Customer Reviews

Playseat World Rally Championship Gaming Seat

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have had my Playseat WRC for about 4 months now and can say it was worth every penny. Extremely comfortable, even for those multi-hour Gran Turismo endurance races. Solid feeling when you are in the unit -- I had my doubts about the pressure locks when I first got it and can say that the unit does not move a bit during play, even with multiple drivers rotating through 7 hours of Suzuka in the rain.

Getting in and out of the seat can be challenging, especially with the optional gear shift holder in place. The wheel support coming up from the seat makes the positioning very stable, but also limits your positioning options (since height and distance from your seating position are tied together) and can be tricky to get your leg around when getting in. I've seen other reviews saying it interferes with pedal operation but nobody using my WRC has noticed that problem.

This unit was obviously designed for the Logitech G25/G27; my G27 mounted perfectly with the included screws. Cable routing can be a little tight but with a few zip ties or velcro straps you can keep everything nice and neat (A shame Logitech does not build longer/detachable cables into their devices...). A tray for holding the AC adapter would be nice, but you can zip tie that to the crossmember under the chair to keep it out of the way.

Recently upgraded to a Thrustmaster T500RS; the wheel fit perfectly, but the pedals did not line up to the foot plate. I have heard Playseat is working on an adapter kit, but in the meantime a few zip ties will hold the pedals solidly in place.

In all, very impressed, just a few rough edges - would easily recommend.

A pleasant surprise: The seat worked just as promised, and just as good as the other reviewers said. The wheel I am using is the new Fanatec GT2 wheel and the clubsport pedals.

Assembly:

The unit assembled with little difficulty. All of the parts and tools are included. The items were wrapped well and NO scratches on anything! I would say it took abut 15 minutes to assemble and faster if you have a ratchet driver. The upholstery on the seat smoothed better than I thought a folding design would, and the fasteners appear to be of good quality.

Comfort:

A solid fit for a 190lb person.The padding is fine in the seat and there are no rough spots. I will be adding a small lumbar pad to make it "just right". All of the metal parts are well finished as well.

Quality/solidity:

Quite good. No creaking and only a small amount of flex. No demerits here. The clamps on the sliders are VERY solid and secure.

Cons:

A few nits to pick: 1) the bottom of the seat's rails should have rubber feet. You cannot just drop the chair on a hardwood floor and go racing. It would be a disaster. Rugs would be damaged over time as well.

2) there should be mounting plates for different wheels. Lets be honest, there are only 3 or 4 wheels that anyone would use with this. (logitech, thrustmaster, and fanatec) Why can't they have a kit that accepts all of the models?

3) angle of the pedals. It should be adjustable. but, it is not hard to just shim and modify it a bit for a better fit. Still, it would have been nice to have it included in the kit!

I only give 5 stars if the item goes "above and beyond". This item does not, but it is very much a satisfactory product that is only a few small nits from perfection!!

I received the WRC Playseat as a gift for Christmas from my wife. When I opened the box I noticed the workmanship of the upholstery was excellent. Especially the embroidery work on the logos. The assembly was easy enough but I did have a broken zipper on the seat cover back. I contacted Playseat and after a few emails and possible fixes they sent me a new seat with a prepaid shipping label to return the old one. I have to say the customer service at Playseat is the best I have encountered in the gaming world. Quick, easy and very pleasant. I am glad to have and endorse their product. As for playability and comfort. I am totally happy and would recommend this product to anyone.

First of all I just want to say thank you to Playseat for creating such a great piece of equipment. I have been playing GT5 now since 11/24/10 and I play every day. The game is a great game for the driving enthusiast, but after putting 42 thousand miles on my game cars before buying the Playseat, I am looking back and asking myself why, oh why did I not do this sooner. The Playseat just adds so much more to the driving experience. You really do feel like you are driving a real car with the low slung seat, which is not hard to get in and out of. I mean, once you are in... you are in for a long time. These things are that comfortable. Everything is adjustable and very well made. I had a very small hole in my seat cushion when I received the product. After I noticed the "hole", I contacted the company directly and asked if they would help me with this very minor issue. To my surprise, Playseat sent me free of charge a new seat cushion top... and bottom. They went above and beyond the call to satisfy their customer. I am very happy with the customer service I received from Playseat and very happy with the overall product. These seats might be expensive and all, but if you are thinking about getting one of these stop thinking and just buy it already. YOU WILL BE SUPER HAPPY!!! I know I am, Thank You Playseat WRC!!!

Bought this during one of the post-black Friday sales on Amazon. It arrived in great shape (packaging was impressive) and was simple to put together. I bought it to use with an Xbox 360 and using the original Microsoft Wireless Racing Wheel. I also purchased the Playseat adapter plates for using the Xbox wheel. No issues with any part of it. There are no lock washers or locking bolts, so it remains to be seen if maintenance to keep everything tight will be required. I was able to run the power and pedal wires through the tubing and out of the way and adjustment for driving position was just fine.

Like some have already stated, getting in and out of the seat is a little awkward, but once you're there, you can race comfortably for hours.

The Playseat Xbox wheel adapter was designed for the Evolution seat, but does work very well with the WRC and, I assume, others of this same design. In fact, I think it actually works better than the instructions indicated it would with the Evolution. The instructions that come with the adapter do not cover this seat type, but it's not hard to figure out how to put it together. I do agree with others that Playseat could include adapters with the seat, but at least the one for the Xbox wheel does work well.

