Here is my review of the Logitech G27. I know I am a bit late and all infos are out around the web from quite some time but even if this only repeat what has already been said, it remains my personnal review based on my personnal experience. The information gathered here still could help people. This post is a bit raw at the moment but might be subject to future updates.
+ MY CURRENT DESKTOP SET-UP :
- Stock Logitech G27
- PS3 80GB
- Dell 2407WFP screen
- Ergotron LX desk mount arm
- Altec Lansing ADA995 THX 5.1 kit
- Office chair Ergo
- PC : Windows 7, 4GB RAM, 2500K, Crossfire.
+ INTRODUCTION :
The Logitech G27 is my fourth wheel. Before that I owned two G25 (the first one having pedal issues although it was 6 months old). After spending years with the second one, I decided to mod it, begining with the gearbox that was becoming very loose. Tweaking paddle shifters, gearbox and pedals. I was very happy with the result. I still decided to go for the G27 for GT5.
So, how is the G27 ? Lot of people expected Logitech last wheel to raise the bar, once again, over other wheels out there. The excitment fell rather quickly for those expecting a revolution. The wheel is similar to the G25 in many aspects but brings some great little addition and improvements.
+ FEATURES :
- 11 inches wheel
- helical gearing
- 900° steering rotation
- 6 buttons on the wheel
- rev LED indicator
- hardened gearbox
- softly grained genuine leather
- stainless steel on paddles, pedals and wheel rim (with brushed finish)
- clutch pedal
- separate 6+1 H gearbox
+ REVIEW :
I was hoping for a more advanced clamping system. Installing quickly your new wheel by hands is a good thing but sometimes, we want tools in order to get the thing very stable. No changes in that side.
Paddles remain the same but Logitech optimized the shifters system by relocating the switches. I like it, I like the noise, I like the precision, I like the feeling. It is like they have more travel and resistance ; you don't have to hit the base anymore when shifting.
Now, my biggest regret with the G27. That big shifter mode switch and one LED are gone from the "dashboard shaped" gearbox. I personnaly like to drive with the closest setup to reality, matching the real deal. It is part of immersion. For example, I put the gearbox onto the right or left side of the wheel, depending to the region the car driven was made. Lots of GT, rally and production cars use a sequential shifter, I like to use it with them. I heard Logitech encountered some difficulties, they couldn't get the shifter stiffer while keeping the sequential mode ; this justification is not enough for me. My G25 gearbox mod is as tight, if not more than the new one. Besides I keep the sequential option. They are plenty of tutorials on the web showing how to proceed in less than fourty minutes. At least, they could have go for a 7 gearbox H shifter as more and more cars now got seven gears (even with H-pattern). I don't know how long a modded gearbox will last, but it has been done long before any G27 announcement and worked like a charm for me until now. Plugging the old gearbox into the G27 would have made a good combi but Logitech didn't let that happen...
The biggest evolution is the steering wheel. I found its new design to be refreshing and more pleasant. The rim is wider and looks a little more like production car wheels (which is good for Gran Turismo). The new grip shape feels more reel and natural. The new finish (edges and stitches) makes it less irritating for thumbs. When I put my hands around it, it felt more comfortable and the first time I drove the Mercedes SLS at the GT5 Nurburgring school event, I was blown away ! The smoothness, the noise, the weight and the precision... it was like touching, steering and being in the real thing, thanks to the helical gearing. This exciment reminded me my first ride with the G25, but today, I feel like the silence, the smoothness and the precision difference between the two got much more discrete. Maybe I'm getting used to it but I got the impression that my G27 is already "getting old"...
I was quite excited by the reving LEDs as they seemed to work very well with the GT5 Time Trial Demo. But this turned to become useless... even with wheel quite high in my driving position, even in the dark, I never paid attention to them. LEDs are too close to each other to be clearly readable while racing and their placement, just over the hub, might be too low. By the way, these LEDs only do work with few games.
One of the biggest request from the community was having more buttons directly on the wheel. Logitech heard us, and gave us 6 little, close to each other, weird buttons. Placement, shape, and feel is appalling. Maybe someday I will get used to it, but I miss the two old buttons.
The wheel was expected by people to release especially for GT5 ; but because of some software issue, Polyphony Digital didn't even made his support official, resulting as the new extra buttons not configurable through options menu. Their role is simply to get in the way.
