The Thrustmaster T500RS Thread

  • Thread starter TomN
  • 9,924 comments
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CLIFFO_83
My Sam Maxwell Sparco P310 wheel plate has arrived..... :gtpflag:

I went for a yellow,blue & red themed button layout, with a total of 7 buttons, 1 toggle switch & 2 encoder switches.

No USB cords to worry about as it is plug n play!!! plugs straight into T500 base like the GT wheel does....

I'm very happy with Sam's service and craftsmanship and recommend him to fellow T500 users & sim racers

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Superb!


Picture shown this day by Sam Maxwell:
"Sparco 310 adapter mounted to a customers wheel with the wheel buttons wired in and functional. It's got rotarys, a toggle and lots of buttons. It does not have paddles because of the SLI plate"
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runfast1
Just got my t500rs two days ago and the fan is making a lout grinding noise! Ive read about this problem w fans, i have v5. Its a great wheel but the fan is not! Ive contacted thrustmaster, they want a video of the problem! Im guessing they will send a new replacement fan and instructions to replace it. Ive also read about replacement fans doing the same thing after awhile! Ya think they would've fixed this problem w fans by v5!! Just my luck i guess.
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This is disappointing to hear, especially as I'm in the process of seeing if Amazon can send me a V.5 to replace my V.2. The fan isn't that much of a problem with mine (although it is pretty loud) - I have a notch issue in the belt.

Can I ask about the quality of the rubber on the wheel? One guy earlier in this thread pointed out that the V.4 was way better than his V.2 due to the finish of the rubber - it was darker, felt higher quality and didn't have mold marks. Mine are particularly bad just where you put your thumbs - you can feel a sharp line of rubber where it has come out of the mold.
 
oqvist
I see. I plan to get an aftermarket wheel. If I can do without buttons it will not cost me more then the stock+ integral F1. However I suppose the paddles will get useless if I get a larger wheel then 300 mm but I recon if I want to use paddles I go for the F1 wheel.

As for that fan. Anybody experimentet with a large desk fan to aid cooling and possible prevent the small fan on the T500RS to spin up as much?
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I don't worry about the static paddles anymore as I use the DSD Sequential Shifter (or before that a TH8-RS shifter) - so if you're thinking about one of those later, then the statics are not really required.

Regarding the fan, I have the same problem - it is annoying and will at some stage open it up for replacement, but for now I find putting the volume up does the trick and when using headphones you can't notice it.. :)
 
Min (edit: I meant mine, not min) is a V3 and the rubber was black, not grey at all. No apparent mold seams either, at least to the touch... It probably has more to do with luck than it does the version number... I could be wrong of course. ;) I should note, after some use, the rubber will appear to be a lighter color as dirt and dead skin from your hands rub off on it. Gross I know, but that's just life I guess ;)

Also, after several hours of racing I could only partially hear my fan running. About like a PC maybe? Certainly inaudible while the PS3 fan is running or driving a car.
 
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plazarou, i had some pretty harsh mold lines on the inner spokes where my thumbs go too. a little filing with an emery board fixed them right up.

my fan is a little loud if the room is dead silent (definitely louder than my computer fan) but i don't hear it at all with either headphones on or speakers while driving.
 
thiagobertolo
On the outer box it said V.2, yes.
Did you get it from the Black Friday deals?

Great deal, that was. 289.99

If I don't get used to it, I am going to sell it on my home country, where the prices are around £750
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I got mine on the same deal too, but they sent me the F1 Integral Set instead....so i'm contemplating whether to return it or not. I don't play F1 much at all (even though i'm a real F1 fan) and prefer normal GT, DIRT and dare I say the leisurely NFS type games... As i'm not much of a player, i'm just wondering whether I should just stick with my G27 or not... or sell the G27 for say £150 and keep the T500... Will decide over the weekend.... lol

Just to clarify, there are no indications of version numbers on the outside of the box. I do have the official Ferrari licensed sticker all over it though.. :)
 
Is it hard to mount the G27 wheel on it with the T500RS adapter? Do I need to cut any cables or can I restore the G27 to original condition without issues?
 
mrbasher
Also, after several hours of racing I could only partially hear my fan running. About like a PC maybe? Certainly inaudible while the PS3 fan is running or driving a car.
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Either you have a really loud PC and PS3, or your T500 fan is much much quieter than mine. I try not to run my speakers too loud, but certainly enough to get immersed in the engine sounds, and I can easily hear the T500 fan over this. I never hear my PC or PS3 with my speakers at this level.

abdon97
plazarou, i had some pretty harsh mold lines on the inner spokes where my thumbs go too. a little filing with an emery board fixed them right up..
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What version is yours?
 
