Customer Reviews

Thrustmaster Force Feedback Racing Wheel , Branded by Ferrari

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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)!!!

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.

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.

Hello, I am 14 years old. I received the Thrustmaster Ferrari force feedback steering wheel last Christmas. I love the wheel. I quite like the shifter knob on the right side. This really seems to enhance the gaming experience! I am really satisfied with the quality of the wheel. I would really recommend this wheel for anybody who is looking to have fun, to enhance their gaming experience and who also wants a quality product. I've tried other wheels and nothing can beat this one!!!

This is one of the "Must Have" for driving games. This wheel gives you a great force feeling. Not just strong, but subtle efects. The wheel if rubber injected and it has this feeling even better than my real car's wheel. Your hands won't slip, ever. You can use a lot of buttons configuration, since it comes with a lot. The pedal has a long travel that is good for a smooth driving. It looks like metal, but it is plastic just like the wheel plate.
The only problem that bothers me a lot, is that i'm having problems with the device drivers. The wheel disconnects from the games randomly (5-10 minutes). You have to tweak your system configuration to make this thing work fine.
Now I get disconnected less than before. I disabled the USB error detection and things are going better, but the problem still.

So, my conclusions:

I like:
* Very very good clamp system to hold it onto the table
* Great construction quality
* Good feeling steering wheel
* Very strong force feedback
* GREAT Effects!...
* Lots of buttons on the wheel
* Have both stick shift and paddle shift helps Rally-style and F1-style racing
* The wires connecting behind wheel can let the way clear

I don't like:
* The device drivers problem

Maybe this problems are because of some kind of incompatibility with my other devices. I don't know.

It's great to feel the track surface. It's great to feel the steer pushing when you spin out. It's great to feel your car losing grip in a corner and eventually regain it and steer accordingly.

I have to say that I've written a review before. In that review I said that the wheel has some problem with the drivers (I thought), but the to say the truth, I was totally wrong. I've realized that the problem wasn't the drivers, but my AC converter 220V to 110V.
Now I replaced the AC Converter and the Wheel is Rocking... Sorry for my previous review.
I Really recommend this wheel!
Great grip on the wheel, strong enough to make some arms get tired, very precise, awesome construction quality, lots of buttons, stiff shifting stick, the ferrari logo is a very nice touch.

Regards

This is a good wheel, the force effects are strong and it feels stable. I use this wheel on my primary system, but use the logitech wheel on my secondary system. The logitech is 2/3 the price and feels just as ggod maybe even a little more comfortable than the Thrustmaster.

When I got this wheel I was so impressed! Handled so much better then the other wheel I had. So much more realistic and the force feedback was very fun.

However, we started noticing problems with the peddles about 2 months after I got it. They continued but didn't happen all the time so we were not sure if it was the game or the peddles. The unit wasn't used for a couple of months and when I just tried to use it again the peddles are not working at all.

Considering the price of this toy this is completely unacceptable!! Don't know if this is common but our unit only worked 100% for about 2 months and now, less then 1 year later and using it only about 7 months, it is dead.

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, yet quite expensive and you've to wait as it's severely back-ordered). 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)!!!

I have owned many different wheels but this one has the best force feedback of any ony i ever used!