Community Question | Your First Sim Racing Wheel

[Paul Jeffrey]

Us sim racers tend to quite like our toys... from rigs, to wheels, pedals, button boxes, VR headsets, apps, software, PC's and plenty of stuff in between.... and for those of us lucky enough to own a wheel, I'd love to know which one was your first...

Not everyone runs with a wheel and pedals, but of those of us that do, I'd like to know which one was your first, and what you thought of that hardware and how in impacted your experience playing racing games and simulations.

For my part, my very first wheel was the little white plastic Microsoft Xbox 360 wireless unit - I thought that was the absolute pinnacle of technology back in the day. Oh, how the hobby got serious after that!

Although ownership of a racing wheel came late on for me, I also clearly remember playing IndyCar Racing over at my mates house using a really old, spring force PC wheel. That piece of kit brought the whole experience to an absolutely unthinkable level of immersion. The passage of time has dulled my memory of its name now, but suffice to say I was very, very envious of that bit of hardware...

Anyway, have fun reliving days gone by in the comments section below!

 

[FeltHat]

t150, great entry point

 

[G_B]

A Logitech G29 used for 30 minutes and resold because of the effect of driving a chainsaw with notches with every movement of the steering wheel.

Now on the Thrustmaster T300RS GT Edition + the addition of a custom cooling system (Noctua USB + dust filter) on the top to avoid any loss of FFB on long sessions.

20200419-123943

Image 20200419-123943 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

Don't pay attention to the ferrari steering wheel, I have several versions bought second-hand.

 

[BrunoBæ]

The Thrustmaster Modena because it had analogue throttle/brake on the wheel - and no need for pedals.
And because I have damaged legs this was my only possibility to go simming

CatsAreTheWorstDogs: The only real downside of this low class wheel was that it wasnt possible to have split axis for thr/br.
I learned this the hard way when I began competing online against some NR2003/GTP veterans.

 

[Antoni1985]

microsoft sidewinder force feedback wheel

 

[Amanda]

Not sure if me using a wheel to play an arcade game in the 90's qualify (see this image), but that was the first time I've used a wheel to play a racing game. I got instantly hooked!

Other than that, my first wheel was a Logitech G27 that I bought in the first quarter of 2017.

 

[Chris Down]

Years ago I was a broke 14 year old and wanted a G25 but couldn't afford one. I remember bidding for a used one for way less than I thought would ever win on eBay, winning the auction, and then having to ask my parents to help me convert my pocket money into something eBay would accept

I used to race in the FOX Friday races on Live for Speed for a few years. I remember saving up for ages to purchase a Live for Speed license as well, and all the great fun I had in those races in my childhood. That was pretty much what got me into sim racing.

That G25 lasted for maybe 7-8 years (already second-hand!), until one of the motors kicked the bucket. At that point I figured the thing had had a good life. That said, I still have the thing in the attic somewhere.

 

[Chris Down]

Now on the Thrustmaster T300RS GT Edition + the addition of a custom cooling system (Noctua USB + dust filter) on the top to avoid any loss of FFB on long sessions.

Did you know that for long sessions you can force the stock fan on maximum with the latest firmware? You just press ST + Mode at the same time. I've done endurance racing for 3+ hours with it without loss of FFB doing that.

 

[Bob Gnarley]

Matchbox Steer n' go...

 

[Midnight⠀]

Dexxa Steering Wheel Pro, my father bought it alongside with the freshly released Sports Car GT, when I was 8 years old and this was the combo that got me into simulators. Thank you father.

 

[Babou77]

Mine on ps1

 

[blot]

Microsoft sidewinder non FFB followed pretty quickly by a sidewinder FFB, Still have them both and they work perfect, MS sidewinder stuff was pretty good gear in the day, Also got a sidewinder FFB2 joystick which used to be really sought after when MS stopped making gaming controllers.

 

[G_B]

Did you know that for long sessions you can force the stock fan on maximum with the latest firmware? You just press ST + Mode at the same time. I've done endurance racing for 3+ hours with it without loss of FFB doing that.

I am aware that despite this feature, it appears that a number of Thrustmaster T300RS are dying. So, I preferred to be far-sighted by making this modification for a few euros and buying the top part of the steering wheel to do the modification. That way, I don't lose the warranty of the steering wheel and potentially extend its life.

 

[MeltFire]

Same here. I bought a Microsoft Xbox 360 wireless racing wheel from Ebay for $35. At that price I thought it was a total steal... too bad it only lasted 3 month before the internal motor broke, but it was best 3 months I had playing Forza Motorsport 3 ever!

 

[BrunoBæ]

Years ago I was a broke 14 year old and wanted a G25 but couldn't afford one. I remember bidding for a used one for way less than I thought would ever win on eBay, winning the auction, and then having to ask my parents to help me convert my pocket money into something eBay would accept

Oh yeah its easy to get some mental pics of that.
Maa - would you please help with with some money here?

 

[Metla]

I bought Mobile Rally Championship 2000 and a thrustmaster wheel on the same day.

Funny enough, I think it was in 1999, So I was rocking a Pentium 3 450mhz cpu, a voodoo 3 video card, 128mb of ram and a 20gb HD and windows 98 SE.

No pedals, Accelerator and brake where where flaps behind the wheel.

Then I went to an MS Sidewinder Force feedback wheel, which Wiki tells me was the very first FFB wheel ever released. I used that bad boy until it was no longer supported by software. Must have got near a decade from it.

 

[Maro_Marinov]

Logitech WingMan Formula GP:

No FFB, but improved massively on my lap times in GTR2 in comparison with the keyboard.

 

[Icebear1991]

I don't remember my first one but my second one was a Thrustmaster wheel about 15 years ago. On hot summer days (30+°C in my room), the rubber of the wheel often ended on my hands. Leather is definetely better.

 

[Benutzername]

microsoft sidewinder force feedback wheel

Had the same without FFB. Worked for decade

 

[Stuntman Daz]

I also started with the 360 wireless wheel. I loved it, but the problem was I could only use it on my lap, which was not very practical.

Had to wait another 10 years before getting a T150, and now have a T300 and a Playseat Challenge. The Dream.