How is The Wheel For anyone who owns it i am purchasing one on monday just wondering how it is love sim racing cant wait 2 take the jump again this gen thanks guys 
At the bottom of this post is my opinion I posted the other day in another thread. The TX wheel base seems to be pretty solid. I’m pushing level 600 and have only used the TX wheel so I have put quite a few hours on it. I have not had any problems with it like some others have. Having the ability to use quality pedals like Fanatec’s with it now makes it a pretty good option for Forza 5. I’ve have a good wheel set up that is more adjustable and programmable, so my perspective will be different from others. If someone is switching from an original Microsoft wheel, the TX is a huge leap in technology, no more sponges for brake stops. I’ve had two of them. I even had the Microsoft wireless racing wheel, the horse shoe shaped wheel held in your hands. I haven’t raced with a controller since the original NFS, just doesn’t feel right to me anymore. These are things I miss about my Fanatec wheel that might not be important to some, but I got used to having them. Here are the cons or maybe the differences of the TX.
It doesn’t have a power switch, you have to unplug it to power down.
It doesn’t have audio output. You have to use your kinnect mic to communicate. If you are in a basement like I have with a furnace, sump pump or dehumidifier running, it is annoying for the rest of the lobby to hear all that. Any noises in the back ground can be heard, children, dogs etc. we’ve all been in a lobby with annoying back ground noise. I don’t see any remedy for this except adding headphone capability to future units, or running through the XBone like the 360 wireless headset.
Can’t program multiple wheel setups. For example, I used to play F1 2012 and Forza 4 on my 360 so I had a different wheel set up for each game. I also had a different set up for different classes.
Its not as adjustable. For example, on Fanatec wheels you can adjust your Degrees of Rotation from 900 down to I believe 100 in either 1 or 10 degree increments. It’s been awhile since I set anything up on it. The TX has preset DORs the greatest is 900 and the lowest 270. I only use 270 so I don’t know what the other two or three settings are. I like to match my DOR with the DOR of the wheel in the cockpit view of the car. I race mostly X class, the Lotus has around 180 DOR, the TX only goes down to 270 so my wheel turns farther than the cars does. It makes a difference on some sharp hairpins. I am getting used to it. Forza 5 only goes down to 270 in the game settings. I don’t know if that is a function of the game mirroring the TX settings or programming that can have a patch to reduce DOR.
The USB cord is permanently attached and to short.
Has no wireless capability at this point. It might be built in just not utilized yet.
Very difficult to attach securely to anything without adding extra support. This really reduces the consistency of the setup.
This is not a con, just a warning. Keep your hands away from it when it calibrates, it is quite powerful.
The pedals are horrible, there is no feed back in them. They are all plastic except for a token aluminum plate attached for the surface of the pedal. They have very poor consistency.
I don’t really have any pros. It does a good job of relaying the road surface and the connection of the car to the road surface.
Watch this video I just shot at 6 AM this morning, it will take an hour to upload to You Tube. It helps make sense of all this mumbo jumbo I just typed. If a picture is worth a thousand words then a video must be worth ten thousand.
Thrustmaster Fanatec Wheel comparison - YouTube I’ll quit typing now that it finally uploaded.
If you can wait for the Fanatec product, I’m sure it will be have more features and overall be a better product. I imagine it will be in the same price range, but you will get more for your money. The TX is overpriced for what you get. I think they rushed to get it to market with the launch and left out some important but not deal breaking features. I don’t believe you can buy the high end Thrustmaster pedals unit, I think the T500 by itself.
