- 357
- GTP_Robulus
I just upgraded from my DFGT to a G27, and thought I would share my experience. There is a lot of information in this forum about the G27, and the accuracy varies pretty wildly. This is an attempt to be as clear and objective as I can be, about my unbelievably fantastic new wheel 
Price
First off the bat is price. I'm in Australia, and because we are a big island a long way away from everyone else in the world, every corporation on the planet shafts us mercilessly at every opportunity. This greatly affects our options here. So to be clear, I got a good price for a G27 here, $390 inc delivery from the Logitech shop on ebay (they are a licensed reseller). Yes that's a good price, even with Australian dollars worth the same as US dollars now.
The Thrustmaster T500 is available for $799.95 + delivery here from the Gamesmen, shown as a markdown from $899.95.
They also offer the Fanatec PTS with Clubsport Pedals and a shifter for $699.95 + delivery.
So to be clear, there is a massive price difference between the G27 and competitive wheels here, and that was the main driver in my decision.
Compatiblity with GT5
This is really controversial. Here is what I have found from experience.
1. You can't program buttons in GT5 for the G27
I never use any buttons on the wheel while driving, so I've never bothered to program buttons on the wheel, so frankly the G27 still has more buttons programmed for use in GT5 than I use. However you can't program them if you want to.
2. You can set Force Feedback
With my DFGT I had Force Feedback in Wheel settings set to 7, and I found the G27 felt perfect at that setting. I played with the force feedback settings, there is definitely a difference between the minimum and maximum settings, and I found the maximum setting a bit too notchy. I think it's likely that a supported wheel would show more distinct variation, but there should be enough adjustment here for most people to find a setting they are happy with.
3. No noticeable difference with Wheel Sensitivity setting.
Update: According to tribolik, this setting doesn't have any effect on wheels, even the T500. Looking again at the exchange I had with a Fanatec owner about this, it seems like he was just keen to point out that he could set wheel travel on the fly on his Fanatec wheel. Which is pretty cool, but more a feature of the Fanatec wheel than a fault of the G27. I don't know what support is available within GT5 settings to set wheel travel for any of the supported wheels, so I don't know how to rate the lack of this for G27. It's not an issue for me.
In response to a discussion on another thread, I checked out "Wheel Sensitivity", a setting you can change before a race. I found no noticeable difference with this setting, and definitely no difference in wheel travel. Again, I'd never even bothered setting this before, I don't even know if wheel travel is changed on the DFGT with this setting. However people are worried about it.
4. Clutch works great in GT5.
One of the big negative claims about the G27 I couldn't understand was the poor clutch. I've found the clutch to be awesome and very true to life. Turns out there was an issue here but it has been addressed in a patch. Which is kind of nice of PD and kind of annoying at the same time, because it shows they could offer much greater support, but are not doing so.
5. The Dead Spot
This crops up a lot too. I can't work out whether people want a dead spot or not. There is a dead spot (a small area of wheel travel that has no effect on steering in game) in the centre of the DFGT, and it seems like people think that's a good thing, because you can head down a straight and take your hands off the wheel. I don't think there is a dead spot on the G27, and I've seen the oscillation people worry about if you take your hands off the wheel.
I don't quite know which way I come down on this one. On the one hand, you can take your hands off the wheel when going in a straight line in real life, on the other hand, on the DFGT I found the complete lack of any tactile feedback on long straights at high speed to be a bit weird.
Summary
The G27 is the best wheel I've ever used and has transformed my experience of GT5. I love it. There is no comparison with the DFGT, it is quieter and transfers much more detailed information about the car and track through the wheel. The pedals feel great (I was using a squash ball in the brake cavity of my DFGT) and the experience of driving with a shifter and clutch adds a whole new level to the game, a huge dimension of gameplay that was completely absent before.
If you are playing with a DFGT or similar, you don't customise the button layout much, and you enjoy driving cars that use an H shifter and want a more authentic experience, you really need look no further, you will be happy with this wheel.
If you really require extra customisation options, such as buttons on the wheel, or customised wheel travel, you will probably be disappointed with the G27.
I am guessing Thrustmaster got some commercial comittment from Sony that they would have no competition in this space, so I would not expect to see any official support in GT5 for the G27 anytime soon (I reckon they'd want at least a year) or ever (because really the wheel will be getting pretty old by then and who'd want to go through all the negotiation to get it supported).
