Anyone Try the New Logitech Direct Drive Wheel?

Does anyone have any first-hand experience with Logitech's new Direct Drive Wheel? Although pricey, it's getting excellent reviews online, from what I can find.

I'm considering upgrading from my TS PC-Racer, so would appreciate any thoughts on it.

Also would it be reasonable to expect some kind of discount on it for Black Friday? Or is it too new?

Thanks!
 
Good to know, Bram....Thanks! How exactly does the discount work? Would I get a code to use at checkout?

Also - would the return policy be the same? (Not that I expect to need to return it, but you never know.....)

Thanks again.
 
Signed up for Premium membership and took advantage of the discount to order the wheel! Thanks, Bram!

And Daniel, I hope to meet up with you again on the track!

Bert
 
Signed up for Premium membership and took advantage of the discount to order the wheel! Thanks, Bram!

And Daniel, I hope to meet up with you again on the track!

Bert
No matter what times you do, it's about having fun with all the lads...

So just give it a go, we are here to help ;-)
 
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I've been testing the wheel and pedals for a couple of weeks. Massive nostalgia value for me as i started my sim racing journey many moons ago with the wingman. I've owned many wheels since then, including a lot of the Logitech, Thrustmaster and Fanatec stuff. I've also spent considerable time using other DD bases such as SimXperience, Simagic & Simcube. In terms of function the Logitech PRO Racing beats them all IMO, Yes, the plastic casing is a bit naff at this price point, but this thing is solid as a rock. You plug it in and it just works, the menus and adjustability are great and user friendly. The QR is very well designed. The detail in the feedback is best in class, the ergonomics of the rim are great but it's quite hard, it doesn't feel premium when you hold it. Apart from the aesthetics this is the only criticism I have really. It's clear Logitech put a lot of R&D into this wheel. It's a gob smackingly good wheel that equals or even beats everything else at this price point and many beyond it There's clearly some genuine top end kit behind that plastic casing.

The pedals are perfectly good but don't bring anything new to the table really. Again, well designed, insane amount of adjustability and nice they also included a tuning kit. I mean they're good (if not great) pedals and i'm really enjoying them actually, but no reason to get them over others in the price bracket (apart from the fact you can connect them to wheel and tweak them from the wheelbase).
 
I've been testing the wheel and pedals for a couple of weeks. Massive nostalgia value for me as i started my sim racing journey many moons ago with the wingman. I've owned many wheels since then, including a lot of the Logitech, Thrustmaster and Fanatec stuff. I've also spent considerable time using other DD bases such as SimXperience, Simagic & Simcube. In terms of function the Logitech PRO Racing beats them all IMO, Yes, the plastic casing is a bit naff at this price point, but this thing is solid as a rock. You plug it in and it just works, the menus and adjustability are great and user friendly. The QR is very well designed. The detail in the feedback is best in class, the ergonomics of the rim are great but it's quite hard, it doesn't feel premium when you hold it. Apart from the aesthetics this is the only criticism I have really. It's clear Logitech put a lot of R&D into this wheel. It's a gob smackingly good wheel that equals or even beats everything else at this price point and many beyond it There's clearly some genuine top end kit behind that plastic casing.

The pedals are perfectly good but don't bring anything new to the table really. Again, well designed, insane amount of adjustability and nice they also included a tuning kit. I mean they're good (if not great) pedals and i'm really enjoying them actually, but no reason to get them over others in the price bracket (apart from the fact you can connect them to wheel and tweak them from the wheelbase).
Thanks for relating your experiences, dazzyb2k3! That really sets my mind at ease. I don't really care about looks or aesthetics. My main concern is whether it will clasp securely onto my small-ish desk (and not be too heavy for it).

Easy-of-use, detailed feedback, user-friendliness is what I'm looking forward to. It will replace my TS PC-Racer wheelbase. I will continue to use my Fanatec Clubsport pedals with it.

I hope to have it in my grubby little hands soon!
 
.....My main concern is whether it will clasp securely onto my small-ish desk (and not be too heavy for it).
No worries on that front. It comes with a desk clamp that is rock solid. I have mine hard mounted (just because i can) but the desk clamp is just as stable.

The base is wider than other DD's but in fact looks bigger in pictures and comparison videos than it actually is in real life. It's certainly no bigger than a TS PC. If your desk managed with that then it'll handle the G Pro no problem.

