Fanatec 911 turbo s wheel early test reveiw

[bevo]

Well guys, I got the new fanatec 911 turbo s test wheel in the mail a few days ago, so I figured I would make a thread devoted to this one wheel instead of all of the fanatec wheels together. Like all of you I was very excited to get my hands on this wheel, and was thrilled when I saw the UPS man at my door today.

PACKAGING:
The wheel was very well packaged inside of a box, which was inside box, which was inside another box. I really don't see how anything could possibly happen during the shipping process of the wheel. The first thing I noticed about the wheel while getting it out of the box, was how much thicker and has a slightly larger diameter then it is compared to the g25. I really does feel like an actual cars steering wheel, and the leather is very tight and authentic feeling. All in all it is a great looking wheel.

MOUNTING TO A PLAYSEAT EVO:
I would be mounting my wheel to a playseat so I had ordered the fanatec wheelstand shifter adapter. It worked like a charm. If you have a playseat and G25 adapter already, I would go ahead and order the Wheelstand shifter adapter. You only have to drill 2 holes in the playseat G25 adapter to get it to work. It's actually pretty solid, and very easy to switch back and forth between the 6 speed and sequential shifters. The wheel required 4 holes to be drilled to the playseats mounting bracket to fit. A drilling template comes with the wheel so it's no big deal to get it attached.

PEDALS:
I have mine setup currently with my G25 pedals because I haven't really wanted to take the time yet to mount the fanatec pedals. Tomorrow might be the day that I get around to that, but today was spent just trying out the wheel. It worked flawlessly with the 360 and ps3(via the dongle).

TURBO S VS G25:
The feel of the wheel is much different then the xbox wireless wheel. You really can't even compare the two. It would be like comparing a porsche to a pinto. Once trying the turbo s wheel there is no way you could ever go back to the xbox 360 wireless wheel. A better comparison would be with the G25, but then there are still major differences in the wheels. The turbos s wheel is much, much more quite, and it amazes me how smooth it operates. The belt drive really makes a bid difference. The FF is much much stronger, but yet more subtle at the same time. In GT5p with the FF at 10 I couldn't even control the car because of the wheels strength with the Fanatec wheel. I had to turn the in game FF down to 8, and the wheels FF down to 33 to get the feel that the G25 has at 10 FF. The independent adjustments of the FF and vibration are a very nice feature, which I didn't realize was so important until I got to use it with the fanatec wheel. It makes it so much easier to get the feel of the FF and rumble just how you want it. So far I'm liking it over the G25. The smoothness, and strength of the FF is noticeable immediately, and just the overall feel of having an actual steering wheel in your hand is much better.


VIBRATION MOTOR:
The vibration motors are also a nice addition when comparing it with the G25. The wheel doesn't have the jerking motion like the logitech wheel when it's trying to simulate vibration. Instead it actually vibrates, which lets the wheel use the FF and vibration functions at the same time. Both the FF, and vibrations are adjustable via the wheel independent of the game. If you don't like how much the wheel is shaking, you can pause the game and turn down that feature while still playing, by using a button beside the lcd screen and your d pad a the bottom of the wheel. It's very easy to make the adjustments and something that would be hard to live without once you have used it. It's might even be my favorite feature of the wheel.

BUTTONS:
The buttons are also very nicely placed, and are well lit with whichever systems buttons you are using. All of the buttons are very easy to see, and fairly responsive. Navigating the XMB, the 360's dashboard or in game menus are very easy and works well. You can easily reach the buttons when needing to use an e brake, or for making the on the fly adjustments in GT5p. All of the buttons work how they should and has been placed well. The switching of the buttons when you go from 360 to ps3 mode is another small feature that I loved. There's just something about seeing the lights switch from O,Y ,A, and B, to the ps3's square, O, X, and triangle. It's really weird seeing the 360 and PS3 play nicely with each other on one wheel.

