The Thrustmaster T500RS Thread

  • Thread starter TomN
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Just a heads up...to those of you excited about this new shifter from TM and are planning on buying it, you might want to reconsider and take a look at the new shifter that CST will be coming out with very soon. It's built like a freakin' tank and will no doubt obliterate the Thrustmaster one.
 
Yes, with the exception that this one actually works on the PS3 and works on Gran Turismo, the game that this site is devoted to. For most people in this forum, that'll be the deciding factor.
 
Coxis
Unfotunately/fortunately (I'm not sure anymore), it working with other wheels will most likely depend solely on the game rather than the shifter or Thrustmaster. I sincerely hope GT5 is patched for additional hardware combinations.
Click to expand...

That seems to be the case but Im not certain regards games needing patches or the T500RS needing a firmware upgrade?
Games that are compatible with the wheel may already have the required code/detection to utilise the shifter.

What we dont know is if Thrustmaster designed it that for PS3 the T500RS wheel must be connected for the game to enable the shifter to work.

From a sales and marketing position, you would NOT want that. Notice too how Thrustmaster have not said "NO IT WONT WORK". So this clearly to me states they have not some form of block in place that perhaps requires the T500RS wheel to be used.

What makes more sense from a sales point of view is indeed dont prevent having it possibly work with other wheels as long as the "Game" supports T500RS it may well do so. Just as a 2nd/joypad can be assigned with a wheel.

If this is the case this shifter could be a very hot selling product as it certainly looks stylish.
The question is how much better will this be over something like an SST or Frex and will Fanatec be able to make thiers any better?
 
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After not using my T500 for several months, I'm quickly awakened to the flaws of this wheel. Most notably, my brakes are crap!!! In GT5 on screen I'm getting usually half. If I pump it a few times, I'll get 90%. Viewing it in Windows Game Controller, I am getting. a maximum of 50% regardless of how hard I push by foot or by hand. So, I'm removing the "Real Feel" brake mod and troubleshooting. Shoddy fasteners show their ugly head now. The little nuts for the soft alan screws are all loose!!!

Another reminder of why this is not my preferred wheel is Shift 2 still doesn't support it! NASCAR The Game does after their long delayed patch. But, feeling is very unimpressive to be frank. I have not rented Dirt 3 yet.

Now these jokers want $180 for a shifter? Uh, no.

Now, for PC racers, this wheel really shines through. I don't have a computer that can adequately run racing games. For the PS3 user, this is not the ideal wheel. But, for GT5 the FFB and precision cannot be matched at the present moment.

End of rant. Gotta see what's binding my pedal throw. Started by taking the spring out. Have not tested, must sleep.
 
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playnthru
... new (V4) base was at my door.:)👍 Seven Days later another(still in box unopened), Then 3 Days later Broken (V2) was returned. Thrustmaster said " keep them"..👍

(Base= No wheel or pedals. Paddle shifters stay mounted to the base.)
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Thanks for your response, playnthru.

Clearly, the TM support is handling incorrectly the guarantees for T500 RS.

I can understand that is more interesting for them to build a new base than to repair one damaged, but these kind of errors (to send two bases and return the damaged) just impacting the final price of the products we pay for all users.

Why they sent you a second V4 base?. It is a mistake that is costing them in parts and shipments. And why did you get your base V2 returned?. It is a shipment cost unneccesary (and if it's repaired, an unneccesary cost for repair).

playnthru
Yes I think the (V4) paddle shifters appear different than my (V2), less polished maybe.
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In the other hand, I have contacted TM about this suggest, asking about a paddle kit with two paddles equal to try to replace its myself, and they has responsed me saying that two paddles were changed, and have send me instruccions to invert a paddle for the other... :confused:
 
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T500's 100$ in the US @ Fry's Electronics from now till next Thursday.

OofcQ.jpg
 
isamu
Just a heads up...to those of you excited about this new shifter from TM and are planning on buying it, you might want to reconsider and take a look at the new shifter that CST will be coming out with very soon. It's built like a freakin' tank and will no doubt obliterate the Thrustmaster one.
Click to expand...

You might want to check the price of the CST.
 
@Isamu, How can a PC-only shifter obliterate a ps3/pc shifter? Please explain. Also you failed to mentioned it will cost $500. You post about the CST shifter like its a news flash or something. When did Todd post on iRacing forums about the new shifter- many months ago?