Many hardcore sim racers are turning their nose up at this because it's Logitech, doesn't look right, seems too expensive or whatever but i've been around the block long enough this is an exceptional piece of kit. Honestly, aside from the aesthetic (which is subjective) Logitech completely knocked it out of the park. Hopefully you'll have it in a couple of days. I'll look forward to hearing what you think. :)
 
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....... You plug it in and it just works, ....
Well, in my case (sadly) it most certainly does NOT "just work". :( I've been futzing with settings, etc for HOURS, and its been a ROYAL PITA so far. :mad:

First, I could not get G-Hub software to load at all (after manually installing it (I uninstalled previous Logi software from my system first.). Now suddenly G-Hub loads. I got KartKraft to recognize the wheel (I'm using Fanatec Clubsport peds with it.) for awhile. Then I exited out and tried AMS2 and the wheel simply does not get recognized (ie - I can't steer) at all. (BTW - I tried the default AMS profile that comes with G-Hub, and that didn't work either.) Then I returned to KartKraft and now the wheel isn't recognized there either! :mad:

This wheel/software is either WAAAY over-hyped regarding simplicity (IOW Buggy), or I'm doing something drastically wrong. Sad - because one of the reasons I took a chance on it is that all the online review say "it just works". It certainly does not for me.

If anyone has gotten this wheel to be properly recognized in ANY popular sim (except for the F1 titles which I don't own), I would sure appreciate a detailed step-by-step explanation of how to do it. Getting it to work properly in just one of these sims (ACC, AC, AMS2, R3R, RF2, KK, DR2 OR PC2s) would be great. Perhaps I can apply what I learn from getting one to work to the others.

Note that I'm not even talking about dialing in the feel. I just want the wheel and my peds recognized! (With my TS PC-RACER it all went automatically. but not so with this!)

Sorry for my rant, dazzybrk3 - please don't take this as an attack on you, as it's not meant that way. I'm glad that you've got it working for you but I"M REALLY FRUSTRATED right now.

HELP!

Thanks.

EDIT: 1. FWIW - Both the wheel and peds are detected by Windows 10 in "Game Controllers" and test OK.
2. I tried updating the wheel's firmware (thru G-HUB), but it keeps getting hung up at the 50% mark and starts over again. It warns to not turn any devices off until completion, so now I appear to be stuck in an endless loop - any advice?
 
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Sorry for my rant, dazzybrk3 - please don't take this as an attack on you, as it's not meant that way. I'm glad that you've got it working for you but I"M REALLY FRUSTRATED right now.
No worries, have been there myself...but I'm not sure what advice I can give. I had zero issues, plugged it in, install g-hub and it's recognised and works flawlessly in every sim I use (pretty much all the ones you list). That was literally it. I'm sorry your experience wasn't as seamless :(

The profiles in G-Hub are auto switching so once you've configured them the wheel auto loads the correct one when you start the game.

Did you set the wheel to PC mode? Not sure if this would affect anything but just a thought.

The issues you describe sound like they could be USB/connection related or perhaps some kind of conflict - i don't suppose you have another PC/Laptop you could use for testing and maybe get the firmware update to complete?

It's worth checking the micro USB connection on the back of the base, the first time i connected the cable it felt like the plug was seated but it actually wasn't - it needs to be perfectly lined up to key into the slot properly.

Apart form that I kind of don't know what to say really. Logitech support is pretty good so might be work shooting them an email.

If you need me to try or test anything just shout. Let me know if you make any progress.
 
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Thanks for the response.

Since my last post, I've had success with a number of sims (KartKraft, AC, ACC. DR2, RF2, Grid Legends and a few more). The main ones that I still cannot get going yet are AMS2, Raceroom and PC2. I have not tried some older titles such as GPL, Race07, RBR, etc yet.

Could you let me know what in-game settings you use for AMS2, Raceroom, PC2 and Wreckfest? The wheel does not show up in the list of supported devices in these titles, so which device in their lists do you use?

In the meantime, I will dbl-check that blasted micro-USB connection. Due to limited space, it was indeed a pain to make that connection.

FWIW, the wheel is definitely in PC mode and G-Hub compatibility mode.

Exactly what do you mean by "configuring profiles" in G-Hub? There are profiles only for a few titles, and I don't know what to do to "configure" them.

Finally, Should I try updating the firmware again? (Perhaps if I boot-up into safe mode?) How long should it take?

Sorry - Lots of questions, but I certainly do appreciate the help!
 
UPDATE: I've gotten the wheel and peds recognized now by most of my sims. (I still have to work on a few, namely WRC8 and PC2.) FWIW, I've been keeping the wheel in G-GUB compatibility mode and using the default profile.

Now, onto the in-game "tweaking". (I'll ask my questions regarding that in another thread.)

Thanks!
 
