Thrustmaster Force Feedback Racing Wheel , Branded by Ferrari

by Guillemot

Product Details

Product Manual [641kb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 13 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005MH9Q
• Item model number: 2969046
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 28, 2001

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Still playing racing games with a joystick or keyboard? Maybe it's time to invest in something like the ThrustMaster racing wheel, which offers more precision and--with the addition of force-feedback effects that let you actually feel the action--a lot more fun.

The box contains the wheel unit and a pedal unit. The wheel comes with a tough, rubber coating that offers a good grip and enough buttons to keep you from having to reach for the keyboard too often during a race. The front of the wheel has two normal buttons and a pair of hat switches within easy reach of your thumbs. The switches can be programmed with up to four commands each. There are also two pairs of paddle switches behind the wheel. The upper pair is best used for shifting, while the bottom pair can be used for anything else you like. There is a "shifter" on the right side of the wheel, but it's a simple switch that can be pushed forward or backward. A good deal of force is required to move the shifter, and it has a nice feel. But don't mistake this glorified pair of extra buttons for a real gated shifter.

The pedals are on a narrow base and are hinged on the top; they feel more like real car pedals than any others we've tested. They also have a lot of travel, making precise throttle and braking modulations possible. Many pedals have so little travel they basically act like an on/off switch. As with most wheels, you only get an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal. There's no clutch. It doesn't really matter, though, as manual-type shifting is impossible with the wheel setup.

A splitter cable gives users the choice of attaching the wheel to either a serial port or a USB (universal serial bus) port. After securing the wheel to our desk using the solid clamping mechanism, we used the USB connection, and Windows immediately recognized the product. We then installed the drivers using the included CD-ROM and were immediately able to use the wheel with our racing games. Guillemot also includes a simple interface for programming the wheel's buttons, but we had better results just using the button-programming features of the games we played to establish unique settings for each software title.

As a pure racing wheel, this product did great in our tests, serving up smooth, precise control in both arcade games like Need for Speed: High Stakes and more realistic simulations like NASCAR Racing 3. Many force-feedback wheels have a dead spot near the wheel's central position, which makes precision turns difficult. This wheel has none of those problems, moving in a perfectly smooth arc from the left stop to the right stop.

The only problem we had with the wheel was with its surprisingly coarse force-feedback effects. Crashes and other major events like being slammed by opponents' vehicles were accompanied by suitably realistic wheel jerks, but the wheel wasn't as good at reproducing more subtle rumbles. Rolling over wooden bridges, hopping small curbs, and getting in minor scrapes often occurred with fewer small thumps than we've found in other wheels we've tested. Still, this Ferrari-branded product provides more accurate steering than many other force-feedback products, so the tradeoff may be worth it. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• Smooth operation
• Plenty of buttons
• USB or serial-port installation
• Quality construction
• Hinged pedals

Cons:

• Few gradations in force-feedback effects

Amazon.com Product Description

Branded by Ferrari as authentic racing action, the ThrustMaster racing wheel reproduces up to 27 realistic driving effects and offers 16 programmable functions. Multiple key combinations help you rack up the points and trophies. A built-in motor interacts with the steering wheel, gearshift, and spring-reinforced brakes for true acceleration and quick stops. Connecting to your PC via its USB or serial port, the ThrustMaster racing wheel can be affixed to your desktop with suction cups.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best force feedback wheel!, August 14, 2001

By 

"serious_gameplayer" (Bay Area, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thrustmaster Force Feedback Racing Wheel , Branded by Ferrari (Personal Computers)

Simply put, this is one of the best force feedback driving wheels in the market and you won't be disappointed on its features and performance, especially when it compares with other wheels.

I've been playing PC racing sims for some years and I own the following games: Grand Prix Legends, Mobil 1 Rally Championship, Nascar 2000, Nascar 3, Colin McRae Rally 2.0, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, Sports Car GT and many other older games. When the very first force feedback wheels came out, I rushed to buy them and the results were mostly disappointing. I have tried Microsoft FFB (mediocare), Interact (worst, IMHO), Logitech Formula Force (the older one, which is a much better one than the later model), Logitech Formula Force GP (the newer one, yet inferior, but it works with my PS2 on GT3) and the ACT-Labs Force RS (the best among all. The Ferrari wheel is definitely only 2nd to the Act-labs Force, and way way above the rest.

To sum up what I like about this wheel:

1) Very strong force feedback

2) Lots of buttons on the wheel for one-touch quick keys

3) Have both stick shift and paddle shift helps Rally-style and F1-style racing respectively

4) Precise steering

5) Good feeling steering wheel

6) Good clamp to hold it steadily onto the table

The only few things I don't like about this wheel:

1) The pedals are too close for people with big feet

2) The pedal platform is likely to skid around if put on carpet (easily fixed if it's put against a wall)

3) Too many wires connecting the wheel and the pedals and they are not the most smartly located

All in all, I think this wheel helps me decreasing my lap time significantly and immersing myself much more into the game. For example, it's just great to feel your car losing grip in a corner and eventually regain it and steer accordingly. The best thing is, you can use the on both your PC and PS2 (just a caution, it might be impossible to config the buttons in PS2 as it's not offically supported by Sony)!!!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Poor Windows XP Support, November 12, 2001

By 

Oscar Sodani (Silver Spring, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thrustmaster Force Feedback Racing Wheel , Branded by Ferrari (Personal Computers)

If you are considering purchasing this product and have Windows XP, you may want to wait a bit until better drivers are released. As of this writing (11/12/01), the 3.08 version of the Thrustmaster drivers just do not work. Thrustmaster is currently working on the issue, but it may be some time before the newer drivers are released.

I really like the hardware itself. The wheel is comfortable, easy to use, and handles perfectly. Unfortunately, it just does not work reliably with my operating system.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vaarooommm!!, January 22, 2002

By 

Carol Osorio "imtreble" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Thrustmaster Force Feedback Racing Wheel , Branded by Ferrari (Personal Computers)

Look no further cause this is it!! After owning a very entry level wheel I just upgraded to the Ferrari Wheel and Whoa Ha what a difference. This is the real thing. Great response, fantastic feel of the road, you even feel when other cars hit you. Definitely fun and extremely realistic steering and feel.

The negatives include the fact that it is a bit expensive. Also, now that they have done so much with the wheel maybe they can do something about the pedals! Then there is that pesky little clutch, or lack there of. Myself, a person who has always driven a manual transmission, would really love to find a clutch!!

However, the positives definitely outweigh the negatives so go for it.