rec.autos.simulators

Later,
Rich

--
Pat Dotson
IMPACT Motorsports

First, this ACT Labs RS wheel is not in the category of a
"MadCatz" or "Per4mer".  Frankly, I'm surprised they can
sell it for $70!  I've been using a Thrustmaster GP1 (with
home-built pedals for nearly a year, so my comparisons are
mainly to it.  I would say the "feel" and quality of the
wheel and pedals at least equal to and probably superior
to the TM wheels I've tried.  The wheel and the pedal
units both have a metal base with a heavy-duty plastic case.
They are surprisingly heavy.

I'm totally impressed by the steering unit.  It's very
smooth and precise.  The resistance to turning is good and
progressive.  The wheel itself is a larger diameter than
the GP1.  It's much thicker as well due to the padding
and leather cover, and feels similar to the steering
wheel in my Pontiac Grand Am.  It feels very substantial
compared to other TM steering wheels, and nothing like
the other low-cost wheels.

The clamping system, while a bit difficult to use, works
really well.  The wheel doesn't move at all, which is great
compared to a GP1.

The pedals are well laid out and comfortable to use.  They
didn't tip at all.  My computer is inside a pine cabinet,
and the pedals are sitting at the bottom of the inside
of the cabinet.  Despite resting on this smooth, varnished
surface, they didn't slip at all.

The only problem I've had with pedals is that they are a bit
"sticky".  While the movement of the pedals is generally good,
when trying to make small adjustments there seems to be a
bit of a binding action.  I'm talking about adjustments
as small as 1/16".  Part of the problem is that the pedals
are designed for right-foot braking, but I use the left-
foot braking technique.  That results in an odd angle in
the force that I apply to the pedals - sort of a side load.
When I do right foot braking and apply force along the
axis of the pedal, the movement is a lot more smooth.

Driving with the wheel was pretty good.  I started out
with N2 at California with the fixed TEN setup.  My
best speed there is 183.9 (never did hit that 184 :) ),
and I was runing mid-183's within 10 laps.  At Bristol
with my open setup I run 125's.  With the ACT Labs
wheel, I hit 125 on my sixth lap.  All in all, very
good results.  The steering was much more precise than
I am used to, and I was able to be more consistent
in a short time.  I am also able to raise my wheel
locks from about 10 deg to 20 deg because of the added
precision.

Next I fired up GPL.  I can ordinarily click off lap
after lap at 1:08 sec.  With the ACT Labs RS, I hit
a low 1:09 after about 5 laps.  Unfortunately, the
precise throttle action required by GPL was difficult
to produce because of the stickiness of the pedals.
Let me make clear that the pedals do not completely
stick.  They generally move where you want them to,
but making a 1 mm adjustment in your throttle position
is difficult.  It's only the small adjustments that
are a problem.  I'm trying to figure out a way to
make the movement more smooth, either through
lubrication or some other means.

That's all I have time for right now.  I'll post
more later.  All in all, I'm very impressed by the
wheel so far.

--
Pat Dotson
IMPACT Motorsports

After spending the weekend using the ACT Labs RS wheel,
I have to say that it is impressive.  The wheel unit
provides top-notch control.  The pedals are comfortable
to use and don't slip.  The quality of the whole thing
is very good.

One of the biggest differences between the RS wheel
and the others on the market are all of the extra
button controls.  There are 7 buttons on the face
of the wheel, plus a hat-switch type of control in
the center.  A Windows 95 software interface is
provided that allows you to program different
keystrokes to each button.  The interface looks
easy to use, but I haven't used it much yet.

The wheel also has an F1-style paddle shifter that
actuates 2 more buttons.  The shifter works well,
but could be a little longer.

There is another control on the dashboard of the
wheel - a mode switch.  The switch selects either
DOS or Win95 mode.  DirectX 5 provides the ability
to have more than 4 buttons.  If you've seen the
controls menu in CART Precision Racing, you should
have noticed the support for 8 button inputs.  With
the RS wheel, you can use all those options.
Unfortunately for us Nascar 2 drivers, all of the
extra buttons only work in Win95 mode.  In DOS mode,
the wheel is a standard 4-button device.  This even
applies to games that run under Win95 in a DOS
shell.

I'm not to big on CARTPR.  There are many things
that I don't like about this program.  Truthfully,
though, using the RS wheel makes it easier to
overlook some of the problems.  I'll probably
do more hot-lapping in CART-PR from now on.

In addition to all these other features, the
RS offers something that no other wheel does.  By
buying an additional cartridge, you can use this
wheel on console *** systems.  I don't own
a console system myself, but that feature alone
immediately sold one of these wheels to some of
my relatives of who tried it.

Bottom line: The ACT Labs RS wheel is competitive
with other wheels that cost twice as much, and
offers features that they don't have.  By getting
another cartridge, you can use it on console games
as well.  If this wheel cost $140, it would be
worth it - at $70, it's a steal!  I can't wait
to try the Force RS :)

--
Pat Dotson
IMPACT Motorsports
http://www.racesimcentral.net/

Later,
Rich