Act Labs wheel

OK, I've heard the Act Labs Force RS won't be shipping for a while.:( However, the normal Act Labs RS are supposed to have shipped already. Has anyone received one and if so, how do you like it? I'll hold-off and purchase a Force RS when available but would like to read the opinions of those whom received the normal wheel. Later, Rich

> OK, I've heard the Act Labs Force RS won't be shipping for a while.:( > However, the normal Act Labs RS are supposed to have shipped already. > Has anyone received one and if so, how do you like it? I'll hold-off and > purchase a Force RS when available but would like to read the opinions > of those whom received the normal wheel. YES! The regular RS just showed up. I'll deliver a full report tomorrow! :) -- Pat Dotson IMPACT Motorsports

> YES! The regular RS just showed up. I'll deliver a full > report tomorrow! :) > -- > Pat Dotson > IMPACT Motorsports Cool. I look forward to your review.

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> Pat Dotson wrote > >YES! The regular RS just showed up. I'll deliver a full > >report tomorrow! :) > Really Pat ? Wow tell us some news please !!! > It was somehow hyped a little too much since 1year (hehe <insert your delay > joke here>). > I'm afraid it's just a cheap plastic wheel that will make competition to all > the "MadCatz" and "Per4mer" wheels on the market.

I can't do a full report today, but can give you some first impressions. First, this ACT Labs RS wheel is not in the category of a "MadCatz" or "Per4mer". Frankly, I'm surprised they can sell it for $70! I've been using a Thrustmaster GP1 (with home-built pedals for nearly a year, so my comparisons are mainly to it. I would say the "feel" and quality of the wheel and pedals at least equal to and probably superior to the TM wheels I've tried. The wheel and the pedal units both have a metal base with a heavy-duty plastic case. They are surprisingly heavy. I'm totally impressed by the steering unit. It's very smooth and precise. The resistance to turning is good and progressive. The wheel itself is a larger diameter than the GP1. It's much thicker as well due to the padding and leather cover, and feels similar to the steering wheel in my Pontiac Grand Am. It feels very substantial compared to other TM steering wheels, and nothing like the other low-cost wheels. The clamping system, while a bit difficult to use, works really well. The wheel doesn't move at all, which is great compared to a GP1. The pedals are well laid out and comfortable to use. They didn't tip at all. My computer is inside a pine cabinet, and the pedals are sitting at the bottom of the inside of the cabinet. Despite resting on this smooth, varnished surface, they didn't slip at all. The only problem I've had with pedals is that they are a bit "sticky". While the movement of the pedals is generally good, when trying to make small adjustments there seems to be a bit of a binding action. I'm talking about adjustments as small as 1/16". Part of the problem is that the pedals are designed for right-foot braking, but I use the left- foot braking technique. That results in an odd angle in the force that I apply to the pedals - sort of a side load. When I do right foot braking and apply force along the axis of the pedal, the movement is a lot more smooth. Driving with the wheel was pretty good. I started out with N2 at California with the fixed TEN setup. My best speed there is 183.9 (never did hit that 184 :) ), and I was runing mid-183's within 10 laps. At Bristol with my open setup I run 125's. With the ACT Labs wheel, I hit 125 on my sixth lap. All in all, very good results. The steering was much more precise than I am used to, and I was able to be more consistent in a short time. I am also able to raise my wheel locks from about 10 deg to 20 deg because of the added precision. Next I fired up GPL. I can ordinarily click off lap after lap at 1:08 sec. With the ACT Labs RS, I hit a low 1:09 after about 5 laps. Unfortunately, the precise throttle action required by GPL was difficult to produce because of the stickiness of the pedals. Let me make clear that the pedals do not completely stick. They generally move where you want them to, but making a 1 mm adjustment in your throttle position is difficult. It's only the small adjustments that are a problem. I'm trying to figure out a way to make the movement more smooth, either through lubrication or some other means. That's all I have time for right now. I'll post more later. All in all, I'm very impressed by the wheel so far. -- Pat Dotson IMPACT Motorsports

> I can't do a full report today, but can give you some first > impressions. (clip) See previous post for first impressions After spending the weekend using the ACT Labs RS wheel, I have to say that it is impressive. The wheel unit provides top-notch control. The pedals are comfortable to use and don't slip. The quality of the whole thing is very good. One of the biggest differences between the RS wheel and the others on the market are all of the extra button controls. There are 7 buttons on the face of the wheel, plus a hat-switch type of control in the center. A Windows 95 software interface is provided that allows you to program different keystrokes to each button. The interface looks easy to use, but I haven't used it much yet. The wheel also has an F1-style paddle shifter that actuates 2 more buttons. The shifter works well, but could be a little longer. There is another control on the dashboard of the wheel - a mode switch. The switch selects either DOS or Win95 mode. DirectX 5 provides the ability to have more than 4 buttons. If you've seen the controls menu in CART Precision Racing, you should have noticed the support for 8 button inputs. With the RS wheel, you can use all those options. Unfortunately for us Nascar 2 drivers, all of the extra buttons only work in Win95 mode. In DOS mode, the wheel is a standard 4-button device. This even applies to games that run under Win95 in a DOS shell. I'm not to big on CARTPR. There are many things that I don't like about this program. Truthfully, though, using the RS wheel makes it easier to overlook some of the problems. I'll probably do more hot-lapping in CART-PR from now on. In addition to all these other features, the RS offers something that no other wheel does. By buying an additional cartridge, you can use this wheel on console *** systems. I don't own a console system myself, but that feature alone immediately sold one of these wheels to some of my relatives of who tried it. Bottom line: The ACT Labs RS wheel is competitive with other wheels that cost twice as much, and offers features that they don't have. By getting another cartridge, you can use it on console games as well. If this wheel cost $140, it would be worth it - at $70, it's a steal! I can't wait to try the Force RS :) -- Pat Dotson IMPACT Motorsports http://www.impactmotorsports.com/pd.html

Hey, Pat; thanks for the scoop! I, too, now look forward to getting an Act Labs Force RS. :) Later, Rich

Where can I get the RS wheel I tried Act labs online store and it doesn't show the RS and the online store(babbages etc.) don't have them