Direct drive steering wheel is the coolest piece of hardware I've ever bought

kute

kute

kute

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I don't normally gush, but I can't believe how amazing this thing feels.

3-4 months ago on a whim, I bought a logitech g29 - a belt and gear driven wheel capable of 2 NM of torque. I downloaded a couple of popular sims (AC, ACC, AMS2 especially) and much to my surprise, enjoyed them immensely. I kept reading on forums how great direct drive wheels were, but I thought it was overstated - but I really wanted a nice quiet wheel so I gave it a go. I got probably the least sexy setup I could have, I went with logitech again - only because I could buy it on amazon and have it shipped in a day or two. I didn't want to deal with small boutique companies and get hit with weird shipping fees and stuff. I'd have preferred a "cooler" brand with their nice machined wheelbases, but I'm not disappointed at all. Especially since the midrange offerings from moza and fanatec are like 8-9 nm's of torque, and this thing is 11. Which is nice to have. But anyways, sitting on this '06 maxima leather seat I got from the wrecker, with the VR headset on, and this wheel fighting me - it ******' feels like I'm driving a race car. I love the 90's indy cars. But anyways, I just thought this was very amusing.

The only real issue with this logitech DD base is that no one knows if they are going to release more wheels. It has a quick release, so I can't imagine they won't, but it's been almost a year - what the hell are they doing. Everyone with the base would buy a formula style wheel. It's insane that they don't want free money. If they end up not releasing more wheels, this will have been a legitimately bad selection. The included wheel is great, but come on, I want a cool f1 wheel
 
Too pricey at the moment considering what the Moza offerings are. I like Logitech wheels and would consider this wheel if they ever drop the price.
 
If Moza sold on amazon and if the KS wheel was ever in stock, I absolutely would have bought their stuff. They are definitely the most impressive company at the moment. Fanatec is resting on its laurels, and logitech is barely in the DD market.

I actually think Aseteks La Prima package is the best buy out there atm.

I still have to decide what pedals to buy. Using the g29's pedals,which I don't mind, but since people turned out to be so right about direct drive, I'm expecting a similair jump in quality with a load cell
 
SoundsGood said:
Was it the Logitech G Pro that you bought?
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Yea. Not my first choice necessarily, but the convenience of amazon and the "safeness" of going with a big fish twisted my arm. Plus in that price range it was either gonna be 8 NM of torque or a barebones wheel with no buttons and stuff - since I play in VR, I need a ton of buttons on the wheel so I don't have to operate a keyboard blind.

If they never release a formula style wheel for it though, it will have been an outright wrong decision. So it's quite a gamble.
 
kute said:
Yea. Not my first choice necessarily, but the convenience of amazon and the "safeness" of going with a big fish twisted my arm. Plus in that price range it was either gonna be 8 NM of torque or a barebones wheel with no buttons and stuff - since I play in VR, I need a ton of buttons on the wheel so I don't have to operate a keyboard blind.

If they never release a formula style wheel for it though, it will have been an outright wrong decision. So it's quite a gamble.
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Looks a good wheel m8 congrats I'm glad ur having a blast with it, seems to get positive reviews.
I'm thinking about getting a DD wheel setup atm, but the last wheel I had was the old Microsoft sidewinder lol still got it. So I'm going into the unknown if I will even like it or not still as it's been many years, but I'm pretty sure I will..... there are just so many to choose from though lol... so far the Fanatec 8nm set up with the GT3 wheel and load cell pedals looks to be a good setup and price, but ppl moan about the QR on it and the QR2 seems to be a mythical creature promised for years from what i've been reading, have been looking at the Logitech too!
 
Having got everything i needed i also wanted to go direct drive but then at the same time i want to get a proper sim rig which means building a separate pc, getting another screen etc. It's a lot of money to get into plus need the space to fit it all in.
 
