- There are various bits of hardware available to enhance the gaming experience. This is especially true of the racing game genre. The bare minimum accessories would include a Wheel & Pedal set-up of some sort, (Force feedback and non-force feedback).
My own wheel & pedal set-ups can be seen 
And include two BRD F1-Sim wheels and a BRD Race Frame Pro Cockpit and a Logitech G25 Force Feedback wheel and pedal set-up.
- Wheels and pedals - In my view, are essential for racing games, it just feels natural to use a wheel and pedals for controlling a car? Many different makes and price ranges of wheel & pedals are now available, from El cheapo ones at around £50.00 up to top of the range American Extreme Competition Controls Inc wheels (See picture below) at around £800.00 each.
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- There are also several good ones in the mid range worth noting, such as the Logitech, Thrustmaster and Microsoft wheels (See below) .
- Personally, I feel Force Feedback controllers are now much better than the earlier versions, the new Logitech G25 in particular is a very good FF wheel. If you use a FF wheel/pedals you must ensure you set it up properly (read the wheel manufacturers details and the games manual for the correct settings to use). Generally the FF latency settings are the main ones to concentrate on. But FF wheels/Pedals can certainly add an extra dimension to your driving experience.
A G25 (Logitech) Wheel:
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New Logitech G25 wheel and Pedals:
- This new G25 model from Logitech (released in 2006), together with its own profiler software, brings FF to a new level. The leather clad steering wheel and gear knob, the steel construction wheel and pedals, give the impression of a very sturdy unit.
- The gear knob can be used in a sequential (rally style) mode, or in a traditional 6 speed gated gearbox style, or you can elect to use the F1 style paddles located on the wheel itself. A very nice design and a quality unit. Recommended.
Follow this 
for more info.
An ECCI Wheel:
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New BRD Speed 7 Pedals:
- This new pedal product from BRD is made from an aluminium alloy, and the finish is an anodised coating. The pedals have an onboard memory chip that records the hours of use and movements of the potentiometers. The memory chip can be read by the makers if a failure appears, ensuring that they have accurate data. The pedals can be set up with one, two or three axis.
- Another on board chip controls the output from the pedal unit. It analyses the pedal action, and smooths the signals so the car responds better, so in theory there should be no peaks or spikes. These pedals can be flash upgraded and are connected via USB interface. The pedals can also be mounted in the normal position or upside down!
BRD are also working on new improved steering wheels, follow this for more info.
The New Speed 7 BRD Pedals:
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ActLabs (Force RS/RS Shifter) Steering Wheel & Pedals:
- Act Labs produce some good (mainly plastic construction) wheels for the pc, including the Force RS & RS Shifter. This set-up gives you a steering wheel, pedals, and a shifter to play with. Brake and accelerator pedals can be set up independantly, and the shifter can be set up for free shifting, or sequential shifting. Cool! Doesn't look like the pedals have much travel though?
- Act Labs have also produced Performance pedals which are supposed to be very nice pedals indeed, and you can use the pedals with any wheel! They are made from aluminium and are available with a clutch pedal. Follow this for more info.
An Act Labs Force RS Wheel:
An Act Labs GPL Shifter:
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BRD (BallRacing Developments - F1 Sim/F1 Sim Pro) Steering Wheel & Pedals:
- Ballracing Developments (Formerly Interactive Racing) have made quality PC wheel and pedals for some time. Their original product was the GP 500, then they made the F1 Sim, now they manufacture several new models based around the old F1 Sim. An all steel construction means the units are very solid and they generally use high quality components.
- Pedals can be independant and one made dominant over the other, and the pedal angle (or rake) can also be adjusted. An option is a quick release desk mounting kit. Gear change is via F1 style paddles mounted behind the wheel, and also included are two on wheel switches/buttons and four LED's. Several upgrades are available including leather clad wheels & clutch pedals. Follow this for more info.
- I am lead to believe that Ballracing are also currently developing new improved wheels.
A BRD F1-Sim Wheel & Pedal set-up:
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ECCI (Extreme Competition Controls Incorporated) Steering Wheel & Pedals:
- ECCI probably make the best (and most expensive) wheel and pedals set-ups. They are very solidly made, they use quality components and the units simply ooze quality. (Momo wheels, etc) I understand ECCI did stop selling their products to individual private customers, to concentrate on corporate customers. However, I think you can now buy from ECCI again (via their consumer webpage). If you do manage to get your hands on one of these fabulous units, they should last you a lifetime. Follow this for more info.
An ECCI Pedal Unit:
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Frex GP Pedals:
- Frex GP make some interesting Pedal units. They claim you can control the pedals using the foot pressure instead of the angle of the pedal! The unit is made of aluminium, and has adjustable pedal angle (rake) and travel distance. Follow this for more info.
A Frex GP pedal unit :
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- Logitech made various wheels and pedals for pc driving gmaes/sims. They were mid range similar to Thrustmaster and Act Labs. Mainly plastic construction, although the units were sturdy enough. A while back they had three wheels, the Formual GP (Non Force Feedback), the Formula Force (which is a force feedback wheel), and the top of the range unit was the Momo Force (See pictures below). Clamps are not that good though, and the wheel can move around if you use too much force when driving. Follow this for more info.
