How Good is the GT4 SteerWheel Really?

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Ok, For those of you that have used the $150 GT4 ForcePro wheel. I have a question, how good is this wheel?


Does using this wheel increase your lap times as opposed to using a controller? Is using this wheel critical to giving you more precision and control?
 
You can get the fastest times with a pad or a wheel, thats all down to how well you handle each. The wheel is great, it feels great but the force feedback can be a bit on the heavy side. So either controller can give record results, tthe beauty of the wheel is that it changes the experience to something your suddenly more involved in, your not just twiddling your thumbs, your doing all the motions of driving a real car.
 
Originally posted by STI_Jaguar
Ok, For those of you that have used the $150 GT4 ForcePro wheel. I have a question, how good is this wheel?


Does using this wheel increase your lap times as opposed to using a controller? Is using this wheel critical to giving you more precision and control?
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I've been doing OLR for over a year now with the DS/2 and recently bought this wheel. I'm still better with the DS/2 because I've been using it for so long, but I have been able to beat some of my personal bests with the wheel now that I'm getting used to it. The REAL advantage to the wheel is how much more fun and involving it makes the game. The force feedback on the rumbles is awesome:D

The bottom line is: if you want to get faster, the wheel is not the answer, only practice will help your driving skills.:cool:

The wheel itself IS very nice and worth the cost IMO. I've had no glitchs whatsoever as of yet.:)
 
150 $ is a heavy price tag. For that wheel, I could get a Xbox for the same price. :lol: I feel the wheel should be around 50 therefore... the wheel + GT4 = 100 dollar. There goes my life saving for a Skyline GT-R ;)
 
At least you CAN get a Skyline... I'm from canada, and that car's in the 'not permited' list ... bloody hell.

As for the Wheel... the price is in fact, a little high. But its the state of the art, so i presume it might go down a little... and perharps stores like EBgames will make some sort of a bundle to better sell both products.



Btw, anyone tried the Wheel in Rally? How does it do?
 
Well, let me compare playing a gt4p with dual shock 2 and with Dfp in 900 degree mode.

And here, driving with a dual shock 2 is a s-h-i-t, while driving with dfp is a chocolate :p

p.s.: Now when i have gt4p with dfp im not even touching GT3! :D
 
The steering wheel controller handling of gt4 is miles better. No more speed sensitivity or other forms of steering help... just pure, linear steering. The way god intended. :p

I was (am) so bored of the doughy wheel response in gt3.
 
Yes, this new wheel is very good. $150 is a little high but when you feel how solid it is compared to the last wheel you'll see why. Like everyone else said, it really ups the fun factor of the game and involves you more. It gives you more of the sense that you are driving the car. For an example, when I use the DS I drive in 3rd person view, but when I use the wheel I can only drive in 1st person view. 3rd person with the wheel just seems odd and I can never get used to it.
And at first using the wheel your times will probably suffer and you might not like it, but once you get used to it you'll find that you are beating your old DS records and you'll never go back!
 
The wheel will turn you GT3 into a whole new experience. I can get better lap times with the wheel. I've beaten all my record times using the wheel.
 
the only thing wheels really improve is feeling the car. Which means drifting is hella easier w/ a wheel once you get used to it. Drifting w/ a controller is like a driver getting his arms, fingers and legs shot up w/ novicane, and then pushing it hard on the track compared to a wheel.

and all i have is the driving force. which is a hefty $80. once i get the money i
ll trade it in for the pro.


(off topic)

Doesnt the s2000 have that speed sensative steering?
 
Originally posted by cubits
The steering wheel controller handling of gt4 is miles better. No more speed sensitivity or other forms of steering help... just pure, linear steering. The way god intended. :p

I was (am) so bored of the doughy wheel response in gt3.
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Ehm, ok so you mean the reverse, right? GT3's steering is linear, which you can check by putting the new wheel in 900 mode while driving GT3. At high speeds, you still have to steer wildly to get the car turning. Whereas with GT4 Prologue, the steering is speed sensitive (like real life basically) and requires a lot of work at very low speeds (try Coffee Break 5) and vice versa.
 
Uff, you goon, real steering isn't speed sensitive! Well, it is in a handful of cars... namely the latest generation bmw's. All other cars exhibit the same ratio of wheel to steering wheel lock at any speed.

GT3 steering is not linear! Move the wheel to 50% throw, then move it to 90%, then move it to 100%. The last step the steering suddenly gets a whole lot sharper. This is commonly referred to as non-linear. There is also low speed help, which increases the lock allowed when the car is moving slowly.
 
I have the wheel and started using it at first, but I have gotten used to the DS2 better because the wheel isn't really for GT3. I'll probably try and use the wheel once I get through GT3 once, then use the wheel on another game of GT3. I'm just thinking it will be too much of a difference to get used to driving in GT3 compared to the new 900 degree steering and different physics in GT4. And the wheel is definately worth the money.
 
