Thrustmaster TX Racing Wheel Ferrari 458 Italia Edition review

[Jari Vinnari]

Thrustmaster TX Racing Wheel Ferrari 458 Italia Edition
Background:
Well...im old...ancient someone would say. My first contact with simracing was Geoff Crammond´s excellent Formula One Grand Prix in 1990´s and since then I have driven numerous driving games with Assetto Corsa being the latest one. I have owned and destroyed several wheels from manufacturer´s like Microsoft, Logitech and Fanatec so I would call myself as a experienced driver with average driving skills.
I have been relatively happy with my Fanatec CSR wheel and Clubsport V1 setup but sometimes you just want to try something new and hopefully better. Fanatec Clubsport Wheel would have been one good choice but it was just too pricey and possible future warranty issues made me look elsewhere. Thrustmaster T500 RS is nice but the newer design, brushless motor and better belt system convinced me to buy 458 Italia wheel. Having owned and destroyed a Logitech G25 in my previous life the newly released Thrustmaster TX 458 for 300 Euro´s was the only real choice for me. Luckily it was Christmas so Santa Claus helped me get this wheel. Thanks Santa, I owe you one...or two.

First impression & some numbers:
"What the .... Why in earth did I buy this piece of toy wheel" was my first thought after opening the box and lifting the unattached wheel. The two things that really striked out badly was the yellow Ferrari logo and the 2-way Manettino switch which really makes the wheel look cheap. The wheel rim building material looks and feels almost the same as found in early 90´s Nissan dashboard´s. Luckily appearances can sometimes be deceptive as the wheel "quality" will grow on you.
The wheel rim weight is approximately 730 gramms and its 28 cm in diameter. The power supply is inside of the base unit which weight is about 3,9 kg compared to Fanatec´s 2,9kg including the wheel but without the external power supply. In PC-mode you have total 13 buttons and a D-pad in your disposal.

Gas and brake pedals are made of metal,base from light plastic and the total weight is approximately 1,36kg. Brake has progressive resistance and the gas pedal feels quite stiff. Pedals connects directly to wheel base and they are not USB compatible.

Wheel can be attached to table/cockpit with good clamping system or more permanently with built-in screw threads. After attaching the steering wheel and making the required firmware update for PC I was ready to Rock´n Roll.

Driving impression´s:
I could feel big difference between the CSR and Thrustmaster TX as soon as I accelerated out of the pits with my rFactor 2 Corvette.In straight line the 458 Italia will give you much more information about the car suspension movement and the bumps on the road. In corners I could feel the change in grip much more clearly and earlier stage than I did with Fanatec CSR. Steering response feels faster, more direct and FFB in whole felt much better. CSR has small FFB deadzone where you dont feel any feedback but with TX you feel the FFB almost whole range of wheels turning range.

With Assetto Corsa the difference between the wheels was smaller but Thrustmaster still feels superior of these two. Again the Thrusmaster feels so accurate,direct and fast to react drivers every steering input. Driving BMW Z4 GT3 with CSR feel´s just little bit boring but the TX wheel made the car more enjoyable and exciting to drive.
Gear leavers are made of strong metal and have nice solid feel to them. They are quite short to allow easy access to back buttons so I needed some time finding right position for my hands and fingers. That ugly Manettino switch works but they really shoud have used better quality switch in that one. Other buttons feel OK but for me the Fanatec has better buttons and the wheel rim in whole feels better. Pedals look and feel quite cheap but surprisingly they work much better than their appearance might suggest.

Conclusion: Connect the dots
FFB quality and the base unit are definitely the best part of this wheel . Driving with this wheel is true pleasure because FFB is strong, detailed and fast. Thrustmaster really should have used better quality materials with the rim and the pedals. Luckily you can always use Thrustmaster T500 RS add-on wheels and pedals or use USB pedals from another manufacturer. Thrustmaster plans to release improved T3PA pedals which includes a clutch pedal. I think this package is OK starting point for newcomer but I would definitely buy new pedals if I was serious about simracing. Im relatively happy with the rim so currently I have no plans to buy the 100€ Ferrari 458 GTE wheel add-on which should be much better in quality wise.

The GOOD:
+ FFB is very good
+ Base is made of strong, good quality plastic
+ Many buttons, even behind the wheel
+ Accurate and reacts fast to drivers input
+ Good clamp that will stop the base from moving.
+ Gear leavers are made of thick metal and changing gear feels quite good
+ Ability to use add-on wheels and pedals

The BAD:
- Pedals are light weight,looks and feels cheap. Surprisingly they do work moderately well
- Wheel rim looks cheap and the build quality should have been better. It does work & feels better than first impression might suggest
- Loud fan under stress
- No power switch
- USB cable can't be removed
- No clutch pedal

05.02.2014 UPDATE:

My Thrustmaster TX is dead so rest in peace my friend...you will be sorely missed.
But luckily his twin brother has arrived.

