Wheel rotation, lock and shifters.

Marcelo Vargas · Jan 12, 2011

Hey guys, I'm kind of new to all of this.. so I was just wondering...

How you guys set up your wheels?

At the moment I'm stuck with 360 wheel rotation, and default 15 degrees steering lock. It's that ok... should I change any of this? Each car class is better with a different setup?

Hm.. and other thing, what shifters you guys use, for me it's the sequencial shifter (for WTCC, Muscle Cars) and the paddles behind the wheel (fast GT cars and open wheel).. btw, I use a DFGT.

sorry for all the questions..

thanks in advance.

Adrian Herrera · Jan 13, 2011

this is what i do...

touring and gt cars with 15:1 steering ratio, open wheel cars 9:1 or 10:1

the way i calculate this is, for example:

i want to use 900 degree wheel rotation and achieve a 15:1 steering ratio: 900 divided by 15 = 60, then 60 divided by two = 30, i setup the in game rotation to 30 degrees.

if i want to have 400 degree wheel rotation and achieve 9:1 ratio: 400 divided by 9 = 44.444, divided by two = 22.22, so i use 22.5 in game.

400/9 or 900/15 gives me the rotation of the car wheels from full lock to full lock, i divide that by two to figure out the angle of the tires from center to full lock, which is the adjustment you set up in the game.

i hope this is clear, but even if its not, it is a good starting point. take the amount of rotation you have on your wheel, divide it by the ratio you want and divide that by two, this works for me and i hope it works for you.

you can also use this table by freejrs as a quick reference so you dont have to whip out a calculator every time:

CAR.WHEEL ROTATION.STEERING LOCK
WTCC 06/07.540*.18-22*
F3000.400*.17-19*
RADICALS.792.38*
WTCC 87.900*.24-27*
FBMW.450*.20*
F1 05.540*.19-22*
CATERHAMS.792*.38*
MINI.900*.28*
GT CARS/DTM/V8'.540*.18-22*
PORSCHE 996.900*.29.5*
ROAD CARS.900*.30-34*

i got this from here
http://www.nogripracing.com/details.php?filenr=22842

also, regarding the shifters. i try to stick as much as possible to real life. i have a g25 which allows me to choose between sequential, H pattern and paddles. so i try to find out what each car uses in real life so i can use it the same way.

Marcelo Vargas · Jan 14, 2011

Thanks man. I tried to use 540*/22* with the wtcc cars for instance.. it's cool but i found it more difficult to drive.... specially whey I use the paddle shifters... but maybe is just a matter of practicing...

I don't know.. but maybe I'll just stick with 360*/16* for now... lol.

Adrian Herrera · Jan 14, 2011

i'm glad to help. 540 on wheel and 22 in game will give you 12:1 ratio; 360 and 16 will give you around 11:1. Thats a good starting point. You can try different settings and stick to what feels right to you.

If you are using paddles its a good idea to have less than 360 degrees steering rotation to avoid having to do more than a full rotation and losing touch of the paddles with your hands. Driving a formula car with paddles and 400 degree rotation is very different than driving an old touring car with 900 degrees and H shifter. It depends on what you like. Faster cars are usually easier to control with lower ratios and if you like drifting or slower older cars like say the 87 WTCC cars, a bigger rotation will give you more room for corrections and its easier to catch a spin before its too late.

Have fun mate!

(if anyone thinks i'm giving the wrong advice feel free to correct me)

FerrariMan96 · Jan 14, 2011

I just use 900 degrees and maximum lock in game. That generally seems right

Marcelo Vargas · Jan 15, 2011

Thanks guys! I'm just trying different variations for the moment... trying to find what feels better for me, and you helped a lot for me finding a starting point.

Dariusz Swiderski · Jan 16, 2011

You can also have a play with the steering sensivity in game options, for lower wheel % ( 180 - 360 ) you may want to make your wheel less sensitive at the center and so on....

Marcelo Vargas · Jan 17, 2011

Dariusz, right now I'm using 360º/15º (shifting with paddles) and wheel sensitivity on 50%, its this a good starting point? Which points you recommend for me to start changing.. to see any improovement?

thanks guys

Dariusz Swiderski · Jan 17, 2011

Its all about personal preference Marcelo, with wheel at 360/15 i wouldn't go lower then 50%. I used to drive with 360/19 & sensivity at 45%. Now i drive with 480/21 and sensivity at 50%. Everyone has its own settings, it took me a year of fiddling with it to find which i,m comfortable with. Also i use brake sensivity at 20% for longer initial pedal travel.
In game options / force fedback don't go higher then medium, anything above that is artificial FF ( not generated by the game ).

