Xbox 360 Racing Wheel

Well after being harassed into buying Forza Motorsport 2, I have now taken the next step and purchased the Official Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel.

I popped into Digifan in Haarlem, my local Console Retailer, to check if they had one, which they did. The first thing the young pimpled sales clerk said was "Do you know is 139.99 Euros?" which I knew full well, but what the hell. Whilst there I also traded in 2 games that i very rarely play, Perfect Dark Zero and Project Gotham Racing 3 (PGR3 will become aparent later on)

The unit came in a huge, tres heavy box, which I carted back to my apartment.

I started peeling off the layers of packaging and removed all the components.

1. Main wheel assembly


2. Table-top holder/bracket


3. Foot pedal assembly


4. Communications cable for the wheel to foot pedal assemblies


5. AC Power pack and cable (optionally used)


6. 2 AA batteries


7. Setup pamphlet


8. Owner’s manual


9. PGR 3 game disc (special version)

After removing all the packaging I started to assemble the wheel and accessories. First thing was to take a pair of scissors to cut off the straps holding down the foot pedals. I then attached the table-top holder/bracket to the main wheel assembly. Removing the side cover of the main wheel, I added the 2 AA batteries to the battery holder and placed the battery holder and cover back into place.

All I had available to mount the wheel was a low coffee table, which was not as ideal as I’d liked but it had to do. I opened the wheel table-top holder/bracket by pulling on the front latch. The latch allows the bracket to swing down. There is a tension knob which allows adjustment for different thicknesses of tables. Once the knob was adjusted and the wheel mounted on the table, the front latch was tensioned back into its locked position.

I placed the foot pedal assembly under the table and used the supplied communications cable to connect the main wheel assembly to the foot pedal assembly. I did not connect the AC power supply at this time. The wheel assembly communicates to the Xbox 360 wirelessly and can be used with just the 2 AA batteries but this option does not allow for force feedback.

The special PGR 3 game disc notes the wheel drivers are on it, but I already had them from the Spring Download. I started up the Xbox 360 by pressing the main power button. I placed the game disc in the drive and PGR 3 started up. I then pressed the guide button (X logo button) on the wireless wheel. This powered up the wheel and the lights around the guide button started to flash. I then pressed the sync button on the Xbox 360, located next to the memory slot, and then pressed the sync button on the wheel dashboard. This allowed the wheel and the Xbox 360 to sync together in controller position 1. I then plugged in my headset in the provided receptacle next to the sync button on the wheel dashboard.

Everything was now set up and ready for a test run. I sat down on my couch and adjusted the table and foot pedals in comfortable positions.

I started by selecting a race of 3 laps using Novice difficulty. The countdown started and I pressed the acceleration pedal to the floor. Once the race started everything went downhill very quickly! The car started to fish tale and I kept over compensating. I could not control the car and had to remove my foot off the acceleration pedal altogether until I got control again. I then slowly started to apply acceleration and had little luck with keeping the car from hitting everything in sight! I found it very hard to drive. I wasn’t expecting that at all!

So right now I am thinking I have just spunked a fair few bucks on a worthless pile of poo.

I then decided to plug in the AC power cable into the wheel. The AC power allows the use of the force feedback systems in the wheel. There is a green light which lights up on the wheel dashboard when the wheel is on AC power.

All I have to say is WOW! The wheel straightened itself out immediately to center position. That was much better. Before applying the AC power the wheel was very loose and too sensitive but now there was resistance and it allowed for better control.

With the force feedback on I then had to learn how to drive again. It was still pretty hard and I kept hitting walls and other cars. The force feedback is strong and modulates the force depending on the driving circumstances. If too much steering was used the feedback put more pressure to try and straighten the wheels and it added more realism to the driving. By the 3rd lap of the race I was holding my own and getting used to the feel of the wheel, pedals and force feedback.

To make the wheel work with the correct controller profile I had to select Wheel A in the game menu More>Options>Controllers then pressed A to save.

The wheel has a few extra options available. The normal hand controller buttons are there: D-pad on the left wheel cross-member, the coloured ABXY buttons on the right, the back and start buttons, and the guide button in the middle. There are also 2 levers, one on each side of the wheel, which are reached with your fingers. These are the manual shifting levers used when you select the manual transmission option in the game. All the buttons and the 2 levers are ergonomically placed and comfortable to use. The wheel itself has a very realistic feel to it. One of the options missing in the game menu of PGR 3 is the force feedback. I would have expected an option to increase or decrease the feedback.

After a few hours of playing I am really enjoying using the wheel instead of a regular controller. But now I need to find a place to store the wheel when not playing racing games! LOL

In conclusion, there is a learning curve with using the wheel either with or without force feedback. I personally did not like using the wheel without the force feedback (no AC) option. The wheel is wireless but if you want the full effect of the wheel you will need to use the AC power cord. Overall I like the wheel and I am sure most gamers who like racing games would love to use one of these wheels.