My Thrustmaster T500RS Wheel and Pedals and THR8S Shifter - My Thoughts as of Today

Here is my thread from GBR about the Thrustmaster T500RS wheel and pedals and the THR8S shifter. I thought you guys might be interested in my thoughts about this excellent wheel, pedals and shifter.

[b][u]UPDATED - 06-29-12 - First Impressions[/u][/b]

Well, I got the wheel home last night and here are my thoughts, based on about 2 1/2 hours of set up and use in GT5 and iRacing.

[b]1) Fry's Electronics "Experience"[/b][u][/u]

First, Fry's Electronics has not changed. It has been a while since I have bought anything significant there, since most of my electronics are now bought over the Internet. What a pain in the ass. Fry's has a price match policy that includes Internet sales. So, yesterday, I lucked out and found the T500RS for $385, with shipping, approximately $364 without shipping, at tigerdirect.com. I printed the listing and off I went to Fry's after I finished work in my Portland office. Well, once I got to Fry's, the hassle began. I ended up being in there 40 minutes while they "checked out" the price match. Whats up with that? Its not like I am applying for a clerkship with the US Supreme Court, or with a law enforcement job. I am trying to avail myself of their policy. Anyway, I picked up the wheel box, which was caked in dust (!!!), and then I was directed to the "computer" department. When I got there, the manager hemmed and hawed about this price match. Like that is my fault??? He tried to suggest that the listing from tigerdirect was for a different wheel!!! That lasted until one of his colleagues told him what I was telling him, it is in fact the same wheel. I got lucky and found a great price. Anyway, he told me that he would seek authorization from the store manager to do the price match, but that he probably would get "yelled at" because of it, and he had to make sure the paperwork was perfect otherwise the auditors would "bust him." In the end, I got the price match, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. I would have rather paid the $600 and avoided the hassle. Now I remember why I hated shopping at Fry's for anything significant in cost.

[b]2) T500RS Unboxing[/b][u][/u]

Anyway, back on topic. I got the wheel home and proceeded to open it up. Pictures will follow this weekend. The box is frickin huge, definitely feels like $600 of stuff in there. The wheel feels and looks great. Thrustmaster uses more plastic than the CSR Elite, but its in the right places. The wheel is metal, with hard rubber on the outside. It feels great, solid and REAL! It mounted with no problem to my Rennsport wheel stand. Piece of cake, could not have been easier. The "claw" mechanism that comes with the wheel is amazingly simple, but effective. Light years ahead of the mounting mechanism on the Fanatec GT2 and CSR wheels. It is flexible, but it gives you a nice, tight grip. The wheel did not move at all while I was racing last night. It has a massive base and power brick. The wheel has a long USB cable, but its not modular, like the Fanatec wheels. I love the GT5 branding all over the wheel, with the Playstation buttons. If you like the Playstation controller set up, you will like the buttons on this wheel.

The pedals also felt right at home on my wheel stand. They are big and heavy, lots of metal. They are not USB, like the Clubsports, and hence they can only be used with the T500RS wheel. They have a proprietary connector that you plug into the wheel.

[b]3) First Impressions of Use - Gran Turismo 5 [/b][u][/u]

I first tried the wheel and pedals with Gran Turismo 5, since its plug and play with that game, no driver needed. The wheel is officially supported by GT5, heck its got GT5 branding all over it. But, to be honest, the force feedback felt just good, not great. Perhaps its because the wheel firmware was an earlier version, which I only updated later in the night, after I finished GT5. The force feedback was just not as powerful and forceful as I have experienced with the CSR Elite. Its also not as smooth as the force feedback in the CSR.

The pedals are OK, but the brake is too sensitive in GT5. I could barely touch it without making the car spin. The accelerator is fine, I did not use the clutch. The pedals do not move, but you have to make sure you keep your heals forward on the heal plate, otherwise, if you have big legs like me, you will make the pedal set elevate in the back. The lack of a load cell is a huge downside with these pedals, sorry, its the truth.

I am going to withhold judgment on the wheel and pedals until I get more time with GT5, including with the new Firmware version 38. I also wanted to play with the pedals and install the "realistic" brake mod that comes with the set.

[b]4) First Impressions of Use - iRacing - HOLY SHIT!!! AMAZING!!![/b][u][/u]

The title says it all, I now see why Darin Gangi and Shaun Cole, the InsideSimRacing.tv guys, swear by this wheel. It feels amazing with iRacing. When I switched to PC last night, I started by downloading the driver from the Thrustmaster site. It was easy and the driver works great. I was somewhat familiar with it, since I have watched ISR's set up and review episodes for this wheel. The driver installed fine and then I upgraded the wheel's firmware to version 38. Piece of cake, much easier than the Fanatec firmware upgrade process. I did get a blue screen after the firmware was updated, but there were no problems after that.

Once I got into iRacing, I started with the Thrustmaster pedals hooked up. I was able to quickly configure the wheel and pedals and off I went for some practice with the Cadillac at Watkins Glen. I cannot truly describe what I felt, you had to have been there, but I can tell you that the force feedback was powerful, but suitably subtle, depending on where the car was and what it was doing. Let me quote a review I read this morning from simhq.com, which is true for me as well:

"T500 RS has one shining set of features that raise the bar for sim racing: the wheel's rotating parts and FFB system are nothing short of superb. There's something intangible about the way the T500 RS feels in operation. Thrustmaster says it captures the 'inertia' of driving a car. And that might be the best way to put it. The depth of FFB effects and the smoothness of the T500's wheel action easily eclipse Logitech and Fanatec's current offerings. It's hard to put into words: simply saying "the FFB is stronger" doesn't convey the point at all. The force feedback feels like it's coming from something much larger, something solid and massive. Something like a real car. In comparison, the T500 RS makes the FFB from other wheels feel like they're coming from something hollow and lightweight. The T500 RS has to be experienced to be understood."