PLazarou
Either you have a really loud PC and PS3, or your T500 fan is much much quieter than mine. I try not to run my speakers too loud, but certainly enough to get immersed in the engine sounds, and I can easily hear the T500 fan over this. I never hear my PC or PS3 with my speakers at this level.


What version is yours?
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At first the fan on my wheel must just be off or super slow as I can't hear it at all. After I race awhile, I can start to hear it when not racing. (in menus, etc.) However, my PS3 fan is really cranking by that time usually.

I'm not sure what to tell you except that my fan just isn't that loud. It's about like a laptop fan while playing games maybe? Not as quiet as a PC fan, I should have specified that earlier.

Either way, it's certainly not loud enough at any point to annoy me and much quieter than the fans in my Fanatec wheel that were rattling themselves to death.
 
PLazarou
Figures.:lol: Did you get it recently? From the Amazon lightning deal perhaps? (although you appear to be the US)
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yeah, i got my wheel this past tuesday. not amazon though, pcnation here in the US.

really happy with mine (though still getting used to the shifters). not going to be all wrapped up in the fact that others received slightly different versions of the same base wheel. if something breaks then i'll worry but that is what the warranty is for and from what i understand Thrustmaster is pretty good about fixing things. time will tell i guess...
 
abdon97
yeah, i got my wheel this past tuesday. not amazon though, pcnation here in the US.

really happy with mine (though still getting used to the shifters). not going to be all wrapped up in the fact that others received slightly different versions of the same base wheel. if something breaks then i'll worry but that is what the warranty is for and from what i understand Thrustmaster is pretty good about fixing things. time will tell i guess...
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Sending things and making you fix them, yes. :sly: Of course you have to jump through a few hoops every time to get them to agree it's not your fault or GT5's fault, but eventually they are pretty good about sending replacement parts.

I should know. I've replaced the:
  • fan
  • brake springs
  • GT shifter module - twice
  • F1 wheel shifter switch - once

And my accelerator is on the blink, but I just inverted it and now my clutch doesn't work, but I don't use it... have to contact them and get that fixed before my warranty expires next May.
 
WRP001
Sending things and making you fix them, yes. :sly: Of course you have to jump through a few hoops every time to get them to agree it's not your fault or GT5's fault, but eventually they are pretty good about sending replacement parts.
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of course they are going to make you verify the problem, they wouldn't be in business long if they simply shipped parts out to everyone who complains.

i understand you might be frustrated due to the number of failures you have dealt with but to me a company sending me a part so i can install it is 1000x better than me having to ship my wheel off to them. who knows how long that would take to get back. i would much rather get something in the mail while still having the (partial) use of my wheel.

just my opinion, i'm sure others feel differently.
 
I'm having a problem that I think is related to my T500 wheel. Posting here in case anyone else has experienced this also , or if any of you guys have any thoughts on a solution ?

So , the other day in iracing , my wheel stops reponding whilst Im driving.Car spears straight ahead off track into a wall. I have the triangle button configured to call for a tow , but it doesn't do anything. Also the wheel is moving about 30 degrees left and right of centre in a rhythmic , rocking motion. I have to use the Esc key to leave track and then Ctrl Alt Del to leave the session and return to the browser.

I had noticed my brake pedal had changed in its feeling so I pulled the pedals out of the rig. I found both torsion springs were broken on the brake and also the throttle one so I replaced them all and reinstalled the pedals. At this point I couldn't see how this would have caused the problem in iracing but I had to start somewhere and the springs were kaput anyway :)

Two days later , and a few hours use and all is well.....until tonight. I was in Pcars and the game "froze" mid race. The image on screen froze as well as the audio and all inputs from wheel were unresponsive. I had to Ctrl Alt Delete out of the sim again. The one thing in common with the crash in iracing is the gentle left to right rhythmic rocking of the wheel straight after the sim locked up. I also noticed that the red mode light on the wheel was out.

I checked all cable connections , the blue light was on at the transformer so all looked okay but the wheel wasn't detected by windows. I restarted the PC and the wheel calibrated itself.... all is normal again but I'm sure I still have a problem that will arise again.

