Ok, had some proper time with everything now, so full review time of my upgrade from the G27 w/GTEye spring upgrades to a T300RS, T3PA-Pro pedals and TH8A shifter.
First up: Setup
I'm playing at my desk, which is a relatively flimsy Ikea computer desk, but it has the right dimensions and height for my space and it's up against the wall. I'm on thin carpet and I'm using an Ikea Markus office chair which has casters on it. So, the wheel mounts just fine to the desk. Very strong clamp, much better than the G27's cheap one which could be moved under hard corrections. The TH8A shifter also clamps quite well next to it. I was very concerned that the great height of the shifter in that position would be a problem, but it really hasn't been so far, especially as it sticks out a bit, bringing it a little closer than the G27 shifter would be. I might still get a short shaft replacement at some point, but not super worried about it at the moment. The T300 clamped to the desk also sticks out farther than G27 does, which makes my reach of the pedals without being slammed up against the wheel a *bit* harder, but it's also quite manageable. Those pedals need to be up against the wall because just like the GTEye-equipped G27 pedals, they'll slide back under heavy braking. And when up against the wall, I'm pushed back unless I throw my 1x12 guitar amp behind my roll-y chair. With the conical brake mod requiring quite heavy pressure, I was quite worried this would be an issue, but my guitar amp holds me in place just fine.
So all in all, with nothing bolted down, no special wheel stand, just clamped to a flimsy desk - everything works great. That was probably my biggest worry, as I dont have room for a dedicated stand setup at all.
I also cannot have the wheel and shifter permanently mounted to the desk due to lack of space, so the ability to take it off and on is a big factor and thankfully, it's actually easier than it is for the G27. I have the pedal cable routed up behind the desk and I can just plug it in quite easily to the back of the wheel when needed. The wheel itself stays plugged into the power and sits next to the desk on a little shelf, where I can just grab it and clamp to the desk really easily(same with the shifter). Then just plug the USB cables in. The G27 was a pain doing this because I had to leave everything connected as everything was connected underneath the wheel, meaning you had to make sure it was all hooked up before you clamped it to the desk. This also meant all the wires were forever getting hellishly tangled, which isn't a problem at all with the T300. So yea, this whole section may not matter much to wheel stand/cockpit users, but for desk users - big props to the T300 being more convenient to use. As always with tech, the quicker and easier it is to use - the more likely you are to use it regularly.
Wheel and Base
I really like the RS rim. I've heard some reports that the rubber wasn't as nice to hold as the 'leather' wrapped wheel on the G27. I couldn't disagree more. I think the material is quite nice feeling and most of all, the actual grip is much more 'real' and pleasant due to the rim feeling more solid underneath your fingers. Despite being leather-wrapped, the G27 wheel still feels plasticky. I also like the button placements a lot more. More spread out in easy-enough to reach places that a more aligned with what you'd expect of a race car wheel. Plus more buttons overall. The buttons feel good themselves and even the D-pad is enjoyable and tactile despite its very short actuation. The paddles are good, but actually not a huge step up from the G27's in my opinion. I'm not disappointed though as the G27's paddles were one of the wheel's brightest aspects. Overall weight and size of the wheel dont make it feel totally real, but definitely a whole lot closer than G27's little diameter and light build.
The base is hefty and large(relative to G27) but not to any cumbersome degree. The fans do like to come on after about 10-15 minutes of driving which are definitely noiser than ideal, but not awful(bit louder than my PC due to being closer to my head) and I'm usually always wearing headphones anyways.
