Best Racing Wheel for PC

[BigMac1212]

After seeing North Wilkesboro Speedway being used by iRacing, I was curious about buying a racing wheel for my new Dell XPS 8930 desktop. Is there a good wheel you would recommend for me?

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[Hammettf2b]

After seeing North Wilkesboro Speedway being used by iRacing, I was curious about buying a racing wheel for my new Dell XPS 8930 desktop. Is there a good wheel you would recommend for me?

What is your budget? If you are looking for an entry level wheel, I would recommend the Logitech G29. Great wheel with force feedback. Prices have skyrocketed since covid though. If you are looking for an expensive wheel with all the bells and whistles, then a direct drive wheel is what you want.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

My mind is literally blown that racing wheels are still a thing.

 

[BigMac1212]

What is your budget? If you are looking for an entry level wheel, I would recommend the Logitech G29. Great wheel with force feedback. Prices have skyrocketed since covid though. If you are looking for an expensive wheel with all the bells and whistles, then a direct drive wheel is what you want.

I think your Logitech recommendation is up my alley. Thanks.

 

[Ceremony]

This popped up in my youtube suggestions at the turn of the year:



Good run down of wheels, rigs and stuff to actually play. The Logitech is the cheapest thing you can buy that's still worth getting. The pedals are generally considered better than the overall price point by the streamers I watch. Personally, with no experience of any kind of sim gear, I was surprised/disappointed by how compact it all felt. After a few months I'm a lot more used to it, but there is part of me that thinks I'd be better with and enjoy more a proper direct drive wheel. Still, the Logitechs are widely considered good and worthwhile.

I got my G29 during the Black Friday sales last year and paid about 1/3 of its normal price that you'd be paying now. There's nothing much you can do about that right now, sadly.

As someone who plays with their pedals on the floor and their wheel clamped to a fold-up wooden table with a toilet roll holder perched on top as a counter-weight (which doesn't fully stop it moving about), I'd really recommend making sure your actual set-up is solid. If you can clamp it to a desk and get a comfortable sitting position, great. If not, you can get an actual rig or you can make your own.

I only play on console so I can't say with any real authority, but I wouldn't recommend jumping into iRacing straight away. The cost is (or can be) large, and going straight into online competition against humans might not be the best idea. There are Nascar games you can play if that's your main interest, and work up from there.

The one thing I would say that you should definitely listen to me on is to not spend too much money on it. I knew I was going to use mine a lot, so I wouldn't have minded even if my G29 wasn't as cheap as it was. With the spike in prices over the past two months you might be forced to. If you can look around locally on the internet and find something used that could be something to try. You don't want to spend lots and lots on something if you've never done it before, and aren't completely certain you're going to get your money's worth. That said, even if you do struggle, I'd recommend sticking with it. It's very fun and very satisfying when you feel it start to come together.

 

[JoVel]

My mind is literally blown that racing wheels are still a thing.

Why is that?

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Why is that?

Because i thought it was a little novelty thing from back in the day kids thought was cool.

 

[JoVel]

Because i thought it was a little novelty thing from back in the day kids thought was cool.

I think people are using wheels for racing games more and more these days.

 

[Beau Knows]

I think people are using wheels for racing games more and more these days.

Yeah I don't know why you'd want to use an analog stick to steer your car when you could use a wheel.

 

[Seedtype]

Yeah the Logitech is probably the best beginner wheel during regular times. It seems prices have gotten really inflated due to high demand during the lockdown(also hard to find). It's crazy how many people are playing iRacing right now.

Another thing to consider is Fanatec. However, the iRacing community seems mixed on their experiences with them. I had an overall alright experience with them. It's just you're paying quite a bit for various tiers of equipment. But... it's easy to setup and works with consoles as well. And I think it's pretty cool they came out with their own DD wheel as well.

I'm using a direct drive wheel and it's great(Simucube OSW). However, I think the most important piece of equipment is the pedals(mine are Heusinkveld Pros). Of course, when you start going high end on the pedals and steering wheel then you need a place to fasten it and to be comfortable and last. So... that's why it's good to start with something beginner to make sure you're ready to go down that hobby path.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Because i thought it was a little novelty thing from back in the day kids thought was cool.

Depends on the game. A game that is more of a sim racer pretty much requires a steering wheel if you want to put up the best possible times. If you want something really arcade-y still stick with a controller. Can you play sim racers with a controller? Yes, but it's kind of an enthusiast genre anyway and enthusiasts are going to go with the best possible hardware.

 

[Hammettf2b]

The G29 is on sale right now on Amazon. For some reason I can't link it.