Saitek FFB Wheel-Short Review

Awesome. The feel, the pedals, the shifter, the slap pads(behind the wheel) all work great. They feel great too. The adjustable pedal tension is a really nice touch too. I like the grip and 'non-standard' squarish wheel too. Makes driving aggressively easier in NFS3. A little pricey at 200 bucks but hell, it's a lot of fun. -- Kevin "Q" Quattro VFX Animator Foundation Imaging

says... Is it a shared-axis, or separate axis setup for the two pedals?

> says... > Is it a shared-axis, or separate axis setup for the two pedals? I emailed Saitek about this and per the response, there is a setting to choose either. -- Rob

I also bought one on Wednesday (first one I've seen) and my review is much less enthusiastic. To answer Bleys question: Yes, you can set it up single or dual axis, which is very nice. The pedals pop up on me, I don't use the shifter, the paddles are great. Haven't adjusted pedal tension--seems fine the way it is. The grip is excellent--very comfortable in my hands. Don't like: the shape--the position of my hands is giving me a horrible backache; the feel of the wheel: in a non-FF game, like GPL, you can turn off the FF, which results in the wheel sort of aimlessly or resitance-lessly turning left and right OR you can turn on the FF and drag the damn thing from side to side. It's only been two days, but I'm not happy with the wheel so far. I'd wait a bit if I were you guys. I haven't given up on it yet, but I'm getting close... And I had such high hopes for this wheel, too... :(

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>says... >Is it a shared-axis, or separate axis setup for the two pedals? >> Awesome. The feel, the pedals, the shifter, the slap pads(behind >> the wheel) all work great. They feel great too. The adjustable pedal >> tension is a really nice touch too. I like the grip and 'non-standard' >> squarish wheel too. Makes driving aggressively easier in NFS3. A little >> pricey at 200 bucks but hell, it's a lot of fun. >> -- >> Kevin "Q" Quattro >> VFX Animator >> Foundation Imaging

-- Rick Worrell Sports *** Network [link lost in import: /***.com]

>Don't like: the shape--the position of my hands is giving me a >horrible backache; the feel of the wheel: in a non-FF game, like GPL, >you can turn off the FF, which results in the wheel sort of aimlessly >or resitance-lessly turning left and right OR you can turn on the FF >and drag the damn thing from side to side. Rick, I thought the wheel was very loose also, until I realized you can adjust the tension even on non-FF games. Go to game contollers/S4 properties/settings and adjust the Return to Center setting to what your comfortable with. I couldn't keep the car on the track (GPL) until I figured this out. JD

Either way, you can set it. You also need to reverse the Y to the X for lateral motion, if you don't you won't feel anything in NFS3. Thankfully there's an option for that too. -- Kevin "Q" Quattro VFX Animator Foundation Imaging

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> >Don't like: the shape--the position of my hands is giving me a > >horrible backache; the feel of the wheel: in a non-FF game, like GPL, > >you can turn off the FF, which results in the wheel sort of aimlessly > >or resitance-lessly turning left and right OR you can turn on the FF > >and drag the damn thing from side to side. > Rick, > I thought the wheel was very loose also, until I realized you can adjust the > tension even on non-FF games. Go to game contollers/S4 properties/settings > and adjust the Return to Center setting to what your comfortable with. I > couldn't keep the car on the track (GPL) until I figured this out.

Where did you guys get your Saitek wheels, and did they stock the non-FFB version as well? Thanks in advance, Trtips

I should have thought of that on my own, since the separate accelerator and gas is listed as FF only, yet obviously works in non-FF. I don't think their control panel was very well done... I'll try your tip--thanks a lot! The wheel IS very precise, so if I can get the right tension on the turning, it might work out after all.