The only downside to the wheel, so far, is getting used to the stationary paddle shifters. They are solid and big, but because they don't move with the wheel, I found myself grasping for air at times. I only have a couple of hours with the wheel so far, but I can tell you it will be an adjustment to get used to the paddle shifters.

Somewhat surprisingly, the Thrustmaster pedals worked pretty good in iRacing. I did not have as much of a problem with making the car spin. It might be because iRacing has pedal adjustments, whereas GT5 does not.

Anyway, overall, the wheel feels amazing in iRacing. The CSR is just as smooth, but it lacks the force that I got from the T500 and my now broken CSR Elite. I cannot yet compare the T500 to the CSR Elite, I just do not have enough time yet with the T500, but I can tell you its a cut above the Fanatec GT2 and CSR wheels.

[b]5) Use of Clubsports with T500RS Wheel[/b][u][/u]

It was getting late, but I wanted to try the Clubsports with the wheel and so I dismounted the Thrustmaster pedals, and hooked up my Clubsports. The Clubsports must be connected directly to the PC, using the provided USB cable, and its cool to see the driver support when the Clubsports are direct connected. The use of the Clubsports with the T500 was seamless, no driver or control conflicts. Yes, the Clubsports are better than the Thrustmaster pedals, primarily because of the load cell brake, but also because the pedal deck is more solid.

You guys know the Clubsports are the best set of pedals out there, for the money. They are still the best even when paired with the T500RS. Keep in mind that the Clubsports cannot be read separately by the PS3, hence when I use the T500RS with GT5, I have to switch back to the Thrustmaster pedals.

[b]6) Comparison to Fanatec Wheels[/b][u][/u]

As I mentioned earlier, this wheel is clearly a cut above the GT2 and CSR wheels, primarily because of the rim and the force feedback. But, the GT2 and CSR wheels are amazing, still, and [b]I believe the CSR ($200, plus shipping) is the best deal in sim racing. For what you get, its the best bang for your buck.[/b][u][/u]

I cannot yet compare the T500RS to the Elite, because I do not have enough seat time with the T500, and I want to get my CSR Elite back first and run it before I compare them.

So, those are my initial impressions. I cannot wait to finish work today. I want to spend more time with my new set up. Pics will follow this weekend, along with more thoughts. I intend to run the wheel with all of my sims over the next five days, during which I will be off from work.

[u][b]UPDATED - 07-01-12[/b][/u]
Here are some additional thoughts. I have used the wheel a lot during the last couple of days.

[u][b]1) The T500RS Pedals[/b][/u]

The pedals are growing on me, kind of like a girl I knew in high school who many of the guys thought was fat. I thought she was pretty hot TBH, particularly because she had a nice set of big cans. ;D Anyway, the pedals are clearly a step below the Clubsports, but overall they still feel good. The accelerator pedal feels just as good as the Clubsports and the brake, with the mod, is pretty good for a potentiometer. At this point, I probably will stick with the T500RS for GT5, even with the pedals.

[u][b]2) Gran Turismo 5[/b][/u]

This continues to be a good wheel for GT5. The force feedback is definitely weaker than the Elite, but its more diverse, depending on what car you drive. Some are weak, some are strong, just like in real life. Love the GT5 theme, that stuff is cool. Seems wrong now to use a Forza themed wheel for GT5, so I won't. ;)

[u][b]3) iRacing[/b][/u]

I had some trouble with the driver as far as keeping my settings. I figured out that I cannot boot up the computer with the wheel plugged in to the USB port, otherwise the driver will not work correctly and it will crash. No big deal, I don't want the wheel to power up anyway while my computer is booting up. Whats up with no power button on this wheel???

This wheel and iRacing are a match made in heaven, particularly if you have the Clubsports.

[u][b]4) Paddle Shifters[/b][/u]

Like the girl in high school, the paddle shifters are growing on me. Definitely not good for Formula 1, but perfectly serviceable for rally, Nascar and GT style racing. The paddle shifters are solid. Don't worry, you will get used to them being stationary.

[u][b]5) Overall[/b][/u]

I plan to keep this wheel. I like it so much that I ordered the shifter. The $240 I saved on the price match made it hard to resist the shifter, I even paid the extra $10 for next day delivery. Its going to be a while until I have a working Elite wheel, and so this will be my main wheel for a while. The ISR guys have pretty much tabbed this as the best high end wheel, if reliability is critical for you. If you want cutting edge, then the Elite is probably the way to go, just be ready for some bumps in the road, perhaps like I have experienced.

[b]I have no trepidation recommending this wheel to anyone that plans to race primarily on PC and/or PS3.[/b] It doesn't work with Xbox, so if that is important, then Fanatec is your wheel. I still think that pound for pound, the best wheel in sim racing is the Fanatec CSR. But, if you want a higher end beast and reliability, then I think the T500RS is the way to go.

[b][u]UPDATED - 7-5-12[/u][/b]

I received the Thrustmaster TH8RS shifter earlier this week. It is exactly as advertised, and more. The mostly metal construction makes it rock solid. It mounts perfectly to my Rennsport wheel stand using the G25 shifter plate that comes with the Rennsport. The clamp that comes with the shifter is great, the shifter has not budged. I have used the shifter in rFactor and GT5 and it works perfectly. The only time I get mis-shifts is when I screw up. It's not fair to compare this shifter to the Fanatec Porsche or CSR shifters, both of which I have owned and used extensively. This is much better, albeit more expensive.

Well done Thrustmaster!

Here are pictures of the unboxing and set up:

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