In conclusion, racing is about consistency. I feel the TX wheel can be consistent and give good feedback if it is fastened securely. It is attached to a rig with only 2 screws and it is plastic so it flexes quite a bit especially if the FF is turned up. It has very strong and mostly accurate FF. I ratchet strapped mine to my cockpit and used plywood to create 4 points of contact so it was very secure and it is quite consistent, the paddle shifters are pretty good. The pedals are not consistent, I don’t believe their design lends to consistency. They have two screw attachment points mounted in plastic and flex quite a bit. I had to reinforce them with plywood to create more contact with my cockpit. The mechanical and electrical configuration aren’t inhererently consistent,and it doesn’t have a clutch. The capability of adding a Fanatec pedal set to the TX wheel base by using the Basher Boards CPX adapter makes the wheel base a good option now with the potential to be very consistent. If Fanatec never makes a XBone compatible wheel base but I can use Fanatec peripherals I could live with what I have now.
I hope this helps with your decision.
I have a CSRE with Club Sport pedals and CS sequential shifter that I used for 360. I purchased the Thrustmaster TX for XBone. The pedals are horrible. The wheel unit is surprisingly good, I do well with it. I was lucky enough to order the Basher Boards adapter that was released yesterday (it sold out in two minutes) that will allow me to use my Fanatec pedals with the TX wheel base. You can buy the TX wheel for around $400. The CS pedals are $250, which are by far the best performing pedals available for the average sim racer, there are better out there, I don’t know if they are compatible with console games. The adapter will be around $50 depending on shipping method. This is all US purchases. If you are in a hurry this is the best setup available for XBone right now. I was and I will buy Fanatecs wheel base when it is available, sadly it could be awhile. I will have the TX for back up and if the new Fanatec is as good or better quality than my CSRE, I will sell it to a PC racer or trade it in like Fanatec said they would do for existing customers. I hope this helps you make your decision.
Breaking away from a controller will be the most rewarding and realistic racing experience you will have. It might be a challenge and you might not be as fast, but I promise you will enjoy the game more.
Incorrect, you can use your controller at the same time with headset plugged into that, this is what I do and it works perfect, just have to hit a button on controller every 10 minutes or so otherwise it will shut off.
PS. I love my 458 wheel, very realistic driving, also I am on my 2nd one, first one burned up after 1 race.
This may be true if you are listening to your game through your television. I use a Sharkoon 5.1 Dolby Digital head set that plugs into the optical port of the XBone for the game sound and a 1/8 plug for the mic that would need to be plugged into the controller. The Fanatec wheels had a mic jack so I could use the headset mic. I haven’t looked in awhile for an adapter to use 360 headphones with XBone controllers. If there is one it might solve my problem. I guess in a pinch I could tape the XBone mic to my headset mike and forget about the ear piece and use a controller for the mic only and listen to the game through my Sharkoons. Does anyone have any thoughts or information on this?
Thanks for the work around.
Thank you so much for ur in depth opinion on the wheel can’t wait 2 get my hands on one i was waiting on a fantatec as well but nothing looks 2 be coming 2 soon and i really need a wheel thank you so much
The TX wheel is pretty good, I have one as well. I agree for the most part with spidie, the pedals are really the only major thing that could have been batter. But they are very usable regardless, and I am not having any issues with breaking for corners, or with throttle control. They work pretty well, but what are clearly a cheap set of pedals. There is another set of pedals on the way from Trustmaster aswell, its a 3 pedal set (accelerator, brake, clutch) called the T3PA; as well as a H-pattern shifter called the TH8A (not to be confused with the TH8RS shifter, they are different). No one but Thrustmaster knows when they will be released, but inside sim racing have a set of T3PA’s, and they seemed reasonably happy with them.
I also dont have an issue with the USB cables lengh, but then my Xbox one and PC are in close proximity to each other, and my TV. I would suggest having the wheel plugged into its own, and easily accessible power outlet.
Make sure to adjust your deadzones within Forza once you have your wheel, my settings in the advanced controller menu are:
Acceleration: 0/99
Deceleration: 0/99
Steering: 0/100
Rumble: 90%
FFB: 65% (I was running it at 80%, but decided to lower it after playing with a few PC based racing games, and having better success in them with less FFB)
IMO, the wheel is great. I find it far better to drive with than the controller. It’s much smoother. I can’t play with the new controller as the triggers don’t have enough resistance for my liking. The 360 triggers were the perfect blend of travel and resistance for me. You won’t regret your purchase. I love it!
