I’m running a low-end Thrusmaster TMX…but I have owned a Thrustmaster 458, which I believe is the equivalent of the current xbox compatible TS300 series, which has a dual belt system and is noticeably quicker to respond (aka: it turns the wheel under power faster and quicker because its got a bigger, brushless motor).
I’ve been debating going back to one of those, because the direct drive wheels are still too pricey when using an Xbox. Thing is, I’m not sure if its worth it. The TMX certainly does the job, but I figured I’d ask if anyone had upgraded to something in the Thrustmaster or Logitech line (or Fanatec, etc) and found that the game experience improved or if it just felt like a more refined experience, not necessarily “better”.
The common theme among reviewers online is that these base-level wheels get the job done, but that more expensive wheels just feel better (often times they are a larger size and made of beefier materials than plastic), naturally they pull harder as well with the bigger motors and more force available, but the key selling point “improvement” seems to be responsiveness…a higher end wheel will move the steering wheel “quicker” than a lower powered wheel simply because there’s more torque available so the higher-end wheels just feel “more responsive”.
I think it’s more down to how important feel & immersion is to you and if there’s other racing games you play with a wheel outside of FH5.
Gamed on a Logitech G920 for a little bit then got a Fanatec CSL DD 8nm, while the CSL DD definitely feels Much better, it never once felt like the more expensive wheel made me quicker at the games I play, just feels better with the improved torque and the response. IMHO if what you have now gets the job done I’d just stick with that and save the money to upgrade later in the future when DD wheels are more accessible and affordable
I don’t know how sim racing gear works on xbox with compatibility, but the best upgrade imo to improve your sim racing experience would be pedals instead of wheel base
I’ve had wheels from both ends of the spectrum. Logitech Momo, Early 2000’s RS with add on clutch and shifter. Currently have a G27 (had it since they came out). None of them were better when it came to my lap times. The point of most modern DD wheels is immersion. They feel more realistic. When it came to reliability, the MOMO and the RS lasted about the same length of time (which was pretty long).
It comes down to disposable income. If you have 2k to blow without putting yourself in the doghouse, by all means buy a Fanatec. Otherwise the G923 is the XBX equivalent for a mid range wheel today at roughly $400 US (depending on where you get it). Make sure to add $50 for the shifter (separate item) or your using flappy paddles on everything.
Appreciate the opinions…my son took a shine to my Ferarri wheel (it’s the branded equivalent to the standard Thrustmaster T300…at the time a $400 wheel package, now a $500 package, full belt drive…with Thrusmaster you can only move further up to the TX (larger, beefier) and I guess soon a full direct drive.)
Thanks for the feedback, food for thought for sure. I suppose I could go back to Logitech or I could stick with another Thrusmaster setup…
I have played with mid-range Logitech and own Fanatec DDpro.
Both are absolutely worthless in FH5. Friends of mine also have wheels. None of them use a wheel in FH5 because the setup is so poor. Literally any other racing game, wheels are great.
I don’t now what FH5 did to muss it up so bad.
My recommendation is to invest $0 in any wheel until you start to play a different game. FM7 is where it is at (I realize it is not same gameplay style and 100 other things, but as far as wheel and feel goes…).
If you got yours to work well, I congratulate you! Lemme know your settings so I can share it with my friends!
I will tell you this. The Fanatec is a world different. Much smoother, quieter and stronger. You really can tell the difference.
Horizon is a Simcade where motorsport is much closer to a sim side… wheel support is just much better due to this alone in the motorsport series. That being said a wheel can still be fun in the horizon series. I use my wheel solely for when I am tandeming… or if im just relaxing driving around the map (if we are staying on the fh5 topic)… if your going for full sim based experience in racing and such it just feels extremely noticeable if you play on horizon
I’ve only ever used a G920 and I’m on my fourth one now in about 5 years - they don’t seem to last well IMO - or maybe I just abuse them too much. Mainly the centre gearing gets really loose and rattles quite quickly and I’ve had a few issues with the pedals not responding properly. Pretty bad considering they ain’t that cheap for a mid-range piece of kit.
