Thrustmaster T500 RS Force Feedback Wheel with Pedals Review

Others/Miscelleneous by jmke @ 2011-03-31

Thrustmaster, known for their high end gaming gear for flightsims, have turned their attention to steering wheels. With the endorsement of Gran Turismo 5 they have released a ~€550 wheel and pedal kit that aims to give you the best racing experience available, without going completely bankrupt. How does it stack up to a €100 wheel? Is it worth the extra cost? Time to find out.

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T500 RS in Action & Conclusive Thoughts

No matter how many pages we fill with paragraphs about how a $500-600 steering wheel feels we can only tell you so much, so below you’ll find some shots of the wheel in action…

 

 

And now we say, no matter how many minutes we fill with action shots of this wheel, they can only tell you so much, as you have to feel it to believe it. If you get a chance to test this wheel at a friend’s house, exhibition hall, local shop, please do.

If it doesn’t convince you to spend that much money on a PC/PS3 wheel, it should convince you that sim driving with a force feedback wheel is as close as you get to driving some exotic cars at ridiculous speeds without the risk and costs. Thrustmaster is making a great showing with their latest product and we can’t wait to find out how the H-shifter they plan to release later this year will change/increase the immersion.

 

We can safely recommend this steering wheel for any PC racing sim enthusiast who has the required funds, if you’re a console gamer, the limited single-title appeal (GT5) with a “maybe” for future support on newer titles and none for older titles makes it a harder case; you will get more out of a Fanatec of Logitech wheel on the PS3 if you want to play more games than just GT5.

 

 

Thrustmaster T500 RS Force Feedback Wheel with Pedals Recommended For

 

+ 1080° rotation
+ on PC infinity adjustable
+ very solid pedal set, brake in default config good, with extra strength bit, even better
+ pedals can be installed in F1 and in rally style!
+ little to no gear/belt noise when turning the wheel;
+ very strong FFB, excellent PC drivers, works with all titles
+ on PS3 is very good match to GT5, if not the best.

- wheel rotation not adjustable on PS3
- noisy cooling fan
- steep price for package that's missing a shift-stick



We like to thank Elke from Global Image and Thrustmaster for allowing us to test-drive (literally! :-) ) this awesome product.

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Comment from petervandamned @ 2011/03/31
Would fit perfectly in my race simulator

Nice wheel to replace the old red momo here

Great review loved it
Comment from jmke @ 2011/03/31
Quote:
Nice wheel to replace the old red momo here
night and day difference there, the momo is ancient tech
Comment from petervandamned @ 2011/03/31
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmke View Post
night and day difference there, the momo is ancient tech
I am old skool
Comment from jmke @ 2011/03/31
this has nothing to do with that
the T500, like the Fanatec high end wheels, feature belt-driven engines to transfer the force feedback which is a lot more "natural" compared to wheels that rely on gears. The G27 from Logitech is not bad, not at all, but simply outclassed by the T500.

Logitech Momo on the other hand... well, it's ancient tech, and you will definitely be able to control your virtual car better with a newer wheel
Comment from petervandamned @ 2011/03/31
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmke View Post
this has nothing to do with that
the T500, like the Fanatec high end wheels, feature belt-driven engines to transfer the force feedback which is a lot more "natural" compared to wheels that rely on gears. The G27 from Logitech is not bad, not at all, but simply outclassed by the T500.

Logitech Momo on the other hand... well, it's ancient tech, and you will definitely be able to control your virtual car better with a newer wheel
Darn need money now grrrr

 

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