Originally posted by cubits
Uff, you goon, real steering isn't speed sensitive! Well, it is in a handful of cars... namely the latest generation bmw's. All other cars exhibit the same ratio of wheel to steering wheel lock at any speed.

GT3 steering is not linear! Move the wheel to 50% throw, then move it to 90%, then move it to 100%. The last step the steering suddenly gets a whole lot sharper. This is commonly referred to as non-linear. There is also low speed help, which increases the lock allowed when the car is moving slowly.
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You don't get me ... When you're driving a real car, the speed of the car influences how much you need to turn the wheel to make a corner. If you're on the highway doing 120km/h, you only need to nudge the wheel to get it into the other lane. But if you're parking, you need to seriously turn the wheel. In GT3 however, you need to seriously turn the wheel if it's set to 900 degree mode just to switch lanes on the highway, if you catch my drift. This is modelled much more realistically in GT4 Prologue.

I do not experience what you are talking about in GT3, I have only seen that when using the DS2's d-pad (it doesn't happen when you use the analogue stick as far as I can tell). I however always drive GT3 in Simulation Mode. You probably don't and then the steering assist kicks in. It's possible that this effect returns in GT4 Prologue when you turn Driving Assists on, but I personally make a point of driving without assists as much as possible to get as close as possible to the real thing.
 
On a highway, the corners arent quite as sharp as when you're parking, that's why it uses less steering lock.

Try parking at 120km/h and tell me how much lock you need.. lol.

Seriously though, i've done enough work on enough sims (and enough real cars on real tracks) to know when there are obvious steering aids, oddities.

GT3's "simulation mode" steering setting has wheel lock compensation, of sorts, which mimicks having a 900 degree wheel for a 180 degree wheel by slowing the rate you can apply lock (the wheels of the car arent in sync with the steering wheel). It's a very nasty, crappy bit of code that noone wanted. I can't believe you're driving with simulation steering.

Ok, now onto another very obvious aid in GT3, "opposite lock assistance". If you're a bit sideways out of a corner, and you pull on full opposite lock, there is a sudden addition of more opposite lock, which helps grab the rear end. This is easily noticed in replays, where you can see the wheels turn more than they should all of a sudden.

The reason you need armfulls of lock for GT3 in 900 degree mode is because you've effectively changed the steering ratio (the relationship between how much you turn the steering wheel, and how much the wheels turn). In GT4 there is a quicker ratio.
 
ok the question I have is if the steering wheel is as good as everyone says it is or is everyone just saying this because they spent 150 on it and would feel stupid if it was a piece of crap. However, I think i will have to just try it out for myself if i want an answer.
 
The questons answer is straight after the first post.
 
Originally posted by cubits
On a highway, the corners arent quite as sharp as when you're parking, that's why it uses less steering lock.

Try parking at 120km/h and tell me how much lock you need.. lol.

Seriously though, i've done enough work on enough sims (and enough real cars on real tracks) to know when there are obvious steering aids, oddities.
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Well I never said there weren't. I mean slam the brakes as much as you like in any car, and the car just stops. Sounds right, but we all know it's very wrong.

GT3's "simulation mode" steering setting has wheel lock compensation, of sorts, which mimicks having a 900 degree wheel for a 180 degree wheel by slowing the rate you can apply lock (the wheels of the car arent in sync with the steering wheel).
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This is exactly what happens on the d-pad as opposed to the analogue pad.

It's a very nasty, crappy bit of code that noone wanted. I can't believe you're driving with simulation steering.
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It's not so much this steering mode as the whole tire modeling of GT3, which is below par. However, comparing sim mode to the other modes, sim gives you a lot more realism than any of the others in many aspects. Which is one reason why all the most advanced drivers in Europe use this setting. Now they can all collectively be wrong of course, but I'm surprised you find any of the other wheel settings more realistic. The Pro mode has very lousy force feedback and all the other modes allow you to do unrealistic things with the car that in sim mode will cause you to spin out.

Ok, now onto another very obvious aid in GT3, "opposite lock assistance". If you're a bit sideways out of a corner, and you pull on full opposite lock, there is a sudden addition of more opposite lock, which helps grab the rear end. This is easily noticed in replays, where you can see the wheels turn more than they should all of a sudden.
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Which happens most strongly with the d-pad and least of all in sim mode. Just for clarity I point out that Sim mode only influences driving with a wheel, not with anything the DS2 does.

The reason you need armfulls of lock for GT3 in 900 degree mode is because you've effectively changed the steering ratio (the relationship between how much you turn the steering wheel, and how much the wheels turn). In GT4 there is a quicker ratio.
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If your car nearly stands still then both games need as much steering. If you're driving 120, GT3 requires too much steering. The difference is speed related, in other words and not just a quicker ratio.

Am I missing something?

EDIT: I just tested again, and all steering assist modes are equal in what you claim Sim to be worst in, ie wheel lock compensation.
 

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