SHIFTER:
The fanatec shifter is something I have really wanted to try. From videos I'd seen it looked very stiff and hard to use. That is not the case. It does have more resistance then the G25 shifter but it's not overly stiff. It holds itself a little bit as you try and push it through the gears, but once you get it out of the gear it slides easily into the next one. It seems like they found a good line between stiffness and ease of use. It's pretty believable as being a real shifter once you start racing. In my opinion it's much better then the G25's, not perfect but a definite improvement. The shifter does get my largest complaint with the unit. I've noticed it on videos and always wondered if the clicking noise was really that loud. Everytime you shift to another gear there is a fairly loud clicking noise when you go in and out of gear. I have almost gotten use to it now, but it was very distracting when I first started using it. If you were trying to play in a room with your wife sleeping it's not going to work. She will put an end to it fast.

The fist picture is of everything that comes with the shifter mounting bracket that Fanatec sells, but you wont need the plate at the bottom of the picture for mounting to the playseat with the G25 adapter.

PADDLE SHIFTERS:
The paddle shifters are one of the weaker points of the wheel. The work very well, but are a bit small. Unless I'm mistaken though I think that there are larger ones coming with the actual production wheel. The ones on my version are just a bit short. I do have small hands, so it might not be a problem for most people, but for me I would like them to be a bit larger. The amount of travel while using them is very short, I would also like to feel them move a little more, sort of like the G25's, but they are very usable and only one of the few things I could see being improved with the wheel.

MOUNTING BRACKET ON THE WHEEL:
The mounting mechanism that comes attached to the wheel isn't that bad. Ideally you want to hard mount the wheel to your setup, but the brackets that come on the wheel work. It does lean forward when heavy FF is applied, but if you don't want to deal with drilling holes and using bolts, then the wheels mounting brackets could get you by. They are somewhere between the xbox 360 wheel and G25's in terms of quality. Closer to the G25's but not that secure. I imagine though that anyone spending this kind of money on a wheel will have theirs hard mounted anyway, so it really shouldn't matter.

I am very happy with the product that Fanatec has put out. It is a high quality wheel that feels very strong and durable. It's not to often that anything exceeds my expectations, but fanatec has with this wheel. So far I couldn't be happier with it. I doubt my G25 will be with me much longer. I already have a friend that's offering to buy my G25, and after getting some time with the turbo s wheel there's really no reason to keep it any longer. I also noticed that they are now making the wheels so you don't need the ps3 dongle. I thought that was a great idea, but after using it I really like it and will probably use it instead of the usb cord connection. It's just one less wire to worry about when trying to clean up your setup.

I'm going to go ahead and post this. I'll add more later as I get more time with the wheel, and do a better G25 and Turbo s wheel comparison.
I know my pictures are huge but it's the only way I knew how to post them without doing them as attachments, and the attachments just weren't working out. If anyone can tell me how to make them smaller let me know and I will. People with slower internet connections are going to hate me if they stay like this.

If anyone has any questions at all feel free to either ask in the thread, or you can PM me. I'll do my best to take any pictures you want, and answer any questions you have.

I'll talk about the pedals when I get some time with them. I need to drill a few holes to mount them and just haven't wanted to take the time for that yet.

All in all I would say that this wheel is a must buy for multi console sim racers. I really can't see how anyone couldn't be happy with it, The only things I could find at all to complain about were the size of the paddle shifters(but that may be being fixed for the actual wheels that will be shipped) and the clicking sound of the shifter. Other then that I think they did a great job balancing looks with function.

 

[mistafreeze]

Thanks for the amazing review and pictures, can I ask you a few quick questions?

I'm getting ready to order this wheel (though it wont ship until nov)

I just bought the playseat evolution pro chair.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000O00JE8/?tag=gtplanet-20

What do I need to buy to put this wheel on that chair? Including the shifter?

Can you link to the exact items?

You said that you should buy the Wheelstand shifter adapter, do I need anything else? Like the 40 dollar shift adapter that playseats sells, or do I only need the wheelstand?



that's the link to the one from playseats

I have no other wheels at the moment (just getting started on it).

