When talking about F1 Simulators, it’s impossible not to talk about Sim Steering Wheels. Most importantly, we’ll examine the difference between a direct drive wheel and a generic consumer steering wheel.
What is a direct drive wheel?
If you’re new to the Sim-Racing/Simulator world or simply haven’t heard, a direct drive wheel doesn’t have a belt or any other auxiliary mechanism to simulate FFB (Force Feedback) like mass-market steering wheels. Haptic feedback, commercially touted as 3D Touch, is a common feature of generic simulator wheels. From the cheapest to the most expensive models, it’s considered to be a premium feature for a realistic driving experience.
A direct drive wheel, on the other hand, uses an industrial servomotor that is attached directly to the steering wheel. It has no extraneous gears or belts like so many mass-market steering wheels. With the servomotor connected directly to the motor shaft, the driving sensation is as raw and authentic as being out on the track. These motors have high torque and speed, almost perfect linearity, and very low inertia.
There are some options for getting your hands on one of these babies:
• Simsteering by Bodnar (€4000 approximately)
• Accuforce by Simxperience (about €2000 including taxes and shipping in Europe)
• VRS DirectForce Pro (around $799 for Us and €899)
• Sim-Plicity SW20v3 (around €805)
• SimuCube 2 (around€1270)
And now finally we have the Fanatec Podium Direct Drive base fully compatible with the existing Fanatec ecosystem!
These direct drive steering wheels have a lot in common with the premium wheels I’ve mentioned above. The key difference is the Accuforce Pro V2 Steering System. The servomotor may be less robust than some of its competitors, but it has truly sophisticated management software giving you a great deal of control over your driving experience.
Different direct drive wheels
OpenSimWheel was an open-source project kicked off by the German racing tech ingenuity of the virtualracing.org team. You could buy all the necessary components online and assemble them at home. In theory, you’d just need a little skill with welding and electrical cables. In practice, it is a little harder but not extremely difficult. The projects are still online and relevant documentation is on the iRacing forums. If you can read German you can still go directly to the source.
It should be noted that OSW has been phased out and Granite Devices has shifted its focus to the Simucube 2. They will, however, continue to support OSW/Simucube 1 owners in an awesome fashion.
If you are not particularly skilled in the more technical aspects of constructing your racing equipment, it is possible to get more or less complete kits of preassembled components. As you’d expect, the price will naturally increase based on your choices and needs.
For example, an OSW with a smaller engine that generates 20nm of torque is available for €1000 worth of components. You’ll also need to add a steering wheel.
I assure you that a smaller engine with 20nm of torque is more than enough for anyone. Take into consideration that the CSW of Fanatec in its first version had 5nm of torque and the second version had 7.5nm while the G27 would have about 2.5Nm of torque.
You’ll also want to think about the engine size of your steering wheel. A direct drive wheel’s motor is bigger and weighs more than 10kg.
The nice thing is that it increases or decreases the force. A direct-drive motor generates no clipping in the course of your game. The effects are always transmitted without being completely covered by the excessive force generated.
How realistic is the feeling of a direct drive wheel?
The immediate sensations you will receive are those of immense strength and absolute accuracy, even with a less expensive and less refined engine.
The FF effects have never felt cleaner and the level of immersion is unparalleled. There’s a bit of a learning curve but after you get used to it, you truly step into another world.
If you are interested in changing the wheel and are considering investing €1,000 for a Fanatec CSW, think seriously before completing the purchase.
For nearly the same price, you can get hold of an absolute jewel that has nothing to do with any other “normal” steering wheels. All that glitters is not gold! Remember that you will have to do some building to meet that price point.
For just a bit more, there is a kit for sale but the wait can be frustrating since there is a very long line.
At the next higher price bracket (€1500-3000), there are ready-to-use kits that are preassembled. You just have to decide which engine you’ll choose to go with it.
A direct drive steering wheel generates strong electromagnetic emissions. An OSW will generally cause glitches with the other devices attached to your PC.
To solve these problems, there are some precautions that should be taken. It’s nothing extravagant, but you could lose a lot of time trying to solve all the random problems that you might experience.
If you are keen on DIY, you can find all pieces on the internet and do it all yourself. You will save money and be doubly pleased with the end of the project.
As I’ve already said, based on how much work you want to do, you can spend from €1000 to €3000. It’s up to you. Of course, on the threshold of €3000, I would go with Bodnar (Used mainly by professional teams)
An OSW of €3000 will give you the sensations and performance of a Bodnar rig using the same engine, but Bodnar provides the guarantee of a product sold and produced in series. It’s already shielded against electromagnetic emissions. You will not have to concern yourself with strange flashing firmware or how the current settings have to be applied to the engine to make it work properly without burning it out as you might with a DIY setup. Bodnar is a plug & play system of the highest quality.
From the reviews of those who have tried all the steering wheels, it seems that Bodnar and OSW (depending on which engine you choose) are on par while the Accuforce is just a step below.
Be aware that those who speak of these differences, said they notice them only using the wheels one after the other in a direct comparison. The differences are minimal but still noticeable. Whatever your choice, you will have an awesome wheel in your hands.
Let me know your impressions about this fantastic piece of engineering.