Discussion | Direct Drive Wheels: The Good, Bad And The Ugly

[Paul Jeffrey]

Discussion time! Direct Drive wheels are becoming increasingly common in sim racing, but which one should you get?

Long gone are the days of just one or two niche manufacturers developing DD wheel solutions for a hardcore few. In 2020, the discerning sim racer has a wealth of choice when looking to make the switch to Direct Drive... but with so many options, and such a high price point, what constitutes a good purchase?

I am not going to even try and pretend I am an expert on all the different DD bases available today, far from it in fact, so I thought it worth throwing up this thread for our community to discuss their own experiences, and offer up advice to those still thinking over their next steps.

For the record, I run the Bodnar SimSteering V2 and absolutely love it; however at the price point they are asking, you will probably want to follow the route I took and purchase it second hand!

 

[MarkR]

I also don't see a point in needing to let go of my simracing wheel when I know I'm gonna hit a wall or tree...

Are you trying to tell me you don't wear full Nomex underwear, a liveried race romper, approved skid lid*, gloves so thick you can feel almost nothing and don't have a fire extinguisher to hand everytime you play a racing game for just such an eventuality? Where oh where is the realism in that? Next, you'll be telling me you wear just your socks and not Puma gaming shoes to work your pedals! A shocking lack of commitment in a my wheel produces more forces than yours thread.

Or something like that.

(*really tricky with VR but realism is more important than comfort, show some commitment)

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Shoes become a necessity with stiff load cell pedals, so are gloves to preserve alcantara and increase grip on wheels with more torque.

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

never understood the sock guys, even using just the normal thrustmaster pedals or before that the ones that came with my G27, shoes with a very thin sole have always been my footwear of choice when I play. For years I used wetsocks, those "shoes" you wear on stony beaches, these were great and butt cheap.

 

[avenger82]

I honestly have all the dynamic range I need in like 95% of cases (and if learning stuff about FFB taught me something, it's that a lot of people set their FFB *way* stronger than they should, and get upset about "bad FFB" if they can't). I would like to maybe get a slightly stronger wheel like Fanatec CSL or something like that, sure, just to have the option to go slightly higher if needed, and for the added benefits of that particular wheel, but beyond that...I really just don't see the need. Even now, I'm sometimes even setting the FFB lower than I could, because I just see no enjoyment in having to literally fight the wheel for an hour just because real drivers might need to in that given car.

If you do enjoy that, though...by all means.

For me T300 is an upgrade from previous G27 I used, but it's still way too weak to have dynamic range I'd want. Maybe for modern cars with power steering it's mostly ok(realistic), but for others especially older/historic cars it's way too weak and slow. Even with modern racing cars when I see i.e. FFB graph in Raceroom it's too easy/often above max force (clipping) , let alone when driving on curbs etc. (which is not deal breaker, but...). And I don't have some crazy settings for T300. If I'd want to eliminate most clipping it'd be way too weak for my taste(, but on the other hand maybe weaker FFB is realistic for some modern racing cars IDK). I'd probably already have a DD wheel like AccuforceV2, but shipping from US is too costly + possible taxes and limited warranty. Then I considered Fanatec Podium DD1, but it still has issues like with QR flex. But biggest reason is that first I'd need to get and build proper rig like Simlab GT1 Evo with monitor mount, other mounts for peripherals, racing seat and then I'd probably go full in - dedicated PC, and finally get LC pedals while at it... I could afford it, but don't really have that much space for that. I'm not that hardcore simmer, I'm not fast and don't care if I'd be a second faster or more consistent. Such rig + next gen VR would surely increase immersion, I'd love to have it, but what if you'd get bored, don't have time, or somehow go into another hobby after several months? I'm not that committed yet, but one day...

 

[RaceNut]

@Spinelli

I used to own one of those "passive" ffb-wheels, the Thrustmaster T1. Best Direct Bungie Chord (DBC) wheel money could buy at the time. Nice to see things coming full circle.

 

[RasmusP]

never understood the sock guys, even using just the normal thrustmaster pedals or before that the ones that came with my G27, shoes with a very thin sole have always been my footwear of choice when I play. For years I used wetsocks, those "shoes" you wear on stony beaches, these were great and butt cheap.

Do you wear socks or shoes at home if I may ask?
I had a 180° ffb wheel from thrustmaster when I was 8 years old. Played all need for speeds (Porsche was the best with the wheel) with, grand prix 3 and some rallye games.
As a kid, always on socks ofc.

Got so used to it.. But I have to say that my feet are getting a bit sore after longer than 1h sessions on my csl elite pedals!
Thinking about shoes lately...

 

[azaralamouri]

Part one: Economy, Longevity, Durability:

When you bought your 200$ Logitech G27 you didn't know it comes with secret unwritten 10 years warranty. Anyway you didn't need to use it because your G27 is still standing strong.
When I bought my Fanatec ClubSport V2 I didn't know that this state of the art wheel will be a pile of junk in two years. Fanatec you're cool boy and girls with cool products, but you need to focus on longevity with no premature fails.

