The Thrustmaster T500RS Thread

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Has anyone used a Derek Speares adapter and changed their wheel? Or seen it done somewhere? I'm considering it though I'd like to see the process. Thanks in advance
 
I want some customisation parts for my T500Rs on ps3. Like loadcell or progressiv breaksprings. In my opinion Thrustmaster should offer some of these in the next few months. Regarding Logitech the market is huge, wheather its a big company or a single Simracer offer some modding parts.
 
I've changed both the pedals and gear knob, and really want to change the wheel next. To a 330mm or 350mm rim with suede. Spent so much on my set up recently that it might be a while though. but I agree with you, it's about time we seen some upgrades considering the options others have.
$(KGrHqNHJ!sE9BZiGyG)BPUKZP1K4Q~~60_12.JPG

I like this as it would go with the pedals and gear knob, but it's leather
 
I want some customisation parts for my T500Rs on ps3. Like loadcell or progressiv breaksprings. In my opinion Thrustmaster should offer some of these in the next few months. Regarding Logitech the market is huge, wheather its a big company or a single Simracer offer some modding parts.

I doubt TM would add load-cell option to the T500RS but you never know. There's someone who's right now working on adding load-cell mod to the T500RS brake pedal and he has posted on a different thread in this forum. Here's the link to his first posting regarding the load-cell mod: https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=239716&page=3

If you look further down the thread, he's posted the project update.


About this, I love this very old VID: THRUSTMASTER 1994 SCES
(Flight and Steering Wheel simulators)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=yhRpgPKNaGs#t=1372s

I wonder if Melissa Carter still works as Thrustmaster or still rocking that 90s hairstyle.
 
I've installed my new wheel it's a 300mm formula with flat bottom.
Suede is very comfortable.
And i've found someone to make me a shorter knob lever(-30mm) i've mounted an OMP chrome knob. I'm gonna link R3+L3 & R2+L2 on the wheel soon.


But i suggest you also the 305mm Alpha round flat racing wheel from demon tweak

own_305_swhl_blk_sw.jpg
 
JmC
I've installed my new wheel it's a 300mm formula with flat bottom.
Suede is very comfortable.
And i've found someone to make me a shorter knob lever(-30mm) i've mounted an OMP chrome knob. I'm gonna link R3+L3 & R2+L2 on the wheel soon.


But i suggest you also the 305mm Alpha round flat racing wheel from demon tweak

own_305_swhl_blk_sw.jpg

Hi JMC nice job you have done! Did you use a Derek speares adapter? What all is needed to mount a race wheel. Is it easy? Thanks for your post, but have you any picture's of how your new wheel connects to the base via adapter? Would greatly appreciate a look mate.
 
No adapter needed. a race wheel like this is delivered "undrilled" so you just have to drill 3 holes to fit the original hub. The momo mod 31 is available in 320 & 340mm but it's more expensive.(momo is too expensive IMO and Alpha racing wheel are also hand made in England. It's the same wheel of Ariel Atom for exemple)
Derek Speares adapter is to fit 6 holes wheels.
 
JmC
No adapter needed. a race wheel like this is delivered "undrilled" so you just have to drill 3 holes to fit the original hub. The momo mod 31 is available in 320 & 340mm but it's more expensive.(momo is too expensive IMO and Alpha racing wheel are also hand made in England. It's the same wheel of Ariel Atom for exemple)
Derek Speares adapter is to fit 6 holes wheels.

Thanks for the info mate. That's definitely something I'll be looking at!
 
Thanks for the reply Ben, I hope it doesn't come to replacing the wheel. So far reinstalling the firmware sends to have solved the issue. I've also been shutting PS3 down directly when done in GT5, rather than quiting and then shutting it down. Quiting GT5 was when it usually went off center. I will update if things change.

My wheel calibrated off center again when exiting GT5 to the XMB so I contacted Thrustmaster again this morning. They had me try another method that so far calibrated the wheel correctly.

First I had to unplug the wheel power supply and USB from the PS3 and then power on the Playstation. Then I had to turn the wheel completely to it's left lock and leave it there. Once that was done they had me plug in the power cable and USB to the PS3 and the wheel calibrated correctly.

He mentioned if the starts wheel losing calibration every time then the PCB is bad but to contact them if the wheel loses calibration again any time soon. I guess I'll have to wait and see what happens.
 
