I thought a wheel would be fun, not work

[slthree]

Let me start by saying I am new to these forums in the past month or two only. Everyone has been incredibly helpful and I love it here.

I love project cars 2 and I am preferring it at the moment over Gran Turismo. I have a PS4 Pro

To get more immersion in my experience I finally bought a wheel setup. I walked into Best Buy and I picked up the thrustmaster 150. I now know that that is not a great wheel and I'm going to return it

However, the reason I came to this section of the forums (and I am terrified to be in here with hardcore sim guys) is because I am struggling mightily with the concept of a wheel now

I only had time to play a couple of hours yesterday but the wheel is kicking my butt. It's constantly turning the opposite direction and when I go off the road it's really giving me a hard time. I cannot tame it and a couple of times I actually hurt my wrist.

I wanted to add to the fun of playing racing games since this is the first time I've done so on my PS4 (previously playing other sports games and uncharted), but now driving seems to be more work and less

I guess I'm hoping that you all tell me this is only growing pains and I'll come to love it. Or, you may just tell me I suck at racing games and need to quit! I hope not because I love them

 

[super_gt]

Or, you may just tell me I suck at racing games and need to quit!

No, I will never tell you that.
Playing with a steering wheel is much more physically demanding,and becomes even more physically demanding the more torque the wheel has.Your steering wheel is one of the weakest in the market with torque around 2Nm.
Try to reduce the strength of the force feedback in Project CARS.

I guess I'm hoping that you all tell me this is only growing pains and I'll come to love it

It is quite likely, but it may take several months.Meanwhile practice,practice and again practice,there is no other way.

 

[PocketZeven]

No, I will never tell you that.
Playing with a steering wheel is much more physically demanding,and becomes even more physically demanding the more torque the wheel has.Your steering wheel is one of the weakest in the market with torque around 2Nm.
Try to reduce the strength of the force feedback in Project CARS.

It is quite likely, but it may take several months.Meanwhile practice,practice and again practice,there is no other way.

Unlike some noob unfriendly communities, simracers are actually super helpful. Even with gear you will do a common theme: better gear, won’t make you faster. Even the most famous and fastest simracers used “low end” with 2mn torque. Which is plenty!
So if it’s your budget, the T150 is a great wheel.

I suspect you don’t have a drivers license. So it won’t come naturally for you. Like @super_gt said: practice makes perfect.

Try using about 20 gain and informative flavor. And when you feel comfortable set it higher. Also a good tip is to use the driving school in GTsport. Many simracers learned to race this way!

 

[slthree]

I suspect you don’t have a drivers license. So it won’t come naturally for you. @super_gt said: practice makes perfect.
!

Now, I'm even more embarrassed that I'm not able to use the wheel because you don't think I have a driver's license.

Sadly, I'm plenty old to not only have a license but to have been driving for many, many years.

I'm going to adjust the force feedback settings and give it another go this afternoon when I get home

 

[PocketZeven]

Now, I'm even more embarrassed that I'm not able to use the wheel because you don't think I have a driver's license.

Sadly, I'm plenty old to not only have a license but to have been driving for many, many years.

I'm going to adjust the force feedback settings and give it another go this afternoon when I get home

My apologies! Did not want to embarrass you.

Like I said try the GTsport driving school from the beginning. It I’ll let you get used to the wheel in steps.

 

[John G]

Turn the force down. It should not hurt

 

[decks01]

practice and tune your wheel. you will get the hang of it.

 

[Silent Drifter]

There is a learning curve when it comes to using a wheel. For me, it took some time to get the hang of it too. Pretty much what you said, I experienced it too. Watching my family and friends try out my wheel, and they have a hard time with it too.

My first wheel was the DFGT, and I was playing GT5. I was considerably slower with a wheel, than I was with a controller. It took some time, and a lot of mistakes, but I got the hang of it. I may be a little faster now, with the wheel, and it feels like second nature.

 

[BrainsBush]

Indeed it is the so called learning curve all of us had to come through. I also had the same experience when I started with a wheel. Play around with the force feedback settings. Learn the pedal responses especially the brake pedal. Compare it to getting a new (virtual) driving license. If you pass today it is hard to start and be succesfull in e.g. a Moby Dick also today.
My advise: start with the slower cars on a track you know from inch to inch. These are not the fastest and still give a lot of joy: Ford Escort, BMW 1, Audi S1

Like Max Verstappen says: #Keeppushing

 

[shoemaker]

To start with, i was awful and slow. Practice practice practice and now iam fast and enjoy sim racing so much much more. I could never back to a control pad now and I honestly don’t know how people enjoy using pads now. Youve spent some decent money on your new toy so don’t give up on it yet !

