Microsoft Wireless steering wheel or Logitech Driver FX Wheel?

[artois]

I already have the logitech wheel and it is excellent. However I do like the look of the Wireless one and was going to pick it up after work today.

Has anyone tried both this and the logitech wheel for the 360 and how do they compare?

Is it worth getting for the true force feedback or should I just stick with my Logitech with its axial feedback. I am a racing game fan and have been loving the logitech wheel but this looks entriguing with the extra turning circle and the true force feed back.

A comparisson between the two would be great as no one seems to have mentioned this on any forum.

Advice please peeps.

 

[redwing]

Not a comparison but just looking at teh logitech one on amazon i was reading the 2 reviews and it seems they really like it .

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Racing-Whee...1_19/026-3169253-2647630?ie=UTF8&s=videogames

 

[geordie10]

I already have the logitech wheel and it is excellent. However I do like the look of the Wireless one and was going to pick it up after work today.

Has anyone tried both this and the logitech wheel for the 360 and how do they compare?

Is it worth getting for the true force feedback or should I just stick with my Logitech with its axial feedback. I am a racing game fan and have been loving the logitech wheel but this looks entriguing with the extra turning circle and the true force feed back.

A comparisson between the two would be great as no one seems to have mentioned this on any forum.

Advice please peeps.

I have tried both and the microsoft wheel is much better.
I also have a Guillemot Ferrari ffb wheel for my pc which is very good.
True force feedback is the way to go it adds a lot to the realism with all racing games that support it.

 

[artois]

Yeah it does sound great. My dilemma is, Is it actually better or even as good as the one I already have. It really is an unecessary luxury but I just cant help myself. It looks great in its box and the build quility looks impressive.

Does any one reckon this would be a worthy upgrade or even a downgrade perhaps?

 

[artois]

didnt take much Ian but you gave me the shove in the direction I was hoping. ( My wallet hates you) Gonna get this after I leave here in an hour unless anyone else can convince me otherwise.

 

[geordie10]

didnt take much Ian but you gave me the shove in the direction I was hoping. ( My wallet hates you) Gonna get this after I leave here in an hour unless anyone else can convince me otherwise.

Sorry about that.
How long have you had the Logitech wheel can you not return it.
PGR is amazing with the wireless wheel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS46UdBu6Yk&mode=related&search=
The other thing i like about the microsoft wheel they are bringing out a unit for the pc for about $20 so you can use the wheel with that as well.

 

[artois]

Had the logitech one now since it was released so its been a 3 or 4 months I think. No chance of returning it but I could always sell it on if I feel this is a big improvement. Did you really feel that the MS one is significantly better than the logitech one and in what ways did you find it superior?

 

[geordie10]

Had the logitech one now since it was released so its been a 3 or 4 months I think. No chance of returning it but I could always sell it on if I feel this is a big improvement. Did you really feel that the MS one is significantly better than the logitech one and in what ways did you find it superior?

I think its the force feedback it is a lot better.
Also the wheel is very well made pedals are nice as well.
I have also tried it with TDU and you can also adjust settings in game menu.
There is a patch coming for test drive to enable force feed back cant wait for that.
I see GTR is coming in march as well thats great on the pc so should be the same on the 360.
I was lucky with the Logitech wheel as i managed to get a refund.
I am not saying the Logitech wheel is not very good it is a nice wheel but to me the microsoft one is better.
When i was into racing games on the pc i tried about a half a dozen wheels and to be honest you need proper ffb for any wheel to be good.
You should be able to get a decent price for your old wheel.

 

[Sheks]

There is a patch coming for test drive to enable force feed back cant wait for that.
I see GTR is coming in march as well thats great on the pc so should be the same on the 360.

Oh, didn't know about the patch for TDU, only picked this game up cheap last week and am loving it, it feels great with the wheel but is missing the force feedback that works so well in PGR. When is the patch due?

Really looking forward to GTR, do we have a release date yet?

Sheks

 

[geordie10]

Oh, didn't know about the patch for TDU, only picked this game up cheap last week and am loving it, it feels great with the wheel but is missing the force feedback that works so well in PGR. When is the patch due?

Really looking forward to GTR, do we have a release date yet?

Sheks

The patch is due sometime in december.
Gtr is due out at the end of march.
http://games.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1458/GTR/

 

[artois]

Review

Well I grabbed the wheel last night on the way home from work and I am more than impressed. I really thought the logitech one was great and wasnt convinced this was gonna be much better. How wrong could I have been. From a realistic standpoint this replicates real driving about 50% more than the logitech one and thats not to say the logitech one is bad. Comparing this now. The logitech wheel is very precise but it has more of an analogue conversion feel to it rather than an actual steering wheel feel. The cars react far more realisticly to movements with the MS wheel and you can really feel the weight and traction shift of the car as you make slight movements to your driving line.