It's a pity, because if it had full support it would be the perfect choice for a lot of people, who right now are going to have to dig deep. But then getting more money out of people is what its all about, right?
Price
First off the bat is price. I'm in Australia, and because we are a big island a long way away from everyone else in the world, every corporation on the planet shafts us mercilessly at every opportunity. This greatly affects our options here. So to be clear, I got a good price for a G27 here, $390 inc delivery from the Logitech shop on ebay (they are a licensed reseller). Yes that's a good price, even with Australian dollars worth the same as US dollars now.
The Thrustmaster T500 is available for $799.95 + delivery here from the Gamesmen, shown as a markdown from $899.95.
They also offer the Fanatec PTS with Clubsport Pedals and a shifter for $699.95 + delivery.
So to be clear, there is a massive price difference between the G27 and competitive wheels here, and that was the main driver in my decision.
Compatiblity with GT5
This is really controversial. Here is what I have found from experience.
1. You can't program buttons in GT5 for the G27
I never use any buttons on the wheel while driving, so I've never bothered to program buttons on the wheel, so frankly the G27 still has more buttons programmed for use in GT5 than I use. However you can't program them if you want to.
2. You can set Force Feedback
With my DFGT I had Force Feedback in Wheel settings set to 7, and I found the G27 felt perfect at that setting. I played with the force feedback settings, there is definitely a difference between the minimum and maximum settings, and I found the maximum setting a bit too notchy. I think it's likely that a supported wheel would show more distinct variation, but there should be enough adjustment here for most people to find a setting they are happy with.
3. No noticeable difference with Wheel Sensitivity setting.
Update: According to tribolik, this setting doesn't have any effect on wheels, even the T500. Looking again at the exchange I had with a Fanatec owner about this, it seems like he was just keen to point out that he could set wheel travel on the fly on his Fanatec wheel. Which is pretty cool, but more a feature of the Fanatec wheel than a fault of the G27. I don't know what support is available within GT5 settings to set wheel travel for any of the supported wheels, so I don't know how to rate the lack of this for G27. It's not an issue for me.
In response to a discussion on another thread, I checked out "Wheel Sensitivity", a setting you can change before a race. I found no noticeable difference with this setting, and definitely no difference in wheel travel. Again, I'd never even bothered setting this before, I don't even know if wheel travel is changed on the DFGT with this setting. However people are worried about it.
4. Clutch works great in GT5.
One of the big negative claims about the G27 I couldn't understand was the poor clutch. I've found the clutch to be awesome and very true to life. Turns out there was an issue here but it has been addressed in a patch. Which is kind of nice of PD and kind of annoying at the same time, because it shows they could offer much greater support, but are not doing so.
5. The Dead Spot
This crops up a lot too. I can't work out whether people want a dead spot or not. There is a dead spot (a small area of wheel travel that has no effect on steering in game) in the centre of the DFGT, and it seems like people think that's a good thing, because you can head down a straight and take your hands off the wheel. I don't think there is a dead spot on the G27, and I've seen the oscillation people worry about if you take your hands off the wheel.
I don't quite know which way I come down on this one. On the one hand, you can take your hands off the wheel when going in a straight line in real life, on the other hand, on the DFGT I found the complete lack of any tactile feedback on long straights at high speed to be a bit weird.
Summary
The G27 is the best wheel I've ever used and has transformed my experience of GT5. I love it. There is no comparison with the DFGT, it is quieter and transfers much more detailed information about the car and track through the wheel. The pedals feel great (I was using a squash ball in the brake cavity of my DFGT) and the experience of driving with a shifter and clutch adds a whole new level to the game, a huge dimension of gameplay that was completely absent before.
If you are playing with a DFGT or similar, you don't customise the button layout much, and you enjoy driving cars that use an H shifter and want a more authentic experience, you really need look no further, you will be happy with this wheel.
If you really require extra customisation options, such as buttons on the wheel, or customised wheel travel, you will probably be disappointed with the G27.
I am guessing Thrustmaster got some commercial comittment from Sony that they would have no competition in this space, so I would not expect to see any official support in GT5 for the G27 anytime soon (I reckon they'd want at least a year) or ever (because really the wheel will be getting pretty old by then and who'd want to go through all the negotiation to get it supported).
It's a pity, because if it had full support it would be the perfect choice for a lot of people, who right now are going to have to dig deep. But then getting more money out of people is what its all about, right?
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