Most interesting is that it has a USB connector! I haven't
heard of any other force feedback wheels having USB support.
(It also has a nine-pin serial connector.)
It's also surprisingly small. The box is a little smaller
than the box my T2 came in. I think it's just well packed.
The size of the unit appears to be similar to that of the
NASCAR Pro. Indeed, it seems the whole project was done as
a modification of the NASCAR Pro.
The pedals are as found in the NASCAR Pro. Those had a nice
feel though the unit was a fair bit lighter than the one on
the T2, resulting in much more floor slippage. One presumes
the setup software will allow for remapping of the pedals to
both joined and separate axes.
The unit has a shifter, again right out of the NASCAR Pro.
That stick shift was very well made, with a nice throw to
it -- much better than the stiff one on the T2. The unit
also appears to have shifter paddles behind the wheel.
The existence of a stick shift is a plus for me; I think
it's probably much more intuitive to blip the throttle
in GPL while moving my hand down to the shifter.
Four round buttons are on the face of the wheel, more like
the NASCAR Sprint in this case except for the buttons being
round. I can't really tell what the material of the wheel
is like, but since all the Thrustmaster wheels to date have
felt nice, I'm sure it won't be a major issue. It seems at
least to be padded.
Best of all, with an MSRP of $179, and an actual selling
price in our store of $169.99, it well undercuts Microsoft's
unit. Unfortunately it doesn't come with software as good
as Microsoft's (CART Precision Racing and Monster Truck
Madness 2). It only includes the failure Johnny Herbert's F1.
The wholesale cost at which I could get one is $130, and that
makes it very tempting indeed, considering I spent $149 for
my T2 a few years back. My brother just got a computer and
he needs a steering wheel. I've been thinking if I get a
force feedback wheel, I'd give him my T2. Temptation is
increased by this fact, to be able to race against him...
--
http://www2.cruzio.com/~keeper/toons.html - Animaniacs, P&TB, F!, etc. files
http://www.armory.com/~keeper/midi.html - My own MIDI files - Updated 5 Dec.
> Most interesting is that it has a USB connector! I haven't
> heard of any other force feedback wheels having USB support.
> (It also has a nine-pin serial connector.)
Trips
... the Logitech WingMan Formula Force also has serial and USB. And it
has been around for a while... you should check on
http://www.force-1.com, there is a lot of info on this site, with some
people reporting their experiences with Thrustmaster's Force wheel.
..tom
> ... the Logitech WingMan Formula Force also has serial and USB. And it
> has been around for a while... you should check on
> http://www.force-1.com, there is a lot of info on this site, with some
> people reporting their experiences with Thrustmaster's Force wheel.
--
Pat Dotson
IMPACT Motorsports
http://www.impactmotorsports.com/pd.html
>> ... the Logitech WingMan Formula Force also has serial and USB. And it
>> has been around for a while... you should check on
>> http://www.force-1.com, there is a lot of info on this site, with some
>> people reporting their experiences with Thrustmaster's Force wheel.
>Does either the Logitech or TM FF wheel auto-center in GPL? I'm
>sure the TM won't in serial mode, but what about USB?