T500RS- what games?

[morsify]

I am considering buying the T500RS at the end of the year, plus the F1 wheel to go with it.
For me it is a LOT of money to spend on a game controller, but I love the driving games & sims & spend a lot of time on them. (PC user only)

Can anyone who has one of these, (especially if they can copmpare with DFGT whcih I currently have), please tell me :
1) is it really worth the money? !

2) is it reliable and long lasting?

3) what games does it work well on, or are there any that have caused problems? (I am mainly thinking of the obvious ones, like Game Stock Car, rF1 and rF2, Simbin titles, & F1 2012.

Thanks for the opinions

 

[Hiroshi Awazu]

Well i can say that this wheel works well on both rFactor and Race 07. I have a friend that recently bought one to play GT5 with and brought it over to my place so i can try it on my PC. I like the wheel, i have two G25's and a CSR Standard so buying a T500 is not in plan for me.

It is a pricey wheel here in Canada $598 plus tax so $670 and that's without the shifter. Shifter is another $180. Is it worth it? If one is a serious simracer i think it would be a good investment.

The wheels feels strong, excellent build quality, tough pedals but i like the feel of the Clubsports pedals more but leaps and bounds better than the DFGT pedals. Better feeling pedals than the G25 as well.

As for reliability, my pal only had the wheel for about a month so can't give you any info except that the T500 definitely feels like it will last a long time.

I have GSC, GTR2 and GT Legends as well but only tried the wheel on rFactor and Race 07 but should work well on the other sims.

 

[André Azevedo]

I had a g27 before and i'm happy after buying the t500. It's more precise, more heavy, more responsive. G27 is a toy compared to this. Don'thow much time will last, bought it 4 months ago.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

yes
yes
obviously yes. If it doesn´t feel good in a sim then it´s the sim´s problem, not the wheel.

Although i would run CSP´s instead of the shitty pedals that come with it. Loadcell FTW.

 

[Tom]

1) is it really worth the money? !

Yes, absolutely. You might have to call Thrustmaster from time to time and request new buttons and springs for the F1 wheel tho. The shifter paddles tend to break around every 100.000 shifts from my experience. They're always sending them out for free tho, so it's next to no hassle at all.

2) is it reliable and long lasting?

See 1) and yes, it is. The normal GT rim is pretty durable and the base as well (using it since December 2011). Never had any issues with the base apart from a noisy fan - TM sent me a new one like 9 months ago but I still couldn't be arsed to install it since it's not that bad.

3) what games does it work well on, or are there any that have caused problems? (I am mainly thinking of the obvious ones, like Game Stock Car, rF1 and rF2, Simbin titles, & F1 2012.

I've played the following games with my T500:

- F1 2011
- F1 2012
- rFactor
- rFactor2
- Game Stockcar 2012
- GTR Evolution
- Race07 & all addons
- Project CARS
- SHIFT 2

I've had a DFGT before as well and it was a major step forward, the pedals alone increase the immersion by a whole lot. Definitely worth buying.

 

[morsify]

Thanks for the replies, they are very helpful. Tom, it's a bit disappointing to hear about the buttons / springs on the f1 wheel, it should be more bullet proof than that for the money. But there doesn't seem to be an alernative, and at least the replacements sound easy to get though.
Thank you

 

[André Azevedo]

About durability unfortunately i have something new to say, the throtle pedal doesn't work or it works at like 5%. It has few months...

 

[morsify]

Thanks Andre. I must admit I don't know at the moment - I really want to buy this as it looks way better than the G27. But for nearly £500 (including the F1 wheel) I believe the buttons, springs, and pedals should be trouble free.
Also, Modmate's customizing of the wheel looks excellent (I would be tmepted by the display), but why should anyone need to buy reokacement buttons? Thrustmaster really should be updating the weak parts.

 

[Tom]

Thanks Andre. I must admit I don't know at the moment - I really want to buy this as it looks way better than the G27. But for nearly £500 (including the F1 wheel) I believe the buttons, springs, and pedals should be trouble free.
Also, Modmate's customizing of the wheel looks excellent (I would be tmepted by the display), but why should anyone need to buy reokacement buttons? Thrustmaster really should be updating the weak parts.

TM isn't making this stuff for the hardcore people - it's fine for people who play a bit every week. Keep in mind: my paddle shifter springs in the F1 rim break every 100.000 shifts. That's around 20-22 100% races on F1 2011 / F1 2012. That's not casual gaming anymore.

 

[morsify]

Tom,
I think you're being very generous to TM.
I have used my DFGT for about a year, consistently with all racing games.
I have hammered it on GSC, rF2, RaceOn.
As a recent example, since F1 2012 was released, I must have done 30 100% races, that's just in the last few weeks or so, plus all the practice and qualifying, and nothing has broken.