One problem I’ve always had in all of them is the LSB & RSB buttons - they never get recognised in any mapping so pointless. Is this just me ? Can’t be a coincidence that all four have never worked.
Yes I’m familiar with all the other racing games, I think a lot of us just like to take cars out for spins on winding roads and so thats where the FH games shine brightest. FM7 or Corsa are far, far, far better when it comes to providing better FFB, that’s indisputable and I agree 100%.
Since you asked, on my TMX, you need 3 changes to make FH5 feel better with a wheel, staring with the DEFAULT settings:
Turn on Simulation Steering, this is a must.
Turn Wheel Centering Force down to one notch above “off”
Turn Wheel Dampening down to one notch above off.
(Optional) on Xbox, change your Wheel Axis outer deadzone down to 75% or so. This will tighten up your steering to 700 degrees or something in that range, so every car doesn’t feel like you’re driving a bus. NOTE that xbox compatible TMX wheels have an internal mode selector that is independent of the game settings (when used on an xbox), you want to make sure that setting is reflecting full 900 degree rotation, you hold the mode button down and click the d-pad or shifters L or R to cycle through the 4 settings.
Also optional, I like to increase the brake deadzone so you don’t lock up the brakes so easily…the tmx pedals are one step above hot garbage so you need every advantage here, this gives you more brake pedal play before you lock up…
Once those settings are done, you can play with Mininum Force Feedback and then the regular FFB setting depending on what you expect to feel in game. I like to drop Minimum FFB a bit because it better-simulates what I expect Power Steering to be in any given car, it gives the wheel a lighter feel during casual driving, but then when I do encounter a corner at speed or load shifting, turning a notch or two UP on the regular FFB setting means you’ll feel the FFB stronger. No pun intended but your mileage may vary, tune these to suit you.
It’s a tough call right now…you can get a T248 for reasonably cheap, the venerable T300 setups are around $500 and the higher-end dual belt TX-SW is $800, which is getting dangerously close to Direct Drive territory.
I’ve been sitting in the midrange for a long while now. Unless something drastic happens, I’m not going with another mid range wheel. Entry level DD is probably where I’m gonna land. I just hate how Fanatec lays out their “options”, everything is a la carte and can get pricey if you’re not paying attention. The absolute bare bones build through them is $1,200 once you piece in everything (and I avoided a bunch of options).
Some of their steering wheels are more expensive than an aftermarket wheel for my old '66 Mustang…
for years i used logitech wheels and pedals and about a year ago decided to splash out on a Fanatec clubsport wheel and pedals… i was very surprised at the difference in the equipment…a more realistic feel especially in other games outside of Forza horizon… also have the fanatec handbrake and gear shifter currently on order.
I am now kinda hooked on this level of gear and wouldnt go back to a logitech or a low end setup…
even though i wont go back to logitech wheels i cant knock them and have had many thousands of hours of fun with them over the years…
logically i think the decision should mainly be based on economics…as its not hard to tear up a few grand on top end stuff…if people can afford to they wont look back but most of the low end of the market will still do the job …
Yeah I won’t splash $1000 on something like this, Sim Racing isn’t something I generally get into, I mean real sim racing, the kind where you modify your car settings and swap tires during races…it’s just not me, but a semi-sim like Forza Motorsport…that’s probably something I’ll continue to enjoy, the pokemon style car collection and then a plethora of tracks to take them out and time trial on or even race against the AI…give me the HDR light bloom and the confetti cannons firing as I go by, that’s my thing…
That’s not worth a grand, and I hear you on the Fanatec stuff…Nice But…on the upside we know these DD’s will only come down in price.
So, the first thing you need to do is go to Youtube and search - WheelspinTV.
He is an incredible driver on a TMX wheel.
