The Thrustmaster T500RS Thread

[F1]

Hello,

i received my Thrustmaster T500 RS with Ferrari F1 Wheel yesterday. Is it normal that the fan takes very long to stop running? I played for 15 minutes, then the fan starts working, then got back to desktop waiting for 10 minutes and the fan was still working.

Also after doing a firmware-update the fan started to kick in, even if i wasn't playing before. Is this normal?

I have noticed that maybe after 30 minutes of a lot of ffb or 45 of lower then the fan will be really loud. I've seen it run loud for 20-45 minutes if I keep playing although generally I leave it for 5-10 minutes and then its quiet. I have also noticed it comes on quicker with F1 wheel in use in comparison to the GT wheel.

 

[MarkMan]

Hi, i'm hoping someone can advise. I've just upgraded from my trusty DFPro to a 2nd hand T500rs (v2). It's a great wheel, and love the FORCE feedback, but I had hoped for some more VIBRATION feedback. In GT5, is it normal to drive in a dead straight line and receive no feedback at all? The reason I ask is that I had a go with a CSR Elite wheel with GT5 at a public event, and that sort of feedback was there; you could feel the vibration of he engine and the road.

To me, whilst the build quality is much better than my old DFPro, the feedback isn't as much of a step as I had hoped. Either that, or the wheel I bought is faulty and needs to go back.

I've upgraded to firmware v40, and using the pc driver every sensation that can be tested works a treat.

Thanks.

 

[Carson79]

Hi, i'm hoping someone can advise. I've just upgraded from my trusty DFPro to a 2nd hand T500rs (v2). It's a great wheel, and love the FORCE feedback, but I had hoped for some more VIBRATION feedback. In GT5, is it normal to drive in a dead straight line and receive no feedback at all? The reason I ask is that I had a go with a CSR Elite wheel with GT5 at a public event, and that sort of feedback was there; you could feel the vibration of he engine and the road.

To me, whilst the build quality is much better than my old DFPro, the feedback isn't as much of a step as I had hoped. Either that, or the wheel I bought is faulty and needs to go back.

I've upgraded to firmware v40, and using the pc driver every sensation that can be tested works a treat.

Thanks.

Have you tried adjusting the settings?
The Fanatec wheels have the ability to increase the vibration in the wheel which the T500 does not. It is normal for it not to be vibrating, but I went from a DFGT to a T500 and the difference is immense. Turn up the ffb in the settings menu. The T500 will pull the shoulders out of a strong man when the ffb is set to 10

 

[MarkMan]

Thanks Carson, The settings in GT5 seem woefully simple, and I have adjusted the ffb to 10. It is strong, I grant you. Ok it sounds like it's working ok, and the effects in f1 2011 are very good. It's only that I had hopped that it would be similar to the Elite, being the official GT wheel and all.

For others that asked, my fan does kick in, and continues to run for about 15 minutes even after you've exited the game.

 

[Carson79]

Thanks Carson, The settings in GT5 seem woefully simple, and I have adjusted the ffb to 10. It is strong, I grant you. Ok it sounds like it's working ok, and the effects in f1 2011 are very good. It's only that I had hopped that it would be similar to the Elite, being the official GT wheel and all.

For others that asked, my fan does kick in, and continues to run for about 15 minutes even after you've exited the game.

I found the T500 a great wheel, as do many others. It did take a bit of getting used to, but I loved it and was sad to see it go.
I've ordered an Elite so it will be interesting to see the differences and compare them. Won't be shipped until the end of October though.....But The CSW will be here a lot sooner Hopefully by next Friday, but I doubt these are comparable
Good luck with your T500!

 

[WildRun]

Now the functionnal plate is also available alone (with already installed on the rear "Derek T500 Quick Release")
They fit the Momo Mod 26, Mod 27 and the Mod 27C.

Example bellow with Mod 26 & Mod 27:

Now with some rotary knobs or paddle shifter directly on the plate:

 

[Carson79]

Very nice!

