Got some inspiration from a Reddit post, someone asking about a wheel being impossible to use in FH4. I did hours of research before I bought one, and hours of setup guides after I bought it.
I bought the Thrustmaster TMX. I didnt go for a G920 or more expensive wheel because it is not in my budget at the moment. I owned a thrustmaster Ferrari 458 Spider wheel that I bought years ago. If anyone is thinking of getting the 458 spider wheel, DONT. It is a waste of money, unless you are buying it for a child.
As far as the wheel itself goes, I’m very happy with it. I will definitely be upgrading the pedals and getting a shifter soon though. The pedals are the same that come with the 458 Spider setup, very cheap. While cheap, however, they are not bad. They obviously spent their whole $199 budget on the wheel itself. The pedals will slide around, some velcro took care of that easily, since I put mine on carpet. If you put them on hardwood floors I’m not sure how you would hold them in place.
Parts of the wheel are made of hard plastics, but the sides where you grip it are nice rubber. After a few hours I’ve noticed my hands get a bit raw, but I’m sure I will get used to it, or I’ll just wear gloves. The buttons are fantastic, and the paddle shifters are high quality as well. It mounts very sturdy, and the inner mechanisms seem to be very good quality.
Now onto the settings, and what I think about using a wheel in this game. I dont play any other racing games other than forza. I copy and pasted my reply to the reddit thread below. Everyone will tell you to use different wheel settings. I find most, if not all of them are just personal preference. I researched for hours after I bought my wheel and trying different settings. You can find what I landed on below. Keep in mind I am saying this as a brand new wheel user, to any of you brand new wheel users that are in the same position I was in.
Vibration Scale 10
Force feedback scale 20
Center spring scale 25
Wheel damper scale 5
Force feedback understeer 80
Force feedback minimum force 70
Current wheel rotation angle 900 (I move this around sometimes, havent found what I really like yet)
Don’t bother with simulation steering. I am honestly not sure that it is possible with even experienced wheel users on this game. I’m sure plenty out there use simulation steering, but I just can’t do it.
Be sure your steering, acceleration and braking deadzones are 0/100. I found that I am not being as light on the throttle using the pedal compared to the trigger, pay attention to what your feet are doing.
Pick up the controller, drive through 2 or 3 corners. Go back to the wheel with the same car and drive through the same corners again. Note how your throttle and braking changed and adjust your pedal work accordingly.
Also, start with either a really good handling car, or a slower car. Last night I played around with the Senna and the 2018 mustang, both with handling upgrades. Make sure the car you drive is tuned for handling. If you arent sure that it is the car or the wheel working for you, drive it with a controller and see how the car feels. If it feels good and normal then go to the wheel and continue. Since we are new to the wheel it’s impossible to tell if it’s our fault with the wheel or a bad tune. Also learn on RWD cars first. I played around with AWD this morning and it was a fair amount easier, but you need to learn RWD first.
Wheel rotation angle is easier at 270. Start at 270, when you get better go to 360, then 540 then 900. You can change the settings on the wheel to match for the scaling to be correct.
Hold the mode button and press left on the d pad, then release the mode button. The light next to the mode button will flash green. 1 flash is 270, 2 is 360, 3 is 540 and 4 flashes is 900.
At 270 your wheel rotation will match the driver in the cockpit view. Any higher and it looks like in game the driver is locked up, but your wheels can still turn. I do reccomend using the cockpit view, either the one mounted where the drivers eyes would be, or on the dash inside the car. If you are learning for drifting, third person obviously.
This is the steepest learning curve I have ever experienced. I raced in pinnacle league in FM6, and I am really good with the controller. I suck with the wheel. It takes time. If I had to compare it to something, I’d guess it’s like having to re learn to walk. With the controller I had the AI on pro difficulty. Now I have it on average, and if I do win, it’s not by much. I am improving every hour though.
Also, when I first started yesterday I wasn’t fighting the wheel enough. If the force feedback pulled a certain way, I would let it. I was scared of breaking the thing. After watching videos of people driving with these wheels, I learned you really have to yank and jerk the thing around to have the car behave normally. Watch a video of grc rally racers in cockpit view, or a nurburgring lap with cockpit view. Notice how they are using the steering wheel in a real race car? I was hesitant at first, but you have to do the same thing.
It took me a few HOURS before I could drive more than a corner or two without spinning out. Again, steep learning curve. Keep working at it and you will get better.