How much better is a steering wheel compared to using a gamepad?

[YoloSwagger]

I've played ETS2 for years using just a keyboard, but since last year I've been using a gamepad (Xbox controller) and the whole driving and steering experience feels so much better ever since due to better accuracy.

Now I've been wondering, how much better is that experience going to be when using a steering wheel? Is a steering wheel much more accurate than a gamepad, like how a gamepad is much more accurate than a keyboard? Or is just going to be a marginal difference?

Considering that ETS2 is the only driving game I'm playing (hundreds of hours though), I'd invest in a steering wheel just for the sake of ETS2. Would that be worth it? And are there cheaper options than the G27/G29 which are about just as good?

[xFetusx Block11Radio.ca]

Once you use a wheel ,peddles and shifter youll never use a gamepad again to play a driving game / sim . Its night a day difference and comparing them is like trying to compare a tree to a whale

[Ragequit Inc.]

Even if you don't drive IRL (I don't), ask yourself this; would you drive a real car/truck with a controller? which has less than a centimeter of travel in either direction? or a keyboard with just binary inputs? Consider those against a wheel with 900 or even 1080 degrees of rotation. :)

Putting a percentage on how much better it is is hard. But it's a lot.

The cheapest option which I'd recommend is the Logitech DFGT (second hand these days).

That said, I'd recommend looking at a belt-driven wheel like a Thrustmaster, save up a bit more, if needed. You won't regret it.

[YoloSwagger]

Originally posted by Ragequit Inc.:

Even if you don't drive IRL (I don't), ask yourself this; would you drive a real car/truck with a controller? which has less than a centimeter of travel in either direction? or a keyboard with just binary inputs? Consider those against a wheel with 900 or even 1080 degrees of rotation. :)

...

That said, I'd recommend looking at a belt-driven wheel like a Thrustmaster, save up a bit more, if needed. You won't regret it.

That's actually a great answer and really puts the performance difference between a steering wheel and a gamepad into perspective, thanks!

This is actually also the first time I'm hearing about belt-driven wheels. What are the advantages exactly of a belt-driven wheel over other (standard?) steering wheels? I've looked it up, but it's not really clear to me. Hell, somewhere it even said that the G29 is not recommended at all, which made it even more confusing :P

[SilkierPaladin8]

I would check out this website: https://simxperience.com/Community/SimXperienceDevelopersBlog/TabId/783/ArtMID/1674/ArticleID/13/Direct-Drive-vs-Belt-Drive-vs-Gear-Drive.aspx

I personally use a g29, with a h-shifter, and I haven’t found any problem with it in terms of simming, but I came from using a DFGT so it was a large improvement. I remember when I was choosing a new wheel a lot of sites didn’t recommend the g29 but it’s really up to you on how serious you are with swimming and your budget. For me, the g29 was a good mix between what I was getting and how much I was paying.

Originally posted by YoloSwagger:

Originally posted by Ragequit Inc.:

Even if you don't drive IRL (I don't), ask yourself this; would you drive a real car/truck with a controller? which has less than a centimeter of travel in either direction? or a keyboard with just binary inputs? Consider those against a wheel with 900 or even 1080 degrees of rotation. :)

...

That said, I'd recommend looking at a belt-driven wheel like a Thrustmaster, save up a bit more, if needed. You won't regret it.

That's actually a great answer and really puts the performance difference between a steering wheel and a gamepad into perspective, thanks!

This is actually also the first time I'm hearing about belt-driven wheels. What are the advantages exactly of a belt-driven wheel over other (standard?) steering wheels? I've looked it up, but it's not really clear to me. Hell, somewhere it even said that the G29 is not recommended at all, which made it even more confusing :P

[JDumbz]

Once you get a Wheel and Pedal, you will never ever want to use a Gamepad or Keyboard ever again. Trust me, it's 2000% better.

I put in 200 hours with my g29 total and it's the best deal I got, with the shifter included. Also tested with other games such as Forza Horizon 4, works flawlessly.

[Underscore_101_3]

You've had all the answers you need, a wheel is 200% better for sure, personally i don't use a shifter, the only times i feel like i want to shift is when i use older modded trucks, like XBS's daf's and volvo or when i use an engine/sound mod, but in the vanilla game trucks sound too smooth for me to have that ... it's time to shift feeling, if you get what i mean.

Haven't used it much on other games except Formula One where i find it difficult to keep up in sharp, yet fast S corners, but that may just be a matter of changing settings.

[Capt. Carrot]

the first time you try it you will feel like you did when you moved from keyboard to gamepad but turned up to 11.

i rack up less crashes from wandering out of my lane with a wheel.

[𝕊𝕋𝕌ℝ𝕄-𝕂𝔸𝕋]

'Gamepad'?

What is this 'Gamepad' of which he spake?

[Stupendous Man]

I can only agree with everyone else here, a wheel is absolutely worth it! I used an Xbox controller like you for years, until half a year when I too bought a G29 wheel (on sale at Amazon, it was very cheap). It's amazing to use, and really turns the realism up to the max. I didn't get a shifter though and don't really miss it either.
My only complaint is the force feedback can be a little notchy sometimes, but honestly it's not a big complaint. Though I guess this is why others recommend a belt-driven wheel, but the extra price isn't worth it for me.

[YoloSwagger]

Thanks for the good answers people :)

Originally posted by 𝕊𝕋𝕌ℝ𝕄-𝕂𝔸𝕋:

What is this 'Gamepad' of which he spake?

Controller. Just calling it a "Gamepad" because that's what people call it nowadays :p