Unusual steering wheel question?

bazzabear

bazzabear

bazzabear

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I have a relatively cheapo wheel. Thrustmaster Ferrari 458 I think it is.

I love the extra finesse that you get with the steering. But I really struggle to get on with the pedals.

The problem I seem to have is that the angle they're set at, and for that matter the height you can get a computer chair to, just don't match up to how things are in a real car. I find my foot movements are rather clumsy because of this, and using left foot braking, I actually get cramp in my left foot because of holding it unnaturally hovering over the brake pedal.

Couple this with the pedal set being light enough that it's not entirely stable either.


Can anyone share experience that might help? Have you found a way of setting everything up to make it all a lot more natural? Or maybe a more expensive set-up has heavier and adjustable pedals?
 
I don't own a steering wheel setup, but thinking about it logically, could you affix the pedal setup to a piece of wood somehow? This would mean you could control the angle that the pedals are at by shaping the wood and also add some weight so they don't move around!

Also, depending on what type of floor you're placing them on you could coat the bottom with something to prevent slipping, e.g. wooden floors and a rubberised coating on the underside...
 
You can buy standalone pedals from Fanatec which are well regarded. I own a Driving Force GT wheel and the pedals are awful. Modded the brake pedal with a piece of foam and they feel better now.

The pedals that come with the Thrustmaster T500 can be mounted 2 ways so that's an option.

There are various stands that enable the pedals to be mounted in a more ergonomic position - this costs a reasonable amount although cheaper versions can be found

kACJnQE.jpg


A few ideas for you :D
 
Both the TX458 italia and 458 spider wheels come with terrible pedal sets, think i used mine twice and vowed never to use them again. so my advice would be to upgrade.

I opted to upgrade to the thrustmaster T3PA pedal set, it gives you a clutch pedal and a degree of pedal adjust ability (the pedal plates can be moved up and down using the different fixing points which may be more comfortable), its a massive upgrade from the standard pedals but thats not too much of an accomplishment when the standards are soo bad.

They also do a T3PA Pro set up which will allow you to mount the pedals so that the pedal arm faces downwards like a real car. hard to explain but google T3PA Pro and you will see what i mean.
 
I had the same issue - so i built one of these...takes up a shed loads of space but its amazing to drive in and was pretty cheap to build (the guy at B and Q cut all the wood to size for me)

 
ExRayTed said:
You can buy standalone pedals from Fanatec which are well regarded. I own a Driving Force GT wheel and the pedals are awful. Modded the brake pedal with a piece of foam and they feel better now.

The pedals that come with the Thrustmaster T500 can be mounted 2 ways so that's an option.

There are various stands that enable the pedals to be mounted in a more ergonomic position - this costs a reasonable amount although cheaper versions can be found

kACJnQE.jpg


A few ideas for you :D
Click to expand...

Looks like a good setup until you twig the chair on rollers on a shiny floor is going to roll backwards as soon as you try to use the pedals! :D
 
Thanks guys! Lots to think about there.

Upgrading is one thought, but the worry is I'll throw money at it, and still be in the same boat!

I'll defo have a look at all your links and ideas.
 
Having had a bit more of a look around I'm tempted with this myself from GT Omega

3QPkcvL.jpg


No central bar to hit your legs and looks fairly sturdy to me. Price is reasonable to at around £90
 
Do you know what? That looks very good. I could see that working very well.

And actually, it wouldn't make it any harder to set up and take stuff down - I think you'd leave the wheel and pedals installed on it, and just fold it up.
 
Problem with something like that is storage and getting it positioned in front of your screen (since you're sat a lot lower). It'd work well with a TV, but for a PC on a desk, you're gonna need a second screen or some fancy monitor arm.

If you have a decent wheel like a G27, there's no reason why it won't work well at a desk, you just need a chair that doesn't move (or take the castors off). The big issue with using a wheel at a desk though is that it takes over your desk and setting it up / removing it takes far too long, to the point where I actually don't bother with sim racing anymore.

TBH I hate that there isn't a better solution.
 
Well it arrived and got set up yesterday, and I'm extremely pleased with it. Some of my findings actually answer the concerns fish99 has pointed out (and that I shared) above.

I was concerned that it might not work with a desk well, and I thought that, at the least, I would have to slide my monitor right to the front when I wanted to use it.

In fact, the stand slots under my desk perfectly. I have it adjusted to it's highest point, and it results in the base of the wheel just touching against the underside of my desk top. This means the wheel is about 2 inches further forward, and maybe 4 inches lower than if it was attached to my desk.

Obviously this wouldn't work if your desk has shelves under it, but for mine, it's pretty much perfect.

If I slide the arms down to their lowest it retracts the wheel enough to actually sit in front of the computer using mouse and keyboard reasonably comfortably too - although for any extended time doing so, I'd pull the whole thing out from under the desk, as it limits leg space.

The pedal placement with the stand is absolutely perfect, and it's rock solid. It has massively improved my ability to use the pedals with a bit of nuance rather than being largely on or off before.

Since desks can be of different heights, a better way to describe might be compared to a standard (Staples Kashmir) office chair. I'm 6 foot, and with the chair adjusted to about mid height, the wheel and pedal placements are perfect. My usual sitting arrangement is with the seat at it's highest, so it's tiny bit lower, but not significantly so.


While I can't argue that storage of the stand is a definite question mark - the actual setup and breakdown is easier than without the stand in my opinion. You leave everything attached to the stand, so it's just a case of pulling one USB plug, and sliding the stand out of the way (no spending ages making sure the pedals and wheel are perfectly central and screwing on the desk clamp). To fold it down flat is just four bolts, all with hand grips on them so it takes seconds.

I'm extremely chuffed with it. Tranformative.
 
Do you have an pictures while you it all setup? I just recently got the t300rs with shifter so this interest me hugely!
Does the GT omega fit a shifter on the side btw?
 
You can buy an attachment to fit a shifter for about £10.

I haven't got any pictures, but I'll try to think on to take some tonight or tomorrow. And then I'll hesitate to post them because of the shame that is my cable (lack of) management!
 
It's soooo comfy, isn't it? It's that extra cushion built in on top of the normal cushion on the base. And the lovely soft microfibre finish.

If I don't keep it tucked in to the desk when I'm not using it, the dog steals it - there's a measure of comfort!
 
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