Thrustmaster Introduces PlayStation-compatible T598 Direct Drive Wheel Base

Thrustmaster-T598-Unveil-Banner.jpg
Image: Thrustmaster
Thrustmaster is taking the next step in their lineup of racing wheels: The Thrustmaster T598 is a PlayStation-compatible wheel base featuring 5Nm of torque.

The T818 has a cousin: Thrustmaster has unveiled the T598 Direct Drive wheel base that sees the manufacturer take their DD tech to consoles for the first time - although only to PlayStation 4 and 5. The wheel base comes bundled with an all-new round wheel and the Thrustmaster Raceline Pedals LTE for €499.99/$499.99/£449.99.

Compared to the T818, Thrustmasters first Direct Drive wheel base, the T598 is shorter and only features 5Nm of torque, meaning it is an entry-level Direct Drive base. Thrustmaster's specs also list an overshoot, which should mean that the base will be able to deliver the 5Nm it can produce constantly.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1844710147815264264

To get sim racers up and running, the included wheel rim sports a versatile round shape and is 300mm in diameter. The wheel's grips are made from rubber, and it features magnetic paddle shifters, a multifunctional encoder, and plenty of buttons in addition to the four on the wheel base itself. The latter also comes with a small display.

With the all-metal Raceline pedal set that allows the addition of a third pedal and the wheel included, this looks to be quite a competitively-priced bundle. The base is also compatible with a number of other wheels in the Thrustmaster ecosystem.

The bundle also comes with a table clamp and two carpet grips included, which should make it suitable for a wide range of setups. It will be available on November 29, with pre-orders already open.

What are your thoughts on the Thrustmaster T598 set? Let us know in the comments below and join the discussion in our hardware forum!
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Yannik Haustein
Yannik Haustein
Lifelong motorsport enthusiast and sim racing aficionado, walking racing history encyclopedia.

Sim racing editor, streamer and one half of the SimRacing Buddies podcast (warning, German!).

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Comments

Havner
the first racing gear powered by Direct Axial Drive technology
Click to expand...
So we've renamed Direct Drive to Direct Axial Drive 🥸 and we've made first ever such a wheel on the market! Praise us! We're innovative, we're first on the market!
 
B
For that price you can buy the Moza complete setup and pay the money for the extras and it would be better suited.
Thrustmaster T598 only has the advantage of if you already have a Thrustmaster setup to retain the wheel(s) and I thought the base would a lot smaller but maybe I thinking of Moza!!!
 
M
BBoppie said:
For that price you can buy the Moza complete setup and pay the money for the extras and it would be better suited.
Thrustmaster T598 only has the advantage of if you already have a Thrustmaster setup to retain the wheel(s) and I thought the base would a lot smaller but maybe I thinking of Moza!!!
Click to expand...
Moza has a PS Base? Since when
 
Sithhy™
BBoppie said:
For that price you can buy the Moza complete setup and pay the money for the extras and it would be better suited.
Thrustmaster T598 only has the advantage of if you already have a Thrustmaster setup to retain the wheel(s) and I thought the base would a lot smaller but maybe I thinking of Moza!!!
Click to expand...
Your point would be valid if not for the fact that the T598 is made for the PS & PC, where as the Moza is 99% PC with only just one wheelbase being Xbox-compatible so far & it's worse in terms of specs than what Thrustmaster just released.

Also, I don't get the argument that Thrustmaster's advantage in this case is the fact that if you have something of theirs then it's not worth switching to other ecosystems. That goes for literally any other setup you go for as well, not just TM.
 
RiddleTime
It seems that Thrustmaster might have learned from their mistakes with the clamp of the T300 and TH8A. Which is the exact reason why I won't be buying from this brand again, the same failure on a metal part on 2 different products. That's either neglecting issues or just planned obsolescence, although very nice to still see the part available in their spare parts shop.

(Maybe I have overtightened the clamps? not sure since I don't lift. The clamps of my 10 year old g27 are still functional though)
 
Juliusz Baczynski
Michael Krone said:
I dont know.. For that price I would like to see a shifter and 3rd pedal.
Click to expand...
Moza r5 bundle was around that price, and it lived up to the expectations, this bundle has even adustable brake force and icluded springs which the r5 bundle did not, is say this defintely a competitor if they deliver as well as moza did
 
Rolands Svētiņš
RiddleTime said:
It seems that Thrustmaster might have learned from their mistakes with the clamp of the T300 and TH8A. Which is the exact reason why I won't be buying from this brand again, the same failure on a metal part on 2 different products. That's either neglecting issues or just planned obsolescence, although very nice to still see the part available in their spare parts shop.

