Importance of steering wheel quality and pedals

[Jure Skraba]

Hello,

are there any differences when driving with the basic steering wheel with brake/gas pedals on the same axis or with the advanced wheel with individual axes for the pedals and clutch pedal?
I'm asking this regarding the racing performance and driving feel with different wheels. Is it worth buying G25 or DFP or should one stay with the basic wheel until becoming almost a Pro?

Regards

 

[James Yates]

Individual pedals will make a huge difference as you will be able to drive much smoother by balancing the brake and throttle with one another. A good example is braking while accelerating around a corner in a FWD car to keep the nose in and stop it sliding.

If you can't justify the price of a G25 yet, get a DFP as this has the same rotation and is a very good wheel for those who are starting in simracing. That said, i can recommend just getting a G25 straight away as it can be hard to change wheels once you have been used to one, and the G25 has a lot more features than the DFP such as a clutch pedal, H pattern gearbox, better force feedback and it also has a bigger diameter wheel.

Edit: Sander made a good point below - a wheel that is comfortable to use lap after lap while driving quick is worth paying the extra for.

 

[Sander Hogendoorn]

Until 3 months ago I used to drive with a Microsoft Non FF wheel. Since I switched to the Logitech G25 I've not become particularly faster but it's way more comfortable/stable to drive fast. In terms of speed I think I maybe gained a few tenths in Touringcars and a bit more in GT/Formula cars.

 

[stungunner]

Has anyone switched from a logitech Momo to a G25? And is there a big difference then, i mean, do you really get faster laptimes just because of the steeringwheel or is it just the "feel" that changes?

 

[Jure Skraba]

Well, G25 is not the steering wheel I can justify the price for, since I'm more a weekend racer than everyday racer. But, I will sure think about the DFP.

Thanks for the replies, though.

 

[Matt Alpeter]

Definitely get a quality wheel...I got my DFP for $45 on ebay.

 

[Attila Domján]

Has anyone switched from a logitech Momo to a G25? And is there a big difference then, i mean, do you really get faster laptimes just because of the steeringwheel or is it just the "feel" that changes?

Not the wheel which makes this better, that is also better to give more feel of what happening with the car, but the pedals are the one which makes the real difference, much stiffer and controllable on the G25, especially the brake pedal counts a lot.

Lot of really good drivers say, that they can drive with any crappy wheel, but the pedal must be top notch.

 

[Matthew Parr]

Im getting a G25 for christmas and ive tried one and it feels amazing its the closest to driving a real car i think! But although i havent tried a DFP i have a friend who has one and he loes it + its half the price of a G25 But my verdict is G25

 

[Mike Coleman]

Not the wheel which makes this better, that is also better to give more feel of what happening with the car, but the pedals are the one which makes the real difference, much stiffer and controllable on the G25, especially the brake pedal counts a lot.

Lot of really good drivers say, that they can drive with any crappy wheel, but the pedal must be top notch.

Exactly. I went from a MOMO to a G25 and the difference is night and day.

The G25 is so good, I purchased a 2nd to use while I sent the first one in under warranty (shifter). I can't ever use a MOMO again - not even for a few days.

And yes, it made me a better driver. I guess the aliens won't admit that hardware can make a difference...but it did for me. We are talking 2-5 seconds faster.

It's not just speed though, the whole driving experience is richer and more immersive. Six-speed shifter with a clutch pedal is awesome for GTL era cars.

Just buy it :laugh2: There aren't enough adjectives to descibe how good it is.

 

[Grégory Cogotti]

I have also a g25 and the feeling is very good! So the clutch pedal is very interesting because you can do better start. Before the g25, i had a RGT pro clutch from Thrustmaster, it's avery good wheel but g25 is better!

 

[Chris Standring]

I went from a DFP to a G25 recently and tbh, even though im not racing as much as i was due to work, its a massive massive difference. So much so that if id have tried one first then i wouldnt have bought the DFP no matter what situation i was in.

Honestly if you have to wait another month for payday, deliver some more newspapers, ask mom for pocket money, whatever it takes, get a G25, it will outlast and outperform anything below its price with no doubt.

