Reviewed: November 12, 2001
Reviewed by: Mark Smith

Manufacturer
ThrustMaster

Type: Steering Wheel and Pedals
Rating: 10.0

What's in the box

Much of ThrustMaster's success is due to the fact that they "listen" to the feedback of the customers and then make the appropriate modifications with each new product or next generation of an existing product. A great example of this can be seen by reading my closing line from my last ThrustMaster wheel review: "the awkward clamping system, sloppy shifter, and stiff brake pedal are reason enough to steer clear of this controller". Everyone of these issues has been addressed and remarkably improved upon on this next-generation racing wheel. While I would like to think I was partially responsible for these changes, I'm not delusional enough to think for a moment that ThrustMaster engineers read my reviews or make design changes based on my rants. But I can dream...

What's Good About the Wheel?

The NASCAR series of racing wheels has been around for a while now and each year a new version comes out that tries to improve on the previous year's effort. After last year's ThrustMaster NASCAR Pro Digital 2 wheel they had nowhere to go but up. Apparently the designers stepped back and took a long look at a product that really hadn't been dramatically changed in many years. Then they looked at all the good things the competition was doing and implemented those changes in this new design.

The NASCAR Pro Force Feedback is an amazing sight to behold. Out of the box, I was speechless. The wheel unit is the heaviest and sturdiest out of my last six wheels. Visually, the royal blue plastic case, combined with a thick rubber gripped wheel and realistic brushed aluminum spokes will have your friends drooling.

The stick shift knob is larger than any of its predecessors and is capped off in a metallic finish. It is one of the stiffest shifters I have ever used with a defined click when moved to either the up or down position. Butterfly shifters are also mounted on the wheel hub so they rotate with your hands and are always accessible. They too have a nicely defined click to them and are manufactured with durable plastic that should stand up to even the most aggressive drivers.

The center of the wheel is emblazoned with the NASCAR logo and to either side are the traditional pair of buttons along with a pair of multi-direction buttons. The first is a traditional 4-position hat found on most of the newer wheels and used for POV switching so you can look to the sides and behind you while driving. The second pad is an 8-way D-pad. Now why would they put a D-pad on a steering wheel? Because this wheel WORKS WITH THE PLAYSTATION 2!

Yes - it's true. PC and PS2 owners can rejoice. Now you can play your favorite PC and PS2 racing games with a single controller purchase thanks to the standard USB interface and the geniuses in the ThrustMaster marketing department. Simply plug this wheel into the USB port on your PS2 and you will be driving in no time at all.

And finally we have the pedals. This is usually the part of the review where I tell you how light the pedal base is and how the pedals slide all over the floor unless you nail them down. Not this time. The new pedal design has been dramatically changed to include a much smaller footprint and much more weight, keeping these pedals from sliding around under your desk. The base is noticeably thicker than previous designs; almost two-inches, and the pedals appear to be closer together. While this is great for people who brake and accelerate with the same foot, for those of us who use "trail braking" (tapping the brake while accelerating), you might find the insides of your feet colliding.

Aside from this very minor annoyance that is probably more the fault of my size-13 dogs than anything else, the pedals are very smooth with a good range of travel and a firm springiness that provides some realistic resistance, almost like a real car.

Speaking of resistance, the force feedback effects on the wheel are simply the best I have experienced to date. They are more "forceful" than anything I have felt before and the accuracy of the vibration, jolts, and even the sensation of "slippage" are dead-on. You can literally feel the moment just as the back end of your car starts to lose traction and quickly correct before it becomes too serious.

What's Wrong With the Wheel?

I can't find a single thing wrong with this controller, and anything negative I could possibly say would be only very minor nitpicks such as the aforementioned narrowness of the pedal base. I would also mention the annoyingly short AC power cord (about 2' shorter than the USB cable) that works fine in a computer environment, but fails miserably when you try to use the wheel in a large family room on the PS2. I actually had to plug the wheel into the wall opposite the entertainment center and the cord was still stretched to the limit over the side of the sofa.

How Does it Work?