And it cost £90.

And surely that's pretty hardcore - it's been most of my spare time the last few weeks.

So for £500 these switches should be more reliable. And surely the T500RS IS for the more hardcore gamer? A casual gamer is not going to spend £500 on a wheel, they might stretch to a G27 but no more.

As it looks superb in action and in it's belt/motor, I will probably end up buying it anyway and make necessary changes to make it more buleltproof, but I do think that if Modmate can source better switches, then so could TM. And in the quantities they work, they would not need to raise the cost much or at all. Unfortunately it's always about the profit not the quality.

EDIT - here's a thought - if TM put some better quality parts in, they would SAVE money by not having to send out so many replacement bits.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

Tom,
I think you're being very generous to TM.
I have used my DFGT for about a year, consistently with all racing games.
I have hammered it on GSC, rF2, RaceOn.
As a recent example, since F1 2012 was released, I must have done 30 100% races, that's just in the last few weeks or so, plus all the practice and qualifying, and nothing has broken.

And it cost £90.

And surely that's pretty hardcore - it's been most of my spare time the last few weeks.

So for £500 these switches should be more reliable. And surely the T500RS IS for the more hardcore gamer? A casual gamer is not going to spend £500 on a wheel, they might stretch to a G27 but no more.

As it looks superb in action and in it's belt/motor, I will probably end up buying it anyway and make necessary changes to make it more buleltproof, but I do think that if Modmate can source better switches, then so could TM. And in the quantities they work, they would not need to raise the cost much or at all. Unfortunately it's always about the profit not the quality.

EDIT - here's a thought - if TM put some better quality parts in, they would SAVE money by not having to send out so many replacement bits.

I think it´s unfair to include the cost of the actual wheel when talking about the F1 rim.

the base, with it´s original rim is 500 yes, and in my opinion worth every penny, even without the pedals.

However the F1 wheel is sold separately and goes for 149 euro.
That one does not really correllate to the technology and hardcore style of the base which features some brilliant technology.

For example you have almost no buttons, just dummy ones, and no clutch paddles, it´s to me crystal clear the F1 wheel is more for the softcore "codemasters fan" rather then the hardcore fan.

With that said, it´s completely unacceptable that the paddles fail regardless of the cost.
But it´s obvious it doesn´t have the same standard as the base.

 

[morsify]

Ah that's a fair point you make, I'm pleased to hear the main wheel unit is of such good quality, I might go ahead and buy just that for now, and think again about the f1 wheel, or add a button plate to the original wheel instead. Thanks for those comments.

 

[Tom]

Tom,
I think you're being very generous to TM.
I have used my DFGT for about a year, consistently with all racing games.
I have hammered it on GSC, rF2, RaceOn.
As a recent example, since F1 2012 was released, I must have done 30 100% races, that's just in the last few weeks or so, plus all the practice and qualifying, and nothing has broken.

And it cost £90.

And surely that's pretty hardcore - it's been most of my spare time the last few weeks.

So for £500 these switches should be more reliable. And surely the T500RS IS for the more hardcore gamer? A casual gamer is not going to spend £500 on a wheel, they might stretch to a G27 but no more.

As it looks superb in action and in it's belt/motor, I will probably end up buying it anyway and make necessary changes to make it more buleltproof, but I do think that if Modmate can source better switches, then so could TM. And in the quantities they work, they would not need to raise the cost much or at all. Unfortunately it's always about the profit not the quality.

EDIT - here's a thought - if TM put some better quality parts in, they would SAVE money by not having to send out so many replacement bits.

I am, yes - because their support is pretty great. And nope, the higher price (you wouldn't want to pay more for it, would you?) would mean less profit in the end. Cheap buttons are still cheaper in the dozen than a single high quality switch. I can't remember the exact price but the NKK switches that have been built into my F1 rim are like 3-5€ a piece.

With that said, it´s completely unacceptable that the paddles fail regardless of the cost.
But it´s obvious it doesn´t have the same standard as the base.

Indeed. :\

 

[morsify]

Anyway, my thanks toTom and all who replied, it's good to be able to know the pros and cons before buying, I will almost certainly buy the T500rs in a couple of months, I have been very happy with my DFGT but I keep dreaming of an even better driving experience.
And if I do get the f1 wheel as well, at least it is good to know that the weaknesses have a solution.

 

[Ian Craft]

Do you use a wheel stand? a seat?

as a german I would say go Fanatec. But even these are build in China.

Did you think about an update for your DFGT?

maybe this helps to confuse you