RDTV: Leo Bodnar SimSteering2 Direct Drive Wheel Review

[Paul Jeffrey]

We get some time behind the wheel of the Leo Bodnar SimSteering2 direct drive wheel.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have had plenty of experience with direct drive wheels in my time, in fact I’ve got the SimCube OSW device attached to my rig right now, but I’ve never had the opportunity to spend much quality time with the Leo Bodnar SimSteering2 wheel... until now.

Having taken hold of the most current in the range of direct drive wheels from Leo Bodnar just prior to Christmas, I was excited to get it bolted to my rig and put it through its paces in a number of both old and new racing sims. From golden oldies like Race07 by SimBin, right the way though to the latest and greatest on offer from Kunos Simulazioni, the benefits of the DD really did shine through right from the very start.

Immediately before one even spends any serious time within your sim of choice, you are struck by the simplicity of setting up the wheel software. Unlike the OSW devices of which I’m more familiar, the SimSteering2 presents the user with a relatively sparse amount of customization opportunities within its own software. Initially this caused me some concern, as I understandably feared that lack of options would equate to minimal opportunity to tweak the wheel to my liking within my sim of choice - however these fears would prove to be unfounded once I took to the virtual circuit, and very quickly the minimal amount of tweaking and editing required would become one of the strongest features of the wheel. Without having to spend hours making adjustments and researching on the internet, I found a very solid and satisfying experience almost straight out of the box. Anyone reading this who’s gone down the rabbit hole of wheel adjustment testing with other manufacturers, will no doubt share my beliefs that driving is far more fun than near endless tweaking and testing...

With setup now quickly and easily taken care of, it was time for the fun to start. As I said earlier, I’ve given this a good test in many of the key sims, and in each and every one the improvements were noticeable and impressive, none more so than with rFactor 2, where using a DD wheel like this lifts the simulation into a brand new range of greatness... pretty much reason enough to go out and join the DD bandwagon all on its own...

Now I’m not going to spend time here discussing the wheel in more detail, you can check the video out at the head of the article for that, but what I will end on is this:

The Leo Bodnar SimSteering2 is very expensive, but cash is all relative to your own situation and expectations. After all, what price can you put on love at first sight?


Find out more about Leo Bodnar SimSteering2 Direct Drive wheel HERE.

For anyone who is interested, you can find my personal in game and on wheel settings for a bunch of sims HERE (as of Nov 2019)​

 

[T_rac3]

I just feel that there is something wrong with this world

I MUST agree with that " Is something wrong with this world" I'm tired from how often I repeat this to everyone

Yes, I agree, but here we are discussing simracing.

Then, please, allow me to disagree. With THIS world (simracing world) everything is OK. Except some strange wreckers on public servers, there is no other issue.
Well, this was a very entertaining exercise of thought.
Happy racing !

 

[Deleted member 197115]

I like trains.

I think you are completely wrong here. What is the cost of real life racing? It is not just the car you have to prepare it once!!!! You have to work on car after every race. You need team. And even you work yourself to the car, you need to go to the race tracks, you need fuel, you need tires, you need ... a LOT of stuff which cost a LOT of money. If you want, I can calculate how much will cost for me to go to Nurburgring with a race car to spend there 2 days. I guarantee is more then LB Simteering2 wheel, and just for ONE real life experience. If you want to do this for a regular basis at least every weekend you must be very very rich. Of course no job, to have time to prepare the car by yourself, no team, remember?
So this is nonsense. Simracing it is much cheaper then real life racing. And the most important: YOU CAN'T DIE OR REMAIN WITHOUT LEGS ONLINE

Another important aspect, sim racing is SAFER. For mistakes in real racing, besides wrecked car, you can pay with your health or even LIFE.
And even proffesional drivers spend a lot of time in simulators, it's cheaper and let them get ready for real thing.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I like trains.

Another important aspect, sim racing is SAFER. For mistakes in real racing, besides wrecked car, you can pay with your health or even LIFE.
And even proffesional drivers spend a lot of time in simulators, it's cheaper and let them get ready for real thing.

Good point! I even have an RC Helicopter flight simulator that uses my real transmitter and allows me to configure the heli to behave like my helis. It has saved me piles of crashes while I advanced my skills.

I've even gone the reverse direction, trying out settings in the sim and then transferring those settings to my real helis.

 

[Spinelli]

@Spinelli
I moved from a smaller 30cm wheel to a larger 32cm that is also heavier.
What I had to do is turn FFB a bit higher to get the same feeling because the bigger wheel gave me higher leverage. So imo the FFB did not increase by itself.

I understand a larger diameter wheel rim gives YOU more leverage which therefore allows you to apply more torque for the same or less amount of "effort" (like using a nice & fat diameter screwdriver VS a very thin & pencil-like one); I totally see what you're saying and completely agree with you on that, however, I'm talking about FFB/motor output, not the user's side.

Spinelli, what you have probably heard is that there are different factors at play with different weight rims etc and more power may be required for the motor to deliver that 12nm. So in one instance it may require 300W to deliver 12nm in a specific moment, in another it may require more.

Edit, actually the power requirements would be more for speed/accelleration rather than changing power requirements for force.

If you increase the weight of a wheel or the diameter which increases the lever arm of the weight than you need more torque or Nm to keep up everything else being equal.

Thanks metalnwood and RCHeliguy for clarifying this. This aligns with my suspicions regarding some of the unrealistic aspects of current FFB technology.

FFB in real life is reactive, not active. Real life FFB will not apply less/more watts or torque or whatever force/power/speed/acceleration to compensate for a driver swapping to a lighter/heavier wheel. The steering wheel in real life and what you feel is the last link in a non-active (ie. only reactive) chain.

