Product Code Database
A sim racing wheel, also known as racing wheel, is a control device for use in , Sim racing, and driving simulators. They are usually packaged with a large paddle styled as a steering wheel, along with a set of Automobile pedal for the accelerator, brake, and clutch, as well as gear stick. An Analog signal wheel and pedal set such as this allows the user to accurately manipulate steering angle and pedal control that is required to properly manage a simulated car, as opposed to digital control such as a keyboard. The relatively large range of motion further allows the user to more accurately apply the controls. Racing wheels have been developed for use with , , personal computers, and also for professional driving simulators for race drivers.
In the home PC game market, racing wheels began appearing in the 1990s. One of the earliest racing wheels for the PC mass market was the Thrustmaster Formula T1, released in 1994.Andrew See (1994) THRUSTMASTER FORMULA T1 DRIVING SIMULATOR CONTROLS by Thrustmaster, Game Bytes MagazineDARIN GANGI Throwback Thursday: Thrustmaster T1, AUGUST 22, 2014 It had no force feedback, only some form of spring-based centering resistance proportional to the steering angle. Thrustmaster Formula T1/T2 Profile Two of the earliest FFB wheels for the consumer PC market were the Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback Wheel,Julien Jay SideWinder Force Feedback Wheel review released in 1997, and the Logitech Wingman Formula Force.
Eventually manufacturers began to use electric motors in the controllers, in place of springs, in order to achieve a level of force feedback (sometimes abbreviated ), first seen in Microsoft's Sidewinder wheel. At first this technology simply provided the centering force and other artificial effects such as shaking the wheel in a crash or other vibrations. However, as driving simulations have evolved, their physics engines have become more elaborate, allowing also for linking the force feedback close to the simulated vehicle dynamics of the in-game physics. This allows the user to truly feel what forces go through the steering rack, instead of just artificial effects, and genuinely enhance the realism of the game. A fundamental factor for an adequate subjective steering-feel and perception of drivability from a force feedback wheel, is the transfer function from steering torque to steering angle.Chen, W., Chugh, T., Klomp, M., Ran, S., & Lidberg, M. (2017) Design and control of the steering torque feedback in a vehicle driving simulator, in Maksym Spiryagin, Timothy Gordon, Colin Cole, Tim McSweeney (Eds., 2021) The Dynamics of Vehicles on Roads and Tracks, ch.7 (pp. 213–219). CRC Press, p.215Harrer, M., Pfeffer, P., & Braess, H. H. (2017). Steering-feel, interaction between driver and car. In Steering Handbook (pp. 149–168). Springer, Cham.
In 2015, a preliminary comparison of gear-driven and direct-drive wheels in the 0–30 Hz frequency range, for a study on hard real-time multibody simulation and high-fidelity steering wheel force feedback, concluded that direct-drive wheels are preferable.Pastorino, R., Desloovere, M., Vanneste, F., Degezelle, P., Desmet, W., & Optidrive, N. V. (2015) Development, implementation and validation of a hard real-time multibody simulation for high-fidelity steering wheel force feedback, in Proceedings of the ECCOMAS Thematic Conference on Multibody Dynamics, Barcelona, Spain (Vol. 10).
| + !Manufacturer + Product !Year !Diameter (mm) !Weight (no QR) !Weight (with QR) !Material !Buttons !Other features | |||||||
| Fanatec CSL Elite Steering Wheel McLaren GT3 V2 | 300 | 1090 g (QR1 Lite) 1280 g (QR1) | |||||
| Simagic GT Neo | 300 | 1036 g | 1493 g (NRG-style QR) | Carbon Fiber Composite | |||
| Moza KS | 300 | 1227 g | |||||
| MOZA CS Steering Wheel | 330 | 2420 g | |||||
| MOZA FSR Formula Wheel | 280 | 1539 g | Screen | ||||
| Moza GS | 2022 | 300 | 1612 | ||||
| VNM GT Steering Wheel V1 | 300 | 1600 g | Aluminum | ||||
| GSI X-29 | 290 | 1130 g (2 Paddles) 1250 g (4 paddles) | Aluminum | ||||
| GSI Formula Pro Elite V2 | 300 | 1510 g | |||||
| Bavarian SimTec Alpha | 295 | 1280 hub, 2 shifters 1350 hub, 4 shifters and dual clutch | aluminium frame | ||||
| ASCHER-RACING McLAREN ARTURA ULTIMATE | 300 | 1520 g | Screen | ||||
| Ascher Racing McLaren Artura Pro | 300 | 1520 g | |||||
| ASCHER-RACING F28-SC V2 | 285 | 1000 g | |||||
| Ascher -Racing F64 V3 | 285 | 1787 g | |||||
| GRID by Sim Lab Porsche 911 RSR | 2022 | 300 | 2050 g | Screen | |||
| SimLab Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team Sim Racing Steering | 2024 | 280 | 1129 g (no hub) 1240 g (with hub) | Screen | |||
| Rexing Mayaris 2 | 2024 | 290 | 1150 g | Screen | |||
| VRS DirectForce Lite Formula Wheel | 285 | 1100 g (no hub, 2 no clutches) | |||||
| VRS® DirectForce® Pro Formula Steering Wheel | 285 | 1279 g | 1530 g | ||||
| Cube Controls CSX3 | 282 | 1200 g (with hub, 6 paddles) | |||||
| Cube Controls F-PRO | 2022 | 282 | 1103 g (with hub and clutch paddles) | Screen | |||
| Cube Controls F-CORE | 2023 | 290 | 915 g (no hub, no clutch paddles)
1074 g (with hub and clutch paddles) | carbon-fiber front plate, aluminium main body | |||
| Cube Controls F-CORE EVO | 2025 | 290 | 895 g | 1558 g (clutch paddles, Simucube QR) | carbon-fiber front plate, aluminium main body |
! scope="row" | Microsoft | Sidewinder Force Feedback Wheel | 1997 | 240 | Gears | Paddles | Potentiometer | Standing | |||
! scope="row" | Frex | Simwheel V1 Frex Sim Wheel v1 | 2008 Frex Sim Wheel Review by SRT at InsideSimRacing, Aug 25, 2008 | 1080 | |||||
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