[Chris B]

Speaking of steering wheels, I'd really like to get one to play some of the excellent arcade racers on my PS2. You know, stuff like Outrun 2 SP, Sega Rally 2006, Initial D, Virtua Racing, 18 Wheeler 2, the Battle Gears, etc..


The problem is just that all of these games are "GT Force compatible", which means that they are designed for the Logitech GT Force wheel, which has only been released in Japan. The shipping costs would be astronomical.





There is a similar looking wheel called "Wingman Formula Force GP" (colored red instead of blue) that has been releasaed in the US and Europe for PCs, but I think they must've changed something. I have one and it feels horrible, with a big deadzone and overly sensitive if you move out of it. No wonder they didn't mention that you can use it with a PS2. I could of course also try my luck with a Driving Force or Driving Force Pro, but these have severe compatibility issues with most of the games I mentioned.


So this got me thinking, maybe there's a steering wheel out there that doesn't use any fancy mode, but just maps its axes directly to the PS2's analog sticks and pressure sensitive buttons. It would be compatible with every game, even with ones that don't normally support wheels, for example Outrun 2006 or Crazy Taxi. Is there such a wondrous device?




And out of curiosity, I'd like to ask what you people use to race at home. Does it have to be a 900° wheel with clutch and H-shifter, or is 200° enough? I guess there are also many who prefer the size of a gamepad, coupled with the speed of a 90° analog stick. For all I know, there might even be people out there who still prefer to wrestle with their cars using digital controls. (I played Saturn Sega Rally yesterday for the first time in my life, and it was ace.)

[Chris B]

I played the first Forza yesterday, and I was pretty underwhelmed. Maybe choosing the Mitsubishi FTO and the chase cam had something to do with it, but there just wasn't any sense of speed whatsoever. It felt like the game barely managed to run at 30 frames.

Not that there's a lack of alternatives on the original Xbox. Anyone knows if Sega GT 2002 is any good?

[Chris B]

[Chris B]

@geinou: Did you test it with a steering wheel?

[Chris B]

@Takashi: Wow, that reminds me of that Cruden simulator. You can buy one for $191,000 lol.




I'd really like to know if it's possible to build something like that on your own. Not as sophisticated obviously, but just a couple hydraulic cylinders tilting a seat, like in the Outrun cab.

[Chris B]

A couple pages ago I posted about my search for PS2 steering wheels, and I begin to think that I have to bite the bullet and get a Driving Force Pro or a red MOMO Force. Mainly because I'm falling in love with Sega Rally 2006 and still haven't found a wheel to play it with. I tried SIX cheap ones so far, and they all more or less destroyed my Time Attack runs. Funnily enough, those where done with my recently modded Dreamcast Arcade Stick. Yet as soon as I switch, my performance gets horribly inconsistent. With the stick I can manage to pull of five good times in a row, but with the wheel I'm lucky if I finish every tenth run.


Has anyone bought the Sega Rally 2006 + Driving Force Pro pack and can tell me if it's worth it? 900° does sound a bit weird for Sega Rally, although I'm not sure how much rotations real rally car steering wheels use.

[Chris B]

[Chris B]