Setting up a wheel has never been easier. With only three pieces in the box, one of which is the 20v power brick, you can unpack and have this wheel ready to run in under 2 minutes. I am pleased to announce that ThrustMaster has joined the rest of the world and gone with a central clamping system. The knee-crunching dual clamps of the previous wheel designs are gone - hopefully forever, and have been replaced with a single plastic bolt that spirals upward and firmly clamps the wheel to desks ranging from 4-inches to 4mm. As someone who uses a ¼" glass top desk, I can finally throw away the spacer blocks I had to use on previous ThrustMaster wheels.

The pedals connect to the back-left of the wheel base with a standard RJ45 phone plug and combined with the power and USB cables gives you a total of three cables you need to snake across your desk. The wheel also has an ON/OFF switch located right next to where the power plugs into the wheel. This is a very welcome addition as all my previous powered wheels have required me to pull the plug, either at the wall or from the back of the unit to turn them off.

As previously mentioned, the wheel is USB so you can plug it right in and Windows will auto-detect the new hardware and prompt you for the driver CD that comes with the wheel. You can install the driver and the optional ThrustMapper software that gives you the ultimate control in programming the buttons and POV hats on the wheel. The 10-page quick-install guide only contains 3 paragraphs in English dealing with the installation of the hardware. There is additional documentation on the CD if you wish to fully explore the poweful ThrustMapper software.

The NASCAR Pro Force Feedback doesn't ship with any games, so I tested it on a few of the games I had currently installed on my system. These including some very new games and some older titles:

First off was Need for Speed: Porsche Unlimited - still my favorite driving game on the PC. Until now I had been using my Microsoft Sidewinder Precision Racing Wheel, which doesn't offer force feedback. The feedback effects were amazing, and the wheel offered the precise control and accurate shifting required to win race after race.

Grand Prix Legends was next. Since this is the undisputed benchmark program of any true racing fanatic, I was anxious to see how this new wheel would perform. The wheel exceeded all my expectation in both force effects and accuracy. The powerful cars in this game tend to break loose frequently (especially the Ferrari - my favorite car) and the wheel would actually let me feel the rear end slipping so I could back off the accelerator.

And last, but certainly not least was Motor City Online, the new massive multiplayer online racing game where you build your own street racer then take it to the streets in search of "pink slips". With more than 60 cars and 2000 possible parts to upgrade them, the power and handling of each car can be very unique. This wheel brings out that uniqueness by translating the power and handling of each vehicle into well-defined force feedback effects.

I then unhooked the wheel and moved out to the living room and plugged it into my PlayStation 2. No drivers are required for this - it just works after a quick trip to the calibration screen for each game you are playing. So far the list of compatible games is limited to Gran Turismo 3, NASCAR Thunder 2002, and EA Sports' F1 2001, yet I found the wheel also worked with Grand Theft Auto 3 even though I wouldn't recommend it with this title, as you spend a good part of this game on your feet.

The handling and feedback effects were excellent on the PS2. This was my first wheel controller for the console and I was amazed at how much my driving improved with a wheel/pedal combo. I was able to significantly improve many of my laps times and even finish a few license tests that had been eluding me while using the standard Dual Shock 2 controller. The feedback effects were very strong and accurately reproduced the sensations of collisions and powersliding around turns.

By the time you read this you can find the ThrustMaster NASCAR Pro Force Feedback for about $99 in stores or on the Internet. The overall design is sleek and functional, and the new central clamping system is one of the most welcome design changes since ThrustMaster started making wheels. Perhaps one of the most value-added features is the ability for this wheel to work with both the PC and the PlayStation 2. While many PC owners don't play PS2 games and many PS2 owners don't play PC games, it's nice to know that if you do enjoy driving games on both systems you now have a high-quality single controller solution.

If you are looking for a new wheel then this is definitely one to consider, and if you are simply looking to upgrade your existing wheel or get a wheel with feedback effects you won't be disappointed with this latest offering from ThrustMaster. This is by far one of the best products ThrustMaster has developed to date and easily the best steering wheel controller you can currently buy for the PC or PlayStation 2.