I have been using Logi MOMO (the original red one) for the last 7 years, so I am immune to the "wow-factor" which seems to affect many people when they move to a nice wheel from a less than stellar one, or even a keyboard. Its a given that G25 is greatly superior to the vast hordes of me-too wheels out there, and comparison with using a keyboard is downright embarassing. So we wont even go there. Suffice to say that the G25 is among the better ways to spend your (or your dad's) well earned money.
No, this review is from the point of view of a person who has logged thousands of hours on a very high quality wheel, and then comparing the G25 experience with the previous one. So lets get on with it... :-)
Appearances : A good friend of mine once said... "i'm telling ya, the leather, and metal and paddles, is about perfect...". That applies to this wheel as well :D. Very sleek appearance, and a pleasure to behold.. the wheel and the shifter. The pedals, though, look a bit.. umm... un-elegant (bet hey, they're down there, out of sight..).
(Of course, my friend was talking about his own G25 when he made that comment, but it wouldnt be so funny if I had told you that right off the bat, now, would it..? .. ;-))
Installation :
Pros : Is a snap, and very intuitive. Everything connects in to the wheel. A smart little touch by Logitech, using different types of connectors for each cable, so you cant possibly plug a cable into a wrong socket. Attaching the wheel and shifter to the desk is also as easy as it gets.
Cons : 1. Now to the first thing I disliked about this wheel. Everything connects to the wheel. That means there are FOUR cables coming out of the wheel, and on to your desk. Thats 3 cables too many for me, adding to the clutter. Also, if you like to "stow away" your wheel after you've done your gaming, it could get cumbersome really soon. It is also not possible to remove any cables once your wheel has been attached to your desk, since the connectors are on the underside of the wheel. That has been a bit of an issue for me (not a showstopper though), but others may not be bothered by this at all. But at least, now you know.. fore-warned is fore-armed... :-)
2. Second con for me, the clamps on the wheel (to grip the desk) are a little on the smaller side. My desk curves a bit, so the clamps reach the edge of the tabletop with VERY LITTLE to spare. Its ok for me, but a little more curvature, and you can't use the clamp. Period.
Hardware (Wheel) :
Pros : 900 degrees of rotation, which is more than what you could conceivably need. Solidly constructed, and offers a good grip. A couple of little indentations just above the 3 and 9 o'clock help ensure your hands dont slide off during the heat of the moment. The wheel mounted butterfly-pedals are brushed stainless steel, sturdy, and offer a satisfying click. I read somewhere that Logitech is moving away from the "click", but this is clicky enough for me..:-). Another nice little touch here.. the pedals are "tall" enough that you are not limited to the 3&9 o'clock driving positions to be able to access these pedals. I use the 3&9 grip for my racing, so no advantage for me but for those who don't, rejoice.. :).
Cons : 1. Only two buttons on the wheel. Sure there are MANY more on the shifter-unit, but when you're in the middle of an intense section, the last thing you want to do is to take your hand off the wheel (AND eyes off the screen) to locate and press a button on the shifter. Im my opinion, a wheel should at least have 4 buttons.
2. Also, the two buttons are not positioned very well. They are exactly at 9 and 3 O'clock. So whats the problem with that? If you GRIP the wheel at 9 and 3, then the NATURAL position of your thumb would be closer to 10 and 2. To get to these buttons, you either have to change your grip on the fly, or bend your thumbs in an unnatural position. You could probably get used to it in a while, but if your coming off off a wheel with perfectly placed buttons, then it takes a bit of an adjustment.
Hardware (pedals) :
Pros : Fully functional clutch. And that too one with full "travel". 0 to 100, you may call it, as opposed to 0/1 ON/OFF button style clutch you'd get to see in some models. The stiffness of the three pedals (clutch, brake, gas) is respectably close to real life. Not the flimsy stuff (specially brakes) you find in other sets. Nice touches, but the feature I was most impressed with was the little retractable spike-belt at the bottom on the pedal set. This grips (and I mean GRIPS) on to your carpet, keeping the pedal set stationary under moments of heavy braking. This is a brilliant idea, I'm surprised it hasn't been implemented before. So simple, yet so effective. No more putting blocks behind the pedal set for me and bracing these blocks against the wall to keep the pedals from running away from me.. :-) (ahh.. the things we pseudo-racers do to get our kicks.. lol)
Cons : 1. The inclusion of clutch means that we are little cramped for space down there. The brakes and gas pedals are a little too close, and you can often get your ankles (and heels) tapping each other if you do left-foot braking. For right-foot braking folks, this is a gift from heavens, I suppose... but I prefer some space between my gas and brake pedals.
