I've had the Ferrari wheel for about a month now. There is no problem with
resolution, its up there pretty good at about 115, the highest practical
possibilty for a (FF) wheel being 128 I think, and the lowest is probably
the MSFF at 96 (have to cure the optical jitters). But even at this, don't
make too much of the resolution issue with GPL because the game handles it
pretty good. I don't know of any other wheel that reaches the max. of 256
and don't even know that it can be done in reality. (I'd like email from
anyone who knows (tested) a wheel that exceeds 128 resolution).
There is a QC problem at Gmot. This shows up mostly in the trimmer. If you
have the problem, the wheel is generally***ed to one side (usually right)
when in windows controller setup and spring alway on. This can be fixed by
taking off the cover and adjusting the trimmer. Its in plain site. It aims
at the curves very well and tracks good down the straights. I added a
leather wrapped B&M shift knob and it looks and feels great, especially when
driving the Ferrari 312 in GPL. So, I think the biggest con to the Ferrari
wheel is the QC problem and being prepared to fix it or send it back, just
in case.
I've only tried a borrowed LWFF and MSFF for a couple days. I personally
didn't care for the feel of the MS, but there's them that like it. I do know
2 guys, one GTX team member, that get bounced out of some online games (MTM2
and one other) since installing the MS wheel. No explaination has been found
even after reinstalling windows. But its only 2 guys that I know of that
have this problem. The LWFF was nice, but I didn't care for the pedal
action. I found the base to be fine as I use a board against the wall to
hold the pedals in place anyway, and don't mind ramping the pedal base to an
angle that's comfortable for me. Maybe the throw of the pedals was too
short? Again, I only tried them for a couple days.
The Act Labs reviews all say the pedals were sticky at first. Some
lubricated them (pedal slots) and they worked fine, others just waited until
they broke in. All said the pedal base was great. One thing about Act Labs,
their tech support seems to be the best around, and they do have a 30 day
(money back) satisfaction guarantee. But you'll have to pay the shipping to
send them back ($20??) Still, its better than returning a LWFF or MSFF to
Best Buy and paying a $25 (15%) restocking fee.
I personally want a stick shifter with my wheel. Its important to me. (How
can you talk about realism in GPL and then shift with paddles?) The Ferrari
wheel has it and has excellent paddles as well. The Act Labs also has it
available, and it can be gated which will be supported by lots of new games
and is supported by a few now (its easy to write in support for this in a
game, I wish some programmer would add it to GPL in the form of a patch :)
If you can wait another month I should have a 'Shoot-out' done, Ferrari vs.
Force RS and RS Shifter. I'm waiting for Act Labs to get in more stock so
they can send one to me. I expect to receive it around Jan 28th and then
want to use it for a couple weeks before writing the review. The shoot-out
will be done from a driver's perspective - how each wheel feels in several
games, rather than technical, installing, box color, etc., unless some
glaring deficiency stands out.
You're right about this for sure. Buying a FF wheel ain't an easy choice.
Slot
>I want to buy a new wheel, my old T2 is gettin a bit jerky now...
>So I decided I want a FF-wheel, would really prefer a TSW, but the price
>and the high shippingcost makes it a definite no-deal on that..
>So i have four candidates with pros and cons, I would like some owner
>opinions on my thoughts.
>First, I race most kind of games, but I want the wheel to perform good
>with GPL, and I want to use the pedals shipped with the unit, I don't
>know if I'm the only one, but I don't get any feel with my CH-pedals..
>My candidates:
>Logitech
>========
>Pros: Great wheel, great forces in GPL
>Cons: the pedals...
>Sum: First choice if the pedals would've least been ok..
>Microsoft
>=========
>Pros: Decent pedals
>Cons: Ugly (plastic) wheel, cpu-hog, notchy wheel
>Sum: No thanks, I want a wheel that looks like a wheel and not like a
>starshipcontroller..
>Act Labs
>========
>Pros: Great looking wheel, good forces, possibility to add the shifter
>Cons: I've seen guys pickin on the pedals, they say they're useless for
>GPL
>Sum: Was this close to order it before I saw some negative reports on
>the pedals
>Guillemot "Ferrari"
>===================
>Pros: Great looking wheel with that marvelous stallion, shift-stick,
>pedals
>Cons: Quality problems, bad resolution on the wheel
>Sum: My choice until it was released and guys complained about quality
>both mostly the resolution problem with the steering cooled my hopes.
>Sadly, when I read my expressions, I find no wheel worthy to buy, please
>tell me I'm wrong about at least one wheel :)
>/Regards Stefan
>--
>==========================================================
>Software Developer Phone(Work): +46-(0)243-886 01
>Columna AB Phone(Cell): +46-(0)70- 665 75 67
>"In a world without Walls and Fences,
>who needs Windows or Gates?"
>==========================================================
