I bought a (“the” at the moment) wheel, and I’m very happy with it.
I went back and forth quite a bit, wondering if it’d be worth it. Read as many forum posts as I could. What I found was that the most vocal crowd is people who already own wheels and know all about them. I knew nothing. Relatively speaking, I still know nothing. However, that works in my favor. Where the been-gaming-with-wheels-for-years crowd can find all sorts of reasons not to buy a wheel right now (quality, compatibility with older setups, etc.), this is my first wheel.
Because it’s my first wheel, I have nothing to compare it to. Because I have nothing to compare it to, I can only judge it on how it’s changed Forza for me, and the change has been overwhelmingly positive. Not only is it far more immersive than before, it’s also much easier for me to play cleanly. I have a condition that makes it difficult for me to use controllers for fine movements, so I was all kinds of frustrated before. I love Forza, and I even loved it when I could hardly play it. Now that I have a controller that I can use, I love Forza all the more.
The people who’ve already owned wheels remind me of my friends who attend wine tastings. They find the “overtones of smoky asparagus followed by a clean finish that indicate the soil for this batch saw at least one full moon and frosted over twice.” For me, wine is either red or white. I either like it or I don’t.
One day, I might understand why the TX wheel is the source of so much debate. For now, it’s just a thing that, for me, was worth every penny.
As for performance, what people have been saying is accurate. Despite my motor control problems, there are some things that are still easier with a controller. The game’s more forgiving - it’s like you get an extra little bit of help because T10 know it can be awkward to play with a controller. Recovering from a spin, for example, I found easier with a regular controller. It feels like you’re less vulnerable to the online griefers. On the other hand, you can be much, much smoother with a wheel. You can hold a long turn rather than having to repeatedly make corrections all the way through that feel clumsy.
But, it really comes down to understanding the game. If you watch replays of the top leaderboard drivers, you can tell most are using controllers. For them, it’s a matter of having practiced and improved and gotten to where they are now regardless of input device. It’ll be the same for you.
The question is really this: are you more interested in feeling like you’re actually driving than just trying to post the fastest lap times possible? I don’t think the wheel holds people back, but if it did, I would much rather come in third with a wheel than first with a controller. I love driving; that’s why I wanted a good driving game. And it just felt wrong without the wheel.
Until you make your decision, follow the advice people give for changing the controller’s deadzones. It makes a big difference.