Accuforce Pro V2 review

[TShrimp]

I finally received my Accuforce V2 from SimXperience (Took just over 9 weeks), and thought I would share some quick thoughts. It definitely will contradict what some have said.

Pros:
1. It is a thing of beauty. Pictures do not do the AF justice. It is actually smaller than I expected it to be.
2. The wheel itself. Some have said it looks like a $50 wheel, but I have to disagree. Feels premium to me, and also looks better in person than in pics.
3. Well packaged.
4. Once you get a game dialed in it feels great.
5. Cable length to button box. Some have said it is too long. However, if you route it behind the mounting deck to the wheel it is perfect length.
6. Sim Commander software. Not enough has been said about this IMO. It is awesome. The cloud profiles are fantastic. You can start a sim, choose your car and track, and all of the sudden Sim Commander will tell you "found fully matching profile in our database..applying settings" (or something like that). If it only finds a partial match it will tell you that as well. You can also create your own, etc.
7. All in one kit that has everything you need. It didn't take much if any longer to get it setup then my T300.
8. Has more power than I will ever use. Doubles as a workout. At higher settings your arms will be tired.
9. The quick release works great, and there is no play at all once it clicks into place.
10. They put 2 coiled cables in the box. Nice to have a backup in case I break one.

Neutral:
1. Button box. It does the job, but nothing stands out about it.
2. Controller box. Can't really put a box in the pro category...or can I? There is talk about the fan being loud, but I don't get it. If your really listen and have no other noise in your environment you can hear it, otherwise I wouldn't put this on the list of things to worry about. I would actually put it in the quiet category as I have never heard the fan without actively trying to.
3. Shifters - Better than I expected, but I can see how someone may want a little more click to them.

Cons:
1. $1000 ($1049 after tax and shipping). I know this should probably be put in the pro category, but I still just dropped $1000 on a hobby. Stings a little.
2. I have to wear gloves. And I hate wearing gloves. Driving without them on alcantara the feel just isn't very nice for long stints, and assume the alcantara need protecting to stay looking nice.
3. This kit should come with the adjustable mounting plate. I was able to get it on my rig in a good position without it, but it would have been easier with the mount. However, I am not paying $62 for 2 pieces of metal (after shipping).

 

[blekenbleu]

Driving without them on alcantara the feel just isn't very nice

Having a suede wheel in a real car warned me away from SimXperience's rim;
a similar, but leather, $25 eBay 320MM rim feels quite nice without gloves,
but I much prefer this 15" classic wood rim..

There is talk about the fan being loud, but I don't get it.

I suppose that fan loudness varies substantially among controllers.
Does yours exhaust out the top or side?
IMO, the motor cable connectors seem too puny, given cable stiffness.
Mounting the controller to a panel with cable strain relief is wanted.

 

[Deleted member 963434]

nice to have tis cloud profiles, as if yo want most reaistic experience yo shall set ffb for each car. and of course 16 nm is enought as real cars have max at 6,5 nm. i wanted to buy it myself half year ago but shipping to europe was abous 300 $ and i said no

 

[TShrimp]

Having a suede wheel in a real car warned me away from SimXperience's rim;
a similar, but leather, $25 eBay 320MM rim feels quite nice without gloves,
but I much prefer this 15" classic wood rim..

I suppose that fan loudness varies substantially among controllers.
Does yours exhaust out the top or side?
IMO, the motor cable connectors seem too puny, given cable stiffness.
Mounting the controller to a panel with cable strain relief is wanted.

Mine exhausts out the top. Part of the reason I may not hear it as well is I live in a warm climate, so fans are going all the time. Maybe I am more immune to that type of sound . I have also worked in a server room with ~400 servers. Those 1-U server fans are what I would call loud.

 

[TShrimp]

nice to have tis cloud profiles, as if yo want most reaistic experience yo shall set ffb for each car. and of course 16 nm is enought as real cars have max at 6,5 nm. i wanted to buy it myself half year ago but shipping to europe was abous 300 $ and i said no

Being able to choose setting for each track and car is really nice. The software is actually easier to use than I expected as well. It also has the ability to start Assetto Corsa via Content Manager and then go pull the cloud profile (or your own) by changing a few settings. A really powerful piece of software. I have not tried the Sim Vibe portion yet as I have SimHub controlling my Buttkicker, and it is all dialed in already.

 

[blekenbleu]

Mine exhausts out the top.

.. and mine exhausts out the side, so fan is installed opposite of yours,
which may explain excess noise, if reversed fan blades run closer to the air grille.

Part of the reason I may not hear it as well is I live in a warm climate, so fans are going all the time.

I wish, but mine runs constantly from power on in a 24C room.

Being able to choose setting for each track and car is really nice.

I have not been running SC4; coordinating with SteamVR, Mixed Reality Portal, SimHub, Content Manager and Assetto Corsa was a bit too much, and CM+AC also allow tuning per car and track..

I have not tried the Sim Vibe portion yet as I have SimHub controlling my Buttkicker, and it is all dialed in already.