I was going to buy the g25, but will go ahead and buy this now instead.

Also, how does this work on GT Prologue? Have you tried using it with need for speed shift (a demo just came out, debating on buying it as well).

do you just plug in the USB and poof, it works? (sounds super cool!)

Thanks in advanced, I cant wait to get this!

(PS, which version of the wheel did you get, meaning did they send you the clubsport? is it worth getting the clubsport over the standard version (330 vs (I think) 490)?

 

[bevo]

I used the 40$ playseat shifter adapter that you are talking about and this http://www.fanatec.de/webshop/new_u...id=40&osCsid=e744a2a0cd38aaaac9cfb59b12424bc0 I think you would need both to mount the shifter.

It works very well with GT5p and shift. The h pattern shifter and clutch are supported by both games on the ps3, and shift is also supported on the 360, but the ps3 version works a little better with the wheel.

With the beta wheel I have, to use it on the ps3 there is a usb device you plug into the ps3 and it wirelessly connects to the wheel. You just hit 2 buttons on the wheels and the usb dongle finds the wheel and it's ready to go. But with the full versions of the wheel I think it can now be used wired through USB or wirelessly with the dongle.

I haven't gotten to try the clubsport pedals yet, but I have them ordered. They said they would try to go ahead and ship me the clubsport pedals soon.

 

[Schmo]

Thanks for the review. All you beta testers reviews amde me go buy one, which was the idea of giving them out to you lucky ones.

Shifter questions. When its mounted on the wheel with the 2 rods, how sturdy is it? Does it wobble alot when shifting? How much play is there?

Also, with a longer cord, how easy will it be to mount it on a cockpit? Are there mounting holes predrilled in the shifter unit? Or you I have to have an adapter that utilizes the 2 rod setup? I really want to mount it to my chair, I dont like it right next to the wheel. Is that mentioned above shifter adapter really needed?

All I got for now. Looking forward to receiving my wheel.

 

[bevo]

Thanks for the review. All you beta testers reviews amde me go buy one, which was the idea of giving them out to you lucky ones.

Shifter questions. When its mounted on the wheel with the 2 rods, how sturdy is it? Does it wobble alot when shifting? How much play is there?

Also, with a longer cord, how easy will it be to mount it on a cockpit? Are there mounting holes predrilled in the shifter unit? Or you I have to have an adapter that utilizes the 2 rod setup? I really want to mount it to my chair, I dont like it right next to the wheel. Is that mentioned above shifter adapter really needed?

All I got for now. Looking forward to receiving my wheel.

There are no holes at all in the bottom of the shifter. If you want to mount it to your cockpit you will need the wheelstand shifter adapter http://www.fanatec.de/webshop/new_u...id=40&osCsid=e744a2a0cd38aaaac9cfb59b12424bc0
It has two holes in the bottom to mount to your setup and then two spots to run the rods through in the adapter and shifter.

I have a picture above of what comes with the adapter, but more then likely you will not need the large plate at the bottom of the picture. The plate is what attaches to the wheelstand that fanatec sells.
Another thing is that the plug that plugs into the shifter is on the bottom of it. So whatever you mount it to will have to leave room to plug the cord into it, or you will have to drill a hole to allow room for the cord to run through to reach the bottom of the shifter.

 

[jonboy1066]

Great review Bevo although I'm a little confused.

How come 4 days ago when I started my review with a new thread that had pictures a little write up and the promise of videos it got quietly moderated away leaving me to use a thread that I started almost a year ago about a completely different wheel to post s my reviews in, yet you've started a thread the same way I did and it's still here.

Strange..............although great thread.

Should I post my videos in this thread to keep them all together from now on or continue in the other one?

 

[bevo]

I have no idea why they would get rid of it, you would think that they would love review threads. I thought that the other fanatec wheels thread was very random about the wheels. It was hard to find what you wanted to about the turbo s wheel because you had their other wheels kind of getting in the way.
You can post whatever you want in this thread. My thread is your thread.

