Accuforce or OSW wheel?

[Jens Roos]

I'm current running an TS-PC racer and pretty satisfied but looking more and more to upgrading to an direct drive wheel.

There is mainly two things I would like to be improved, the force seems to be on the limit (or over) sometimes, and when fast switching load you do noticed the belt mechanism, even if very little.

Another thing I don't like with my current wheel is the smal "bumps" when playing slow steering sims like ETS2 and ATS (when racing it is not an issue but you can note it on the straights). (OK an DD wheel is way over the top for that type of sim but would that improve, it sure is an plus

What I do on the other hand like is the simplicity, that in general the wheel needs little to no FFB tuning.

What I have been looking at is either an OSW wheel like this one:
https://www.simracingcoach.com/en/contenido/kit-augury-osw/

Or very soon to be released, the Accuforce pro v2:
http://simxperience.com/products/accessories/accuforcesteering/accuforcepro.aspx

Both seems to be in about the same price range (with a wheel)

I tried to find some pro an con from my point of view, but if you are an
user of any of the wheels I really would like some comments
OSW
+ high resolution industrial servo motor
= little know about supplier, but have high reviews
= pedals plugs in controller?
- low volume, the OSW solutions seems to have an wide range of quality
- little known about software, seems a bit more tricky

AF
+ software seems to be top notch and easy to use
+ looks great, more of an commercial package
+ everybody seems satisfied with the support
+ on supplied wheel, no external cables
= stepper/servo hybrid, still low speed smooth?
- pedals need external converter
- not yet released so no reviews available

I'm leaning towards the new AF and I'm sure both will be an excellent choice,
but if you have any comment, good or bad experience, please share.

 

[signman]

Who was the supplier ?

 

[Jens Roos]

The supplier is Motedis in Germany, they supply aluminum profiles and accessories.
Same day I sent the picture (or actually on Monday since I sent it late Friday) the responded and shipping all missing parts without any questions, and they are actually in transit as well.

Since work and stuff will get in the way, it will take close to 2 weeks before I can assembly the rig but I can add an picture how it is going to be (approximate of course)

The seat will use special slider to have an solid mount, but adjustable. Mouse pad, keyboard and gearshift is turnable 180 degrees, keyboard and mouse pad is on sliders

Since my son also use this computer and I also play other games like elite and similar (not for a while since started with...), the mouse pad can slide out and be replace by another slider, wheel has an quick release.

And hopefully the possibility to move keyboard and mouse pad/tray it will get some what easy to enter/leave

After almost 930 hours in AC and 150 in rF2 (using my current setup), it sure will be interesting if all this rather expensive "investment" (if wife ask) will pay off in better lap times and/or races, the immersion will for sure be better

 

[signman]

Aha..Motedis.
I placed an order too some month's ago.

Waited 3 weeks for my profile to arrive.
I got bored of waiting so cancelled my order and got a refund.

Finally order from a UK supplier and my order was ready in 24hrs !
Fun to build your own rig and cheaper.

 

[Jens Roos]

Now I have all the pices and fabricated the custom parts, wip but I hope to be ready soon. Target distance eye-screen is 620-650mm that is a bit less than I have today and should be suitible for an 27" setup.

I'll post some more when it is done and initial feedback regarding the osw and pedals

 

[RichardHessels]

Myself still deciding for a DD kit.
I already have steeringwheels and buttonboxes etc.
Still very tempted for ordering the Accuforce instead of the OSW.
Mainly because of the great software that comes with it.
Already owning their Simvibe software, wich works great.
I have to deal a lot with rF1 for my work.
With the Accuforce i would be able to go around rF1's ancient FFB code (when G25 FFB was still king of the hill) and get input and feedback directly from the physics.
Having tested a OSW big Mige and a Bodnar for some afternoons i was a bit underwhelmed by the OSW for the application i use it the most.
Compared to the Bodnar wheel that is.
For sure the big Mige is strong. Was driving it around 35% power.
The Bodnar was at 50%.
But after messing around with a lot of settings the OSW still felt kind of sluggish and numb.
Been trying with many settings but still was not the result i liked.
AC felt ok, but never been a fan of AC physics.
AMS felt quite good, but still it a bit like driving a car on metal wheels.
Where with the Bodnar the steering experience somehow felt more natural.
Offcourse Bodnar costs roughly 3x times the OSW, mostly due to the better hardware used.
But i don't use it often enough to spend that kind of money on it.
Are there people here that use a big Mige OSW on rF1 and have good experience with it?

 

[Jens Roos]

So, now everything is finally mounted and tested

My rigg is actually located in an "expanded closet", so it tends to get a bit hot, but you do get some privacy and the lack of windows is an good thing. However, it's a bit hard to take som good photos so here is some how it is done, but the photo quality is not so high.