I started with SimVibe, but have been happier with SimHub,
although I read that SimVibe has been updated in the last week or so.
I want 4 corner shakers to signal mostly tire slippage and/or G forces.

 

[Tim Meuris]

Agree with op. I have the v1. Run it almost every night for 2 hours. Hasn't skipped a beat. Very happy with the purchase.

 

[Derek James]

Hey TShrimp,
Been really looking to upgrade from my T300 which has been acting strange lately. I think it's on it's last leg. Definitely interested in the Accuforce but wow 9 weeks is nuts haha.

Quick question TShrimp, how is the wheel smoothness wise? I cannot stand the notchiness of my T300, it has been a fun wheel over the years but that notch has always irritated me and definitely takes away a lot of immersion.

And also on straightaways on most sims I don't feel much as far as road feel, does the Accuforce help with that?

Thanks!

 

[dud]

Is Accuforce Pro 2 the same thing as Accuforce v2? I'm confused.

 

[Derek James]

Is Accuforce Pro 2 the same thing as Accuforce v2? I'm confused.

yes dud

 

[TShrimp]

Hey TShrimp,
Been really looking to upgrade from my T300 which has been acting strange lately. I think it's on it's last leg. Definitely interested in the Accuforce but wow 9 weeks is nuts haha.

Quick question TShrimp, how is the wheel smoothness wise? I cannot stand the notchiness of my T300, it has been a fun wheel over the years but that notch has always irritated me and definitely takes away a lot of immersion.

And also on straightaways on most sims I don't feel much as far as road feel, does the Accuforce help with that?

Thanks!

I upgraded from a T300 to the AF, and the 9 week wait was painful, but seems to be common for a lot of sim stuff during Covid .

I don't notice any notchy feeling when using the wheel. I will say it isn't as plug and play as the T300 as you have to fiddle with the settings to get things dialed in, but when you do it feels great. I have spent most of my time on dialing in Assetto Corsa. Using a combination of the in game settings with the awesome Sim Commander software. The road feel on the straights feel good to me, but so much is adjustable. Example: I thought the RPM feedback was too strong in the wheel, so I could just turn it down via Sim Commander software.

Example of some things you can adjust...

So much is subjective, so what feels good to me may not to someone else. I can say that I am glad I chose the AF over some of the others. It has more power than I can handle, it is inexpensive (when compared to others), they get back with you if you email them, the Sim Commander software is robust, and it has worked well with AC, ACC, and Automobilista 2. (Still have to dial in ACC and AMS2, but those feel better out of the box than AC did).

FYI...Sim Commander does allow you to launch Content Manager for AC (after some minor changes), and it will still pull whatever profile you have created, or from the cloud setups.

 

[Derek James]

I upgraded from a T300 to the AF, and the 9 week wait was painful, but seems to be common for a lot of sim stuff during Covid .

I don't notice any notchy feeling when using the wheel. I will say it isn't as plug and play as the T300 as you have to fiddle with the settings to get things dialed in, but when you do it feels great. I have spent most of my time on dialing in Assetto Corsa. Using a combination of the in game settings with the awesome Sim Commander software. The road feel on the straights feel good to me, but so much is adjustable. Example: I thought the RPM feedback was too strong in the wheel, so I could just turn it down via Sim Commander software.

Example of some things you can adjust...

So much is subjective, so what feels good to me may not to someone else. I can say that I am glad I chose the AF over some of the others. It has more power than I can handle, it is inexpensive (when compared to others), they get back with you if you email them, the Sim Commander software is robust, and it has worked well with AC, ACC, and Automobilista 2. (Still have to dial in ACC and AMS2, but those feel better out of the box than AC did).

FYI...Sim Commander does allow you to launch Content Manager for AC (after some minor changes), and it will still pull whatever profile you have created, or from the cloud setups.

Thanks so much for taking the time to write that TShrimp! I really appreciate the help and I'm sure it will help others decide too! Sounds like a great setup to have.

I don't mind messing with settings etc, that's actually a lot of the fun for me so the SimCommander software sounds pretty interesting.

 

[metalnwood]

I admit that when I was able to test the AF I didnt notice the motor not being smooth and I was expecting it to not be smooth as I was used to a DD with a servo.

I understand this may not be the case if you really want to put it up to it's highest setting but you are probably choosing a different wheel if you are sure you want more Nm than it's default.

The only time I can say I noticed it not being smooth was with fast counter steering, so depending on your driving style you might only feel that saving the odd slide or powersliding out of every other corner

I have to say I really like gloves with DD.. Allows me to keep relaxed hands and let the gloves manage the grip.

 

[blekenbleu]

I admit that when I was able to test the AF I didnt notice the motor not being smooth and I was expecting it to not be smooth as I was used to a DD with a servo.

