Get comfy. It's a lengthy one! 
When I bought my Simucube 2 Sport, I purchased the AR F28-SC along with it. For those who haven’t seen one of AR’s wheels in person, they really are quite impressive. It simply exudes first class fit and finish. I love its clean aesthetic. I also really like that it is wireless since I got spoiled from being in the Fanatec ecosystem for a while and going thru several of their wheels sans cable. There were two things I was not satisfied with though: The diameter and no clutch paddles - which is a limitation with Simucube’s wireless solution. Analog axes are currently not supported. I gave up on waiting for Granite Devices to add analog axis support so resigned myself to going USB.
I remember seeing the Simagic GT4 wheel some time ago and noticed how it had everything I was looking for. I was jealous that they offered it, with clutch paddles, in a wireless solution for their wheelbase. At the time though, I was A) a bit concerned dropping coin on a largely unknown product, and B) it wasn’t available - relatively easily - here in the States. It was also obvious that it wasn’t serious with it’s USB connection as a universal wheel. So, I kind of forgot about it. Then along comes Boosted Media’s update YT vid on Simagic’s offerings and I really liked the changes to the GT4 wheel. Figured I would take a look to see if Sim Motion had them in stock and lo and behold, there it was!
I received the wheel 6 days ago as of this writing. Not exactly an impressive unboxing experience. Nothing wrong with it but very basic in its presentation. When I finally got my hands on the wheel itself, I couldn’t help but be immediately impressed with the build quality. The fit and finish are spot on. The feel of the buttons, the two rotaries and two funky switches have a nice solid feel. There are some details that are different from what was shown on Boosted Media’s vid and on Simagic’s own site. For example, the top plate: I’m no expert in carbon fiber but I’m starting to think that it is truly carbon fiber. My guess is that there are differences between this USB version vs their wireless. The top plate is 6mm thick and looking at the edge, it looks the same as the paddles which are listed as carbon fiber. To my eye, it certainly does not look to be an aluminum plate which is what is stated on Simagic’s site. If it is aluminum with a faux carbon fiber layer it is THE best I’ve seen. It’s got that 3 dimensional sheen just like the real stuff. Either way, it looks awesome.
Whatever the material, this wheel is rock solid. The machining of the aluminum back plate is very well done. There are small areas where the top plate extends maybe a half mm beyond the back plate but most of it sits nice and flush. If AR’s fit and finish is a 10, this is easily a 9. Maybe a 9.5. Shifters have a nice solid click feel. Magnets are plenty strong. The clutch paddles use optical sensors so they should last for quite some time. The pads themselves can be adjusted in/out to suit a variety of hand size/finger lengths. All four are nice and smooth operating and have a nice quality feel. You can create a semi bite point by assigning a percentage of engagement to either clutch paddle. I haven’t played with it because in watching an extensive how-to vid on the wheel, it looks like you can’t set it in-sim nor per car. In other words, it’s a universal setting. I decided to not set it for now. In its linear mode, you have two separate analog axes. For example one could be for the clutch, the other for handbrake duty.
Some other details: I love how 8 of the buttons are backlit. You can assign one of something like 5 different colors, including turning off the backlight, to each button separately. The other real nice touch is the USB connection. They provided a USB-A to a female din connector that is mounted on a small bit of carbon fiber which can be mounted on aluminum extrusion. They even supply t-nuts though they are too small for my rig so I’ll have to whip something up but I thought it was a real nice touch. On the wheel side it is a typical screw on din plug which then, obviously, connects to the aforementioned mounted din connector. Simagic also provides a good quality sticker set. Some of them are even decorative if you would like to make the wheel look similar to the real deal.
For those who haven’t tried various size wheels, 15mm can - at least to me - make a big difference. I find the GT4 to be a very comfortable wheel. I took to it much quicker than the F28. I also like that the grips are a rubber type. I prefer to drive bare-handed and I find with suede or alcantara grips, though nice, you really need to wear gloves to make them last.
So, I think by now you all have gotten the sense that I’m pretty happy with this wheel. I’m pretty much a one wheel guy and the GT4 suits me, dare I say, perfectly. Do I have ANY complaints about it? Uh… yeah. It hasn’t shaved the 1.5 seconds I usually run behind the leaders! Perhaps I should return it!
One last thing - big shout out to Sim Motion. Darin answered all my questions in a timely manner and shipped out the wheel right away. Nothing but a positive experience working with them on a purchase I had some anxiety about due to the largely unknown Simagic brand. I have zero regrets and recommend, if you have any interest in purchasing some hardware, give Sim Motion a look. They sell other items beside Simagic’s offerings.
