After the set officially launched at the OverTake office, it was time for a MOZA R3 Racing Bundle review – here are our thoughts on the entry-level direct drive kit!
Last week we showed you our first impressions and an unboxing of the MOZA R3 Racing Bundle for Xbox and PC. In the meantime, we have tested it extensively on both platforms and can hopefully answer many of your questions in our review, including the fact that it unfortunately does not work with one of the most relevant racing simulations currently available on Xbox. Let's take a closer look at it and find out who this kit is for and who might want to consider something else.
MOZA R3 Racing Bundle Contents
For those of you who have not watched our video last week, here is a summary of the key information: The R3 Racing Bundle includes a compact wheelbase in an X-design that features a direct drive servo motor with 3.9 Nm of peak torque.There is also a 280 mm (11 inch) diameter wheel with 22 buttons, shift pedals and typical Xbox assignments, called the ESX wheel. With the PU material on the alloy, it is not a marvel of material appearance, but it is cleanly finished. There is even an LED strip, which only serves a limited purpose, but more about that later.
The Xbox buttons on the ESX Wheel.
The package is rounded off by the SRP-Lite pedals. These are equipped with maintenance-free, easy-to-actuate Hall sensors. The pedals’ sturdy steel construction is also much more stable than the plastic pedals found in most other entry-level sets. An important note: The table clamp is also included as standard.
Price
The bundle costs €439 in the EU and just under $400 in the US without taxes. With this competitive price, the MOZA R3 is positioned close to the gear and belt-driven wheels like the Logitech G923 or Thrustmaster TMX/TX, and is even slightly cheaper than the currently lowest-priced Xbox compatible 5 Nm Direct Drive Ready2Race bundle from Fanatec.For €40 more you get an additional 1.1 Nm of peak torque there, although it has the old Fanatec QR1 quick release, which the MOZA QR is superior to. With the licensed McLaren or WRC rims, you get nicer steering wheel options, though.
You have to buy the table clamp from Fanatec for €30 however, and at the time of this review, it will not available for another month, which is certainly a factor if you want to start right away and do not have a rig to mount your wheel to. Prices and offers may vary by country and time, so be sure to double-check.
The companion app allows users to change wheel base settings on the fly.
Setup & Software
Before we get into the actual game tests, a few words about setting up the MOZA R3. Everything is described well in the included manual, and in addition to the MOZA Pithouse software on the PC, I also tested the iOS app, which connects to the wheel base via Bluetooth and allows for firmware updates and fine tuning. It is basically like a mobile version of Pithouse and especially helpful for Xbox users. More about what you can actually adjust on the fly in a moment.MOZA R3 Racing Bundle & ACC On Xbox
With Assetto Corsa Competizione being arguably the best sim racing alternative on consoles, the question about the R3 Racing Bundle working with the game on Xbox came up frequently. As of August 1, 2024, the news is good - ACC does work with the MOZA R3 Racing Bundle on Xbox.Fans of Assetto Corsa Competizione on Xbox were initially disappointed, but as of August 2024, the wheel now works with ACC.
Initially, it did not. When the bundle was released, it looks so promising when you started the sim - the menus could be operated, and the steering angle and pedals were even functional in the control settings. But once you headed out on track, the car did not accept steering and throttle input. In the same controls menu used previously, there was no recognizable movement anymore. Luckily, this is a thing of the past now.
On PC, the R3 works with ACC without problems. At 100% force in Pithouse and 80% FFB strength in game, you can even drive without clipping, so without losing effects on curbs or larger displacements. The feedback and the weight in the steering wheel, the resistance when turning and especially the center position – it is all there, but very muted and weak.
The R3 wheel base sports a very compact design.
You need to keep in mind that 3.9 Nm at peak is not really that much. Nevertheless, the Force Feedback is detailed and communicates the frequencies more finely, especially in comparison to the belt and gear-driven wheels. I have been using Logitech G27, Thrustmaster TX and Thrustmaster T150 wheels for many years and would definitely choose a weaker Direct Drive like the R3 in comparison, as it is also much quieter.
