Customer Reviews

Logitech MOMO Force Feedback Racing Wheel

5 star:		(65)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

One of the most impressive things about this wheel is that within 10 minutes of removing it from the box, I had it installed on my computer and was using it in a game. Logitech scores again with rock solid software that is easy to install and use.

Once I started to use it, the other good parts about the wheel became apparent within a very brief amount of time.

FORM FACTOR: Compared to other force feedback wheels, this takes up a surprisingly small abount of desk real estate. Once clamped onto a desk, the unit only takes up a 7 inch by 14 inch area of space. The clamping mechanism is notable for not extending very far below the desk. This means there is less for you to bump your legs on and it makes it possible to clamp it in a wider variety of locations.

PEDALS: In my previous wheels, the pedal unit would slide all over the place on my wood floors. This unit, though has a big enough base that there is absolutely no sliding whatsover. In addition, there is a little traction device you can turn on, so that on carpet, the base will stick even more.

FORCE FEEDBACK: To set up the wheel, you can use the default Windows Game Controller set up. Force feedback can be set from 0-150% strength. For my game, Rally Trophy, I found that anything greater than 20% was too strong and I ended up using 14%. This is a sign of quality, because it indicates that the wheel has a full range of power available. The fact that at 14% power, the wheel delivered a nice range of subtle in-game effects proves to me that this wheel has been put together solidly.

This wheel met all my expectations and for me was a MAJOR step up from the little game pad I was using. It has taken me about 2 days to really get the hang of driving with it, but now that I have figured out the right settings, there is really no comparison. Before I was just goofing around with a video game. Now it feels like I am actually using an advanced driving simulator. Very cool!

Short version: This wheel is a cheap plastic imitation of its higher quality forbears. It works, but it doesn't give anywhere near the realistic driving experience the previous models gave.

Long version:

My friend bought the original, red Logitech Wingman Formula Force (...) a couple years back. I borrowed it recently to play with NASCAR Racing 2003 and loved it. The experience was quite realistic. So I thought to get my own.

First I bought the standard Logitech Wingman Formula Force GP (...), because it didn't seem the MOMO version was much different (...), and I didn't want to bother with the rebate. I thought the cheaper price reflected savings in production efficiencies. The GP wheel was shockingly different, in a bad way. The original red Wingman Formula Force has some kind of ball bearing, spring and damper system that lets the wheel turn freely, but give varying amounts of force feedback depending on the game. The original red wheel lets you feel when the wheel gets "loose", and you're about to lose traction. The new, cheaper GP version has a horrible plastic, notchy feeling, as one other review commented - as you turn the wheel it grinds. Turning seems to be a matter of grinding each gear tooth which corresponds to a bit in the control axis. The GP is not at all like a real steering wheel, when the original red wheel was a passable facsimile. The force feedback on the GP is a joke. It's like seeing a downsampled, low resolution, 8-bit version of what used to be a high resolution, 24-bit image.

So I returned the standard, cheaper (...) GP wheel to Amazon and bought this MOMO wheel hoping that the extra dough gets you that special "real" feeling. Unfortunately, the MOMO still fails. This (...) MOMO version is better than the standard GP version, but there's still a plastic notchy gear feeling to the wheel. The notches are finer, and the force feedback effects have a higher sample rate, but it's still the same fundamental cheap plastic gear feeling.

It seems that the wheel I actually wanted was the ORIGINAL, now discontinued, Logitech MOMO Force wheel with the authentic leather, steel pedals and whatnot. It probably wasn't cheap, but you get what you pay for. About.com reviewed the original MOMO wheel and commented: "One of the best features of this force feedback wheel is that there is no "notchy-ness" in the steering wheel. In other force feedback wheels you could feel the gears in the wheel which would prevent you from making smooth adjustments. This wheel solves that problem, it's very smooth."
(...)
I wish I had read that review before I bought this new, plastic version. It's surprising though that nobody had commented in a comparative review about how the steering feel has been compromised. About.com wrote: "The Logitech Momo Racing (black) wheel is a revamped version their legendary Momo Force (red) wheel. They replaced some of the expensive metal parts with plastic and even made some improvements along the way such as increasing the pedal throw and adding a manual stick shifter. The result is a wheel that is even better than the original." (...)

I beg to differ. Maybe the About.com reviewer got a different version of the MOMO wheel, because I'm surprised he didn't comment on the lack of ball-bearing feel to the new wheel. This plastic, notchy feeling to the steering in both the current GP and MOMO versions destroys the suspension of disbelief. The few reviews that said anything about the plasticky-ness, expressing disappointment, were given poor feedback. Why? Do people only want to read glowing reviews of products, regardless of the accuracy of the review?

The only thing positive to say about the newer wheels versus the original red wheel is that the pedals are bottom hinged, and easier to modulate. The new wheels are also cheaper in price. But as I've explained, the new plastic wheels are also cheaper in the quality of experience they provide. You get what you pay for.