My T500rs is calibrating twice too, if i didn't disconnect it after Gt5 shutting down. I thought thats normal. My old DFGT did it the same way. Calibrating when Ps3 turns on and another one when Gt5 is started.
 
My T500rs is calibrating twice too, if i didn't disconnect it after Gt5 shutting down. I thought thats normal. My old DFGT did it the same way. Calibrating when Ps3 turns on and another one when Gt5 is started.

That's what it's supposed to do regardless of how you shut the game or PS3 down.
 
My T500rs is calibrating twice too, if i didn't disconnect it after Gt5 shutting down. I thought thats normal. My old DFGT did it the same way. Calibrating when Ps3 turns on and another one when Gt5 is started.

That is normal what you are describing. My wheel was calibrating off center. To be more specific what it thought was center was actually 15 degrees to the left, or the red strip was turned to the left.
 
Benefits the calibration from being started from center, leftlock or rightlock?

Normally you want to wheel centered when starting calibration. Mine was a special case because is was not calibrating correctly. I will only turn mine to the left lock if it has made a mistake.
 
JmC
No adapter needed. a race wheel like this is delivered "undrilled" so you just have to drill 3 holes to fit the original hub. The momo mod 31 is available in 320 & 340mm but it's more expensive.(momo is too expensive IMO and Alpha racing wheel are also hand made in England. It's the same wheel of Ariel Atom for exemple)
Derek Speares adapter is to fit 6 holes wheels.

So you actually have to take the original wheel apart. Was it difficult to line up for drilling the holes to mount the wheel? This would be a concern. That needs to be perfect. But in theory all the buttons could be used on the new wheel. Just a matter of drilling holes and taking them off the original
 
@ WildRun
I don't play in the same category. i'm in the sandbox compared to this amazing setup.
There is between 4000 or 6000$ of hardware. VPP pedals with MOTOPC kit; Sparco formula with SLI; Frex? shifters sequential and H...

@ Carson
I've used a drill press to stay centered in holes and put the original wheel on the new wheel and then centered the drill without the power on the press drill. When i was perfect centerd i power on and drill the hole. With patience it's not very difficult.
But it works with wheel of the same diameter.

About keeping original buttons it's a matter of center plate size for the wheel you want to mount. First the wheel need to be flat so rally or formula and few sport wheel(Like Mono Millenium seen earlier in the topic)
Maybe the OMP carbon S 320mm can fit but it's more than 600$ so it's not possible for this kind of mod. I ask some pro for covering the original wheel but the answer where i live is more than 250$ for covering with suede so i've taken the option of the real formula wheel and plan to do something like we can see on the nice setup of WildRun post.
As cheaper as possible for me cause i don't want to spend too much.

For the holes Thrustmaster give the template in the support section of their site.
 
Thanks for all the info, very helpful mate. Yeah I agree about keeping costs down, it doesn't make sense to spent too much on a project like this when it's merely for a suede rim. I've found one I think might work
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SUEDE-STE...arParts_SM&hash=item2ebda1d62c#ht_5538wt_1037

I'm wondering could the six hex screws on the t500 be used to attach the new wheel to the hub. Theirs only three that actually hold the wheel in place on the t500, the other three are more for aesthetics. Just take the T500 apart and put everything together on the suede rim. Or would the sizing of the six centre holes be different.
 
It's a cheap and nice wheel but i think that it can't fit the control board on the original wheel. To my knowledge the momo millennium is the only wheel so far cause it has a specific design that makes its center plate bigger.

For six holes wheels the problem is not the size of holes but the pattern of the six holes.
For original Thrustmaster it's a specific layout. Also depending of the brand there is different layout of the holes. For this kind of wheel the best is an adapter like Derek Speare make.

Hope you'll find a compromise that suit you.
 
JmC
It's a cheap and nice wheel but i think that it can't fit the control board on the original wheel. To my knowledge the momo millennium is the only wheel so far cause it has a specific design that makes its center plate bigger.

For six holes wheels the problem is not the size of holes but the pattern of the six holes.
For original Thrustmaster it's a specific layout. Also depending of the brand there is different layout of the holes. For this kind of wheel the best is an adapter like Derek Speare make.

Hope you'll find a compromise that suit you.

