The Thrustmaster T500RS Thread

[PLazarou]

From my experience, I'm very sure the pricing has nothing to do with it. If you buy the T500 at full price on Amazon you still get a V.2 (I checked last week). People who got in on the £296/£292 deal with the F1 version on Amazon (which is now £538) got V.5s.

I have had.... let's see now... *counts*... 6 deliveries of T500s. The outer brown box is definitely getting reused and resealed every time, and two of my deliveries didn't even come in brown boxes. I ordered from the V.4 batch at OCUK and I received a V.4 box that was clearly resealed multiple times on the inner box, with black seals in three locations:

Which contained a V.3 wheel and V.3 pedals that had some cosmetic damage:

OCUK didn't know anything about it, had all the hallmarks of a manufacturer refurb. But this was just part of the their new stock (the same stock that you received) that they are now selling at the higher price, so it seems like I just got a bad egg.

They sent me another which arrived in much fresher looking packaging, so I finally have a V.4, and so far it's been fine.

As far as I'm know, there are no major differences between the V.4 and the V.5. And considering everyone is still receiving stock from 2011, this product might not be in active production at the moment, so there might not be a V.6. Regarding the updated fan, they called it a 'V.3', so I assumed it would be fitted to all T500s since the V3. However, looking through the vent holes on this V.4 I can see the fan is the same CC6010H12S that was in the V.2. So I dunno what's happening there.

 

[WildRun]

Always faster (LiveForSpeed drift - posted yesterday by ViKTOOR on LFS forum):

 

[CJDA9]

Sorry but that is not drifting, it is sloppy arab sliding in a straight line in my honest opinion... I cant believe people actually try to simulate this kind of driving, it is kind of sad.

edit: I hope he keeps that to his room and off of the highways, I have seen way to much footage of people dying doing that kind of driving overseas.

 

[JogoAsobi]

Few tips about fan...

drill holes with a 2.0mm drill bit first,after that with 2,5mm

make a connector for possibly easier changing fan

I hope that this will help a bit

Thanks for posting this info. 👍

 

[Madbeater]

Hi guys, so after several months of my paddle shift switches playing up( double shifting & miss shifting) they have become unusable now, so looking to replace them, does anyone know where I might be able to buy some?

 

[Mahnegold]

Hi guys, so after several months of my paddle shift switches playing up( double shifting & miss shifting) they have become unusable now, so looking to replace them, does anyone know where I might be able to buy some?

If your wheel is still under warranty, I would contact Thrustmaster and get one for free

 

[jonstatt]

Still going well with my new purchase. Very happy so far.

Out of interest, is it possible to get replacement GT wheels (not the F1). I can see that the rubber surface is not that durable. I know in the US you can get them from Thrustmaster directly, but I don't think there is a direct sales channel for them in the UK?

 

[WildRun]

GT Wheel is available here:
http://www.thrustmaster.com/en_UK/products/t500rs-removable-wheel-kit

 

[jonstatt]

GT Wheel is available here:
http://www.thrustmaster.com/en_UK/products/t500rs-removable-wheel-kit

Thank you for that. I was thinking I might buy one and keep it in stock in case they ever stop making it.

I am sure there is discussion on whether to use the pedals on the floor or upright buried in this huge thread but I am not finding it. I was just wondering if anyone felt there was a clear winning orientation or whether its a gimmick that doesn't really make much difference in reality. It's easier for me to put the wheel away in its default configuration, but if its much better with the pedals coming out from the back panel, I will give it a try

 

[Rosevalley]

When these ones will be go life? How much they will be?

Thanks.

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

 

[PLazarou]

I am sure there is discussion on whether to use the pedals on the floor or upright buried in this huge thread but I am not finding it. I was just wondering if anyone felt there was a clear winning orientation or whether its a gimmick that doesn't really make much difference in reality. It's easier for me to put the wheel away in its default configuration, but if its much better with the pedals coming out from the back panel, I will give it a try

I've kept mine pivoting from below simply because they are just resting on the floor and are less likely to slide around. Having it pivot from above would result in more of a forwards force at the end of the travel (instead of downwards). But for sensible people who have them bolted down, I guess it just depends on what cars you drive regularly. I imagine there are more road cars with pedals that pivot from above, whereas with race cars the balance is probably more even.