 

[jonboy1066]

Cheers Bevo, if it's OK with you, I'm currently uploading Part 4 of my video reviews, once that's ready I'll embed all of my vids into one post here and update the post as I make more vids, then they'll be easier for peeps to find.

 

[jonboy1066]

So here goes, here's my video reviews all in one place:








Part 5 coming soon.

 

[jonboy1066]

Here's part 5 my GT5P Gameplay review.

 

[bevo]

Here's part 5 my GT5P Gameplay review.

The clutch works just like with the G25. You have to push the triangle button at the beginning of each race in GT5p to enable the clutch. You have to do it after the race has started. As soon as you have power over the car push triangle and then your clutch will work. If you don't press in the clutch while you shift, the car will go into neutral. If you push the triangle button a second time it will disable the clutch. The clutch doesn't work on race pro, but with GT5p it will.

 

[Chronos]

Yes you need to press the triangle button to activate the clutch but you can't use manual clutch in an f1 car as its sequential only in the game and real life. Even if you could, you can't change gear faster than the semi auto box so you're just losing time between shifts.

Ferrari california in real life is sequential semi auto only, so in GT5p its sequential only. Again its not physically possible to shift faster than the semi auto dual clutch, there's no torque drop in the california and paddle shift is seamless. Mercedes SL55 is paddle shift only so only paddle shift in GT5p

F430 is older and in real-life it has the manual clutch option as well as the paddle shift so in the game you can use manual clutch or paddles. Just press triangle button at the start. Please try the F40, Corvette Z06 etc for full clutch and do another video.

It's funny how Forza lets you use manual clutch for the California. I hope the california paddle shift is very fast in the game as its one of the most advanced gearboxes and in gt5p its seamless.

Also GT5p has force feedback option within the game options that goes from 1-10. Does this work with the Turbo S? I'd start there and drop it to 2-5 and go from there as the Fanatec is more powerful than the G25 it seems, so 7-10 would make the wheel rock possibly with most of the cars. F1 car is a different story as it will rock very strongly on the G25 set at 5 or over.

Thanks for the videos jonboy, and to everyone else who's made one. Looking forward to getting mine and using the analogue clutch in Forza 3. Clutch in GT5p has very small range. Once you get it working you'll think its merely an on off switch but there is a tiny amount of range but I hope the full GT5 is better and supports the G25 openly and not only promote the DFGT.

I watched kreepnslayer8 and he should try adjusting the feedback within the game as its probably on 7 or 8 and too much for the Fanatec.

 

[bevo]

Looking forward to getting mine and using the analogue clutch in Forza 3. Clutch in GT5p has very small range. Once you get it working you'll think its merely an on off switch but there is a tiny amount of range but I hope the full GT5 is better and supports the G25 openly and not only promote the DFGT.

It feels like a switch with Forza 3 also. It's much easier to shift in forza 3 then in GT5p. You very, very rarely miss a gear in forza, as in GT5p occasionally you will miss and end up in N. Forza 3 is almost more of a button then GT5p is

 

[Chronos]

It feels like a switch with Forza 3 also. It's much easier to shift in forza 3 then in GT5p. You very, very rarely miss a gear in forza, as in GT5p occasionally you will miss and end up in N. Forza 3 is almost more of a button then GT5p is

Thanks bevo. Oh well. it looked to have more range or more usability in one video I saw.

So how do the Fanatec stock pedals compare to the G25 pedals?

I've got the Pure edition on order. I'm not keen on the gas pedal on the fanatec and I'm going to invert the G25 pedals soon too. The brake pedal looks good on the fanatec though.

The Turbo S paddle shifters seem poor. I wish they'd be like the older model or G25 but maybe I'll get used to them.

Its a shame there's no hard mount for the fanatec shifter. The pedals and wheel have so why not put some thread holes underneath the shifter? I'm going to have to drill some holes if I can open it up or make my own bracket for the holes at the top of the shifter. Also I could put some support links between the metal rods to stop them flexing. I'm not buying the fanatec plate.