@Dave, Yeah you should always make sure your brakes are fully calibrated using the T500rs control panel on the PC. If you don't see it hit 100% then you made some error during the installation. And I'm sorry if $180 blows your mind or something but people pay that amount of money and much more for high quality shifters all the time. I can tell you're disappointed bout Shift 2 PS3 but if you've been following that game you'll see there's a lot of unhappy PS3 players out there atm. Shift 2 PS3 not supporting t500rs is the least of everyone's worries (including myself). It's not TM's fault you choose to bypass the complete arcade/sims on the PC along with the good ones on PS3 (Dirt 3). And really, NASCAR is broken for every wheel user still. You make it sound like TM messed up the wheel or something when on their forums every wheel user seems to have major gripes. I commend them for their effort to support t500rs wheel. I was tempted to buy it but meh I got iRacing if I want to do Ovals*
 
Sandbox, how do I calibrate these pedals on the PC? I'm only getting 50% on the PC Thrustmaster tool. I didn't change anything since the last time I was using the wheel. Everything was perfect then. However, I did upgrade to FW 37.
 
Yeah I meant just press down on it to check for 100%. After removing the realistic brake mod were you able to get 100%?

Btw I agree with you though T500rs is not the ideal wheel for ps3 only users unless you just want to play dirt 3 / GT5 for the time being. TM should've put more effort into making it more compatible to preexisting titles similar to Fanatec's method (imitate the Logitech wheel). This way t500rs owners can play shift 2 ps3 / TDU (whatever that latest test drive). I would've liked to hear more detailed info from TM why they couldn't do that on their end.
 
Sandbox, it was "user error" ;)

Here's what I did wrong. I unplugged the pedals when I upgraded to FW-37. When it finished I plugged it into the PS3 (GT5 was running remote races). It didn't calibrate with the pedals plugged in. As for the PC, same thing, it didn't calibrate as a whole unit. I unplugged the USB, connected the pedals, then the USB, it calibrated just fine.

So to sum it up, (PS3 & PC) make sure your pedals are connected before plugging in the USB cable. :P

Yes I fully agree that Thrustmaster should have added a Logitech emulator. Which is what Fanatec has done. I'm wondering if they can add this with a firmware update?
 
Yeah that is something I always wondered if they could update firmware because this wheel works great with all of my PC games. But the majority of potential buyers are probably on the console so this is something that probably held back quite a few. As much as I adore this wheel often times I've been forced to tell people they should go with something else when they mentioned they wanted to play f1 2010 or something.

My guess is TM expected everyone to patch in support or something. But instead Codemasters only picked it up for newer titles leaving only those nice guys at NASCAR patching in support. Hell, I should toss those NASCAR devs a bone just being nice enough to patch in support. I doubt they did it expecting a huge sales boast. They showed a lot of heart there 👍
 
should i buy the t500rs now or should i wait for the t500rs and th8 pack. because i heard the t500rs has alot of problems. so should i wait until they come out with a better version t500rs or buy it now
 
SeaWall
should i buy the t500rs now or should i wait for the t500rs and th8 pack. because i heard the t500rs has alot of problems. so should i wait until they come out with a better version t500rs or buy it now
Click to expand...

Hi,

I would say get it now. Coincidentally, my friend is on route back from Houston to the Far East with my T500RS.

I am really looking forward to it.

Cheers
 
SeaWall
should i buy the t500rs now or should i wait for the t500rs and th8 pack. because i heard the t500rs has alot of problems. so should i wait until they come out with a better version t500rs or buy it now
Click to expand...

I bought mine a month ago and to be honest ......its amazing (was using DFGT). But after 3 1/2 weeks the fan started making really bad noises. I contacted Thrustmaster and gave them all the info they asked for, to which they told me, That they are aware of the issue and are trying to resolve it. Something about lubricant in the fan needing to warm up........Then another email wanting more info to send me a replacement fan and instructions on how to install it myself! lol. I've did my own investigating online and I'm not the only one thats had issue's with the fan. Here's a link "(Ab)normal(?) sound of Thrustmaster T500 RS cooling fan"
From: service@youtube.com
I'm not trying to put you off buying one......you might have no problem's at all. I'd still take it over any other wheel on the market. Thrustmaster has been very quick to help and I am willing to install the new fan myself as I won't have to wait god knows how long sending it back to them to repair ...... Good luck, Any question's please don't hesitate to ask:tup:👍
 
SeaWall
should i buy the t500rs now or should i wait for the t500rs and th8 pack. because i heard the t500rs has alot of problems. so should i wait until they come out with a better version t500rs or buy it now
Click to expand...
Don´t wait for a T500 RS + TH8 RS bundle, because possible it will be never released.

About the wheel, if you´re ready to buy, and you want to fun with it, buy it now: don´t wait any new version (it´s on his 4 revision, but only change little details from original v1). There´s not another racing system with this specs for this price.

About fails... it has; not more than Fanatec wheels, but more than Logitech models.

