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)​

 

[homecalendar]

what about your F1 car around monaco?

You guys cant understand my message. Im not against simracing. It just seems wrong to me to spend on sim money more than on something from real life. Just not so fast or cool as in Sime. But on something real. It seems to me that the real old Civic gives more feelings and emotions on the track in real life than a GT3 car on sime for 25k.

 

[RCHeliguy]

OK, so what if you have actually owned many cars much nicer and sportier than a Civic?

What if you have actually completed a Rally stage however horribly and have auto crossed a couple times in your life?

Then can you spend a lot of money on a Sim rig?

Just curious if I pass your standard for acceptability. I really don't want to drive a Civic.

For many of us this isn't an "instead of" issue. It's an "in addition to" purchase. A guy buying a Leo Bodnar setup may have a Porsche in the driveway too. (BTW the last part is not me)

 

[homecalendar]

OK, so what if you have actually owned many cars much nicer and sportier than a Civic?

What is you have actually completed a Rally stage however horribly and have auto crossed a couple times in your life?

Then can you spend a lot of money on a Sim rig?

Just curious if I pass your standard for acceptability. I really don't want to drive a Civic.

Listen, I appeal to those who spend a lot of money on sim and not on real motor racing. Who had no real racing experience and spends a lot of money on a sim instead of trying a real race.

If you are Lewis Hamilton who, by the way, also plays sim, I don’t appeal to you. And you must understand this.

 

[dave kirk]

I think someone is a green eyed monster

 

[Jeremy Ford]

Listen, I appeal to those who spend a lot of money on sim and not on real motor racing. Who had no real racing experience and spends a lot of money on a sim instead of trying a real race.

If you are Lewis Hamilton who, by the way, also plays sim, I don’t appeal to you. And you must understand this.

I don't know what your point is? Anyone can spend their earned money in the manner they wish that they can afford on a hobby that gives them pleasure.

 

[homecalendar]

I don't know what your point is? Anyone can spend their earned money in the manner they wish that they can afford on a hobby that gives them pleasure.

Yes you are right. It is after all not my business in what way people go racing. Maybe I made a mistake by sharing my thoughts.

I apologize to everyone who was hooked.

 

[T_rac3]

You have my word this is the last post related to this subject.

Listen, I appeal to those who spend a lot of money on sim and not on real motor racing

We all want you to understand this. We don't have money to go on real motor racing.
SIMRACING IT IS CHEAPER THAN REAL LIFE RACING

You guys cant understand my message. Im not against simracing. It just seems wrong to me to spend on sim money more than on something from real life.

This is what you say and everyone disagree. Please listen us and ultimate listen WHAT YOU SAID:

Civic it's just a metaphor. 15-20,000 is the price of a rally suspension. Try to guess next tip

And then what everyone said:

And even proffesional drivers spend a lot of time in simulators, it's cheaper and let them get ready for real thing.

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.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

That could cool some naive heads.
https://driver61.com/blog/how-much-does-racing-cost/

 

[Spinelli]

OSW VS Bodnar VS Accuforce

Driving and driving impressions & comparisons/ratings start at 39:00

 

[Alex72]

Listen, I appeal to those who spend a lot of money on sim and not on real motor racing. Who had no real racing experience and spends a lot of money on a sim instead of trying a real race.

If you are Lewis Hamilton who, by the way, also plays sim, I don’t appeal to you. And you must understand this.

Its up to each and everyone what they want to do in life, what they want to spend their money on and what makes them happy. So far we still live in a free society and not in commie authoritarian Soviet or 1930's Germany. So even if some people save money to buy this system, so what? Let people do what makes them happy without trying to talk them out of it. That's just a bad attitude, dude.

 

[homecalendar]

Its up to each and everyone what they want to do in life, what they want to spend their money on and what makes them happy. So far we still live in a free society and not in commie authoritarian Soviet or 1930's Germany. So even if some people save money to buy this system, so what? Let people do what makes them happy without trying to talk them out of it. That's just a bad attitude, dude.

You're right I'm really sorry for my dribbling.

 

[Trebormoore84]

I live in London and i see lots of people driving luxury cars around that they don't even own. Why the F would you commit to paying £1500 a month (on a lease) for a v8 sports car just to drive in a traffic jam every day!? The answer is its all relative to your lifestyle and personal choices. But agree its mental.

Liked the review Paul, and jealous you got to try it out.

So the Bodnar is trying to tap into the idea that if you want piece of mind and the best wheel system on the market with no fettering required the SimSteering system 2 is the best goto off the shelf solution. This has been the case up till now, however recently OSW has gained more and more traction as a serious product and Fanatec has released an excellent off the shelf system as a complete no-brainer option.

There will always be a perceived best and people willing to pay for it. But I think the Bodnar way worked for a time but IMO is at an end TBH, they are going to have to start dropping the price to compete as Fanatec take over the this small market.

If you talk about value for money, as an enthusiast you can buy a quality 26nm OSW and a set of Husinkveld Ultimate pedals and maybe even a wheel as well for the same money as just the Bodnar system on its own. That in my mind is a far better investment.

Myself I got a Simplicity 20nm Small mige OSW with sincos encoder which although expensive at £1k was a bargain by comparison and came with a setup over the phone service which was excellent taking the guessing out of setup, I blame gamermuscle for that purchase. But couldn't be happier and after getting it I've got no intention of upgrading to a Bodnar or anything else. I bet to some people on here think i'm a lunatic for doing so but i'm committed to Sim racing now 100% and didn't want to waste time on in between steps from the T300 I started with that got me hooked. I also got a set of Husinkveld Ultimates as I have massive pins for legs and can mash 100kg no problem over and over again, and enjoy doing it. On balance i'd say the pedals are better of the two purchases actually.

