- 593
- Lohmar, Germany
- jabofu
- DAG JaboFu
In the beginning I want to state out that I am not a native english speaker and therefore there can be some mistakes in my test. Please forgive me for that. So let's go on:
I tested the three best racing wheels available on the market. The just released Fanatec Porsche GT3 RS V2, the Fanatec Porsche Turbo S and the Logitech G27. All three are top-notch racing wheels for the racing enthusiast on console or/and pc.
The hardest thing for the interested sim racer out there is to choose now. To choose which one of those wheels you should buy for your hard earned money. Well, this is not easy by looking on the naked specs. Therefore I try to help you a bit to get an idea what could await you with those great products.
First of all, they share very equal features like three pedals including a clutch, 900 degree steering angle, h-pattern shifter (extra buy for GT3 RS), pc and ps3 compatibility (also xbox 360 on the Turbo S). On this topic, they should be overall very similar and therefore I could choose the cheapest – wrong. Because each wheel does have its own characteristics, different feel and very own appearance.
Beginning with the G27 from Logitech. The first look shows you a very tidy and sturdy wheel, that looks and feel great. The racy appearance and the smaller wheel diameter makes it clear for what this wheel is made. It is very puristic and hard. The lack of buttons on the wheel itself was already a problem in the earlier version G25, but they tried to fix this with 4 additional buttons on the wheel. But they feel quite cheap and they are too close together. The new “rev/shift indicator” is a nice gimmick and works in several sims off the go. But it isn't very useful while racing, because it is very tiny and therefore too hard to read while racing hard. The shifter paddles are made out of metal and they have a nice flappy feel. They fit good in the overall appearance, but the shifts don’t feel as precise as with the Fanatec wheels. The mounting on the wheel and the shifter is very stable and works with a clever nob system. A hard mounting with screws is not necessarily, but helps the stability. The pedals are also precise and quite intuitive. But they are too small for big feet and the pedal case is also quite bulky in some situations.
The h-pattern-shifter has 8 additional buttons and a d-pad integrated. It doesn't support sequential shifts like its predecessor, but it works clean and fast while racing. At a closer look, it'll show some flaws, the shifter-nob feels like a styrofoam ball and you wont feel much force while shifting. A great pane can be to set it up or rather to disassemble it on your desk or rig. All cables are plugged in under the wheel and it can take a long while to assemble or disassemble everything. I recommend to set it up at a place where it stays or on a racing stand. When it comes to force feedback it does a nice job there, but could be stronger and smoother. In some situations it can also happen, that the force feedback produce some cracking sound. It definitely feels good on the track and it will also work great with your favourite racing sim.
All tested games like GT5
, Real Time Racing, GTR2 and RFactor worked great with the G27. The force feedback worked good, but not as smooth as the Fanatec wheels. On the PS3 you could get some problems with racing games that doesn't support 900° steering angle, because there is no tuning option for the ps3. I couldn't test this completely, because I own the most console racing games on the xbox. On the pc site, it is very easy to install. Just start the software that came with the box and after the fast installation you can immediately jump into racing. Overall, Logitech delivers a decent racing wheel as a package. But each peripheral by its own doesn't show much of a high quality product. The shifter is really a week point and labelled buttons would have been something useful while using it on the ps3. But over all this criticism, it is refreshing to see how great all things work together while racing and you will forget fast about the trashy shifter-nob. It is more like a go-cart feeling, you just race and have immediately fun hugging the turns. It is definitely a good wheel, but in the end it doesn't feel like the real thing.
Up next I will show you the Porsche Turbo S wheel made by Fanatec. As promised by Fanatec it is a nearly original Porsche Turbo S steering wheel, like you would find in the real car. The design is not hundred percent identically in size and shape, but feels and looks very real. The eye catcher is the small, but still exclusive real Porsche logo in the middle. The thick leather wheel feels like a real leather steering wheel and gives you a secure and furthermore an extreme steady feel. While the steering wheel is quite bigger in diameter, the case behind is very compact and smaller than the G27. It comes with 10 buttons and a d-pad on the front and 2 buttons for the tuning menu. These 10 buttons change their label for each platform, so you'll get playstation labels on ps3 and xbox 360 labels on the xbox 360 and pc. This is enabled through partly translucent buttons and leds behind them. While the buttons on the left and right are quite good to manage, the d-pad and the two buttons below are a bit wobbly sometimes. The standard metal shifters on the back are good and provide fast and precise shifts, but they are too small and edgy. If you insist to use the pedal shifters you could upgrade to the clubsport pedal shifters, which are a big step forward. A big difference to the G27 is the tuning menu. The little display on the wheel let you adjust the steering angle, force feedback, a drift mode and with the newest firmware all functions the GT3 RS V2 has.
But as the normal and ultimate addition of the Porsche Turbo S comes with the shifter set of one h-pattern-shifter and one sequential shifter you will definitely use one of those. The sequential shifter delivers a robust feel and you can shift fast with very low movement. It gives you a nice force response and also makes a click noise. The h-pattern-shifter shares also a very sturdy feel. The case is like the sequential shifter made out of a very robust plastic. You need to use more force to shift into the 6+1 gears than on the G27 and it gives you good feedback when you placed your shift. On the other hand the shifting produces some clicking sound that could annoy some people. Those shifters are mounted on two metal rods directly to the wheel. They dont stay as sturdy in position as mounted on the desk, but The included mounting option is very compact and works good on a desk. For a more sturdy mounting you can fix it with four screws to your desk or rig. Because I the tested Ultimate version that comes with the clubsport pedals, I covered them under the GT3 RS V2.