Jay85 said:
Having got everything i needed i also wanted to go direct drive but then at the same time i want to get a proper sim rig which means building a separate pc, getting another screen etc. It's a lot of money to get into plus need the space to fit it all in.
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I hear you. I gotta say, if you're going to be sticking with simming, do whatever you can to get a DD. And not a 3 or a 5 pounder either imo.

It's still knocking my socks off weeks later now.

This is the rig I use, I'm sure it's terrible compared to a proper one, but I don't notice any flex, or hear anynthing weird, and I was able to get a full proper car seat onto er.

And it was 200 canadian, so that's vaguely reasonable. And the oculus was 500 cdn or however much they are. The wheels and pedals like 1600. It's an expensive hobby, but most serious setups are probably like 4-5 grand

Z7aADJ3.jpg
 
kute said:
I hear you. I gotta say, if you're going to be sticking with simming, do whatever you can to get a DD. And not a 3 or a 5 pounder either imo.

It's still knocking my socks off weeks later now.

This is the rig I use, I'm sure it's terrible compared to a proper one, but I don't notice any flex, or hear anynthing weird, and I was able to get a full proper car seat onto er.

And it was 200 canadian, so that's vaguely reasonable. And the oculus was 500 cdn or however much they are. The wheels and pedals like 1600. It's an expensive hobby, but most serious setups are probably like 4-5 grand

Z7aADJ3.jpg
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Looks ace! I really want to get one...the logitech one looks to get good reviews!
 
kute said:
I don't normally gush, but I can't believe how amazing this thing feels.

3-4 months ago on a whim, I bought a logitech g29 - a belt and gear driven wheel capable of 2 NM of torque. I downloaded a couple of popular sims (AC, ACC, AMS2 especially) and much to my surprise, enjoyed them immensely. I kept reading on forums how great direct drive wheels were, but I thought it was overstated - but I really wanted a nice quiet wheel so I gave it a go. I got probably the least sexy setup I could have, I went with logitech again - only because I could buy it on amazon and have it shipped in a day or two. I didn't want to deal with small boutique companies and get hit with weird shipping fees and stuff. I'd have preferred a "cooler" brand with their nice machined wheelbases, but I'm not disappointed at all. Especially since the midrange offerings from moza and fanatec are like 8-9 nm's of torque, and this thing is 11. Which is nice to have. But anyways, sitting on this '06 maxima leather seat I got from the wrecker, with the VR headset on, and this wheel fighting me - it ******' feels like I'm driving a race car. I love the 90's indy cars. But anyways, I just thought this was very amusing.

The only real issue with this logitech DD base is that no one knows if they are going to release more wheels. It has a quick release, so I can't imagine they won't, but it's been almost a year - what the hell are they doing. Everyone with the base would buy a formula style wheel. It's insane that they don't want free money. If they end up not releasing more wheels, this will have been a legitimately bad selection. The included wheel is great, but come on, I want a cool f1 wheel
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You really should have gotten a moza, simagic, asetek etc.

You literally can buy any of the above for a 1 to 2 day delivery....

Moza is stocked here in ocuk!
 
bazzabear said:
OK, tell a luddite (me) what actual difference I would feel moving from Logitech G29 to a Logitech Pro? See if you can tempt me. :D
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You'd feel a big difference in smoothness, detail and power. It'd also be a lot quieter.

For around a grand for rim+base though, I'd be looking at Simagic or Moza.
Nothing wrong with the Logitech's FFB, but the ecosystem and the size of the thing leave a lot to be desired.
 
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Anyone looking to get into sim racing the Moza R3 bundle looks great! just get the add on spring for the brake pedal its only£25 and is a must - should come with it really. The thing is tiny as well, OCK sell the bundle for £399 although its only on pe-order and it works on x box too. Worth spending the little bit more and getting that over say a Logitech gear driven wheel or belt driven thrustmaster.
 
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bazzabear said:
OK, tell a luddite (me) what actual difference I would feel moving from Logitech G29 to a Logitech Pro? See if you can tempt me. :D
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I don't want to shill, the guy above me is right - the logitech is a poor decision compared to the others. If they don't release a formula wheel, I'll end up looking really dumb. I just wanted to deal with amazon, I'm not from europe, and I don't mind the limited ecosystem since I race in VR anyways. But it's not a good buy despite the great FFB and ease of use.

