Wheel Woes

  • Thread starter R10tz0r
  • 15 comments
  • 1,124 views
85
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
I recently borrowed a G29 off a friend to try it out and see if it is worth the investment, I had high hopes of perhaps slightly improving my performance both speed and consistency, and also enjoy that extra edge to the game.

I've read how you can't just jump in and be up to a speed with a wheel and I appreciate that, but I never remember reading just how different the game is to control.

I have around 12 hours on the wheel across different cars and tracks. I'm around 1.5 seconds off my pad pace on a good lap, my consistency comes and goes.

My biggest problem right now is turn-in and understeer, the pad won't let you over-rotate the steering so no matter how hard you yank the stick it won't induce understeer from having too much angle, you can understeer from having too much speed, but you simply let off the accelerator and the game does the rest. because I'm used to this, I can always be on throttle early and adjust input to acheive a good exit without running too wide.

With a wheel it's totally different, I struggle with the sense of speed to gauge steering input required and 9 times out of 10 I have too much angle on for the speed. What also doesnt help is the force feedback does not tell you if you are understeering on a G29, anyone who has understeered in real life knows the wheel goes light when it happens, it doesn't on the G29.

as a result of the above, my turn in suffers because I daren't quickly load in the angle for fear of boating off the outside, this in turn affects my braking, I'm scared to try and trail break so I break earlier to get my speed down to a very comfortable level.

I did a back to back race C tonight, quali time was 1:57.8 with a wheel. Race 1 with wheel was mid to high 1.59's, Race 2 with a pad was high 57's low 58's.

I'm frustrated because I enjoy using the wheel and the immersion it brings, but it's just very difficult to get to grips with (excuse the punterino).

Has anyone else tried a wheel and just been left feeling a little empty?
 
that's similar to how I felt on day one of using my T300. I was like "uh oh, did I just waste a few hundred bucks on this thing?" I'd say it took me about 4-5 days, a few hours each day, to get my times up to what they were with DS4. Now, months later, I'm a bit faster than I was before, but the major difference is that I'm MUCH cleaner.....which does amount to being faster over the course of a full race. Weaving through traffic is much easier and I can better avoid collisions with cars that are losing control in front of me.

I'd just say keep at it. Even though it took me a few days, I've read a lot of other posts where people say it has taken them weeks to get used to it, but nearly everybody gets better and grows to love the wheel with time and practice. Now, I haven't used a G29, but I hear it's a pretty good wheel for the price and performs well for the type of hardware it uses. I've grown to like the understeer effect that the T300 provides, but some really hate it, as you might find by digging through the various wheel threads on here. I find that it's really easy to provide too much steering input with a wheel, compared to a DS4 where I felt like I couldn't get the "wheel" turned fast enough. Just try being more subtle with your steering inputs and remember to feather the throttle with it, almost as if they are connected. The more steering input, the less throttle you want to use and vice versa.

Good luck bud.
 
G29 definitely isn't a very friendly beginners wheel in this game, as the FFB is super smooth, which is lovely for setting fast times, not so lovely for trying to learn a new peripheral. Using the TGT at the World Tour, the first thing I noticed as a G29 user at home was just the sheer information the wheel gives you. But yeah, Controller has tonnes of hidden assists in this game, you soon recognise that after using a wheel for the first time :P

Anyway, getting good on a wheel comes with seat time. Weeks of it. You can't really rush getting used to a wheel.
 
I can't comment too much on using pad, because I used motion control before getting my G29; but I can say that I've had my wheel for two months now, and I am still improving. I am faster than I was on motion control, and much faster than I was with the stick (which I only used for a short time). I feel like there is a lot more you can do with a wheel in terms of taking corners in different ways. So stick with it for a couple of weeks; by that time you should be used to it, if you ever will be.
 
It took me a month to match my controller times with a G29, and another month to eclipse them. You can't just steer every car the same way, like you can with a controller; the steering changes depending on what car/class of car you are driving. It's all about practicing, getting used to the quirks of each car, and driving around them. Try different lines through the corners, different breaking points and different gears.
 