 

[JohnBodin]

A couple of weeks ago one of my shift paddles (the "main" paddles on the wheel base itself) started giving me problems -- it sounded a bit more "dead" than the other paddle, and it would occasionally miss shifts (not often, but sometimes). I disassembled everything, then reassembled it, putting the small springs with the foam in-place in reverse, and everything sounded normal again -- and I haven't missed a shift since re-assembling everything.

What I think happened for me was this: the foam had started to embed itself in the square hole on top of the switch (the part of the switch that moves), and it was "hanging up" slightly as a result. By reversing the foam, it's no longer "embedded" and now the switch clicks like normal, with no missed shifts, and it sounds "right" again.

My suspicion is that plugging the hole at the top of the switch actuator with something like plumber's putty (which cures VERY fast, with a minute or so, and is solid like plastic when cured) would prevent the foam from "embedding" itself in the top of the switch, which would keep the switch actuation crisp and "correct."

So, if your switch still sounds "odd," you might try reversing the spring with the foam to see if that helps.

I'll keep you posted if I'm able to find a suitable long-life replacement for the switch, but I thought this might help a bit.

 

[mrbasher]

Interesting John... When you were in there, did you get a feel for whether or not a different less "embeddible" foam might work better? Or do you think just plugging the hole is a better option?

I ask because I'm not sure of the foam purpose without looking myself.

 

[Madbeater]

A couple of weeks ago one of my shift paddles (the "main" paddles on the wheel base itself) started giving me problems -- it sounded a bit more "dead" than the other paddle, and it would occasionally miss shifts (not often, but sometimes). I disassembled everything, then reassembled it, putting the small springs with the foam in-place in reverse, and everything sounded normal again -- and I haven't missed a shift since re-assembling everything.

What I think happened for me was this: the foam had started to embed itself in the square hole on top of the switch (the part of the switch that moves), and it was "hanging up" slightly as a result. By reversing the foam, it's no longer "embedded" and now the switch clicks like normal, with no missed shifts, and it sounds "right" again.

My suspicion is that plugging the hole at the top of the switch actuator with something like plumber's putty (which cures VERY fast, with a minute or so, and is solid like plastic when cured) would prevent the foam from "embedding" itself in the top of the switch, which would keep the switch actuation crisp and "correct."

So, if your switch still sounds "odd," you might try reversing the spring with the foam to see if that helps.

I'll keep you posted if I'm able to find a suitable long-life replacement for the switch, but I thought this might help a bit.

Thanks for this, will have a closer look at mine now and let you know how I get on

 

[JohnBodin]

Interesting John... When you were in there, did you get a feel for whether or not a different less "embeddible" foam might work better? Or do you think just plugging the hole is a better option?

I ask because I'm not sure of the foam purpose without looking myself.

Not sure about changing the foam type -- I tend to think that plugging the hole might be the best choice.

From the look of things, the spring is there to provide the resistance and spring action for the paddle; the foam inside the spring is what actuates the switch, I believe.

The spring is double tapered and smaller at both ends, kind of like this:

()

The foam resides inside, so changing-out the foam could deform the spring. Going with denser foam or less "embeddable" foam might turn the paddles into hair-trigger switches, which might or might not be a bad thing.

Anyway, after seeing one paddle start to sound "dead" with no click, and seeing it miss shifts on occasion, now it's been rock-solid and reliable for going on two weeks, I think, so I feel pretty confident that I did stumble across a small and easily rectifiable "issue" here.

If (or when?) it happens again, I'm going to try to fill the holes in the switches with plumber's putty, then let it dry well, then re-assemble to see if that stops the problem for good.

 

[LogiForce]

John, I just did what you did and I got rid of my downshift issues as well. Thanks for the tip. 👍

I do feel a better foam insert would improve things a lot though, but a too stiff one could pretty much reduce the life of the switch due to the pressure upon it.

 

[VINCE__]

So this may be why I'm missing up shifts on the Indy car starts. From time to time this happens to me. I will need to see this happen a few more times and have a sure remedy fix before I open the T500 up.

 

[Clevohead]

How porous is the foam? I had similar issues on project at work.

We rectified the problem by (try a small area first, I take no responsibility for stuffing your foam) painting the contact are of foam with clear nail polish/varnish, as the foam soaked it up and dried it made the foam hard as plastic, after a couple of coats it was like a little plastic disc.