Oscillations when driving in a straight line were present not only in ACC, but it is possible to combat these with higher damper and friction settings. We hope MOZA will include a few more presets for the sim titles in their software going forward to make it more beginner friendly and provide the best possible FFB experience, because this little thing has some potential.
Assetto Corsa & EA Sports WRC
Our best Xbox experience was with the original Assetto Corsa, which came to Xbox One in 2016, and EA Sports WRC. In AC, you have good control over the settings, and here it can come in handy to match the steering angle settings in the game and in the MOZA mobile app. I tested the same Porsche/Nordschleife combination with the PC version and the Force Feedback had a bit more depth in the latter, about 10-15% better than on the Xbox, and the input lag was also noticeably lower.The bumpy rally stages allow the wheelbase to show its potential, and in WRC, the R3 had by far the most power of any title we tested. At the hands-on event at our office last week, we were also able to gather feedback from our community, who tested this exact setup on-site.
There were also die-hard sim racers who said this would be a great set for beginners or younger drivers. The small 11-inch form factor of the wheel also works well for this, and it also allows for better transfer of weaker forces compared to a heavier wheel with a larger diameter. The MOZA HBP Handbrake does also work with the base, so the list on their website we mentioned earlier is really the go-to source to check what will work and what not.
Other MOZA peripherals can be connected to the R3 wheel base, like the HBP Handbrake.
I also took a look at Forza Horizon 5 and noticed another issue: Not all button mappings allow custom assignment. For example, throttle, brake and gear shifting are hardcoded to the wheel buttons too. So although you have your pedals for this, due to the limitations of the Xbox control scheme, the N, P, S1 and S2 buttons cannot be used with custom assignments like "look left" or other functions in FH5. Regardless, this is really not the kind of game I would buy a steering wheel for. You can feel certain effects of the road, but there is no feeling at all for the weight of the car, and there is practically no reaction to counter-steering. Quite strange, but certainly not the fault of the R3.
Going back to the RPM indicator mentioned earlier: It does not work on the Xbox. Not for any title. You can turn it off in the Moza app, but the profiles reset themselves automatically when the game is restarted, so the indicator lights up again without purpose. MOZA should improve this and either make it functional or just turn it off in Xbox mode. Even on the PC, the indicator was not always reliable and sometimes got stuck.
MOZA R3 Racing Bundle: Pedals
Next, I tried Automobilista 2 and F1 24 on the PC, focusing more on the pedals by driving cars without ABS - and this revealed the biggest weakness of the bundle. While the pedal travel is easy to control for casual drivers without big ambitions, and the set is very robustly constructed, there is almost no resistance, especially in the brake pedal. And it is not news that races are won on the brakes.The development of muscle memory and brake feel is so important, especially in a Le Mans prototype or F1 car, and without a load cell, the feeling is simply missing in the long run.
Sturdy construction, but light pedal feel: The SRP-Lite pedals are not made with the development of muscle memory in mind.
Again, with both titles, I found the steering to be very spongy, but with practice and getting used to it, you can definitely find your pace and have fun. So if you want to take the whole sim racing thing a little bit more seriously, you might want to save up for a slightly stronger wheel base and pedals with a load cell anyway. The MOZA ecosystem already allows upgrades to slightly better pedals, the installation of a stronger spring and the entire range of steering wheels can be used on the R3 base.
ESX Wheel On Other Bases
The key is that only the ESX wheel contains the chip for the Xbox, however. This also means that the stronger MOZA bases can be used on the Xbox with this wheel, and this wheel only. I tested it with the R12 and SR-P Load Cell pedals, and this also revealed that the PU Grip on the ESX is not that grippy anymore when you are running up to 12 Nm.Using the ESX Wheel, other MOZA bases become Xbox-compatible as well.
MOZA R3 Racing Bundle: Verdict
In conclusion, I think MOZA has launched an attractive bundle for beginners or sim racers with a limited budget who want to take their experience to a new level. Since it took so long to introduce the product to the market, I would have expected it to be more complete, with ACC support on Xbox and a working RPM indicator out of the box. It is good that this was fixed via an update later on.In my personal opinion, those who only race on the PC are better off with the R5 bundle in the lower price range, or the Fanatec CSL DD with the option of upgrading to 8Nm later via the boost kit.
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