Taiwanese hardware manufacturer FlashFire has made its first appearane at gamescom 2024 and brought a broad range of brand-new sim racing equipment. So far, the brand could not be found in Europe.
FlashFire might not be a name many sim racers have heard of, but the hardware manufacturer has actually been active in its native Taiwan for a while. The company produces gaming peripherals including sim racing hardware, particularly entry-level sets. However, at gamescom 2024, FlashFire have taken the step up into the world of direct drive for the very first time with their brand new 'Silverstone' wheelbase package.
The set contains the new X110 direct drive wheel base, capable of up to 10 Nm of torque as well as an adjustable 180-1080 degrees of rotation. We got to try the wheel base in F1 24 at gamescom, where it made a solid first impression, although it could have used some more fine tuning.
FlasFire also debuted both the W101 GT wheel and W201 Formula wheel rims at the event, allowing for some choice in shape when running the DD base.
FlashFire Silverstone wheelbase and wheel rims
What makes the Imola wheelbase stand out from the rest of their lineup is the H-pattern style gear shifter. It may not anything spectacular compared to other shifters, however, it does have a feature that is rarely found on other H-shifters.
FlashFire Wheelbase and interesting gear shifter
The shifter has a low and high range gear switch on it, meaning that if you are using it to drive a truck or something else that has high and low gear range, like a 4x4 in BeamNG.drive, this switch is excellent to have. The gear shifter also has a handbrake button on it, allowing the shifter to be used as a handbrake as well - a bit like the Thrustmaster TH8A, but with less setup work.
Overall, the FlashFire range is still very early on in its life, at least outside of Taiwan. The company treated gamescom as a test run to gauge the international market, so maybe there will be a new entry-level option to be found soon. A good manufacturer to compare it to would be PXN, in our opinion.
A plus that FlashFire has is compatibility: Their equipment works on PC, Xbox One and Series X|S, as well as PlayStation 4 - not on PS5 yet, though, which we were told is for licensing reasons.
What do you think about the FlashFire range of sim equipment? Let us know on X @OverTake_gg or down in the comments below!
FlashFire might not be a name many sim racers have heard of, but the hardware manufacturer has actually been active in its native Taiwan for a while. The company produces gaming peripherals including sim racing hardware, particularly entry-level sets. However, at gamescom 2024, FlashFire have taken the step up into the world of direct drive for the very first time with their brand new 'Silverstone' wheelbase package.
The set contains the new X110 direct drive wheel base, capable of up to 10 Nm of torque as well as an adjustable 180-1080 degrees of rotation. We got to try the wheel base in F1 24 at gamescom, where it made a solid first impression, although it could have used some more fine tuning.
FlasFire also debuted both the W101 GT wheel and W201 Formula wheel rims at the event, allowing for some choice in shape when running the DD base.
FlashFire Silverstone wheelbase and wheel rims
Imola Wheelbase
Not only have the Silverstone base and rims been announced, but their newly debuted 'Imola' wheel is also part of FlashFire's gamescom 2024 lineup. This base is aimed at entry-level sim racers who are looking to upgrade from a controller to their first wheel, with the visuals reminding us of the Turtle Beach VelocityOne a bit.What makes the Imola wheelbase stand out from the rest of their lineup is the H-pattern style gear shifter. It may not anything spectacular compared to other shifters, however, it does have a feature that is rarely found on other H-shifters.
FlashFire Wheelbase and interesting gear shifter
The shifter has a low and high range gear switch on it, meaning that if you are using it to drive a truck or something else that has high and low gear range, like a 4x4 in BeamNG.drive, this switch is excellent to have. The gear shifter also has a handbrake button on it, allowing the shifter to be used as a handbrake as well - a bit like the Thrustmaster TH8A, but with less setup work.
Overall, the FlashFire range is still very early on in its life, at least outside of Taiwan. The company treated gamescom as a test run to gauge the international market, so maybe there will be a new entry-level option to be found soon. A good manufacturer to compare it to would be PXN, in our opinion.
A plus that FlashFire has is compatibility: Their equipment works on PC, Xbox One and Series X|S, as well as PlayStation 4 - not on PS5 yet, though, which we were told is for licensing reasons.
What do you think about the FlashFire range of sim equipment? Let us know on X @OverTake_gg or down in the comments below!