 

[RHODRIEWILLIAMS]

Hi can any one help my t500rs is not working the blue light on the powerpoint goes out then the wheel dies totally give it 15 mins to cool down and it will work again anyy ideas

Can't get near customer service they wont answer the phone or email really not much support for such a high end product

Might just buy another one if its going to take an age to get sorted. Does anyone have any experience getting one repaired how long will it take saw on facebook it took one guy 8 weeks WTF

 

[Carson79]

I had issues with mine and sometimes takes a day or two to hear back via email. Wait it out, follow their instructions and they will take good care of you. TM customer support is pretty good in my experience

 

[RHODRIEWILLIAMS]

I had issues with mine and sometimes takes a day or two to hear back via email. Wait it out, follow their instructions and they will take good care of you. TM customer support is pretty good in my experience

did you have to send it away if so how long did it take

 

[Hyper-Dan]

When my T500 was faulty.. TM wanted to send me the replacement parts and for me to fit them.

 

[Carson79]

They sent me the part (a fan and top cover) to replace myself, it took about a week. And I had problems with my shifter, sent it to them and had a replacement within a week. I was happy considering the distance. But the thing that take time is the emailing back and forth. You should make a video of your problem and take pictures make sure to have the serial number (found under the base) and a copy of your receipt

 

[JohnBodin]

Not available for regular folks yet. John's last update was 9/19 and he said he still had work left to do but "very close now"

I am definitely planning on ordering.

FYI, I am getting very close to releasing the first units for sale -- the final build-up and testing has been slower than I had anticipated, but I expect to have an initial batch available for purchase within the next 7 days or so. I will probably be releasing small quantities for purchase initially until I get through my first production build:

Link: http://www.bodin-solutions.com/

Note that I will NOT accept pre-orders, but this should give you an idea of how ordering will go (payments through PayPal only). International shipping will be $15US for certified mail, $26US for registered mail; domestic shipping within the US should be $10US.

Please don't flood me with inquiries from the site -- I'm not taking pre-orders, and when stock is available for purchase I'll let everyone know via this thread, and after that, it will be first-come, first-served on orders.

Plus, if you flood me with inquiries, that's only going to slow down the final build-up and testing.

 

[WRP001]

Anyone know if it's possible to order the electronic switches for the paddle shifters in bulk (I would order a dozen if I could). I had the GT wheel and had 4 of these switches fail in 12 months. Purchased the F1 rim this summer and now after 2-3 months of use the up shift paddle is showing the same switch issues.

Double shifting starts first, followed by missed shifts and it gets progressively worse to the point where you can't drive. Note: it's much worse with cars with a fast gearbox like formula cars. Oddly, it's not as bad in F1 2012, but it still exists. After calling TM support for my latest episode of this problem they insisted it could be GT5's fault and had me download the F1 2012 demo to test. It still misses shifts (once in a while) so it's definitely a problem, but CodeMasters must have some code to detect instant double shifts and it ignores them because it rarely double shifts in that game whereas GT5 double shifts every lap multiple times with a formula car.

The problem with this issue (until is starts to regularly missing shifts instead of double shift) is that it's hard to see in the TM control panel. The double shift is instant and you only see the light in the control panel once and it's too quick to see a "blink". When support hears you can't notice the issue in their control panel they absolve themselves from any responsibility. The solution is to keep using the paddle until it degrades to missing shifts and then shows up in the control panel (or just be dishonest and tell them you see the double shift which I didn't do). Frustrating and time wasting to say the least.

These things fail like every 2-4 months for me and I wouldn't even mind paying for switches myself even if my wheel is still under warranty to avoid hassling with support and waiting to use my wheel again.