I am a hardcore online racing addict spending several hours online racing each night. I have had 3 Logitech Wheels in my time. Logitech Wingman FF, Logitech MOMO Force and Logitech MOMO Driver.

Logitech Momo Racing (my thoughts)
The Good - Full rubber grip. Extended turning range. Very accurate & precise. Strong Force Feedback which can be adjusted. Good pedals. Nice pressure on brake pedal. Fairly long throw on pedals. Stick shift option. 6 buttons on wheel. Easy to instal. Solid construction. Good web site support. Wingman profiler good program to help fine tune setup. Fairly easy to get used to the wheel. Nice times achieved after little practice. 3 clamping system very solid. Wheel looks good. Quality control better than on Logitech Momo Force. Pedals superior the the force model as far as getting better race times.

The Not So Good - have to extend fingers too much to reach gear paddles. Paddles not a solid feel to them. Problem with right gear paddle, double shifts at times. No need for stick shifter. Pedal base too light, slips around unless u put something solid behind it. Plastic pedals instead of metal as on the FORCE model.

Overall - MOMO Racing is a class above Wingman FF as far as getting better race times once u get used to it. I had 2 MOMO Force wheels and had to take them back as various things were faulty. MOMO Racing i feel also has questionable quality control on the Paddle Shifters. Apart from this it is a top product and thorougly recommend it.

Have fun and get a beer into you
Talisman

I bought the wheel back in March of this year and for the first 3 months it had worked perfectly. Then a few weeks ago I started to get that wonderful MOMO pedal bug. The pedals are made where they check the calibration every time you push them down. However if you wiggle the pedal while its down the potentiometer reads it as being pushed down further and sets that new rate as what you have to reach in order to get full percentage use out of the pedal. I took the base apart and put the pedals back on tighter, but it still wiggles a bit, and still loses calibration. I will be returning my MOMO.

I used to have a MS FF driving wheel, and had to replace it because my new PC didn't have a "game port". So I bought this one, hoping that it would at least be as good as my old one (it was OK, the clamp didn't work that great, and the pedals were always moving).

Well, it works great! I use the pedals on a hardwood floor and they don't move at all. The clamps for the wheel is a little odd to figure out at first (two of the clamps are hidden by the grey cover on top, which isn't obvious that it's removable). But once you get all three clamped down, it doesn't move at all (I do have a thick wood and formica office desk to clamp it to though). The carpet anchor on the pedals seems like it would work very well, it might stick down too far for shorter carpeting, but you might not even need it for that type of carpet.

I didn't think I'd like or want the extra shifter on the base, preferring to use just the paddle shifters, but it's quite nice. I play GTR FIA GT, and it works as a fantastic brake bias adjuster! Also the force feedback seems much more realistic than MS's wheel was. It's not as significant, and more consistent. MS's wheel it seemed to be way too much feedback, so I usually played with FF off, but this is very nice to use. The motors and the gearing are obviously plastic, but I couldn't find any wheels that weren't, so I'm not sure why people mention that in reviews. Yes, I'd love to have one that was made from metal, but I'm not sure if I'd want to pay twice as much for it.

I only really have two complaints. The first is it's size, it's big. Bigger than the MS wheel, but since it's performance is better, and now that I don't have a CRT anymore, there's plenty of room. If you have a smaller desk, or a larger CRT, you should measure to see if it will work for you! The second is that damn removable panel for the front two clamps. It's pretty stupid that they hide the clamp adjusters, and since I'm constantly putting it on and taking it off, I just leave the cover off (supposedly you're supposed to remove it to clamp and unclamp the wheel). Fortunately the wheel doesn't look that bad when the cover is off.

Unless you're a professional racecar driver looking to recreate your real world experience this wheel should satisfy you. Yes it would be nice if it were made of leather and steel, but if that's the level of realism you want I don't see how you'll ever be satisfied unless you complete the effect with a steel chassis around your computer and an open can of gas nearby for the authentic road smell. Seriously, it's nice and solid, with the nice tacky feel of good quality rubber. The wheel does produce a light grinding sound from the gears, but unless you're extremely neurotic you won't notice it above the roar of the engines. I've only had mine for a few days so I'll report back on the long-term quality in a few months, though it seems right solid, I suppose it's possible that a hyperactive kid who didn't pay for it himself could abuse it to the point of failure in a few months. My biggest disappointment so far has been that the force feedback doesn't rattle and shake as much as I thought it would, then again this could be due to the game I'm using it with, Toca Race Driver 2. If you're serious about your driving games you need a wheel and pedals, absolutely, and this is a solid choice! If, on the other hand, you're serious about driving itself, just stick to the gas guzzler in the garage. Given the problem of global warming and pollution though, I say pass the sunblock and make mine digital!