@Winnie847 @mclarenLB @Jamie Bbbbb @ColinNZ thanks for sharing your experiences, hopefully I can get my head round this understeer issue I'm having, It's probably as much a mental problem as it is a physical one which is why I'm struggling so much, I have an idea of how to help combat the lack of Force Feedback from the wheel and will try it out tonight.

I'd like to know @mthomas_95 input as he is a very fast pad user who had to use a wheel at the N'ring Championship, but as mclaren said, it's is quite staggering just how much hidden assist the pad has, I genuinely believed I was an okay driver!:D:D
 
Essay incoming :lol:

When your driving 'normally' the hidden pad assists don't kick in too much, but they definitely come into play once you go over the limit. Things like the throttle/brake smoothing and steering lock to prevent overturning are pretty much always there and a double edged sword.

Throttle smoothing is useful in tail happy Gr1-3 cars but can be annoying in a lot of Gr4 cars as you can just floor it in them but the smoothing delays that slightly. Steering lock helps a lot in the medium/high speed corners but I find corners like the chicane at Gardens even at max sensitivity I can't get the car chucked into the second half of the chicane quick enough. The brake smoothing is just always annoying with how ABS works in the game :lol:. Generally braking distances on controller are a bit longer than with the pedals as a result.

Using a wheel is a lot more 'effort'. Also with how the TGT gives you so much feedback you can't just happily leap over kerbs like I usually do at Monza! Car doesn't react to them anywhere near as much on the controller. When nerves creep in it's better to be on the wheel though. Shaky foot isn't as big an issue compared to having your hands start shaking as that impacts every input you make :lol:.

Generally though there's only a minor difference in achievable laptime between the wheel/pad. You'll get your money's worth with the wheel laptime wise in other games compared to the controller, especially in stuff like Project Cars 2 where on a controller you need to spend 10 years on the settings page to get something drivable for one car at a time and you're still miles off the pace! The biggest benefit for switching to the wheel in GT will be from those who just can't be smooth enough with the controller (and motion controls may help you be smoother compared to the stick, just not as fast). If you're already quick on the controller, then the longer it'll take to match those times. 👍
 
G29 definitely isn't a very friendly beginners wheel in this game, as the FFB is super smooth, which is lovely for setting fast times, not so lovely for trying to learn a new peripheral. Using the TGT at the World Tour, the first thing I noticed as a G29 user at home was just the sheer information the wheel gives you. But yeah, Controller has tonnes of hidden assists in this game, you soon recognise that after using a wheel for the first time :P

Anyway, getting good on a wheel comes with seat time. Weeks of it. You can't really rush getting used to a wheel.

As somebody who has a G29 at home but has tried a TGT at a local event, this is absolutely correct.
The TGT has far more feedback - the G29 does have feedback, but even with force feedback settings turned up pretty high it's very tame compared to the TGT.

Not sure which I prefer tbh, but the G29 is at least somewhat relaxing to drive with.
 
The TGT has far more feedback - the G29 does have feedback, but even with force feedback settings turned up pretty high it's very tame compared to the TGT.
The G29 has 2 N-m torque compared to T-GT which has 6 N-m torque,so it's normal to have a big difference in the FFB even if both wheels are equally well implemented in the game and T-DFB is off.
 
I've had my G29 for 2-3 months and I'm just starting to match my pad times. I had the confidence to drive on my limit with the pad as I could react quick enough but trying the same thing with the wheel was one of the most frustrating things I've ever tried. Crashes galore. Went right back to basics with driving well slowly and as my confidence improved, speed started creeping back in and while the G29 doesn't have much in the way of feedback, it is there. You just have to tune yourself into noticing it. I use 2-4 for settings as I can feel a little more detail from the wheel but that's a compromised setting for me. I prefer more torque (4-5) but it seems to drown out a lot of feedback.