One morning about 10 days ago my wheel went completely dead, no lights or any wheel movement at all so the electronics must have failed.
I contacted my local dealer and they replaced my wheel in 10 days . Whole process could have been 2-3 days shorter but they didnt have the wheel on stock so Im very happy how fast they replaced my wheel. I also e-mailed Thustmaster twice and both time they replied in 24 hours so no complaints about their reply speed.
According to my local dealer over 10% TX wheels have been returned back for warranty repairs. Other users have also experienced wheel failures so there seems to be slight quality problem with first batch of the TX Wheel.

I still like the wheel very much.

 

[Dennis]

Looks like I cheered too soon - the calibration issue is back again

@Blkout Basically in every game I tried (rF2, AC, iRacing, R3E).

After running the tool I have FFB for up to 60min of driving and then it's gone (sometimes it's already gone after I run some of the "test forces"; most of the times it's gone after 15min).
When I fire up the calibration tool again it says "Stall detected. Retry.". It then keeps retrying without a result.

To get FFB back I have to reconnect the usb cable and run the calibration tool again.

Sometimes after a "stall" and when plugging in the wheel again it's recognised as a T500. To get it working again in such a case I have to reinstall the drivers (happened twice today already Restarting Windows, different USB ports etc. doesn't work).

Contacted the Thrustmaster support about it in the past, but they didn't really acknowledge that there was an issue.
I probably should have pushed them more to repair it, but I had some interesting races coming up that I didn't want to miss - probably a mistake.

Edit: I still have warranty so I think it's time to send my wheel in.

Edit 2: Regarding

this was now the first time I could use the wheel without having to run the CalibrationTool

If I run the calibration tool, unplug the wheel (before a stall) and plug it in again, it calibrates on it's own like it should.

Either I never tested this before or it is in fact new with the latest drivers. However it doesn't help me much^^

 

[Blkout]

@Dennis Coufal

First time I've read of this issue and scour a lot of racing forums. Are you using a USB hub, if so, have you tried without one? It does sound like there might be an overheating issue within the wheel since it seems to happen after a period of time. What are your control panel settings? For the Hell of it, have you tried reducing them all to 0 and driving without FFB to see if it still does it?

 

[Blkout]

I'm very dissapointed that the new firmware didn't fix the violent calibration process. The TX still slams into the stops when calibrating. How hard can it possibly be to fix this?

 

[Dennis]

Are you using a USB hub, if so, have you tried without one? It does sound like there might be an overheating issue within the wheel since it seems to happen after a period of time. What are your control panel settings? For the Hell of it, have you tried reducing them all to 0 and driving without FFB to see if it still does it?

It's directly plugged into the computer, tried different ports and other PCs.

My settings are:

Just found out a way to make the wheel stall with a 100% "success" rate:
After the calibration tool (CalibMotor) has finished, I close it and just let the wheel in idle until the fan goes out after 2-3min (so no movement, no game, no FFB; just staying on the desktop).

When this happens, the wheel has stalled again. I also tried this with everything set to 0.

I just did a small experiment: Set all forces to 100%, used a FFB multiplier of 30x in rF2 and could run for 40minutes without problems.
I then switched back to a normal multiplier and it stalled again after ~15min.

So it's almost like if there is no constant, high FFB applied, the wheel will stall.

 

[Pär Öqvist]

Where can I find that calibration tool? My TX like to calibrate my F1 rim at least 1 % to the left of center and my TX rim 0,5 % off center. I was hoping the new firmware would have adjustments for this but that appears like false information.

I am sure my issue is not related to yours but after installing the new driver I got all kind of problems with hang up while windows is detecting my TX it would hang up on windows boot for a while. First it wouldn´t show in device manager then as a T500RS wheel after another delay as a TX rim and then after another delay show up in the device manager. But then another delay to get into the control panel. When you get that far it performs normally lol.

It was fixed by disabling the XHCI setting. I am not sure if all USB 3 enabled mainboards have this intel XHCI thing or it´s just haswell and newer? Anyway disabling that allowed me to use my TX as before the new driver. Don´t ask me why it all suddenly was a problem...

I

 

[Blkout]

@Dennis Coufal

That certainly was a strange experiement with a strange result. Just curious though, why are you running a calibration tool? I assume you mean this is the TM calibration software that's independant of the actual wheel calibration that is performed when you first start the wheel. I've never had a need to run a calibration tool for my T500 or TX. I wouldn't think that is the issue, I was just curious what its doing for you and what is being changed. Since this is such a strange problem, have you tried just not running the calibration tool to see if anything changes? I wonder if the tool is still running in the background after its finished or causing it to interfere with the TM drivers when you actually start playing.

