Thrustmaster T248/T3PM Review


Here is the RaceDepartment review of the Thrustmaster T248 Hybrid Drive wheel and T3PM pedal set.

Thrustmaster is set to release their latest wheel, wheelbase and pedal set to consumers on October 21st. Using a single USB connection, the wheel and pedal set is compatible with PC, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. The T248 bundle is aimed at the intro to mid-tier sim hardware market, and the MSRP is set at £300, or €350, or $400 USD. At that price, I believe this is the best all-in-one hardware bundle on the market.

Buy now from Amazon.com for USD 399,99

Much of Thrustmaster’s marketing of the T248 bundle has centred around the evolution from the T150 and TMX wheelbases. The Hybrid Drive system utilizes belts and pulleys within the wheelbase to generate the force feedback and steering forces and can produce peak torque forces 70% higher than the T150/TMX.

The difference between the Thrustmaster TMX and the T248 is astounding. Whilst just over 1NM of torque difference, it feels way more than that. For an entry level wheel the T248 feels punchy, providing a great level of information to the driver. Cosmetically, I believe Thrustmaster have taken a giant step back - as the T150 and TMX look far more "serious", whilst the T248 has a "toy like" feeling to it. Although nearly all the visible components and surfaces in the T248 are plastic, the quantity and placement of the buttons is very well done.

The steering wheel itself has a firm but spongy surface, which feels nice on the hands over longer racing sessions. But perhaps the best part of the T248 is the screen mounted about the centre of the wheel. Not only does this allow you to display live data like speed, RPMs, and lap times in compatible games, but also to adjust FFB flavours, set wheel rotation degrees on console, and to switch between PC, PS4 and PS5 modes.

The pedals are another highlight of this hardware bundle for me. These pedals feel great, both the throttle and clutch feel incredibly smooth and accurate, the brake pedal is a gigantic step forward in the right direction over the T3PA pedals that came with the T150 pro and TMX pro. I used the T3PA pedals for a while and I had to modify the brake pedal to get any feel of resistance, so that I could brake consistently. The brake on the T248 is adjustable, coming with two springs and a rubber bung, which allows you to stiffen the brake pedal. Whilst it'll never be as stiff as a load cell, slapping on the stiffest spring with the rubber bung (hardest option), provides you with a fantastic brake pedal.

I would go as far to say that these pedals felt better than the new Fanatec CSL pedals, though the build quality of the Fanatec pedals are far superior and they come with an optional load cell.

Positioning these pedals is key, as they tend to slide on both hard and carpeted surfaces, so plan to mount the T3PM pedals onto a cockpit or against a wall. It's also worth noting that when the hardest brake option has been fitted, they are almost impossible to use on the floor.
About author
Damian Reed
PC geek, gamer, content creator, and passionate sim racer.
I live life a 1/4 mile at a time, it takes me ages to get anywhere!

Comments

better than the t300rs? i know thrustmasters aren't reliable - is all plastic the answer?
 
better than the t300rs? i know thrustmasters aren't reliable - is all plastic the answer?

Maybe I have been lucky so far, but I never had a single problem with my 5 Thrustmaster wheels.

I will change to a Fanatec CSL DD wheel next month though. Let's see how it goes, hope to have the same luck.
 
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Maybe I have been lucky so far, but I never had a single problem with my 5 Thrustmaster wheels.

I will change to a Fanatec CSL DD wheel next month though. Let's see how it goes, hope to have the same luck.
Doubling on what you said. I've done a few 24 hour enduros since getting my T300 and it has never failed me.
 
I'm seriously looking at this wheel. I'm in need of a new entry to medium level wheel, and am nervous that the Logitech's FFB (especially for rally or more detailed titles like AMS1 and rF2) just won't be immersive enough or respond quickly enough. Which leads me to this or a T300 GT. And it looks like I can get this T248 with a special "anything at all fails and we give you a replacement" warranty from a store near me -- would be nice insurance against the cases of Thrustmaster unreliability. Whereas I can't get a T300 with that kind of warranty. Making me seriously think about it!
 
Yeah the market is really missing a dfgt type product.
100% agree with this. It's crazy. Even the used market is more expensive than I would have thought.... even now, all this time after the initial COVID sim racing craze.
 
