Logitech G27 iRacing Mac

[Tijee]

Hi there!

I'm a Gran Turismo 6 player, and I'd like to give iRacing a try. I don't have a PC, only a MacBook Pro, which shouldn't be a problem since iRacing is available on Mac. However my wheel is a Logitech G27 and I've read it's not fully supported on OSX. Seems that there's a well known program to enable all the features of the G27 on Mac (http://support.feralinteractive.com/en/faqs/free_the_wheel/), but I don't know if it will change something on the wheel itself that could break it on the PS3 (I still want to play GT6).

Does anyone here use a G27 on both a PS3 and a Mac?

Thank you guys in advance for any help 👍

 

[sesselpupser]

I've never used it myself, but I personally wouldn't hesitate to use that software if I wanted to use my wheel on my Mac. I'd test it out for you if my G27 was in one piece right now, but... It isn't, so I can't!

 

[mavryk_gt]

Hi Tijee, I've did exactly what you are asking.

First things first, iRacing is a *serious* step up from GT. You will hopefully love it, can't beat it's competitiveness and amazing community. No other game or sim comes close to that glorious feeling that you are racing, no buggy or stupid AI, just pure racing. It's tough in the Rookie class, you will get some Maldonado's (but no where near as many as on GT Online) but once you progress up the ladder and race in higher classes it gets more evenly matched and you will have some fantastic close wheel to wheel racing. The GT3 is the most popular series (road side of things) but I also like the IMSA Sports cars series (multi class! Hope you know what a blue flag is lol!) as well as the RUF* Cup (*Porsche). Don't feel like you have to buy every track right away, it can get expensive that way. Look at the schedules and buy maybe three a season (iRacing gives you multi buy discounts when you buy so many things at once) and learn them individually as iRacing is all about practice, practice, practice!

Anyway, back to the Mac. At first I did not use any FFB... I just saw a "3 months free" offer for iRacing and thought "What the hell?! I'll just give it a go!" I downloaded it and hit the track right away. It had wheel resistance on my G27 but no FFB, which wasn't too bad actually. Took a while to adjust to but was comfortable pretty quick. If anything it helped me out as I learnt how to feel the car sliding more as that was the only effect I could feel through the FFB-less wheel.

After seeing a forum post about the FFB tweak I gave it a go and it was obviously much better with the FFB. It will not "break" your wheel so you can switch back to GT6, don't worry.

The only issue is you either have to have FFB *or* 900 Degrees of rotation with that Free the Wheel FFB tweak. Go for FFB obviously which isn't a massive issue as you will rarely need to do full lock turns. Having the FFB is more important than degrees of rotation. Just takes some getting used to with the lower (therefore sensitive) direction turns. Oh, and the FFB is way, wayyy stronger on iRacing.

You will need to find a FFB setting that does not 'clip', once you are a member of iRacing use the forums to search for the helpful threads about FFB clipping and why it's important to dial it out. I started out cranking the FFB up because I thought more is better - not the case, less is more! There is much more adjustment to be had on a PC Sim, take your time finding the right feel for you. Get to know what each menu slider does. It will take days, maybe weeks but it will make the world of difference.

I've always been a Mac guy, the first ever PC I bought was a Power Macintosh. I still am primarily a Mac user, can't ever use Windows without it annoying me except for [A] Work and Gaming (I have since built my own Sim Racing Triple Screen Gaming PC) Just a shame the FFB thing is a bit clunky, but by all means it's still usable and I'm sure you will enjoy iRacing once you have it all set up. Good Luck!

 

[Tijee]

Thanks for this answer @mavryk_gt, I like the way you're enthusiast about iRacing! 👍

Actually I've finally managed to setup my G27 with FFB - I don't know exactly how I did tho I'm happy with that because even with the wheel resistance it was too light at high speed, and I had absolutely no feedback under braking, it was a complete disaster. I also realized that 900° rotation is a lot, and I'm satisfied with less (I don't know how much I use for GT6 but I don't think it is 900).

Still, the wheel setup and all that stuff in the settings screen clearly show that we're not in a game anymore, but in a sim. To be honest, it's confusing and I'm a little lost and afraid. I had a few reads about G27 settings, and I feel like I'm going to setup a plane! It's not intuitive at all! Also, the overal UI looks "old" in comparison to the polished menus of modern games.

Another issue I have is due to my TV. I've plugged my MacBook Pro with an HDMI cable and there's a slight latency, a few milliseconds I guess, but just enough to be noticed.

I have to say I'm a little disappointed by the graphics, I have the feeling that they're not as beautiful as in the videos, despite of all the settings being at the max. The cars are OK, but the environment is not always as good - at least at Laguna Seca, which is the only track I tried.

But still, I want to keep trying. The sounds of the cars are a lot more immersive than in GT6, and although the physics is different - mostly under braking and on corner exit - it has the reputation of being very realistic and at the end this is what matters to me.

I just have to find the time to correctly setup my wheel and screen, and practice... a lot! I see iRacing more as a "competition game", and I'll keep GT6 for having some fun with all my cars!

 

[Tijee]

I had a few reads about G27 settings, and I feel like I'm going to setup a plane!

Finished to setup the FFB and FOV, now it's very pleasant to drive.

Another issue I have is due to my TV. I've plugged my MacBook Pro with an HDMI cable and there's a slight latency, a few milliseconds I guess, but just enough to be noticed.

Just had to change my HDMI cable.

I have to say I'm a little disappointed by the graphics, I have the feeling that they're not as beautiful as in the videos, despite of all the settings being at the max. The cars are OK, but the environment is not always as good - at least at Laguna Seca, which is the only track I tried.

I increased the memory settings and it's much better! I had to lower the graphics settings tho because the frame rate was too low.

Now I can fully enjoy iRacing with my G27 on my MacBook Pro! 👍

 

[mavryk_gt]

Glad to see you're up and running, it does take time to get everything 'just right'. The GFX are DX9 era so a bit dated, but that is intentional by iRacing so as to get as many people as possible to play it with comfortable frame rates. Some of the free and older tracks are quite basic I agree, but the newer ones are far better to look at though as they are more detailed. They will also be moving to a fresh new UI soon, there is a video preview of it somewhere on the forums, it's similar to the Project CARS' UI and much needed as it is very dated right now.

I've been a member for a couple of years and iRacing is moving in the right direction. Lots to look forward to like the Mclaren MP4-30 Honda, the 'Ring, Aston Martin GT Cars, Mercedes Benz AMG GT3 etc. Like I said, I'm now on a triple screen PC with GTX780 but I genuinely believed that starting out on my Mac with the FFB issue actually made me a better driver. Some games do need the graphics turned up (Assetto Corsa , PCars etc) but when you are in a battle for the podium in iRacing it's the racing that matters and is enjoyable, not shiny scenery!

 

[Tijee]

I switched to Windows on Boot Camp and it runs much better, with nearly all the settings at High Details. The only drawback is that the Intel graphic cards do not support well anti aliasing, the framerate drops down considerably. I had to enable a sort of alternative anti aliasing from the Intel driver instead of the AA from the game. It runs at 50-60 FPS during a race, which is not very high but it is smooth enough for me and I can enjoy beautiful graphics.