On console it is really a gift that you have the tuning menu. This way you can really enjoy nearly all racing games, because many doesn’t support 900° steering angle or doesn’t come with force feedback options. So games like Dirt 2, NFS: Shift, PGR and others are easy to set up with this feature. The pc setup is also very easy and the most new sims come with presets for the Fanatec wheels. As before mentioned, the thick leather wheel let you immerse even more into the racing, because it feels very real. Besides that, the force feedback is very smooth and direct. But the best thing is this superfine precision around the wheel center.
Last but not least we are getting to the Porsche GT3 RS V2 from Fanatec. The first thing that shines out is the alcantara steering wheel. Alcantara wheels are used in high quality street racecars like in the Porsche GT3 RS, the new M3 E92 GTS or others. It feels very smooth and your hands won’t loose grip in a sweaty race. That is quality you can even smell, seriously it has a nice “like new” smell. The replication of the steering wheel front is really close to the real thing and comes also with a Porsche batch in the middle. It has the same amount of buttons like the Porsche Turbo S, but they are completely unlabeled. The buttons are made out of sturdy plastic and they do feel stronger than on the Porsche Turbo S. In the tuning menu on the wheel itself, you can change the wheel settings to your own preferences. You can enter the menu with pushing the right tuning button and then browse with the d-pad. You can adjust there the steering angle from 210° to 900° in 10° steps, the force feedback and the shock vibration in 10% steps, a drift mode in 5 levels, the abs vibration in 1% steps or fully off, the dead zone and the linearity level also in 10% steps. So you get plenty of adjustments, which will help you a lot in console games, but also for quick adjustments without quitting a game. Inside the tuning menu, you can save 5 different configurations.
The pedal shifters on the back come also with several options for setting them up. You can choose between the standard shifter pedals or the clubsport aluminium pedals (both are included). Additionally you could order the clubsport shifter paddles also in carbon. The sequential and h-pattern shifter aren’t included with the GT3 RS, but they are definitely worth the extra purchase. It is an advantage for people that only use the shifter paddles on the back, so they don’t have to pay for something they don’t need.
Coming to the pedals, they are really great and top notch in this price range. There is no plastic casing, all three pedals are implemented into a metal construction with a plate for the feet. The wires and cables are cleverly installed and won’t distract the overall appearance. The pedals are obviously bigger than the ones on the G27 and they do feel more like real metal pedals. The metal itself was wisely picked, because it doesn’t feel cold or too hard. It has a strong weight, which works very well with the rubber stoppers under it and so it stays always in place, even on slippery grounds. You can also adjust very much on the pedals as on the other peripherals and an upside down mounting would be very easy. The brake sensitivity can be changed with a small wheel behind the brake pedal directly. This feature gives you much control for adjusting it to your braking technique or preferences. For further adjustments for the horizontal and vertical placement of the pedal plates or the pedal travel, you will need to get on with some tools. Fanatec gives you further instructions how to do it and also released some video tutorials about it. They also have some more tuning and colouring kits at their shop available. In terms of precision they are really stepping up from the average pedals in this segment.
The driving experience is really great and highly enjoyable. This has been also achieved with the great interaction of the wheel and the pedals. The alcantara is the right material for a proper racing wheel and ad a big part to the already excellent immersion. With a very high precision around the center and the wide wheel diameter the wheel let you also steer extremely smooth and precise. The steering wheel alone is great, but the outstanding pedals are making it a nearly perfect package what you could get for that money. The pedals come with a big enough surface for every size of feet and gives you a really good feedback. With this precision and adjustability you can dispose every input very gentle and in many various strength positions.
In the end you could compare it to a car comparison between a Mitsubishi Evo, a Porsche Turbo S and a Porsche GT3 RS. You would also come to the conclusion that the Evo lacks in terms of quality and functionality compared to the Porsches, but it is still a decent and really fun car. You can adobt that to the G27 and the Fanatec wheels. The Fanatec wheels deliver high quality, technique and so much adjustment possibilities, where the G27 can’t keep up. The G27 is definitely worth its money as a package, but it doesn’t deliver such high quality and precision like the others. The Fanatec wheels are in some points a little bit more expensive, but don't forget that quality isn’t cheap. Never the less, Logitech just released an updated version of their G25. This is good for people who want to upgrade from a cheaper wheel and had the G25 in mind or for those who have too many miles/kilometres on their G25s. If you are convinced that the G27 is the best for you, go and buy it. It is a good wheel and you will have a really good time in your favourite racing sims with it. But on the other hand there is Fanatec. They have two very high quality wheels available, which dont cost too much more than the G27. If you think that those ultimate editions are too pricy for you, you always can take the normal version or only the wheel and use some old pedals with it. Then you can later upgrade to better pedals or additional shifters. They also plan to release a new clubsport shifter and a hand brake later this year, which will work with the Turbo S and the GT3 RS. Another plus that speaks for the Fanatec ones is, they work steadily on additional upgrades and on firmwares that ad features or improve old ones. Sadly Logitech doesn't sell any upgrades or different versions of the G25, so you only can change it through very difficult modifications. But this shouldn't be the way to go.
So again the G27 is a good package to go. But if you want higher quality and a more precise wheel, then you definitely should visit the Fanatec shop. They give you a lot options to purchase your wheel, so you don't have to pay for parts you don't need. It is also a product besides the mainstream market. The Fanatec wheels are special and they stand out of the mass. Never the less, all three wheels share very similar specifications, but I give you the advise to try out one of the Fanatec wheels. You will get something original and unique.
Christian B. , from Germany
Rating Scale for direct comparison:
http://pdfcast.org/pdf/ultimate-wheel-comparison-rating-scale
Picture sets from the wheel uploaded to flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jabofu/sets/
(pictures are getting reuploaded due converting problems)
Links:
Fanatec homepage: http://fanatec.com/
Logitech homepage: www.logitech.com