The pedals has been fine tuned but the core remains untouched (same system, same level of resistance). The difference is metal plates position can be set by the (power) user following his preferences, driving, or habit. Logitech also added two little black box in order to elevates some pedals. This little tweak can be done as well on the G25 with a litlle mod (I used the Heusinkveld Engineering kit on mine).
Now regarding price tag. Beside all I already mentionned, the G27 keeps all the good points of its predecessor, as the G27 is almost a copy of the G25. The two wheels will look and feel very similar for most people, so it might taste like buying the same product, but at a higher price point, because it is brand new and features exclusive new stuff. I'm a bit disappointed by what the engineers at Logitech were able to bring, five years after their first masterpiece. I don't think the amount of money asked today for this V2 is justified. New features are there and the force feedback is a bit improved but the ergonomics are so bad that it might not do the trick for most sim racers who will look at mods available for their G25. I don't know if Logitech tempted a commercial stunt because of the concurrence or wanted to surf on the GT5 buzz...
I must talk about Logitech (european) warranty politic. One of the best I've ever witnessed. If you got your receipt and anything goes wrong, you get an instant replacement by a brand new wheel directly to your home. Warranty is full 3 years. Then, if your wheel stops working after these three years, Logitech offers you a 50% rebates on a new one. It works flawlessly... Swiss made
Just remember modifications are supposed to void warranty.
+ CONCLUSION :
I would not say changes and improvements are minor ; they are subtles but welcome. So did the best got (a bit) better ? Yes and no. I think it will depend on the user expectations, habit and feeling. These addition are made at the price of great sacrifices that some drivers won't accept. After all the wait for a potential successor to the magnificent G25, it's a bit of a let down. Clearly not a revolution. At this time, I wouldn't go back to a G25 wheel anymore but I still might advise people getting a G25 over a G27 or maybe taking a look at the competiton.
My review might look a tad rough, nevertheless, this wheel is a great one. I had lot of fun using it. But the whole thing feels a little toyish.
One more thing, Logitech is still aiming for the crowd, so they aren't intended to be tuning friendly. Altough the G25 sat a long time as a reference and is very well-known by the community ; so both are very good bases for modding.
+ MY CURRENT DESKTOP SET-UP :
- Stock Logitech G27
- PS3 80GB
- Dell 2407WFP screen
- Ergotron LX desk mount arm
- Altec Lansing ADA995 THX 5.1 kit
- Office chair Ergo
- PC : Windows 7, 4GB RAM, 2500K, Crossfire.
+ INTRODUCTION :
The Logitech G27 is my fourth wheel. Before that I owned two G25 (the first one having pedal issues although it was 6 months old). After spending years with the second one, I decided to mod it, begining with the gearbox that was becoming very loose. Tweaking paddle shifters, gearbox and pedals. I was very happy with the result. I still decided to go for the G27 for GT5.
So, how is the G27 ? Lot of people expected Logitech last wheel to raise the bar, once again, over other wheels out there. The excitment fell rather quickly for those expecting a revolution. The wheel is similar to the G25 in many aspects but brings some great little addition and improvements.
+ FEATURES :
- 11 inches wheel
- helical gearing
- 900° steering rotation
- 6 buttons on the wheel
- rev LED indicator
- hardened gearbox
- softly grained genuine leather
- stainless steel on paddles, pedals and wheel rim (with brushed finish)
- clutch pedal
- separate 6+1 H gearbox
+ REVIEW :
I was hoping for a more advanced clamping system. Installing quickly your new wheel by hands is a good thing but sometimes, we want tools in order to get the thing very stable. No changes in that side.
Paddles remain the same but Logitech optimized the shifters system by relocating the switches. I like it, I like the noise, I like the precision, I like the feeling. It is like they have more travel and resistance ; you don't have to hit the base anymore when shifting.
