rec.autos.simulators

I'm looking for recommendations for a driving wheel for use in Windows XP. I
currently have a Thrustmaster NASCAR Pro Digital and it sucks!! The drivers
are***poor and it maybe works correctly in one or two games but that's
about all. I had great luck with it under Win2000 almost 2 years ago when I
got it but since WinXP (about a year and a half ago) It has hardly been
used.

A friend has an older Logitech non-FF wheel that has always worked fine bit
its a bit flimsy locking to the desk, its constantly falling off and my desk
has a slopped edge that would make it very difficult to use.

Force Feedback seems like kids stuff. Is it worth having or is it just a
gimmick that sounds cool. I'm not a kid, you know.

I currently play only NFSPU because its basically the only game this
Pro-Digital works with. The Midtown Madness's games are ok and of the 2 or 3
demos of some newer racing games coming out, the wheel simply does not work.
Peddles are reversed, accelerate on/off is reversed and there is no way to
change this in the game. It needs to be changed in the driver but since
Thrustmaster has NO real driver support for the wheel under XP, it can't be
done. Under Win2000 there is a nice driver control panel that lets you do
anything and everything but not so in WinXP.

So I'm planning on buying a new wheel, what do you guys recommend?

Thanks.

I'm using an "original" leather wrapped Logitech MOMO and it's excellent
(pedals aren't great but fine for me).  I say original because they've since
replaced it with a cheaper model ($99US) that doesn't have the same
internal/external quality but is still quite nice.  It works perfectly under
WinXP.  Force feedback is not kids stuff, actually helps my driving when
implemented well (GPL and F1 2002 are the best yet, NASCAR 2002 is great as
well).  Can't go wrong with a MOMO.

--
Joe M.

New MOMO for sure is the best value/quality combo. if you don't want to
spend major $$$s.

Marc

I have the new Thrustmaster Ferrari F1 wheel which is really very good,
steel shafts and bearing races (allegedly) good driver support (particularly
for XP as it was developed with that in mind) and a good mapper tool so you
can adjust things for each game.

It has F1 style gear paddles and hand throttle/brake paddle, eight buttons
and a hat all on a  nice Ferrari replica wheel. The biggest thing I like
about it is the size of the wheel, its big 11 inches across.

Pedals are possibly a bit close together but have a large travel that makes
Logi ones look abismal.

As with other Thrustmaster wheels I've had the centre is in the wrong place
but DXTweak2 sorts that out. FF is pretty good although I've got problems
running GPL under XP (best FF in the world I think).

Only problem is I don't think you can't get these in the US as Ferrari
merchandise doesn't sell too well over there.

Also I had to buy mine from PC World (120 GBP) and not on-line where things
would be cheaper.

Andi

I use the Microsoft USB FF wheel on XP with any issues.
Force feedback helps in a racing sim like NR2002.

Norman

Force Feedback is not kids stuff, but the games you mention, will by some
(not me! not me!) be categorized as such.
FF is not implemented in a realistic way in those two games, just as the
physics in general are not very realistic. But I think you will find FF
helpful in NFS PU as you get some road feel. NFS PU has a bug in multiplayer
that make you feel FF from someone else's car. So you can be driving in a
straight line and suddenly feel the impact when someone else hits the rail.
If NFS PU is important, you might not want to get an MS FF wheel. In XP or
W2k the forces in NFS PU will be very week with this wheel compared to if it
runs under Win98.
If you want to find out what FF can be like, download LFS and run a few
laps.
I have both the MS FF and the leather momo, so I'd recommend the leather
momo if you can afford it. If not the new cheaper momo sounds like a good
choice. Comp USA has it for $69 if you are on that side of the pond.

Jone.