Sparco/Momo/NRG or no name

[MrDavid5465]

I want to upgrade the wheel on my g27 and I was wondering whether or not getting a brand name wheel is worth the money. I personally do not care about the branding but if there is a noticeable difference between a no name wheel and a brand name wheel I wouldn't mind paying the premium as much.
these are my contenders. First the no name wheel and second NRG Wheel

 

[eKretz]

IMO, that depends mostly on your personality and your appreciation for quality items, as well as the meaningfulness of your sim racing hobby to yourself. It's a decision one can only make for one's self. There are folks who wear a Timex $10 watch, and folks who wear a multi-thousand dollar mechanical masterpiece of a watch. Those who drive a Yugo, and those who can't live without that historical multiple million dollar Ferrari. Only you can decide where you fit on that scale with each individual possession. A cheap wheel may last just as long as the better one or it may fall apart. One pays one's money and takes one's chances.

 

[Gunstar]

I use that same "no name" wheel on my rig (the all black with red stitching one) and a MOMO in my car... obviously the MOMO is a higher quality wheel, but it's way more expensive. I guess you need to decide what it's worth for you. For me the cheap ebay wheel adds enough to the experience that I don't feel the need to drop any more $$ on a Sparco or MOMO... although if I lucked into a cheap/free one for my rig I wouldn't turn it down.

 

[LogiForce]

I personally put a 350mm on my T500 that's equal to the noname one. Mine was branded by autostyle (a car part webshop).

Here's a pic of mine on the T500:

(Don't mind the Lancia logo. That's just a wheel hub I had spare for my car's rims. The DSD adapter didn't provide for the spacing of standard horn buttons, unfortunately)

 

[Gunstar]

Logi, yours seems to be flat-bottom version of the one I got. In fact, they all look like maybe a higher quality version to be honest. Mine has kind of a CF looking wrap to it.

 

[MrDavid5465]

Cheaper wheel it is haha I might go with a flat bottom wheel, if I can find one.

 

[LogiForce]

Logi, yours seems to be flat-bottom version of the one I got. In fact, they all look like maybe a higher quality version to be honest. Mine has kind of a CF looking wrap to it.

Bought mine for 50 euros. So it can't be that more expensive.

 

[Gunstar]

Mine was under $30 USD, so it was dirt cheap. I figured if I didn't like it, I could always use reuse the DSD adapter on something else. LOL.

 

[MrDavid5465]

If I got a DSD plate, would I still need to get the adapter?

 

[Bigbazz]

I think I'd miss the 6 buttons on the wheel too much to switch to a real car wheel. Other than for looks/feel there is no practical reason or advantage to do it. Looks and feel is still a good selling point I suppose, but from a functional and practicality perspective I think it is a downgrade.

 

[Coxis]

That's a really nice looking wheel LogiForce -- Love the LANCIA emblem as well. 👍

 

[Paul33993]

I think I'd miss the 6 buttons on the wheel too much to switch to a real car wheel. Other than for looks/feel there is no practical reason or advantage to do it. Looks and feel is still a good selling point I suppose, but from a functional and practicality perspective I think it is a downgrade.

There's something to be said for size. Certain cars would have finer control with a bigger wheel. In fact, I think I'm going to add a second wheel for this reason. Haven't decided which. I'll keep my T500 Ferrari GTE wheel for the open wheelers that need quick turning and paddle shifters, and use the bigger wheel for more traditional cars.

 

[oqvist]

No name it's still going to be overkill if it's street legal. Btw if you care about quality don't go for suede or alcatraz. Particularly suede wear down in no time. Leather gets hot so polyurethane or rubber. Some

 

[oqvist]

Double post.

Since I don´t run much F1 I have more use of my bigger rims. That said I was faster through nurburgring on F3 with my 320 mm rim vs the F1 integral rim so it´s a bit trial and error it´s not clear cut to me when to use f1 wheel or 320 mm. I can get a bit of a placebo effect changing this

I have since then bought a 350 mm rim and now I want a 380 mm rim . But surely there is not that big step from 320 to 350 as it was going from the G27 toy wheel or the F1 integral. I am 187 cm tall and quite wide shoulders so 380 mm shouldn´t be to bulky for me.

Also many may not think about this I didn´t much but my 320 mm rim shrinked my 24" monitor so much. Had to compensate a bit with raising it up but the wheel never truly felt at home until I got my 50" tv. More reasonable proportions when the wheel is not the width of the windshield. It was another step immersion wise just that one getting a proper windshield and then a wheel that is quite proportional. Though a 350 mm get a bit like a 380 mm rim on my setup.

Also I find the bigger rims much more ergonomical. I get much stronger I just finished a 24" Le Mans endurance and I have never been this fresh. And then I have used weaker ffb wheels on endurance events prior to this. But maybe this depend on the sim if I run richard burns rally maybe it will be worse since I do bigger motions then with a smaller rim dunno. I will have to come back to that sim but surely the 320 mm did feel quite bulky at times but the sense of precision is greater.

