Is Logitech G29 and Thrustmaster T300 even any good at all?

[Chenni]

I mean, every time I watch a youtuber who does racing they're always "Oh a direct drive wheel is the best" or something to that effect.

I just want to enjoy a simple driving wheel on my PC and I don't want to be the next Max Verstappen/Lewis Hamilton - but a lot of racing youtubers are slamming these racing wheels which makes me wonder if they're even worth the price.

Would you be like 3-5 seconds slower than a racer with direct drive wheel? Or is the lag between input on a Logitech/Thrustmaster super bad compared to a direct drive?

I'm just a casual gamer that drives on Assetto Corsa, Euro Truck Sim 2, etc, not the next F1 race star.

[CEPHY]

I'm yet to buy a wheel, but from what I've heard the G29 is pretty good for the price.

Though apparently there's an issue where the wheel makes a loud noise when turning right, which goes away after a few months... at least that's what I've heard.

[RavingLunatic01]

Snobs!! They were all using t300 or G29's or less at one stage. I currently use a T300 GT edition with various addon wheels I collected over time. Got a TMX pro and a Fanatec as well but I have come to the conclusion it is only a game and for what you have outlined in your question any of them will do the job without breaking the bank. My choice for the t300 was to get a few addon wheels and in hindsight the GT leather and TM open have things covered the rest seem to be back in the box out of sight out of mind.

[Stulpenpilzchen]

G29 is doing the job for beginning for sure, when u decide to put more time in this hobby u can invest tons of dollars in this hobby.
i have driven the g920 for 2 years until i invested into fanatec, did not regret this, but the g29 or the thrustmaster is the best u can get for beginning.

[THE_RaBiD_CanuK]

They're fine. People love exaggerating.

G29/T300 may have a few issues, but if you don't want to drop $1000+ on a wheel, they're perfectly adequate for sim racing, especially if you're looking for a first wheel. If you're seriously into sim racing, then ya, buy a direct drive, but it's not going to make you a better driver, it's just going to improve the simulation a bit.

You can usually find a G29 for 50% off the listed MSRP, which makes it the best deal. Maybe it's not the best wheel out there, but it'll do the job, and it will probably perform a lot better than some youtubers lead you to believe.

[Chenni]

Thanks all for the feedback.

It's a relief to know that the Logitech/Thrustmaster isn't horrible at all. =))

[Kwasi]

The G29 Is a good steering wheel for when you're starting out, but the pedals are ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ horrible. After some time the throttle pedal is glitching when you press full throttle, and what I did was switching the clutch pedal with the throttle pedal.

I don't want to discourage you not to buy them, but these are my experience with it.

I hope I gave you enough information.

Cheers :-)

[ling.speed]

Originally posted by Afrkaanse Instabiliteit:

The G29 Is a good steering wheel for when you're starting out, but the pedals are ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ horrible. After some time the throttle pedal is glitching when you press full throttle, and what I did was switching the clutch pedal with the throttle pedal.

The pedals are fine, most likely it's just dirt. Clean the pots with a good electrical spray and you are set for months or in my case years without further maintenace.

And even if it was actually faulty solder joint or pot, they are dirt cheap/easy to replace, so you can DIY fix it (or use electronic repair shop).

Originally posted by Chenni:

Would you be like 3-5 seconds slower than a racer with direct drive wheel? Or is the lag between input on a Logitech/Thrustmaster super bad compared to a direct drive?

Nope. You can get exact same time with them, the real difference is in "immersion". Which frankly you need to have proper racing rig to really exploit.

One thing of note is the pedals, wheels like logitechs DFGT or non T3PA thrustmaster wheels (usually with only 2 pedals) can be really bad. So for speed you invest in pedals and not the wheel base that youtubers like to harp on.

edit: ofc G27/G29 or basic T3PA pedals are fine already and going further there are diminishing returns. Load-cell brakes are "DirectDrive" of pedals, but if you tweak your setup correctly you can get the similar performance out of standard pot pedals.

[Delta]

The G29 / G920 or even the T300RS are good wheels to get started (the T300RS being the best of the 3), obviously a Direct-Drive wheel is miles ahead in every aspect of this wheels I mentioned earlier, it's stronger, quicker, smoother and more accurate. Despite all this, many of the fastest drivers are on old hardware such as the G27 and such (and some even race on controllers), what this means is, a fast driver can be fast with anything, a slow driver will remain slow no matter the equipment.

[AngryPostmanSthlm]

Dont fear Chenni, some people have rigs costing like a used car irl, sure they have almost perfect realistic response, but that is nor needed or worth it to drive good and have fun - if you dont have a lot of money and can afford it.
I dont even really know what direct steering is, sure i would like the most realistic things as i am a very good and experienced driver irl done 20 years of courierdriving and feel i cant compete as well i know i can with the wheel i have now ;)

G27/29 and the likes are kinda standard and veery good things, i woulodnt call them rookiegears at all, so if you can pay about 200-250$ go for one of them.
The other brands mentioned i dont know anything about, but seems several people use them and are satisfied.

.... ok i will drop the bomb :)
I use a 20 year old Sidewinder USB and for what it is, it must been WAY before its time then as it still very good (just a little to big deadzone from Left to right (and vice versa) making me lose time in corners, S-turns and chicanes and non precise when adjusting sideways at straights.

Nice answers above, not the ordinary bragging muppets say you are stupid and so on <3

[Simon said EAT DUST PLAYER_1 !]

consumer-wheels have their issues. All of them have.
Generally-speaking: the higher in price you go,
• the more maximum continuous torque they are capable of
• the less in-built resistance they produce when spinning them fast against their torque as well as without feedback-load
• the more dynamic range they offer for a cleaner ffb-experience (this is more like a direct function of point 1)

However: they will only be as good as each sim's ffb-signal is shaped and/or can be modulated (in-game settings, physics-stack, vehicle-dynamics acuracy, ...).

It is a game of getting the settings for both: the wheel and the software just right - and using the right software to begin with.

A sub-par car-mod will not control to the same standard of fidelity and clarity compared to the more acurate examples of 1st-party content provided in AC's own fleet.

That is the additional complexity involved, adding on-top of the universal truth that not all cars are designed in the same way and don't drive the same way.

Getting good ffb is thus a question of all of the above:
sim-excellence (some call it "tyre-model"),
quality of the virtual vehicles' data and functional design
user settings sim-side,
user-settings wheel-side.
electro-mechanical properties of the wheel in use.

So yeah: knowing your tools and be confident in their application becomes the great equalizer. Practice and understanding/knowing your tools is as important as (if not more than) spending a lot of money on your equipment. Practice does always help.

A T300 proved a good upgrade compared to my previous G25. The cheap cooling-fan that I already had to re-grease (after 3 years) makes far less noise than the grinding of the straight-cut gears in the G25 when turning against the motor-torque. But it still makes a little too much noise for my liking as it has to fit in a very shallow space inside that casing allowing for max. 60mm diameter fans. Thinking about replacing it with a standard 25mm-deep unit as opposed to it's original 15mm measurement for more efficiency and hopefully a little lower/ more-pleasant noise-level. Just an annying noise-profile more than anything.
In general: as long as that fan does not loose lubrication, it is inaudible outside of the room it is used in whereas that G25 gear-rattle would travel through the house under heavy use.

Second caveat for all Thrustmaster-wheels: no 100% compatible Linux kernel-driver available. Means Windows-only.