The pedals are fantastic, the MS ones have a better build to them than the plasticy logitech ones and they are equal in size to some fancy racing sports pedals. There is a slight difference in pressure between the break and accelarator to try and simulate that real life effect yet again. The logitechs pedals are identical for both the brake and accelerator. Both are very accurate but the size and slight variation between the pressure of the break and accelerator give the MS the edge. I did find however, the logitech one seems to slide less on the carpet for some reason. I think its because, with the MS wheel, you need to have your heels on the metal frame to keep it solid (not really a problem) which results in you using your toes on the pedals rather than the ball of the foot like you can on the logitech.

The paddles on the MS wheel are like real paddles and the logitechs are like tiny buttons on the underside. Both are simple to use but again, the larger more realistic looking ones are my preference.

The logitechs axial feedback is good but it is really using the rumble as a basis and the overall effect is a fairly decent simulated feedback effect. Think of it this way: the MS wheel as an HD DVD and the logitech wheel as an upscaled dvd. Its okay but its not the same as the real deal.

Build quality of both wheels is excellent with the nice rubber moulded material used rather than cheap plastic. Neither one feels better or worse than the other, although the MS one feels a bit beefier and has that nice shiny metal part at the bottom. Aesthetically I love the look of the 360 wheel, but it may not be to all tastes as the logitech looks more like a serious driving wheel with its pure black no nonsence design. The MS wheel does look like its out of a formula one car while the logitech could be taken straight from a fiat punto. This is for a games console after all and I like the more exciting look of the 360 far more.

Now obviously driving a real car is still very much a different ball game from using even the force feedback wheel. However, the MS wheel is probably the closest thing to this that I have used. Certainly on a console ( havent used the GTP though).

People have said that NFS Carbon is too twitchy with this wheel but you have to remember that if you are driving a supercar at 190mph+ the slightest flick of the wheel could easily roll your car into a field. If you bear this in mind when playing this, although its an arcade racer it is pretty much what you would expect at those high speeds and you can feel the weight and traction of the car being simulated quite well. Its easy enough to drive if you just tease the throttle and keep things slow but who wants to do that eh!!

PGR3 was alot better as far as the replication of actual driving goes with the logitech never really feeling like it gave the cars any great weight behind them. The cars felt good but having now compared the two, the MS wheel is like night to the logitechs day. As I mentioned the axial feedback seems to be using the games expected rumble effects and is converting them into what it thinks would be the equivelant feeling when driving. This does work very well for what it is, but it is rather weak and doesn't compare to the accuracy and weight that the MS FF gives. Also the 270 degree turn circle makes a huge difference over the logitechs 180. Although the larger turning circle, it doesnt take much to get your car going from side to side. Again this is far more realistic and could have been a problem if the feeback was poor and didn't give that fantastic weight to the cars. You can almost feel the rubber of the tyres folding over when you slide an F50 GT round a corner with this. It really is superb.

I only played for a couple of hours last night and didnt try Test drive but I was instantly doing better with this wheel on PGR3 than I did when I got the logitech. I think this is due to the realism it offers. It does what you would do in a real car (as much as it can) and this is a huge advantage, rather than trying to adapt to the logitech as a new controller. I would define the difference between the two quite simply: The wireless (which is another bonus, who cares about the ac lead, the logitech one was a pain in the backside with the usb cable popping out the console everytime me or my mates jumped in the driving seat.) MS force feeback is more of a steering wheel while the logitech wheel is more of a controller. (I know they both are, but thats how different they actually feel playing with them)

Overall if I had to pick one I would go for the MS wheel. I had a lot of fun with the logitech and it is a really solid, well made quality wheel. Its just a shame that it comes up short on the simulated force effects. While the MS wheel isn't perfect it certainly does the job nicely. Cant wait for Forza 2.

 

[Kazman]

How are you mounting these guys?

Are they lap friendly, as my setup is not on a desk but in the living room.

 

[artois]

Yeah I have these mounted. The 360 wheel is not bad on the lap but I wouldnt bother with either if this was how I would have to use it. The logitech one doesnt even come with anything for using on your lap. You have to buy this indipendantly

 

[mightyevi5u]

Artois: Thanks for the review.

Got my wheel last week but can't use it till Christmas. I'm well excited about trying PGR and TDU with it, but at the moment I can't see any way to mount it as its in my lounge. I can see it not being as much fun on my lap.

 

[artois]

mightyevi5u: I wouldnt worry too much about it being on your lap. I was being a bit harsh saying i wouldnt bother if I couldn't mount it. Not true. I would prefer this over a pad anyday. Its just so much more fun.

The underside of the wheel base actually has rubber gripping on it to give some friction between yourself and the wheel. Its also pretty wide to accomodate larger built people so its not too bad from that perspective either. Having it mounted is fantastic and I am lucky enough to be able to do it but as far as wheels go it is probably the best effort I have seen at making one decent for use on your lap.

