 |
Hama Racing Wheel "Thunder V18"
by G-smith
Oh I remember the days. Playing racing games on the Sony Playstation 2 and the one thing everyone wanted was a set of pedals and a steering wheel. I was quick off the mark to go and purchase my Thunder V18 steering wheel and pedals and the first thing I noticed was the strangely small box it came in. I first thought that it did not have ... the steering wheel in it the box was that small, but it was a great bonus because it meant it was easy for me to carry home.
Onto the product itself, it is very light. Both wheel and pedals do not feel of great quality at first however the wheel does have a little weight to it and some parts of it are rubberized allowing better grip, somewhat resembling the steering wheel of a real car. Also, the wheel is a little smaller than a standard car steering wheel.
The pedals are great too. There is not really much to talk about. They have small rubber pads underneath to stop them slipping on wooden or laminate floors, which is great. The pedals themselves do not feel of high quality either, just like the steering wheel but I guess that's what you get for about thirty quids worth.The little mat behind the pedals is a great place to put your feet when playing as it not only adds comfort but also stops your feet from slipping or moving while you play. One thing I will say is that the pedals feel very tacky and easy to break so I would not use these with shoes on. I do not know for certain as I have not tested the durability of these products, but it is good enough for £30 as long as you treat them properly.
The buttons on the steering wheel are in a great place as they are easily accessible with the thumbs during gameplay. The middle buttons however are not, but I have not yet found a game where these are required during a race so you never have to take your hand off the wheel. The steering wheel also has small rubber pads underneath so that you can place it on a small coffee table without it sliding or moving.
When I first purchased this product, we did not have a coffee table in the living room. Instead, I had to try and play by sitting on the sofa with the pedals on the floor as normal, but the steering wheel on my lap. This was very uncomfortable. Fortunately, a week or so later, we purchased a cheap, small coffee table and it was great. Using the product them became very easy and fun.
One further downside is the length of the wire that plugs into the Playstation. For our small living room it is just enough to reach to the far end where our sofa is, but for a bigger living room, you may have to move your sofa/chairs about or sit on the floor.
In conclusion, the Thunder V18 Racing wheel and pedals set is great value for money and will last a very long time if treated properly. The product is very light and so feels rather cheap at first, but you get used to it and after a couple of races, you will feel like you are really there!
Read the complete review |
 |
Logitech G25 Racing Wheel
by Misterlak
I'm a big racing fan and especially of the famous racing game Gran Turismo 5. If you simply want to enjoy one of the most realistic racing simulators you should have to actually have a steering wheel and I mean not just a racing wheel for 20 euros, I mean: the G25! The racing wheel in the racing world.
With the Logitech G25 ... is clearly a couple of giant steps ahead in the Force Feedback. Force feedback implies that the steering controls are heavier in some situations what makes it more realistic. You can even adjust the amount of feedback in the menu of the game.
The G-series is Logitech's consists of keyboards, mice, controllers, speakers and headphones when it comes to gaming accessories, it. Most of these accessories use USB instead of PS / 2 connectors that normally ared used for the mouse or keyboard, because if you're playing a game it needs to respond immediately and there should be no delay in it. The G25 is the first racing wheel in the Logitech G-series, unfortunately it is currently quite difficult to buy the G25 because this has been replaced by the G27, the newer model of the wheel. There are just not very much differences except that there are 6 instead of 2 buttons on the wheel, and there is a digital counter on the steering wheel you can see how far you are turning the wheel.
Many people say that the G25 was created for a simulation racing game namely Gran Turismo 5, this is not true because the G25 works fine for lots of racing and simulation games, I also use the wheel in various simulation games and worked fine mainly because you can rotate 900 degrees with the handlebars.
When I took the wheel out of the box I thought at first that I had inherited a real steering wheel. The leather of the steering wheel, various pedals, H pattern to the switching unit. The G25 also reflects that it is not just a cheap steering wheel what you see at the nearest toy shop. Shame about the excessive number of cables.
Steering wheel, switch panel unit and the pedal are of good quality and nicely finished, many parts of the set consist of stainless steel parts, once you have the steering wheel you will notice that it is not just a toy racing handlebar, no this is the real deal, I have the wheel for a year now.
The connection is still quite difficult, there are cables to the panel, pedal and the power switching unit and that should all go back to the steering wheel making it quite a task.
The switching unit is fully equipped, you can use the H pattern where you have all six gears while you can also choose whether you want to use the clutch or not, you can set the switching unit semi-automatic. In most games you can also choose to automatically switch where you do not need the whole unit. When switching through the shifter feel any resistance which is not very realistic. The buttons are on the switch unit are standard buttons such as square, triangle, circle and cross are also buttons for left, right, up and down. Furthermore there are four red buttons. All these buttons allow you to use after your preference in the corresponding game.
You have three pedals and all the three pedals feel is different to, the clutch pedal (far left) is equal to the brake pedal but lighter than the brake pedal and heavier than the gas pedal, you have the brake (middle) that is the heaviest of all the pedals and has the same size as the clutch, then eventually even the gas pedal and the pedal is also the largest of the three, it is also the least difficult to press. The pedals are stainless steel behind a red suspension that provides the force of pressing the pedal.
The advantages of this control are: the force feedback that works great and really makes the racing more realistic. This wheel can also rotate 900 degrees which you can steer very well and accurately.
I think there are a few disadvantages, one disadvantage of this is quite a significant downside to the wheel, namely the large amount of cables, if you just feel like a racing game to play with the wheel, you surely need 10 minutes trying to connect everything.
For the real racing fans, this is (or G27) the most affordable racing wheel on the market for 30 pounds.
Read the complete review |
