Customer Reviews

Ferrari Universal 5-in-1 Challenge Wheel

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I purchased this for my 11 year old daughter, as she wanted a "real" racing wheel with pedals for the Wii. It was easy to set up (just plug it in) and, it worked right away. After launching Mario Kart Wii with the wii remote, the Thrustmaster wheel functions like an additional wii remote for choosing characters and races. The pedals work for acceleration and braking, and, I find that the racing wheel has a nice feel to it. It can be set to one of two sensitivity settings.
I also found a sheet showing the button presets for Mario Kart on the Thrustmater support website. For instance, the brake pedal also functions as a drift button. My daughter loves it. She races with my 14 year old son, who uses the Wii wheel that came with the game. But they both prefer using the Thrustmaster racing wheel, as it is easier to use and more "fun," than the standard Wii wheel.

NOTE: Check the Thrustmaster website: go to "Tech Support--Downloads--Game Settings" for the list of compatible games for this wheel.

I ordered this last week for playing GRID on my PS3. When I took it out of the box, I was a little worried because the wheel is so small compared to one I had for my Xbox. But after clamping it to a table and firing up GRID, my worries are gone. The choice I had was between this wheel for $30 or a Logitech wheel for $150. I'm not sure what a $150 wheel does for you but this one works well with my PS3, will work with my Wii, and makes playing GRID much more fun.

Exactly what I was looking for! An arcade style wheel with pedals for my Gamecube racing games to use on my Nintendo Wii. I love the realistic feel of racing, and the Gamecube racing selection. I wanted to find a way to play those games as I would if they were Wii games. And this is it!

It also works with Mario Kart for Wii really well! (This is the only Wii game that it's currently compatible with at this time, because the game allows use of the Gamecube controller.)

Works well straight out of the box. I was able to plug it in, and start playing right away. It does take just a moment to learn where the correct buttons are, like with Mario Kart for example.

I was very impressed with way the controls handled and responded. Not too loose but just right. It was much easier to use then the Gamecube controller on games like Burnout, where you need quick, accurate response, without over-correcting. PC wheels I have used in the past seemed to have you all over the place, and were too responsive, with no tension. This wheel has the perfect balance. It also seems sturdy enough to last for a while.

The size wasn't bad and I found it quite comfortable. It's not the size of a full sized wheel, but it certainly wasn't an inconvenience. I actually liked the smaller size, it felt easier to use. Close to the size of the Wii wheel, so it felt familiar.

It will add a new dimension to your Gamecube racing games, and open up some more fun options for those of us that have Wii, but have limited racing selection.

I just wanted to make sure everyone saw that! I did NOT see it in the description... maybe I Missed it, I dont know.

But I got it so my husband can play his beloved "Dirt to daytona" On the ps3 (it is a ps2 game in our house) And it does NOT work.. says it right in the booklet that came with the steering wheel.

But it works great on the PC (He played one of the 18 Wheels of steel games) & it works great on the PS3 as long as it is a Ps3 game lol.

We have not tried it on the wii or gamecube yet.

Over all it is a great wheel.

His only complaints (besides the obvious) is :

it is a little small
The pedals are close together
the buttons are not marked.

But he says it is a great birthday present & overall he is happy with it!

Hope this helps someone!!

I purchased this wheel cuz the description stated it worked with all game platforms and I have a Wii. When I received it and read the instructions this wheel only will work with downloaded virtual games for the Wii with use of the classic controller. Needless to say I sent it back.

I bought this item to use on Mario Kart Wii, and various racing games on the PS3, and it worked great. Then after a month or two, both of those big triggers stopped working. No big deal, they weren't really necessary. Then after about a year, it suddenly lost the ability to remap the buttons, rendering it completely useless on all games except Mario Kart Wii. That was pretty frustrating, but still, I'd have to say that given all the great fun I got out of it (and the fun I continue to have with Mario Kart), it was definitely worth the 30 bucks I paid for it. And considering that I don't see any other steering wheels like this, within this price range, that work for multiple consoles, I'll probably just buy another one. And if it lasts as long as the first one did, I'll still consider that a win.

