A sim racing wheel is a control device for use in racing games, racing simulators, and driving simulators. They are usually packaged with a large paddle styled as a steering wheel, along with a set of pedals for the accelerator, brake, and clutch, as well as transmission controls. An analog wheel and pedal set such as this allows the user to accurately manipulate steering angle and pedal control that is required to properly manage a simulated car, as opposed to digital control such as a keyboard. The relatively large range of motion further allows the user to more accurately apply the controls. Racing wheels have been developed for use with arcade games, game consoles, personal computers, and also for professional driving simulators for race drivers.
One of the earliest racing wheels for the PC mass market was the Thrustmaster Formula T1, released in 1994.[1][2] It had no force feedback, only some form of spring-based centering resistance proportional to the steering angle.[3] Two of the earliest FFB wheels for the consumer PC market were the Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback Wheel,[4] released in 1997, and the Logitech Wingman Formula Force.
Force feedback
Force feedback sim wheels have motors to simulate steering kickback. Racing wheels started off as simple plastic wheels hooked up to a rotary potentiometer, which were sprung by springs or bungees. These spring-based wheels had a reactive torque that increased proportionally only to the steering angle, without regard for the simulated vehicle dynamics.[5]
Eventually manufacturers began to use electric motors in the controllers, in place of springs, in order to achieve a level of force feedback (sometimes abbreviated FFB), first seen in Microsoft's Sidewinder wheel. At first this technology simply provided the centering force and other artificial effects such as shaking the wheel in a crash or other vibrations. However, as driving simulations have evolved, their physics engines have become more elaborate,[citation needed] allowing also for linking the force feedback close to the simulated vehicle dynamics of the in-game physics.[5] This allows the user to truly feel what forces go through the steering rack, instead of just artificial effects, and genuinely enhance the realism of the game.[citation needed] A fundamental factor for an adequate subjective steering-feel and perception of drivability from a force feedback wheel, is the transfer function from steering torque to steering angle.[6][7]
In 2015, a preliminary comparison of gear-driven and direct-drive wheels in the 0–30 Hz frequency range, for a study on hard real-time multibody simulation and high-fidelity steering wheel force feedback, concluded that direct-drive wheels are preferable.[8]
Buttons
Sim racing wheels, like real-world racing steering wheels, can have many buttons. Some examples are cruise control or pit-lane limiter for the pit lane, button for flashing lights, windscreen wipers, radio communication with the team, adjustments to the racing setup (such as brake balance, brake migration, differential braking (entry, mid+, exit, hi-speed; to make use of torque effectively at different points in a corner[9]), traction control (amplitude and sensitivity), anti-roll bar adjustment (front and rear), engine program (strat mode/ engine mode to get extra power or conserve fuel and engine life), engine braking (the engine's throttle or absence of throttle when there is no input from the gas pedal, i.e. whether the engine contributes to the car slowing down or is keeping its speed), etc.), seeing sideways or in the mirror, or to browse various menus (for example using a 7-way «funky switch»).
Comparison of racing wheels
Subsections by motor type: no FFB, gear- or belt-driven, and direct-drive wheels.
No FFB
Gear- and/or belt-driven
Earlier products
Gear-driven
Hybrid gear and belt-driven
Belt-driven
Direct-drive bases or wheel + base combos
Other types / uncategorized
Pedals
Other features by which pedals can be compared are whether they can be inverted (hanging pedals), build material (plastic, aluminum), adjustability (position, pressure, travel), measured pressure, travel length, sensor resolution.[55]
Potentiometer-based and magnetic brake
Loadcell brake
Shifters
Notes
^Utilizes fluid dampening.
^Future FFB addon possible.
^Includes two separate analog paddle axis.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m nComponents may be packaged together in some cases and sold as a bundle.
^Includes hub mechanism only; wheel and adapters not included.
^Andrew See (1994) THRUSTMASTER FORMULA T1 DRIVING SIMULATOR CONTROLS by Thrustmaster, Game Bytes Magazine
^DARIN GANGI Throwback Thursday: Thrustmaster T1, AUGUST 22, 2014
^Thrustmaster Formula T1/T2 Profile
^Julien Jay SideWinder Force Feedback Wheel review
^ a bDell’Amico, M., Marzani, S., Minin, L., Montanari, R., Tesauri, F., Mariani, & Tango, F. (2007) Design of an adaptive feedback based steering wheel, p.181, in Marvin J. Dainoff (Ed., 2007) International Conference on Ergonomics and Health Aspects of Work with Computers (pp. 180–188). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
^Chen, W., Chugh, T., Klomp, M., Ran, S., & Lidberg, M. (2017) Design and control of the steering torque feedback in a vehicle driving simulator, in Maksym Spiryagin, Timothy Gordon, Colin Cole, Tim McSweeney (Eds., 2021) The Dynamics of Vehicles on Roads and Tracks, ch.7 (pp. 213–219). CRC Press, p.215
^Harrer, M., Pfeffer, P., & Braess, H. H. (2017). Steering-feel, interaction between driver and car. In Steering Handbook (pp. 149–168). Springer, Cham.
^Pastorino, R., Desloovere, M., Vanneste, F., Degezelle, P., Desmet, W., & Optidrive, N. V. (2015) Development, implementation and validation of a hard real-time multibody simulation for high-fidelity steering wheel force feedback, in Proceedings of the ECCOMAS Thematic Conference on Multibody Dynamics, Barcelona, Spain (Vol. 10).
