steering wheel (still doubting to purchase one) need advice

  • Thread starter Thread starter AlexanderGT6
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I received a message that my steering wheel is ready for pick up. I can't wait to pick it up after my work!
 
I received a message that my steering wheel is ready for pick up. I can't wait to pick it up after my work!
Congrats. If you're a true GT5 fan, you'll love the wheel/racing seat combo.

What race seat did you get? I bought a DFGT about 2 months after purchasing GT5, which I used mounted on a bedside table. Got a Playseat about 3 months after that, and then the G27 just a few months ago, and since the DFGT I've have never played GT5 with the DS3.

Just be aware as others have stated that there is a learning curve with the wheel, especially if you've become used to the DS3. At times early on you might even get frustrated and start thinking "Why did I waste my money?". But just stick with it, and once you start to "feel" the game with the wheel and learn to use it, you'll never go back - it literally was a game-changer for me. Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better ;)
 
Just be aware as others have stated that there is a learning curve with the wheel, especially if you've become used to the DS3. At times early on you might even get frustrated and start thinking "Why did I waste my money?". But just stick with it, and once you start to "feel" the game with the wheel and learn to use it, you'll never go back - it literally was a game-changer for me. Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better ;)


I never expected sharp turns are a pain. Oversteer and understeer are harder to correct with a steering wheel.

The good part is the corners in nascar racing are more smooth.
 
I never expected sharp turns are a pain. Oversteer and understeer are harder to correct with a steering wheel.

The good part is the corners in nascar racing are more smooth.

With a wheel, if you want to be fast, a slight amount of oversteer is preferred but it's something you need to control with corner entry speed and brake pressure just like in a real car, assuming the car is set up to oversteer a bit to begin with. A completely stock Fairlady Z 07' I believe is a good car to learn the wheel on. A stock BRZ is a good choice for something a bit slower. Both naturally have a lot of grip, good turn in and easily controllable oversteer on entry, stock tires of course.
 
I never expected sharp turns are a pain. Oversteer and understeer are harder to correct with a steering wheel.

The good part is the corners in nascar racing are more smooth.

One of the big differences I find is with DS3 you can use full oppo lock (countersteer) to counter oversteer while keeping full power to impressively drift out of trouble. With a wheel you need to use throttle control more and less steering input, as you can't instantly correct with full steering lock.

Stick with it 👍
 
One of the big differences I find is with DS3 you can use full oppo lock (countersteer) to counter oversteer while keeping full power to impressively drift out of trouble. With a wheel you need to use throttle control more and less steering input, as you can't instantly correct with full steering lock.

Stick with it 👍

This is absolutely true and the added benefit that comes from that smoothness and control you have to work to develop with a wheel, is more consistency and more speed if you get it right. I think the type of people who have a hard time adapting to wheels, and there are some that don't get it at all, are those that want to continue to drive in the same style as with the DS3 and it usually leads to inconsistency and slower lap times.
 
Holy macrel.... I have concidered buying a race sim for a looong time (A gorgeous seat mounted on a metal frame, and a wheel (G27) with pedals and H shifter)... Man it would be....wow....Instead of sitting in my sofa with my standard Sixaxis controller....

Such a complete race SIM is expensive, but I could afford it, but exactly like the thread creator, AlexanderGT6, I find there are a lot of other important things in life to throw money after...hmmm....AND, when GT7 comes on PS4, I might find that I need to buy a new wheel, as it might not be compatible....hmmmm....

I could imagine that a wheel would be much more precize; getting the apex`es exactly right. doing each lap exactly the same lines. This is hard for me with the controller. I imagine that reaction time will be MUCH faster with a wheel, though, I never tried one...

I guess (GUESSING ONLY) that the difference will increase with increasing pp. For instance Formula 1. It is really hard for my to do Monaco F1 without driving aids, and I can`t use manual gear shifting in Monaco F1 with my controller, so I use automatic here. (ONLY in F1 Monaco, other cars and tracks is manual)

So I still concider concider concider if I should throw that much money after a SIM...

Another thing... I can understand that everybody here who use a wheel also has the "force feedback" (or chock) enabled...I mean the shiver and shake function (on a DS3 it`s called "dual shock") (I don`t have a DS3, I only have a standard controller without that shiver and shake) I`m 100% positive that I will NEVER use that shiver&shake function with a wheel, I imagine it being a pain in the ass, and that it`s way way over exaggerated (guessing again) - So if I bought this dream SIM set, and never used the "shiver" function, would I then be a complete idiot??? - Anyone here that have a wheel, but don`t use "shiver&shake"??

Another thing I`ve heard of the G27 is that there are some plastic gear wheels inside it that break over time....I guess it`s that "shiver&shake" that causes these plastic gear wheels to break, right?? - So my (future) G27 would last much longer when I don`t use that chock function, as I can`t imagine myself sitting there "shivering&shaking" all over.... - right???
 
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What you are calling shiver and shake is normally referred to with wheels as Force Feedback. If you run without it you will be hamstringing your driving a bit. The force feedback level can be set through the game software to a level you are comfortable with and won't place undue stress on the electrical/mechanical parts that produce it. In GT5 I run my FFB at 4-5 on my G27 and so far have had no trouble since buying it last January. So far as I can tell, there has been no degradation in the wheel's performance.

Without FFB at all, you will be able to manipulate the wheel faster, but you won't be able to tell what the car is doing, until it's to late to do anything about it. You'll be relying solely on your eyes and ears for feedback from the car. Sometimes your fingers and hands will just do what is necessary before you hear tires squealing or notice the car yawing sideways on screen.
 