Jim Cole · Jan 17, 2011

As everyone says it is all what you like or what you are going for. If you are trying to create realism, then you are going to want larger numbers for the touring cars, and lower numbers for the faster Formula cars. Typically Formula cars have about 270 to 200 degrees of rotation so that the pilot never has to take his hands off the wheel.

I personally use 270 and the paddles all the time with default settings in game for lock and sensitivity. I also don't use any FFB as I don't like everything on the table being rattled around heheh.

Adrian Herrera · Jan 18, 2011

take a look at Seb. Vettel when he crashed into button. The wheel turns way more than 270.. i would say close to 400 degrees.

Marcelo Vargas · Jan 18, 2011

Dariusz Swiderski said:
In game options / force fedback don't go higher then medium, anything above that is artificial FF ( not generated by the game ).

Sorry, but can you elaborate on this? In game I'm using the force feedback at "maximum" and force feedback strength at 80%.... should I reduce this for a more "real" feel?

Rhys Gardiner · Jan 18, 2011

adriecoot said:
take a look at Seb. Vettel when he crashed into button. The wheel turns way more than 270.. i would say close to 400 degrees.

Yes, F1 cars have around 400 degrees of rotation. I can't say what Touring/GT cars have, but I'm assuming it's around the same, if not more...

Peter Duivelaar · Jan 18, 2011

I personally like a low wheel rotation in combination with low steering lock. So I usually use about 200 degrees of rotation and about 12-13 for steering lock.

Dariusz Swiderski · Jan 18, 2011

Marcelo Vargas said:
Sorry, but can you elaborate on this? In game I'm using the force feedback at "maximum" and force feedback strength at 80%.... should I reduce this for a more "real" feel?

The max amount of FF generated by the game is at medium settings, high & max only gives you '' the rattle '', high for brakes and max add the engine. Those are artificial and shouldn't be used as they ''mask'' the other FF.

My settings:

FF Effects: Medium
FF Strength : 90%
Steering Force: 90%
Steering Vibration: 0%
Engine: 0%
Brakes: 0%
Curbs: 10%
Impact: 10%

In Logitech Profiler:

Overall Effects Strength: 100%
Spring Effects Strength: 0%
Damper Effects Strength: 0%

Centering Spring Strength: 100% but box not ''tick'' ( or you can ''tick'' the box but make at 0% )

If those settings are too light for you just add more FF Strength / Steering Force.

Marcelo Vargas · Jan 18, 2011

hm... didn't know that. Thought "max" was the more real ffb...

My settings were more of less like this till yesterday:

FF Effects: max
FF Strength : 80%
Steering Force: 80%
Steering Vibration: 15%
Engine: 30%
Brakes: 15%
Curbs: 30%
Impact: 80%

In Logitech Profiler:

wheel rotation - 360* (15* or 16* lock in game).

Overall Effects Strength: 100%
Spring Effects Strength: 0%
Damper Effects Strength: 0%

Centering Spring Strength: 100% but box not ''tick'' ( or you can ''tick'' the box but make at 0% )

Now that you told me that... I'll try to use your settings... I think it will be easier to drive, right?

Adrian Herrera · Jan 19, 2011

Dariusz Swiderski said:
The max amount of FF generated by the game is at medium settings, high & max only gives you '' the rattle '', high for brakes and max add the engine. Those are artificial and shouldn't be used as they ''mask'' the other FF.

that's interesting. thanks for the heads up. i will adjust my settings to medium.

just curious,.. where did you get that from? any source?

Dariusz Swiderski · Jan 19, 2011

adriecoot said:
that's interesting. thanks for the heads up. i will adjust my settings to medium.

just curious,.. where did you get that from? any source?

I can't remember where did i get it from as it was 2 years ago but i,m sure this info is correct. I have done a lot of research after i got my G25 as i didn't like the default settings. And it was a revelation, from very hard turning, buzzing and rattling wheel i got nice, firm and ligth turning wheel with a lot more feel info coming through. Give it a try

.