Your ideal wheel: a few questions (not a which should I buy question!)

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Tower Turn 13

Tower Turn 13

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Okay I'm not asking for buying advice, already got one. Just wondering to get some insight into what people think ideal wheel setups are and how they help you improve.

What wheel do you like the best and what do you think is ideal about it? Do you own that wheel or still saving or a pipe dream? What's lacking about it? If you recently bought it, have your lap times improved? How does it improve over your last setup?

I like above almost all others on the market right now the G25. More than the G27. Reason being is that I am heavy into realism and the G25 allows the following:

Switch sides of shifter for euro/American cars
paddles
sequential or h-pattern
GT5 button setup works great for me (flashy lights and rear view is really all I'll ever need on a wheel)

For me realism is more important than winning. Even if I'm slower with a clutch and gears that are easy to miss without all that internal car motion and gearing to feel your way through the shift pattern. I'll always place it on the correct side also. Left hand shift always in euro cars.

A HUGE difference over my old PS2 wheel (Driving Force Pro), in every way, and not different enough from G27 to me to give up sequential option. Sorry but rev lights are cool but a bit gimmicky and not needed with plenty of in-game indications.

Also other wheels are way too expensive or not my style. Luckly I got mine for $150 from a guy on craigs list tested it out and bought it as fast as I could get the moolah out of my pocket.

So how about you guys? Thoughts?

Sorry if this is the wrong spot or discussed already, but I'm not asking which wheel I should buy just what features people think an ideal wheel gives them to help their advantage.

Oh, also this is GT5 SPECIFIC. I'm asking what wheels you use for GT5 only.
 
I like the fact that I can change so many options from my DFGT, like the traction control, brake bias and so on, but I do wish it had a clutch.

By the way, there is a whole section about wheels.
 
I'm full of slightly dumbfounded admiration for your adherence to reality.

Just wondering - if you hit a wall, do you get out of your chair and stare at an imaginary ding whilst rubbing your chin and sucking air between your teeth?

Seriously, though I got through most of this game without a wheel and some bits (rally and drifting) I still resort to the trusty ol' 6axis. One of the few things I don't like about my DFGT (bought from Argos for 85 quid, might not have bothered at the 125 most outlets were asking) are the small shift paddles (you find yourself holding the wheel very much with your next change in mind, especially coming out of corners taken at the top end of the gear you're in) and the noise (sounds like it's going to explode in a shower of cogs and plastic some times). It would be good also if you could turn off the FFB whilst leaving some resistance in the system - I did a few test laps of La Sarthe in the X2010 and have serious misgivings about attempting 24 hours worth. Unplugging the power as some have suggested makes the whole thing too slack.

Another annoyance is the large rig I built to accommodate it. It can be stowed, but the fact is, it's a bit fiddly, so it stays out. Which means I tend to fire up GT5 a lot more often than is wise, especially coming in from the pub...
 
SlyckTires
I'm full of slightly dumbfounded admiration for your adherence to reality.

Just wondering - if you hit a wall, do you get out of your chair and stare at an imaginary ding whilst rubbing your chin and sucking air between your teeth?
Click to expand...

:D I would if I could probably. But I wouldn't go too far and abandon the car, just in case the car could be fixed to finish the race...

In case you can't tell I lean towards the sim side of online racing.

I put the question here because it was GT5 specific, for instance I like the way the G25 sets up its buttons in GT5 which I think I mentioned. Since it seems you can't change them this is a plus.
 
Yo.

I have a Fanatec 911 Turbo wheel (the original one). First up, I love the feel of it. Leather and wheel thickness = spot on. The buttons are fully mappable too, so RA functionality setup is easy.

The downsides: The force feedback is impressive in strength but I wish it felt a little more like tyres on a road, rather than a vibration device in the unit.

It has a clutch and an H-gate, and when I started GT5 I promised myself I'd use it in the cars which had manual boxes... but it hasn't turned out that way. The clutch has no progression to it (i.e. it's on or off), and I find myself missing gears, especially on the downshift.

I forced myself to use the clutch and H-pattern for half the Suzuka 1000 enduro in my '00 Calsonic Impul GT-R (even though that's one car which WOULD have a sequential 'box)... and I couldn't get within 3 secs of my best time with the paddle shifters.

Maybe I just need to spend more time at it, but it really does feel like the racing is more real (i.e. less like I'm using a controller) if I don't use the clutch.

I'd love to try the Thrustmaster and see how much more feel it has. I doubt one even exists in NZ though! :)
 
Something in my dream wheel is a brake load sensor that actually gives me some pedal feedback, like when locking up the wheels. Leather wrap a la G27 is a must, and carbon fibre (well, faux carbon fibre, I don't want to be broke just for this detail) trim here and there. Oh, and a sequential gear shifter. Also, full compatibility with GT5. And pedals like the ones in the TR500. And all of that at a price not much higher than the one of the G27 :lol:.

One can dream...
 
I now have a wheel that suits me. It doesn't have force feedback, but it does have increasing resistance. It doesn't have a clutch, or a gearstick, but it does have paddle shifters. It doesn't have adjustable pressure on the pedals, but they are magnetically resisted, and feel just like my car. The reviews for it are awful... but I love it! It's considered a kiddies toy.... and the kids love it! It has no cables, folds up and stows away in 30 seconds, doesn't make a noise and looks rather nice.

But, and this is the biggie, I actually USE it. I had a FFB wheel for GT4, but the damned thing took ages to rig up to a table, and always ended up giving me backache because the position was awkward. So I only used it for a week or so, then sold it!

So, this Thrustmaster Scudeira Wireless is considered a bit of a joke.... but compared to the DS3, which I've been using since Christmas, it's miles better.

Well, you did ask....!
 
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