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

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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

 

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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

 

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Was it the Logitech G Pro that you bought?

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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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.

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

 

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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.

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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I have been looking at this set as well to fit on a logitech trophy seat... I see they offer 25% logitech items for students. I'm hoping it's the case for this too if I get it... it's this or the R12 so probably not that much between them in power. Its going to be immense as the last wheel I had was a Microsoft sidewinder lol
Moza has more peripherals to choose from, but the Logitech if you get the PS version gives it cross platform usage and can even be used on x box if you change the wheel. Not played it but I would like the option to play GT7. Moza I hear are working on PS compatible bases as well. I have changed my mind now so many times.

I think Moza is the smarter buy, they have such a better ecosystem.

But as amazing as a dd wheel is, I still only recommend bothering to spend the cash for one if you KNOW you're going to use it. Sim racing forums and buy and sells are littered with people who built elaborate rigs because they really liked the idea of getting into it, then realized they find racing ******' boring hahaha. I had a lot of fun on my G29 - I wouldn't be able to go back to it now that I know the beautiful feeling of a DD wheel, but to my virgin hands, it was thoroughly enjoyable.

But those same forums are also littered with people whom bought 5 NM bases, loved it, and wanted more and so needed to get a stronger base. I really thought 11 would be way more than I'd need, from how people talked about 5-8 nm's. And indeed it's been my favourite toy, ever, but I'd still love to have a 20 NM+ base. Especially since I've read it's unwise to run a motor at 100% strength. I saw more than a couple posts made about Moza wheelbases throttling from overheating. It's almost certainly nothing to worry about - only the rare disgrunted customers who get defective units are going to make those posts, and logitech's method of having a fan in the base instead of passively conducting the heat out is another part that can break down - but some people think it's better to have some headroom.

Keep in mind that fast racers think having a loadcell brake is more important than a DD wheel when it comes to laptimes. I probably agree, you absolutely don't want to be trying to judge pedal travel under the duress of heavy braking. It's much easier to just always press at the same muscle strength, and then setting that strength to be at like 80%. But that's a whole other thing

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I only think you should spend the money on a DD setup if you're sure you're going to use it - and if you are going to use it, then it's probably worth it to spend a couple hundred more to make it much more effective and much more unlikely you get the upgrade bug that seems to hit so many? IDK. If I remember, when I play tonight I'll set it to 3 NM's of torque and see how it feels