Coming from a bike racing background where spending 3k on a bike every two years is normal, as well as spending vast amounts of money on hotels, entry fees and travel over the years. Probs totalled around 7-10k a year before I got sponsorship cost dropping to just travel and hotels. Dropping 3k on something that should last for many many years and hold its value to some extent was not a problem for me as an idea. And like a good Londoner it was all whacked on finance (almost paid off now thankfully). You can tell I don't have children right? I also have absolutely no interest in buying a track day car going to the track. No time for it and would be a pipe dream.

On the powers, yes you don't want to run these motors at 100% unless you are simulating some historic high downforce car, but I believe the idea of going for 26 - 30nm spec is the power curve ratio is more realistic through the range, even when you set it at 50% or lower. Smaller motor DD wheels although better than belt drive rotate faster and feel more snappy and 'floaty' apparently by comparison to a more powerful motor, not in a bad way of course. I am basing this on various reviews I have spent ages trawling through over and over. No personal experience but it makes sense.

Barry at Sim Racing Garage did a review on the Augury 18nm OSW but went through the different power motors to give a comparison. Barry... Jesus he has everything doesn't he?!
http://simracinggarage.com/augury-simulations18nm-simucube-osw-kit-review/

There is also this review on Boxthislap which gives some interesting comparisons from Brian Sohn so called international DD expert / race driver.
https://boxthislap.org/high-end-wheel-comparison/ from the perspective of a racing driver.

Also here if you have an iracing account for a full on comparison of all DD wheels on the market:
https://www.reddit.com/r/simracing/comments/9erg50/fanatec_podium_direct_drive_community_event/
http://members.iracing.com/jforum/posts/list/3615087.page

Interestingly he didn't rate the Bodnar system saying it was far too expensive by comparison to the top OSW systems you can get now, and instead said the Fanatec DD1 was actually the best value for money, although it was a review at the Fanatec community event so should be taken with a pinch of salt. But he also stated that he runs a custom 40nm+!!! OSW setup using the same make of motor as the Bodnar a Kollmorgen and cost him far less than the Bodnar for something that performs much better.

Enough said, the ladder upwards is never ending it seems.

 

[Brent Mills]

Something not mentioned in this real life vs sim 'debate', is how often one can sim-race vs real-life race. Home from work and want to chill out for an hour in a race? Can't exactly nip down to the track to do that even if you are loaded and have the race-car in your garage. How about ending it just by saying 'it would be nice to have both at your disposal'.

I've had a magic track day at Brands hatch and I'm sure I will be looking to do it at again at some point, but in the meantime I will enjoy the convenience of my T300 at home.

 

[ivanalesi]

Leo Bodnar is based next to a lot of race teams in the UK, that's why they use his wheels. It's not necessarily the best wheel and I'm not sure it'll be a better wheel than the Fanatec.
So if you have lots of money to throw around, sure. It's your money.

 

[Vranq]

I am a VR racer/driver because I think real world racing is totally useless. I did even quit driving real cars 20 years ago. I am living in Berlin and there is no car needed (too few people noticed it yet). I am at an age of almost 55 in perfect shape due to the fact that I am using my muscles when others are using engines.

But I like to drive cars and so I found a virtual solution. I do as much as my budget (and my girlfriend) allows me to add realism to my virtual driving but I don't need a Bodnar. The SimuCUBE is perfect for me.

 

[rikirk]

Can someone share the settings for ACC with the SSv2? I am having hard time in using 100% All effects scale as suggested by Bodnar vs. ~ 30% and 100% Gain in Game with 150% dynamic damping and 75% road.
Would be nice if we can use this thread to share settings for other sims as well since there is not dedicated forum in the LB site.

 

[Jeremy Ford]

Can someone share the settings for ACC with the SSv2? I am having hard time in using 100% All effects scale as suggested by Bodnar vs. ~ 30% and 100% Gain in Game with 150% dynamic damping and 75% road.
Would be nice if we can use this thread to share settings for other sims as well since there is not dedicated forum in the LB site.

These are my settings, these feel great to me in ACC. Ignore the wheel angle, that's normally set to 900. I've tried Leo Bodnar suggested settings before and they were terrible. Which is weird right, you'd think they'd dial it in perfectly?

 

[rikirk]

Thanks Jeremy for the fast reply
That's actually what tLB has published for AC, but I found myself using higher in game gain like LordKunos suggests .
I like how dynamic damping loads on turns, but I understand I loose detail.
Will try yours and report back.

 

[Jeremy Ford]

Thanks Jeremy for the fast reply
That's actually what tLB has published for AC, but I found myself using higher in game gain like LordKunos suggests .
I like how dynamic damping loads on turns, but I understand I loose detail.
Will try yours and report back.

Yes, those we're the LB settings I was referring to, I used them in AC, and there were horrible. I thought the game FFB was just broken for a couple of years, I figured I should trust LB to know the score.

 

[RaceNut]

Yes, those we're the LB settings I was referring to, I used them in AC, and there were horrible. I thought the game FFB was just broken for a couple of years, I figured I should trust LB to know the score.

FFB preferences can vary a lot between users. We see the same happening with other DD-systems and the developers are no different.