Better than the Driving Force Pro | Playstation 3 Logitech Driving Force GT Racing Wheel

Better than the joystick control | Playstation 3 Logitech Driving Force GT Racing Wheel

pc & video games:


	• Playstation 3 Logitech Driving Force GT Racing Wheel PLAYSTATION 3 \| Logitech, 2008 average customer review:based on 56 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Inexpensive way to get started with PC racing sims

Logitech Driving Force GT (DFGT) Wheel and Pedal Set
Evaluated on the PC platform with SimBin's GTR2, Race07 WTCC, and GTR Evolution.

I missed out on the opportunity to test these in the Vine program only because Logitech did not post any information indicating this pedal set would work properly on the PC platform. I am a heavy PC racing sim player and had been looking for a wheel/pedal set for GTR2, Race07, and GTR Evolution. So the bottom line is that I actually paid for this setup and did not evaluate via the Vine program. I confirmed the DFGT is compatible with the PC!

Logitech's packaging is very attractive and obviously design-oriented for the customer experience. The wheel assembly and pedals are packaged with care and all you really need is an AC power brick and a free USB port. I didn't have a free USB port on my PC, so I bought a Belkin 4-port mobile USB hub, which did not result in any connectivity issues with the DFGT. The pedal assembly takes up little space and works with my desk setup.

The wheel measures 10.75" in diameter, very small compared to the steering wheel on a real car, and it is made of injection molded plastic/vinyl/rubber. I don't buy that it is rubber because it feels like the stiff but grippy plastic they use on dashboards. There are a number of buttons on the wheel, including two on the back that can be used as "paddle shifters." The "paddles" are nothing more than plastic covering two switches. The plastic hinge is part of the wheel itself, so I am not sure how durable they are. Given that the DFGT was designed for the PS3 GT5 gamers, I'd imagine it would have to endure a severe amount of punishment for such a mainstream game and console system. The sequential shifter feels very flimsy with an audible click in each position. The switches feel like the same ones used in most PC mice. I have gone through half a dozen Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer mice because the switches started double/triple-tapping on me, so I can imagine the sequential shifter having a finite lifespan. Funny story about the double/triple tapping is that I could use those mice to make pistols almost fully automatic in games like Rainbow Six 3 without any cheating.

There is a brake pedal and a throttle pedal. There is slightly more resistance with the brake pedal which is positioned at a steeper angle than the lighter throttle pedal. It is easy to use for heel-toe downshifting, except there's no clutch pedal. The DFGT pedal assembly is significantly better than the G25 pedal in terms of ergonomics. I found my size 12 feet would hit the throttle and brake pedal simultaneously with the G25. With the DFGT pedals, there's enough spacing and a difference in angle to prevent this. In most street-legal cars, the brake and throttle are spaced far apart with very different angles (brake pedal sits higher, all the time) to prevent applying the throttle while applying the brakes. Sports cars and race cars have different configurations for obvious reasons. The pedal set lacks carpet grippers so they will slide around (unfortunately). Luckily for me, I found that I could jam them against my desk and not have it interfere with the pedal positions. This also gave me a comfortable driving position that wasn't obtainable with the G25 due to how the G25 places the pedals.

To use the DFGT on the PC, simply download Logitech's Wingman Profiler software and select the Driving Force Pro settings. You will lose quite a few buttons: the "GT" horn button, the +/- selector, the "PS", the Return key and the red rotary switch. The "GT" glows dimly white and is almost unnoticeable. Logitech could have used a much brighter white LED to give it a better effect.

You can select up to 900 degrees of rotation with the steering wheel, although I prefer about 540* in most games. In Race 07 and GTR Evolution, it is recommended that you select a steering configuration that gives you a steering ratio of about 15:1, or 540* of wheel rotation with 18* of in-game steering lock, or 900* of wheel rotation with 30* of in-game steering lock. The Force Feedback is decent although it does not transmit the same feeling I'd get in a real car, but it's close enough.

Doing some research, I found that Logitech used lessons learned from the G25 to develop the DFGT and it definitely shows in both the wheel and pedals. Granted, the G25 has a better paddle shifter setup, better quality pedals, and a 6-speed gated shifter, the DFGT improves on the wheel and pedals and Logitech was able to sell the DFT at less than ½ the price of the G25.

Pros: Less expensive than the G25, more ergonomic pedals, more buttons on the steering wheel, same 900* of wheel rotation, and easy to setup on the PC platform.

Cons: Pedals feel cheap - although the throttle is the same design as the drive-by-wire throttle in my car down to the single zytel nylon throttle assembly. Paddle "shifters" feel cheap. Sequential shifter feels flimsy and easy to break.

Overall: You get what you pay for, but it's the least expensive and fastest way to get into racing sims with a 900* steering wheel that is an improvement over the G25 wheel. The G25 would be a nice upgrade if you desperately want the 3-pedal setup and gated shifter (Which I found to be unnecessary with most games/sims).

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Better than the Driving Force Pro

This wheel is easily better than the Driving Force Pro made by Logitech. I enjoy using it and would never go back to the old wheel. I bought this during a lightning deal for $89.99. If you already have a DFP, than it is hard to justify paying the full 129.99 MSRP. Wait till you catch a deal or just wait till the prices go down. Either way, this wheel is a worthy upgrade and should be on any Gran Turismo player's wish list.