With Assetto Corsa Skidpad mod and low-to-moderate force feedback,
AccuForce cogging is pretty clearly felt when turning against relatively constant force.
On most (rough) U.S. tracks that I drive, that cogging is masked.
Dialing in useful understeer feedback is possible (and something never managed with a G29),
but there are still plenty of slides that I cannot recover, particularly in mid-engine cars.

 

[blekenbleu]

wow 9 weeks is nuts

My DIY, ordered July 8, was delivered to South Carolina Aug 21, so about 6.3 weeks.
Recent deliveries have taken around 2 months, but SimXperience reported that
delayed parts shipments to them are pushing next AF customer deliveries to mid-October.

 

[TShrimp]

Review update:

Dialed in for AC, ACC, and Automobilista 2. I will probably do minor changes from here, but have my baseline set at this point.

AC - Feels nice. Probably a little better than ACC. It took more work balancing the in-game to Sim Commander than the other 2 games.

ACC - I think I now have a good configuration here as well, but I can't keep thinking I could get more.

Automobilista 2 - Wow...just wow. The feeling here is just fantastic, and took the least amount of tweaking. I forget the track I was on, but there is a smooth section in a mostly rough track. You can see it visually, and now with the Accuforce I can feel it. Going from a shaking wheel on rough pavement to the smoothness, and back again is just fantastic. You feel every bump and texture in this game. I may even have to turn things down a little. The only thing I have not been able to get right is the feeling of bumping someone (AI of coarse ), or hitting a wall. The wheel almost doesn't shake at all for some reason. I had the same thing with AC, but was able to dial that into the game. Guessing just a little more tinkering here.

BTW....I found that I had to adjust more than the wheel for games. Since there is so much more information coming through the wheel it seemed to mute the feeling I was getting from my Buttkicker. I had to change the settings there as well to make them both mesh together.

 

[Shovas]

Cons:
1. $1000 ($1049 after tax and shipping). I know this should probably be put in the pro category, but I still just dropped $1000 on a hobby. Stings a little.
2. I have to wear gloves. And I hate wearing gloves. Driving without them on alcantara the feel just isn't very nice for long stints, and assume the alcantara need protecting to stay looking nice.

I paid CAD $2400 in 2015 in one of the very first batches and I still recommend this wheel to this day for anyone near that $1000 price range, especially anyone looking at Fanatec non-DD gear. It's all-in-one nature is the key value point. Other wheelbases are better but they don't come with button boxes or rims for the same price.

I didn't like wearing gloves to begin with either but you get used to it and the benefits of wearing them (extra grip, soaking up moisture) eventually makes it feel like you're missing something when you're not wearing them.

Here are the gloves I use:

Gorilla Grip Fingerless GLoves

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/gorilla-grip-fingerless-glove-l/1000703505

Dirt cheap now, I see, but each pair has lasted me more than a year, I think. I've only had two pair. I think my first pair lasted 2-3 years (had good holes by the end, though).

 

[TShrimp]

I paid CAD $2400 in 2015 in one of the very first batches and I still recommend this wheel to this day for anyone near that price range, especially anyone looking at Fanatec non-DD gear. It's all-in-one nature is the key value point. Other wheelbases are better but they don't come with button boxes or rims for the same price.

I didn't like wearing gloves to begin with either but you get used to it and the benefits of wearing them (extra grip, soaking up moisture) eventually makes it feel like you're missing something when you're not wearing them.

Here are the gloves I use:

Gorilla Grip Fingerless GLoves

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/gorilla-grip-fingerless-glove-l/1000703505

Dirt cheap now, I see, but each pair has lasted me more than a year, I think. I've only had two pair. I think my first pair lasted 2-3 years (had good holes by the end, though).

I know, that price should be on the pro list for what you are getting. I am not aware of one negative review on that DD wheel. Also, you are correct, I am starting to get use to racing with gloves. The biggest negative with gloves now, is I must remove them for my mouse/keyboard combo I use.

Has using fingerless gloves caused any issues with keeping your alcantara wheel nice? I thought about cutting the ends off of mine.

Mechanics Gloves Large

Mechanic's Gloves Large

www.harborfreight.com

$5 at Harbor Freight, and surprisingly good.

Was using some old ATV gloves I have, but they got misplaced so purchased the above mechanics gloves.

 

[Shovas]

Unfortunately, I only started wearing gloves after I wore down the alcantara.

Basically it gets slicked down into a pseudo-leather like texture.

I now actually prefer a smaller 'duramold' stylized rim that SimXperience offers - it's also cheap compared to the other wheels. It's this one actually, I thought it would be cheap and bad but actually I prefer it to the Alcantara now:

AccuForce Duramold Steering Wheel

simxperience.com

 

[Shovas]

I paid CAD $2400 in 2015 in one of the very first batches and I still recommend this wheel to this day for anyone near that $1000 price range, especially anyone looking at Fanatec non-DD gear. It's all-in-one nature is the key value point. Other wheelbases are better but they don't come with button boxes or rims for the same price.

Just wanted to clarify I feel the AccuForce is a great deal near $1000 not $2400 If you have $2400 go for an OSW or whatever.