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GT steering wheel without display for VR

Moving hands from steering wheel, even if only to shift, is mildly distracting;
looking away from the road to locate and wrestle idiosynchratic controls is even moreso.
In one sense, VR without passthrough avoids this, since real controls are invisible,
but fumbling around to manipulate them only by feel is mostly doomed for me.
Implicitly, displays on wheels are in VR wasted complexity, cost and mass.
IMO, controls used while driving should be reachable without changing grip on wheel.
Rotary knobs mostly useful e.g. during pit stops.   Clutch paddles are desirable.
I find wheels less than 300mm diameter or over $600 uncomfortable.   Here are candidate rims:
Ascher McLAREN ARTURA PRO 300mm;  4 thumbwheels;  strong reputation
Wireless is proprietary Simucube
my choice:   Cube Controls F-PRO

282mm;  4 small+stiff thumbwheels;  Bluetooth or USB;  Thoritis Sim Garage reviewBoosted Media review
Simagic FX Formula
$490, 290mm;  4 thumbwheels, limited USB
CUBE CONTROLS F-CORE

$680, 290mm;  lacks Ascher build quality
MOZA GS V2P GT Wheel

$470, 300mm;  does NOT work with Universal hub
SimHub will NOT support Moza
Moza KS

$280, 300mm;  $50 Universal hubSimRacing604 videoSim Racing Garage Universal hub review;
Boosted Media review and comparisons
Fanatec McLaren GT3 CSL Elite

$200, 300mm;  crap integrated QR, $$ conversion,
creaks, expensive USB conversion, no thumbwheels
Fanatec Clubsport Formula V2.5
$340, 270mm;  lame QR, no clutch paddles, $$ conversion
Asetek la Prima
$300, 290mm;  2 thumbwheels;  no clutch paddles?
Asetek Forte $650, 290mm;  8 buttons, 6 thumbwheels (4 within reach)
VRS R295

$349, 295mm, 4 thumbwheels, clutch paddles; 
VRS-only USB$1K bundled with DFP15
SiMagic GTC-C
my latest follyConspit 300 GT

~$400, 300mm;  4 thumbwheels, shift paddles and clutches
VNM GT Steering Wheel V1

$450, 300mm;  2 thumbwheels, shift paddles and clutches

Cube Controls F-PRO   specs, downloads, FAQ, review videos

  • SimHub software
  • Clutch calibration video
  • SimHub LED support steps   Theoloop's video and profile
  • on discord
  • Sim Racing Cockpit review
  • G performance review
  • Richard Baxter's bias confirmation review.
  • Race Department:  grip and encoder issues
  • bicycle or tennis racket handle wrap for grips?   Naah..

  • received 25 Oct 2023:
  • thumb wheels are IMO small and stiff
  • attached by drilling threads from 3 Q1R 70mm PCD holes


  • Conspit 300 GT

    Function Guide v1.0

    Dan Suzuki review

    Buttons not feeling too too clicky, too binary.
    So much clever stuff going on in this wheel to me it's absolutely mind-blowing.
    All the encoders are nice and and easy to turn.
    Rear buttons are in perfect reach super useful.
    The ergonomics are for my hands close to perfect,
    definitely in the top five of the most ergonomic wheels that I have ever used.
    The display is a nice gimmick;  I don't find it terribly useful,
    but it also doesn't hurt to have there it is nice for these things like
    without a display it would be way less useful so for that alone
    the display is really really nice but for the rest I think it's very small,
    it's not super easy to spot things while you're racing.
    
    Overall build quality absolutely excellent;  it's a super light wheel
    without being too light and having that plastic feel.
    It still feels very solid;  you have super responsive force feedback, every detail.
    Encoder remap functionality is a super nice thing.
    Shifters very quiet by the way, still feel very tactile and nice to use.
    I've tested wheels that are like more than twice the price
    which are definitely not as good as this Conspit 300 GT.
    
    Cons:
    - The aluminum back and carbon front do not perfectly match across the whole thing
      so there's a potential for slight light bleed here in this corner.
    - The display is not (yet) SimHub compatible.
    - Dashboards that come with it are a little bit limited
    - it also does not come with a QR
    - thumbwheel detents could be stronger (and can be changed)
    
    This wheel absolutely packs basically all the pro features that you find on high-end wheels
    and puts it in a very affordable package and we'll see where the dashboard will go.
    I expect a very nice dash coming due to the cooperation with lovely dashboard
    so we'll see how that goes but for now it's still like it's an easy recommendation.
    Honestly I don't even understand how they sell it at this price point.
    I don't understand how they make a profit on this wheel.  I work in the business;
    I have no idea, so yeah as you can probably tell I am very impressed with this wheel
    and can pretty much recommend it to anyone that looks for a wheel
    even if you look for a more expensive wheel like it does not really get much better than this
    if you like these features if you like the form factor.
    
    random callsign considers the clutches meh,
    and Conspit software for game telemetry display is wanting,
    but Lovely software is promised.

    @chepilevski considers it by far the best value on the market.

    blekenbleu rant

    Mostly decent, but IMO doomed hardware
    Vulnerable proprietary USB
    Inserting keyed connector is practically impossible with rim attached to base.
      e.g. SimXperience violent calibration cycle should run before cable connection
      - attach GT 300 to base without cable
      - power up wheel base, wait for calibration thrash completion
      - detach GT 300
      - attach USB
      - reattach GT 300 to base
    USB connector sticks straight down, doomed to being wiped out during wheel rotation.
    - is their business plan to profit from replacement cables?
    - in use, cable will wrap around the quick release;
    - instead of radially, connector should point tangentially,
      relieving stress on the cable and reducing connector liability to tangential leverage.
      workaround:  MagLink

    Simultaneous back button and clutch paddle access is problematic
    As with other funky switches, rotation randomly actuates lateral button events.

    BS aside, GT 300 has 40 buttons (26 useful) and 2 clutch axes
    Conspit is evidently delusional about their software...

    Software from hell
    YouTube influencers love products with miserable software documentation
    - giving them pretexts for lame brosplain videos
    starts badly, then goes downhill
    - each Conspit Link launch provokes User Account Control

    clicking PW1 in "Tutorial List" hangs ConspitLink

    - despite only one available product, requires user selection before proceeding
    - wacky, but pointless overlay:
    - "Lights & Buttons" is seemingly really only about lights on buttons..?
      - rotary encoders have "Lighting Mode" 1 or 2, unexplained...
      - "Flashing" option doesn't
    - "help" windows populated with random buzzwords, e.g.:

    "Manual" clutch mode seemingly reports most depressed position of either, wtf

    By default, 3 rotary encoders do nothing
    With LINK running, rotary encoder knobs can map to SimHub buttons 30-35
    - only 31, 32 (SimHub 30, 31) sensed by Game Controllers control panel
    - I am extremely reluctant to attempt "Save to Flash"


    Simagic MagLink

    • Conspit USB cable is too hard for me to connect with 300 GT already attached to wheel base
    • AccuForce wheel base calibration violence tears up USB cables
    • Conspit 70mm PCD extension with USB connector is over 10mm longer than my other rims
    • for USB, Conspit 300 GT board wants female connector PHB2.0 JST 2.0mm (Dual row) 2x4 8P
         

    • Replace Conspit's 37mm with 25mm bicycle headset spacer and Simagic MagLink:
       


       

    click for video:

    OverTake thread

  • maintained by blekenbleu