rec.autos.simulators

All comments are welcome (if you hink your thrustmaster doesn't stink as
much as i think tell me too)

l8ter

Andre Hanegraaf

I used to use (and still have) a Thrustmaster Formula T1 that I bought new
in July 1994. With just the replacement of the pots a couple of years ago
(free from Thrustmaster at the time) and new springs it is still going
strong for a friend of mine. I did have to attach a piece of plywood to the
bottom of the wheel so I could clamp it to my desktop properly though. Those
suctions cups just weren't a good idea :)

However, in March of 1996 I purchased a Thomas Super Wheel. This is a GREAT
wheel and the pedals are the best out there in my opinion. I've never had
any problems with this wheel except for the usual worn pots which need
replacing every 6 to 9 months (20 bucks and 30 minutes work). Earlier this
year I even added the clutch pedal and an extra set of buttons, along with
the ability to switch quickly between single axis and dual axis pedals. I
noticed that the price has gone up quite a bit since I bought mine (paid
$295 US back then and $105 US this year for the clutch pedal upgrade) but I
still think that this wheel gives the best "value" of any of them.

As for performance, in sims that require you to hold a very steady line
(such as Nascar) when running in traffic, the TSW vastly outperforms the T1.
Turning, accelerating and braking are consistent and predictable. The T1
just "wanders". I don't know exactly why, maybe it's the use of 250K pots
instead of 100K pots, but it's just not as precise as the TSW.

Of course, if you want force feedback, I'd heartily recommend the ActLabs
Force RS. I just received mine back in late August and find it a real treat.
I'm still faster in almost every sim with the TSW, but the difference is
getting less all the time. And FF does add that little extra "something" if
done correctly.

Wayne Hutchison

I was commissioned by a six***-year-old neighbor to duplicate the TSW, and
I was able to meet and exceed the standards of their unit for a grand total
of just under $130.00--and I used a wheel superior to the $25.00 Grant brand
wheel TSW uses.  I bought a 12" Black Rhino which took up $50.00 of the
budget.

If you are going to commit to sim-driving go for the gusto and lay out the
bucks and buy a ECCI CDS unit, you'll never regret it.  Replacing pots every
six to nine months at $20.00 a pop is ludicrous.  I don't care what anyone
will tell you but I have put my units through thousands of hours without a
problem.

Joe Mendel

www.mdc.net/~mets41

I bought my F1SIM steering wheel & pedal combo back in 1996 (or was
that 1997? - I forget) and it's been brilliant. I've not had any
problems with it. I did have to re-wire the axis so that all the axis
were in consecutive order and that there were no gaps (DirectX
Joystick or something required that for successful calibration that
there were no gaps in the axis).

--
Kulvinder Singh Matharu

Website: http://www.matharu.demon.co.uk
(note  : e-mail header address deliberately mangled)

Try http://www.gunpowder.freeserve.co.uk/wheels for details.

Don McCorkle
Libertarian Motorsports

Scott

Joe Mendel

www.mdc.net/~mets41

</RUNAWAY CONSUMERISM>

You've started a war :-)

You will probably get as many replies to this as you could posiibly
want, but here's my take on it

First you need to make a decission, do I want FF or not......

Personally I don't care too much for FF at the moment (but Greg Cisko
does :-), so personally I would have bought a custom made wheel, but
that decission again depends on just how much money you are prepared to
put into this hobby of yours

Ok, so here goes

1. Money is no object, I want the best there is

ECCI probably makes the best custom made wheels there is (I say probably
as I have never actually tried one you see :-), it costs a small
fortune, 1000 $ an upwards I think, but you get a good wheel with good
service (I "know" a few that uses this wheel, and they are very happy
with it), to me the pedals look a bit "odd", but I hear the precission
and feel is very good

2. Money is bit tight, but I can spend a bit

TSW, RRC, SRC and F1SIM (probably missed a few) all make very good and
affordable wheels to your specification and at least TSW and RRC are
usually present in this group, these wheels will probably last you a
lifetime, and for about 250 $ and up, not too bad a deal, although some
people don't like the "homemade" look of some of them, but the quality
of the mechanical parts is very good on all them I believe

Then you have the FF wheels, and if you want FF, the choice is a bit
easier, there are no real custom made wheels here, you have the Logitech
and the ACT Labs wheels currently being regarded as the "best" I think,
with the MS and Saitek wheels as the runner ups, further "down" you have
the Thustmaster units I guess, and probably a few I have missed, but
common for them all is that you basically buy what they offer you, and
that's it, if you like what they have to offer and you want your wheel
(with FF) right away, you can't go wrong with a Logitech or an Act Labs
I think

Then you have all the "cheapo" wheels from Thrustmaster and all the
others, some of them are fairly good too, I've heard a lot of good about
the Act Labs RS wheel too, and some of them are digital and USB as well,
and should be more precise than most older wheels anyway, but they are
still "plastic" units, and will probably not last you as long as a
custom made wheel

Personally I have a homemade wheel (you could say it's a TSW replica)
that I have combined with a set of RRC pedals, they will both outlast me
I think :-), but some time up the road I know I will probably get a FF
wheel as well, just not yet, and once you have owned a custom made
wheel, you will never look back, for me it has been well worth the money
I've spendt on it

But people are different, I know a few that has been very happy with
their T-1/2 or Nascar PRO from TM and has had very little problems with
them, not to mention fast, and who thinks that 100$ for a store bought
wheel is more than enough

Hope this helps

Beers and cheers
(uncle) Goy

http://www.bernax.nl/

and ask if it is possible to try one out. They don't mind, because
they know you'll buy it after you do....:-D  One thing you've to
consider if you buy a TSW or ECCI, that's the shipping you've
to pay....making it more expensive then an Hyperstim.

No, I won't get any money for spamming this...but I wouldn't mind.

Remco

Beers and cheers
(uncle) Goy

--

Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes.

cisko [AT] ix [DOT] netcom [DOT] com

--

Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes.

cisko [AT] ix [DOT] netcom [DOT] com

You know, I read this whole dumb assed thread to see if someone
would figure out how to put my name into it somehow. Huh...

<yada yada yada>

All he has to do is read some of this NG a little to figure some stuff
out. However :-)

Sure he could buy a kickass $220-$1000 wheel that will survive
a nuclear bomb blast. But as someone else has mentioned in
another message, the technology changes so fast that you really
probably will be up for an upgrade every 2 years or so. So yeah
if you don't care about Force Feedback (which owners of the
expensive wheels tend to not like. *DUH* I WONDER WHY?)
then by all means get an ECCI or TSW. I've actually had a
few email discussions with Trev (from TSW) and he seems like
a genuine nice guy.

But if you want to be blown away by FF in GPL or even N3 then
check one of the cheaper (haha) $130-$170 Force Feedback
wheels by ACTLabs or Logitech. Both of which have USB now
(I think the ACTLabs has by now and the Logitech always has).
Plus the Logitech will work with DOS racing games *EXCEPT*
for Nascar2/N1999 (works fine in IndyCar Racing2).

</yada yada yada>
--

Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes.

cisko [AT] ix [DOT] netcom [DOT] com