For quite a long time, the concept of sim racing has been associated with expensive equipment, beast PCs and giant three-screen setups. The wheels alone cost a fortune.
This high investment has hindered many who want to enter this fantastic realm. However, that entry barrier has disappeared as we uncover another hidden gem on the internet – the Thrustmaster Ferrari Red Legend Edition PC/PS3 Wheel.
This wheel offers immersion to the next level for someone looking to get into sim racing or even for the casual player. It might not be as good as its costlier counterparts, but it’s still surprisingly good.
Here we’ve reviewed the ThrustMaster Ferrari Red Legend Edition wheel for SIM racing and discussed whether it’s a good investment to begin your journey.
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Build Quality
The wheel’s core design is similar to what you’d find on a standard Thrustmaster wheel. Since it’s on the cheap side, the entire thing is made out of plastic. However, the plastic does feel premium to the touch, with texture matching that of a real car.
The wheel is relatively small, with a black base rim and red rubber grips. There are several buttons on the wheel, including a Dpad and paddle shifters, and they also feel premium. There’s also a dedicated switch to change between PC and PS3 modes.
The pedals have the same story. They’re made out of plastic and have a relatively solid feel. There are excellent travel and resistance with both the accelerator and brake. Like in a real car, the brake pedal is hard to press.
One big catch to the pedal base, though – it slips if you press it too hard. The fix was to slide in my slipper between the wall and the pedal set, and I was good. If you’re keeping it on a carpet, you shouldn’t face this issue; otherwise, I’d suggest finding something permanent to hold them in place.
Another catch with the wheel is that it only rotates about 90 degrees towards each side. Most mid-tier wheels rotate approximately 900 or even 1800 degrees (just like a real car). The 90-degree rotation means you’ll have to spend a little time tweaking the setup.
Overall, the build quality doesn’t sound premium, but it still does a pretty good job for the price. The wheel does feel a bit toyish at times, but the level of immersion is just the same.
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Functionality
The wheel kills in here. Pretty much every game supports it; all you have to do is set things up. The only bummer here is the rotation angle, which is limited to 90 degrees.
Due to the low turn angle, you’ll have to ensure that the steering linearity is set near 100; otherwise, the steering will be sensitive by default. It is also supported in most major titles. I’ve tested it out with F1 2018, F1 2019, RaceRoom, Asseto Corsa and iRacing.
There is a complete lack of force feedback, however. The wheel has Thrustmaster’s bungee cord system to add tension as you rotate it and to self-centre the wheel as you let it go.
The buttons on the wheel are a bit mushy, but they do get the job done and are well within reach. You can use them to make on-the-fly adjustments, navigate menus, etc.
The pedals are smooth and offer a nice range. They’re sequential as well for greater realism. They connect to the main wheel using an RJ11 port. Oh, and you can use the wheel with a PC or PS3. I tested it with PC exclusively and didn’t find any gimmicks whatsoever.
Overall, the wheel does feel plasticky and cheap/ Nothing in particular screams premium about it, but with the functionality it offers and the price it goes for, you can’t complain. I bought it for INR 3,400, and it’s the best deal ever. Plus, it has a year-long warranty, and the best part – it comes from Thrustmaster.
So what are you waiting for? Your sim-racing experience is right there waiting for you.
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