Shifter
So yea, this is a major upgrade over the G27's. It was always the weakest part of that package and when you hear people say things like, "Makes 'x' feel like a toy", I think this is the most obvious example of that. It's lovely. Big and heavy duty, it feels like serious equipment. The actual gear shift action is very satisfying. It's not a slick, short action shift by any means - it's got a long and 'gated' throw to it, reminiscent of something you'd find in an 80's Ferrari or something. I'd actually prefer a slightly shorter shaft(largely just for better reach since I have mine mounted to a desk and not lower to my side) and will probably upgrade to that eventually, but it still feels all so nice compared to what I was using before. Shifting isn't as easy with the G27 in terms of accuracy, but I'm pretty sure I'll be there very quickly. Particularly, the 5th->6th shift can be difficult. 1->2 isn't so bad cuz you're up against the left wall. 2nd to 3rd is basic. 3rd to 4th is easy because it's the 'resting' straight up position for the stick. 4th to 5th also simple. But 5th to 6th is done with the stick at an angle and no right wall to rely on and is the only one really causing my any issues, albeit minor ones. I also like having Reverse be a proper gear and not one I have to 'depress' the stick to get to like with the G27. Haven't used the 7th gear yet but I do know a couple cars have it in H-box form so it will be useful for when I do use them.
Very happy with it overall.
Pedals
Just to get it out of the way - the standard T300 pedals are awful. Worse than the G27's pedals even without the GTEye springs, plus no clutch. If you're entering this 'range' of wheel hardware, they are a joke and seem included merely so you have something, but the price is basically all about the wheel and you will want to add on either the T3PA or T3PA-Pro's.
Which I did, the Pro's specifically. I very much wanted inverted pedals. I'm used to driving normal road cars and I thought having the pedals depressed like I normally would would be much better than having that little bit of arch to depress the ground pedal layout(especially since I have them flat on the ground and not angled like in many wheel stands). I definitely thought right. I love it. Pressing the pedals feels like a much more natural motion for my legs. The pedals themselves aren't so great, though. A bit disappointing first impression. The gas and clutch are a lot lighter than my G27 with more resistant springs. The brake pedal stock is nothing special at all. But of course that's where the included brake mods come in! I never tried the old T500 spring brake mod, but I jumped straight to the conical mod as that's what most reviews raved about. And I see why. At the furthest position, it's near on perfect for my setup(as again, I've got a roll-y chair with a guitar amp behind me to stop me being pushed back so I can only deal with so much resistance). The last 1/3rd of the travel really require some hefty pressure and that's exactly what you want. It feels progressive, so you can really put your foot down and find that threshold limit and keep it there as your speed reduces. My braking was much improved pretty much immediately. Consistency, especially. Before, with the G27 w/GTEye, it was hard to keep at the limits during the whole braking section, meaning that even if I arrived at a braking zone at the same speed and hit the brakes at the same marker, it was very hard for me to consistently arrive at my turn-in at the right point and right speed. I'm doing it much more regularly now and it's improved my slow-speed placement a whole lot. Everything starts with braking so this is such a huge upgrade for me. And also why the stock T300 pedals are.......garbage. They're garbage, seriously. Upgrade immediately if you haven't already.
Also final note on these - I do like the somewhat heavy duty quality of the build, but it's not perfect. The metal plate that you have to convert to the other side to do inverted style pedals doesn't have the most lined-up holes so I cant even get one of the nuts on one of the screws. So I've got a bit of metal tapping on that side of the plate when I put my foot there. I also dont think the pedal depress itself feels very heavy duty. It actually feels a bit on the plasticky side. I'll be interested in seeing what some gas and clutch spring upgrades do to make them feel a bit better.
Force Feedback
This is obviously a key bit, yea? Sorry I'm only just getting around to it, but I'm trying to give a thorough review of everything for others doing some research.
Anyways, well............it's good! Frankly, the biggest improvement for me is just how smooth and quiet it is. The G27 is something that you are often actively fighting and it loves to make a loud racket when you're running over some tall curbs or something. I couldn't run it past 9PM at my place as it was just too loud. The T300 just glides along gracefully with nary a peep. It's not silent, but it's quiet. The fan noise from the base when it comes on is the only real aspect you could say provided any noticeable noise. I can easily run it at night, though I do forego the shifter as that still has a bit of a clunk to it when you hit the walls of it, being metal on metal.