I have participated in the purchase of three TX 458s. One went to my son-in-law and one went to me. The other one was the first purchased. It lasted about 12 hours then was no longer recognized by the Xbox One. The Microsoft Store exchanged it with no questions. The second one was purchased on-line from a disount house (saved $150 over the full exorbitant price) and has worked perfectly from the moment I got it. The third was the replacement. That has also worked perfectly.
As to features- it’s unbelievable! The force feedback is ultra-realistic. You can feel the moment when the tires break loose, and every bump in the road You can feel as the tires slip and re-grip, and the counter-force as you steer around turns. It’s really worth the high price but you have to be a bit of a nut to pay that for a game (I know, call me crazy).
Unless you get one of the (all too frequent) infant failure wheels, you’ll love it.
Just ordered a TX wheel myself yesterday! The news of bashers mod for a Fanatec elite pedal set made me pull the trigger. I was holding out a bit for Fanatec, and possibly Madcatz, but there is too much mystery on that one. The fact that the Madcatz got delayed 4 months doesn’t bode well for it. Anyways hopefully the shifter will be ready soon.
I have a couple of questions for anyone that can answer
TX 900 degrees on FM5, is it good or too difficult? I didn’t have a problem with my CSR on FM4. It’s a shame that the animation in cockpit view in FM5 is only 270.
And would the Fanatec clubsports V2 be worth the extra 100 dollars over the CSL elites? The wheel would be used
mostly for FM5. I do have Assetto Corsa on my son’s PC, but my CSR is hooked up to it with the CSR pedals.
Thanks:-)
I race only with 270 DOR because it matches up closely with cockpit view wheel. I started racing with a shorter DOR in F1 2012, the Fanatec wheels allowed you to set DOR to 180 which matched up very closely with F1 cars. I got used to it and I don’t think I would switch back. Some people say that controllers are quicker for tech tracks because your thumb doesn’t have to travel as far as your hands do on a wheel to accomplish the same thing. I have found the same thing is true for myself with DOR. Shorter is quicker.
As far as pedal choice. I’ve had both and the CSL-E pedal is a good pedal but if you have the extra $100 get the CS pedals. They are designed and constructed to be the most realistic feeling and consistent. The load cell technology in Fanatec wheels relies on muscle memory vs positional memory used with TX wheels to give a realistic driving experience. I was thrilled with my CSR wheel and CSL-E pedals until the CSRE became available and I ordered the CS pedals with it. I used both in the same day and gave the CSR package to a friend. There is a distinct difference between the two Fanatec wheel packages. Fanatecs high end products are worth the extra dollars if you can spare it. These are my opinions based on my experience. I’m probably older than most on this forum, I’m expecting a grand child soon and I didn’t get married till I finished grad school. I have bought many things twice because I either couldn’t or wouldn’t spend the extra money for the better product. In most cases you get what you pay for. If something is important to you and you enjoy doing it, buy the best you can afford so you have the best experience.
How do you know that the adapter is going to allow the new t8 shifter to work ? Hopefully it does!
I’m not sure what you mean by this, the new T8 shifter shouldn’t have anything to do with the pedals?
I run on 900DOR for all the road cars in the game, and for drifting with no issues at all, its a lot of fun in all honesty. I have found that I am driving faster with it compared to the game pad, which I do find slightly odd. I have used wheels in the past, but none have felt as intuitive as the TX; but then again those where only 270DOR wheels nor belt driven lol. The wheel appears to move 1:1 with the in game wheel, well at least till the in game wheel animation stops, I’ve never had to use more than 360DOR while racing with 900DOR setting, and that’s including the first corner on Spa. I use 360DOR setting on all the race cars, and it improves the F1 cars no end. I have been using it on PC as well with not only Assetto Corsa, but with Pcars (the handling is odd at the moment, but seems to be slowly improving), F1 2013, Dirt2/3/showdown, Grid 2, WRC4, Race Room Experience, and I racing, it works well in them all. In the codemaster games I have to set all the controls manually though, but not surprising since the TX wasn’t even in development for most of them, with F1 2013 been the exception; but the wheel wasnt released when the game was made and put on sale. F1 2013 on the pc has an option to “force” a particular control method, you can use between keyboard, gamepad, and wheel; but the buttons still need to be set individually.
