A LITTLE GUIDE ON SIM RACING GEAR

Unlike many other esports disciplines and games, sim racing offers an impressive level of immersion. Whereas you still control a football player with a controller or run around with mouse and keyboard, a good steering wheel and a set of pedals can get you quite close to the real thing. Modern racing sims have evolved to a point where aerodynamics, traction, weight shift and other physics factors are emulated on an almost realistic level.

In this guide we’ll talk about personal experience with all types of sim racing gear. You’ll also find tipps on wheels, pedals, sim racing seats and rigs for beginners, intermediates and pros. I’ll assume that everybody looking to get into the hobby is also looking for some level of immersion, therefore all wheels presented have force feedback.

WHAT'S THE BEST BEGINNER STEERING WHEEL FOR SIM RACING?

LOGITECH DRIVING FORCE

When you look at pure market share, you'll definitely come across this giant: The Logitech Driving Force.

Basically, it has everything you need to start racing. It's wrapped in real leather, has 900 degrees of rotation as well as two motors with steel ball bearings and overheat protection for a well-working force feedback. It also comes with a set of pedals out of the box. The accessible price point adds to the package. The only thing that might be a little bit strange a first is the very stiff brake point (brake stiffness is quite normal in race cars since you rely on muscle memory when braking), but you get used to it quite fast.

It's important to mention that there are two versions of this steering wheel, the G29 for PS3, PS4 ond PS5, and the G920 for Xbox One and Xbox Series X and Series S. Both work on PC.

Logitech G29

Logitech Steering Wheel G29

Logitech G920

Logitech G920 Steering Wheel

Runner-Up

Thrustmaster TMX

Although you cannot deny why the Logitech Driving Force G29 and G920 are very good steering wheels for sim racing newbies, I have a personal recommendation: The Thrustmaster TMX.

The TMX is clearly a beginner steering wheel at a good price point. It also features a rotational angle you can adjust from 270 to 900 degrees, an optical sensor. It's quite robust and delivers a good sense of force feedback. The reason I like the TMX as a starter wheel is the the diameter of 28cm (Thrustmaster calls it "tournament style" and general ergonomics.

WHAT'S THE BEST INTERMEDIATE STEERING WHEEL FOR SIM RACING?

THRUSTMASTER TX

If you want to go just a good bit above beginner level, I have the perfect recommendation.

The Thrustmaster TX wheelbase sports a brushless servo motor with dual band technology to offer strong force feedback which is responsive and to the point, and the belts also make it less loud. The TX features a contactless magnetic sensor with a higher resolution than the beginner wheels, making it very precise and less prone to errors.

The best thing about it is the possibility to actually switch wheels. Normally it comes with a 28cm diameter steering wheel which already has a very good feel, but putting a 30cm Ferrari 599XX EVO Wheel in Alcantara really puts it on another level.

FANATEC CSL ELITE

I can imagine very well there can be discussions about categorizing the CSL Elite as an intermediate steering wheel. Many people would probably also put it in the gigh-level category. Despite it's formidable technical aspects, I think the price is still quite accessible.

The CSL Elite Base is supposed to be the "budget", or entry-level version of the older brother Clubsport CSW 2.5. According to Fanatec it uses the same Clubsport technology and sports a powerful brushless server motor that can apply up to 6Nm of torque to the steering axis. A single belt drive makes this wheelbase very smooth and the DirectSensor technology makes it really precise.

Another reason that justifies the higher price point is the 1080 degrees steering angle that you can adjust to all your different needs. This is also possible directly in the options menu in the wheel itself, where you can adjust force feedback, the strength of the vibration motors inside, drift mode, damping and more.

The CSL Elite Wheelbase is also capable of using the Fanatec ecosystem, therefore you can interchange different wheels. Keep in mind that there are two versions of the CSL wheelbase. The CSL Elite 1.1 is only compatible with Xbox and PC, whereas the slightly more expensive CSL Elite PS4 wheelbase supports PS4, Xbox and PC. THis is due to the compatible chips for the two consoles being located in the wheelbase (PS4), while the Xbox compatibility depends on the wheel you are choosing.

The flexibility in terms of component may have a slight disadvantage for some people: Normally the wheelbase comes without a wheel or pedals out of the box, but fanatec always offers sets.