I'm very keen on the wheel too, as well as the Moza R9 kit., on the PC here so not sure if better to buy a 'kit' or the base/wheel from one company and pedals from another.
 
I got KartKraft to recognize the wheel (I'm using Fanatec Clubsport peds with it.) for awhile. Then I exited out and tried AMS2 and the wheel simply does not get recognized (ie - I can't steer) at all. (BTW - I tried the default AMS profile that comes with G-Hub, and that didn't work either.) Then I returned to KartKraft and now the wheel isn't recognized there either! :mad:
Sometimes, if usb device acts weird like that, try different usb port (in case your system runs out of usb controller resources)
 
Sometimes, if usb device acts weird like that, try different usb port (in case your system runs out of usb controller resources)
I already got it all sorted out hardware-wise. Still some problems with a few individual titles, but I'm getting there.

Thanks for responding.
 
With AMS2 (and PC2) you often need to make a new controller profile in the game's menu for the wheel to be detected if you've changed USB ports, drivers, firmware etc. The in-game controller profiles are tied to the identifier Windows assigns to each device, but the ID can change.

It's this way with G29/G920 at least. PC2 can also screw with the registry to make the wheel undetectable to other games, not sure if this was ever fixed.
 
PC2 can also screw with the registry to make the wheel undetectable to other games, not sure if this was ever fixed.
Yikes! I never know that about PC2. I guess that I won't be tweaking that one any time soon.

Re:AMS2 - As mentioned above the Beta on Steam already has this wheel recognized. Works great!
 
UPDATE: I've gotten the wheel and peds recognized now by most of my sims. (I still have to work on a few, namely WRC8 and PC2.) FWIW, I've been keeping the wheel in G-GUB compatibility mode and using the default profile.

Now, onto the in-game "tweaking". (I'll ask my questions regarding that in another thread.)

Thanks!
Sorry for the late reply. I've been doing a PC rebuild after an upgrade and am still setting things up again. I'll post some settings as I get things installed again. So glad you got it going.

Two questions spring to mind.....Is there a reason you are you using compatibility mode? Aside from allowing the LED's to work in more games, all it really does is reduce the feature set on the wheel. I accept it could make setup easier in game as you can just select a preset profile but these generally work fine in Pro mode as well (with a bit of fine tuning), or you can just create a new controller profile in game. So far i haven't come across a game that didn't work just fine in Pro (aside from the LED's).

Second question, why just stick with the default profile? I understand the one size fits all approach but one of the great things about g hub is that you can have different settings per game. You can then tweak these on the fly using the wheel mid game and have the changes saved back to the profile. It's a really neat feature.

That said, in terms of wheel base settings, i typically end up with things in this ballpark:

Mode: Pro
Sensitivity:50
Strength: Between 6 and 8 (generally closer to 6 :p)
Angle: 900 for most games, 540 for rally
Damper: 5-20 Just kind on depends how much native resistance there is in the sim. Some have almost none, some have quite a bit
Filter: 2-8 This is like a smoothing algorithm, it makes differences between small and large forces more progressive. Increasing this makes the car feel like it's got softer suspension. A little is good for realism. too much will reduce detail. It's a fun one to mess around with.
Trueforce: I leave at default. Not supported by that many sims so haven't experimented much.

In terms of in game settings, I only have AC properly setup just now. I'll post settings later and then for the other sims as i re-install them.

As a general rule, I like to leave any in game overall strength setting at 100% and make strength changes at the hardware level via g-hub or the wheelbase. This is because I find some sims don't scale all the forces equally and things can get really out of whack if you say set the wheel to 10nm then the in game strength to 40%. Better to leave the game close to 100 and change the wheel to suit. In AC's case you can tweak strength on a per car basis using the CSP FF in game app. This is super nice.

Any game self centering needs to be as close to 0 as you can manage. Some sims benefit from a small amount say 10% but on the whole this is an artifical force that is not usualy needed on modern titles that use suspension based ff.

Damping is personal prefence just play around and see what feels good. I generally find a little is good especially on DD wheels that have little natural friction. Too much makes the input sluggish. This scales with whatever setting you have on the wheelbase too, although in game dampening can sometimes give a different feel to hardware dampening so worth playing around as dialing one up and the other down can give better results.

Any low forces boost leave disabled. Not necessary on DD

Any reference to road noise/kerbs/ABS/Slip/fx etc are usualy canned forces and personal preferece. Many people will tell you just to set them all at zero and technically that is correct as if you have everything dialled in right you don't need them but not all sims have that level of detail. In that case I usually run small amounts (sub 20%) and set some filtering on the wheel base which blends them nicely with the 'real' forces. It can really help bring life to the wheel sometimes.
 
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