PS> I'm getting progressively worse service from TM over time. I think they see the history of my account and all the things I've had replaced and instead of treating me as a customer who spent a lot of money and a lot of time dealing with issues with their product they treat me as a problem that they no longer want to deal with and that's not good. 👎

PPS> I do love the wheel's performance and would gladly spend the $$ on the promising brake mod listed above, but I'm just not excited to invest any more cash in an unreliable product with deteriorating support (for me at least). If Fanatec can get their act together they may have a new customer, but I don't see the grass being much greener on that side of the fence at the moment either. I've got the money to spend, but don't have time to waste and I just want a rock solid wheel. I'd rather spend more and get more. i.e. an extra $100 for me would have been easy to spend for TM to include a better fan, better pedal springs and better paddle switches -- or include extras for all of these in the base package given their failure rate.

 

[JohnBodin]

Anyone know if it's possible to order the electronic switches for the paddle shifters in bulk (I would order a dozen if I could). I had the GT wheel and had 4 of these switches fail in 12 months. Purchased the F1 rim this summer and now after 2-3 months of use the up shift paddle is showing the same switch issues.

This might help:

http://www.bredo.nu/?p=68



NOTE: That addresses the F1 shifters -- here are some recommended fixes for the paddles with the GT wheel from the iRacing forum:

You can remove the wheel trim and the paddle shift assembly, then swap the connectors for the left and right paddle shifters.

If the same paddle shifter keeps acting up, the problem is in the shifting mechanism.
If the opposite paddle shifter starts acting up, the problem is on the mainboard -- either a bad connection where the paddle shifters are plugged in or something else in the circuitry.

I had this problem with one of my shifters. It turns out it was hitting the plastic ring that covers the shifter units and couldn't close the switch. I just removed it since it didn't seem to do anything (keeps out dust?) and it works fine.

 

[stevefoz]

Have only had my T500 and F1 add on for about a week now and so far i love it.
Any suggestions on how to stop the break mod from making the grinding noise, i have it set in the long run position.
All the talk of button failure and shifter breaks on here as already started to get me worried about my purchase

 

[CLIFFO_83]

Have only had my T500 and F1 add on for about a week now and so far i love it.
Any suggestions on how to stop the break mod from making the grinding noise, i have it set in the long run position.
All the talk of button failure and shifter breaks on here as already started to get me worried about my purchase

Ive been running with the T500 for around a week too mate.......very happy with it, a huge difference in ffb compared to the old G27.
I have purchased a sparco p310 wheel and quick release system for it along with a DSD T500 wheel adapter.

I dont go too much on the brake mod though, it's a bit stiff for me. And the clutch and accelerator have very little resistance, might try the brake mod without the spring and just the high density foam and see how it goes.

 

[VINCE__]

Have only had my T500 and F1 add on for about a week now and so far i love it.
Any suggestions on how to stop the break mod from making the grinding noise, i have it set in the long run position.
All the talk of button failure and shifter breaks on here as already started to get me worried about my purchase

Liquid graphite/Never seize for the spring. It will stop grinding after that works in. Don't use a whole lot because it will make a mess. A little goes a long way.

 

[JohnBodin]

Have only had my T500 and F1 add on for about a week now and so far i love it.
Any suggestions on how to stop the break mod from making the grinding noise, i have it set in the long run position.
All the talk of button failure and shifter breaks on here as already started to get me worried about my purchase

Over on the iRacing forums, Cary Bettenhausen was at Home Depot and found something interesting to solve the "metal on metal" feel of the T500 RS "realistic brake mod"... Seems to hold up pretty well in actual use. The length of the plug is shorter than the spring at coil-bind, so it should work well.

These were found at At Home Depot, in the hardware department in the big drawers with the assorted and specialty fasteners and hardware.

Lowe's Hardware sells these:

http://wedo.hillmangroup.com/viewitems/products-18/nylon-hole-plugs-3-16-to-9-16-

These can be found at Lowes with all the screws and bolts and o-rings. Where you pull all the hardware out of little drawers.

