Thomas Enterprises (TSW)

discussed in 213 posts, 1996-2008 · overall tone very positive

Posts per month

How the mood changed

Starts at zero. Every post that spoke well of them moves the line up, every critical post moves it down (weighted −2 to +2).

Press releases

Key threads

• Thomas Super Wheel quality and service dispute 1999-07-28 · 55 posts
  A buyer asked whether the Thomas Super Wheel was worth it; most owners praised its robustness, while some recommended ECCI or SRC wheels. Bob Curtin described a months-long repair ordeal, which led to a heated public exchange with Thomas Enterprises' Dave Thomas Jr and Trev, who said their records showed otherwise, and with Randy Magruder. Many other owners reported good service, and ECCI said it had considered force feedback.
• TSW2 wheel jitter on SB Live gameport and fixes 2002-01-05 · 63 posts
  An owner of a TSW2 modified wheel reported severe jitter that Thomas Super Wheels said was on his end, even after replacement pots. Others said the SB Live gameport was a known problem and recommended a PDPI card or the Sim-Addicts USB converter, while many owners praised the wheel and TSW support. A side discussion covered getting split-axis pedals working in F1 2001 by holding the brake during startup or using DXTweak.
• High-grade potentiometers and TSW versus ECCI wheels 1999-04-13 · 34 posts
  A TSW owner praised the Spectrol potentiometers sold by Thomas Enterprises and asked for anything better. An ECCI representative described the company's own pots and pedal design, prompting debate over whether the post was an advert and comparisons of the TSW and ECCI wheels, including ECCI's large pedals. Others pointed out that similar pots are available cheaply from electronics suppliers, and some balked at $1,500 wheel prices.
• Fixing reversed TSW brake axis for RBR 2004-09-25 · 26 posts
  BRH could not get RBR to read his TSW brake pedal correctly. Tony Rickard explained Windows sees split brake axes as reversed, and Bob Gee relayed that TSW's Dave Thomas recommended swapping the red and blue wires on the brake pot, which others confirmed worked at the cost of combined mode. Debate followed over whether premium pedals or the game were at fault.
• Act Labs parts delay ruins a Christmas 2000-12-23 · 24 posts
  A user complained that Act Labs had not shipped parts for his broken wheel in time for Christmas. Many replies mocked him as spoiled, while a few said companies should keep delivery promises; he later apologised. Several posters praised Thomas Super Wheel's customer service.
• John Crooke's comments on force feedback disputed 2000-07-28 · 29 posts
  Pat Dotson dismissed Hyperstimulator maker John Crooke's criticism of force feedback, arguing he had a commercial interest because his product lacked it. Nos replied with quotes showing Crooke said force feedback was simply not yet ready, and that Dave Kaemmer had also been sceptical. The exchange became personal.
• ECCI stops selling high-end wheels to individual customers 2000-05-31 · 84 posts
  News that ECCI would make wheels only for commercial customers drew a reply from ECCI's Andy Cers, who implied that praise for rival TSW came from reviewers given free products. Scott Husted angrily rejected the insinuation, while ECCI owners such as Mike Grandy defended the quality of its $1,500 wheels. Others said cheap force-feedback wheels had shrunk the market for premium wheels.
• Pairing a Momo wheel with better pedals 2002-06-03 · 21 posts
  Douglas Ellison asked whether Microsoft FF pedals could be wired to a Logitech Momo wheel. Posters discussed pot versus optical sensors and the cost of BRD or TSW pedals, and Steve Smith said TSW had converted his Momo to work with their pedals as one controller.
• Which sim racing steering wheel is best? 1999-08-07 · 26 posts
  A request for the best and most reliable wheel drew plugs for TSW, ECCI and SRC, including posts from Thomas Enterprises and ECCI's Andy Cers. Debate followed over expensive non-force-feedback wheels versus coming force feedback, with one poster calling her returned TSW2 'home made crap' while others praised its durability. Owners noted the pots can fail early but are replaceable.
• Getting the TSW2 wheel working in F1 2001 2001-10-13 · 21 posts
  Mark Borden could not configure his TSW2 wheel with split-axis pedals in F1 2001. Others reported the same problem with EA titles, workarounds included combined-axis mode, DX tweaks and mapping the brake to the clutch pedal, and a poster relayed that TSW's maker blamed Microsoft and EA programming. The thread defended TSW's build quality and support.
• TSW vs ECCI wheel owners compare notes 1997-08-10 · 24 posts
  A buyer asked TSW and ECCI owners for their experiences. A computer retailer reported 30–40% return rates on Thrustmaster T1/T2 wheels and preferred ECCI, while others praised the TSW's smoothness and its lifetime warranty. TSW's Trevor Thomas said earlier potentiometer failures had been fixed with custom parts and that a digital model was being developed.
• ThrustMaster wheel durability and support complaints 1998-02-13 · 23 posts
  Owners complained about broken springs, worn pots and slow ThrustMaster support, while others reported good service and free replacement parts. ThrustMaster's Alan Smith apologised, citing record wheel sales, and customer service manager Steven Carter explained their approach. Contact cleaner for pots and redesigned springs were mentioned.
• Greg Cisko's Burnout impressions 1998-03-28 · 26 posts
  Greg Cisko reviewed Burnout, listing missing keyboard commands in the manual and trouble doing burnouts with a ThrustMaster T2. Playtesters explained trans brake and line lock use, and he returned the game. Trevor Thomas was criticised for promoting NHRA Drag Racing without trying Burnout.
• Guillemot Ferrari force feedback wheel problems 2000-01-21 · 35 posts
  Marc Collins described weak force feedback and oscillation on his Guillemot Ferrari wheel in GPL. PDPI's Shumi criticised current wheels and talked up PDPI's forthcoming wheel, which drew a rebuke for knocking competitors. Mats Lofkvist found that setting the driver's spring gain to 0% greatly increased GPL's force feedback, an apparent driver bug that cured Collins's problems.
• Is force feedback in sims good enough yet? 2008-06-10 · 31 posts
  Joseph asked whether force feedback had improved after being disappointed by an older Logitech wheel. Most recommended the G25 with Race 07 or iRacing, and Tony Rickard posted a detailed iRacing beta review. Mario Petrinovic argued FFB latency makes it less realistic than a non-FFB wheel, while Pat Dotson and others countered that a spring-loaded wheel is unrealistic and modern FFB has negligible lag.