 

[slthree]

You have all been very helpful and it's encouraging to hear that most wheel user struggled at the beginning.

Now I just have to settle on a wheel and a stand

 

[F Inferno]

You have all been very helpful and it's encouraging to hear that most wheel user struggled at the beginning.

Now I just have to settle on a wheel and a stand

It’s key to get settings right, if you are fighting the wheel because it’s not doing what you expect it to do then you’re going to have problems.

Less is also more and you aren’t often going to go beyond even a 1/4 turn on the wheel for most corners.

 

[LordHernan]

The T150 is actually quite a good wheel. Are you using a wheel stand?

 

[raghza]

It was a long time ago when I bought my first wheel for my PC, but I remember that not 2 hours or not even 2 days made me get used to it. Hell, maybe even 2 weeks didn't cut it. And I'm talking about the wheels from ~15 years ago, which just had a wheel and two pedals, nothing else.
Everybody else here have said it and I will say it again - practice, practice, practice.
Try to forget everything you learned with the controller, take a car you like (and that is not too fast, perhaps not even RWD), a track you like and start slow. Do not think about the speed, but keeping it on the track. Do this until you feel your laps time could not get much faster.
Then change the car and the track and do it again. It can definitely feel strange at first when the force feedback is working against you, but that is why practice is so important - to learn to understand the force feedback and letting it work for you, not against you.

 

[NateF1GP]

Id turn the force down and practice alone with the suggested line on. Take your time!

 

[Dopplegagger]

Everyone has been giving wonderful advice, there is very little that I can add to this thread except for one thing. You wrote...

(and I am terrified to be in here with hardcore sim guys)

Please, don't be. All the hard-core sim racers are actually pretty helpful and welcoming. If you have a question, ask. There's a good chance that someone has encountered the same issue and can help you out. The folks here at GT planet are knowledgeable and have been in your shoes before. There's no reason to be afraid of asking for advice or help here. Just watch out for that Dopplegagger guy. He's not all there.



Seriously though, I've been there too. When I got my first FFB wheel, I was pretty good with a controller on Forza 2. Microsoft fixed and re-issued their Wireless Racing Wheel (WRW), a 2 pedal wheel for the Xbox 360 that is probably worse than some of Mad Catz offerings but with slightly better reliability if, one didn't beat on the poor thing.

Being decent at Forza, my pace slowed dramatically as I was now fighting FFB along with trying to keep the car on track. It took me weeks to get somewhat back to where I was. But I eventually became so proficient with the wheel that using a controller made me slower. It took tons of practice to get better. Even to this day, I need to practice because; I always feel as if I can get better, or go faster.

You'll get there. Take it slow at first, and gradually turn it up. Before long, you'll enjoy fighting with a car's characteristics while setting your best times with it.

 

[slthree]

The T150 is actually quite a good wheel. Are you using a wheel stand?

No, I don’t have a rig yet. But, I have run into another problem.

I hated how light and cheap the pedals felt on my T1 50 and even the wheel help a little light when I gripped it too hard. So, I ordered the CSL elite with pedals and even added the loadcell brake

They arrived yesterday morning and I’ve been trying to use them ever since and it’s a nightmare because the brake is so firm I can’t push down on it.

 

[Siggers]

I use a T150 and as others have already said there is a big learning curve to overcome. But now I am much faster with a wheel than I ever was with a normal playstation controller.

As well as running low FFB, for some cars I also turn down the angle of rotation which means you don't need to physically turn the wheel as much. This gives less precision when turning but for me makes handling a car around a twisty circuit much easier, especially with controlling sliding of RWD cars.

 

[NateF1GP]

No, I don’t have a rig yet. But, I have run into another problem.

I hated how light and cheap the pedals felt on my T1 50 and even the wheel help a little light when I gripped it too hard. So, I ordered the CSL elite with pedals and even added the loadcell brake

They arrived yesterday morning and I’ve been trying to use them ever since and it’s a nightmare because the brake is so firm I can’t push down on it.