The Logitech Range of Wheels (Momo/GP/Force):
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- Microsoft produced a few wheel & pedal sets, including the Precision Wheel & Sidewinder Force Feedback Wheels. You can use a profile editor to set up various options, (separate axis for pedals, etc) for different games. Generally thought of as good quality, but its all a bit too plastic for my liking. Pedals are not that good, and most owners resort to cutting a squash ball in half, and placing it behind the brake pedal to add *feel* to their braking! Good value though as they can be found pretty cheap if you shop around. Clamps on MS wheels are also a bit suspect and the wheel can move around. Follow this for more info.
A Microsoft Wheel:
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Redline Race Controls (RRC) Pedals:
- Redline Race Controls (RRC) is a small outfit based in New Zealand. I understand the pedal units are individually hand made and are of a very high quality. The pedal unit is made from aluminium, includes a clutch pedal, and the pedal angles (rake) have two adjustments. The pedals also incorporate dual pedal axis. Follow this for more info.
RRC Pedals:
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TSW (Thomas Super Wheels) Wheels & Pedals:
- TSW are an American company who also make very high quality wheel & pedal set-ups. Some people in the sim racing community swear by them. They are usually metal based frames and components which are then encased in plastic covers. They use high quality pots, springs, etc and they manufacture several versions of their wheels and pedals.
- Basic versions are cheaper and have less features. More expensive versions have more buttons, clutch pedals, Leather clad Momo wheels, you can also specify traditional type gear changers or F1 style paddles, etc. Even the basic models are fairly expensive, but you are buying quality, and should expect years of service from any model that you purchase. TSW has a good reputation for after sales service too. Follow this for more info.
A TSW Wheel & Pedal set-up:
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- Thrustmaster have been making wheels and pedals for the PC for ages (anyone remember the legendary T1 & T2). They generally are of good quality, (despite mainly plastic construction) and are also fairly cheap, so offer good value. The main offerings from Thrustmaster were the 360 Modena, and the Pro version, a plain Force feedback wheel as well as the GT Force Feedback wheel, and a couple of NASCAR wheels. The wheels have various features including F1 style paddle shifters, rubber wheels for extra grip, and programmable buttons.
- The 360 Modena wheels were licensed by Ferrari. Some of the above wheels are digital rather than the more usual analogue. Thrustmaster's after sales service is legendary. I had my first Thrustmaster wheel for about three years, and they had no problem sending me new springs (from the USA to the UK) free of charge on several occasions. And once again, the clamping system used by Thrustmaster (compared to more expensive systems) can be a bit hit and miss. Follow this for more info.
Two Thrustmaster Wheels (the Modena Pro 360 and Nascar Charger):
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- Some manufacturers offer both analogue and digital game controllers. Traditionally wheels and pedals have been analogue, but digital offerings are not uncommon. The movement of the wheel or pedals (in digital devices) is determined via photo cells or light switches in the wheel or pedals instead of traditional potentiometers (as used in analogue devices). However, some people claim that these digital devices are CPU hungry (they use valuable CPU resources which could otherwise be used by the game you are playing) and they can be unreliable and subject to spikes. Although, being digital, they have less moving parts than analogue, and so are less prone to mechanical failure.
- Analogue is also not perfect though. Potentiometers vary in both quality and reliablility, and can also suffer from spikes (usually if they are dirty). Although if they do break, they are generally easier to replace. As always, technology continues to advance, and both analogue and digital devices will get better, more accurate, more reliable, and no doubt ultimately cheaper.
- But digital usually means on or off doesn't it? you don't get a progressive response with digital? Well, with traditional digital devices such as Keyboards, or Gamepads, that is true. However, digital wheels and pedals effectively emulate the progressive results of analogue devices by measuring very accurately how much a wheel or a pedal has been moved, and then relatively moving the vehicle you are controlling as required. its all calculated very fast by the PC, rather than simply being based on the physical movement of a pot.(Thats one of the reasons why digital can be more CPU intensive than analogue).
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Game Port or USB?
- More and more new wheels & pedals are using USB (Universal Serial Bus) adaptors to connect to the PC. USB has the advantage of being able to connect or disconnect peripherals without the need to reboot the PC, and several devices can be connected to the PC's USB hub at once. However, extra CPU resources can be used by USB devices (depending on the game/program being used) which may otherwise be used by the game, so the quality of the game, via frame rates and/or graphics quality may suffer if you use USB?
- Also, to use USB successfully you really need Windoze XP as a minimum, as even though later versions of Windoze 95 and Windoze 98 claim to be USB compatible, it was flaky at best using that platform. Traditional game port connectors are still common though and offer the easiest of options, as provided you have a game port installed (usually via your PC's sound card or Motherboard) you just plug in and away you go. And, if you have a dedicated game card, you can actually reduce CPU useage, as the game card handles a lot of the controller stuff which would have been done by the CPU, which thus frees up more CPU cycles for the game.
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What about other controllers??
- What about controlling cars with a joystick? or a gamepad? or the keyboard? Well, You can use joysticks, or game pads, or even the keyboard, but they don't come close to the feel you get from a wheel and pedals. Although, having said that, there are some *very* fast racers out there who even hold a few World records at some games/sims who do in fact use joysticks or gamepads.
- Generally though, for driving programs of any description, a wheel and pedal set-up is much more rewarding than any other kind of set-up. Joystick or pads will feel different too. A wheel usually moves between 180 and 270 degrees, whereas a stick will move through an axis or around 90 degrees? Therefore to get from lock to lock is quicker using a stick, but you get more accurate control from a wheel? You pays your money and you takes your choice.
General Gaming Hardware Links:
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