What Wheel Should I Choose ?

I have a bit of a dilema. What wheel should I choose. At the moment I trying to decide between the Thrustmaster GP1 or the new V3 wheel. I will be using it for playing GP2, TOCA and F1RS. The GP1 costs UK40 (US$60) and comes with free verions of Network Q + X Miles, and Power F1 (not that I want Power F1). The GP1 has no pedals but has those padles at the back of the wheel instead. The V3 costs UK60 (US$90), but has no games. It does however come with pedals and the wheel itself is on a stand that can either go on your desk or fit under your legs when you sit down. I read a review on Gamecentre and it got quite a good write-up. Does anyone have any experience using either of these, or could you recommend another reasonably priced alternative. Many thanks Andrew

On Fri, 23 Jan 1998 14:14:26 -0800, Andrew Carroll >Does anyone have any experience using either of these, or could you >recommend another reasonably priced alternative. >Many thanks >Andrew Don't know the V3, but I can assure you the TM GP1 is a quality product and at it's price is hard to beat. I don't use the paddels for gas/brake as I have a set of CH Pro Pedals too. If you can afford it then getting the setup I have is a safe bet. -- Nos [This Space Left Intentionally Blank]

Thanks for the advice. How much are the CH Pedals anyway ? Think I will get the GP1 Regards Andrew

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> On Fri, 23 Jan 1998 14:14:26 -0800, Andrew Carroll > >Does anyone have any experience using either of these, or could you > >recommend another reasonably priced alternative. > >Many thanks > >Andrew > Don't know the V3, but I can assure you the TM GP1 is a quality > product and at it's price is hard to beat. I don't use the paddels for > gas/brake as I have a set of CH Pro Pedals too. If you can afford it > then getting the setup I have is a safe bet. > -- > Nos > [This Space Left Intentionally Blank]

On Fri, 23 Jan 1998 16:04:19 -0800, Andrew Carroll >Thanks for the advice. How much are the CH Pedals anyway ? >Think I will get the GP1 Depends. Do you play flight sims too? If you do then the Pro pedals are the ones to get because they have realistic rudder movemment and gas/brake movement by use of chocks to stop the swaying motion. They cost about $100.00 Canadian. Then there are the regular CH pedals which only have realistic gas/brake motion, but can be used for rudders too. I think they are about $60 -$70 Canadian. I'm not sure about the current prices because I bought the Pro pedals when they first came on the market and I paid $130.00 Canadian. In the Ubisoft F1 demo there was no support for pedals so I used the paddals on the back of the GP1 (they are analogue) and it works quite well. So I'm suggesting you get the GP1 for now and the pedals later when funds allow for it. TM has a new set of pedals and wheel bundled together called Nascar something or other. Don't know the cost though. -- Nos [This Space Left Intentionally Blank]

I 'm using a GP1 for about a year and I drove a lot of GP2, world-league e-mail cup etc. I'm very pleased with it. I never used a V3 but I heard som bad things about it from a fellowworker at work. Go for the thrustmaster, i sure you willl like it. Johan J. Clermonts www: http://www.xs4all.nl/~nrth ____ \-Napalm Racing Team Holland => ( o ) ============= ( o ) \__

Hai, I myself just bought the GP1. And woooh it's more then satisfying for me. In the beginning I had to get used to the padels. But after a while I growed into the wheel. It's great fun to drive the way the F1 man do. Only hands on wheel and eyes on the track and speed read-out. It is a great thing for the price. I'm more then satisfied! Enjoy it if you buy it. And it uses less space in my tiny comp room. No pedals, I don't miss it!

I have the GP1and love it. In my own opion it is easier to control the gas/brake with your hands (just my opion). i have never used the other wheel so I can't say which is better or worse, but GP1 is a safe bet. Brian

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> >At the moment I trying to decide between the Thrustmaster GP1 or the new > >V3 wheel. I will be using it for playing GP2, TOCA and F1RS. > I have the GP1and love it. In my own opion it is easier to control the > gas/brake with your hands (just my opion). i have never used the other wheel so > I can't say which is better or worse, but GP1 is a safe bet. > Brian

Brian, the GP1 is a safe bet if you want to change pots every 6 months. It certainly isnt very robust. -- Todd A Norbury URL : http:/www.zeta.org.au/~todd Please remove nospam from email address.

I would have to caution against using the Pro Pedals, as some have said that in F1RS, you can only use the pedals in the sliding mode (as in an airplane) and not by pushing the pedals proper. I use a regular (and cheaper) CH Pedals, which are excellent in F1RS. Stanley

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> On Fri, 23 Jan 1998 16:04:19 -0800, Andrew Carroll > >Thanks for the advice. How much are the CH Pedals anyway ? > >Think I will get the GP1 > Depends. Do you play flight sims too? If you do then the Pro pedals > are the ones to get because they have realistic rudder movemment and > gas/brake movement by use of chocks to stop the swaying motion. > They cost about $100.00 Canadian. Then there are the regular CH pedals > which only have realistic gas/brake motion, but can be used for > rudders too. I think they are about $60 -$70 Canadian. I'm not sure > about the current prices because I bought the Pro pedals when they > first came on the market and I paid $130.00 Canadian. > In the Ubisoft F1 demo there was no support for pedals so I used the > paddals on the back of the GP1 (they are analogue) and it works quite > well. So I'm suggesting you get the GP1 for now and the pedals later > when funds allow for it. TM has a new set of pedals and wheel bundled > together called Nascar something or other. Don't know the cost though. > -- > Nos > [This Space Left Intentionally Blank]

