching, and in some cases, passing the level others have with the steering wheel. Smooth driving lines and nice "footwork" can be easily achievable with the DS3, but then the concentration level and all that is up to you. The DS3 is more powerful than you might think, i play with the regular button layout, but i still control the amount throttle and braking i use. It's not On and Off as a lot of you might think. In racing you need a lot of mental skill, not just hardware.

 

[LeMansAid]

I was willing to take a hit with lap times when switching to a wheel, but it turns out that the hit wasn't necessary. The much heightened immersion was all of the upside I needed, but I'm definitely faster with a wheel. My nephew is a freak playing fps with a pad, so he has brilliant control when driving also. He is maybe equally fast with his wheel and pad.

 

[AlvaroF]

I played with a wheel occasionaly and it's hard to get used to it, but one of the thing is the amount of input when turning in a fast corner. With a DS3 your input is rather limited and turn in gets affected a bit, but the footwork and control are perfectly achiveable with a DS3. The rest is down to the driver

 

[pilmat]

I've never been a good gamer, the controls never seem to sink in... but I'm a very good real racer. So playing a racing game only makes sense to me with a wheel, to the point I just "can't" play with a controller. I know a few racers who are the same.

One thing about the pad in a racing game, and I think this is one of the things that makes it a steep learning curve for pad racers that have little or no real world racing experience, the pad is a driving aid. Even if you turn off all the game's driving aids, the pad still employs a driving algorithm. The simple proof is that a full joystick movement on the straight will only move the car over a couple of feet, where at a tight hairpin, it gets you full steering lock. This algorithm is position and speed based, and it has stability measures built in (so you don't spin on the straight!). I don't think these aids are anywhere near as powerful as SRF, for example, but gamers quickly learn that they are something that can be leaned on, a proverbial crutch. Racers don't get that, as they expect to have full reign over the car at all times, and the "help" they are getting in the controller is sending them conflicting messages about what they should expect from their commands.

This would help explain the learning curve for pad racers switching to a wheel too. The game is no longer helping them and they must now rely only on their inputs, which is what the real racer is looking for.

No right or wrong here. It is only a simulator, which is only a programmer's imagining of what driving a real car is like. So it is always open to interpretation. And "beating" the physics is what sims are all about, much like Neo in the Matrix. Enjoy, and race on