^What all the controls do on a modern day F1 steering wheel
^The Red Chip Review, Issues 2–6, Crown Point Publishing, 1997, p.40
^ECCI TrackStar 6000, Jan 21, 2009
^ a bFanatec Speedster 3 (Xbox) Review, Gabriel Vega, neoseeker.com, Sunday, June 12th, 2005
^Fabio "Bill" Cristi Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback Wheel – Review
^"InterAct Racing Wheel V4 Force Feedback – wheel and pedals set – wired Overview – CNET". www.cnet.com. Archived from the original on 30 August 2016.
^Saitek R4 Force – wheel and pedals set – wireless Specs, at cnet.com
^Saitek R4 Review, August 1st, 1999
^William Gall Saitek R4 ForceFeedback Wheel Review @ RDGR, 3D Gaming World Hardware Review, March 21, 1999
^ a b c dGonzo Wingman Formula Force Wheel, arstechnica
^Yingzong [1], Hardware One, 12/01/00
^Logitech Wingman Formula Force Installation Guide, Copyright 1998
^ a bAndrew Evans Logitech G Teases New Racing Wheel, Reveal Due August 5, gtplanet.net, August 4, 2020
^ a bLogitech Momo Racing Force-Feedback Wheel, Joel Santo Domingo, pcmag.com, Mar 17, 2005
^BEN KUCHERA Logitech G25 Racing Wheel review, arstechnica, 10/25/2006
^ a b"Logitech G27 a Step Up From the G25?". Tekcore Magazine. 7 November 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
^ a b cPorsche Carrera Wheel Review & Clubsport Pedal Preview, Inside Sim Racing, Feb 14, 2009
^ a bAndrew Williams Thrustmaster T300 GTE Review, November 3, 2014
^ a bCatz Pro Racing Force Feedback Wheel Review, Inside Sim Racing, Aug 10, 2014
^ a b cLogitech G923 Review: Mainstream Mainstay, August 22, 2020 (updated Aug 24, 2020), Andrew Evans, gtplanet.net
^ a bSim / By FLOW RACERS Thrustmaster T300RS GT Review
^Smoljic, Hrvoje THRUSTMASTER T150 PRO RACING WHEEL REVIEW: ENTRY LEVEL EXCELLENCE, keengamer.com, 2020-04-18
^t150-pro-forcefeedback at thrustmaster.com (retrieved October 2021)
^"Thrustmaster T248 Wheel Kit Review, Sim Racing Garage". YouTube. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
^ a b"Thrustmaster T3PM". Retrieved 23 January 2023.
^"T128: The Force Feedback racing wheel to get started in racing simulation". Thrustmaster website. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
^"Thrustmaster T128 Wheel Kit Review, Sim Racing Garage". YouTube. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
^Fanatec Porsche 911 Turbo S Wheel – Review
^ a b c d"Fanatec Forza Motorsport CSR wheel and Elite pedals review". Engadget. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
^ a b c dFanatec Porsche 911 Carrera Wheel – Review, virtualr.net
^ a b cWilliams, Andrew (1 January 1970). "Fanatec CSL Elite racing wheel review". PC Gamer. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
^ a bFanatec ClubSport V2.5 review, at techradar.com
^CSL Elite Wheel Base V1.1 at fanatec.com
^Thrustmaster T300RS GT Review, Sim Racing Garage, Feb 17, 2018
^T300 RS: THE FIRST OFFICIAL FORCE FEEDBACK WHEEL FOR PLAYSTATION®4, Thrustmaster official Press release, Los Angeles, June 10, 2014
^T300 RS, the first force feedback racing wheel for the Playstation®4 System !, Thrustmaster official Press release, New York, 09.15.2014
^ a bAndrew Williams Thrustmaster T300 RS Review, trustedreviews.com, October 27, 2016
^Thrustmaster Racing Wheels Benchmarking, thrustmaster.com
^ a bThrustmaster T300 RS review, from isrtv.com, beracer.com
^Greer, Jordan Thrustmaster T300RS Review, gtplanet.net, February 9, 2015 (updated Jun 26, 2017)
^Matej Inside Sim Racing Reviews Thrustmaster TS-PC Racer, January 9, 2017 (updated Jan 24, 2018)
^Sim Racing Garage Thrustmaster TS-PC Ferrari 488 Challenge Edition Review, Oct 14, 2018
^ a bJosh Walrath THRUSTMASTER TS-PC WHEEL REVIEW: A GENUINE LEAP, pcper.com, Feb 27, 2018
^GamerMuscleVideos THRUSTMASTER TS PC RACER WHEEL REVIEW, Dec 13, 2016
^Frex Sim Wheel v1
^Frex Sim Wheel Review by SRT at InsideSimRacing, Aug 25, 2008
^ a b cThe 5 Best Sim Racing Load Cell Pedals, flowracers.com, 2020
^ a b c dFanatec CSR Elite Pedal Review, Nov 22, 2011, Inside Sim Racing
^Fanatec CSR pedal review, Inside Sim Racing, Nov 22, 2011
^Thrustmaster T3PA Pedal Set Review by Inside Sim Racing
^Thrustmaster Thrustmaster T3PA-PRO Pedal Set Review
^"Thrustmaster launches affordable T248 hybrid drive wheel and pedal set".
^ a b c dFanatec CSR Elite Pedals – Review, at virtualr.net, January 2, 2012