Switch to a wheel

[John Smith UK]

So a friend dropped me a Thrustmaster steering wheel so thought after only ever playing GT with a pad it would be rude not to give it a go. Setting up is easy if you’re not an idiot (like me) and I’ve thought would go all in and do the wheel with manual gears as well - only raced with pads with auto gears through my entire GT life.

after first stint of 30 minutes where I spent more time off the track than on the track, need to have a play with the settings as feel the steering can be more direct plus the biggest challenge for me is having to change my driving style to accommodate the differences a wheel brings - ive no doubt tomorrow I will beat my best time on Laguna seca - the biggest difference is the brakes and of course forgetting to change up on the gears as so used to the car doing it but once I get on top of that you can control the car so much better - the steering feels way better more precise more accurate, the power can be applied much earlier than with a pad - brakes feel worse than with a pad but that might just be me not using the pedals properly.

harder than I thought but certainly the way to play the game

 

[NickGuy]

okay, this isnt really thread worthy but welcome to the wheel life, I switched to wheel this year when gt7 came out

 

[TumeK5]

Disheartened and disappointed with switching to wheel :(

So I have been consistently fast with a controller and never far off the top times in Sport Mode and finishing in the top 7 often, even when starting 12th, etc. The lack of precision, at least for me, in controller turning made me feel like I reached my peak and needed a wheel to improve and...

www.gtplanet.net

 

[Met Entso]

I have changed to wheel a few days ago. After 2 years on gamepad, feels very different, and harder! I don't feel so "connected" to the car as with the gamepad, but I guess this will change after a while and times will improve, because right now I'm not at all at the same level I was.

 

[NickGuy]

I have changed to wheel a few days ago. After 2 years on gamepad, feels very different, and harder! I don't feel so "connected" to the car as with the gamepad, but I guess this will change after a while and times will improve, because right now I'm not at all at the same level I was.

do the license tests, best way imo

 

[flimmelblitz]

I have changed to wheel a few days ago. After 2 years on gamepad, feels very different, and harder! I don't feel so "connected" to the car as with the gamepad, but I guess this will change after a while and times will improve, because right now I'm not at all at the same level I was.

Yeah, I felt disconnected/distant from the car as well after switching to a wheel a couple of weeks ago. As you'll surely notice for yourself, that'll change pretty soon, and there'll be a point where you'll feel the car much more directly than with the gamepad.

I still suck at driving but that's a different story.

 

[Met Entso]

do the license tests, best way imo

Oh god... probably you are right but don't want to go through that nightmare again (S10 flashbacks lol) I might try though!

Yeah, I felt disconnected/distant from the car as well after switching to a wheel a couple of weeks ago. As you'll surely notice for yourself, that'll change pretty soon, and there'll be a point where you'll feel the car much more directly than with the gamepad.

I still suck at driving but that's a different story.

Thanks! Yesterday I did 1.53.9 with the wheel in a practice lobby for the new daily B Trial Mountain and I just tried with the controller now in free qualifying and did 1.53.3 so, to my surprise, not so far behind.

BTW in this track there is a good example about the challenge that wheel represents, or FFB more precisely. There is a right hand corner, right after going uphill, where there is a massive weight change in the car. With the controller you might just slid a bit, but it's easily balanced again. Instead, with the wheel you can feel the forces involved and most of the time I lose control of the car and go to the barrier.

Oh well, we all suck

 

[NickGuy]

Oh god... probably you are right but don't want to go through that nightmare again (S10 flashbacks lol) I might try though!

dont worry about doing them to pass or get gold, just do them to get used to driving on wheel

 

[Met Entso]

dont worry about doing them to pass or get gold, just do them to get used to driving on wheel

that makes sense... will definitely try it, thank you for the recommendation 👍

 

[shadow0460]

I find wheels immersive and fun but have yet to see a wheel that didn't have issues with Gran Turismo.
I'd still use one if I had a suitable mounting point.

 

[Met Entso]

I find wheels immersive and fun but have yet to see a wheel that didn't have issues with Gran Turismo.
I'd still use one if I had a suitable mounting point.

What kind of issues did you have?

 

[Astro_BS-AS]

I can't play the game without a wheel tbh.
You can say whatever you want about physics and stuff, but when you drive with a wheel the game becomes a completely different experience.

 

[Met Entso]

dont worry about doing them to pass or get gold, just do them to get used to driving on wheel

I did National B and half of National A licenses, felt really good doing it, and on top of that, was beating all my times, surely because of the changes on physics but still a good result.

 

[TumeK5]

was beating all my times, surely because of the changes on physics but still a good result.

Yeah, from what I hear the licenses are a joke currently. Either they will tweak the physics further or they will have to go sort the gold times now. It's like PD forgot licenses exist.

But then again, so did I. A grade is all we need currently, so...