Better than the joystick control

The Playstation 3 Logitech Driving Force GT Racing Wheel is sooo much better than using the joystick controller! It's much more like real driving (especially on Gran Turismo or Grand Theft Auto). The only drawback is that you have to buy the lap attachment separately (the Racing Wheel has clamps that are supposed to allow you to attach it to a table, but come on, who sits at a table to play video games?) I recommend getting the wheel and lap attachment together. Play on!

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Worth every penny...

Got this one yesterday... and it's worth every penny... you will never play racing game with that remote controller again... a must for every PS3 accessories.. (by the way... used this with Burnout Paradise game..).. it's a blast!

Pretty sweet but there ares some drawbacks

I got this about 5 weeks ago during a lightning deal for 89.99 so keep that in mind. It shipped in about 2 days and I had it in another 2 so about 4 days in all from order placement to setup. Box was in excellent condition, no dings or anything and all wires etc. were included, nothing was missing.

The parts are the main wheel assembly and shifter (1 piece and cannot be separated like the G25 wheel also from Logitech), the brake and gas pedals and power block. Lots of wires, one from the main wheel assembly to the power block, 1 from power block to wall plug(obviously :P ), wire from pedals to main wheel assembly, and finally from wheel assembly to PS3.

The wheel attaches to the edge of a table (end table in my case) via 2 clamps that screw down and lock the assembly in place. They look like C clamps and they hold it down fairly securely but when you go through some unruly courses with a lot of tight turns, its a good idea to check how securely the wheel is fastened after every race. :)

The wheel is a joy to use with GT5 Prologue and presumably with the full version GT5 when it comes out early next year '09. The forcefeedback is very strong but can be adjusted as well as a myriad of other settings that are designed specifically for GT5 like brake balance ratio between front and back, power steering force and slew of other settings that I can't remember off hand right now (at work here). What is REALLY nice though is that you can access all these settings during the actual racing and tweak them on the fly without having to pause the race, jump through a bunch of menus, changing a setting, going back to the race, testing the setting to see if its where you want it to be etc.

The force feedback motor is strong and gives great feedback. You feel the forces when for e.g. a driver slams into you from behind or from the side and tries to push you out of the way, when the tires hit the side of the road and the wheels go over the checkered, raised edge of the track(you get that thump, thump, thump, thump in the steering wheel) , when you turn at high speeds but the car wants to keep going forward so you get that tug on the wheel etc.

There's also a shifter on the righthand side that is basically a toggle switch that moves up and down. You push it up and release and it goes back to the middle to shift up a gear(or shift down, you can change it in the settings) and vice versa.

There are also paddle shifters on the actual steering wheel on the right and left hand side that can be used for shifting, and that's what I use mostly when racing with a manual transmission.
The wheel really makes GT5 a joy to play.

The pedal block has studded tack that flips out on the bottom to hold the pedal block in place on carpets and it works very wheel. The pedal block stays in place and is very secure even with very aggressive 'pedal to the metal' type racing approach.

A quick warning though, if you've never used wheels before and just used a controller like me, the wheel might be a little frustrating in the beginning. It takes a while to unlearn the all or nothing button mashing. The gas and brake pedals behave very realistically and are linear. So coming into turns you can ease up on the gas and or feather the brakes to make controlled turns like a real driver would but in the beginning I found myself using the commando all or nothing approach and just mashing down the gas and brakes. Once you acclimate and get into the groove of things though, its just an amazing experience.

I have also used the wheel with the GRiD and BurnOut Paradise demo's (GT5 Prologue is the only full featured racing game I have) and the results were ok but not as smooth as with GT5 which is expected since this wheel was made and designed specifically for the GranTourismo series.

The wheel was satisfactory in BurnOut Paradise but you will need a LOT of tweaking to get it to work in GRiD (at least the demo for sure). The wheel is just waaaaaaaaay too sensitive and so the majority oif the tweaking is to get the dead zone for the wheel, brake and gas pedals right. Once you do though, it works just fine. Just make sure to turn off 900 degree wheel turns setting (or something to that effect) so you don't have to turn the wheel over one rotation to make sharp turns. Thats why it becomes too sensitive. If you leave the 900 degree setting (whatever its called) on then turning becomes ridiculously unwieldy.

I know I've rambled on and on, but I hope that I have at least painted a somewhat useful picture of what to expect from this package both in actual use and game performance. If you have questions post them in the comments area and I'll try to answer to the best of my ability (assuming Amazon notifies you via email when someone leaves a comment on a review you've posted).

Cheers.

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Make your racing experience even more realistic. Enjoy unprecedented integration with Gran Turismo 5 game functions, while advanced force feedback recreates bumps, crashes and traction loss with jaw-dropping realism. Sequential stick shift - Go through the gears for the ultimate in control Rubber-over mold rim - Enjoy a comfortable grip during intense races Solid, one-piece wheel construction - Drive with confidence knowing this rigid, sturdy wheel won't squeak or flex during aggressive maneuvers Custom tuned for popular games - See and feel every bit of wheel movement reflected in game, without dead zones or lag Ultra-precise optical encoding - Experience reliable and accurate handling

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