rec.autos.simulators

Welp, I read all the news postings available on my server (375) and
while i found a lot of random information on racing wheels, i never came
across a good list (not to mention everyone is using abbreviations and i
dont always know what they mean.  Anyways, I dont live in a town with
lots of great computer resource stores, so i cant go running around town
checking all the equip out.  I just got Cart Racing (ICR2) and while the
gravis joystick is a hell of a lot better than a keyboard or my old
Kraft.  So i'd like to get a wheel.  Problem is im afraid of
reliability...i cant afford to buy one now and another later, and on top
of that i cant afford to buy a really expensive one.  For example the
Thomas Enterprises ones were mentioned in an older post at <$200 but i
looked up the web site and found everything extremely expensive.  Am i
missing something?  I also saw a link for some page that was supposed to
contain reviews of them all but the page i bad.  Does such a thing
exist?  Does anyone know the price range the new Force Feedbacks will be
in?  And to top it all off, got a list of used abbreviations in this
group? :)

Thanks for any and all help.

Thomas Enterprises does intend to release a main-stream sub-$200 wheel
and pedals setup, but the release of this product will probably only be
later in the 1st quarter. Estimated pricing is around  $175. All this
info is on their web-page under the new products section.

I found myself unable to afford the US$200 shipping charges over here in
Singapore, so I'm rather content with my Thrustmaster GP1 and CH pedals,
both of which should be going at rather big discounts in the US. CH make
the best pedal units for desktop racing and the GP1 is a rather well
made wheel. The pots do tend to wear, but Thrustmaster's service
response is excellent. I upgraded my steering pot to a sealed high
quality unit (cost $12 as opposed to $1 for the regular pot) and I'm
getting smoother control resolution and no more problems anymore, but on
it's own, it's a great unit.

The Thrustmaster NASCAR wheel has a great wheel unit, but the pedals,
though authentic, aren't sufficiently sturdy and not particularly
comfortable. Would be the cheaper combo though.

Force Feedback technology is being withheld pending a court ruling with
Amiga or something like that...

Hope this helps,

Stanley Chan