Driving difficulty with a 900 degree wheel rotation vs one that allows less rotation

[RolandOG]

I’ve searched and Googled but can’t find a clear cut answer. I'll state up front that I’m not concerned whether cockpit animation matches the wheel turn but how the amount of actual turn the wheel allows impacts driving in the game.

My understanding is that 900 degrees is what a standard production car has but racing cars can have much less. Beyond that I’m unclear about the following:

1-Is racing considered easier or harder with full 900 degrees active? Does the answer depend on whether it’s a race car or a production car?
2-Assuming the answer to the first part of #1 is ‘easier’….why is it easier?


If it is better to have a wheel with the ability to set a lower amount of rotation then I have a couple other questions:

1-I believe my DFGT is only 900 degrees and can’t be set to a lower amount. Correct?
2-Does anyone know if GT5 will be able to set the DFGT to a lower rotation via the game?
3-If I need a new wheel for lower rotation adjustability what is the best option?

 

[Coxis]

Greetings friend,

I'd say that changing the wheel to a less-than-900-degrees of rotation mode only helps on really curvy circuits like the Eiger Nordwand and drifting. Race car or not, I don't think switching from 900 to 270 degrees of rotation helps in most circumstances/cars/circuits. Perhaps on really fast cars with strong force feedback like the Ferrari formula one car too.

1- Yes and no. The DFGT does not have a hardware lock, this means that if the software does not have an option to change your wheel's degrees of rotation you won't be able to change it. This isn't a problem with PC sims, --- SEE BELOW

2- but going by precedent I can tell you that neither GT4 nor GT5P had this option. I hope GT5 will have it, but I don't think this has been confirmed.

3- I'd say a Driving Force EX or a Driving Force Pro. The DFGT replaced the DFP, and the advantage the DFP has over the DFEX is that it can support both 270 and 900 degrees of rotation. The DFP has a hardware lock that allows you to change the rotation between 900 and 270 regardless of whether or not the software (GT5 in this case) supports it. I don't know whether or not the G25 and G27 have these locks. If you really want a new wheel you can try the Ferrari Thrustmaster wheel. It is similar in quality to the DFGT but it only supports 270 degrees of rotation and is newer than the DFP of course. It's the DFGT's direct competitor.

 

[RolandOG]

Thanks for the reply. It's Eiger that came to my mind when I first read about this. Eiger is my least favorite track because of the hairpin turns.

It's not that I'm looking for a new wheel. I'm happy with the DFGT. The only reason I'd change it right now is if having a wheel with a less than 900 degree option would help to improve my driving. If I find enough info to confirm that it would then I'll upgrade my wheel.

 

[Tornado]

1-I believe my DFGT is only 900 degrees and can’t be set to a lower amount. Correct?

For console games? You are correct. For PC games, it is a little different, because the Logitech software for the wheel allows it to sort of lock the wheel at whatever rotation angle you choose.

2-Does anyone know if GT5 will be able to set the DFGT to a lower rotation via the game?

Unknown, but probably not.

3-If I need a new wheel for lower rotation adjustability what is the best option?

For adjustability? The Driving Force Pro. It offered the hardware lock so you could lock it at 270 degrees or 900 on the fly. I was a lot faster with certain cars in GT4 because I could do that (notably, the Group C cars and the Formula GT), even though the DFGT has a bit smoother operation and feel.

 

[Teh_Loserer]

Thanks for the reply. It's Eiger that came to my mind when I first read about this. Eiger is my least favorite track because of the hairpin turns.

It's not that I'm looking for a new wheel. I'm happy with the DFGT. The only reason I'd change it right now is if having a wheel with a less than 900 degree option would help to improve my driving. If I find enough info to confirm that it would then I'll upgrade my wheel.

Having a wheel that has fewer turns lock-to-lock probably won't improve your driving. 900° works so well for me because I'm able to make small adjustments very easily, and put the car right where I want it. Also, most cars on the road use near 900° of rotation, so it mimics the inputs of real driving closer. That being said, I could understand where having fewer turns lock-to-lock could be beneficial for drifting, but in the years I've been using a wheel (first a DFP, G25 for the past 4), I've never wanted less rotation.

 

[Mars Attacks]

3-If I need a new wheel for lower rotation adjustability what is the best option?

Fanatec wheels of course:tup:!

 

[blacbul67]

Having a wheel that has fewer turns lock-to-lock probably won't improve your driving. 900° works so well for me because I'm able to make small adjustments very easily, and put the car right where I want it. Also, most cars on the road use near 900° of rotation, so it mimics the inputs of real driving closer. That being said, I could understand where having fewer turns lock-to-lock could be beneficial for drifting, but in the years I've been using a wheel (first a DFP, G25 for the past 4), I've never wanted less rotation.

For the most part I agree, I tend to stick to 900 degree for most cars for the ability to make those small adjustments especially in Forza and GT that feature a lot of road cars but I do like the option to try to replicate the actual lock of the type of car I maybe driving in games such as Race Pro, Forza, GT5P , Supercar Challenge and particularly F1 2010 where I now have the lock at 230!!

 

[01GTP]

I would like to add that Prologue had an option to change the steering angle for each car in the tuning.
GT5 may have a similar option.

I myself use 900 always, even when I used the DFP.
I like the little inputs with the 900 setting, which to me makes driving easier by being more precise.