One unexpected and cool (at least to me) "feature" is that the force feedback vibration, because the wheel is bolted to the center column which is in turn bolted to the seat, comes through the entire seat. It really adds to the experience.

About the only thing I wish I had thought of before buying this particular model is that the head bolsters really do restrict your head movement. Why is this a problem? Well, it's a problem if you use the head tracking feature in Forza 4. This Kinect feature in Forza 4 allows you to turn your virtual head as you tilt your real head; you tilt your head to the left and you look to the left and vice versus. With the head bolsters, this is a little more difficult as you have to lean forward to tilt your head more than a few degrees. Now, it must be said that I have a huge head, so this might not be a problem for normal head sizes.

All in all, this was certainly an indulgence as it cost more than the Xbox itself, but it does add immeasurably to the driving experience and it is something I am sure I'll enjoy for years to come.

The Playseats World Rally Championship Gaming Seat took my gaming to a new level. The Logitech G27 racing wheel, pedals, and gearshift mount solidly to the Playseat and (optional) gearshift holder. With the Playseat, I can focus more on the game because everything stays firmly in place, in the exact positions where they were mounted.

It took about 20 minutes getting everything put together. The quality of the material is outstanding and it shipped here to APO (Armed Forces Pacific) Japan really quickly. Would purchase again and highly recommended.

I had the privilege of owning its predecessor several years ago, the G25, so I knew mostly what to expect with this new G27, but I was still expecting so much more from Logitech. The expression "Logitech giveth and Logitech taketh away" seems most pertinent.

So, let's start:

Opening the box and getting everything out is very simple. All the parts are well designed, but you're immediately greeted with what I think is the biggest issue with the G25/27 set, - the cables. So many cables! 400 cables! (at least it feels like it)

The wheel has a cable coming out of it that goes into your PS3; the pedals have a cable coming out of it; the shifter has a cable coming out of it, and then there's the power brick that has a cable to be plugged in. All these cables plug into the wheel itself, and it's definitely not a pretty sight. I don't know about other people, but I don't have a place where I can leave my steering wheel/shifter/pedals plugged in 24/7, so setting all this up and putting it away again is a COMPLETE pain in the rear.

Putting the cable issue aside, there's a lot to like with the G27. It's an improvement over the G25 in many ways:

1.) The G27 wheel uses helical gears (or diagonal-cut gears) vs the G25's straight-cut gears. What this means is that there's a reduction in noise when turning the wheel, and it's also smoother while maintaing powerful force feedback! Great stuff!

2.) The shifter on the G27 no longer has a sequential mode (i.e. clicks up and down only), which is no big loss to me. I prefer either the regular 6-speed or using the paddle shifts on the wheel. While it may seem that this is still a LOSS compared to the G25's 6-speed AND sequential shifting, the new addition to the G27 is that the gears don't CLICK into place. On the G25, every gear change would greet you with a CLICK as the gear was put into place. Logitech have removed this sound so the gear movements don't hurt your ears with their plastic sounds as the G25 did. Now, some people have modified their G25 shifters to remove this sound, but it voids your warranty and I've read of several people irreparably breaking their shifters by doing this... In any case, for me, the G27 shifter is an improvement over the out-of-the-box G25 shifter.

3.) The pedals are now adjustable, which makes it a joy to heel-and-toe while racing. The pedal layout is a huge deal more comfortable than on the G25 pedals. This, for me, is a huge improvement. My right foot would get very uncomfortable with the G25 layout.

4.) There's a new set of tachometer LEDs on the wheel, though I've yet to play any game that supports them yet... It's a neat little feature, though, if it does as advertised.

5.) The G27 also has some more buttons on the steering wheel, which you can customize, of course.

So how does it play?

VERY well, depending on the software!

Need for Speed: Shift PS3:

I first tried out Need for Speed: Shift on the Playstation 3, and was pleasantly surprised to see that no setup is needed, and the controls just work. In fact, it even shows you a picture of the wheel/pedals on the control screen (albeit just the G25, but still...). It's great to have the wheel work out of the box with no tinkering. THAT said, there's perhaps too much force feedback in Shift to be particularly comfortable. The faster you get, the more the wheel fights with you. At 120mph, it's very hard to keep the wheel straight. I've track-driven several times at near 150mph speeds at times, and I can safely say my steering wheel doesn't fight me in real life like it did in the game...

So, for ease of use with Shift, I'd say 5/10. It's just too hard to keep the wheel straight at relatively high speeds...

Gran Turismo: Prologue PS3:

NOW we're talking. None of the fighting I experienced in Need for Speed: Shift, and plenty of smooth corners and subtle force feedback. It's fair to say the force feedback is a tad muted in Prologue, but it's infinitely more comfortable to play than Shift, and a real joy to hit those apexes time and time again. 9/10.

Overall, this wheel is excellent, but the pain of setting it up is just too much to ignore. It really is a cable nightmare. The wheel, pedals and shifter could easily be wireless by this point, meaning the only cable needed would be a power cable to the steering wheel for the force feedback to work. I suspect the inevitable G29 will remedy this, as the way the G27 currently works is a direct copy of the G25 which is 3 years old as of November, 2009.

Overall, though, a great wheel, if you can be bothered to go through the setting it up...!

4/5

Note: This wheel is for PC AND PS3.