Torque is all about acceleration or the ability to change direction quickly. More Nm equal more fidelity to the signal.

What about when there's no acceleration involved? Imagine a big industrial metal cylinder spinning around on it's axis very slowly (powered by a motor of course). Although it spins very slowly and you can easily grab it, there's no chance for you to stop it spinning or slow it down. You can grab the cylinder as hard as you can but cannot even slightly slow it's spin. There is no speed change, ie. no acceleration, therefore are you saying the motor spinning the cylinder is applying 0 torque since the cylinder keeps spinning at the same speed which therefore means no acceleration is occuring? That doesn't seem correct. I could be wrong but logic tells me torque also can occur in 0 acceleration scenarios such as when a steering wheel is trying to rotate but you are holding it stationary. Or a truck that doesn't have enough torque/power to pull a trailer while trying to pull the trailer.

 

[Fanapryde]

I understand a larger diameter wheel rim gives YOU more leverage which therefore allows you to apply more torque for the same or less amount of "effort" (like using a nice & fat diameter screwdriver VS a very thin & pencil-like one); I totally see what you're saying and completely agree with you on that, however, I'm talking about FFB/motor output, not the user's side.

That's correct. Just wanted to say that in my experience the FFB output did not increase with the heavier wheel. If it had done that (like you were asking), there would have been no need for me to increase FFB... right ?

 

[BenKay]

I too believe the price of this kit now is a little crazy - except maybe for pro simulators, which is really its intended audience.

I'm not shy of spending money on the hobby (I've built a D-Box'd motion simulator, with top end equipment everywhere).

When choosing wheel I knew I was going DD, I had the chance to try a large MIGE and a Simsteering2. Previously also used the Fanatec CSW2. The step-up from that to a MIGE is night and day...comparatively the "step up" from MIGE to Bodnar...well, honestly I simply couldn't feel any at all.

Everything other part of the rig...motion, pedals, steering wheels etc. I justified (maybe wrongly) paying at or close to the top whack, because I could see, feel or at least appreciate the better performance, feel, workmanship etc.

When it came to this decision, compared to a SIMUCUBE set up, you'd have to be mad to pay the premium, IMHO.

 

[dave kirk]

One thing bothers me. If you buy the whole top-level set for simraсing, then the amount will be much higher than the used Civic. We are ready to pay for the illusion more than for real things.

Interested in how much a race Civic is and travelling to and entering events on a weekly basis?

 

[homecalendar]

Interested in how much a race Civic is and travelling to and entering events on a weekly basis?

Try to figure how much can cost top-level set for simraсing and you will understand how many civic you can buy

 

[Fanapryde]

Whatever car you want to race, it never stops. You need to transport it (unless it is still street legal), pay entry fees, several sets of wheels/tires, oil, fuel, brake pads. That is if you are your own mechanic and not involved in accidents. Depending the class you want to race in, and the results/performance you have in mind, the car will need a lot of attention, tuning, maintenance and in the end your 'race' Civic will cost A LOT of money.
And even if you choose for karts (I raced both) the costs are so high that even a 10k sim rig becomes peanuts.
Which is why I sim race
I'd like to add however that no simulator is on the same level as the real thing.
But it is much cheaper, less time consuming and safer.

 

[RCHeliguy]

WOW! I just looked for grins at what it costs to race a Civic.

Before even touching the car you are in about $6,000 just in fireproof suit, helmet, restraint, radio, getting a license, and mandatory courses with coaching. A guy talked about spending a couple grand to insure his car for 5 days of racing.

So looks like 8K before you even think about a car.

Basically about $60,000 - $100,000 for one season of 4 race weekends.

 

[dave kirk]

Try to figure how much can cost top-level set for simraсing and you will understand how many civic you can buy

The point is, you buy a Civic for what? for daily life, it's not raceworthy, you should really be comparing buying a race car and racing it to sim equipment. I know I have an awesome sim setup for £10k, Your argument is redundant as you are in no way comparing like for like

 

[homecalendar]

The point is, you buy a Civic for what? for daily life, it's not raceworthy, you should really be comparing buying a race car and racing it to sim equipment. I know I have an awesome sim setup for £10k, Your argument is redundant as you are in no way comparing like for like

Bro. You compare warm with sharp. How much G-force can you feel on your awesome sim setup for £10? I think the guy on the bike near your window feels a lot more

 

[Petey Spangles]

I can't tell if this is trolling or just plain idiocy at this point.

 

[dave kirk]

Bro. You compare warm with sharp. How much G-force can you feel on your awesome sim setup for £10? I think the guy on the bike near your window feels a lot more

You're either a troll or just dumb, either way this is a waste of time. Bye girl

 

[dave kirk]

I can't tell if this is trolling or just plain idiocy at this point.

I hope trolling, otherwise why the hell is he in a sim racing group?? lol

 

[homecalendar]

You're either a troll or just dumb, either way this is a waste of time. Bye girl

Try not to be rude and personalize just because someone doesnt share your opinion. This is a sign of weakness.

 

[dave kirk]

Try not to be rude and personalize just because someone doesnt share your opinion. This is a sign of weakness.

how much G-force to you feel in your Ferrrari GTE going around Spa?

 

[homecalendar]

 

[homecalendar]

how much G-force to you feel in your Ferrrari GTE going around Spa?

I cant answer your question I dont have Ferrrari GTE

 

[dave kirk]

I cant answer your question I dont have Ferrrari GTE

what about your F1 car around monaco?