I sponsor the Old Sarge Racing Team in Project Torque, with more than sixty members, and monthly award two of these wheels to my most improved drivers. So far I've bought a total of eight of them, most coming from Amazon when they're in stock and a couple more from Beach Audio, The recording Store and The Price Pros, all reliable Amazon affiliates. I'll buy one more tomorrow and another the first of next week. All have arrived promptly and all of them are still working hard. My personal wheel has more than 35,000 in-game miles over a period of some six months and still looks and feels new. The other seven drivers who've received them have also piled up mile after mile with no failures and no problems.
A couple of reviews I've seen mention the limited turning radius and claim that this is a shortcoming compared to the Logitech G-25s and G-27s. Actually, that's the biggest virtue of the wheel. In ninety degree or greater turns, you have to cross your hands over at least once and sometimes twice with the logitechs, whereas with the F430 a little more than a half turn left or right will get you full lock, left or right, a tremendous advantage when trying to recover from mistakes. In addition, the wheel is slightly larger than the logitechs, which also contributes to the shorter turns, lock to lock.
The pedal set is fairly heavy, and there's a comfortable ledge in front of the pedals which makes it very easy to hold the pedals in place with your left foot while driving as hard as you like with your right foot. The action on both brake and accelerator are progressive, just like the real thing.
The paddle shifters are progressive, up and down, and shifts are positive and clean, up or down. The force feedback is very quiet and widely adjustable, from practically none to enough to rip the wheel out of your hands if you like it that way (though for the life of me I can't figure out why anyone would like it that way). Even with the heaviest feedback, the wheel housing does not generate much heat and with the settings I use hardly any heat at all.
After six months use, the only visible wear on the wheel is on the microphone button, where I've worn the silver finish off with my thumb, though the button continues to perform like new. The rubber wheel covering is still like new.
The software is easy to install and the instruction booklet is clear enough to get it right the first try. You may have to tinker a bit with the settings to find your personal sweet spot, but once you've found it you'll make no more adjustments. It's like Ron Popeil's rotisserie, "set it and forget it." Mine has not been unplugged since the day it was installed. Conveniently, every time you reboot your computer, the wheel will re-calibrate itself to your established settings.
Another great feature is the anchoring system. My desk is approximately two inches thick and the gripping mechanism still holds firm, with no additional pressure since I first installed it. Drifting, violent switchbacks and other aggressive maneuvers have not moved it at all. It' still firm as a weightlifter's handshake.
The only advantage I see with the logitechs is the absence of a physical clutch in the F430, though for racing purposes, the progressive paddles are actually better since they can be run in manual mode, meaning that you can control your gear range without removing your hands from the wheel. And as a practical comparison with the G-25/27, you're actually paying more than twice as much for the privilege of pushing the clutch and taking your hands off the wheel to change gears ;-)
I highly recommend this product, and if you're prepared to pay more for the G-25/27, I suggest that instead you buy an extra F430 for other family members or friends who may be into racing. Buck for buck, compared to the logitechs, the F430 is clearly the winner.