Simagic GT4 wheel review

Get comfy. It's a lengthy one! :rolleyes:

When I bought my Simucube 2 Sport, I purchased the AR F28-SC along with it. For those who haven’t seen one of AR’s wheels in person, they really are quite impressive. It simply exudes first class fit and finish. I love its clean aesthetic. I also really like that it is wireless since I got spoiled from being in the Fanatec ecosystem for a while and going thru several of their wheels sans cable. There were two things I was not satisfied with though: The diameter and no clutch paddles - which is a limitation with Simucube’s wireless solution. Analog axes are currently not supported. I gave up on waiting for Granite Devices to add analog axis support so resigned myself to going USB.

I remember seeing the Simagic GT4 wheel some time ago and noticed how it had everything I was looking for. I was jealous that they offered it, with clutch paddles, in a wireless solution for their wheelbase. At the time though, I was A) a bit concerned dropping coin on a largely unknown product, and B) it wasn’t available - relatively easily - here in the States. It was also obvious that it wasn’t serious with it’s USB connection as a universal wheel. So, I kind of forgot about it. Then along comes Boosted Media’s update YT vid on Simagic’s offerings and I really liked the changes to the GT4 wheel. Figured I would take a look to see if Sim Motion had them in stock and lo and behold, there it was!

I received the wheel 6 days ago as of this writing. Not exactly an impressive unboxing experience. Nothing wrong with it but very basic in its presentation. When I finally got my hands on the wheel itself, I couldn’t help but be immediately impressed with the build quality. The fit and finish are spot on. The feel of the buttons, the two rotaries and two funky switches have a nice solid feel. There are some details that are different from what was shown on Boosted Media’s vid and on Simagic’s own site. For example, the top plate: I’m no expert in carbon fiber but I’m starting to think that it is truly carbon fiber. My guess is that there are differences between this USB version vs their wireless. The top plate is 6mm thick and looking at the edge, it looks the same as the paddles which are listed as carbon fiber. To my eye, it certainly does not look to be an aluminum plate which is what is stated on Simagic’s site. If it is aluminum with a faux carbon fiber layer it is THE best I’ve seen. It’s got that 3 dimensional sheen just like the real stuff. Either way, it looks awesome.

Whatever the material, this wheel is rock solid. The machining of the aluminum back plate is very well done. There are small areas where the top plate extends maybe a half mm beyond the back plate but most of it sits nice and flush. If AR’s fit and finish is a 10, this is easily a 9. Maybe a 9.5. Shifters have a nice solid click feel. Magnets are plenty strong. The clutch paddles use optical sensors so they should last for quite some time. The pads themselves can be adjusted in/out to suit a variety of hand size/finger lengths. All four are nice and smooth operating and have a nice quality feel. You can create a semi bite point by assigning a percentage of engagement to either clutch paddle. I haven’t played with it because in watching an extensive how-to vid on the wheel, it looks like you can’t set it in-sim nor per car. In other words, it’s a universal setting. I decided to not set it for now. In its linear mode, you have two separate analog axes. For example one could be for the clutch, the other for handbrake duty.

Some other details: I love how 8 of the buttons are backlit. You can assign one of something like 5 different colors, including turning off the backlight, to each button separately. The other real nice touch is the USB connection. They provided a USB-A to a female din connector that is mounted on a small bit of carbon fiber which can be mounted on aluminum extrusion. They even supply t-nuts though they are too small for my rig so I’ll have to whip something up but I thought it was a real nice touch. On the wheel side it is a typical screw on din plug which then, obviously, connects to the aforementioned mounted din connector. Simagic also provides a good quality sticker set. Some of them are even decorative if you would like to make the wheel look similar to the real deal.

For those who haven’t tried various size wheels, 15mm can - at least to me - make a big difference. I find the GT4 to be a very comfortable wheel. I took to it much quicker than the F28. I also like that the grips are a rubber type. I prefer to drive bare-handed and I find with suede or alcantara grips, though nice, you really need to wear gloves to make them last.

So, I think by now you all have gotten the sense that I’m pretty happy with this wheel. I’m pretty much a one wheel guy and the GT4 suits me, dare I say, perfectly. Do I have ANY complaints about it? Uh… yeah. It hasn’t shaved the 1.5 seconds I usually run behind the leaders! Perhaps I should return it! :p

One last thing - big shout out to Sim Motion. Darin answered all my questions in a timely manner and shipped out the wheel right away. Nothing but a positive experience working with them on a purchase I had some anxiety about due to the largely unknown Simagic brand. I have zero regrets and recommend, if you have any interest in purchasing some hardware, give Sim Motion a look. They sell other items beside Simagic’s offerings. :thumbsup:
 
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I just recently purchased a Simagic GT4 as well, converted it to a Podium Hub for my DD1 (which was extremely easy btw). I am very impressed overall with the build quality and feel of the wheel. I changed to this from a McLaren GT3 wheel and the difference is day and night. I also completely agree that the additional 15mm compared to a majority of the F1 style rims (285mm) makes a hug difference. I would recommend this rim to anyone looking for a reasonably priced 300mm GT3 rim.
 
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I just recently purchased a Simagic GT4 as well, converted it to a Podium Hub for my DD1 (which was extremely easy btw). I am very impressed overall with the build quality and feel of the wheel. I changed to this from a McLaren GT3 wheel and the difference is day and night. I also completely agree that the additional 15mm compared to a majority of the F1 style rims (285mm) makes a hug difference. I would recommend this rim to anyone looking for a reasonably priced 300mm GT3 rim.

Could you describe a bit closer about your conversion.. are you using it wired via USB? just removed the Simagic quickrelease and bolted it to the Podium HUB?
 