 

[oqvist]

I recommend you keep your G25 pedals. They will hold longer and you also have higher precision. If you want to upgrade you get the clubsport package

 

[jonboy1066]

Yeah thanlks for the hint about the use of the Triangle button to enable clutch, I don't have a G25 so didn't know about that, I just thought it would work out of the box.

I'll have another go on Monday.

Also thanks for the hint about using only cars that utilise H pattern boxes and clutches in the game....I had no idea.

Back to the drawing board on that video then LOL

 

[mistafreeze]

np jonboy, thanks for the videos, I've been watching them on youtube, nice to see you here as well!

What's the general thought on which pedals to get? So glad to hear about how this works with forza.

Do the clubsport pedals mount on the playseat easily? do you need something else? I remember in jonboy's video he had to add some extra velcro to get the regular pedal on the foot pad.

Jon are you using the playseat evolution?

Can you give a quick written rundown of how you setup it up, thoughts and ideas for newcomers?

I want to go ahead and prepare for all the stuff I need so when the wheel ships, "I'm ready".

I'm driving myself crazy waiting and re-watching your videos. lol

 

[bevo]

Jon are you using the playseat evolution?

Can you give a quick written rundown of how you setup it up, thoughts and ideas for newcomers?

I want to go ahead and prepare for all the stuff I need so when the wheel ships, "I'm ready".

The only thing you have to do to mount the wheel is to drill 4 holes on the wheel mounting plate of the playseat evo. There's a drilling template so it's no big deal. As for the shifter, if you want to mount it onto the G25 playseat shifter adapter you need the fanatec shifter adapter. There's a picture of it at the beginning of this thread. You'll have to drill 2 holes to get it to mount to the G25 adapter.
As far as the pedals go, I haven't tried to mount them yet. I ordered the clubsport pedals and haven't gotten them yet, and I really don't want to drill anymore holes then I have to in the plaseat's pedal plate. I think I'll just keep using my G25 pedals until the clubsport pedals arrive.

All in all it probably took me 25 minutes to have the wheel and shifter hard mounted to the playseat. It wouldn't have took that long if I wasn't in such a hurry and screwed up one of the holes for the wheel. The playseat isn't perfect because of the fact that you have to drill a couple holes, but it's pretty simple to get it setup.

The only things you will need that doesn't come with the wheel is the longer shifter cable, and it's only a couple bucks, and the fanatec wheelstand shifter adapter. You could mount the shifter using zip ties or something, but it would be a pain every time you wanted to switch shifters. With the fanatec shifter adapter you just hard mount a black piece that holds the rods for the shifter, and when you want to switch them you just slide one shifter off and the other on. The adapter is only 20$ and well worth it to buy. It's solid enough that you don't feel it move when you shift at all. There's pictures above that shows how I mounted mine. I'm sure there might be a better way, but it works for me.

 

[Mr Latte]

Regards GT5P

I would assume you could ALSO program the wheels buttons on the "Pad Configure Screen" to also allow up/downshift on the wheel, eg L2 L3


Try that and consider changing or updating the video?
Also as mentioned updating the video regards using the "Clutch" in GT5P

Little pint doing these kind of videos if they are not accurate and are unfair to Fanatec also.


Ive pretty much completed my own photograph preview.
Will add in Pedals and shifters later....

HERE YOU GO



Bevo and jonboy please
PM me when you get a chance...
I want to add some 3 way Beta tester comments to my preview...

 

[jonboy1066]

Regards GT5P

I would assume you could ALSO program the wheels buttons on the "Pad Configure Screen" to also allow up/downshift on the wheel, eg L2 L3


Try that and consider changing or updating the video?
Also as mentioned updating the video regards using the "Clutch" in GT5P

Little pint doing these kind of videos if they are not accurate and are unfair to Fanatec also.