Custom aluminium rig with OMP seat, OSW wheel (SimuCube, small Mige), Heusinkveld Sim Pedals Pro, 3x27" gsync 7680x1440 and TH8A shifter with mod plate.

Top view, with H shifter setup active

For paddle shifted cars, the H shifter can be folded out of the way, mouse plate slides on the 180 degree arm.

Keyboard tray slides and can be turned 180 degrees. Speakers is also located on the rig.

Custom vesa mount, and holder for the headphone when not used.

The OSW control box is mounted on the rig with access to ports/switch from drivers seat, when everything has been tested for while I will shorten the cables from the motor as well.

The servo motor is mounted with wing-nuts so the height of wheel can be easily adjusted for different cars so instrument can be seen (prefer to use the original car instruments). The heel plate is also seen in front of the pedals.

Wheel extension tube and quick release. The paddle shifters was a little bit to far away so I mounted an extra spacer to get it closer to the wheel.

I have an extra tray that can be slide in to be able to use an joystick setup for other games.

Wheel put away and keyboard tray out of the way it is rather easy to get in/out. The seat is on sliders (seen in bottom of pic) and can be adjusted over the whole range and locks with 4 locking levers.

The setup is very solid and maybe a bit over the top but very satisfied with the result.


So, did all this fine equipment and time spent make me an faster sim-racer? I would say without a doubt yes, I'm far from any alien but recent races showed an improvement in both lap times and race pace. In no particular order I would say the reason are these:

OSW wheel:
I bought an turn-key kit with the small Mige, pre-configured and tested it was just plug and play. The available force is way more than I ever will need, now running around 40-50%. With AC it required very little tuning of settings. My previous wheel, TS-PC had very good and detailed FFB but this is really on another level. It is just more crisp and more detailed, hard to explain but something like going from 8bit to 16bit gas or brake pedal, just more levels of FFB.

Does the detail make me faster? To some extent you will get an tiny earlier notation of what is going on, but the major difference is since it is an DD wheel, it is easier to catch slides and/or prevent them from happening, especially when driving old style cars with less grip.

rF2 is a bit more tricky, it does not support car specific turn angle so that need to be set manually (no big deal, and dx11 version alt-tabs ok) but even if the FFB is improved, I need to tune that more. Once tweaked I guess it will have the same improvement, for now it is more or less equal.

Sim Pedals Pro:
These pedals are just fantastic, the level of adjustment and the feel of the pedals is amazing. Braking is where the major improvement is, to brake on the limit and stay on it is just less difficult. The adjustability of the pedals will also make heel & toe more easy as well.

Aluminium rig and race seat
To have an proper FOV gives better perception of speed and what is happening in the car. To have an seat that is fixed and not floating around allows proper braking and driving.

All combined it for sure helped me get a bit faster, both on hotlaping and race pace.

Race on

 

[Miguel Gonzalez]

What piece of hardware is it that none to 80/20 and let's you slide if needed? I'm currently designing one and couldn't find anything like that but I'd love the option to slide my shifter down and out of the way if needed.

 

[Jens Roos]

What piece of hardware is it that

I have updated my post in the aluminium DIY thread here with some details:
http://www.racedepartment.com/threa...-rig-instructions.108962/page-14#post-2568843

 

[Pixel_Therapy]

Hi I know the original post is a little old, but I thought I would link this simple buyer's guide for anyone looking at getting a direct drive wheel

 

[Deleted member 197115]

No way I am clicking on that dude.

 

[RobertR1]

Hi I know the original post is a little old, but I thought I would link this simple buyer's guide for anyone looking at getting a direct drive wheel

This is actually well done and simplifies the options available. For someone new to sim racing and even for those new into the DD and high end up sim racing world, it can be a daunting to figure it all out and know that you've made the right decision.

You should perhaps do a follow video on "what do you once get your DD wheel (OSW in your case). Taking people through the journey of setting it up, getting all the software elements working and then tweaks within the popular games.

 

[Pixel_Therapy]

This is actually well done and simplifies the options available. For someone new to sim racing and even for those new into the DD and high end up sim racing world, it can be a daunting to figure it all out and know that you've made the right decision.

You should perhaps do a follow video on "what do you once get your DD wheel (OSW in your case). Taking people through the journey of setting it up, getting all the software elements working and then tweaks within the popular games.

HI thanks for the positive feedback!! I will put together a follow up video, as suggested!!

 

[Pixel_Therapy]

Fanatec has just announced their direct drive wheel and I though I would share my thoughts..

 

[blueyonder]

Hi I know the original post is a little old, but I thought I would link this simple buyer's guide for anyone looking at getting a direct drive wheel

Awesome primer for those of us getting started, thanks for doing it.

Any chance you'll be doing a review of the Simetik cockpit with a mounted DD wheel? There are only a couple of reviews out there but none with a DD wheel mounted.

I was on the verge of building a simple custom 80/20 until I saw your video and now I'm thinking this might be more than enough...