Gear-shift buttons easily added to T2 steering wheel

Please post. It would be much appreciated. (My left arm hurts!) Wilfred

IF you want to go fast in GP2 with T2 you will definately need those F1 style Gear Changes(aka buttons on the steering wheel). I tried to run it with using the stick ( joystick A buttons 1,2). But my lap times are getting worse, because i have to take one hand in order to change the gear(its specially difficult when you have to change the gear in the tight turn). So right now i am using the Automatic, but i really want to use manual transmission, its much more realistic and more fun. Anybody can help me put buttons on the T2, Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ~~_____~~ [__]=[_(-)_]=[__] Gregory Alferov Los Angeles, Ca. USA ((())) IGN4/Miskatonic Motorsports (Netcar)

Quoted text (17 lines)

>>Drop me a line to find out how. >>(I learned how from a posting by Karsten Hoffman in this newsgroup). >>Thanks again Karsten. Thought I'd share the good info! >IF you want to go fast in GP2 with T2 you will definately need those >F1 style Gear Changes(aka buttons on the steering wheel). > I tried to run it with using the stick ( joystick A buttons 1,2). But >my lap times are getting worse, because i have to take one hand in >order to change the gear(its specially difficult when you have to >change the gear in the tight turn). >So right now i am using the Automatic, but i really want >to use manual transmission, its much more realistic and more fun. >Anybody can help me put buttons on the T2, >Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The following is from "" Wally's World of Driving Sims": A real easy mod is to add shifter buttons to the wheel. The factory outboard shifter is OK for NASCAR and Indycar acing as that is the type of shifter that the cars have to begin with, but for any F1 sim (World Circuit and GP2), the shifter HAS to be on the wheel to have that sense of realism that we all strive so hard to achieve! :-) The wiring for the T2 is exactly the same as what I've presented for my setup, and for our purposes the easiest way to do the mod is to deal just with the colors of the wires that are present after you pull the cover off of the wheel module rather than having to trace all of the connections through the plug and all that. In other words, I've done the legwork for you - all you have to do is to follow the directions... The way to start is to determine which type of switch you want to use. I used a regular pushbutton type switch that had two terminals on the back and was JUST the right size to fit into one of the holes on the wheel spokes. I glued the switches into the wheel so that the head of the switch was JUST poking out above the level of the spoke. You should be able to find a pushbutton switch that will fit one or another of the holes on the spokes... You may have to use a series of washers, or lay a thin piece of plastic across the spokes (in the same shape) and mount the switches to that-it will all depend upon the style that you get... Once you have the switches, pull off the cover of the wheel by removing the 6 phillips screws that hold it on from the bottom. You will see a number of wires coming in from the joystick cable, but the only ones we need to deal with are the yellow, red and purple. The yellow wire is the common ground wire inputs to the switches (pin 4). The red wire is button 1 output (pin2). The purple wire is button 2 output (pin 6). You will need to strip a small area of each of these 3 wires. These wires are VERY thin and will not stand much strain - you may want to melt the outside jacket with your soldering iron rather than cutting it. Solder (or wrap and tape) a wire from each one that is long enough to reach the switches with enough slack to allow for wheel movement. I used some old RCA cable as it is nice and flexible, has two conductors (center conductor and shield (the outer braid), which work well for the two connections on each switch) and it looks good, too. Route the wires out of the two threaded holes that are in the bottom of the wheel housing (or if you use these threads to mount the wheel, then drill a small hole in the housing, making sure that you do not interfere with the mechanism of the steering shaft!) and bring them up to the steering shaft. You can attach the wires to the wheel using tape or wire ties but make sure you attach the wires to the wheel firmly enough so that they will not move as the wheel turns and be sure to add enough "strain relief" so that when you turn the wheel, the wires are not pulling directly on the connections at the rear of the switches. Connect the wires to the switches keeping in mind that the side that gets the red wire will be button 1 and the side that gets the purple wire will be button 2. The reason I mention this is to make sure you understand that if you play a game that does not allow remapping of the controls, then you should make sure that the buttons that control upshifts and downshifts are on the correct side (I personally upshift with my right). Anyway, connect one terminal of each switch to the yellow wire and the other terminal to the red OR the purple wire, not to both. Mount the switches to the spokes, move the wheel around to make sure that there is no binding of either the wires or the switches and you are done!

Quoted text (16 lines)

> >IF you want to go fast in GP2 with T2 you will definately need those > >F1 style Gear Changes(aka buttons on the steering wheel). > > I tried to run it with using the stick ( joystick A buttons 1,2). But > >my lap times are getting worse, because i have to take one hand in > >order to change the gear(its specially difficult when you have to > >change the gear in the tight turn). > >So right now i am using the Automatic, but i really want > >to use manual transmission, its much more realistic and more fun. > >Anybody can help me put buttons on the T2, > I asked resident wheel-builder Wally to help me out in this and he > did. He put complete illustrated instructions on his web-site. Do a > net search for "Wallyworld" and you'll find it. > Randy

I'm kinda reluctant to add the buttons. Right now I'm enjoying the "macho" feel of the sports car effect of using the gear shift handle. I do agree that performance should definately go up with the shift buttons on the spokes. I'm undecided at this point. JEB in Vegas

Quoted text (9 lines)

>IF you want to go fast in GP2 with T2 you will definately need those >F1 style Gear Changes(aka buttons on the steering wheel). > I tried to run it with using the stick ( joystick A buttons 1,2). But >my lap times are getting worse, because i have to take one hand in >order to change the gear(its specially difficult when you have to >change the gear in the tight turn). >So right now i am using the Automatic, but i really want >to use manual transmission, its much more realistic and more fun. >Anybody can help me put buttons on the T2,

I asked resident wheel-builder Wally to help me out in this and he did. He put complete illustrated instructions on his web-site. Do a net search for "Wallyworld" and you'll find it. Randy

: I'm kinda reluctant to add the buttons. Right now I'm enjoying : the "macho" feel of the sports car effect of using the gear : shift handle. I do agree that performance should definately go : up with the shift buttons on the spokes. I'm undecided at this : point. I'm with you JEB on this one. It reminds me of the good ole days when I first got hooked by F1 racing. It's a "lost" art in the F1 world. At least the Indy boys still do it the old fashioned way :-) -- **************************** Michael E. Carver ************************* Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./. [- < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Quoted text (8 lines)

> I've added the buttons today following Wally's instructions (thanks > Wal!) and must say that I'm extatic about the result. I never had the > "macho" feel for the handle, but now I enjoy the "high-tech" feel of > the buttons. I did mount the buttons so that they can be operated from > the rear of the steering wheel, just like in most F1 cars. It's great! > The job itself is very easy (no more than 30 minutes or so) and parts > cost only a few bucks. I'd recommend you to go for it. > I've gone one step further and put paddles on the back. Instead of the

pushbuttons, I used lever type microswitches and glued small aluminum rectangles (40mm x 20mm x 1mm) to the end of the levers. The switch bases and wiring are set into Selley's Knead-It (a type of putty I found at the hardware shop) and it's very solid. Works great! Greg Hingerty http://www.ozemail.com.au/~greghing

is the money for a steering wheel really worth it? im running nascar and am wondering whether or not i should get one... send your comments to

Definitely! I was also not sure if I should get one.. But now I don't think I could play Nascar without it!

>is the money for a steering wheel really worth it? YES Regards, --- Cogito Ergo Sum --- * * Fidonet: (temporarily unavailable) * Keiron Rado, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia *