With Horizon 3 looming my friend won't stop talking about how much better having a nice wheel and pedals are when it comes to racing games and how it actually improves your performace because you can "feel" the road.

With that being said i'm iffy if I want to drop the cash on a nice wheel that is going to last and give me the best experience ($300 range). I loved Forza Horizon on the 360 and do like racing games to a point. So its not a matter on if I will like the game or not, but as someone who is not like super into racing sims and enjoys a experience is it worth the cash?

EDIT: GOOD NEWS EVERYONE. I'm not buying a wheel, for now. I settled with an Xbox One Elite controller, the paddles have been serving me well in Apex right now.*

However it seems this thread has gotten a lot of attention, so it curving towards racing wheel talk seems good.

I'll just leave this here then.

Also, do not spend $300 on a racing wheel for a game you haven't played if you only like racing games "to a point". At least try your friend's wheel out with the game and see for yourself how it affects your experience. Unless you're like super duper rich in which case do whatever feels right, Get a jewel encrusted racing wheel and hire Jewel to provide a live soundtrack while you race.

Assuming your friend lives near you, I'd say you should ask if you can try their wheel out first before you decide. $300 is a lot of money for a single peripheral, though there are plenty of people who spend up to or around that much for fight sticks/racing wheels/flight sticks/drumkits/etc. Ultimately you're the only one who knows whether the money is worth it to you personally, and you won't know how much you value using the wheel at until you experience it firsthand.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Vinny represents exactly how I feel right now.

Maybe a wheel isn't a good idea..

VINNY!

As someone who just bought a $200 entry level force feedback racing wheel, don't buy a racing wheel. Don't buy a racing wheel until you're playing racing games all the time and you think "got-damn I want to nail this corner perfectly but this xbox controller just doesn't provide the accuracy I need."

If you're playing things like Forza and Forza Horizon and Burnout and Grid and Dirt Rally (more on that in a moment) then a racing wheel is probably a waste of money. All of those games are completely fine with a controller and make for pretty good games, as in "Games" and not simulators. Only start thinking about a wheel if you're playing something like Asseto Corsa or Project Cars or RaceRoom or other hardcore driving games and thinking "I need more response when I'm going through these corners to improve my laptime."

Now with that said, if you LOVE racing and driving games / sims then yes, a wheel will absolutely be worth every single dollar at that price point. I mentioned Dirt Rally up there and that is a fantastic game to play with a controller BUT if you get really deep into it where you need the extra control a 900 degree wheel provides with analog pedals (and possibly a clutch and shifter) then it will accommodate you. Most would say it's not quite "sim" level but the difference between a wheel and controller is immediate and huge. For other games like RaceRoom Experience and AC or Pcars, I don't even know if those are playable with a controller, let alone enjoyable.

If you're familiar with iRacing, notice I didn't mention it at all. That's because if you're interested in iRacing you should know wheels are completely required and that you'd better be ready to spend some serious time and money if you hope to compete because that isn't meant to be a game at all

Buy a racing wheel... They are amazing if you do these three things:

1. Spend the money on a proper wheel... My reaction was that the g25/27(the one I own)/29 isn't good enough and you will wish u spent the extra $100 for the step up. The pedals suck and the force feedback feels more natural with a belt system instead of the gear system found in the Logitech systems.

2. Have the money to buy a proper frame... Steering wheels feel awkward when u play them hooked up to a desk. U want something to screw your pedals to so they dont move around when you slam on the brakes. U will want a more natural position that isnt upright. The shifter will be in the wrong position without a proper frame

3. Most importantly, you need to play more than one racing game. Forza looks like fun, but you are going to want to play other games to justify your investment.

@monetarydread: Number 2 is something I've never really thought of (I don't own a racing wheel or plan to) and it's the best argument against getting one, imo.

Find out if your friends have it set up like this and if they don't ridicule them for their half-assed attempt at playing driving games.

I have had Logitech Driving Force GT for years (900 degree wheel, pedals without clutch). I originally found it new at cost of ~$50. My experience is that racing wheels are pain to store. They don't make you faster since there are situations where flicking analog sticks is faster than turning a wheel. There are gaming situations where it is clear that developers did something with only the pad in mind (even if game supports the wheel). Playing racing games with the wheel is more fun than without one.

I have a Logitech G29 and I absolutely love it.

I mainly use it with Project CARS and Assetto Corsa in VR, and it's great. Absolutely try to find somewhere you can try one before buying though, it's a lot of money.

Oh, and look for a used one. You can find decent deals on wheels and the good ones last.

@charlie_victor_bravo: Depending on the game, I've found that a racing wheel (and these are entry level FFB wheels like the DFGT and T150) will make me noticeably faster than with a pad. Pick even a SimCade game like Forza or Gran Turismo and do a good lap with a pad and some assists turned on, then turn those assists off and try your wheel.

With a bit of practice you'll be shaving seconds off your lap time.

Now, whether a wheel is going to be optimal for Forza Horizon 3? I'll find out in a few days.

I've been considering this for FH2 and American Truck Simulator. Unfortunately I don't have the room for one right now. You should definitely do it though!

As someone who has been trying to move from Normal to Simulation Steering* (to use the Forza parlance: basically totally removing the assists that average out the input to let you flick the thumbstick without a crash) on a controller, I can see why a wheel is appealing for the precision but also wonder about the effort required to do anything crazy with rapid correction. Games that work with controllers have to be able to deal with someone going lock to lock in milliseconds. A wheel simply can't allow that sort of reaction.

I suspect the best games would actually build out totally different simulation models for wheel vs joypad, just because their input parameters are so different.

I spent more time with a wheel back around the TOCA era of Codies and it was fun but I've also come along so much with a joypad since then that I'm not sure if the wheel made me better or just I was really bad at joypad driving back then. If a good wheel was cheaper and worked with all my games, I'd be more tempted to buy in today.

* So I can do some crazy corrections to retain forward movement when assists would otherwise be picking up the slack (and giving a more responsive turn without the need for a buffered averaged input).

To give you a serious answer (as someone who owns a mid-low tier FFB racing wheel - a Logitech Driving Force GT, to be precise), don't buy a racing wheel for Forza Horizon 3.

First of all, Forza Horizon is an incredibly arcade-y racer, and arguably using a wheel will just make you actively worse at the game. I bought my wheel to use with games like Dirt 3, Project CARS and Assetto Corsa. For those games, using a wheel is a transformative experience that genuinely makes playing the game more fun, and also helps you be a better driver. If you also play games like that, maybe consider a wheel.

Secondly, Forza Horizon 3 is one of the first Play Anywhere titles on PC, so steering wheel support isn't even guaranteed at this point (for your wheel). Now, with Forza 6 Apex they tested some of this already - that game launched with no wheel support and they have since patched in support for (some?) wheels. I have no idea which ones work at all, and which ones work well. Bad wheel support means you will spend more time fucking around with settings than actually using your wheel, and I'd be wary of Forza Horizon 3's support before launch, since basically nothing is actually known about the PC version right now. (I'm assuming you're on PC but if you're on console and they said it'll support the new Logitech wheels then ignore everything I've said in this point, I guess.)

Finally, if you really want a wheel still... Buy a wheel. But buy a proper one. $300 is probably enough budget to get yourself a nice Logitech G25/G27, even if you have to pick one up second hand. Now, I love my Driving Force GT but it's definitely lacking (no clutch/H-Shifter options, rubber finish instead of leather, plastic instead of metal pedals). If I could go back in time I'd save more money and get a G25 or G27, knowing what I know now. Obviously if you're made of money you can spend $500+ to get a ridiculous Thrustmaster setup with swappable wheels, but sod that. I would advocate avoiding the new range Logitech (G29) just released because generally they still seem inferior to the 25 and 27, even though they run about the same price.

Anyway, hopefully some of that helps. Godspeed.

So here's my issue with that comparison: the assists.

Of course you shave seconds off your time, the entire design of Forza is that assists are bad (for your lap times but good for meaning you don't need to master every skill when you start out). Tell the computer to shift for you and it'll make sure to steal some of that high-rev power zone away from you (depending on the vehicle, often quite a lot of it) while removing your ability to assist in braking with downshifting (which seems to allow braking that exceeds the limits of your tyres - because the Forza model isn't a sim). Same with ABS - great in the real world but in Forza it's a setting that means you'll never brake with the full performance of the parts on the vehicle you're using. Anyone with the assist off in the same vehicle will be able to do better with practice/skill.

The issue is that getting good at a hardcore (again, to use the Forza parlance) assist profile can be challenging at times. But we're talking about a series with unlimited rewinds and a very gentle handing model for most of the vehicles you can drive. It's a process but far from impossible to master on a standard 360 or DS4 joypad. Even my own iffy reaction times are no hindrance to getting passable with a pad. At the very high end, the precision of the wheel is impossible to match and a wheel will unlock new performance but for your typical person, you can improve by going down the wheel path or the pad path in Forza - both of them are about refining your skills and removing all the assists that are holding you back.

@shivoa: Which is why I called Forza SimCade. More than enjoyable with a pad but the extra enjoyment I get with a wheel (and I picked up a T150 a couple of months ago for £60, I saw a local Currys selling them for £49.99 at the weekend) more than compensates for the cost of buying one.

I consider myself no more than average/slightly above at driving games and had been playing them with a pad or joystick for decades. The first wheel I ever bought was a DFGT for GT5, a game that I'd been playing for months previously, and within a couple of days I was obliterating my previous times.

Maybe I'm just naturally better with a wheel? Quite possibly - I've been driving fast road cars briskly for years - but for the cost of a cheap FFB wheel these days it's worth taking the chance.

Very good input from everyone, I don't think i'll be getting a wheel anytine soon..For what little racing games I actually play it would be a waste.

I think i'm just going to invest in a Xbox One elite controller or something. Something alittle more..versatile.

I'm all for crazy gaming peripherals if one can afford and has the space for. Hell, buy it on PC and use 3 monitors if you can.

Is it possible to pair a Racing wheel with TrackIR ? Kinda wonder if that would be crazy

@bollard: Apex now supports a variety of wheels from Logitech and Thrustmaster, with Fanatec support in the works. It's reasonable to assume Horizon 3 will support the same wheels.

Since I've got my t150 I dont think I'll ever want to play a racing game without wheel. Im worse with it than a controller but its just impossibly more fun. Never was too big on driving games but im super hooked now. The wheel makes ALL the difference to me. Even crappy games like tdu2 are kinda fun with a ffb wheel. (Ive since gotten every ps3/Ps4 game compatible with the t150 in my possession haha)

I believe iRacing supports TrackIR and that game requires a wheel so not at all crazy... I think the only Forza game with head tracking was 5 and that required the Kinect (definitely more of a gimmick than additional immersion since the Kinect is farther away from your face than TrackIR). No idea what Apex's PC support is gonna be like in the future since Microsoft published games have that crossplay feature from now on.

"Don't buy a racing wheel."

As a person who has 3 racing wheels, let me tell you Forza Horizon is not a racing wheel type of game. I don't even use (and of my) my racing wheels to play Horizon. Forza is better with a racing wheel though.

I just spent about 4 hours trying to get my racing wheel to work on Forza Apex to get ready for Horizon. Ill go step by step to explain what just happened to me:

I remembered the wheel support came out a few weeks ago and decided to try it out. Already had the game installed so I figured it wouldve already updated and applied the patch just like steam (nope). Launched the game and didnt see any options for a wheel. Exited the game and unplugged and plugged my wheel to the pc. Still didnt work. Decide maybe I just need to reinstall Forza Apex to get the newest updates. After I delete the game it tells me I needed to upgrade to windows 10 anniversary to install it again (the only somewhat happy accident form this part considering it would never show up in my updates). It takes awhile but I get my OS updated, go to reinstall Forza finally. It downloads all the way (18gb) and tells me there was an error and it has to do it again. Ok. Same error on the 2nd download. I googled the issue and I found the only solution was to reset my pc due to issues with windows store and previous versions. Do that. Takes even longer than upgrading. Installed Forza for the 3rd time, it finally works. Start the game and realize they only did true support for a handful of racing wheels. After about another hour of testing the only way I can play the game with my wheel is to have my XboxOne controller next to me because the game wont recognize any button on my wheel to confirm a rewind.

Don't buy a racing wheel.

You really don't need a wheel for Horizon because it's much more arcadey than sim.

However, if you want to fall down the hole that is F1 2016...

Listen to Ryan and don't buy a racing wheel ! Only buy a racing wheel if you're one of those I racing nuts !

I was in pretty much exactly in the same position but decided to just buy a new controller (my 10 year old xbox 360 controller isn't doing so hot). I'm probably going to buy the Xbox One Elite controller since I use it with my PC all the time and what I hear that controller is amazing even if it is overpriced.

The problem with racing wheels is that you kinda have to go all in if you really want to enjoy one. If you buy a cheap wheel, you'll be lacking force feedback, a proper turn radius and a proper stick-shift. Playing racing games on a thousand dollar wheel + racing chair setup feels astoundingly great, but very few people have the room or budget for that type of situation.

Here's a list of supported wheels for Horizon 3:

• Logitech G27 Racing Wheel
• Logitech G25 Racing Wheel
• Logitech G29 Racing Wheel
• Logitech MOMO Force Feedback Racing Wheel
• Thrustmaster T300RS
• Thrustmaster T500 RS Gaming Wheel
• Logitech G920 Xbox One Wheel
• Thrustmaster T150
• Thrustmaster TX Xbox One Wheel
• Thrustmaster TMX Xbox One Wheel
• Thrustmaster RGT Force Feedback Racing Wheel

Source

I recently bought a T500RS. Mainly for Assetto Corsa, Project Cars and Dirt. I played some Forza Apex and The Crew with my wheel and have found that these games are probably aimed more towards controllers.I found the way these games utilize the FFB to be very artificial and off-putting. Also horizon seems like a game were the third person camera is the default way to play it. You really want to have a good first person camera to play with a wheel.

If you are planning on playing more simulation-like games as well though then yeah, a wheel is far better then a controller. It allows for far greater precision on both steering and pedal work. There is a steep learning curve though. You will need to learn some real life race driving skills to really get the most out of it. I've spend hundreds of hours on this already and am only just starting to get acceptable at it. So don't expect a wheel will turn you into an alien racer right away.

Also consider how you are going to mount the wheel. You want it so you have a good driving position and your pedals wont slide around. The position of your screen is important as well,it ideally should be so that the in game horizon is at eye level with the FOV set so it's at least close to how it would be in real life.

Before opening the thread, knew exactly what the first replies would be. It was funny moment on the podcast but that's not really a well-thought opinion, ask the same question about fight-stick on these forums and you'd get flood of people recommending you to buy or build and expensive kit because GB staff likes fighting games.

Anyways, getting a wheel just for FH3 doesn't make much sense, especially if you haven't even found out if you like that game or not. Many arcade racing games are designed for gamepad and often they are a chore to play on a steering wheel, typical example of bad steering wheel support is having to use huge amount of steering input to turn the car. On gamepad, you often use full-lock so the steering has to be slowed down a lot to avoid constant understeer but on steering wheel you use a lot less input and really the only time you're going full lock is when doing a 3-point turn or something like that at very slow speed. At this point, we don't yet know how the steering wheel support is, I'll be getting FH3 and try it on my G27 but if it's anything like The Crew, I'll most likely end up playing on gamepad. I can report back on it over the weekend, assuming I can get the Windows 10 Anniversary update installed.

If you do want to try out and buy a steering wheel, Thrustmaster T150 is a good option. It's the cheapest proper wheel on the market, no point spending more on something that you're not 100% sure of.

Buy a racing wheel. It's awesome. Just don't buy one for Forza Horizon 3. If you're playing F1 2016, Forza 6, or other sim games, go for it. Don't buy one for Horizon 3.

Just a side thought to racing wheels - I like ths discussion about if kids will even know how to drive in driving games if we have self driving cars. Than again we all drive boats, ride horses, and shoot guns in video games and do okay without knowing. All the same is is scary that about 99% of have not done those in real life yet we do them in games well enough to play the games. So I think kids who don't drive will do okay in video games.

DON'T BUY A RACING WHEEL!

Hot tip: If the clamp sucks, remove it and screw the wheel to a board. Then just use C-clamps with that board.

All depends on what your budget. In my case i collect 360$ and buy the Logitech G920 Driving Force Racing Wheel ( http://www.gadgets-reviews.com/review/170-picking-the-best-racing-wheel-for-racing-simulators.html

Ofc you can buy mor cheaper or expensive wheel, but on my opinion the logitech best for Forza Horizon (you can easy to configurate it)