 

[Mikkow]

I have a Microsoft Sidewinder wheel + Momo Racing + G25 in the household.

The high resistant accurate pedals of the G25 stand out as being superior. The Momo Racing is the worst at everything except force feedback strength (very strong). Incredibly loose sloppy pedals. Not easy to drive with.

Now, regarding the wheels themselves, the G25 is clearly superior. The Sidewinder is very good as well as it has little resistance when there is none. But the Momo Racing is very sluggish and slow to wield around no matter what's happening, slowed down by a large amount of gears turning against each other inside it. Makes loud sounds too and resists being turned. With that, it's really harder to drive well with compared to the other two.

Answer: Get the best stuff first. It's not just about laptimes, it's also about enjoying the experience. Like he said above, if he had tried the G25 first, he'd never ever have bought anything else. I agree with that. It's really an extraordinary product for the money.

 

[Luc Mangas]

I have a Momo wheel at the moment, thinking about buying a G25, as it seems to be THE reference. Until now, the Momo was fine for me, but lots of people are saying it's not that good. I agree the pedals are not very precise, but the wheel in itself is ok : a good grip, very solid (trust me, all my desktop is shaking when I am racing), and quite precise in the direction.
Also, I have been told the G25 brake pedal is Very hard, so that can impact my precision & my braking endurance (think about your leg after 20+ turns).

 

[Attila Domján]

It is not that hard, but just enough to have better control. Do not worry, that your muscles will be in pain, however sure some hour needs to get adjusted. Try my ECCI pedal, and after the G25 will feel like the Momo again.

 

[Mikkow]

The brake pedal is definitely not stiff in any sense of the word (for a person's legs, maybe with the hands however). It's just that the other wheels out there have pedals that are increeeeeeedibly loose and sloppy. Almost zero resistance in them, seriously.

A real car's brake pedal is still stiffer than the G25's.

 

[Mailson Pereira]

I believe you will have a huge diference because the quality of the force feedback in steering whells as the g25 are very strong and real. As for the pedals, G25 are far better than driving force pro for example. Its far better constructed and have a optimum performance and grip while ure using it.

 

[Luc Mangas]

Ok for the brake pedal. Anyway, a friend of mine has a G25, so I will "ninja-steal" it to try
Thanks for the feedbacks guys.

 

[Ries Notenboom]

Didn't spot your post but till now for what it is worth.

I asked exactly the same question few weeks ago and I went for it.
Dumped the MoMo steering wheel and got myself a spanking new G25 straight out of the box. Plugged it all in, did some testing to get myself the proper settings at which I feel comfortable and hit the tarmac.

My 1st impression was that the pedals are 10 times better and not only that...you get a clutch to go along with it as well ! Superb !
More resistance on the brake as you would in any normal car so thats realyl good.
BUT ! I don't know if any of the makers of the pedals ever raced on the track and even know what heel & toe is but you would get to think they don't.
Already got some bushings to bring the brake pedal slightly higher and a metal plate to get the gas pedal a bit closer to the brake pedal. This way you will comfortably use heel & toe without going monkeyfeet to get it done.

As for the shifter, it is superb for the realism feel and for that alone it is a winner. H pattern and seq. shift, all nice but it kinda sucks that it feels IMO so toyisch...plastic..If only it would feel more heavier and solid and slightly different layout it would have been the shifter to get.

As for the Wheel and the FFB you will make a leep forward, the FFB is more detailed and the wheel just feels nicer in your hands. Only minus is they did not add enough buttons to the wheel but you get some on your shifter so that makes up for it.

Overall it's a good improvement and I have to say that I would not wanna go back to the MoMo anymore even with the few things that could have been better. To sum things up....for that price you won't find anything better ! :dance2:

 

[Luc Mangas]

ok... thanks Ries for this feedback, that's what I wanted to hear
Next stop, G25!

 

[David Bischoff]

I moved form a momo to a g25. It is much easier to use and the steering and the pedals are a lot more accurate. It has made me a bit faster and my driving is more [FONT=&quot] [/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]consistent[FONT=&quot].[/FONT]