But a DD wheel is to me, as big a jump as a FFB wheel is to a non-FFB wheel.

But I am suspicious of those 3 and 5 NM bases - even when I turn the FFB down to 8, I find myself missing the full 11. If I had a 20 pounder, I'm sure I would be disappointed in the 11 as well.

The stronger bases aren't just for bragging rights or anything. You need power for full differential between the effects so you can react the second you feel loss of traction and all the other ****. Let alone on the logitech with the novelty'ish trueforce, which I doubt affects much of anything but is still amusing and immersive and I'm glad exists. But I really fear that 3 NM base would not even give that amazing DD feel of actually driving a car
 
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kute said:
I don't want to shill, the guy above me is right - the logitech is a poor decision compared to the others. If they don't release a formula wheel, I'll end up looking really dumb. I just wanted to deal with amazon, I'm not from europe, and I don't mind the limited ecosystem since I race in VR anyways. But it's not a good buy despite the great FFB and ease of use.

But a DD wheel is to me, as big a jump as a FFB wheel is to a non-FFB wheel.

But I am suspicious of people who buy the 3 and 5 NM bases - even when I turn the FFB down to 8, I find myself missing the full 11. If I had a 20 pounder, I'm sure I would be disappointed in the 11 as well.

The stronger bases aren't just for bragging rights or anything. You need power for full differential between the bases. Let alone on the logitech with the novelty'ish trueforce, which I doubt affects much of anything but is still amusing and immersive and I'm glad exists. But I really fear that 3 NM base would not even give that amazing DD feel of actually driving a car
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Sometimes you got to buy from abroad to get what you want. I personally would never get something just because it's local or easy to get.

Get the item that you wanted from the get go!

Plenty easy to get stuff delivered from all over the world.
 
kute said:
I don't want to shill, the guy above me is right - the logitech is a poor decision compared to the others. If they don't release a formula wheel, I'll end up looking really dumb. I just wanted to deal with amazon, I'm not from europe, and I don't mind the limited ecosystem since I race in VR anyways. But it's not a good buy despite the great FFB and ease of use.

But a DD wheel is to me, as big a jump as a FFB wheel is to a non-FFB wheel.

But I am suspicious of people who buy the 3 and 5 NM bases - even when I turn the FFB down to 8, I find myself missing the full 11. If I had a 20 pounder, I'm sure I would be disappointed in the 11 as well.

The stronger bases aren't just for bragging rights or anything. You need power for full differential between the bases. Let alone on the logitech with the novelty'ish trueforce, which I doubt affects much of anything but is still amusing and immersive and I'm glad exists. But I really fear that 3 NM base would not even give that amazing DD feel of actually driving a car
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Wheel torque isnt the be-all and end-all. I've had various wheels over the years, from logitech DFP to Simplicity 21nm. Whilst yes a more powerful wheel is nice I'm perfectly happy with an R5. I dont feel like i'm losing out on fidelity or control with lower power. I dont think its as important how powerful the wheelbase is, its more about how smoothly and consistently that power is delivered, I cant get on with gear or belt driven wheels after using DD, the notchyness in power delivery is very distracting and pulls away the immersion for me and also impacts my precision especially mid corner when the wheel is loaded. Saying that even some less developed/older DD wheelbases were a little notchy due to low resolution encoders.
The R5 is perfectly fine and provides a very engaging drive. I even managed to beat some of my old track PB's with it that were set when I had the 21nm DD/Sprints setup.

I suspect that the R3 will also be a HUGE leap in performance from similar or stronger belt driven offerings.

Whilst it might sound a bit hypocritical after reading what I've said, however I still want an R9/12 if I ever go back to full Alu profile rig. However, thats purely personal preference, as it would put it close to how I setup the old DD, I used to run between 12-15nm most of the time even when I had 21 nm available.
 
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