Buying a wheel for GPL, suggestions?

Hi. I think it's finally time that I got myself a wheel and pedals. Driving with a joystick isn't that rewarding, especially in GPL. I've narrowed the candidates down to two manufacturers: Microsoft and Thrustmaster. From Microsoft obviously their FF Sidewinder wheel and from Thrustmaster I'm thinking of F1, Sprint and Nascar Pro wheels. Right now the most important thing would be that it works great with GPL. Although MS FF seems to be a great wheel, it seems be a bit slow for GPL and it doesn't have split axis for pedals (how important is this for a serious racer?). That leaves me with Thrustmaster. The Nascar Pro (w/o force feedback) is a fairly new wheel, it has had good reviews here in Finland. Also lately two different people have posted here, saying how good it was in GPL (it has to be useful for other games also). Those who own it, can you give me more details on it? I'm most interested in how well it attaches to a table, does it have split axis for pedals, is it DOS-compatible and do the pedals slip away in hard racing, but other info is welcome too. -- Ari Nieminen **************************************************** Remove .NOSPAM from my e-mail address when replying. ****************************************************

Hey Ari ! I own i Nascar pro and use it in Gpl and really loves it. Great feel and response. I think its very important that the pedals are split axis because u can gain the extra sec in qualifying by braking max into turns and steer whith the throttle. The wheel is easy to attache to most desks and the pedals are heavy + have four *** pins that hold it in place. Dos is dead ! Erik

Hello Ari, The MS FF wheel does support split axis pedals. You just create a new profile for it in the supplied editor. (It is very easy) I find it a great wheel for playing GPL. Ian

a friend of my has a thrustmaster formula 1 (nascar pro in US ) when i was at his place i tried it and i can only say that this wheel is much much better than my GP1 w pedals it also has a switch on it so you can switch between dual or single axis ive heard a lot of stories about people who broke their thrustmaster wheels but i cant imagine it falls apart instantly these people must be doing something wrong also ive heard about the microsoft that it had some sort of steeringlag because its digital if i where you i would buy the thrustmaster MzzL Jarno > Hi. > I think it's finally time that I got myself a wheel and pedals. Driving > with a joystick isn't that rewarding, especially in GPL. > ****************************************************

I had a Thrustmaster GP1 and it was more than adequate but I got tired of the drifting pots. I now own a MS FFB Wheel and its outstanding.

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>a friend of my has a thrustmaster formula 1 (nascar pro in US ) >when i was at his place i tried it and i can only say that this wheel is >much much better than my GP1 w pedals it also has a switch on it so you can >switch between dual or single axis >ive heard a lot of stories about people who broke their thrustmaster wheels >but i cant imagine it falls apart instantly these people must be doing >something wrong >also ive heard about the microsoft that it had some sort of steeringlag >because its digital >if i where you i would buy the thrustmaster >MzzL >Jarno >> Hi. >> I think it's finally time that I got myself a wheel and pedals. Driving >> with a joystick isn't that rewarding, especially in GPL. >> ****************************************************

Opinions expressed herein are my own and may not represent those of my employer.

GPL killed my Thrustmaster NASCAR Pro. BUY A TSW2 Stock from http://soli.inav.net/~thomas/ it's GREAT!!! D.Cook wrote...

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|> I think it's finally time that I got myself a wheel and pedals. Driving |> with a joystick isn't that rewarding, especially in GPL. | |Ari, |If you read Alison Hinds' web page (or was it the manual) you'll find |that the programmers use a combination of joystick and pedals. It's a |really weird combination if you ask me, but that's what they |use...successfully at that!

<snip> I'm using a CH Flightstick and Pedals. It's not so bad, the Flightstick has a real loose throw and a lot of travel. In spite of the looseness, it still centers well, and I have the clutch set for when I pull back on the stick. It's an inexpensive, very workable set-up, and I'm going to throw it in the junk heap as soon as my TSW2 arrives! (Actually, I'll still use it for Red Baron) Mikey

> I think it's finally time that I got myself a wheel and pedals. Driving > with a joystick isn't that rewarding, especially in GPL. Ari, If you read Alison Hinds' web page (or was it the manual) you'll find that the programmers use a combination of joystick and pedals. It's a really weird combination if you ask me, but that's what they use...successfully at that! Anyway, I personally have a Thrustmaster T2 and love it. The F1 wheel with the paddle shifters seem like it would work great. I would avoid the Force Feedback wheels since not many software packages support it. Then again, they might in the future. So, that's my opinion. Good luck and have fun driving! Nathan

% If you read Alison Hinds' web page (or was it the manual) you'll find % that the programmers use a combination of joystick and pedals. It's a % really weird combination if you ask me, but that's what they % use...successfully at that! Which they use (joystick) because most of them are programmers and don't want to clutter up their desk with a wheel. However, they are quite good at controlling their car with this combo. Some of the fastest hotshoes in GPL use joystick only. I opt for the wheel for the added immersion. -- **************************** Michael E. Carver ************************* Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./. [- < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

I use a j-stick and am reasonably fast... however, my wheel will be done soon (pedals nearing completion) and I will use that over the j-stick, because of the immersion you speak of, Mike, and because I think it will be easier to trail brake and be easier over a long race.... my should always is *killing* me after a race at Zandy...! Wolfgang Woeger prefers to use a joystick and is blazingly fast and ultra smooth... but then again, Wolfie is a freak! :-) (just a joke, Wolfman...) --Dave

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> Which they use (joystick) because most of them are programmers and don't > want to clutter up their desk with a wheel. However, they are quite > good at controlling their car with this combo. Some of the fastest > hotshoes in GPL use joystick only. I opt for the wheel for the added > immersion. > -- > **************************** Michael E. Carver ************************* > Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town. > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./. [- < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

-- Dave Schwabe The Aussie Toad -- Grand Prix Legends & Brabham site http://users.wi.net/~schwabe

> I'm using a CH Flightstick and Pedals. It's not so bad, the Flightstick has > a real loose throw and a lot of travel. In spite of the looseness, it still > centers well, and I have the clutch set for when I pull back on the stick. I just finished trying to accelerate, brake and steer with my joystick. To my surprise it wasn't completely impossible. Obviously it's hard to keep the car going straight when you pull back to brake (and not to lock up badly), but still I improved my PB by half a second! Under 1:29 in Monza for the first time. I've heard of a pedals/joystick combo earlier, and surely it would help me too. I'm still looking for TM Nascar Pro, for some reason it's nowhere to found in Finland. -- Ari Nieminen **************************************************** Remove .NOSPAM from my e-mail address when replying. ****************************************************