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Yes, it is a very easy to modify. Remove six (6) screws from the front panel and then three (3) more to remove the Simagic Hub. The Podium Hub bolts right on. It would seem I have previous generation GT4 from the one in the SRG review as I have Alcantara grips and aluminum face plate. The wheel has a mini-usb port on the back that I connect via a mini-USB coiled cable, I used a small tie-wrap to attach to the Podium Hub for strain relief. It detects as "simagichub" in the windows USB game controllers. I also removed the analog clutch paddles as most of the GT3 cars I use with the wheel don't have them. The only small problem I have is with RaceRoom and this wheel not being detected, otherwise its excellent.
 

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Here too, same problem with R3E. See also:
Have you come up with a soulution yet?
 
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I purchased a Simagic gt4 USB (without clutch) rim based on this review and others, and I am totally satisfied. I have to admit that the construction, feel, weight and size are simply amazing. If this is an indication of Simagic's standard, I will definitely look into their wheelbase in the future. I can absolutely see this wheel as my only go-to rim when running GT3 cars, it is that good. All the buttons, 7 ways, and rotaries are of the highest quality. The same goes for the shifters, short but precise with a definite solid click. Literally, the OP's review is a mirror of my own thoughts. If you are looking for a quality GT3 rim in this price range, don't hesitate, I just don't see anything competing with it, and it fits me like a glove.

I also bought this wheel from Darin at Sim motion and received excellent customer service. I can't tell you countless times where my inquired emails were left unanswered for days, Darin replied within hours. Communication was on point with super fast shipping, I'm a very happy customer!

Simagic GT4.jpg
 
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Still no update regarding the issue with RaceRoom, but they are still investigating. Another forum poster suggested a application called "antimicro" that maps buttons to keyboard keys that seems to work quite well as a workaround until the issue can be properly resolved.

But that being said, I still really really like this wheel. As previous posters have stated its very good value when compared to the alternatives.
 
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I purchased a Simagic gt4 USB (without clutch) rim based on this review and others, and I am totally satisfied. I have to admit that the construction, feel, weight and size are simply amazing. If this is an indication of Simagic's standard, I will definitely look into their wheelbase in the future. I can absolutely see this wheel as my only go-to rim when running GT3 cars, it is that good. All the buttons, 7 ways, and rotaries are of the highest quality. The same goes for the shifters, short but precise with a definite solid click. Literally, the OP's review is a mirror of my own thoughts. If you are looking for a quality GT3 rim in this price range, don't hesitate, I just don't see anything competing with it, and it fits me like a glove.

I also bought this wheel from Darin at Sim motion and received excellent customer service. I can't tell you countless times where my inquired emails were left unanswered for days, Darin replied within hours. Communication was on point with super fast shipping, I'm a very happy customer!

View attachment 444600
Does it work in Raceroom?
 
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No offense, but that's an awkward reply. Like: "Honey, I can't find my shoes. You seen them?" "No sweetheart, but I have a pair of beautiful shoes here myself."
To work in all recent sims is a minimum requirement for a wheel in my book.

I agree Miki, but they are looking into it and it still is a super great wheel and working with "antimicro" the wheel seems to work great. I will be happy when (or if) they fix the issue because RaceRoom is a great sim.
 
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I agree Miki, but they are looking into it and it still is a super great wheel and working with "antimicro" the wheel seems to work great. I will be happy when (or if) they fix the issue because RaceRoom is a great sim.
If I didn't like the wheel, I'd hardly make so much effort to get it going - like sitting half the night with the dev of sector3 trouble-shooting for example. I think the shifters are up there with the best on the market, the customizable lit buttons are killer etc., etc.
It's dissapointing though that Alex (sector3) reached out to Simagic weeks ago now and they don't even feel the urge to response. Let alone address the problem. So I've mixed feelings about the company. The product -apart from the sw - is top notch.
 
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Haven't been keeping up with this thread. I didn't know there was a problem with R3E. I love Raceroom but haven't been in it in some time since I've been spending most of my time in either ACC or Automobilista 2. Was there an update that broke it? I know I've driven in that sim with the Simagic wheel and had zero problems but, again, that was awhile ago. I'll try R3E tonight and report back.
 
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Yes please do and let us know. I just got my replacement wheel today and it was already updated on up-to-date firmware and still is just not existing in RR.
So I highly recommend to you not to update if RR is working for you, since it did for me with the former GT4 before the update process.

EDIT: Do you guys also notice a very high pitched beeping sound coming out of the back of the wheel? I assume the wireless module could be the source. I hope this is beyond noticeable when mounted...
 
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So, guys - I have zero issues with my GT4 wheel and RaceRoom. I didn't try every button but shifters, clutch, one of my funky switches (didn't use the other one), center encoder including push button and 4 of the perimeter buttons all worked fine.
 
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So, guys - I have zero issues with my GT4 wheel and RaceRoom. I didn't try every button but shifters, clutch, one of my funky switches (didn't use the other one), center encoder including push button and 4 of the perimeter buttons all worked fine.
That's great! As stated, you better don't update your fw, since that's the best guess atm.
For me it's too many issues, I'll send it back and try another manufacturer.
Race on! :)
 
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Just received my GT4 carbon today, dual clutch USB version :). Thanks again for the box dimensions you sent Hiro which were spot on for calculating postage for my China to UK import.
I wasn't sure what software you use to setup the clutch bite points so did a bit of googling and ended up here.
Just tried raceroom and mine works fine, is there a way of discovering what firmware its on?

Edit: I'm on the latest firmware according to wheelupdate.exe program in Racemanager 3.5 software folder.
 
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Hi,
I am using a VRS direct drive pro and Simagic GT4 with dual clutch. I was wondering how did you get the dual clutch working? iracing doesnt read my clutch input. Thx!! I tried to download the racemanager, it also doesnt recognize my input.
 
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