Community Question | Your First Sim Racing Wheel

[Paul Jeffrey]

Us sim racers tend to quite like our toys... from rigs, to wheels, pedals, button boxes, VR headsets, apps, software, PC's and plenty of stuff in between.... and for those of us lucky enough to own a wheel, I'd love to know which one was your first...

Not everyone runs with a wheel and pedals, but of those of us that do, I'd like to know which one was your first, and what you thought of that hardware and how in impacted your experience playing racing games and simulations.

For my part, my very first wheel was the little white plastic Microsoft Xbox 360 wireless unit - I thought that was the absolute pinnacle of technology back in the day. Oh, how the hobby got serious after that!

Although ownership of a racing wheel came late on for me, I also clearly remember playing IndyCar Racing over at my mates house using a really old, spring force PC wheel. That piece of kit brought the whole experience to an absolutely unthinkable level of immersion. The passage of time has dulled my memory of its name now, but suffice to say I was very, very envious of that bit of hardware...

Anyway, have fun reliving days gone by in the comments section below!

 

[MarcG]

That Thrustmaster Formula T1 in the header picture, in fact that picture looks eerily familiar

Technically speaking though this was my first ever wheel for racing and on the Amiga 500, the 'Freewheel' which you held up in the air and after 5 laps your arms ached like hell!

 

[Hotdogxx60]

The came the G25, G27 and currently Fanatec CSW 2.5 with V3 Inverted pedals and BMW wheel plus shifter.

 

[Kurvz]

My first ever wheel was the arcade racer for Sega Saturn console, it was amazing back in the day for Daytona USA and Sega Rally no pedals but hours of fun still, thinking about it, I may have had close to 20 wheels over the years.
I made a wheel stand for it from an old coffee table and bedside cabinet all my mates were visiting for a blast

 

[Hoksu]

Logitech Wingman Formula Force. 10€ impulse buy from a flea market.

 

[vilivili]

I hadn't done racing games for years, when I found LFS was like a 150mb free download back in 2008 or so.
But it was unplayable with keyboard and it was then when I started to search for a wheel. Logitech momo was almost the cheapest and so that was my first

 

[CrimsonEminence]

InterAct V4

 

[BrightCandle]

I got a Driving Force GT early in the 2000s and I used that for all the early F1 games and such. I went off racing for a good while until Assetto Corsa came out and found the DFGT really didn't work with Windows 10 drivers anymore, I just couldn't get the force feedback to work. Maybe the wheel was broken in storage but it seems more likely driver issues since I had troubles with it and saw others with the same problem so ended up getting a T300 a few years ago and now run a TS-PC Racer.

I was racing on joysticks long before that however back before FFB and wheels became common although I did enjoy to race "properly" in the arcades.

 

[leillo1975]

My first wheel was Logitech Formula Vibration Feedback:

 

[martinsalat]

Microsoft SideWinder Precision Racing Wheel

 

[Daniel Monteiro]

Logitech WingMan Formula GP:

No FFB, but improved massively on my lap times in GTR2 in comparison with the keyboard.

This is also the first one I bought with my own pocket money, for 35eur I believe, back in 2003, to play NFSU1. Good times

My first wheel was given to me by my parents for the PS2, and it was part of a bundle with Midnight Club 1. Also good times can't remember the name of the wheel though, but it was also spring centered, and eventually it died while playing WRC3 when the spring for the accelerator pedal broke.

These cheap and basic wheels are definitely necessary to get people in the hobby, that's where it all starts

 

[RichardHessels]

The Thrustmaster Nascar pro early 1990's. Spring mechanism was a rubberband, wich actually had quite a nice progressive feel to it.

before that a lego wheel that was connected to some keyboardkeys.

Than a upgraded G25 for years, now an Simucube Large Mige.

 

[blot]

I hadn't done racing games for years, when I found LFS was like a 150mb free download back in 2008 or so.
But it was unplayable with keyboard and it was then when I started to search for a wheel. Logitech momo was almost the cheapest and so that was my first

View attachment 364452

Still got my Momo, Another cheap 2nd hand purchase that i used for years and still works!

 

[Edivad82]

-Thrustmaster Grand Prix (used with F1 Racing Simulation)
-Logitech Wingman Formula Force GP (used with Grand Prix 3/4 + F1 Challenge 99-02)
-Thrustmaster RGT FFB Pro Clutch (used with GTR2)
-Thrustmaster T300RS + TH8A + Ferrari F1 Wheel + HandBrake + Accessories (used with AC, ACC, AMS, F1series, Dirt series)

 

[Stanislav Minakov]

some generic Genius wheel with no FFB, only a return spring. The first proper wheel is Thrustmaster RGT Pro Clutch and later and till now Logitech G25

 

[Deleted member 205301]

Momo racing force in 2008 ... i never been about simracing, (video games in general), and one day I discovered race07, and buy a wheel, just to test ...what a discover it was for me !!! One year later my Momo became a G25, and 2 years later, after contacting logitech support for an issue with my wheel, they changed it to a G27 (freely), I still have it, and it's still my wheel...
@++

 

[TylerDurden4321]

Logitech Wingman Formula FORCE GP (I think I got this in 2001 ?!)
[edit: Temporarily the wheel found a new home as a toy on the bed of my 3 year old nephew a few years back , the bed was self made in style of a car by my brother]

I never actually played a sim with it and found the FFB even more gimicky than on a flight stick.

I got again into wheels when Forza 5 had just really bad speed-sensitive steering that left me "noo! turn IN more, I'm sure I can take this corner at this speed! ...aaargh, the UNDERSTEER!!!". So I needed a wheel that let me control how much to turn in by myself.

But instead of getting a Thrustmaster TX (the only XBO wheel back at that point in time), I got a T500 and GT6 because I thought "this time, buy a damn good wheel, then at least you know for sure that you don't like FFB, it can't be the hardware then". Actually though, with its brushless motor and still about 60-70% of the torque of a T500, I later found a TX/T300 to be a much better wheel than the more expensive, more robust, more professional seeming T500.

 

[Tarmac Terrorist]

microsoft sidewinder force feedback wheel

Same here, lasted a very long time, wore the rubber off the wheel i used it so much!

 

[Ruy Horta]

My first wheel was an early Thrustmaster (T2 or GP1? - I really have a hard time recalling which one - was not a success, did not use it much - Papyrus games like first NASCAR, Indy titles and some GPL - got rid of it, but no recollection - was more into flying).

Second wheel, first FFB, TM F430, which was a entry level wheel, but it was a solid build and finish.
Third Logitech DFGT, more plastic, but that I liked a lot more and kept using it until last year when I got into the TM TS PC system. No going back. Would have looked at Fanatec, but both price and lack of proper distributor made me choose more mainstream TM instead.

DD getting closer, but not fore a couple of years.

 

[sardokard]

OK, i will try to describe the "thing"

It was a single wheel with an axe.
To made it working, i have to fix it on the desk and put the mouse just on the axe.
The mouse, of course, have a ball.
So when i turn the whell, the axe made the mouse turning.

It was ver (very) approximative but this is my firt real SIm racing wheel.

If anybody could find pics of this product. I think it was in 1995/1996

 

[Kyle Constable]