I think not all aspects concerning the FOV have been brought up. For instance: We still have a simulated environment, that means a limited window (TV) to the simulated world with limited resolution (Full HD, if you are lucky 4K) and - normally - no movement, no g-forces.
So, let's say if you move your large TV as close as possible to your eyes to get a maximum field of view it is still far less than your eye naturally has. That means if you set up the system like this, your dashboard takes up a lot of space of your simulated environment. But ask yourself: if you drive your car in reality, what amount of your view is subjectively filled with the views of the street? I'd say it feels like 70-80% (because you just don't focus on the interior of the car) -> that should be taken into account when alter the settings in the sim. The other thing is, especially with open wheelers, that you cut side mirrors because your TV is mostly too small to visualize them. I have this problem even when sitting very close to a 65-inch TV (as close as the racing seat allows).
Then there is the thing with the resolution: to hit the right breaking points and turning points when approaching corners my view is focused strongly on a smaller center part of the screen. If only Full-HD there is too far too few details to see - compared to reality. It can be partly solved with a 4K-screen but I assume it still wouldn't match the resolution of your eyes. In order to get more details you would reduce the FOV -> so that would be in line with what most of the users say. But then you lose the peripheral views that give you a sense of speed (which is basically what you do with a higher FOV, you move the parts of the view that in reality are far more peripheral closer to the center in the simulated environment, because of the limited view your TV gives you)
In my case my solution is as follows:
- Using a large 4K TV (65')
- For closed cars I use the hood view with +/- correct FOV (maybe a few degrees more)
- For open wheelers (Formula cars et. cet.) I increase FOV about 10' and put the seat back a bit more than regular
The next best thing would be either a triple screen setup (all of them 4K, good luck with tuning your hardware without going bankrupt ;-)) or a high resolutioned VR-System, but I doubt that the upcoming generation will have enough resolution -> for the FOV a VR-system provides I estimate it must be at least 6K!
Ignore the (partly) bad English... not native, sorry!