Youre diving right in. Thats just fine though. What you need to do is focus in the right area. You need to find a track you like and just run laps. That Load cell brake is not mean to have much movement in it. It measures pressure not distance. You are used to distance. The load cell is much more accurate and repeatable.

You need to make sure all this gear you have now is calibrated properly as well. Otherwise it will continue to be frustrating. Dont go to fast, you wont be racing anyone for a while if you take your time and learn.

 

[barryf1fan]

First, congrats on upgrading to the CSL Fanatec gear, that's a heck of an upgrade! 👍
Second, definitely don't give up on it - the whole point of the wheel is to make the "drive" (race/experience) more believable, or immersive.

I just recently picked up a Thrustmaster 599 Alcantara, blah, blah, blah - the name is way too long. And while I'm not new to wheels, the last wheel I "used" was the Logitech DF-GT (which is still a great wheel - my son uses it on his PC for Dirt Rally) on Gran Turismo 3-4. I haven't used a wheel in well over a decade. When I decided to "jump-in" and get the T300, I thought, "yes, this is gonna be great. I'll be kicking butt in no time".

Well, that wasn't the case. Like you, I really dig Project Cars & Project Cars 2 (Love, love, love racing games), as well as F1 2017 among others. I jump into PC2 and hop in the Toyota TS040 LMP car and find that I'm 17 seconds off the pace in qualifying!!! I thought, what the heck?!?! I had already gotten used to the wheel in a couple of other races, using slower cars, and thought I was ready to go a bit faster. Well, backed out of that practice session and made the practice session a lot longer, so when I got to qualifying I would just have a chance of not starting last. Proceeded to knockout about 17~18 laps before I was comfortable with the car and "RE-learned" Sakitto (Suzuka) circuit using not only a fast car, but a wheel and pedal. I then re-set the Practice to 10 minutes / Qualify session to 10 minutes / Race to 20 minutes. On the last lap of Qualifying (time had expired and I was on a hot lap) I crossed the line with a 0.018 second gap to 2nd spot - got pole by less than 2 hundredths. It was pretty freaking exciting, and on top of that - my shoulders and hands were already a bit tired from my (extended) practice and the qualify sessions. It actually felt like I had done something, whereas, with a controller it would've been no big deal to run that much.

Well, in the race, 2nd jumped around me at the start and in my infinite desire to be first into the first corner I gave him just enough room to push me off the track. (watched the replay, and I did squeeze him too much, should've just slotted in behind and been happy with 2nd - knowing that there was over 19 minutes left). I ended up sliding almost to the fence and spent the next 19+ minutes trying to catch back up. I was 14 seconds down to first when I finally got going, and ended up finishing ~7.5 seconds behind the leader. I caught a car and passed them but made a mistake and went wide in 130R (actually just missed the apex a bit) and he slipped back underneath me, besides, my tires were done from pushing...

You're probably wondering why the long drawn out story... ?? Well, even though I didn't do that "well", ie., I didn't win (which I'm positive I could have with the DS4) I had a freaking blast "racing" with the T300. I didn't even care that I was last in the race, as I knew I had the pace to run with the Ai cars and the reason I was last in the race was a huge miscalculation on my part... and when the race was over, I actually had a bit of sweat on my forehead. And again, my arms and shoulders actually felt like I had done something. And I know it's not like racing an actual car - but it sure beats just having a sore thumb.

Enjoy your new Wheel and Pedal set! ! !

 

[BrainsBush]

No, I don’t have a rig yet. But, I have run into another problem.

I hated how light and cheap the pedals felt on my T1 50 and even the wheel help a little light when I gripped it too hard. So, I ordered the CSL elite with pedals and even added the loadcell brake

They arrived yesterday morning and I’ve been trying to use them ever since and it’s a nightmare because the brake is so firm I can’t push down on it.

You know you can lower the brakeforce in the wheel setup? Many YT videos on how to do it. Brf 100 is impossible to brake. I set it to 40 but it is personal preference

 

[Twstcrv]

You are off to a good start asking for help and getting so much support in here! Also remember you are probably using some muscle groups that are specific to your setup and will gain strength with a few reps on the wheel and pedal set. When I started I thought I made a huge mistake because my hands were cramping and legs were sore! With some repetition your body will adapt quickly and what everyone else is saying is true- it will feel like an extension of your body. Just like a car should! Also you will figure out proper adjustments as you go and that makes it physically easier.

