Considering new input hardware, questions

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Skybird, Jul 29, 2016.

  1. Skybird

    Skybird Well-Known Member

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    Using a normal G27 with its default pedals, I consider to replace at least the pedals with Club Sports v3.

    Question 1: I take if for granted that Raceroom supports two input devices, or three (if I link a HOTAS grip as well for easier key command control) ? Since the pedals do not link to the wheelbase, but directly to the PC.

    I am also more and more tempted to replace the wheel with something more serious, a T500RS or T300RS, maybe even a Fanatec, but whether I can justify the costs for the latter before my conscience is far form being decided :) . However, I cannot afford space for a permanent cockpit build, I depend on mounting and unmounting the wheel quickly on my (huge, but not really massive and unmovable) desktop. The G27 excels in that, nobody does this detail better than it. But I read about the weight.

    It seems to be impossible to get a text telling you the with of the T500RS wheelbase. You can find info on the pedals (around 7.5 kg for them alone), but not on the wheelbase. You can only do some math: the box should weigh 18 kg, substract 7.5 for the pedals and 2 kg for packing, leaves 8.5 kg for the wheelbase and rim.

    Question 2: Is it really that heavy? Or is there a factor in my formula missing?

    Question 3: Is the T300RS lighter, and if so, how much does it weigh?

    Question 4: how much weighs the - apparently also not light-weighted :) - Fanatec wheelbase v2 ?

    And finally

    question 5: considering the strong FFB these things should have, what will these things do with a wide, but relatively light desktop table only slightly heavier than these wheelbases, with plenty of stuff on it? No funny stories and jokes, please, I need some real info on what I must expect, I talk about an awful lot of money here, I would hate to waste it when finding out that I lack the preconditions to support these industrial motor sets properly.

    I'm also open for alternatives, though the pedals probably have none. Nothing is as difficult to do in sim hardware for driving, than the pedals, and here especially the brake, and these CSP v3 seem to run without competition, or not?

    Thank you.

    P.S. I know that PS4 does not licence and thus does not support Fanatec stuff and so also not these pedals. For such hardware, support must be inbuild into the game, by the game producer. But does the PS4 at least even technically recognise that something is connected to it and that it has three axis? Else the game cannot offer such support.
     
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2016
  2. le_poilu

    le_poilu Well-Known Member

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    1. Raceroom support more than 2 input devices :) You'll not be limited there (Wheel base + pedals + separate shifter + buttonbox ... all working fine in R3E)
     
  3. Skybird

    Skybird Well-Known Member

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    Thought so, but wanted to be sure. Number-of-axis' support and number-of-devices support is not the same.

    Six minus one leaves five other questions. :)
     
  4. Sascha Reynders

    Sascha Reynders Well-Known Member

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    As a T500 user, I can tell you it's pretty hefty. Not sure how much the wheel base weighs exactly but it's quite heavy. And large, not as much in width but more in terms of depth. And it's damn powerful too: I have it hard-mounted to my cockpit frame and when running over rumble strips for instance I feel the ffb coming through the frame, up the pedal base, in my feet. Which is pretty cool actually :)

    Just to say it's better to hard-mount the T500 if possible imho.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  5. hotak

    hotak New Member

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    i never tried the T500, but with the T300 my 1,2cm thick wood desk does not bend/vibrate/anything. The only negative thing is that thrustmaster clamps are much worse than logitech's, so if you can hardmount it i'd go that route. Personally, i don't have the space to do so, so i had to learn to never pull the wheel when playing, but i have more than a friend that always manage to pull it away from the desk while playing
     
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2016
  6. Gareth Smith

    Gareth Smith Well-Known Member

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    I'm a T500 owner too and have no idea on weight other than it is heavy but bloody awesome too. You definitely want to hard mount this and if your desk isn't strong enough I would recommend a Playseat Challenge. That's what I use and can very quickly fold the chair, wheel and shifter up in a few seconds and store in the garage!
     

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  7. Skybird

    Skybird Well-Known Member

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    Thanks so far. That is what I feared, (T500), and the clamp it comes with ( I know it from an earlier, old 458 wheel, does not give me too much trust either. At least it also confirms my will to avoid the Fanatec wheel, which is not only hilariously costly, but also not really lighter, I strongly assume.

    Is the T300 lighter in weight, and how much does it weigh?

    And why cant Thrustmaster put such info into their product description...!? :mad: Maybe to "surprise" their customers? Guerilla-selling heavy kit?o_O
     
  8. Gopher04

    Gopher04 Well-Known Member

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    I wouldn't use the clamp for a T500, as already said you need to hard mount it to a good desktop or rig, all I can say about the weight is the box will tell you the whole package weights in at 18kg or 40lbs, so it is hefty, but for me I would say the pedals are the heaviest, I could be wrong, but the pedals are 100% metal and the base is plastic, and there isn't a huge amount inside the base. I personally wouldn't move from a T500 to a Fanatec, purely because they seem to have some sort of failure eventually going by people I know who have owned one, and there support isn't the fastest, lets also not forget that Thrustmaster are in the making of a direct drive wheel, which could be worth waiting for, if you go for the T500 make sure its a blue box not the white one.