Just an idea that I thought might help, I don't own a T500 but would love to

 

[LogiForce]

The foam looks a bit like this...

 

[JohnBodin]

John, I just did what you did and I got rid of my downshift issues as well. Thanks for the tip. 👍

VERY glad to help -- and glad to hear that someone else has reproduced my results, so thanks for providing feedaback! 👍

I do feel a better foam insert would improve things a lot though, but a too stiff one could pretty much reduce the life of the switch due to the pressure upon it.

I wonder if what Clevohead recommended would help?

 

[LogiForce]

VERY glad to help -- and glad to hear that someone else has reproduced my results, so thanks for providing feedaback! 👍

I wonder if what Clevohead recommended would help?

I think I rather try different types of foam. Denser packaging foam for example.
If I treat the current original foams as suggested there is no way to 'reset' and get the original feel back.

 

[JohnBodin]

I think I rather try different types of foam. Denser packaging foam for example.
If I treat the current original foams as suggested there is no way to 'reset' and get the original feel back.

VERY good point!

One other option that comes to mind would be finding some small plastic discs that would fit inside the spring and work as something of a "washer" to prevent the foam from becoming embedded in the switch.

I have a spare set of springs and switches on-hand (looking for a suitable high-usage replacement switch) -- I may try to see if I can come up with some type of plastic insert that would do the job. The hard part will be finding something that won't be prone to working itself out of place over time.

 

[LogiForce]

VERY good point!

One other option that comes to mind would be finding some small plastic discs that would fit inside the spring and work as something of a "washer" to prevent the foam from becoming embedded in the switch.

I have a spare set of springs and switches on-hand (looking for a suitable high-usage replacement switch) -- I may try to see if I can come up with some type of plastic insert that would do the job. The hard part will be finding something that won't be prone to working itself out of place over time.

The washer can also cause the spring to float on top of the switch instead of neatly wrap around it now. What would happen at that point is that the spring might shift from its position, having even worse effects if it happens during an important race.

If you don't want the foam to stick out anymore, maybe putting flexible tubing around the spring would help. Like putting a condom around it.

Plus I still think the actual foam pieces are a bit too small (at least in mine). Using a bit denser and bigger foam would already solve a lot of the issue at hand. If it can be cut to shape of the spring, even better.

 

[Madbeater]

So I tried your fix John but unfortunately it seems my down shift switch is on its way out! After checking the foam and removing the spring there's no sound when switch is depressed and is only working about 50% of the time.pretty useless really, so now I need to replace the switch myself as my warranty is up, but have no idea what sort of switch I need or where to get them from any help would be much appreciated
Thanks Justin

 

[LogiForce]

So I tried your fix John but unfortunately it seems my down shift switch is on its way out! After checking the foam and removing the spring there's no sound when switch is depressed and is only working about 50% of the time.pretty useless really, so now I need to replace the switch myself as my warranty is up, but have no idea what sort of switch I need or where to get them from any help would be much appreciated
Thanks Justin

Why not just contact Thrustmaster support? I am sure they will be able to point you in the right direction.
Never saw this switch design either to be honest. Else I would've linked you to it.

 

[JohnBodin]

Why not just contact Thrustmaster support? I am sure they will be able to point you in the right direction.
Never saw this switch design either to be honest. Else I would've linked you to it.

Even if it's out of warranty, I'd still recommend contacting Thrustmaster technical support -- there's a good chance they will send you replacement switches even out of warranty.

I'm working on finding a suitable long-life replacement, but that's a ways
off.

 

[VINCE__]

A suitable long life replacement would be my route. Let us know what you find, when you do please. Thanks John

 

[Madbeater]

Ok guys that's what I'll do, thanks for the help

 

[PLazarou]

The durability of the T500 shifters is concerning. Of the two V.2s I thoroughly tested and the V.4 I have now, all the shifters felt and sounded different, the second V.2 being the best, feeling like a softer, higher quality click. The first V.2's right shifter broke within the first couple of months. The V.4s feel really clicky and are louder. Not sure if this is a good thing or not.

 

[mrbasher]

I could have sworn that someone posted further back in this thread about a source they found for the switches, or better ones. I can't remember now. It would be like 20 pages back probably... Maybe it was over at ISR...