 

[lancia delta hf]

Now, I'm even more embarrassed that I'm not able to use the wheel because you don't think I have a driver's license.

Sadly, I'm plenty old to not only have a license but to have been driving for many, many years.

I'm going to adjust the force feedback settings and give it another go this afternoon when I get home

Well I can drive and the first time I used a wheel ( G27) it did not feel normal at all like driving a real car. It especially felt odd trying to fight the wheel around corners as I was just thinking that would break the wheel. Just keep at it and you'll get use to it.

 

[slthree]

Because Lancia posted and I received a notification, it reminded me of this thread.

I want to thank each and every one of you for helping me through my silly crisis.

I am crazy in love with using the wheel and I can never go back to using a controller. Just for kicks, I thought I would try a controller for a race or two and I couldn't get past a couple laps without being completely unfulfilled.

These are the best forums I have found for any subject and I visit a lot of forums.

I hope one day someone new comes here, the way I did, and talks about their struggles with a wheel so I can help them the way you guys helped me.

Cheers,

 

[Bury]

I just bought my first wheel (Thrustmaster T-GT) last week and left feeling pretty dang discouraged. Instead of getting much faster and feeling at ease, I finished dead last in my GT Sport race, running off the track on Interlagos several times. Thanks for sharing your story.

 

[PocketZeven]

I just bought my first wheel (Thrustmaster T-GT) last week and left feeling pretty dang discouraged. Instead of getting much faster and feeling at ease, I finished dead last in my GT Sport race, running off the track on Interlagos several times. Thanks for sharing your story.

I recommend going through the Missions and challenges again, before going back online to get accustomed to the wheel.

 

[Melbourne Park]

practice and tune your wheel. you will get the hang of it.

I used to race and am going to do it again, so I am looking at what to buy. But with my previous gear, my best friend tried my wheel on GT4 or GT5 (I forget which) and he was slow. He had a Cams license and owns quite a few collectable sports and a couple of race cars.

IMO there is a delay in the wheel ... and I have noticed on videos of people when they review something - like a wheel or a seat or a brake pedal kit - that they'll put in a session of them driving, and you can see their hands on the wheel, and watch their monitor(s)/TV - and I have noticed that when they turn their wheel, and on their screen, the wheel on their monitor, it turns quite a bit after they actually turned their wheel.

IMO its getting used to this delay that is the major cause of why it takes a bit or maybe a bit more time to get used to a wheel. In a real car, there is no delay ...

 

[PocketZeven]

I used to race and am going to do it again, so I am looking at what to buy. But with my previous gear, my best friend tried my wheel on GT4 or GT5 (I forget which) and he was slow. He had a Cams license and owns quite a few collectable sports and a couple of race cars.

IMO there is a delay in the wheel ... and I have noticed on videos of people when they review something - like a wheel or a seat or a brake pedal kit - that they'll put in a session of them driving, and you can see their hands on the wheel, and watch their monitor(s)/TV - and I have noticed that when they turn their wheel, and on their screen, the wheel on their monitor, it turns quite a bit after they actually turned their wheel.

IMO its getting used to this delay that is the major cause of why it takes a bit or maybe a bit more time to get used to a wheel. In a real car, there is no delay ...

Nowadays in modern titles have less latency. Also the hardware usb refresh rates are much higher then older wheels 500-1000hz. However the human brain can adapt very well to latency, so it shouldn’t hold you back.

 

[Melbourne Park]

Nowadays in modern titles have less latency. Also the hardware usb refresh rates are much higher then older wheels 500-1000hz. However the human brain can adapt very well to latency, so it shouldn’t hold you back.

Yes, the cortex does adjust, with learning though. So if you are starting out, the wheel can feel bad.

Also I have read reviews that claim Forza 7 is slower with a wheel than a controller, due to some technology Forza has put in to assist hand controller players ... so if its Forza to a wheel, then maybe its never going to be better track times. I've not played Forza though ...

 

[PocketZeven]

Yes, the cortex does adjust, with learning though. So if you are starting out, the wheel can feel bad.

Also I have read reviews that claim Forza 7 is slower with a wheel than a controller, due to some technology Forza has put in to assist hand controller players ... so if its Forza to a wheel, then maybe its never going to be better track times. I've not played Forza though ...

If you are fast... You are probably fast on both pad and wheels. Never played Forza though, so no idea if that claim is true. But I am 100% certain a wheel is more fun and immersive.