this works as soon as I plugged it into the GC port of the wii, PS2 & even a vista PC w/o installing any drivers (none included.)
Wii note:
most Wii racing games do NOT support the gamecube controller except maybe rare one like Mario Kart (this uses GC port) so therefore you can't use the wheel like for the Wii Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli (for the past reviewer who complained) The point of the Wii is to not need to buy & store a large wheel, but this is great for GC racing games.
compatibility:
I tested it on Burnout 2 for the gamecube, burnout dominator on the PS2 & NFS Most wanted on the PC w/o an issue. The steering has high & low sensitivity that is switched easily. I even used the d-pad & buttons in the middle for a quick bubble bobble game on the PC just out of curiosity. I also was able to use Xpadder I downloaded to use it for free flash games that normally only support the keyboard. (the program takes keystrokes & programs them onto a controller so you don't have to use the keyboard.)
hardware:
The shift buttons do make a loud click whenever you use it, but they felt sturdy enough for normal use, they would probably not take a lot of clumsy abuse. both pieces feel very light almost hollow feeling plastic, but strong plastic. I like the feel of the steering as it's not as soft/slow? as a real steering like on the logitech g5 or other logitech wheels. it feels more like a joystick mapped to a wheel as it VERY quickly snaps back to neutral position just like a joystick. you actually have to really pull & keep pulling to keep turning (not strong muscular effort, but just have to keep actively pulling). It makes driving much easier then a regular wheel such as purposely doing near misses in burnout. I'd say you should almost be able to steer as easily as you could with a joystick.
size:
the only gripe I have is with the size & space between the pedals, it took me time to keep from hitting both pedals at the same the time.
I love how small it is so takes up less room in the closet, it's 40% smaller then the average wheel. even my hand can stretch over the diameter from fingertip to just an inch past my wrist. the box itself is only 10" w X 9" l X 8" h

I haven't used it more then an hour or 2 as of yet. if I have any issues, I will update. if you're looking for a realistic wheel, go somewhere else.
for storage & ease of use, controlling mechanism that gives the easy precision of a joystick w/the fun of a wheel, ability to be used on multiple systems, it can't be beat.

youtube review: "BuyTV Spotlight Thrustmaster Ferrari GT 5 in 1 Racing Wheel"

Edit:
I tried it using it on Burnout Dominator for PS2 on a friend's PS3 - it would not be recognized for multiplayer at all in the 2nd controller port, we didn't try any other configurations or games. Friend who has Logitech G5 said it does add the fun factor, but is more like a digital joystick in terms of control.

I've had this wheel for a couple of weeks now and have probably logged at least 30-40 hours on it in everything from Richard Burns Rally to Test Drive Unlimited. It's certainly not the best wheel on the market, far from it, but for the price point and the basic functionality it can't be beat. If you don't play racing games that often and/or just want something cheap, but functional, you can pull out from time to time, this wheel is perfect.

Keep in mind this wheel is very small, child's toy small. personally, I found this a bit of a plus, as I don't have to struggle with attaching a large wheel to my desk, or finding a place to store it. Despite the small circumference my large man-sized hands still very comfortably fit the thumb grooves and shifter paddles, and I've had no discomfort after several hours of continuous use. The wheel fits easily in a large desk drawer or average shelf and attaches to a desk with a simple clamp on the base. The wheel itself has a nice tension when turning, is self centering, and turns about 100 degrees in either direction. It can be a little overly sensitive in some games, but it drove just fine after I got used to this. It has a good compliment of buttons on the front and two flappy paddle shifters directly behind the wheel. The action on everything feels a bit cheap, and the buttons are unsatisfying mushy; but for $30 it's about what one would expect, and they all do their job just fine, regardless of the feel.

The pedals connect via a PS2 connection on the back of the wheel and seem to have 5-6ft of cord length. Plenty for most needs. The pedals themselves are, like the wheel, on the small and cheap side. They can be a little cramped for large feet, and will tend to slide across the floor if not secured. Beyond those small complaints they work fine, and are sensitive enough to get the job done.

No software to speak of, but it was instantly recognized by Windows 7 as a gamepad. Haven't had any issues with setting it up in games old or new.

Overall it's a large step-up from a game-pad controller in terms of both control and immersion. As long as you keep in mind what your paying for, you shouldn't be disappointed.

I will say the product came very quickly and my 9yr old was thrilled with that.(but that didn't last long) It is smaller than we expected and the pedals stick sometimes. It also doesn't mount to the table very well like it should.

If you are like me and own a Wii and would like to use a wheel look at another product. This wheel does NOT, I repeat DOES NOT work with wii Disc Games, only the downloaded virtual games that you must buy online. Also it is not forc feedback. Strang the amazon bundles it with Disc games(you guys should know better).

If you using this wheel on a PS3, PS2, or a PC its ok and works great. Its pretty sad that Nintendo does not support this wheel. But overall is a good wheel just not for the wii, and for you guys that knock the quality, what did you expect its a sub $50.00 wheel, if you want top quality stuff you will need to spend at least $100.00 or more.

The wheel is what it is and nothing more, it is also quite tuff, maybe beacuse I have gentle hands :)