Think that TM support is good (although personally I was a little disappointed).
 
rebla47
Don´t wait for a T500 RS + TH8 RS bundle, because possible it will be never released.

About the wheel, if you´re ready to buy, and you want to fun with it, buy it now: don´t wait any new version (it´s on his 4 revision, but only change little details from original v1). There´s not another racing system with this specs for this price.

About fails... it has; not more than Fanatec wheels, but more than Logitech models.

Think that TM support is good (although personally I was a little disappointed).
Click to expand...

What exactly is the difference between those V1-V4 versions?

@Latte: I think something of note is the fact that the shifter will come with its own USB plug. Having said that, we don't know whether the PS3 will detect it as an additional controller or not. I think the former will be the case since it uses its own USB port and is a "game controller" and not something like a keyboard. Having said that, as far as I know GT5 is one of the only (if not the only, not sure) game that actually allows you to use two devices simultaneously, like a wheel and a controller. If the PS3 ends up seeing the shifter as an independent game controller and many other games don't support two devices at the same time like GT5 then I'm guessing they will have to be patched. I think the key is in the PS3's device management and the fact that they plug in separately.
 
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I think if the shifter does work standalone on the ps3 it will be for gt5 only. Its pretty clear that gt5 was released with the t500 in mind. My thinking is that is why gt5 supports 2 controllers. PD knew the new shifter would be a standalone device. Maybe that was a thrustmaster deal with PD we would like our shifter standalone to boost sales for it. Just my 2 cents.
 
Hi Guys,

Currently working on a fan "mod" for the T500rs. Primarily to replace the stock fan that sounds like its rubbing against something (%25 of the time) and to improve cooling. I've taken everything that is needed apart (BIG thanks to rebla47 for sending the fan replacement document he got from TM, helped quite a bit) and found some interesting shtuff. First and foremost, this wheel is very much under cooled. I hooked it up with all the covers off, and ran Nur for 2 laps. The fan kicked in on 1/4 through the second lap. The issue is not so much the cooling for the motor (which IS inadequate), but more so for the main circuit board. I found the main capacitor to be very hot. There are only vent holes around this area, which is really beyond me as to why they could not put a fan in this area as there is a lot of room. Anyways, I'm getting ahead of myself.

t500rscoversoff.jpg


I NEED SOME ADVICE. I'm very mechanically inclined buy for some reason I can't get my head around electrical related things. Here is a picture of the fan:

t500rsstockfan.jpg


Model:cc6010h12s DC 12V 0.20Amps

My question: If I choose to add ANOTHER 12v .2amp fan (for the circuit board area) can I simply splice the extra fan into the existing wires of the main fan without complications, like voltage spikes due to increased resistance?

Thanks so much.

edit: for anyone wondering why I'm doing this, just take a look at what sort of clowns TM customer service are by some of the experiences by the users in this thread. I don't want to deal with that kind of ********, so I don't want this thing to break :)
 
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I think it's called a transducer. It can up the voltage. This will spin a fan faster giving you option for a faster fan.
.
 
Within the last 2 weeks, I'm having the same fan issue. It started sound very loud after around 2-3 minutes of driving. This sound is louder than usual, and it get back to "normal" sound after about 1 minute.

So, falaut /rebla47 could you send me the instruction manual to replace the fan?
my email is diptob79@yahoo.com

Appreciate, and thanks.
 
Falaut, you can have two fans that are both 12V and splice to the wires if you want. To be on the safe side, buy different fans (but same size) that draws less than .2A (or 200mA) to be on the safe size.
 
diptob79
... falaut /rebla47 could you send me the instruction manual to replace the fan?
my email is diptob79@yahoo.com

Appreciate, and thanks.
Click to expand...

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=55JRBIP4

fatkrakr
I think if the shifter does work standalone on the ps3 it will be for gt5 only.
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Unlike the wheel box, which GT5 logo appears, on the shifter box does not appear. It is possible that the shifter is not a licensed product and supervised by Polyphony.

I see the TH8 RS oriented to PC, but I guess at least we have the same support for manual transmission and clutch for GT5 having the Logitech steering wheels.

It will be difficult to have a specific programing, including an analog clutch.

TH8RSpackshot800x600.jpg


thrustmaster-t500rs-banner041.png
t500rsbox.png
 
rebla47
Unlike the wheel box, which GT5 logo appears, on the shifter box does not appear. It is possible that the shifter is not a licensed product and supervised by Polyphony.
Click to expand...

Good point, perhaps another clue the shifter and wheel will probably never be sold together in a box, but that wouldn't hold sellers back from offering the "bundle" at a discounted price.
 

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