The FFB is also notable because it's the wheel transmitting the detail. With the G27, the base would often just 'rumble' and while some of that came through the wheel, you could easily feel it was being generated elsewhere. The T300 definitely gives you a lot more direct and detailed information. At the settings I'm running, it's not super forceful at all, so I cant vouch for the limits of its power, but I dont think I'd want to go up higher. Power doesn't necessarily translate to more quality at all. You want something that feels natural, smooth and precise and this has all of that. It's also very quick. I've found I can catch slides and perform corrections far easier than before. Almost like there's simply less latency. That might not be what it is, but it's what it feels like, however they're accomplishing it.
Software Experiences
So I still haven't had the opportunity to delve into a bunch of different games, but I've given it a good go in Assetto Corsa, Project Cars, rFactor 2 and then a bit in Driveclub just to test out the PS4 compatibility.
Assetto Corsa was great out-the-box once I had the controls assigned like I needed. Honestly, each car I drove was like driving it for the first time. I cannot get over how awesome it is and how much more amazing each car's character is once you've got something that lifts the veil of mediocre FFB and gives you something that lets the cars speak. This is definitely the standard bearer right here from what I've tried.
Project Cars took a bit of fussing with settings but ultimately I've got it feeling quite nice. Like AC, driving familiar cars was a somewhat unfamiliar experience, but for the better, though not quite to the amazing level that AC brings it to. Quite happy with it.
rFactor 2.......I just cant get it feeling right. I've done everything 'recommended' but it's not giving me much FFB at all. I might try messing with the Thrustmaster settings themselves, like maybe adding some dampening forces, but it's definitely disappointing compared to the great FFB that it was giving before with the G27(by G27 standards, of course).
Lastly, I tried Driveclub simply because it's the only racing game I have for PS4 and I wanted to make sure it was all working properly before Gran Turismo comes along. Specifically, I wanted to test the TH8A->T300 base DIN connection, which I cant get working on PC for the life of me. On PC, I'm stuck hooking up the shifter through USB, which is fine, but on PS4, there's only two USB ports so I dont want to take up both of them. Which wasn't much of a worry since I couldn't get the shifter working with the USB port anyways, though thankfully it was working with the DIN connector at the wheel. This means my issue is not hardware-related so I dont have to send anything back, and I can live with the PC/USB connectivity. As far as the Driveclub experience goes - it was alright. FFB was.......there and good for what it is. It's really not my type of game, I kind of got it super cheap just to take screenshots of cars in nice scenery, but surprisingly found that the bikes were a good bit of fun, so I do play around with that every once in a while(with the gamepad). But yea anyways, it works good with Driveclub apart from one wonky instance where the FFB and inputs cut out after a crash(where even the DS4's inputs stopped working), but after turning FFB strength down in-game, never happened again.
Conclusion
It's a huge upgrade from the G27, plain and simple. There's very few areas where it's anything less than revelatory, mainly the gas and clutch pedals. My driving was immediately improved and the immersiveness is greatly enhanced through better feeling equipment. People who say that a G27 feels like a toy by comparison - it indeed does.
That said, I am not going to rubbish the G27 completely. Frankly, I feel the T300 setup really needs the T3PA(or Pro's) to really be an upgrade. And ideally the shifter, too(I couldn't live without one). Which to me, makes the T300 more of a $500-600 setup. Worth it? Yes, if you love your sim racing, I imagine it's very hard to do better for the money. That said, this means you cant really beat the G27 for the money, either. It's still a reasonably decent and complete setup at an affordable price, great for any enthusiast who doesn't want to spend half a thousand dollars. It's also quite reliable, which the Thrustmasters seem like they have a lot of problems with. And the G27 has great compatibility and out-of-box operation with most titles. So I cant crap on it, it's a top value for what it is.
But the T300 and friends are simply better. And I love it. It was actually something of an impulse buy, but I had the money to spare and felt I love my sim racing enough that I'll get my money's worth out of it. And I'm pretty darn sure I will.
Thanks for anybody who sat through this whole thing and I hope this might help even just one or two people out there make a decision.
- Sean
the box did give me a fright as it said Thrustmaster TX Leather Wheel on it but the box inside it is the T300RS... Phew! I'll do a first impression and short review soon! The durability issues have had me on edge so let's hope I don't manage to break it within 24hrs. Well that depends if it will last 24hrs. Straight 
).