What you are calling shiver and shake is normally referred to with wheels as Force Feedback. If you run without it you will be hamstringing your driving a bit. The force feedback level can be set through the game software to a level you are comfortable with and won't place undue stress on the electrical/mechanical parts that produce it. In GT5 I run my FFB at 4-5 on my G27 and so far have had no trouble since buying it last January. So far as I can tell, there has been no degradation in the wheel's performance.

Without FFB at all, you will be able to manipulate the wheel faster, but you won't be able to tell what the car is doing, until it's to late to do anything about it. You'll be relying solely on your eyes and ears for feedback from the car. Sometimes your fingers and hands will just do what is necessary before you hear tires squealing or notice the car yawing sideways on screen.

Thanks for Your quick and kind response....When I drive with my standard controller, I only have my eyes and ears to "feel" the car, and it`s allright.

My biggest problems is reaction time when driving at high pp`s, (downshifting, breaking and steering at the same time) (high pp again). And prezice driving lines...

OK You can adjust the FFB to suite Youself; thats good... Let`s see if I ever gather myself together and buy that SIM... Then there is the concidering which one I should buy, there are tonnes of different models out there on the market...Guess I die of old age before I made my descision lol :confused::confused:
 
I have had the DFGT and G27, and I will be ordering a T500 soon. If you ever plan on upgrading I will tell you if I would recommend the T500+TH8 combo. I immediately liked that they included two replacement allen screws for the shifter plates if they round out. That was a very nice touch by TM.

I can say that the TH8 is in a completely different league from the G27's, but it should be for the $150 price tag.

For figuring out smooth driving I would recommend driving 350pp cars on CH tires. If you use RWD cars it will teach you to be smooth with your throttle, brake, and steering and will train you on consistent driving lines. Then slowly work your way up with higher PP cars and stickier tires. If you want to learn to handle oversteer effectively, drifting is a good way to learn how to fix drifting. Remember not to fight the FFB when you start sliding. Let the wheel turn until you can memorize how far it needs to turn before you can smoothly recover. If you want to learn the importance of smooth driving in another sim, try iRacing for 1 to 3 months.

Remember. Smooth is fast, but so is knowing your braking and throttle points. Also remember that sometimes it is good to coast for a short time. Except for mid and rear engine cars and FF cars, where you use the throttle to control mid corner balance, never get on the power until you know you won't have to take your foot off again. I can't remember who that's a quote from, but it is very important.

Good luck with your G27! It's a fun wheel. :)
 
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I've briefly drove with a friend's T500 and a TH8 shifter a few weeks ago and that shifter is very cool. He's got a custom built triples rig and if you have the money for it I would recommend a triple screen set up as well. The cost of the wheel and shifter set is a bit prohibitive for me however. If I ever win that proverbial lottery, or a long lost aunt leaves me a pile of cash, I will certainly be getting/building me a triples cockpit and the thrustmaster wheel and shifter will definitely be on the table for the controller kit.

Only using your eyes and ears is 2/5ths of what's available. With some sim rigs you can easily achieve 4/5ths of all your senses for input. If you wanted to go for 5/5ths you'd have to figure out some way to blow in the smells of tires, fuel, and oil burning. ;)
 
i just bought a dfgt because i had a small budget. There are tons of youtube videos on this. however, i also had a question. would turning down the ffb be considered cheating? is 10 considered "legit"? thanks :)
 
FFB settings are not cheating, but rather adjusting a function that exists for the wheel and is implemented by the software just for the purpose of user comfort. It should in no way be considered "cheating" to adjust it to your desire.
 
I wouldn't call it cheating but I always kept it at 10 to feel the subtleties of the road more easily. That and it was a good arm workout. :sly:
 
For me, 10 was to much to actually "feel" the road and what the car was doing. Plus, I worried about wear and tear on both my DFGT and G27 with it set that high. Some cars are worse than others for FFB. For instance the X2010 will flat beat you to death with a FFB set to 10. At least it did with my DFGT a year ago. That was of course prior to updates that purportedly fixed the exaggerated wheel bounce that car produced.
 
For stronger cars it made sense for me to turn down the FFB to avoid clipping, but the worst is the deadzone. It gets so much stronger on 10. I plan on using around 6 or 7 with a T500
 
Remember. Smooth is fast, but so is knowing your braking and throttle points. Also remember that sometimes it is good to coast for a short time. Except for mid and rear engine cars and FF cars, where you use the throttle to control mid corner balance, never get on the power until you know you won't have to take your foot off again. I can't remember who that's a quote from, but it is very important.

Good luck with your G27! It's a fun wheel. :)

That would be Sir Jackie Stewart:)
 
That would be Sir Jackie Stewart:)

Thanks for reminding me! I heard that quote on Top Gear while James May was driving a TVR with Jackie Stewart in the passenger seat.
 
That would be Sir Jackie Stewart:)

yeah i remember that on a top gear rerun that was on bbc a couple of days ago :) thanks for the replies about the ffb. speaking of top gear, i just got the dfgt from amazon, and when i tried the top gear challenge with the lotus, i couldnt really do corner one without spinning :( any tips?
 
I have a really cheap wheel (50 euro) but it extended GT5's lifespan 3 times for me! Now I just cruise around,and everytime I buy a new car I just drive them around some tracks. I'm not neccasarily faster (still getting used to it),but it's insane amounts of fun.
 
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speaking of top gear, i just got the dfgt from amazon, and when i tried the top gear challenge with the lotus, i couldnt really do corner one without spinning :( any tips?

Brake a little earlier and let the car settle before increasing steering angle. Of all the challenges, I hated that one the most. Well besides that hippy wagon one.
 
Brake a little earlier and let the car settle before increasing steering angle. Of all the challenges, I hated that one the most. Well besides that hippy wagon one.

ok thanks.
 
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