Which Racing Wheel and Joystick

[Xe0n]

Well, i need a racing wheel, ive began to get sick of the gamepad with 3 posistiosn to have my wheels in...looking at the following options:
Thrustmaster Force Feedback Ferrari Racing Wheel
Act-Labs Force RS
Wingman Formula Force GP
Microsoft Force Feedback Wheel

or does force feedback suck so much that it isnt worth it

I also need to replace my sidewinder 3d pro, because it doesnt work with my soundblaster pci512, and its also real annoying to go and switch the connectors each time i wanta switch between my gamepad and joystick...i really like it so far, so probaly gonna go with forcefeedback 2 or precision 2 unless someone thinks that these really suck and i should choose something different

 

[dszd0g]

I tried the force feedback thing and it drove me nuts. I ended up going with a Thomas SuperWheel TSW2 Modified (a bit pricy currently at $355 plus shipping). I love it. I'm pretty bad at racing but I do a lot better with this wheel than either the Guillemot or the Act Labs. The one thing I don't like about it is it uses Serial instead of USB. TSW2 Modified

For Joystick I use the CH F-16 Combatstick USB. The one thing I don't like about it is that CH still has not released the Pro Throttle USB. The Combatstick has a throttle control on it but it would be a lot easier if one had a seperate throttle control. They are finally at least saying "4th quarter 2000" with exact release date still TBA. I've been waiting over a year now since they said they were working on it. F-16 Combatstick

 

[AMB]

I think what I bought was good:

Saitek X-36 HOTAS

Ferrari/Gulliemot Force Feedback Steering Wheel

I have the links at My Site

I decided as I was going to get both, I would only use the joystick for flight sims, and it workds very well.

I decided on the Ferrari after using both at a showroom.

 

[Hyp]

Hi, I have been racing for 3 yrs. Nascar2,Nascar 3 online. I still use my Thrustmaster wheel,replaced pots only once. For the price u couldnt beat it $100 then. Now they went to usb for bout $50 so depends on ur budget. TSW's are excellent wheels also. I have a buddy who has the MS ff wheel. He loves it. He also started w\ a TM serial wheel like I have. If you plan on racing the NASCAR 4 i'd recommend the FF option since its a whole new pyshics eng. The wheel makes somewhat of a difference in how fast you are,but mainly it's your driving style,braking pts,smooooovness and setup. 🙂 Hope this helps.

 

[Midnight Rambler]

<< If you plan on racing the NASCAR 4 i'd recommend the FF option since its a whole new pyshics eng. >>

Hehe ... it may be a whole new physics engine for Nascar drivers, but we've been running the engine in Grand Prix Legends for almost two years now, as that is what D. Kaemmer wrote it for originally.

 

[Possum]

OMG!!!!!!!!!! Those Thomas Superwheels have a clutch pedal!!! (I'm pretty excited because I wiill be learning how to drive a manul shift within the next half year for my next car) Too bad the only racing games I know of that use a clutch are Viper Racing (2 years old) and possibly Grand Prix 3 (few months old?). Act Labs has a better shifter though, IMO. 😛

BTW, it's not like I'm going to buy one of these for $355, but it's nice to dream about 🙂

 

[dszd0g]

Possum, which shifter? The one that comes on it or the RS shifter? Have you actually used the Act Labs RS shifter? Maybe some people disagree with me, but I've used it and think it is a cheap piece of crap. It is very difficult to actually get it into gears properly and it does not have enough weight to it. It seems more like a plastic kids toy then anything to use for a racing game. Also very few games support shifting directly into gears. What you end up is the same shifter motion as the Thomas Superwheel &quot;Round shifter Knob.&quot; The feel of the shifter knob on my TSW2 Modified isn't perfect, it seems to go towards one direction over the other, however, it functions perfectly and I have no problems with it in games. For me it is 10 times easier to use than the RS shifter. The shifter that comes on the Force RS is better than on the TSW2 Modified, I will agree. I just felt like commenting on the RS shifter since you didn't specify and the RS shifter is a piece of crap that gets excellent reviews for some reason unknown to me.

Thomas Superwheel also makes a sport paddle shifter ($100) and a formula paddle shifter ($150) both of which are two levers that go behind the wheel like what is used on some actual racing cars. With the sport paddle shifters one can change gears with out taking one's hands off the wheel at all. If I was any more into racing games I would probably get them. I think those are like the ones that come on the Force RS Wheel.

Thomas Superwheel also sells authentic suede Momo steering wheels ($ different styles) so one can really feel like a race car driver. They don't seem worth the money to me, but I'm sure they are for some people.

I highly recommend the Thomas Superwheel TSW2 though. The buttons that come on the TSW2 Modified are very useful in games too.

 

[Blain]

ACT Labs RS &amp; Logitech, Wingman 3D stick

 

[Hyp]

Yes Midnight Rambler is correct. GPL has had this eng. for 2 yrs. Yes, N3 was suppose to have it in it,but it was not rdy and Papy wanted to make some more $ to pay for r&amp;d or take a extra vacation or sumt'in.(they say now to let technology\comp's catch up...whatever.) I raced GPL..It is a good game. However..GPL never did develop the following(nor will it\IMHO) that Papy's NASCAR platform has. Evidenced by the few ppl who raced GPL on the former TEN,and now WON.
TSW's seem to be a little steep for your budget right now..(mine too for a wheel) but I'd pick the MS FF wheel. It's plastic wheel is kinda crappy but its a gd dependable ,positive feed wheel.

8-]