He has: How to drift videos as well as - How to set up your wheel.
He also explains all the settings in great detail, so you know the reason - why - you are doing the settings you are doing.
The most frustrating thing on using this Wheel is that it doesn’t have online support.
So you are stuck with only the settings you have available in the game.
The biggest problem is, you no longer have the ability to adjust the wheel rotation like you did in FH4.
This wheel turns slow, and as mentioned in a prior post, you can get around that, and it works amazing.
Wheelspin provides you the settings he uses, but also knows that every person likes a different feel in their wheel. His settings provide the perfect starting point that you can use to tweak it to your personal likes.
Here are the settings that I use:
You can use these however, this is what I like- but the biggest adjustment for this wheel is the - Steering Axis Deadzone Outside.
I have mine a 60 because that controls the amount of rotation needed on the wheel.
This wheel is SLOW to come back from a full lock turn, so after much experimenting, this is the ideal number that allows me to have full steering lock - with the wheel at a little past 180 degrees rotation. IOW - the top of the wheel is now at about the 7 o’clock position- in full lock- if turning right.
You can increase this number, but I found my greatest control was at 60.
Save your money, check out Wheelspin’s site, play with the Outside deadzone, and watch this wheel will come alive!
Those are good settings, not what I’m used to, but good while being different…will play around with them a bit. 60 is too tight for my tastes, but 70 is about perfect.
Also, as mentioned before, the pedal assembly is awful.
To get a better feel for the pedals, I started playing with just socks on.
That made a huge improvement because I could feel the brake pressure being applied.
Wearing shoes made the brake pedal feel totally numb and a guessing game in the turn.
Silly, but it works. . .
I always race in my socks. Even with a controller. In fact, usually in my pyjamas as well.
Only problem is now, since the colossal bomb OS release that broke the wheel, I can’t even get an E-Brake to work AT ALL !! so still having to use a controller even after the wheel stopping the game from running issue was eventually resolved.
Gotta be honest…played around with your settings above a bit, and now I think I’m sold. The wheel-feel is more what I’d call “snappy” than my old settings. This really did change the behavior of the wheel. I’m still tinkering but that center spring action does make it want to return to true seemingly faster than if you set that to centering force to zero and tried to ramp-up the FFB Scaling to compensate.
The pedals are the pedals, and yeah they’re light as a feather and you should stick to socks for these. I have a piece of squishy-foam behind the lever just to give it a little more resistance, and then by adjusting the inner brake dead-zone for me to around 30 or 35 you get it so it doesn’t immediately lock up the brakes, its about as dialed-in as I expect them to ever be.
Thanks for sharing those settings!
Note: turning on vibrations will allow you to feel the rumble when anti-locks kick in BUT…you gotta have vibrations on then, so double-edged sword.
Great to hear those settings worked for you!
Thanks for the Feedback - Slight pun intended . . .
I do have a question though:- You stated:
Where is this located?- the wheel setting options I have show the E-brake inner and outer deadzones.
But I don’t see a - Brake pedal - deadzone option.
Are you referring to the individual car tuning options?
Brake Force Balance and Pressure - Front / Rear - Low / High?
Thanks for the tip on the foam, will definitely give that a try.
Look forward to your reply.
PS . . I hate driving with a wheel that is vibrating out of my hands, but I guess I could try a minimal setting. . .
Lazy grammar on my part, I was referring to the deceleration dead zone…
I put mine at about 35 percent…for me the brakes were always too twitchy, they went to lockup with very minimal travel, so I pushed that out to about 35 percent and it just feels like I get better brake control, could very well be my ankle or the spring tension is better when you give the pedal a little more room to move before the sensors start picking up inputs, but its an improvement for me so give it a shot, see if it works out for you.
And as for Vibration, I noticed leaving it at the default of I think .5 isn’t too intrusive for me. I’ve never taken a car on a dirt road at 120mph+ so…who am I to say what that should actually feel like