 

[Monkdapunk]

I can't play the game without a wheel tbh.
You can say whatever you want about physics and stuff, but when you drive with a wheel the game becomes a completely different experience.

I'm the same way. A wheel has made me kinda jaded and I won't use a controller because it feels wierd now. I don't like that I have to drive with a controller in GTA and won't touch "racing games" without wheel support like Hotwheels. You are right that it does make it a whole new game. Once you get used to it there's really no comparison.

 

[WigSplitter]

I've been seriously considering getting a wheel the only issue for me is that I only plan on playing GT7 and I'm finding it difficult to justify dropping a few hundred quid to play one game and yet everytime I see people talking about racing wheels I want one. I have a few other racing games like nfs and dirt but I found them to be a bit naff and I don't think I'll end up playing them even with a new wheel, the only other game that interests me is that Assetto corsa competizione and maybe F122 if it's discounted. really stuck on the fence with this.

 

[Urinal2001]

Just don't keep switching between pad and wheel like I did, I think I made my transition take a LOT longer than it should have been. Just accept that you will be off the pace for a while rather than falling into the "I'll just use the pad to gold this test" trap.

 

[Met Entso]

Just don't keep switching between pad and wheel like I did, I think I made my transition take a LOT longer than it should have been. Just accept that you will be off the pace for a while rather than falling into the "I'll just use the pad to gold this test" trap.

Interesting... I'm using the pad still, not to get better results, just when I want to relax, put my feet up on the table and grind La Sarthe.

 

[Met Entso]

I've been seriously considering getting a wheel the only issue for me is that I only plan on playing GT7 and I'm finding it difficult to justify dropping a few hundred quid to play one game and yet everytime I see people talking about racing wheels I want one. I have a few other racing games like nfs and dirt but I found them to be a bit naff and I don't think I'll end up playing them even with a new wheel, the only other game that interests me is that Assetto corsa competizione and maybe F122 if it's discounted. really stuck on the fence with this.

You might get the wheel only for GT7 at the moment, as I did, but in time other racing games might interested you and then you will be happy to have the wheel. Or maybe you will get a PC. And in the meantime you will have learnt how to use the wheel and pedals.

If you can, I would consider getting a good wheel, you will enjoy it more, and it's a long time investment.

 

[WigSplitter]

You might get the wheel only for GT7 at the moment, as I did, but in time other racing games might interested you and then you will be happy to have the wheel. Or maybe you will get a PC. And in the meantime you will have learnt how to use the wheel and pedals.

If you can, I would consider getting a good wheel, you will enjoy it more, and it's a long time investment.

Yeah I've been eyeing a few pc games already I'll just bite the bullet and go for it cheers.

 

[ynot]

Just don't keep switching between pad and wheel like I did, I think I made my transition take a LOT longer than it should have been. Just accept that you will be off the pace for a while rather than falling into the "I'll just use the pad to gold this test" trap.

I use my Thrustmaster T300rs for racing in lobbies and I use the controller for credit grinding and testing car and track combos for lobbies I host. Easy for me to use both.

 

[Urinal2001]

Oh yeah, don't get me wrong, I can happily switch between the two now, and regularly do when I just want to get my daily miles in with a tomahawk at route X and nothing else. But it's because I've got the muscle memory for both methods dialled in now. When I was still learning with a wheel I think it was a mistake to keep switching.

 

[LaBestiaNera]

I've been seriously considering getting a wheel the only issue for me is that I only plan on playing GT7 and I'm finding it difficult to justify dropping a few hundred quid to play one game and yet everytime I see people talking about racing wheels I want one. I have a few other racing games like nfs and dirt but I found them to be a bit naff and I don't think I'll end up playing them even with a new wheel, the only other game that interests me is that Assetto corsa competizione and maybe F122 if it's discounted. really stuck on the fence with this.

I have quite a decent wheel setup with alu rig and all, but most of the times I still use the Dual Sense controller of the PS5. It does give reasonable good feedback what is happening with the car while driving. Only for GT7 I would not buy a complete wheel-pedal setup to be honest, unless you really play it a lot every week. ACC is now playable with controller, but it really needs wheel-pedals to get the most out of the game. F1 I don't play anymore, not my cup of tea.

 

[WigSplitter]

I have quite a decent wheel setup with alu rig and all, but most of the times I still use the Dual Sense controller of the PS5. It does give reasonable good feedback what is happening with the car while driving. Only for GT7 I would not buy a complete wheel-pedal setup to be honest, unless you really play it a lot every week. ACC is now playable with controller, but it really needs wheel-pedals to get the most out of the game. F1 I don't play anymore, not my cup of tea.

Interesting I've seen a few people say they end up back on the dualsense most of the time with GT7, I have been playing a lot more pc games recently Automobilista 2 is really good and pc2 so I do think it's a good investment for me in the long run.