 

[Dennis]

Just curious though, why are you running a calibration tool? [...] have you tried just not running the calibration tool to see if anything changes?

Because my TX unfortunately doesn't auto calibrate on its own* and doesn't send any user input to the pc before I have run the tool (for reference, it's called TXRW_CalibMotor_v2_04.exe).

But thanks for trying to help, this showed me that the behavior I get is definitely not normal Will open yet another ticket with TM now.

@Pär Öqvist There is a different tool to center your wheel, but I don't have it anymore - maybe just ask the support to send it to you

Edit: * So when I plug it in, the lights turn on, but there is no movement - it's just dead.

 

[Blkout]

@Dennis Coufal

Dennis, clearly your wheel has a problem if it won't even auto calibrate. Its hard to imagine that doesn't have something to do with your other issue since that is not normal behavior. Maybe something on the PCB inside has lost its programming or not functioning correctly. I don't know how you've lived with it doing that. I wouldn't want to run a calibration tool everytime i wanted to use it. Certainly get that wheel replaced by TM.

 

[Pär Öqvist]

Thanks Dennis I will make sure to alert them of that if they don´t give me the link in their reply

 

[Pär Öqvist]

Is there a way to use the calibration tool with the F1 integral rim in advanced mode. I can calibrate the stock TX rim and the F1 integral rim in normal mode but my after market rims and F1 in advanced mode I need some way to emulate those buttons.

The odd thing is I need to calibrate the wheel to be off center to get them centered after the process is done. And the calibration change depending if I run for example 900 degrees or 360 degrees so it´s quite some IQ test where center would be calibrating for 900 degrees so it´s right when running 360 degree lock

 

[PaulH]

Well my TX came Friday, I was a bit apprehensive about opening the box, due to the warning of how "toy" like the wheel is, but to be honest I was pleasantly surprised. It was quite light but it looks ok when its attached to the base, and the amount of buttons is great.

Downloaded the drivers(none supplied), plugged the wheel in and away it went, the calibration is a bit mental. Loaded the latest firmware(no problems).
Anyway comparing it to my Fanatec GT3 wheel. Obviously the GT3 looks & feels better in the hand, GT3 base is about 30% smaller too.
But the TX comes into its own in the FFB, its bloody amazing, i've used the settings as suggested by Blkout and it feels great, much more feeling in the wheels, curbs, skidding etc than the GT3, and the precision WOW! my driving feels much more responsive, seems to pull in much tighter at corners, I can catch spins much easier before they start, I've been shaving off lap times already with the TX.

The only slight snag for me is I wanted to mount it on my desk(bolt it) I have now but there is only 2 bolt holes and there is about a 3" lip at the front so the wheel doesn't sit flat on the desk, but I've managed to sort it now

Anyway, very happy with the TX

 

[Blkout]

@Paul Hurlow

That's great to hear Paul. With the exception of those people that have had a TX die prematurely, I think the TX is an outstanding wheel. The pedals are the only real weakpoint, and the stock rim isn't awful but replacements are available. I love my TX so much that I'm buying a T300 for the PS3/PS4 and selling my T500.

 

[drivatar]

I don't know if any of you mentioned it but with the new firmware you can adjust:

- Auto clutch (mode + A)
- Turn sensibility (mode + right paddle - 4 different options)

Cheers! ;-)

 

[Blkout]

I don't know if any of you mentioned it but with the new firmware you can adjust:

- Auto clutch (mode + A)
- Turn sensibility (mode + right paddle - 4 different options)

Cheers! ;-)

I don't really understand the value of the auto clutch mode other than you can gain an extra 5% experience in FM5 from using a manual with clutch as opposed to just a manual in the difficulty menu. Seems to me it would operate exactly the same right?

I'm most upset hat they didn't fix the brutal calibration process for this wheel, and that FM5's FFB is still rather poor.

 

[drivatar]

@Blkout, Yes you are right.

In my case (I am still racing with the stock rim and pedals -without clutch-) Autoclutch is useful as I don't have to push a button along with the paddle for shifting anymore and in Forza (with some cars) you are a little bit quicker (nothing spectacular though) in "the manual with clutch" setup over the "manual" setup.

But I have to point out that these features only work in Forza 5/Xbox One not in PC (I didn't realise at first).

Regarding the FFB, I don't have any problem with it in Forza 5, in fact, I prefer it over the iRacing FFB (the sim I am playing in the PC right now), because I feel much more details, however I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion...

Cheers! ;-)

 

[Blkout]

@drivatar

The FFB is FM5 doesn't even come close to iRacing. You could argue that you don't like the physics and tire model of iRacing and I could agree with you there.. I don't think its quite as good as rFactor 2, GSCE or Assetto Corsa but iRacing it's still quite good when setup properly.