I am running the latest Firmware. The wheel is a V2 and is about 18 months old. I haven't contacted Thrustmaster yet , that will be the next step. I'm just wondering if anyone has any thoughts or ideas on where the problem lies here ?

Thanks :)
 
abdon97
of course they are going to make you verify the problem, they wouldn't be in business long if they simply shipped parts out to everyone who complains.

i understand you might be frustrated due to the number of failures you have dealt with but to me a company sending me a part so i can install it is 1000x better than me having to ship my wheel off to them. who knows how long that would take to get back. i would much rather get something in the mail while still having the (partial) use of my wheel.

just my opinion, i'm sure others feel differently.
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Agree with most of that, but in the case of the cheap and fault prone shifter switches I am frustrated. They could have sourced better parts for that critical piece and saved me a lot of time and frustration. Same goes for the fan. Failure rates are just too high in those two parts.

The motor itself and feedback is great and going strong after many miles logged, just those cheap parts they skimped on. I bet it cost them a lot to support all the calls they receive and shipping. Better to just make it right the first time. I'd even pay for a bulk order of their cheap switches, but they won't do that so it's wait until they fail again and replace until my 2 year warranty is up and then what?

I'm still waiting for a "Bodin Solution" to the cheap switch problem that will hopefully extend the life of this wheel for me because I enjoy using it when it works.
 
I need to get my switch replaced on down shift.y gas pedal feels soft again like spring is weakening.

I'd like to get it fixed and all but the customer service hassle is dreaded. They have thee worst customer service ever dealt with.

Never again will I buy a Thrustmaster product.

The products are decent to good. When not broke t500 are awesome product.

Will say the TH8 is problem free. LoL I use it daily.
 
@WRP001 - totally feel your frustration on the shifters. im sure i'm going to be equally annoyed should i have to replace 2 of them in as many years. maybe at some point they will come up with another wheel rim with integral shifters (i would LOVE to put my ole DFGT rim on the T500 base!!) to fix the quality issues?

it can be a frustrating experience dealing with these mid-tier wheels and no option is perfect. in reality you only have 2 options here, Thrustmater or Fanatec. the Logitech offerings are simply not in the same category and the more advanced wheels are easily 3-5x more expensive (ECCI, FREX, TSW).

the last few posts are down on Thrustmaster support but have you been to a Fanatec forum? reading through those i get the impression their support center is far worse to deal with. and Fanatec has the same issue with sourcing low-quality parts (on a wheel that cost 2x as much even!).
 
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Well, yes and no... It's mostly due to the power rating of it.

For reference my laptop power supply is larger. It measures 7.75" by 1.75" by 3.5" It's also rated at 11.57 amps and 220 watts.
 
Zero7159
But does it have to be so damn big? The power supply for the T500 is bigger than any other power supply for any other piece of electronics that I have ever owned. :crazy:
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I am not a technician, but the FFB-motor seems to be a beast 💡
 
For reference as well...

CSW and CSR Elite PSU: 6.06" x 2.36" x 1.41"
T500 PSU: 6.89" x 2.83" x 1.38"

They don't seem to be that different in size, though the T500 PSU would still be noticeably larger.
 
Ahhh, yes, the motor...

It actually has ball bearings, among other things.

This isn't news though I suppose, I'm sure it was talked about already in this very thread.
 
Unpacked my wheel today. Got a V5. No issues trying all the different sims I could find. GTR Evolution didn´t even know the T500RS existed. Tons of settings for that title what do you run for it? I run stock settings ffb at 60 however damper as usual don´t seem to do any good anywhere so put that to 0.

Managed to find settings that worked decently good on most sims. I was a bit surprised over RBR though really smooth gave a bit of a floating feeling.

Also tried GT5 but there is no settings at all to adjust the force feedback or anything??? Seems to have damper at 200 there which is a bit annoying.
 
Can I ask where you ordered it from?

I'd select G25/G27 for Simbin stuff, but without reverse effects. Someone else may have a different opinion on that though.

With RBR I set it to 540 rotation in the driver and over 700 in the car setup, FFB about 65% (in game - I left overall FFB at 60 in the driver like you). Feels decent to me but probably can be improved.

GT5 feels good to me, I've left the strength at the default 5. I dunno what you mean about damper at 200?
 

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