Yep, honestly GT5P is not a game I play very much, I don't own a G25 and only played GT5P over last Christmas for a bit of a change from Forza 2 and a nice fix of decent FFB on the DFP, then when RACE Pro came out I went back to the XBox full time so I was unaware of the triangle button to activate the clutch thing.....why would I even think of it?

I have tried it just now and the Triangle button thing works so tomorrow I will do an updated video, I'm working nights at the moment so no time to do it now.

Latte if you PM me with what you want me to comment on I will gladly help out there, but there's still so much to test at the moment and I'm still learning so much that I'll save any final comments for a while yet.

 

[bevo]

I was unaware of the triangle button to activate the clutch thing.....why would I even think of it?

I don't know why they kept it kind of a secret about the triangle in GT5p. It's like they had to sneak it in because of the DFGT being the official wheel or something. The only way I knew about it was because of this forum.

 

[jonboy1066]

Yeah, I never even thought to look for it, I just thought that the Fanatec would either Plug and Play or it wouldn't.

In hindsight I think it's a great feature and I'm very impressed how GT5P won't allow you to use clutch and H pattern on a car that wouldn't use it IRL, it's far less silly than the way FM3 seems to allow a 7 speed flappy paddle equipped Ferrari California to utilise a 6 Speed H patter from 1st to 6th then paddle change to 7th.

 

[mistafreeze]

Hey jonboy, in your videos you mention some other games to test, would you mind checking out need for speed shift (I'm guessing the ps3 version "MIGHT" support the clutch and h-pattern, though the 360 might as well!)

Also, have you tried out dirt 2 yet (not a sim I know, but it is quite fun).

Also are you going to do another video for GT5P with the clutch? Maybe this time using a car much less impressive


Bevo and jonboy, can you both maybe write down the settings and tweaks you tend to find yourself using or setting in your games?

On some of jonboy's videos he mentions how he has forza 3 at certain settings with a certain preset, race pro and gt5p as well. Maybe you can write them down?

And if you bevo have any settings you go back to to make things "better" that would be nice as well.

I'm still debating on whether or not to go for the clubsport pedals. My main concerns are: Will they easily fit in the playseat (I read someone had problems with them as the pedals were bigger than what he had before, but I'm hoping you could do like jonboy and throw on some extra velcro and have that solve everything )

And which games will / do take full advantage of the advanced features.

Will forza 3, and most important, will Gt5 when it ships.


Also jonboy on one of your latest videos you mention some new features that your wheel does not have but will be in the final release that ships in december, what are those features, do you have a link?

Thanks again guys for your exhaustive reviews, really quite amazing. I can't wait for mine to arrive.

 

[jonboy1066]

Hey jonboy, in your videos you mention some other games to test, would you mind checking out need for speed shift (I'm guessing the ps3 version "MIGHT" support the clutch and h-pattern, though the 360 might as well!)...............


Also are you going to do another video for GT5P with the clutch? Maybe this time using a car much less impressive

Certainly, my plans for this week involve. Firstly doing a GT5P video to show where I went wrong in my last vid, then I am planning on downloading the demo for NFS Shift on PS3 & X360 to see if I can compare the same game on the different console using the same peripheral.

Also, have you tried out dirt 2 yet (not a sim I know, but it is quite fun).

I don't have DiRT or any of the latest gen of Codies games, I fell out of love with them after they turned their back on the ToCA franchise, that's another story, but I have considered trying the demo for the sake of testing........if I get time I'll give it a go but it may be quite low on my list of priorities.

Bevo and jonboy, can you both maybe write down the settings and tweaks you tend to find yourself using or setting in your games?

I think the settings may well be a trial and error thing to suit individual taste as certain cars withing one game may require different settings to suit FFB strength and turning circle. I have mentioned the settings I've used so far in the games I've trialed so far and have a feeling that I may need more than the 5 presets available.