A lot of TX owners have said the Ferrari GTE Rim is far better than the default one that comes with the wheel, but I cant personally say as not bought one yet; but may be something to look into.
Here are two videos of races I did online on Saturday (plus one fast lap around Bathurst in the Holden V8 supercar), obviously they don’t show how much turn I am using; but should allow you to see how smooth and quick you can be with 900DOR for road cars, and 360DOR for race cars. I would suggest looking at my LB replays in game for a better view, the best ones to look at would be C class Alps club (205 on the LB in an MX-5 Miata), C class Spa (276 currently with the same MX-5 as Alps), and the Spec challenge Australian Made rival event in the Holden HSV (currently at 52 on the LB). There is a glitch in Forza 5 though, the in game wheel doesn’t turn during replays; it looks really odd while watching drift run in cockpit view lmao. Still, it will allow you to see more than the race camera replays I usually put on my YouTube channel.
The Adaptor isn’t for a shifter, it is just to allow the use of Fanatec pedals. The TH8RS shifter is a USB only device, and as such will only work on the PS3 and PC. I am not sure if a mod can be made to it to allow it to work on the TX, and I would also assume the TX wheel will need a firmware update to allow the TH8A shifter (the TX compatible one) to work. I would be very surprised if the current firmware has the support for the shifter activated, or even coded into it.
Wow! Thanks Spidie and Lalyrn for the detailed responses. I watched your videos and I see what your saying. I appreciate that very much, and its very helpful. I prefer to use 900 degree so I will go with that. Like you guys said on the P1,F1 and Indy cars lowering to DOR helps I bet. Can u change the settings in game without having to reboot your console? I know in FM4 changing the wheel settings in game did funny things and was not recommended. I think I will sell my CSR setup and maybe buy some csp v2’s, Ive heard nothing but good things about them. The Ferrari GTE rim I will probably add that too, but A little later. The shifter from Thrustmaster that isn’t out yet is the one that I am waiting for, I will definitely get as soon as its available.
Well I just had a double hit of bad news!
Found out that despatch for my (and a few others) Basher CPX adapter for my Fanatec pedals has been delayed until Thursday - was meant to have been despatched on Saturday or Monday.
But then even worse news! My Thrustmaster TX lost rumble so I shut it and the Xbox down. Allowed it to cool down, but when I switched it back on it only did half of its calibration and then gave off a stinky smell and now won’t power up!
I’ve reported it to Thrustmaster and going through the RMA process!
Great!
I got the same news about my adapter. I hope I don’t have your luck with my wheel.
Reported my dead wheel to Thrustmaster on Tuesday, sent them all of the information that they requested, have sent two chasing email and made an additional phone call to their premium rate number, and all I’m getting from the is somebody will contact me as quickly as possible! Wow, great customer support!
OK I take it back! got a message from Thrustmaster today saying that the reseller that I bought the wheel from (Kikatek) sold it to me too cheap -mis-sold at £213 (way below their RRP due to an error I believe) so Thrustmaster were investigating how this happened. Technically they do not have to honour the warranty because of this, although I’ve not seen the terms of warranty, but they are and will be shipping a replacement free of charge.
Also got an email from Basher saying my CPX adapter has been shipped, and finally some more good news, Amazon have shipped my GTE add-on wheel 7 days earlier than they said they would, so all in all a better day today!
Awesome news! I would love to get the CPX adapter, but first I have to find a set of elite pedals somewhere. I’m trying to find them second hand, but if worst comes to worst and Thrustmaster doesn’t release their pedal set soon, I might just have to give in and buy a set.