Best Wheel for New Players? - Thrustmaster T248 Review

Thrustmaster T248 Review: Best Entry Level Wheel?

If you’ve never had a racing wheel before, or you’re operating on a strict budget, then the Thrustmaster T248 is aimed right at you! But should you buy it?

Photo credit: Thrustmaster

Ever since the announcement of the Thrustmaster T248 back in August 2021, there have been a great deal of questions surrounding it. It may not have the freshest technology such as direct drive, but the T248 aims to be the best budget option on the market. With its release date fast approaching on 21 October, we decided we should take a proper look at the shiny new toy ourselves, and see whether it can fight for the title of best starter racing wheel for new players.

Is the Thrustmaster T248 a Secret Star?

This new Thrustmaster wheel is in part a response to the Logitech G923, which was released at the end of 2020. It’s a little more expensive than it’s little sibling, the Thrustmaster T150, but this is due to a few luxury features which justify the higher price point.

Inside the box along with the T248 is a pedal set, in this case the T3PM model. Like the T248, these pedals are a new design from Thrustmaster, and it is with these that they really knocked it out of the park. There is a degree of customisability with the brake pedal, as there are two different springs which can be switched out, as well as a rubber insert which can be either addin in or removed. This gives you four different levels of rigidity to work with.

As the wheel itself is at the lower end of the price range for simracing equipment, it isn’t made of the highest quality materials. A combination of plastic and some foam cushioned by fake leather result in a very light wheel and wheelbase. The buttons are well placed and there are enough of them, and the LCD panel at the top of the wheel itself is a nice touch, particularly as it lets you switch between wheel settings on the fly.

However, there is one drawback to the T248. Depending on your living situation, this problem might not matter at all, or it might be a total deal breaker. Can you guess what it might be? Take a look at our video to learn what the biggest problem with the Thrustmaster T248 is, as well as to hear more about how it works, the quality of the force feedback, and whether we would recommend it to you or not.

Will you be purchasing the new Thrustmaster T248? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!

My name is Jacob and I have been writing for OverTake since November of 2020. I come from the UK, but I'm now living in Berlin. I love to watch, write about and sometimes shout about all forms of racing.