My biggest gain in time (with the wheel) was finding my limit and driving just inside of it. Week by week, my limit grows and so does my confidence but I have to put the miles in. Anywhere from 250 to 500 miles in a session. I've actually got callouses on the insides of my thumbs.:lol:

It's been a frustrating journey but one I wish I'd started much earlier. With the pad, I'd resigned myself to my limit long ago. Now I can see myself going past it. Exciting times.
 
I have a Fanatec CSL with load cell brake. It took me 4-6 weeks to match and start to exceed my DS4 times but the improved car control in traffic was almost immediate. 1 suggestion I would make is to buy a high end wheel, many complain about the price of high end wheels but when you factor in the time you are likely to use it it figures out to be pretty reasonably cost entertainment.
 
Part of the problem might not be steering at all-the way you release the brakes is very important for controlling understeer on turn entry. I'm not sure what assist the controller would have been providing here, but sliding the nose on entry has been tough for me to sort with Logitech wheels for years.

It helped to lift a tiny bit early instead of quick gas/brake and make sure the transition from full braking to release is smooth, just letting the pedal drop back isn't the proper release rate. When I get that right, I can usually release the brake earlier, before the front wheels start to slide, and then the grip I expect (and the speed that goes with it) on turn entry is there. The added benefit is less oversteer on exit, because the wheel isn't turned so much in the first place.

I found the G27 pedals much, much easier to deal with and never sorted this out with the G29 pedals regardless of simple mods that were tried. The TGT is better but I haven't 'unlearned' my G29 habits quite yet.

Good luck regardless, the G29 is a great wheel and you will match your old times shortly.
 
I recently borrowed a G29 off a friend to try it out and see if it is worth the investment, I had high hopes of perhaps slightly improving my performance both speed and consistency, and also enjoy that extra edge to the game.

I've read how you can't just jump in and be up to a speed with a wheel and I appreciate that, but I never remember reading just how different the game is to control.

I have around 12 hours on the wheel across different cars and tracks. I'm around 1.5 seconds off my pad pace on a good lap, my consistency comes and goes.

My biggest problem right now is turn-in and understeer, the pad won't let you over-rotate the steering so no matter how hard you yank the stick it won't induce understeer from having too much angle, you can understeer from having too much speed, but you simply let off the accelerator and the game does the rest. because I'm used to this, I can always be on throttle early and adjust input to acheive a good exit without running too wide.

With a wheel it's totally different, I struggle with the sense of speed to gauge steering input required and 9 times out of 10 I have too much angle on for the speed. What also doesnt help is the force feedback does not tell you if you are understeering on a G29, anyone who has understeered in real life knows the wheel goes light when it happens, it doesn't on the G29.

as a result of the above, my turn in suffers because I daren't quickly load in the angle for fear of boating off the outside, this in turn affects my braking, I'm scared to try and trail break so I break earlier to get my speed down to a very comfortable level.

I did a back to back race C tonight, quali time was 1:57.8 with a wheel. Race 1 with wheel was mid to high 1.59's, Race 2 with a pad was high 57's low 58's.

I'm frustrated because I enjoy using the wheel and the immersion it brings, but it's just very difficult to get to grips with (excuse the punterino).

Has anyone else tried a wheel and just been left feeling a little empty?
I played with a wheel for the first time at the release of the game (around 210 days loged in) & i'm still improving every day!! It takes time but what matters is the experience & enjoyment you have! I can never play with a joystick again, i rather not play at all :)
 
Can depend a little on how fast of a controller user you are. Personally I’ve just changed to a wheel, but I would class myself as a better than average controller player so it’s taken me a while to get up to those times and surpass them.

Two things I notice from pad to wheel, you have to turn in earlier as the pad has a quicker lock. It’s way more difficult to catch slides with a wheel in my experience, only just starting to get this.

My first time using the wheel was like I’ve never played GT sport in my life.

Best way I found to get quicker is try and beat your times by a few tenths at a time not seconds, the harder you push the more time you spend of track, it’s difficult to learn the limits if you are always going past them pushing to hard.
 
Last edited:

Latest Posts

Back