Now, my biggest regret with the G27. That big shifter mode switch and one LED are gone from the "dashboard shaped" gearbox. I personnaly like to drive with the closest setup to reality, matching the real deal. It is part of immersion. For example, I put the gearbox onto the right or left side of the wheel, depending to the region the car driven was made. Lots of GT, rally and production cars use a sequential shifter, I like to use it with them. I heard Logitech encountered some difficulties, they couldn't get the shifter stiffer while keeping the sequential mode ; this justification is not enough for me. My G25 gearbox mod is as tight, if not more than the new one. Besides I keep the sequential option. They are plenty of tutorials on the web showing how to proceed in less than fourty minutes. At least, they could have go for a 7 gearbox H shifter as more and more cars now got seven gears (even with H-pattern). I don't know how long a modded gearbox will last, but it has been done long before any G27 announcement and worked like a charm for me until now. Plugging the old gearbox into the G27 would have made a good combi but Logitech didn't let that happen...
The biggest evolution is the steering wheel. I found its new design to be refreshing and more pleasant. The rim is wider and looks a little more like production car wheels (which is good for Gran Turismo). The new grip shape feels more reel and natural. The new finish (edges and stitches) makes it less irritating for thumbs. When I put my hands around it, it felt more comfortable and the first time I drove the Mercedes SLS at the GT5 Nurburgring school event, I was blown away ! The smoothness, the noise, the weight and the precision... it was like touching, steering and being in the real thing, thanks to the helical gearing. This exciment reminded me my first ride with the G25, but today, I feel like the silence, the smoothness and the precision difference between the two got much more discrete. Maybe I'm getting used to it but I got the impression that my G27 is already "getting old"...
I was quite excited by the reving LEDs as they seemed to work very well with the GT5 Time Trial Demo. But this turned to become useless... even with wheel quite high in my driving position, even in the dark, I never paid attention to them. LEDs are too close to each other to be clearly readable while racing and their placement, just over the hub, might be too low. By the way, these LEDs only do work with few games.
One of the biggest request from the community was having more buttons directly on the wheel. Logitech heard us, and gave us 6 little, close to each other, weird buttons. Placement, shape, and feel is appalling. Maybe someday I will get used to it, but I miss the two old buttons.
The wheel was expected by people to release especially for GT5 ; but because of some software issue, Polyphony Digital didn't even made his support official, resulting as the new extra buttons not configurable through options menu. Their role is simply to get in the way.
The pedals has been fine tuned but the core remains untouched (same system, same level of resistance). The difference is metal plates position can be set by the (power) user following his preferences, driving, or habit. Logitech also added two little black box in order to elevates some pedals. This little tweak can be done as well on the G25 with a litlle mod (I used the Heusinkveld Engineering kit on mine).
Now regarding price tag. Beside all I already mentionned, the G27 keeps all the good points of its predecessor, as the G27 is almost a copy of the G25. The two wheels will look and feel very similar for most people, so it might taste like buying the same product, but at a higher price point, because it is brand new and features exclusive new stuff. I'm a bit disappointed by what the engineers at Logitech were able to bring, five years after their first masterpiece. I don't think the amount of money asked today for this V2 is justified. New features are there and the force feedback is a bit improved but the ergonomics are so bad that it might not do the trick for most sim racers who will look at mods available for their G25. I don't know if Logitech tempted a commercial stunt because of the concurrence or wanted to surf on the GT5 buzz...
I must talk about Logitech (european) warranty politic. One of the best I've ever witnessed. If you got your receipt and anything goes wrong, you get an instant replacement by a brand new wheel directly to your home. Warranty is full 3 years. Then, if your wheel stops working after these three years, Logitech offers you a 50% rebates on a new one. It works flawlessly... Swiss made
Just remember modifications are supposed to void warranty.+ CONCLUSION :
I would not say changes and improvements are minor ; they are subtles but welcome. So did the best got (a bit) better ? Yes and no. I think it will depend on the user expectations, habit and feeling. These addition are made at the price of great sacrifices that some drivers won't accept. After all the wait for a potential successor to the magnificent G25, it's a bit of a let down. Clearly not a revolution. At this time, I wouldn't go back to a G25 wheel anymore but I still might advise people getting a G25 over a G27 or maybe taking a look at the competiton.
My review might look a tad rough, nevertheless, this wheel is a great one. I had lot of fun using it. But the whole thing feels a little toyish.
One more thing, Logitech is still aiming for the crowd, so they aren't intended to be tuning friendly. Altough the G25 sat a long time as a reference and is very well-known by the community ; so both are very good bases for modding.
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