I know what you mean, thanks again you've been a great help!
 
Hello,

So I've completed the fan upgrade. At this point I am still using the stock fan at the top case because the silenx fan I bought ended up being too thick. Please be sure to purchase a 60x60x20mm fan for the replacement of the stock one. The silenx is about 25mm. One can go to 80x80x20, but you would need to cut of the screw pegs from the inside of the top cover. Just to give an idea of the upgrade, I now run the wheel at 10 in GT5 (wow btw) and running Nur, the stock fan turns on 2 and a half laps in. Which in short means, the other three fans are keeping it cool enough for 2.5 laps at strength 10 of Nur.

What you need:
small phillips screwdriver
tweezers
wire cutter/stripper
soldering iron
good quality foam double sided tape
super glue (gel)
multimeter (if you want to find a different 12v lead)
electric tape

***please note. this is just a guide to give people an idea of how upgrade the cooling in the T500rs, which in my opinion is horrible at OEM/stock level. If you fry something, I take no responsibility. Be smart, take your time, google and youtube is your friend.***

First thing first. Fan size is really important because of room inside the case. The HD cooler fans I bought on a whim ended up being really good 1. in getting fresh air in 2. to get the right side of the motor cooled. I think they are 50x50x10mm. If replacing the top fan (stock fan), which was what started all of this, you need a 60x60x20mm and no thicker. This size is actually a little difficult to find.

HDFAN.jpg

HDFANAPART.jpg

FAN.jpg


I suggest using the official TM manual to remove the casing. My opinion is that its much easier to work with the wheel with the steering wheel on. Just don't move the base too much like this.

First take off all the screws (red arrows)
2copy.jpg


Take off the top cover and unscrew the one screw, take out the small bolt with tweezers. I've also dremeled in more vent holes at the top.
1copy.jpg


If you have the steering wheel sitting like this, pull the bottom cover toward you and it should pop off. Undo all the screws shown by the thick red arrows.
3copy.jpg


Again undo the screws shown. Do not forget the two front face screw, they are black, one on each side.
4copy.jpg


Now is the hardest part, gently prying the top off. Be very careful in doing this, I suggest having it pop of slightly and then slide the cover off up and towards you. Basically you don't want to hook this little circuit board on the back of the top motor. Just have patience in doing this part and you'll be fine.
5.jpg


Once everything is off, you need to mount your fan/fans how you want, solder everything up and you're golden. TIP!!!! If you want any of the fans to be controlled by the thermal sensor, just splice the ground of your extra fan into the ground of the main fan. Its this ground that controls the thermal sensor...control? Please note that the 12v lead that I chose to run of, is a constant on lead, meaning that the fans attached to it are running even when the wheel is off (but plugged in). If you want the fans only to turn on when the wheel is on, either use the main fan socket, or use a multimeter to find a 12v lead that only has voltage when the wheel is ON.

6.jpg


7copy.jpg


8copy.jpg


Hope this helps anybody undertaking a similar project.

Cheers.
Alright m8 would i be able to install this fan in my t500, its a Scythe Mini Kaze 60mm Quiet Fan, its 60mm an 20mm thick an comes with a 2 pin or 3 pin plug an would i be able to plug it straight into the socket where the old fan is, There's nothink wrong with my original fan it's just that i want a quiet fan.
Thanks.
 
I'm sorry, this might sound utterly stupid but which buttons do I have to press in order to manually re-calibrate the wheel? My F1 wheel is a bit off center (around 0.8 - 1.0°, PC). I know I read it somewhere but just can't find it again, not even in the printed manual that came with the wheel. :(
 
Mr. S
I'm sorry, this might sound utterly stupid but which buttons do I have to press in order to manually re-calibrate the wheel? My F1 wheel is a bit off center (around 0.8 - 1.0°, PC). I know I read it somewhere but just can't find it again, not even in the printed manual that came with the wheel. :(

Start select and mode at same time. There is a limited number of times you can do this though. You might want to try what they had me do first: unplug wheel usb and power, turn wheel all the way to the left and then plug everything in.
 
Start select and mode at same time. There is a limited number of times you can do this though. You might want to try what they had me do first: unplug wheel usb and power, turn wheel all the way to the left and then plug everything in.

I did but it's still a bit off. :(

I'll try it again tonight, thanks!
 
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