Pick my wheel

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White & Nerdy

White & Nerdy

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Wasilla, AK
Simple request: I need a wheel (preferably clutch/H-shifter model) which will work with GT5, GRID, Shift, and Shift2 (the last two being nearly unplayable with a DS3), but I don't know all that much about them - what they cost, which ones have which features, and which one is the overall best.

So, which one should I go for?
 
Well, the biggest factor is budget.
The Thrustmaster T500 RS is a great wheel, but no Force Feedback in games other then GT5 and Dirt 3 as far as I know. (only play GT5 on the PS3 myself)
You could go for a Logitech G27 which has the clutch and H-shifter. It's a great wheel and the best times are recorded still with this, at least I heard people here say that. Unfortunately due to it being gear driven it has a wobble on the straights, caused by a conflict between the subtle force feedback effects and the centering function.
Or you could go for a Fanatec GT2 or CSR + CSR shifter + clubsport pedals. The GT2 and CSR are both belt driven wheels. This means that you won't feel the teeth of the gears grinding against each other, or the "cogging effect" of the motor. Plus they both have the same powerful engine, but the CSR has new electronics that drive the motor better resulting in better force feedback, or so i've come to understand. The clubsport pedals have a load-cell on the brake instead of a potentiometer (that measures by pressure instead of position of the pedal which the T500 RS and G27 do (both use potentiometers on all pedals)), and the clutch and gas pedals have magnet sensors for higher precision then a potentiometer as well.

T500 RS = 400 euros
G27 = 200 euros (i think)
GT2/CSR + CSR Shifter + CSP (now incl free tuning kit to setup the pedals precisely to your liking) = 510 euros

Also there will new wheels coming out soon (estimated December) by Fanatec that are above the CSR and most likely the T500 RS as well.

I hope I have given you a few ideas for starters at least. I'm sure others will respond with more input. ;)
 
T500 works well with F1 2011 as well. Most awesome in fact. Final answer, lol
 
G27 it is then. The shake sounds annoying, but if given the choice between a slight wobble and spending whatever the US equivalent of 300 Euros is, I'll take the wobble.
 
White & Nerdy
G27 it is then. The shake sounds annoying, but if given the choice between a slight wobble and spending whatever the US equivalent of 300 Euros is, I'll take the wobble.
Click to expand...

Just type in google "amount currency to currency" so "300 euro to us dollar". ;)
Have fun with your wheel choice :dopey:
 
Grayfox
G25.

It has both H shift and sequential shift.
Click to expand...

Are they even still available?
Besides, the G25 no tactile feel without modding. Though you can lookup the videos made by Chillicothe for that.
 
GRID is almost unplayable with a wheel in my opinion, very bad wheel game though its a great game with a pad. Any of the wheels will do good, G27 is obviously much more affordable and it is a great wheel.
 
First up, a quick overview of the wheel support in the games you listed (and a few others):

GRiD is really dreadful with a wheel. So much so that I bought it, experienced the floatiness and steering lag (I couldn't keep a simple race car driving straight along the mulsanne straight, it was weaving all over the place). Then took the game back to the shop and swapped it. Awful.

On the other hand, DiRT 2 and DiRT 3 are huge amounts of fun with extremely good force feedback and very responsive (no steering lag), and F1 2010 is also very decent (I've not tried F1 2011 yet). So Codemasters can do FFB, they just didn't get it right with DiRT 1 and GRiD. Once you get a wheel, I recommend you download at least the DiRT 3 demo to try it out. I guarantee you'll enjoy yourself.

I tried Shift 1 on the PS3 and found some steering lag and a rather bizarre car see-saw snap effect: Didn't enjoy it very much. The PC version got a few mods to improve the steering lag, but it was still present and ruined my enjoyment of the game. I never purchased Shift 2 because there were too many reports of worse steering lag than Shift 1 had.

GT5 of course has no steering lag or floatiness. FFB is excellent.


Regarding wheel wobble in GT5 - there are two types:
(1) When driving a really fast car (X2010, FGT) above say 300kmh, the wheel starts to wobble quite violently when you're dead straight. This is a simulated effect, basically, you just have to hang on and keep the car on the track just like a real driver would need to do at those speeds. If you keep the wheel fractionally offcentre it becomes easier, and driving the X2010 encourages you to lower FFB (hitting a curb while driving with a decent wheel set to high FFB settings will attempt to rip your arm off).
(2) With pretty much any car, if you drive in a straight line and take your hands off the wheel it will start oscillating left/right/left/right, see-sawing. This really isn't a function of any particular wheel, it's the game. It is more pronounced on my Fanatec GT2 and my G25 than my DFGT, though. To be very clear: That same Fanatec GT2 has no see-sawing effect when playing Forza 4 on the XBox. It's not inherent to the wheel.

One comment which must be made: You have a PS3 and are willing to spend quite a lot of money on a wheel, and you pretty much only drive street car simulation games. Make absolutely certain that you are not going to want to also drive Forza 4 before you choose your wheel. Only the Fanatec wheels have XBox and PS3 compatibility, so if you start itching to play Forza (which I recommend: It's far better than Shift 1/2 and easily in the same league as GT5, just different strengths) you might regret purchasing a PS3 only wheel.
 
Fanatec wheels have adjustments that no other wheel [for consoles] has. And yes, they do make a difference. I would wait until the new Fanatec CSW releases. The technology in it and the CSR Elite is a step above the T500. If you really don't care about on board adjustments that the game may not even offer (GT5) in any menu, then get a T500.

The T500 is the first of the next generation of wheels offering a higher level of FFB feel. The new Fanatec wheels are completely belt driven and eliminate all gear tooth clicking. Though the T500 made great strides compared to the competition as of 2010, the gear teeth can still be felt.

So, if you want a wheel right now, get a T500. If you don't mind waiting a little while for more functional features and smoothness and be "current technology", wait for the new Fanatec wheel.

I have a DFP, G25, DFGT, Fanatec GT3rs CSP, and a T500. Feel of the T500 kills all the rest. Adjustments is what makes Fanatec shine!
 

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