Need a good controller for NASCAR

Hey guys make some suggestions for good controllers for NASCAR. Please list Make, Model and maybe price. Thanks, Richard N.

:Hey guys make some suggestions for good controllers for NASCAR. :Please list Make, Model, and maybe price. There are basically three driving wheels available today. One is the Auto***pit from Simulation Systems; it is a freestanding unit with a wheel and pedals; it has gearshift buttons ont he back of the wheel like a McLaren F1. It's around $155 at Chips & Bits. Note: left-foot braking only. Another one is the Thrustmaster T1, which is a two-piece item; the wheel and a shift lever go on your desk, a pedal unit is on the floor. It's around $115 from Chips & Bits. I have both of these. I prefer the T1 because mine has a better feel in the wheel, and because it has right-foot braking as an option. It's a bunch cheaper too. The drawbacks are that doesn't have a shift lever I can use in IndyCar or F1, and the pedal springs break constantly. I've been replacing about one every other month now. Thrustmaster is VERY goood about supporting this problem, but it's a pain to fix them all the time. (Yes, I have limited the travel; in fact it's now QUITE limited.) The third wheel available is the Thomas wheel, which is reported to be the best of the lot. It's also the most expensive - $180+. I haven't used one of these yet, but my IICC teammate does and he thinks it's great. Also no reliability problems. I have found that while it's possible to drive both IndyCar and F1 with a stick, you can't do it very effectively with NASCAR unless you're REAL DAMN GOOD at it. I'm pretty good at IndyCar, and I can drive that with a good stick, but I can barely keep a NASCAR off the walls with either wheel, let alone my 'stick. --- Brian Wong Product Marketing Engineering

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>>I have both of these. I prefer the T1 because mine has a better feel >>in the wheel, and because it has right-foot braking as an option. It's >>a bunch cheaper too. The drawbacks are that doesn't have a shift lever >>I can use in IndyCar or F1, and the pedal springs break constantly. >>I've been replacing about one every other month now. Thrustmaster is >>VERY goood about supporting this problem, but it's a pain to fix them >>all the time. (Yes, I have limited the travel; in fact it's now QUITE >>limited.) >So, I'm not the only one...No wonder the thrustmaster guys were so >accomodating on the phone. I too, have broken a pedal spring and was dreading >having to send it in to get it fixed, and waiting 4-6 weeks to get it back. >Finally, I opened it up and found the broken spring. Called Thrustmaster and >they said they'd send me 4 (not one, but FOUR!) new ones (they MUST be >foreseeing more breaks) at no charge. >I asked the guy if this was a widespread problem, but he wouldn't cop to it. >But I find now that it apparently is...

You bet it's widespread. It's a design defect. I don't know *ANYONE* who has a T1 and who uses it much who doesn't break pedal springs. And I probably either know or have swapped emails with fifty T1 owners... mostly over broken pedal springs. They certainly do, and I still use THEIR product, because aside from the obvious problem, it's still the best one I've bumped got. -- Brian Wong Product Marketing Engineering

says... So, I'm not the only one...No wonder the thrustmaster guys were so accomodating on the phone. I too, have broken a pedal spring and was dreading having to send it in to get it fixed, and waiting 4-6 weeks to get it back. Finally, I opened it up and found the broken spring. Called Thrustmaster and they said they'd send me 4 (not one, but FOUR!) new ones (they MUST be foreseeing more breaks) at no charge. I asked the guy if this was a widespread problem, but he wouldn't cop to it. But I find now that it apparently is... Regardless, they will go out of their way to make fixing it convenient for you. E

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>says... >>I have both of these. I prefer the T1 because mine has a better feel >>in the wheel, and because it has right-foot braking as an option. It's >>a bunch cheaper too. The drawbacks are that doesn't have a shift lever >>I can use in IndyCar or F1, and the pedal springs break constantly. >>I've been replacing about one every other month now. Thrustmaster is >>VERY goood about supporting this problem, but it's a pain to fix them >>all the time. (Yes, I have limited the travel; in fact it's now QUITE >>limited.) >So, I'm not the only one...No wonder the thrustmaster guys were so >accomodating on the phone. I too, have broken a pedal spring and was dreading >having to send it in to get it fixed, and waiting 4-6 weeks to get it back. >Finally, I opened it up and found the broken spring. Called Thrustmaster and >they said they'd send me 4 (not one, but FOUR!) new ones (they MUST be >foreseeing more breaks) at no charge. >I asked the guy if this was a widespread problem, but he wouldn't cop to it. >But I find now that it apparently is... >Regardless, they will go out of their way to make fixing it convenient for >you. >E

My T1 feels like its on the way out.... Its only 2 weeks ols and i havent used it much. Does any one know what I can do for parts? I am in Australia and dont really know who to contact. Thanks for the help, Mike Jones

I found the easiest solution is to get a whole heap of springs made up by a spring making company. Take out the old spring(a good one) and take it to the company. They should be able to make them up for you. I'm lucky enough to be able to get mine free but I'm sure they wouldn't cost that much anyway. The other solution is to do what Thrustmaster should do - redesign the pedals so the springs don't break. I'm racing in the IICC series and was getting about 2 races per spring. I now have placed a block of wood under the pedals so that they don't travel as far. Seems to work and I'm now getting about 4 races per spring. Regards Richard

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> >says... > >>I have both of these. I prefer the T1 because mine has a better feel > >>in the wheel, and because it has right-foot braking as an option. It's > >>a bunch cheaper too. The drawbacks are that doesn't have a shift lever > >>I can use in IndyCar or F1, and the pedal springs break constantly. > >>I've been replacing about one every other month now. Thrustmaster is > >>VERY goood about supporting this problem, but it's a pain to fix them > >>all the time. (Yes, I have limited the travel; in fact it's now QUITE > >>limited.) > >So, I'm not the only one...No wonder the thrustmaster guys were so > >accomodating on the phone. I too, have broken a pedal spring and was dreading > >having to send it in to get it fixed, and waiting 4-6 weeks to get it back. > >Finally, I opened it up and found the broken spring. Called Thrustmaster and > >they said they'd send me 4 (not one, but FOUR!) new ones (they MUST be > >foreseeing more breaks) at no charge. > >I asked the guy if this was a widespread problem, but he wouldn't cop to it. > >But I find now that it apparently is... > >Regardless, they will go out of their way to make fixing it convenient for > >you. > >E > My T1 feels like its on the way out.... Its only 2 weeks ols and i havent > used it much. > Does any one know what I can do for parts? I am in Australia and dont > really know who to contact. > Thanks for the help, > Mike Jones

Ok, enuf of this! I bought one, and don't want to have to wait if the springs go. Will Thrustmaster be as kind to send me springs now instead of when they do break? What phone number would I call? Thanks, Vip

Yes, I called them and asked them to send me two sets in advance of the expected breakage. They sent me two sets. I've had my T1 for a couple of months with moderate usage and still no broken springs. Maybe I'm just lucky. You can reach Thrustmaster at (503) 968-3411. Good luck! Chris

> I found the easiest solution is to get a whole heap of springs made up by a spring > making company. Take out the old spring(a good one) and take it to the company. They > should be able to make them up for you. I'm lucky enough to be able to get mine free > but I'm sure they wouldn't cost that much anyway. The other solution is to do what Try your local auto parts store. They carry an assortment of springs that will work with the T1-Bustmaster.