2. For all its stiffness, the resistance in the brake pedal is still not progressive. This makes it difficult to tell, just by your feet, how much braking you have done (and of course, more lock-ups). Of course, in all my years of sim-racing I have yet to come across a set which does that, but in other sets you could replace the brake spring with something more suitable (squash ball, tennis ball, dead squirrel ;)) to get that progressive resistance feeling. If you dont know what the he11 I am talking about, try it out (not the dead squirrel though, they tend to shrivel up after a while, not to mention the stench.. lol, but if you can get a fresh one ever day, go for it... ;-D). I assure you, progressive resistance on a brake pedal makes a HUGE difference to the consistency of your braking. In G25 however, that modification is not possible, since the brakes are in the form of a piston assembly.
**[EDIT (Nov 19, 2007) : I have since found out that such a mod is indeed possible, it's just a little more involved]
3. No swivel-tops at the top of the pedal. Some people abhorr them, some love them. I am in the second category. The swivel top ensures that no matter what angle your feet hit the pedal, it feels natural (because the top swivels to align itself with your feet). Fixed top pedals offer a very limited range from which your feet can "hit" the pedal comfortably. And as you press down on the pedal, that angle changes, and you have to adjust your feet to accomodate that change (If you dont know what a swivel top pedal is, check out the pedals on the red Logitech MOMO force racing wheel. Its no longer sold but at least is listed out here on Amazon so you can check it out)
Hardware (shifter) :
For all the noises I make about my experience in sim-racing, my experience with shifters amounts to ZILCH... :P. I've always preferred the wheel-mounted paddles for my gearshifts, and dont see that preference changing anytime soon. What'd Jim Morisson say about driving?... oh yeah.. keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel... ;-). For what its worth, the shifter looks nice, and competent. I'm just not the right guy to review it. Even if I use the shifter with G25, I have no previous experience to evaluate it against.
Driving experience :
The first thing I noticed with this wheel was how weird some tracks look when you end up facing the wrong way... ;-D. The feel of G25 is noticably different from my MOMO. Not worse, not better, just different. I noticed that I was over-steering (hence spinning) a lot more with this wheel than I was with my older one (I know what you're thinking... 900 degrees of rotation, but thats not it. You can actually set how many degrees you want, and I set it to 270, which is what my old wheel had.. to make the transition smoother). To compensate for that, I had to use a lot more throttle in mid-corner compared to the old one. Thats not necessarily a bad thing. As long as I can control the car and get it going where I want, I dont care if I am using only the wheel, or wheel+throttle+brakes. I personally prefer the wheel+throttle+brakes, thats why I love my old Momo so much since it was so good at that.
The force feedback is pretty strong, about the same as red MOMO which I thought was too strong (hey, I am a small guy.. lol). Fortunately (as with the Momo), the FF can be fine-tuned to your liking, and with these tunings, the FF felt very nice. Precise enough to let you know what the car was doing, but subtle enough not to tear your arms away.. :-). Just like the red MOMO, and that's a compliment.
Overall experience was positive, even though I have had more spins in the last 2 days than I did in the last 2 yrs (the darn "getting used to" process..:P). With a little more time, I think I could get used to this wheel and be competitive again. Currently I'm about .5-.7 seconds slower with G25 than I was with the Momo, on an average track. And thats a good sign. I didnt expect to be that close to my Momo timing so soon with a new wheel. This could mean one of two things, a) this wheel is extremely good (which is a good thing), or b) the G25 handles more like the red MOMO than what I currently think (which is also a good thing).
Now, if I can only get used to the lack of progressive resistance in the brakes... :-). If there is one thing that could make me regret giving up my Momo, THAT would be it.
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