I'm still debating on whether or not to go for the clubsport pedals. My main concerns are: Will they easily fit in the playseat (I read someone had problems with them as the pedals were bigger than what he had before, but I'm hoping you could do like jonboy and throw on some extra velcro and have that solve everything )

Me too, I have ordered the S version to suit budget and am testing the S version pedals, but I may consider CS pedals later as an upgraade, so far my experience with the S pedals is very good and I don't think anyone would regret buying them.

And which games will / do take full advantage of the advanced features.

So far in my experience FM3 Demo and GT5P get the most out of the clutch and shifter options but the FFB has been equally fantastic on every game

Also jonboy on one of your latest videos you mention some new features that your wheel does not have but will be in the final release that ships in december, what are those features, do you have a link?

Yes Thomas (Fanatec CEO) made a video a couple of days ago explaining the reasons for delay and that they've used the time to add these new features.

They are:

Drift Mode in the preset options

& Adjustable Braking Force Feedback which can be felt through the wheel and through ClubSport pedals.

Here's his film:

Thanks again guys for your exhaustive reviews, really quite amazing. I can't wait for mine to arrive.

You're welcome, it's been a pleasure doing these videos, although I never counted on it being quite such a hot topic and now I've found that over the last week reviewing, videoing, editing, posting and answering questions has taken up almost as much of my time as my 40 hour a week job.

 

[bevo]

Hey jonboy, in your videos you mention some other games to test, would you mind checking out need for speed shift (I'm guessing the ps3 version "MIGHT" support the clutch and h-pattern, though the 360 might as well!)

Also, have you tried out dirt 2 yet (not a sim I know, but it is quite fun).

Also are you going to do another video for GT5P with the clutch? Maybe this time using a car much less impressive


Bevo and jonboy, can you both maybe write down the settings and tweaks you tend to find yourself using or setting in your games?

On some of jonboy's videos he mentions how he has forza 3 at certain settings with a certain preset, race pro and gt5p as well. Maybe you can write them down?

And if you bevo have any settings you go back to to make things "better" that would be nice as well.

I'm still debating on whether or not to go for the clubsport pedals. My main concerns are: Will they easily fit in the playseat (I read someone had problems with them as the pedals were bigger than what he had before, but I'm hoping you could do like jonboy and throw on some extra velcro and have that solve everything )

And which games will / do take full advantage of the advanced features.

Will forza 3, and most important, will Gt5 when it ships.


Also jonboy on one of your latest videos you mention some new features that your wheel does not have but will be in the final release that ships in december, what are those features, do you have a link?

Thanks again guys for your exhaustive reviews, really quite amazing. I can't wait for mine to arrive.

The ps3 version of shift fully supports the clutch and h pattern shifter of the turbo s wheel. The 360 version supports them also but does not give you any sort of penalty for not pushing in the clutch. Shift is one of the harder games I have had to get setup with the wheel. The G25 in game settings I used haven't transfered over to this wheel, but I am working on getting some really good in game settings for the turbo s wheel. I have figured out some of my problems and by the time the wheel releases I should have some pretty good PS3 shift settings.

Dirt 2 works very well on the ps3 and 360. I don't believe either versions support the clutch but I'm not 100% sure. I own the 360 version and have only played the ps3 demo. It may support the clutch but it would be really hard to use in dirt 2.

I have played
360=dirt 2, shift, forza 3 demo, race pro, and Nascar 09.
The only game that really needed any major settings adjustments is shift. The other games the only adjustments were for FF and rumble preference. Forza 3 works perfectly. You can tell that turn 10 had ahold of this wheel while tuning the game. At least that's what it seems like to me. The wheel really saved race pro for me. I only played the game for an hour or two with the 360 wheel and gave up. With the fanatec wheel it's a whole new game. The big center deadzone is gone, and the cars are very drivable. Dirt 2 also works very well. I put in Nascar last night just to try the wheel out. I haven't played it for a long time and ended up playing a 5 race season with it, that took about 3 hours. It really made Nascar come alive(if that's possible) you could actually go 3 cars wide through turns without banging both of the cars beside you. I've never had so much fun driving in circles.

