Curious about relation between FFB and wheel rim diameter ?

[ValseTriste]

My curiosity is whether or not the FFB in AC is linear across all cars if you use the correct wheel diameter ?

Obviously steering wheel/rim diameter affects the FFB and steering sensitivity in a sim the same way it does in real life so I’m wondering if the developers of AC have based their FFB on the consumer using generic 29-31cm wheels (so measured from the wheel) or the correct diameter wheels (measured from the column) ? All things considered the first case seems more likely but as its a benchmark sim the latter might be true no ?

I’m still using my trusty old T300 even though I’ve used direct drive wheels and they are better in every way. I’m pretty sure if you could attach a T300 wheel with its plastic hub to a real car without power steering you’d snap it off before you got out of the parking spot. Also it seems that many people with a T300 prefer to dial down the FFB to prevent clipping but if the wheel is still realistic lets say 25 to 50% of the time at a high FFB level and clips the rest of the time, don't forget that dialling it down makes it unrealistic all of the time… just a thought, whatever works !

Anyway since the speed and torque of direct drive is far more realistic I was wondering if anyone out there who has one and a diverse selection of wheel rims has an opinion ?

 

[Stereo]

AC's FFB is only based on maximizing usage of consumer wheels (G27 etc.). It has a preset FFB multiplier on every car that's been set essentially by running a lap and taking the highest number that doesn't clip much.

I don't think any attempt was made for the base number to be in any particular units cause not enough people have a wheel where that would matter. That sorta thing did get decided before 2014 and there were even fewer DD options then. It is fundamentally based on tie rod forces, as far as I know anything past that (actual rack implementation, power steering system) is ignored.

 

[ValseTriste]

Hi cheers for the feedback which actually sounds like solid info rather than speculation ?

Makes perfect sense. So if its not linear, instead compressed or reduced based on clipping limits, then for DD wheel owners who want something realistic (or consumer wheel owners who are willing to tolerate clipping) it really is a case of adjusting each car individually.

 

[mclarenf1papa]

Hi cheers for the feedback which actually sounds like solid info rather than speculation ?

Makes perfect sense. So if its not linear, instead compressed or reduced based on clipping limits, then for DD wheel owners who want something realistic (or consumer wheel owners who are willing to tolerate clipping) it really is a case of adjusting each car individually.

It's not compressed. It's just scaled down to not clip. If it clipped, that'd be a form of compression.

 

[Stereo]

It can be compressed, annoyingly the parameter is named "STEER_ASSIST", 1.0 is linear and the majority of cars use this. I think it's available as a setup option on a handful of cars, not sure if it appears as 1.0 or 100% at the correct value. It's bad for DDs if this isn't 1 cause it messes with min force.

 

[mclarenf1papa]

It can be compressed, annoyingly the parameter is named "STEER_ASSIST", 1.0 is linear and the majority of cars use this. I think it's available as a setup option on a handful of cars, not sure if it appears as 1.0 or 100% at the correct value. It's bad for DDs if this isn't 1 cause it messes with min force.

Yeah that’s true, car-specific though.

 

[ValseTriste]

Cheers guys, so for anyone out there that is serious about investing a lot of money into a high end rig/chassis for use with AC and wants something relatively realistic in terms of steering feel and forces they are going to need:

A DD wheel
With a selection of rims of different diameters (and ideally finish and features)
And while looking out for compression in some cases, to adjust each cars FFB individually based on some solid research (or ideally some real world track experience)

Basically anyone who has or is about to invest in a DD wheel for AC should know that its not plug'n'play but your efforts will be rewarded ! For me, hopefully one day...

For now I've got the selection of rims, done the research and have very little but at least some track experience so for anyone on PS4 with a T300 or similar who is willing to tolerate clipping for something close to realistic at least some of the time you can try these settings as a starting point:

Force feedback 80% (wheel base top cover removed on mine so ok but reduce if overheating)
Curbs FFB 0%
Road FFB 0%
Slip FFB 0%
Understeer effect OFF