I've ready multiple reviews of the paddle shifters breaking on this wheel, but being I use the stick shift, that hasn't happened to me yet :-D I've had the wheel for about 5 months or so now. It hasn't been flawless, unfortunately. I've noticed that the deadzone, when in the calibration window used to be none-existant; it picked up EVERY little change in movement of the wheel... now there is a slight dead zone on it. Hasn't affected my racing, though so that is good. Also, the stick shift knob makes a popping sound every now and then when I shift up... or actually down, because I reverse the default settings.

I actually bought this wheel through Best Buy and I intended to buy their extended warranty thing for it, but I never got around to it. I kind of regret that, because I'd hate to see my $100 wheel stop working on me.

I purchased this wheel after vast researching and I must say I love the way it feels. The wheel assembly iteslf is outstanding!! The one shortfall was the paddle shifters as they do break. The pedal assembly is a completely different story. Throttle control is essential in today's games and these pedals are junk! When they work, they are adequate, but they WILL break. I can comfortably say this as I have returned 3 wheels so far to be replaced due to pedal problems. The culprit with the pedals are the pots (potentionometers) that are the electronics in the pedal assembly. They are cheap at best. The mounting assembly is insufficent and the pots themselves are ridiculously sub-par. Plus, Logitech does not sell replacements. I did find them via a 3rd party company finally. But, I find it hard to digest that Logitech risks so much potential on a product with $0.30 parts (which cost $7 ea to replace via 3rd party). Ultimately I would have to say stay away from this wheel. But, if they fix the design deficiancies..buy no other!!!!

Any true race driving afficionado will tell you that it's all about feel. Driving, RACING, is all about feel. In the realm of racing cars on a computer, the more realistic the tactile aspect of the experience is, the more you enjoy the simulation.

Logitech's MOMO Force Feedback Racing Wheel and Pedal set is, by far, the best user interface peripheral I've ever used. I've owned older examples of Thrustmasters; I've sampled several of Microsoft's and Saitek's wheel and pedal sets; I even have a Logitech WingMan Formula Force GP wheel and pedal set that I'm giving away to a good friend. None of the other devices have made racing on my computer as enjoyable as Logitech's top-of-the-line MOMO set.

The wheel's rim is thick and grippy, just like a real-world racing steering wheel should be. The rubber rim enables the driver to maintain his grip as he sweats through dozens of laps around a typical Formula 1 race course. Moreover, the wheel is home to six fully-programmable buttons, as well as two paddle shifters.

If you prefer your gearchanges to be done via a more conventional gear stick, you can configure your wheel and pedal set accordingly. The shifter goes forwards and backwards; you can select up or down shifts according your preference. And, if you want to simulate right-hand steering cars (as in Japan and the UK), you can even switch the location of the gear stick to the left! I can't think of another wheel and pedal set that has that particular feature.

The wheel's force feedback function is quite fun. A driver must feel how his car is going through corners, and frequently this information comes from a combination of gravity's effects and his car's feedback. In computer sims, though, you cannot simulate gravity, so the car must somehow talk to you. The MOMO wheel communicates whether or not the car is understeering or oversteering around the corners through the strength of the force feeding back through to your hands. You can also feel bumps on the surface, as well as slippery patches on the track. Pretty impressive, really, for a peripheral.

The brake and throttle pedals are a good size. There is no clutch, unfortunately. The pedals pivot on the bottom, but you never really notice the difference compared to a top-pivoting pedal configuration (like most cars I know of have). The pedals' sensitivity range seems predictable, meaning, you can instinctively feel the correct amounts of throttle and brake when you apply them. The pedal base is also a good size and is at a good angle, meaning you won't have numb feet/legs after a two-hour race.

The only significant cons I can think of include the pedal placement being awkward for heel-and-toe gear changes and a slightly cheap feel to the paddle shifters. Heel-and-toe downshifts are a moot point anyway, given that there's no clutch pedal, but I suppose this pedal set is perfectly spaced for karting-style two-pedal racing. If you're practiced in left-foot braking (and if your game supports simultaneous pedal function), then this is no problem. As far as the paddle shifters are concerned, though, more brutal users might break the lightweight plastic paddles with super-aggressive gear changes. A light touch, though, is all you need (aside from good timing) for optimum performance.

If you want the best racing sim peripheral out there, this is definitely the one to get.

UPDATE (25 Oct 05): I've got 2 of these now (one for each computer on the LAN) and they both still work great!

Original Post (March 8, 2004)
Not sure what some of these people are talking about. I've had my Momo and pedals for about 3-4 months now. Need for Speed: Underground is incredible with it. Also, it is durable. I can tend to get a little (ahem!) upset when racing, and the Momo has taken all the punishment and stills plays like it's right out of the box.

Don't let the naysayers dissuade you...buy this wheel!