Don't worry I am sure you will love it. Mounted its 100% better than a pad & on the lap its probably about 85% better which is still not bad really. Its still the same great wheel, just doesn't feel as natural which takes away from the immerssion a bit.

 

[Sheks]

I use it on my lap and can post faster times with the wheel than the pad , or maybe I am just poor with the pad

Either way its great fun. I sit in a chair that can recline slightly so as to put the wheel a little further away from me and straighten out the arms a bit (if that makes sense).

Sheks

 

[geordie10]

I am pleased you like your wheel.
For anyone who has not got PGR its a bargain.
I have PGR but i will be trading it in for another game so its still not to bad.
Hope they wont be to long for the patch for TDU.
We also have GTR coming out in march that should be good,its great on the pc.

http://games.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1458/GTR/

 

[artois]

Thanks Ian, Glad I took your advice. Well worth it. I have gotham too but even then, I play so many racing games this will have been well worth it by the end of my 360s lifetime.

 

[MikeKay1976]

cool i have this on order from lxdirect.
]
tjhere is no mention of pgr3 on the lxdirect website.

does pgr3 come with all the wheels (the apparent rrp is the same here as everywhere else) or is it likely to be missing?

also, does the vanilla copies of pgr3 have an optional patch to add ff to the game or do you HAVE to use the ff enabled version to get force feedback.

and finally, apart from FF support, is there any other difference between the standard pgr3 and the one which comes with the wheel

cheers
M.

cant wait. 22nd of jan delivery iirc which will do as my B'day pressie to myself

 

[geordie10]

cool i have this on order from lxdirect.
]
tjhere is no mention of pgr3 on the lxdirect website.

does pgr3 come with all the wheels (the apparent rrp is the same here as everywhere else) or is it likely to be missing?

also, does the vanilla copies of pgr3 have an optional patch to add ff to the game or do you HAVE to use the ff enabled version to get force feedback.

and finally, apart from FF support, is there any other difference between the standard pgr3 and the one which comes with the wheel

cheers
M.

cant wait. 22nd of jan delivery iirc which will do as my B'day pressie to myself

With the wheel you get PGR in the box with the wheel.
The game is the same but with force feedback added.
I have not tried the first version of PGR with the wheel.
You should like your wheel its getting good reviews.

 

[mightyevi5u]

Yeah, PGR3 comes with all versions including lxdirect.

Apparently the force feedback works with original copies of PGR3 providing you have it hooked up to live and the latest updates to the game downloaded.

 

[gingin]

hello

i too have the steering wheel - its for xmas so i have to wait.

the wheel is geting excellent reviews so far, i am going to be sitting in front of a huge projected image from my z4 so i should hopefully get a good experience from it.

to all your steering wheel mount questions have you thought of this h**p://img149.imageshack.us/img149/7752/111111111tv9.jpg is a table mate 2. i have one already for the wheel when santa brings it!!!!

(image from the net, not mine)

happy xmas

 

[MikeKay1976]

Yeah, PGR3 comes with all versions including lxdirect.

Apparently the force feedback works with original copies of PGR3 providing you have it hooked up to live and the latest updates to the game downloaded.

cool, just hope this is still the case by the end of Jan which is when i will get mine.

 

[MikeKay1976]

unbelievable. After being on the phone with lxdirect and them telling me that was i aware the wheel had a massive shortage and would not be instock till the end of Jan, last night i had a message from the delivery people of an attempt at a package drop. Low and behold its my wheel, complete with PGR3

thing is i am away for chrimbo so just had time to try it out for an hr before i shoot off.

PGR 3 is amazing on it, i will defo get some use out of this game after it has been gathering dust for 3 months. (shame the freebie didnt come in a case, means i wont get a lot for my old copy which i sell without instructons or box, but nay mind.

Am sure every game from now on will be great on this wheel, but my only other racers were burnout and ridge racer.

ridge racer i must admit i didnt think was tight enough with the wheel and there was no feedback, so that one i will stick with the pad with.

Burnout, now burnout 3 i loved on the ps2/xbox with a decent wheel, so here was a bit of a dissapointment.

my old xbox wheel, and my mates logitech one were programmable, this one doesnt seem to be 9the instructions say to configure the game to the wheel) however EA/Criterion in their infinite wisdom didnt put a configure controls option in the menu (or am i mising it, i couldnt find it)

so, boost is an absolute pig to reach, where as it needs to be on a paddle really.

only other negative, similar to the above really, in PGR3, and any other game which needs a handbrake, it isnt easy to reach the handbrake button. I dont think there is any way round this, i spose a couple of buttons on the actuall wheel would have done the job but...........

however aside from these niggles i love this wheel.

its solid, feels great and, aside from the minor button layout issue mentioned the design is user friendly.