Sim racing and sim racing equipment have come an extremely long way since they were introduced. Before the launch of force feedback, sim wheels barely offered the feel for the road and car as they do today. Some would often only turn left and right. Other “more sophisticated” models were equipped with a spring that would return the wheel to its center position, offering at least some degree of resistance and feedback.
Modern direct drive wheel bases are a far cry from the wheels of days gone by and can offer a driving experience that is very close to real life.
What is force feedback?
Force feedback mimics the real forces you can feel when driving a car. Older force feedback wheel bases were typically equipped with belts and/or gears that transmitted the power of the motor to the steering wheel. Direct drive wheel bases, on the other hand, do not have such a transmission – they “directly” apply the motor’s forces to the shaft and thus to the steering wheel.
This allows for significantly greater accuracy, faster responsiveness, and more power in general, which the driver can feel and freely adjust, either in the game menu or Fanatec’s own Tuning Menu. Another benefit of this technology is fewer moving parts within the base – reducing points of failure and leading to greater hardware longevity.
Why can force feedback feel so different?
The game or sim you play will output telemetry data, which the wheel base then translates into tactile feedback. Each game handles its simulation differently. It depends on how its suspension, tire model, or road surface are programmed, among other things. So even if you drive the same car on the same track – being in a different game can give quite a different experience. Also, updates to games can change the physics of a car and thus the force feedback you’ll feel.
Some games also do not have a particularly realistic physics simulation by design. This also translates to the force feedback you’ll feel while driving.
Another thing to consider when it comes to making the most of force feedback is the size of your wheel rim. If you swap from a lower diameter, like a Formula Wheel, to a larger round wheel like the ClubSport Steering Wheel 320, you will feel less force and the force feedback will be “lighter”. You can however counter this by increasing the force feedback strength in the Tuning Menu of your wheel base.
What are the best force feedback settings?
The best settings are those that feel best for you. You can find a good baseline for force feedback settings in the official Fanatec forum. This already provides excellent driving experience. And with the broad customization options within your games and wheel base, finding the “perfect” settings might take a bit of time, but will absolutely be worth it in the end.