Really?! I don't have F1RS yet, but it's high on my list. I have CH Pro pedals though. If what you say is true then I might have to reconsider my purchase. Unless Ubisoft can come up with a fix. -- Nos [This Space Left Intentionally Blank]

% the GP1 is a safe bet if you want to change pots every 6 months. It % certainly isnt very robust. Don't replace 'em! Clean 'em! I have had a T1 for close to 4 years & it gets way too much use (according to my wife <G>). I've had to clean the steering pot about every 2-3 months and the pedals' pots about every 6 months. But, haven't ever had to replace them. Every time your car gets a little dirty do you just replace it? ;-) To clean the pots on Thrustmaster products, get some Tuner/Switch Cleaner and Lubricant from an electronics supply store. Open up the housing on the unit and spray the insides of the pot (short for potentiometer). I usually direct the spray (via the tube extenstion for the spray nozzle) into the openings of the pot where the solder lugs are. Then move the wheel or pedal through its full range 4-6 times to work the cleaner over all the contacts. If the unit was acting up quite a bit, you may want to give it a second "cleaning" before sealing up the unit and heading back out to the track. [For the non-electronics or mechanical racers out there, the pot is the "silver" cylinder that the is directly behind the wheel inside the housing. It should have some wires connected to it and the wheel is connected its plastic shaft.] -- **************************** Michael E. Carver ************************* Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./. [- < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Let me add an AMEN to what Mr. Carver says. I've fought erratic steering on my GP1 for some time and finally took the advice just this morning of what many have been saying here for ages. Bought a can of Radio Shack's Tuner Control Cleaner and Lubricant, sprayed it in the steering pot and VOILA!--no more steering problems. Took me about five minutes total. May not work all the time, but for less than $10 and five minutes, it sure doesn't put you out much to try. (And saved me from spending mucho bucks on a new wheel. :-)) ) Jerry Morelock

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>% the GP1 is a safe bet if you want to change pots every 6 months. It >% certainly isnt very robust. >Don't replace 'em! Clean 'em! I have had a T1 for close to 4 years & it >gets way too much use (according to my wife <G>). I've had to clean the >steering pot about every 2-3 months and the pedals' pots about every 6 >months. But, haven't ever had to replace them. Every time your >car gets a little dirty do you just replace it? ;-) >To clean the pots on Thrustmaster products, get some Tuner/Switch >Cleaner and Lubricant from an electronics supply store. Open up the >housing on the unit and spray the insides of the pot (short for >potentiometer). I usually direct the spray (via the tube extenstion for >the spray nozzle) into the openings of the pot where the solder lugs >are. Then move the wheel or pedal through its full range 4-6 times to >work the cleaner over all the contacts. If the unit was acting up quite >a bit, you may want to give it a second "cleaning" before sealing up the >unit and heading back out to the track. >[For the non-electronics or mechanical racers out there, the pot is the >"silver" cylinder that the is directly behind the wheel inside the >housing. It should have some wires connected to it and the wheel is >connected its plastic shaft.] >-- >**************************** Michael E. Carver ************************* > Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town. >=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./. [- < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

On Sun, 25 Jan 98 00:01:18 GMT, "Piers C. Structures" >The patch (3dfx version) seems to fix this so that the pedals work as >separate throttle/brake units. Great! It's back on my purchse list. Suck the goat? No thx, I prefer humans. -- Nos http://www.cris.com/~nosfer/index.html

> >At the moment I trying to decide between the Thrustmaster GP1 or the new > >V3 wheel. I will be using it for playing GP2, TOCA and F1RS. Is the Thurstmaster Nascar Pro a (good?) alternative to play GP1, GP2, and F1RS, or as the name suggest (!), it's just for NR? [I am sure this is a dumb question] Plus: Where's a cheap place to buy the Thurstmaster Nascar Pro in the UK? Thanks --- Alessio Lomuscio (Please remove "this." from the header)

On Tue, 27 Jan 1998 12:36:06 +0000, Alessio Lomuscio

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>> >At the moment I trying to decide between the Thrustmaster GP1 or the new >> >V3 wheel. I will be using it for playing GP2, TOCA and F1RS. >Is the Thurstmaster Nascar Pro a (good?) alternative to play GP1, GP2, >and F1RS, or as the name suggest (!), it's just for NR? [I am sure this >is a dumb question] >Thanks

The Nascar Pro wheel is the same as the Formula One wheel. The only differences are the name. NP is supposed to be for sale to Americans and the F1 wheel for Europeans etc. So yes, the Nascar Pro would be ok for F1 games. Check the Thrustmaster site and you'll see they are the same. You probably wont see it in the UK, you'll see the F1 instead. Tony

>Is the Thurstmaster Nascar Pro a (good?) alternative to play GP1, GP2, >and F1RS, or as the name suggest (!), it's just for NR? [I am sure this >is a dumb question] >Plus: Where's a cheap place to buy the Thurstmaster Nascar Pro in the >UK? I am currently using a Thrustmaster Formula 1 wheel for F1RS. This is the European version of the Nascar PRO (just a sticker change). I got mine for 99 at PC World. I like it, others tell me to expect pedal springs to break, but I'm not an 8-hour a day man - not racing sims at least :-) Regards Neil

Actually the F1 wheel has NO pedals and the gas and brake are flippers behind the wheel. At least the ones I've seen around here.

