Alright, I'll preface this by saying I'm not a racing sim person. Never have been. I'd gotten an earlier version of Forza for the Xbox 360 out of curiosity, and my son enjoyed it a bit, but neither of us really got into it, being into first person shooters instead on the consoles...
But in April I grabbed an Oculus Rift, and of course one of the things I ultimately had to try was a racing game, and it really turned it into a different experience. Enough that I decided I needed to try a wheel and pedals to control it, not just the Xbox controller. So I did some digging, and this was the one that seemed to hit the right price point and was supported in the Project Cars game I have on the Oculus system.
Setting up couldn't be much easier - I was clamping it to my PC stand (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B001BBKNI6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and that actually worked quite well, but I did end up just ordering an actual racing wheel stand this evening to improve the experience. The only thing I would've wanted them to change is to have some kind of plate or bar on the bottom to help hold all the cables in place as you're getting things set up. There are small channels underneath this, where they run, so they're recessed and this sits flat on the surface you're clamping it to. But I had issues with a short cable getting pulled out the first time I was setting things up. Having something that slid over that to help keep them in place would've been nice. But it's a minor annoyance, wasn't even worth dropping a star.
So once you get things plugged into this, you can connect it to power, but don't plug into the PC until you've installed the software, which will then prompt you to connect the USB cable. I did this on Windows 10, and had no issues.
There was a firmware update right away, so I ran that as well. Then it was time to play.
Project Cars in the Oculus had support for this, so that's what I tried first, and then realized that this is apparently a game that reverses the pedals by default, so I had to go into the options and remap all three pedals to get it to work. But once I did that, I was quite blown away by the experience.
Having never used a racing wheel before, I didn't expect the force holding the wheel in place. I expected force feedback as things happened, but I didn't realize how firmly this wheel was going to hold the center position. But it's awesome since it really helps keep you stable.
Most of the video reviews and such talked about how it takes time to convert from a controller to a wheel, and that you can expect to "relearn" since it's a whole different experience. I didn't have that issue, since my racing sim gaming was so minimal. I took to it quite quickly, and inside of about three or four races, I had a good feel for it, and my performance soared compared to the hand held controller.
Many people complain about the bright light on the wheel above the Xbox button. For me, not an issue since I have a headset on for the VR system, but I can see how that would be annoying if you're using monitors. Nothing a bit of tape wouldn't solve, but I think the least they could have done is had an option in the software settings to turn the light off altogether.
Button placement is alright, I wish they had been a little closer to the wheel's edges to make it easier to hit, but they're not hard to get at as they are, just not quite as ergonomic as I would've hoped.
Unit is pretty quiet as well.
I see a lot of people complain about the brake pedal being stiff, and it certainly is, compared to the others, but for me it isn't an issue. I may not know enough about these though to have the "right feel" for how it SHOULD be, and that may be why it doesn't bother me. But as a total racing sim tyro, it's not causing me any issues at all.
For me, this really became a "Wow, I'm sure glad I got this!" kind of an item the first day I had it. With the VR headset, this really completes the immersion. And when it's on this desk I'm using right now, and I"m on the bench in front of the setup, my hands are EXACTLY where they show up in the Oculus, so the illusion is complete for me.
Feels great, love the resistance in turns since that really helps me keep on track and not spin out as much, and while the price seems steep to me, I didn't have many options considering I'm on a Windows 10 PC and may use it on the Xbox One as well at some point. But while the price was steep, I'm looking at it as one of those, "You get what you pay for" things. It completes the illusion of actually racing, and that made the price point less of an issue for me.
| Brand | Logitech G |
|---|---|
| Series | Logitech G920 |
| Item model number | 941-000121 |
| Hardware Platform | PC |
| Operating System | xbox series x |
| Item Weight | 4.96 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 10.24 x 10.94 x 10.63 inches |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 10.24 x 10.94 x 10.63 inches |
| Color | Black |
| Number of Processors | 4 |
| Batteries | 1 Lithium Metal batteries required. |
| Manufacturer | Logitech |
| ASIN | B00Z0UWV98 |
| Country of Origin | China |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Date First Available | June 18, 2015 |
