I'm at a loss here!

[Jeffry in t Veld]

So, i'm thinking of getting myself a steering wheel for upcoming Christmas, but doing some research i'm a bit at a loss, i don't have allot of money to spend and really don't want to spend over 400 euro's just for a solid working pc steering wheel, as I'm afraid it might just collect dust in the upcoming years (as happened to joysticks and a wheel i once bought for my PSX). But one thing i noticed while researching, is that there really is no middle way? You got either the absolute cheap plastic racing wheels with no feedback and than you have like the uber expensive wheels over 400/500 euro's! Is there really nothing out there in the middle?

*Update*
Through some more searching i found the Thrustmaster Ferrari F430 Force Feedback version, is this a wheel to be recommended? Reviews here and there from normal customers on various (web)stores seem praising, but i want to know what the real sim experts here think about the wheel. (And the wheel costs about 100 to 125 euro's here, if someone knows a wheel just as good or even better in that price range, i would be more than happy to know!)

 

[snthennumbers]

I was in the same boat, but I also play on a laptop so I wanted portability as well. I didn't want to lug around the wheel and pedals if I happened to want to race in the bedroom one night.

I wound up with the SRW-S1 (just Google that) from Simraceway. It's a decent little rig, no force feedback though...but I've been managing without it just fine coming from using a gamepad. Only about $70 or so now I think if you can find one. Lasted me a year of racing basically about every day before I had to replace the springs in the gas and brake paddles. I replaced them with rolled up rubber bands which was very simple and actually made the wheel alot better.

I don't know if that helps you out at all, but for the money and ease of use, it definitely won't collect dust and is worth a look.

 

[Juris]

I had a Logitech Momo, never really played it. Then after years no not racing at all I bought a Logitech G25. Again really the same thing. A but more frequent. Then I went to a G27 which is a great bit of kit with a fantastic feel to the wheel. It was nice but I didn't really feel compelled to play.

Then the awakening. I got a T500rs. Now I struggle not to play it every day. Its just a personal thing (everyone is different) but it really makes everything else below it feel like a toy and for me compels me to play. If simming is about getting as close to the real thing as possible at least in that price range I think the T500rs is it.

I bought it for 300 euro new from an ebay guy. They hold their value really well so if you got something similar to my deal even if you didn't use it you could sell it for maybe 250 in 2 years.

If you can go to 150 you can pick up a G25 or even G27 2nd hand in perfect condition and I really don't think you will regret it. Bear in mind the resale value is there for these wheels as well.

Where are you from btw? There are often sales & particular deals available in particular parts of europe and I know a few sites if you are in the UK or Ireland to keep an eye out.

 

[Michael Hornbuckle]

It really depends on what games or sims you plan on playing..The Logitech DFGT is the absolute best value for the money IMO. Brand new it sells for $150 and with some looking around you can almost always find one for around $100. Excellent wheel for the price, full 900 degrees or rotation and very good FFB. If you find a sim that you can't stop playing (cough, Assetto Corsa, cough) you can upgrade to Fanatic pedals for a couple hundred dollars and can always add a shifter from several different companies.

 

[Jeffry in t Veld]

I'm from the Netherlands! Strange actually that Logitech has such a good steering wheel in the G25/G27, my experience with Logitech products is that it tends to break after like a year, but that was in the headphone department. And i just did a quick google search for the Logitech DFGT and it really looks like a good wheel.

 

[Michael Hornbuckle]

I go through headsets about every 6 months!!! I have abused my DFGT for a little over three years and it still works just as good as when new. For a starter wheel there really is no other choice if one is available to you.

 

[Juris]

I'm from the Netherlands! Strange actually that Logitech has such a good steering wheel in the G25/G27, my experience with Logitech products is that it tends to break after like a year, but that was in the headphone department.

Logitech are an odd company sometimes. Product such as their former top end 5.1 speaker systems such as the Z680 (followed by the almost identical Z5500) were so good they stopped making them as they were so hard to break they couldn't re-sell other products to those same people. I know I'm using a z680 system for 11yrs every day. Still perfect.

The G25 & G27 have that rep as well. Very solid (actually the casing has superior build to the creak-fest that is the T500rs). Their headphones are made by 2 different divisions. their gaming stuff is insourced and can be hit and miss depending on price range. Their highend audio in-ears and cans are by Ultimate Ears they took over a few years ago. I have their triple-fi 10 earphones and despite a few broken cords (which they keep giving me more of for free) they are fantastic.

Their tech support are based in the Netherlands and are the best I've ever come across. One of my jobs is tech support on the business side so I know the good from the bad. I'm critical to the point of vicious but they excel.

With Logitech products you have to select from the upper end of their ranges usually (the DFGT may be an exception, I've never used one). There is a clear 2 tier production system/mentality in place with very different quality control in mind. There is nothing in their range above G25/G27. I was hoping you were in Ireland as I use a site called Adverts.ie where G25/G27's regularly go for 150 to 200 euro. I got my former G27 in new condition with a wheelstandpro for 190 there. Not sure what shipping would be from here to the land of beautiful windmills though but I've no bother vetting sellers there if you needed help (I'm well known there). Cheers.

 

[Jeffry in t Veld]

What you mentioned with products being too good that they could not sell enough of them is pretty much what they did in the past, my uncle is still using his stereo he bought in the early 80's and still keeps on ticking, these days too many brands come with cheap products who will do what the box tells them, but i am more a guy that is quality over quantity, my mother and step father really are the other way around, they are always saying i spend too much on a single product, but than i see them complaining their cheap counter part broke and i always warn them don't go for the cheaper version, but they never listen and i always love rubbing it in their faces when it breaks again.

 

[Nick Jemison]

I have a SRW-S1 - I like it, don't want anything else.

 

[Mark Reynolds]

I managed to snaffle the new Thrustmaster TX for less than £300 here, real bargain compared to the prices I have generally seen for that wheel, I have a T500 atm and obviously will do a direct comparison when it arrives later, as a side bonus the Xbox One compatibility is of interest one day but PC use is the primary function for me. I can PM you the details of the supplier if you like, a real steal at this price tho IMHO.

 

[SergioCarr]

the SRW-S1 is not really a wheel is it?? it's more like a controller in a wheel shape, right?

 

[Kjell Eilertsen]

Well it's kind of a mixed bag, it's a wheel because you turn the car by turning the wheel, it uses gyro or something to feel how you turn it (like playing racing games on a smartphone). But it has no forcefeedback, so it's like racing with a controller that way.

 

[SergioCarr]

yaeh, that's what i thought, no shaft, no wheel ... just a controller with a gyro. Not for me

Thx for the info

 

[Jeffry in t Veld]

This thread got me thinking, why don't a admin or someone else make a (stickied) thread listing all the good and bad wheels, with reviews, from normal gamers to sim experts, so it's easier for people to choose a steering wheel! This thread will be dead soon and another person will ask the same kind of question.

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

As with all products good and bad can easily be applied to wheels as well.

Expensive = Good
Cheap = Bad

No reviews needed