These look similar:

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/Hole-Plug-1ELU6?Pid=search

 

[WRP001]

This might help:

http://www.bredo.nu/?p=68



NOTE: That addresses the F1 shifters -- here are some recommended fixes for the paddles with the GT wheel from the iRacing forum:

Thanks John. I'm not a guy that can fabricate that metal plate nor do I feel comfortable soldering. For the time it would take me to actually complete that work plus the cost of the tools (which I don't own already) I might as well just buy a new wheel. I'm a software guy and not a hardware guy.

But the page was interesting and those issues are the exact issues I constantly have with my T500. When I had the GT wheel TM had me confirm the switches were the issue by switching the left/right connectors and the problem stayed with the switch.

It's really just too bad TM decided to go so cheap on the paddle shifter switches which are used so often. In a formula car around Suzuka in the current event I'm competing in (WRS special event) I shift about 42 times per lap (21 up shifts) and it doesn't take long to add up to 10,000 clicks or even 100,000. The race alone is 53 laps so that's well over 1000 up shifts in one race, not including quali, practice, etc. Since I won't have a switch replacement from TM in time for the race I've remapped the PL button to be my up shift and based on the information on that web page I guess I can kiss that button good bye soon too.

I'll see if I can get the exact same "cheap" switch, but just get them in bulk so I can switch in when needed.

PS> Does anyone know if the switches on the paddle shifters for the GT component are the same as the F1 wheel? If so I have a working set of GT paddles and I could remove one switch and put it on the F1 wheel -- at least until I get a replacement from TM... that might save my PL button. Has anyone gotten a replacement switch for the F1 wheel and maybe an electronic copy of the replacement instructions they can post? I've done the GT wheel operation, but not yet with the F1 wheel so I don't have the proper procedure for replacement at hand. Thanks in advance.

PPS> Not exactly what I envisioned for my 5,000th post.

 

[Mr. S]

Anyone know if it's possible to order the electronic switches for the paddle shifters in bulk (I would order a dozen if I could). I had the GT wheel and had 4 of these switches fail in 12 months. Purchased the F1 rim this summer and now after 2-3 months of use the up shift paddle is showing the same switch issues.

No, I asked them the other day as well. They can't sell them in bulk.

I'm thinking about buying alternative ones, the F1 shifter switches tend to break every 90.000 - 100.000 shifts.

 

[JohnBodin]

No, I asked them the other day as well. They can't sell them in bulk.

I'm thinking about buying alternative ones, the F1 shifter switches tend to break every 90.000 - 100.000 shifts.

Once mine eventually break, I'll be forced to find a solution -- if I can come up with a direct replacement, I'll either share the info, or make them available as a "kit" for repair.

 

[WRP001]

No, I asked them the other day as well. They can't sell them in bulk.

I'm thinking about buying alternative ones, the F1 shifter switches tend to break every 90.000 - 100.000 shifts.

Ouch. Let me/us know if you find any switch you can source that will fit without soldering!

That failure rate looks accurate. With the amount I drive that's about 3-4 months which pretty much matches my history over the past 18 months with the wheel. Unfortunate, given the cost of the wheel, that they skimped on this critical part.

Once mine eventually break, I'll be forced to find a solution -- if I can come up with a direct replacement, I'll either share the info, or make them available as a "kit" for repair.

I'll be one of your first customers. Go drive the F1 Ferrari around Suzuka and you'll have a problem within a couple weeks.

 

[Mr. S]

Ouch. Let me/us know if you find any switch you can source that will fit without soldering!

That failure rate looks accurate. With the amount I drive that's about 3-4 months which pretty much matches my history over the past 18 months with the wheel. Unfortunate, given the cost of the wheel, that they skimped on this critical part.

I'm doing 100% races in F1 2011 / F1 2012 and they break after 20-22 races. So yeah...60 laps on average, shifting 60 times per lap on average, 22 races. Adds up to ~80.000 shifts. Add practice and qualifying and it's surely over 90.000.

I'll see if I can find a high quality replacement, am currently waiting for replacement switches from TM.

Is "shifts" even the correct term? Shifting operations? Ah, well.