(Maybe I have overtightened the clamps? not sure since I don't lift. The clamps of my 10 year old g27 are still functional though)
Click to expand...
Which part of TH8A?
Mine is holding like a warrior all the mean no mercy slaps and shifts 4th season and is tightened to horizontal profile extension plate with no movement.
 
C
So I deal with a ton of electric motors in my job (HVAC), Im by no means an electrical engineer, but I have practical experience with many types.
Not commenting on the price or execution, but Im super excited to see this kind of tech moving forward.
I read the technical documents when TM talked about the tech inside is pretty neat and SHOULD elevate all of our experiences by a good measure.
Now, please understand Im not praising TM, and all the claims are going to have to be verified. We shall wait and see if this is actually a step forward, or a silly lateral design.
Needless to say im stoked to see what the other companies have cooking up. TM is ALWAYS late to the party so Im willing to bet this isnt the last Axial drive we see pop up....and we need it....cause as fancy as a DD wheel is nowadays...the tech aint nothing spectacular. Ive got Commercial control systems with newer and fancier drives than a Sim Magic and they caost a fraction. And when you work with them in the real world and see the price...you really gotta wonder why we fork over a grand for 30 year old tech with a new aged interface...
(Cause theres no other option! lol)
 
Wilko Jones
Premium
For that price, I'll stick to my notchy CSL-DD 8Nm.

Based on looks...
I'll stick to my sleek by comparison, CSL-DD.


This was a swing and a miss from Thrustmaster. Form factor is working heavily against the DAD wheelbase.
 
andrewaugust93
It's like the only good looking thing in that picture is that pedal which just looks like the MOZA SRP Lite. And those centering strips really just defeats the purpose of having centering strips on the wheel. Also for that price ?! The damn thing is nearly completely plastic! Just get a CSL DD PS compatible version, at least that looks good.
 
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G
The Axial drive is interesting. I can't wait to see the reviews. If it delivers on their claims this could be a great unit. As for the looks I could care less I use vr anyways. I would love it to ship without the pedals they just drive up the price.
 
Skinny McLean
Havner said:
So we've renamed Direct Drive to Direct Axial Drive 🥸 and we've made first ever such a wheel on the market! Praise us! We're innovative, we're first on the market!
Click to expand...
To my knowledge they indeed are the first to use an axial flux motor in sim-racing - that's pretty innovative in my opinion.

Other manufacturers use radial flux motors which require higher amounts of quite expensive copper wire than axial flux ones do. The latter is also used in some electrical vehicles.


in-the-axial-flux-design-right-the-flux-moves-in-parallel-with-the-axis-this-arrangement-allows-for-a-greater-power-to-weight.jpg


Here's Thrustmaster's own paper on the technology.
 
C
Skinny McLean said:
To my knowledge they indeed are the first to use an axial flux motor in sim-racing - that's pretty innovative in my opinion.

Other manufacturers use radial flux motors which require higher amounts of quite expensive copper wire than axial flux ones do. The latter is also used in some electrical vehicles.


in-the-axial-flux-design-right-the-flux-moves-in-parallel-with-the-axis-this-arrangement-allows-for-a-greater-power-to-weight.jpg


Here's Thrustmaster's own paper on the technology.
Click to expand...
Alas, no one seems to get it. Completely new tech has implications for every brand, but we wont even try to understand it, "cuz its ugly".
 
S
As one of those who have quite a few Thrustmaster eco-things, I am always interested in news about DD.
Howeever, this one disappoints me quite a bit.
But again, it will surely please PS users. And the price isn't too bad either, and I sense that of PS users, there are by far the majority who only use 2 and not 3 pedals
For PC users I think that Thrustmaster must introduce a little flexibility here, e.g. offering a stand alone version of this wheel base, being attractive comparared to similar 5Nm entry level DD solutions.

That said, in general I'm quite happy with my non-DD T300RS-GT which has seen me through quite a few years with different pedal sets, even possible to attach the G27s to the wheel base, then the T3PA and recent 3 year T-LCM as well as my H-shifter + handbrake homemade solution in my rig with 2xT8HA.
I haven't experienced instability with this system, but now I also don't use table clamps, which one user mentions as a weakness in terms of durability. The only point of criticism is the assembly method for my steering wheel and my wheelbase, especially when in sims I experience the FFB response far exceeding the 3.7Nm, a thin screw to secure is simply too unstable.

I hope Thrustmaster has more DD solutions on the way than the two they have now come up with.
Considering how big a player they are in the market, I'm a little surprised that they aren't a little more aggressive here.

Nota bene
It's not because I feel "bound" by their eco system in any way. For example, I have often been on the lookout for the Moza R9, where the price for the base alone is very attractive. But a full test of Moza's software regarding backward compatibility to older sims is missing.

But off topic this is on Thrustmaster, and I think the title is fine - fully aimed for PS users.
 

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