When I bought my Simucube 2 Sport, I purchased the AR F28-SC along with it. For those who haven’t seen one of AR’s wheels in person, they really are quite impressive. It simply exudes first class fit and finish. I love its clean aesthetic. I also really like that it is wireless since I got spoiled from being in the Fanatec ecosystem for a while and going thru several of their wheels sans cable. There were two things I was not satisfied with though: The diameter and no clutch paddles - which is a limitation with Simucube’s wireless solution. Analog axes are currently not supported. I gave up on waiting for Granite Devices to add analog axis support so resigned myself to going USB.
I remember seeing the Simagic GT4 wheel some time ago and noticed how it had everything I was looking for. I was jealous that they offered it, with clutch paddles, in a wireless solution for their wheelbase. At the time though, I was A) a bit concerned dropping coin on a largely unknown product, and B) it wasn’t available - relatively easily - here in the States. It was also obvious that it wasn’t serious with it’s USB connection as a universal wheel. So, I kind of forgot about it. Then along comes Boosted Media’s update YT vid on Simagic’s offerings and I really liked the changes to the GT4 wheel. Figured I would take a look to see if Sim Motion had them in stock and lo and behold, there it was!
I received the wheel 6 days ago as of this writing. Not exactly an impressive unboxing experience. Nothing wrong with it but very basic in its presentation. When I finally got my hands on the wheel itself, I couldn’t help but be immediately impressed with the build quality. The fit and finish are spot on. The feel of the buttons, the two rotaries and two funky switches have a nice solid feel. There are some details that are different from what was shown on Boosted Media’s vid and on Simagic’s own site. For example, the top plate: I’m no expert in carbon fiber but I’m starting to think that it is truly carbon fiber. My guess is that there are differences between this USB version vs their wireless. The top plate is 6mm thick and looking at the edge, it looks the same as the paddles which are listed as carbon fiber. To my eye, it certainly does not look to be an aluminum plate which is what is stated on Simagic’s site. If it is aluminum with a faux carbon fiber layer it is THE best I’ve seen. It’s got that 3 dimensional sheen just like the real stuff. Either way, it looks awesome.
Whatever the material, this wheel is rock solid. The machining of the aluminum back plate is very well done. There are small areas where the top plate extends maybe a half mm beyond the back plate but most of it sits nice and flush. If AR’s fit and finish is a 10, this is easily a 9. Maybe a 9.5. Shifters have a nice solid click feel. Magnets are plenty strong. The clutch paddles use optical sensors so they should last for quite some time. The pads themselves can be adjusted in/out to suit a variety of hand size/finger lengths. All four are nice and smooth operating and have a nice quality feel. You can create a semi bite point by assigning a percentage of engagement to either clutch paddle. I haven’t played with it because in watching an extensive how-to vid on the wheel, it looks like you can’t set it in-sim nor per car. In other words, it’s a universal setting. I decided to not set it for now. In its linear mode, you have two separate analog axes. For example one could be for the clutch, the other for handbrake duty.
Some other details: I love how 8 of the buttons are backlit. You can assign one of something like 5 different colors, including turning off the backlight, to each button separately. The other real nice touch is the USB connection. They provided a USB-A to a female din connector that is mounted on a small bit of carbon fiber which can be mounted on aluminum extrusion. They even supply t-nuts though they are too small for my rig so I’ll have to whip something up but I thought it was a real nice touch. On the wheel side it is a typical screw on din plug which then, obviously, connects to the aforementioned mounted din connector. Simagic also provides a good quality sticker set. Some of them are even decorative if you would like to make the wheel look similar to the real deal.
For those who haven’t tried various size wheels, 15mm can - at least to me - make a big difference. I find the GT4 to be a very comfortable wheel. I took to it much quicker than the F28. I also like that the grips are a rubber type. I prefer to drive bare-handed and I find with suede or alcantara grips, though nice, you really need to wear gloves to make them last.
So, I think by now you all have gotten the sense that I’m pretty happy with this wheel. I’m pretty much a one wheel guy and the GT4 suits me, dare I say, perfectly. Do I have ANY complaints about it? Uh… yeah. It hasn’t shaved the 1.5 seconds I usually run behind the leaders! Perhaps I should return it!
One last thing - big shout out to Sim Motion. Darin answered all my questions in a timely manner and shipped out the wheel right away. Nothing but a positive experience working with them on a purchase I had some anxiety about due to the largely unknown Simagic brand. I have zero regrets and recommend, if you have any interest in purchasing some hardware, give Sim Motion a look. They sell other items beside Simagic’s offerings.
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