Busiest threads

• Thomas Super Wheel quality and service dispute (17 posts about it)
• TSW2 wheel jitter on SB Live gameport and fixes (10 posts about it)
• Wheel question (8 posts about it)
• TSW 6 month review! (6 posts about it)
• {TSW2}NASCAR Pro Wheel Vs. TSW (6 posts about it)
• High-grade potentiometers and TSW versus ECCI wheels (5 posts about it)
• Fixing reversed TSW brake axis for RBR (4 posts about it)
• TSW Stock and LFS. (4 posts about it)
• Follow up on Act-Labs Vs TSW Pedals (4 posts about it)
• Act Labs parts delay ruins a Christmas (4 posts about it)
• TSW - comments? (4 posts about it)
• Thanks to Thomas Enterprises (4 posts about it)
• Re: LWFF with TSW Wheels (4 posts about it)
• John Crooke's comments on force feedback disputed (4 posts about it)
• ECCI stops selling high-end wheels to individual customers (4 posts about it)

Sentiment by year

Who talked about them most

Trevor Thomas · 30 David L. Cook · 9 Steve Smith · 7 Don Burnette · 7 Uwe Schuerkamp · 5 Joel A. Willstein · 5 John Bodin · 5 AndrewS · 4 Bill Pog · 4 Pat Dotson · 3 The Black Cat =^..^= · 3 Bob Gee · 3 Four furry fiends · 3 (unknown) · 3 EldredP · 3 Ken · 3 Thomas Enterprises · 3 Thom j. · 3 Jim Barbieri · 2 Gary · 2

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