 

[RolandOG]

Well, it sounds like 900* is going to be good for most cars and tracks but there may be some benefit with less lock-to-lock if driving a non-production car. I guess I'll stick with what I have and maybe check out the tuning option in Prologue. In any case, if I do decide to upgrade someday I'll have this as a feature to check into.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[Coxis]

I would like to add that Prologue had an option to change the steering angle for each car in the tuning.
GT5 may have a similar option.

My PS3 has been bricked for 8 weeks so I can't check... Did it really? How was it implemented? Is a it a "software" lock like the Logitech profiler does for the PC?

 

[opelgt1969]

My PS3 has been bricked for 8 weeks so I can't check... Did it really? How was it implemented? Is a it a "software" lock like the Logitech profiler does for the PC?

It was in the tuning section. On this GT5P Settings Record Sheet it's listed as Max Turning Angle

https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=65877&d=1221250734👍

This form you can type in your numbers and print for each car, the other one that has 2 sheets you can print and fill in with pen/pencil and change them. Thanks to MeWhiteNoise

Taken from this thread:

https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=108551👍👍

 

[Coxis]

Interesting! Thanks man.

 

[01GTP]

How was it implemented? Is a it a "software" lock like the Logitech profiler does for the PC?

I don't know about the PC settings but the turning angle applied more or less turning of the cars tires in relation to the amount you turn the controller/wheel.

 

[mf-dif]

You can steer faster with less rotation...so it is easier. Thats why sports cars have tight ratio steering racks so you can change direction faster and not have to wrestle with spinning a wheel.

 

[01GTP]

That may be true for a real car but except for a few corners (Eiger) there is no wrestling a wheel if your using it correctly.
Even hairpins don't need more than 180 degrees of wheel input.

When I tried to use 270 with the DFP it was turning way too much for the input I was giving it.
Maybe a number like 450 or higher would be better, but to me 270 would be great for ovals, not much else.

What wheel do you use mf-dif?

 

[LJ]

I always presumed there was no need for any sort of lock because the game eg. GT5 would adjust for any cars with less than 900 degree steering for example after you turn the wheel say 400 degrees any further turning would have no more effect on the car. Is this not how it works? And if not why not?

 

[maximus0743]

I really hope that we will be able to adjust the degrees of rotation in GT5 so that the amount of rotations you have to apply to the wheel is the same as on screen (in game) , because i find it relatively hard to drive a racecar and especially the F1 F2007 whit 900 degrees of rotation.

(I am using a DFGT)

 

[mf-dif]

What wheel do you use mf-dif?

Now using a Fanatec Carrera wheel, was using a G25.

 

[01GTP]

Now using a Fanatec Carrera wheel, was using a G25.

Can you adjust the degrees of rotation on the Fanatec other than ingame options for use with the PS3?

The DFP used a series of buttons if I remember correctly.
That could of been to turn the FFB down, I forget now.

 

[UK-Gamer]

Can you adjust the degrees of rotation on the Fanatec other than ingame options for use with the PS3?

The DFP used a series of buttons if I remember correctly.
That could of been to turn the FFB down, I forget now.

Yes you can, on the wheel, from 90° to 900° in increments of 10° sso yeah, you can achieve whatever angle you want and it mechanichally locks it.

 

[Rotard12a]

One point that it doesn't look like anyone has mentioned:

Driving can be harder in that violent snap-oversteer situations are more difficult to correct (since it takes so much longer to go lock-to-lock), so in some cases a spin could have been avoided with a 270 degree wheel but not with the 900. For example, I recall having some trouble in GT4 driving the F1 on R246 because that kink on the back stretch (turns 6/7 I believe) upsets the balance. The force feedback resistance can compound the problem.

Also, turning back around after a spin takes a bit longer since you have to hand-over-hand to get to full lock.

 

[xSNAKEx]

I don't know what everyone is talking about. So far in previous GT games INCLUDING the Gt TT Academy, I found it infinitely easier to drive with the ds3. IMo its a huge unfair advantage.
You can snap the wheels from side to side in an instant and control the cars movement with much higher rate of speed.
Sure you have more precision with the wheel but imo its nothing of an advantage compared to the speed at which you can move the wheel with the ds3. Its kind of like someone playing with controller in a FPS game like CS or halo with 1 sensitivity and someone else with a mouse. IF you get behind the a player the guy with the control will take a lot longer to spin around than a mouse.

IN GT5P when the car starts to loose it I can barely ever recover it with my 900 degree DFGT because I can never catch the counter steer in time. Not only does the DFGT have heaps of resistance but you also have to turn it almost at full lock to catch it and then back to straight, I almost break the desk and wheel of trying to move it around fast enough lol. With the DS3 its like a whiff of the thumb and bam you can catch anything.

 

[Rotard12a]

I don't know what everyone is talking about. So far in previous GT games INCLUDING the Gt TT Academy, I found it infinitely easier to drive with the ds3. IMo its a huge unfair advantage.
You can snap the wheels from side to side in an instant and control the cars movement with much higher rate of speed.

GT Academy TT:
Wheel - Driving aids completely locked off.
Gamepad - Driving aids (partial) locked on.

Previous GT Games:
Much more forgiving handling compared to GT Academy sim physics build

 

[01GTP]

Yes you can, on the wheel, from 90° to 900° in increments of 10° sso yeah, you can achieve whatever angle you want and it mechanichally locks it.

That sounds like a great idea.
Thanks for the information.