FM5 has a number of problems with the FFB. Most notably and disturbing is the distinct lack of any FFB at center, it just feels completely lifeless. You have to move the wheel 20-30 degrees in either direction to get any feeling at all and by the time you start doing that, it feels like you've moved it too much and now you're trying to correct a slide. I also don't like that the FFB feels reversed at times, when you steer in one direection you get a feeling that the FFB is pulling your car in the opposite direction. It just feels very unatural compared to all other racing sims. I've adjusted every possible option for FFB in FM5 and nothing fixes it. Its just really bad and makes me not even want to use a wheel in this game.

 

[drivatar]

@drivatar

The FFB is FM5 doesn't even come close to iRacing. You could argue that you don't like the physics and tire model of iRacing and I could agree with you there.. I don't think its quite as good as rFactor 2, GSCE or Assetto Corsa but iRacing it's still quite good when setup properly.

FM5 has a number of problems with the FFB. Most notably and disturbing is the distinct lack of any FFB at center, it just feels completely lifeless. You have to move the wheel 20-30 degrees in either direction to get any feeling at all and by the time you start doing that, it feels like you've moved it too much and now you're trying to correct a slide. I also don't like that the FFB feels reversed at times, when you steer in one direection you get a feeling that the FFB is pulling your car in the opposite direction. It just feels very unatural compared to all other racing sims. I've adjusted every possible option for FFB in FM5 and nothing fixes it. Its just really bad and makes me not even want to use a wheel in this game.

Really? I am not going to discuss about FFB with you as I am a noob in sim racing so I don't have enough experience to do so. Probably my liking to Forza FFB is just because it was the first one I tested and I am just a little bit more used to it (this is my first month with iRacing).

I agree with you in the lack of FFB in the center in Forza 5 and also I like much more how I feel the braking and acceleration in iRacing, but other than that, I prefer Forza. for instance I like the way how I can feel the kerbs, the weight distribution and the loose of grip in Forza...

Cheers! ;-)

 

[Blkout]

@drivatar

I'm sure its because you have limited experience with other PC racing games. I'll give you some of my iRacing settings later today if you want to try those. If you play most of the other top PC racing sims on the market right now, you'll notice they all have a similar FFB feel to a degree, but FM5 feels absolutely nothing like those sims at all. I would love to think that FM5 got it right but it just feels very unatural compared to all other racing games so i tend to believe the FFB needs a lot of work. I wish I loved the FFB in FM5 because I do love the game and the series, but as it stands, its playable I really don't enjoy it much with a wheel. It feels like more work than enjoyment to get a car around a track quickly.

 

[drivatar]

@drivatar

I'm sure its because you have limited experience with other PC racing games. I'll give you some of my iRacing settings later today if you want to try those. If you play most of the other top PC racing sims on the market right now, you'll notice they all have a similar FFB feel to a degree, but FM5 feels absolutely nothing like those sims at all. I would love to think that FM5 got it right but it just feels very unatural compared to all other racing games so i tend to believe the FFB needs a lot of work. I wish I loved the FFB in FM5 because I do love the game and the series, but as it stands, its playable I really don't enjoy it much with a wheel. It feels like more work than enjoyment to get a car around a track quickly.

Yeah, that's right, I am a newcomer to sim racing so I have little experience with other PC racing games and besides the TX Wheel is my first one... I have played Forza 5 and a little bit of Race 07 before iRacing (my PC can not run properly Assseto Corsa or rFactor 2), later in the year I will also play Project Cars on Xbox One but in the PC I will go with iRacing until I upgrade my hardware (probably next year).

It's true that I feel the FFB in Race 07 to be more similar to FFB in iRacing so in the end you must be right with Forza 5 FFB been weird, in any case I can enjoy that game either even though the feeling is very different.

Cheers!

PD: It would be nice if you can share your iRacing settings with me... ;-)

 

[Blkout]

Yeah, that's right, I am a newcomer to sim racing so I have little experience with other PC racing games and besides the TX Wheel is my first one... I have played Forza 5 and a little bit of Race 07 before iRacing (my PC can not run properly Assseto Corsa or rFactor 2), later in the year I will also play Project Cars on Xbox One but in the PC I will go with iRacing until I upgrade my hardware (probably next year).

It's true that I feel the FFB in Race 07 to be more similar to FFB in iRacing so in the end you must be right with Forza 5 FFB been weird, in any case I can enjoy that game either even though the feeling is very different.

Cheers!

PD: It would be nice if you can share your iRacing settings with me... ;-)

No problem, just tell me which cars you're driving in iRacing. iRacing just released an update yesterday and all of the cars feel better than ever.