I feel the time has come to retire my old Logitech Momo wheel. The problem I'm having is that there are no wheels that have all the features I would like within my >$400 budget. The main reason I want to update is to get a wheel with at least 900 degrees rotation and ideally quieter than what I currently have. From what I understand the G290 is more or less a G27 without the shifter included and a different button layout. Since it is more expensive than the g27 was it is getting a bad reputation but is there more to it than that? Is it still a good wheel? I do like that it has a clutch pedal out of the box and the shifter can be added for $60 more but not a huge fan of it being gear driven. That said I've heard a lot of good things about the T300 and that it is a higher quality build on the wheel, belt driven, and better FFB but those petals... The upgrade path to a clutch /shifter would be closer to $250 which is something I probably wouldn't be doing for quite some time. As of now I have never used a clutch or H-pattern shifter in a sim but all my cars in the last 15 years have had a standard transmission so I know what that adds to the driving experience. So the way I see it is I can either have a cheaper wheel with a clutch or at higher quality wheel without one? Am I missing any other options? Are there any other factors I should be considering? I've been sim racing on and off for 5 years but still feel new at this. Any advice would be appreciated.
I recently bought the G29 while my Tx was sent off for repair, no way was I going to go without a wheel for 3+ weeks and I can't do telly anymore. Anyway I took the G29 back and splashed out on a T500 instead. The G29 was too noisy and notchy being gear driven for my liking. The Tx is much smoother and if I remember right stronger FFB than the G29. The G29 pedals though were fantastic and came with a built in brake mod and are better than the ones supplied with the T500. The Logitech's are renowned for their reliability where I had to repair my Tx twice, once by myself with a cable Thrustmaster sent me. One other thing I noticed with the G29, it looks like they have made it very difficult to put a 3rd party wheel on now. I could be wrong but with the buttons and the casing they sit in seem to make it much harder to put bigger wheel/paddles combo on. I'm much happier with the T500 although that is not a fair comparison, but would keep my repaired Tx over the G29 having used both. Still wish I could keep those pedals!
I would go for the t300 for sure. the g290 is only a g27 facelift, it was a great wheel a couple of years ago, but now the belt driven wheels do much better job. Only thing what you have to keep in my with thrustmaster wheels, that the building quality is not the best. in 2 years i have had 2 Tx-s and 2 T300-s, and i have hade smaller or bigger problems with all, except the last one. if you can, go for the gte version of t300, with an adapter you can put aftermarket rims on it. i had a 320mm gt style alcantra wheel installed with an srh adapter, and i have to say it was the best experience to drive r3e with that combo (even tho i have a csw2 now).
Just looking at the new Logitech I say go with T300 at least it look like a wheel and not like a mix of a consol baby toy.
T300 by a country mile. The FFB difference between TM and Logitech is huge. Basically, one feels very responsive and close to real cars, and the other feels like a hammer and chisel.
My recomendation is also T300...what I have and I have never had a problem yet (knock on plastic ) and it is definite upgrade to a g27(what I had) plus now you can but the t300 base and any any of thier add on wheels. They have a t300 base with the 300mm alcantara wheel as a package ..I had to buy the wheel separatly as they never had that wheel/package when I bought mine. The 599x alcantara wheel is beautiful..just the right size..feels like a real wheel and not a toy..I'm very very happy with it and the t300...you will not regret it .
Thanks for the responses guys. I've been researching a bit myself and I can over look the pedals that come with the T300 since they are probably still better than what I'm used to but the reliability of the wheel is a little concerning. I'm hoping the common problems have been fixed by now. Once things setting down after the holidays I will probably make my decision but at this point it is the t300 or nothing.
Hi! Are you looking at the T300 RS kit, or the T300 Racing Wheel Servo Base? I'm also thinking in upgrading my wheel next year... Does anyone know if they are supposed to be the same (motor and internals), or are they different inside?
Thrustmaster's infamous reliability issues are pretty hard to overlook, but IMHO the T300 is a superior wheel to the G25/27/29 in every other way. My 2 month old T500RS actually caught fire (that's a whole other post in itself) and I had to dig the G27 out of the cupboard to keep driving. After the smooth detailed powerful deadzone free FFB of the T500, the G27 with its weak notchy FFB and annoying rattling lasted one whole evening before I went out and just bought a T300GTE. It's not as powerful as the T500 but is even smoother and quieter, and hopefully its brushless motor is more reliable.
T300 set with the T3PA upgrade pedals (stock pedals are not great) and Alcantara wheel is imho the best kit for the money. I am a real Logitech fan but the G27 and the newer wheel using this base is old tech, belt driven ftw. I did had an issue though with my T300 wheel were the dpad stopped working but Thrustmaster swapped it with no problems so support wise also nice.
Recently I did the step and switched from G27 to the T300 Alcantara edition. I still think the G27 is very good value for the money and it's very reliable. Although I still drive the same laptimes I'm happy with the "upgrade" as the FFB feels smoother and I like the bigger diameter of the wheel. I have the feeling that I can drive more precise and the extra benefit of the FFB is the physical training . The pedals are ok but I like the Logitech more also from the manufacturing quality. I don't know why Thrustmaster can't tighten the screws nicer. Don't want to compare it with the Fanatec elite pedals I had but Logitech shows a nicer quality...but it works and I guess I just have to get used to it. Definetly I would like to have a Fanatec set but I was not convinced to spend so much money. Didn't expect that the price for the v2 base will climb that high. I have the same concerns and can't tell anything about reliability yet. But for now I would do it again from the ffb perspective and smoother driving. However don't wonder when you see me spinning off in MP races, still learning the new wheel
Wanted to add some more information as I added the T3PA-Pro pedals to my T300. I'm still struggling with the new wheel compared to the G27 but I like the smooth but strong FFB very much. Although I'm not noticably faster yet I would prefer the T300 from the perspective of immersion. As the normal T3PA already offer the conical brake mod the Pro pedals are not really necessary. But I like the suspended position (GT-style) and in my opinion I get a better feeling how to dose the pedals especially the throttle. Compared to the normal T3PA I would say it's definetly worth the money because it's more solid and you can adjust the pedals better to your needs. But you shouldn't have a too close look at the details (especially if you had Fanatec Elites earlier). So all in all I think Thrustmaster's ecosystem is a good opportunity to build up the equipment of your wishes for a reasonable price and go the next step if you come from a wheel like a G27. If it's your first wheel I would definetly go for the T300 or TX. And if you have a very good day I would go for the fanatec I like to enjoy quality and details very much but as I said I think the T300 is a good compromise.
I had G27 "latest revision" and because of my Xbox i bought G920, i will tell you this. G920 is alot alot better then G27, people who say its the same, no its not, Forcefeed back in supported games is day and night difference and alot better than G27. It runs perfectly in DiRT Rally and Pcars. In RRRE so far it works but without FFB, FFB in RRRE with G920 is wrong and i don't know how to fix this.