So I just got my first wheel/pedals set up for Forza, a Thrustmaster TMX Pro, and I have a few questions. I’ve already found some threads with setups to try out, but these are more general. Having never raced with a FFB wheel before I just assumed I’d be able to jump right in and immediately be able to beat all my old best times that I’d set using a standard controller. My thinking was that I’d have much more precise control as well as the fact that I’d now be controlling the cars the same way as I do when driving in real life, which I’ve been doing for around 27 years. Needless to say I was completely wrong.
I think the biggest thing I’m struggling with is the actual force feedback part of the system. When using a regular controller the car is either doing what I’m telling it to in relation to the position of the left stick or it’s out of control and I need to do some things to get control back. With the wheel the car is now reacting to inputs from not just me but where/how the wheel turns from force feedback. Basically what I thought would make cars easier to handle actually adds another level of obstacles to deal with and over come.
Is this something others have felt when switching to a wheel for the first time? Because right now, even though I’m no where close to giving up, I am feeling a bit of buyer’s remorse worrying that I may have spent $250 on this setup only to find I prefer and do better with the controls I already had.
One thing I haven’t seen yet is anyone asking if it’s possible to just drive with the wheel and pedals without any FFb, or would that not make any sense. Is that an option? Can you do that and still have the wheel recenter itself?
The first change I made was to lower the angle of rotation to 270degrees. That did help a lot, but of course doesn’t change the fact that I’m not used to having a controller that fights backs.
Any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
I hope I can get the hang of it soon. I prefer racing in multiplayer, but I’ve always prided myself on being a clean and fair racer. I’m afraid to race in multiplayer now with the wheel because I’d wreck people unintentionally.
Your best bet is the Hardware and Peripherals forum where there are multiple threads going on wheel use. I would also strongly suggest you made sure you have the latest drivers from Thrustmaster installed, use their Control Panel to set up the basics with the wheel plugged into your PC with the Update system, then make sure what you use for the rotational setting (270, 360, etc., all the way to 900) is the same in-game. Otherwise, you will have a conflict from the start.
Research your way through all the posts in the Hardware and Peripherals section, first. Stick with the guide information Thrustmaster suggests, then you can tinker with finding the right personal settings for your driving style while starting out of the slower cars in the game. You need to get comfortable with the feel and handling at slower speeds - until it is “easy” - and then graduate up to the faster cars and more difficult tracks. And watch the in-game Rivals replays to learn the proper lines for cornering, braking and shift points.
Hey Snowowl, do you think you could put a word in to have the hardware section unburied from miscellaneous >general xbox gaming>hardware and peripherals and perhaps have its own tile? Especially since the games are on PC now too some people may not even be aware of the hardware forum because it is kind of hidden. Just a though, sorry for OT.
Most people will tell you that you can be faster with a controller. I bought a wheel for the enjoyment of it. I suggest starting with hot hatches and front wheel drive cars, if you really want to go fast there are are some front wheel drive “forza turing car” homologation. You really shouldnt be fighting the wheel if the wheel starts fighting you thats it trying to simulate the car pulling and losing grip. Start on smooth round tracks like Silverstone and Maple valley and use 80-99% throttle and focus on steering smooth. Good luck and have fun.
I have the TX,i run ffb at 45,Thrustmasters get hot and lose some ffb feeling if you run high ffb,i find 45 a good balance,Also you will be slower with the wheel at first but keep practicing and you will improve with time,i run road cars at 540 DOA and open wheel and LMP cars at 330 DOA.Make sure in advance settings you are using 0-100 on your dead zones.Use low class cars to learn and work you way up,i can always get faster times with a wheel than a controller now,in fact I can’t hardly drive with a controller anymore and the wheel is much more immersive!! Good luck my friend.Edit,always start your xbox with the button on console then plug in wheel power cord then usb and depress both pedals 3 times before starting a race.
Some people have trouble starting the xbox with the controller then switching to the wheel,i read on these forums about doing it the way I posted and never have any troubles doing it like that,the 3 press on each pedal is to calibrate them is what I read. You only need to do the pedal thing once each time you start the xbox.
You should try running with a low DOR while your learning, start with 270. Once you get comfortable with how to handle is you can crank it up if you want to but use what feels most natural to you. Definatley use normal steering too, going from a controller to a wheel you are basically taking the training wheels off, normal steering will help keep the cars a bit more stable.
I would also recommend using normal manual as the game will handle the throttle on downshift for you so you won’t have to worry obout it until you are more accustomed to how to drive with the wheel, you should get comfortable with it before you start to learn the more technical driving techniques.
Start with lower class cars and work your way up, keep in mind that a lot of the cars seem to suffer from lift off oversteer, so if you find your loosing the back end on corner entry/mid corner try to hold a bit of throttle to prevent it.
The point of Force Feedback isn’t to control the wheel, it’s to give you input you can feel so that you can make an informed reaction. I race out in the real world, and like you I also thought I would be blazing fast on the wheel and I was also surprised at my lower performance. I’m better with the wheel now than I am on the controller. One thing I noticed I was doing: I was letting the force feedback control the wheel, rather than putting the wheel where I want it to be-regardless of how strong the resistance is against that movement. Don’t let the FFB control your arms, you control your wheel. The FFB is just there to help you make good decisions. Turning FFB off would be a bad idea IMO and totally unrealistic (I’m assuming you bought the *wheel for SOME sense of realism). I’ve also found that throttle management is extremely important with the wheel. If you find that you’re either completely pinned or completely off the gas then rolling onto the throttle easier should fix your problems as well. That being said, it takes some time to get used to. It’s supposed to be ‘realistic’ but there’s nothing that compares to real-world driving. Don’t be hard on yourself you will get the hang of it.
Oh, and to answer your question at the end: I have the logitech g920 and it does not have l3 or r3 options so I have my xbox controller with me. I use the controller to navigate menus and vote for tracks in multiplayer and I use the wheel to drive.
Try playing with the ffb settings a bit. It takes some time to find what you want. Use Normal steering. Also, 270 degrees of wheel rotation is like a go-kart, very twitchy. Id really recommend starting at 720. You shouldnt need much less or much more than that.
No L3 or R3 buttons on the TX or TMX either. I agree with most above. It’s a whole new adjustment period to get decent with the wheel. The controller has some filters that help you control the car that the wheel does not. So you’ll find yourself oversteering in the corners when you come in too hot for a while. But once you learn it, it’s much more immersive than the controller and a helluva lot more fun. I say this as someone who currently has their TX in for an insurance repair (it lost calibration completely after 2 years and 10 months on a 3 year plan) and I can’t wait to get the thing back!
Quick question: Does a the angle of rotation mean that’s the amount you need to turn the wheel in order to get the wheels to be turned their maximum in either direction? I’m not sure I get this, because even at 360 that would mean I’d need to turn the wheel completely in a circle to get furthest left or right? That doesn’t seem to make sense, especially if set to higher like 720 or 900.
Sorry if this is a stupid question, I just don’t get it.
Thanks
The DOR (Degrees of Rotation) is total rotation of the wheel. So 360 would be 180 degrees in each direction from center to get to max steering input. 900 would be 450 each direction. I play at 900. Rarely do you go beyond 180 even at 900 unless you’re drifting and counter-steering (but that could just be me because I’m terrible at catching a drift LOL).