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>>Don't like: the shape--the position of my hands is giving me a >>horrible backache; the feel of the wheel: in a non-FF game, like GPL, >>you can turn off the FF, which results in the wheel sort of aimlessly >>or resitance-lessly turning left and right OR you can turn on the FF >>and drag the damn thing from side to side. >Rick, >I thought the wheel was very loose also, until I realized you can adjust the >tension even on non-FF games. Go to game contollers/S4 properties/settings >and adjust the Return to Center setting to what your comfortable with. I >couldn't keep the car on the track (GPL) until I figured this out. >JD

-- Rick Worrell Sports *** Network [link lost in import: /***.com]

I got mine at Best Buy for $199. So new, they didn't even have a price tag on the shelf for it yet. No non-FFB there. No Saitek at all at CompUSA.

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>> >Don't like: the shape--the position of my hands is giving me a >> >horrible backache; the feel of the wheel: in a non-FF game, like GPL, >> >you can turn off the FF, which results in the wheel sort of aimlessly >> >or resitance-lessly turning left and right OR you can turn on the FF >> >and drag the damn thing from side to side. >> Rick, >> I thought the wheel was very loose also, until I realized you can adjust the >> tension even on non-FF games. Go to game contollers/S4 properties/settings >> and adjust the Return to Center setting to what your comfortable with. I >> couldn't keep the car on the track (GPL) until I figured this out. >Where did you guys get your Saitek wheels, and did they stock the >non-FFB version as well? >Thanks in advance, >Trtips

-- Rick Worrell Sports *** Network [link lost in import: /***.com]

Man, I hate replying to my own message, but Agent had already deleted the rest of the thread. Anyway: does your wheel think center is center? I just emailed Saitek's tech support, because my wheel thinks it is centered when it is a good 20 degrees off to the left. This, as you might imagine, makes it pretty difficult to drive well and comfortably with. I can't find any way to change this centering, either. Any ideas?

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>I should have thought of that on my own, since the separate >accelerator and gas is listed as FF only, yet obviously works in >non-FF. I don't think their control panel was very well done... >I'll try your tip--thanks a lot! The wheel IS very precise, so if I >can get the right tension on the turning, it might work out after all. >>>Don't like: the shape--the position of my hands is giving me a >>>horrible backache; the feel of the wheel: in a non-FF game, like GPL, >>>you can turn off the FF, which results in the wheel sort of aimlessly >>>or resitance-lessly turning left and right OR you can turn on the FF >>>and drag the damn thing from side to side. >>Rick, >>I thought the wheel was very loose also, until I realized you can adjust the >>tension even on non-FF games. Go to game contollers/S4 properties/settings >>and adjust the Return to Center setting to what your comfortable with. I >>couldn't keep the car on the track (GPL) until I figured this out. >>JD

-- Rick Worrell Sports *** Network [link lost in import: /***.com]

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>Man, I hate replying to my own message, but Agent had already deleted >the rest of the thread. >Anyway: does your wheel think center is center? I just emailed >Saitek's tech support, because my wheel thinks it is centered when it >is a good 20 degrees off to the left. This, as you might imagine, >makes it pretty difficult to drive well and comfortably with. >I can't find any way to change this centering, either. Any ideas?

I again had the same problem with the non-centered wheel. In GPL I re-calibrated and then I actually moved the top slider point (? the thing the moves when you turn the wheel) to the center position above the bottom center point. It seemed to work. I agree with your assessment of the manual and setup and calibration options. Some parts are very well done and others, notably calibration are left out. JD

Well, I've already had the Microsoft FF Wheel for a few days now. I had originally planned to buy the Saitek, but since I saw the MS wheel at EB first, I bought it just to check it out. Yesterday I stopped in at Best Buy and saw the Saitek FF wheel on the shelf. I opened the box up and took out the various parts the wheel comes in. All I could think to my self was, "what a cheesy piece of junk!" Can they be serious with that pedal base. And only two thumb buttons? I was really let down with the low quality of this wheel, I had really been looking forward to it for a long time. The MS Wheel is far beyond what this Saitek wheel could ever be. If the Saitek was priced at, let's say, $129.95, then it would be a good alternative, pricewise, to the MS wheel.