But yes going big is the way to go if you already have a toy sized F458 rim Then you get similar benefits as if you got the F1 rim instead. I would preferr the F1 rim to be a bit wider honestly but it´s okay.

I have a SRW S1 on my bigger diameter wheels which works splendid as button box. I have more buttons then on the F1 rim actually though that give me double paddles. and also give me a rev scale. On PC that is of course.

Paddles is still easy accessible for me on the 350mm rim.

 

[Paul33993]

Double post.

Since I don´t run much F1 I have more use of my bigger rims. That said I was faster through nurburgring on F3 with my 320 mm rim vs the F1 integral rim so it´s a bit trial and error it´s not clear cut to me when to use f1 wheel or 320 mm. I can get a bit of a placebo effect changing this

I have since then bought a 350 mm rim and now I want a 380 mm rim . But surely there is not that big step from 320 to 350 as it was going from the G27 toy wheel or the F1 integral. I am 187 cm tall and quite wide shoulders so 380 mm shouldn´t be to bulky for me.

Also many may not think about this I didn´t much but my 320 mm rim shrinked my 24" monitor so much. Had to compensate a bit with raising it up but the wheel never truly felt at home until I got my 50" tv. More reasonable proportions when the wheel is not the width of the windshield. It was another step immersion wise just that one getting a proper windshield and then a wheel that is quite proportional. Though a 350 mm get a bit like a 380 mm rim on my setup.

Also I find the bigger rims much more ergonomical. I get much stronger I just finished a 24" Le Mans endurance and I have never been this fresh. And then I have used weaker ffb wheels on endurance events prior to this. But maybe this depend on the sim if I run richard burns rally maybe it will be worse since I do bigger motions then with a smaller rim dunno. I will have to come back to that sim but surely the 320 mm did feel quite bulky at times but the sense of precision is greater.

But yes going big is the way to go if you already have a toy sized F458 rim Then you get similar benefits as if you got the F1 rim instead. I would preferr the F1 rim to be a bit wider honestly but it´s okay.

I have a SRW S1 on my bigger diameter wheels which works splendid as button box. I have more buttons then on the F1 rim actually though that give me double paddles. and also give me a rev scale. On PC that is of course.

Paddles is still easy accessible for me on the 350mm rim.

Interesting info. Was planning on ordering a suede wheel today, but maybe I need to go back and rethink the wood wheel route. Or maybe just go the cheapo ebay fake leather route.

 

[oqvist]

I should perhaps warn about ebay. My rim did not FIT the image description. I got the right wheel it was just that on the image there was not a seem across the top centre at all and the stitches looked better a bit better overall. But that can happen everywhere I suppose.

I haven´t tried wood could be fun but maybe it´s to hard?? I would take weight seriously into consideration too unless you like the ffb damped. If you can stay at or under 1 KG you should be quite well though. My 320 mm rim don´t weight more then my F1 integral and my motacorsa 350 rim seem to have the exact same base as my RMD 320 mm rim so not many grams more. There is like one factory in china that make all the momo and no name rigs I suspect to cut costs.

Also one issue I got which you may not. Just about all wheels with no ergonomic grips have a circular grip of around 30 mm. This is to thin for me. It works but it would be much more comfortable and offer better grip if it was wider even with gloves. But I suppose I have rather big hands so YMMV of course. I measure 20 cm from where I bend the hand to my long finger. I have made a 24h lemans on it by now and it worked okay. Some sweat make it not that nice to hold though perhaps even more grippy so next one I will try gloves.

There is ways to fix the small grip too. I am contemplating using those tennis racket grips or those wheel covers available. But I believe the first is a better solution but may leave residues if I regret it.

 

[Paul33993]

/\

Yeah. The place I was going to order the suede wheel was in the UK. I cntrl-F searched their feedback and they had a lot of praise from people who ordered it. Kind of backed away from the Chinese auctions that seemed a little too good to be true.

I don't think wood weights that much (at least racing wheels). Somebody just posted a bunch of pictures in the TH8R thread where they weighted a bunch of wheels compared to the stock T500. They had an Indy Momo that actually weighted less with the DS adapter than the stock GT wheel. Of course, YMMV and you need to exercise some common sense here.

 

[rankings18]

i bought a 320mm cheapo ebay wheel because I needed something to experiment with retrofitting my gte Italia wheel and didn't wanna ruin a nice wheel like a momo or sparco...

 

[MrDavid5465]

Looks awesome man, how does the leather feel?

 

[rankings18]

wheel feels alright overall, 'been using it for a while now and it hasn't given me any problems. I would never use it on a real car and go tracking w/ it but for gaming it does the job for me

 

[detergent]

Can you reach the paddle shifters with the larger rim?

 

[oqvist]

I have a 350 mm rim and have no problems at all reaching the paddles. 380 mm I believe would still be doable but then it would be finger tips I believe. I suppose I have bigger then average hands though about 20 cm from long finger to where I bend my wrist.

 

[MrDavid5465]

going for this one. will post pics when I get it for christmas
also getting a dsd adapter and extended paddles. It's a 320mm wheel with suede. got it for $40.00 USD