Hey everyone, old Grand Turisimo 2(I think…) racer, who’s recently gotten back to console gaming, read racing ;p, after a few years off. Back then the wheels we’re horribly disappointing, so this time around I had hoped the tech evolved. While I realize its early in the console’s lifespan, I find myself wondering about the wheel offerings, with Thrustmaster getting mixed reviews, at best… and well…Madcatz… umm…I was a teenager in the 90’s and well…yea…madcatz. But then I found fanatec… boy that stuff looks good. Big motors, real metal…and a good stuff price. So the question is, is it worth it? with their previous products, not the Forza4 wheel, their good one, could you feel the road, the tires slip or grab with the pedals, did the stick feel real as you moved through the gears? Side note: Can you grind gears when using a clutch? I don’t mind spending the money if its worth it, better than buying a mediocre setup three times before giving up Also, no rush, this is just a general question, not really planning on upgrading to the wheel setup until late summer/fall.
Thanks for your time, and opinions
ok my personal thoughts on a fanatec and forza 4 was a big no no i hated it
i wondered for a long if i could get on with a wheel and took the plunge and bought a csr and the fanatec wheel stand to use it on
i was running the firmware that auto clutched when changing gear so the gears grinding was not an issue
i rushed online with my friends expecting to be cruising and getting better laptimes than i ever did with a pad and jumped straight in to an A class car on sunset peninsula (my car groups personal favorite track we would some times do 20-30 lap endurance racing on this track so i knew it very well
i had spent numerous sessions on this forum and the fanatec fan sites obtaining optimum settings for the wheel
first corner i wrestled with the wheel and was suprised how much i could feel the car kicking back at me mid bend the steering would go kind of light then try and snap back the opposite lock
i ended up dead last but determined to persist with it i continued with the race and dropped out of the lobby and when on to free run and changed to my favorite car and again i was having issues with the steering
i contacted fanatec as i felt there was a problem with the wheel and the remarked that it may have something to do with the update m/soft did to remove support for non official accessories but gave me the optimum settings for Forza 4
any way cut a long 3 month story short i got used to the wheel and its short comings and found in F and E class i could happily use the wheel ((although i was slower in laptimes) anything more than that the steering just felt wrong it lacked precision then mid bend you kind of got lift off oversteer
i sold the wheel not long after that and around that time i watched a RE run of a tv show called 5th gear with tiff neddel testing the fanatec CSR elite on forza 4 and he commented how vauge the steering was on that game
it seems the problem is not with a wheel but the coding within forza 4 to use it as he had no other problems in any other game he played
many people have enjoyed a wheel with forza but i was not one of them
Thanks. The sluggish meh’s are what I was hoping to avoid. I wonder the opinion of those who played 4 verses 5 with wheels would be. Whether that lack of feedback exists or if the code has been improved. The Tv has been recently upgraded and it would be a dream to have an accurate wheel/pedal etc set up. While improved lap times would be great what I’m looking for is realism. Realistically speaking of course
Your only option right now for a racing wheel and Forza 5 is the Thrustmaster TX. At the end of February MadCatz should be releasing their wheel. Hopefully we’ll start seeing some reviews of the MadCatz wheel soon.
Fanatec does not have an option for Forza 5 and Xbox One right now. From what I can tell, they’ve been silent since a Facebook post way back in November stating they might be able to have an Xbox One solution in the future.
If you’re looking to take the plunge and purchase a wheel now - I will recommend the Thrustmaster. I know that some people have had issues with it but, from what I’ve read, customer support has been pretty good and those of us with working wheels are really happy.
Since you’re in no hurry and not going to be upgrading to a wheel setup for another 6 months or so, your options may change by then. But out of the two wheels that we know will be available at that time, I’d have to go with the Thrustmaster TX. I just don’t have enough confidence in Madcatz to produce a wheel worthy of $400. But by the time you are ready to buy, there will be reviews out for both and who knows, Fanatec may have an option by then, but doubtful.
Hey DrunkenSword 76,
For Forza 4 I have a Fanatec Porsche 911 GT2 Wheel US with the ClubSport Pedals. Pedals were just awesome but I would agree with vague feeling for precision driving the wheel gave me.
I did pick up the Thrusmaster TX Ferrari 458 Italia Edition for the Xbox One and Forza 5. My first wheel died before I left the starting line, it took 5 days before Thrustmaster sent me an e-mail about resetting the Xbox One USB port which may have fixed my issue but Amazon had already shipped me a new one before I even heard from Thrustmaster. The wheel is OK but I would say it suffers just as much as the Fanatec wheel in Forza 4, mind you I’m talking about having all the assists OFF and trying to feel and catch a car that is going loose on you and catching it with a counter steer before the slide and going around. Is this the wheel or Forza programming, I’m unsure at this point, I have NOT tried my Thrustmaster wheel with any of my PC racing games yet.
I can also tell you the Thrustmaster pedals are CRAP! They are light and mostly plastic, I’m certainly NOT a fan of their design either! As a left foot breaker, the pedal spacing and large brake pedal are very good, however there is a play before the brake engages that is causing me fits! My gas pedal has also developed a horrible fingernail on a chalkboard annoying squeak!! You would think a little heavy or light grease would be able to fix the problem, nope, the design of 2 springs pivoting on a non-moving shaft looks to be a long term issue. Mind you there was a lot of grease already on the shaft and springs to start with!
Now if you if you plan on playing with all the assists ON and just holding down the gas and just using the wheel to point in the correct direction and bounce off the rest of the cars, then you will have a blast with this wheel…lol Otherwise I find it difficult to recommend spending $400 for an ok wheel.
I used and loved my CSR Elite wheel (and before that the PWTS) with CSPs on Forza 4 and am using the Thrustmaster TX with the CSPs via my own adapter (post lost in the old forum, but a different commercial version should soon be available from basherboards). I agree the TX pedals are rubbish, but for the cost you can’t really expect CSP level pedals.
I’m a MUCH better racer with a wheel rather than a controller, and I personally like the TX wheel on Forza 5, and would put it at least on a par with the CSR-E, and in someways better. Pity it doesn’t look as good.
My own feeling is that the handling model on all low to mid range cars is just not realistic, with a pretty awful mid deadzone to help controller users (even if you get rid of the deadzones in your profile settings), whereas once you start the true F1 or GT race cars then the handling and wheel feels great.
Also, no rush, this is just a general question, not really planning on upgrading to the wheel setup until late summer/fall.