 

[WildRun]

Amazing heal and toe driving


NB: Rim used is probably the "MOBSIM Modded Rim 320mm for T500 RS"

 

[mykem]

FYI, I am getting very close to releasing the first units for sale -- the final build-up and testing has been slower than I had anticipated, but I expect to have an initial batch available for purchase within the next 7 days or so. I will probably be releasing small quantities for purchase initially until I get through my first production build:

Link: http://www.bodin-solutions.com/

Note that I will NOT accept pre-orders, but this should give you an idea of how ordering will go (payments through PayPal only). International shipping will be $15US for certified mail, $26US for registered mail; domestic shipping within the US should be $10US.

Please don't flood me with inquiries from the site -- I'm not taking pre-orders, and when stock is available for purchase I'll let everyone know via this thread, and after that, it will be first-come, first-served on orders.

Plus, if you flood me with inquiries, that's only going to slow down the final build-up and testing.

Looking forward to ordering. Hopefully, I'll have some money by then (I just dropped $1K on the new iPhone- just couldn't resist it).

 

[stevefoz]

Have only had my T500 and F1 add on for about a week now and so far i love it.
Any suggestions on how to stop the break mod from making the grinding noise, i have it set in the long run position.
All the talk of button failure and shifter breaks on here as already started to get me worried about my purchase

Thanks for your suggestions guys and such quick response.....I would be interested in the opinion of you guy's who have been using this pedal set for a while what is the most realistic ?
with the spring or without it ? or like CLIFFO_83 said just the foam.​

 

[JohnBodin]

Is "shifts" even the correct term? Shifting operations? Ah, well.

Shifts, shifting operations, clicky-clicks . . . whatever works!

 

[JohnBodin]

These things fail like every 2-4 months for me and I wouldn't even mind paying for switches myself even if my wheel is still under warranty to avoid hassling with support and waiting to use my wheel again.

PS> I'm getting progressively worse service from TM over time. I think they see the history of my account and all the things I've had replaced and instead of treating me as a customer who spent a lot of money and a lot of time dealing with issues with their product they treat me as a problem that they no longer want to deal with and that's not good. 👎

Not sure if this matches the same form factor, but check out the KSC401J 50SH item -- the data sheet (page 1) shows 5,000,000 cycle operating life:

http://www.ck-components.com/14422/ksc_31aug10.pdf/

I'd like to get my hands on your old BROKEN switches then order some of these to see if they will fit, so if/when you (or anybody else) gets replacements from TM -- or if you have any old, broken ones on-hand -- drop me a PM.

The small PCB looks VERY small, so it might be possible to replicate the boards, procure the 5,000,000 cycle switches, locate the proper connector for the cable, then produce a "long-life" replacement switch kit for a fairly reasonable price.

 

[WRP001]

Not sure if this matches the same form factor, but check out the KSC401J 50SH item -- the data sheet (page 1) shows 5,000,000 cycle operating life:

http://www.ck-components.com/14422/ksc_31aug10.pdf/

I'd like to get my hands on your old BROKEN switches then order some of these to see if they will fit, so if/when you (or anybody else) gets replacements from TM -- or if you have any old, broken ones on-hand -- drop me a PM.

The small PCB looks VERY small, so it might be possible to replicate the boards, procure the 5,000,000 cycle switches, locate the proper connector for the cable, then produce a "long-life" replacement switch kit for a fairly reasonable price.

That would make this wheel a lot more fun to deal with!

I have a replacement switch from TM coming for my F1 wheel. I can certainly send you the old broken one once I get the replacement installed (I'll PM you). Also I have a couple broken switches from the GT paddles. I took a look at both sets of switches and the connectors are different so they aren't plug and play to swap between GT and F1 switches, but the board/switch/spring/foam look (without examining super close) pretty similar so my guess is it's just a different connector. The connector on the standard paddle module connects up to an extension cable which then goes into the circuit board inside the base, but the connector on the F1 switch goes directly into the board in the F1 rim... my guess is this connector is the only difference between the two, but your the expert not me.