Guys,
Is the Thrustmaster NASCAR Super Sport a good wheel?? I have a
Thrustmaster Formula T2 but I am SICK AND TIRED of having that wheel
break or wear out!!! Wal-Mart has the Super Sport for $69.99 and I tried
it out on the display they had set up. It felt pretty sturdy and
comfortable. You users who are experianced with the TM Super Sport
please give me some advice.
Thanks,
Aaron Markham
Unless you build your own, this wheel can not be beat for the price
(even some wheels costing 2x as much can't touch it). Of course that is
my own somewhat-humble opinion. <G>
--
**************************** Michael E. Carver *************************
Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./. [- < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
I've been using this wheel for about a month now. The only complaint
I have (minor) is that the pedal base is not heavy enough and tends to
slide forward (especially on short tracks where the intensity level is
higher and I'm working the brakes and gas harder). The ***
mountings simply aren't enough to hold the pedal base solidly. I
managed to use a prop against which I set the front of the base and
the problem was solved. I've noticed other posts about the single
axel mount which makes the wheel feel a little loose and I would have
to say that I agree with them that it is a minor annoyance. But the
feel of the wheel is terrific, the performance so far has been
flawless, and (once again) FOR THE MONEY, I think that it's a great
deal. If you can afford it then spend more money and get a better
wheel. If you really, really love to race then spend more money and
get a better wheel. Me, I'm having a blast with this one (and hoping
that all those horror stories about breaking springs in NASCAR PRO
don't apply to SUPER SPORT).
Well, I'd have to say get it somewhere you can return it if you don't like it.
I'd been looking for a new wheel, saw the SS at my local WalMart and had seen
some happy posts on it, so I brought it home to try. I returned it, having
several complaints, some minor, some less so. For reference, I've been using a
GP1 with CH pedals and had a Nascar Pro for a few days before I returned it
also. Picky! Forgive the long post, but here goes:
Ergonomics:
Pedals - While better spaced than the Pro, they were still uncomfortable to me.
They're still very upright, though the photos on TM's website, and even on the
box they come in show them at a much lower angle. Mistake, or misleading? You
tell me. The angle causes your foot to slide against the pedal as you move it,
as your foot and the pedal are moving in different arcs. And because of it,
they still tend to tip up at the rear, on carpet anyway. On a hard floor I
they'd be fine.
Wheel - Similar in diameter to the Pro, with a thicker, nice feeling rim. The
paddle shifters are too short though, causing me to have to reach around the
wheel to hit them comfortably with my medium-sized hands. Probably ok for
long-fingered types, or those who go full Nascar and drive with the wheel in
their face, elbows out. In addition, they're hard to hit unless you hold right
at 3-9. I prefer 2-10, and they were hard to reach from there. For my taste,
the wheel sat too low and vertical, moreso than I could get comfy with; I kept
wanting to saw off my chair legs to get DOWN there.. That's a preference item,
of course.
Performance:
I had some troubles here. Primarily, the wheel I tried had a migrating center.
After it was calibrated, the center moved around whenever you changed
directions. Every straightaway found the wheel***ed at a new angle. My GP1
does this too, though to a much lesser degree, and was a big reason I wanted to
replace it. More and worse? No thanks. Though this may be a QC problem, it
surely isn't a new one with TM. Bad, bad TM! On the plus side, the new steel
shaft and bushings, with internal wiring, is much better than previous efforts.
It's more solid and very smooth, with a lighter feel than previous TM wheels,
and I'd guess about 220 degrees rotation.
Setup was super-easy, but I don't think the new software tells you as much as
the older methods about how the wheel's working. I used several joystick setup
programs to look at it, even ditching the TM software and calibrating as a
4-axis, 4-button custom wheel. It wouldn't work as a 3-axis.
All showed the problem with the centering except the new TM stuff. Hmmm. It
set up and calibrated ok in GPL, GP2, and ICR2, but for a few glitches. GP2
only uses buttons 1 & 2 for the shifters, but the SS paddles are 3 & 4, with
the left being 3, all the buttons/paddles being numbered in left-right order.
No setup trouble with ICR2, but every time I started GPL, I got a calibration
screen, and none of the previous control assignments were remembered. I only
tried direct input, but it worked ok once I set it; it just never remembered
the settings, until I ditched the TM drivers and calibrated it directly under
WIN95, losing two buttons.
Sorry to run on, but this is fresh and I thought specifics might be useful. If
you get one without the centering problems and have hard floors, it could be
alright. It IS cheap. Just be sure you can return it.
Cheers,
Steve B.
Steve Blankenship
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