PS3=GT5p, shift, ferrari challenge, F1CE, I'm going to try out Grid tonight.
Once again shift needs some in game settings tweaked to get it right, and I just haven't gotten them together yet. GT5p was a little weird at first, but I think it was due to the wheels strength. I had to go and turn down the FF in game, and on the wheel. It feels much better now. F1CE and Ferrari challenge worked perfect without any tweaks at all. The only game I have had any trouble with at all is shift, and that is EA's fault more then anyone else's. They just didn't have good wheel settings to begin with. Everything else has worked very well and I'm pretty sure shift will be fine to if I can get some people to help me with the in game settings.

I believe that any game that supports the G25's clutch will work on this wheel also.
I think our wheels have all the features but I'm not sure. I know one of the new features was being able to use a usb cord instead of the dongle for the PS3. My wheel can be used with either the dongle or usb. The other new thing was brake vibration for the clubsport pedals on any game. I'm not sure about that one, since I don't have the clubsport pedals yet.

 

[jonboy1066]

Bevo, I'm going to be trying out Ferrari Challenge this week with the wheel, are there any foibles that I need to know such as pressing the trialngle to get the clutch to work? Or does it work straight away?

 

[mistafreeze]

Thanks for the updates, looks like I'm going to pick up some more games (f1 & ferrari).

Yea, I'd agree with dirt 2 would be very difficult with the clutch, but I was more concerned with if the h-shift worked or if you needed to use paddles.

(the in car view in dirt 2 is just crazy, I've never had such a fun time, cracked windshield, running into muddy water (and the wipers coming on) insane!))

Dirt 2 is just a really fun game, I couldn't of been more impressed (I got it on xbox too)

I didn't buy NFS Shift yet (was very tempted) after playing the demo I was quite impressed (no it's not forza or gt, but for an ea game, and a first release at that, I couldn't of been more impressed) maybe next year it might shift into more of a contender, but I definitely like the jump from their previous games (which I've skipped) to shift).

The in camera view is amazing, and I really want to check it out with this wheel (though I may just end up grabbing the g25 or g27 for now, and resell it after the fanatec arrives).

I'm hoping to grab nfs during one of the black friday sales this year for the ps3.

I'm glad to hear that the main pedals are great (the 50$ ones). I think I'll be more than happy with those, and later on I'll pick up the clubsports.

Thing is the difference between the packages is 150 dollars, but when you consider the clubsports are 200 and the normals are 50, they are really the same price (meaning no real deal buying the bundle versus getting the regulars first, then upgrading later on).

 

[bevo]

Bevo, I'm going to be trying out Ferrari Challenge this week with the wheel, are there any foibles that I need to know such as pressing the trialngle to get the clutch to work? Or does it work straight away?

I can't remember if the clutch works or not. I do know that the wheel will be recognized as a g25. So if it's supports the clutch there shouldn't be hidden things you have to do, If there is it should just be in the settings. By the way, the wheel works really well with the Ferrari challenge. I don't think I had to change any in game settings to get it to feel right.

 

[jonboy1066]

Thanks mate, I'll give it a go (Hopefully this week) I've also got the Beta of SuperCar Challenge, so if that's still working I'll try it there too, I'm told that people who had the Beta are able to play online with people who have the full game these days.

 

[Chronos]

Bevo, I'm going to be trying out Ferrari Challenge this week with the wheel, are there any foibles that I need to know such as pressing the trialngle to get the clutch to work? Or does it work straight away?

Ferrari Challenge does not support the clutch unfortunately. The game does support the G25 and is pictured within the game and the H shifter works. No clutch for the SCC beta. Not sure about the full SCC but I doubt they've added clutch functionality.

You can change FFB and pedal sensitivity to low, med,high in FC. The G25 has a dead zone problem but it works well in general. Although I barely played it outside doing some races in the rain (rain effects are pretty good). Deadzone, low draw distance, 30 fps, limited options, low frame rate replays put me off but the driving model with more emphasis on weight shifting is quite good.