There is no entry-level FFB wheel any more.
It's not that there are no entry level FFB wheels anymore, it's just that the cost of entry level has gone up. It's the same in pretty much every hobby I'm involved in - in some cases the cost of entry level has increased 5 fold over the last 10 years.
 
I'm seriously looking at this wheel. I'm in need of a new entry to medium level wheel, and am nervous that the Logitech's FFB (especially for rally or more detailed titles like AMS1 and rF2) just won't be immersive enough or respond quickly enough. Which leads me to this or a T300 GT. And it looks like I can get this T248 with a special "anything at all fails and we give you a replacement" warranty from a store near me -- would be nice insurance against the cases of Thrustmaster unreliability. Whereas I can't get a T300 with that kind of warranty. Making me seriously think about it!
I don't understand this part of your post. DD is far more responsive than a belt or gear drive wheel. I had a CSL Elite that was great once I understood how to tune it properly. I was hesitant to get a DD but I found myself with the means to get one and pulled the trigger.

The improvement in my ability to control the car, the speed at which it reacts, the fidelity, etc...make DD the avenue (if you can afford it) for a more immersive and responsive wheel base. Even with the torque key removed (only allows for low torque) the fidelity and speed over my CSL Elite wheelbase were noticeable.

If you can afford the CSL DD I would highly recommend getting it as opposed to any similar priced non-DD wheel. If you can afford a DD1, DD2 or other, stronger wheel base, then get that if you are serious about sim racing.

That being said, if you cannot afford DD because it is at your limit, or you continue to have doubts, a belt or gear wheel, if tuned properly, may be the best route for you. I am quite sure have been beaten by more than one racer who has basic gear.
 
Premium
I bought a T300RS and TP3A pedals to replace my G25, I think it was a nice step up, One of the problems with the T300RS wheel is that with hard, Prolonged use it can get very hot, Stuff inside melts and that's what seems to cause a lot of the wheels problems, I tweaked it so the cooling fan runs continuously, I've had zero problems so far and when the original cooling fan finally wears out i've got a nice Noctua fan to replace it with.
 
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They should corner a market, do a deal with SCS to make wheels for some of the popular makes in ATS and ETS .........like you know how many people drive those 2
You think they want a wheel belongs in a race car ?

Pretty similar to Mack in ATS don't you think ?

mack-anthem-2018-lite-1-35-x.jpg



I think that you have a point. That's a simracing niche that has been unexploited untill now, to me that niche is similar to the flight simulators one. The simracing hardware based on racing cars is underwhelming for that audience, they need manual gearboxes with 16 gears or more, turning blinkers levers, wiper levers, light swithes, speed limiter switches, braking levers...

I'm not part of that niche, but it's glaringly obvious that there is a big fanbase in a need of a hardware that nobody has ever offered to them. Just looking the amount of copies that ETS2 has sold on steam one have to acknoledge that there is a very big community in a need of specialized hardware for their needs, a hardware that as of now don't exist. In my opinion that niche is free real state, a very easy money waiting for some company to exploit it and with no competitor at all.

And, if someone from those companies is reading me: just making a big wheel rim doesn't cut it, that niche needs levers and controls. A copy of a truck rim is underwhelming if you can't use brakes, blinkers, wipers, or switch lights with levers as a real life truck or car has. That people are truckers wannabies, they are roleplaying, they need those controls. It's going to be more expensive than a typical racing wheel, but there is no alternative in that niche.
 
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Comparing the Thrustmaster T248 to Logitech G923 in terms of appearance is like comparing a 2015 Mazda MX-5 to a 1987 Ferrari F1/87.

I always have better times on virtually driving F1 cars over any sort of Mazda MX-5s.
 
I wanted to just leave a suggestion to the author of the article. I think that part of your audience would highly value if when a company sends a wheel or pedals to review, the reviewer would teardown it and show us pictures with what is inside.

Specially in cases like this wheel and with cheap hardware, the manufacturers are very tempted to use plastic in parts that are very wear sensitive as in pedals axis or wheel axis.

It can help people to make a purchase decission, instead of risking to purchase a wheel today and a year and a half after the purchase regret ever purchasing it because now the pedals or wheel have slack or uncomfortable plastic rubbing against plastic noises.
 

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