One other thing I noticed since I got interested in sim racing is that improvements are so slow. Compare it to a niche hobby like virtual reality where every year they solve problems, double the performance and divide the prices by two.

Long boring story short:
If the kidinside you wants a 1000$ (maybe 2, 3 or 4 k) toy, then be responsible and search for 10 years (doesn't exist) or 5 years (exists for the Fanatec Podium DD2) warranty.




Part 2: FFB, Driving Feel:

Every time I upgraded wheels I was happy for:

1- More expensive = more free to turn. Remember that T300 turning sound even if off? that G29 cogging? Well SimuCube 2 has no resistance. Now go enjoy drifting or rallying!

2- Smoothness: The more expensive the wheel is the smoother you can set it. You can afford to dampen the sharp quick changes in force direction without loosing the whole FFB details.

3- And maybe with less input signal lag? ((your opinion here is important)).
When I anally search I notice it. Just swerve your wheel left and right and look at the wheel on screen following your wheel maybe 0.01 seconds later.
(Here I heard many good arguments against mine. Some said that simply there is no difference in latency between cheap and expensive and some said that in real life there is actually lag time between turning the steering wheel and waiting for the wheels to turn and then to roll a bit until you notice that the whole car trajectory changed. Also they argued that FFB in real life has some lag because FFB doesn't happen until after the steering happened and the weight has loaded on one side.


Now DD: I tried direct drive wheels in sim racing expo in Germany. DD tells you what the car wants to tell you rather than what the motors and belts inside want. You forget 100% that it's a virtual wheel and focus 100% on driving that virtual car that your brain starts to think it's a real car.


Boring long story short:

If they weren't too much money to be spent on a toy I would recommend every single one to buy a direct drive wheel.

 

[azaralamouri]

everytime i think i need a bigger more powerful wheel, i watch this again

I feel like I watched the football story against my will.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Compare it to a niche hobby like virtual reality where every year they solve problems, double the performance and divide the prices by two.

I wish.

 

[RCHeliguy]

What I've seen recently is performance goes up 30% every two years and costs 100% more.

Moore's Law is either dead or on vacation for the time being.

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

Do you wear socks or shoes at home if I may ask?

Birkenstock or bare feet, depending on weather. never figured the "socks at home" people, do they enjoy not having a firm foothold?

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

When you bought your 200$ Logitech G27 you didn't know it comes with secret unwritten 10 years warranty. Anyway you didn't need to use it because your G27 is still standing strong.
When I bought my Fanatec ClubSport V2 I didn't know that this state of the art wheel will be a pile of junk in two years. Fanatec you're cool boy and girls with cool products, but you need to focus on longevity with no premature fails.

that is so spot on about the G27. I still have mine all packed and ready to go back if the T500 I got gifted breaks down one day. F... indistructable.

 

[RasmusP]

Birkenstock or bare feet, depending on weather. never figured the "socks at home" people, do they enjoy not having a firm foothold?

As a kid, we had carpet floor in all rooms other than the kitchen and bath so socks were the combination with the most grip and control. Like thin racing gloves + Alcantara rims haha.

Today on laminate in the apartments:

 

[RobertR1]

I use wet socks/water shoes on my HE Ultimates with a pretty stiff pedal setup. It's fine.

 

[TheRealCeeBee]

I got into photography some years back, enjoyed the pictures so needed more and better, many MANY thousands of dollars later, i realised i simply do not have the eye for photography, the talent, now i have a nice glass camera case with very expensive gear on it.. ill take a photo of it with my cellphone for you if you like

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

I use wet socks/water shoes on my HE Ultimates with a pretty stiff pedal setup. It's fine.

exactly, those wet socks are underrated!

 

[busterwolfeman]

I did this: https://www.facebook.com/groups/434325953677822/?post_id=553230858453997 and I love it. The fun of building this reminds me at way better times back then. I mounted the mige to a guide rail system to get space at the desktop when needed.

 

[JamieG]

SC2 Pro with the Asher F28 here.
Coming from a Logitech GT, then Fanatec CSL elite.
I love the SC2 Pro, solid kit, reliable and giving high fidelity.
I am not sure it made me faster, surely it made me happier

 

[Michel Bélisle]

Is this kid racing career over due to one misplaced word?

I understand that we you should ban the N word from everyone's vocabulary in any context.

However, they could have handled this differently.

To me, the punishment does not fit the crime.

 

[bozakn]

@ avenger82

"but what if you'd get bored, don't have time, or somehow go into another hobby after several months? "

I will never get bored from the things I love.

I love my parents, I love my wife. I love cooking, scuba diving and table tennis. I love retro fusion/funk music.
But I would give my soul to Satan himself if he was to fall from the sky and grant me one single wish: to drive a vintage Formula 1 car at the limit.
Now, as I'm waiting for Satan, a DD wheel will do just fine.