> >Plus: Where's a cheap place to buy the Thurstmaster Nascar Pro in t > he > >UK? > You probably wont see it in the UK, you'll see the F1 instead. You can get them *both* in the UK. Try PC World, GAme or Electronic Boutique, or try one of the mail order firms who advertise in the pc games press. Or why not pay that little bit extra and get an excellent F1 Sim wheel and pedal set-up? 8?) * Peter * 8-) Please remove asterix from address to email.

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> On Sun, 25 Jan 98 00:01:18 GMT, "Piers C. Structures" > >The patch (3dfx version) seems to fix this so that the pedals work as > >separate throttle/brake units. > Great! It's back on my purchse list.

I thought so too. I'd spent much more time than I'd wanted to trying in vain to get F1RS to drive like a car, it was becomming very very frustrating. Now all UBIsoft have to do is fix all the ***y menu bugs, e.g. I want to load setups as well as save them. I would also like to print a setup without F1RS crashing. Well, at your own risk. -- Suck The Goat

On Tue, 27 Jan 98 19:52:54 GMT, "Piers C. Structures" >e.g. I want to load setups as well as save them. I would also like to >print a setup without F1RS crashing. Not being able to save setups is a no no. You can't paint your cars either. Right? No biggie there, but I certainly enjoy doing my own cars for N2 and ICR2. That's in reference to my user name. -- Nos http://www.cris.com/~nosfer/index.html

Actually the GP1 has no pedals....( I know I have one..) and the F1 is as a previous post pointed out another name for the Nascar something or the other. PAPA DOC Pierre PAPA DOC Legrand Infamous Pink Flamingo Pilot...

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> >>Thanks > >The Nascar Pro wheel is the same as the Formula One wheel. > >The only differences are the name. NP is supposed to be for sale to > >Americans and the F1 wheel for Europeans etc. > >So yes, the Nascar Pro would be ok for F1 games. > >Check the Thrustmaster site and you'll see they are the same. > Actually the F1 wheel has NO pedals and the gas and brake are flippers behind > the wheel. At least the ones I've seen around here.

You are talking about the TM GP1. Combined with the CH Pedals it's the best setup to me. Esp. if the sim allows to shift gears with the pedals behind the wheel (true F1 feeling). And F1RS with the patches does it... l8er ronny -- |\ _,,,---,,_ I want to die like my Grandfather, ZZZzz /,`.-'`' -. ;-;;,_ in his sleep. |,4- ) )-,_. ,\ ( `'-' Not like the people in his car, '---''(_/--' `-'\_) screaming their heads off!

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>>>Thanks >>The Nascar Pro wheel is the same as the Formula One wheel. >>The only differences are the name. NP is supposed to be for sale to >>Americans and the F1 wheel for Europeans etc. >>So yes, the Nascar Pro would be ok for F1 games. >>Check the Thrustmaster site and you'll see they are the same. >Actually the F1 wheel has NO pedals and the gas and brake are flippers behind >the wheel. At least the ones I've seen around here.

We must be talking about different wheels. Check out TM's site and under products select Nascar Pro. When you do it say's "For US customers go here" and "For Non-US customers go here:. If you follow the US link it takes you to the Nascar Pro wheel, if you follow the Non-US link it takes you to the "Formula 1 Racing Wheel. I've checked and it's the same, pedals and all. They've just changed the name of the wheel for certain country's such as those that don't have F1 (such as the US) and those that don't have Nascar. It looks as though the wheel that has the flippers and no pedals is called the "Grand Prix 1". Tony

Aha! Someone who knows what I'm talking about :) Tony

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> On Tue, 27 Jan 98 19:52:54 GMT, "Piers C. Structures" > >e.g. I want to load setups as well as save them. I would also like to > >print a setup without F1RS crashing. > Not being able to save setups is a no no.

I can save setups, I just cannot load them, which is a bit shite, like. Every time I even merly switch back to the main menu, my expertly tuned little setup goes back to the default. It drives me ***ing nut's sir. Errr, ok, I'll go along with that. Yes, but like you say, no big deal. Your going to accuse me of mexican connections I suspect. -- Suck The Goat

Change your desktop to 800x600 I had the same problem and yes its damn annoying.... Pierre Pierre PAPA DOC Legrand Infamous Pink Flamingo Pilot...

> Change your desktop to 800x600 I had the same problem and yes its damn > annoying.... Tried that, didn't solve it. -- Suck The Goat