Thrustmaster announces new add-on wheel

[woz9us]

Fans of Thrustmaster wheels and 'ecosystem' look to be in for a treat as Thrustmaster have recently announced a new wheel add-on for use with T300 RS, T500 RS or TX Racing Wheel Ferrari 458 Italia Edition wheels.

The new wheel will be a 280mm GT hand-stitched leather rim with a sporty look and very similar to the existing Ferrari GTE Wheel Add-On Ferrari 458 Challenge Edition with it's 280mm rim size and paddle shifters.

Apart from the leather hand-stitched rim, other differences include a 3-position rotary switch with a push function in the central position. The TM Leather 28 GT Wheel Add-On also weighs in at a lighter one kilogram meaning increased force feedback feel.

Suggested retail price is:
UK - £129.99
EUR - €149.99
US - $149.99

As a Ferrari GTE wheel user, this wheel will be a welcomed addition to my collection as the only gripe I have had with the GTE rim is the cheap rim quality and weight; this new offering looks to address both those issues and more.

Thrustmaster are looking to ship the wheel later this month. What do you guys think, will you be picking this wheel up?

 

[Racedriver_K]

Not bad. Instead I was looking more for an official price cut on T300, considering the useless pedal set almost everyone will be replacing after purchase. I want to replace my G27 but with shipping and customs on base price of $400, it comes to me for about $800 on ebay. Feels too costly for just a wheel when it is an import without any official support.
I hope they start selling wheel + base (without pedal set) separately as well.

 

[R.J. O'Connell]

That looks nice. How many years of my wages is that?

 

[Jozsef Veverka]

why 280mm again....? would really like to see a 300 or 320 mm rim...
and other hand 150 euro is seems way too much for that rim...
So a reasonable setup now will go up to somewhere around 600 euros (Base+GT rim+T3P pedals+Shifter), which is a bit overpriced imo

 

[woz9us]

why 280mm again....? would really like to see a 300 or 320 mm rim...

You have to bear in mind that the further away your hands are to the center of the wheel, the more leverage you have which will lessen the force feedback feel and put more strain on the motor.

And with the TX/T300 RS not coping too well under heavy use; I would assume Thrustmaster don't want to take a chance. The fact they have made this rim lighter also means less strain for the wheel base motor.

 

[Pär Öqvist]

It´s a no brainer they should make the rims as light as possible no matter what strain. When I had the old heavy GTE rim it didn´t feel like it was less taxing for the wheel then my lighter 320 or 365 mm rims. But sure that was designed for the T500RS and not the TX/T300RS.

Maybe you are right about that but then the motor should be dimensioned so you can´t overdrive it without overclocking. I tend to be smoother with my bigger rims so I don´t know if I really am harder on my TX. Smaller rims is for rallying when you really jank the wheel around

I bet a 320 mm rim would be a much easier sell for them. 150 euro for that is a hard sell for us knowing what aftermarket rims of higher quality cost. In bigger sizes as well...

I bet that is "genuine leather" not real leather.

 

[Jozsef Veverka]

Unfortunately i know that TM wheels not last for long, I'm just about to kill my 2nd TX, have the same issue like i have had with my 1st. (Also have had 2 RGT-s before). So probably that can be the reason why they don't make bigger rims, but 280mm still feels a bit small.

 

[woz9us]

I use a 320mm aftermarket wheel which is only slightly heavier than the standard GTE rim but due to the larger rim the wheel heats up a hell of a lot faster as I like stronger FFB, after 15 minutes of use the FFB almost disappears, most likely a failsafe in the new firmware due to so many failing TX's.

 

[Rob]

I use a 320mm aftermarket wheel which is only slightly heavier than the standard GTE rim but due to the larger rim the wheel heats up a hell of a lot faster as I like stronger FFB, after 15 minutes of use the FFB almost disappears, most likely a failsafe in the new firmware due to so many failing TX's.

Interesting. I thought I was the only one who got this in the TX. It seems like the FFB is still there, but all the road surface tire modeling and environmental effects go away. My buttons crapped out after 6 months, but they are shipping a replacement.

 

[Pär Öqvist]

I run the same settings pretty much and don´t get that much fade. I think it kind of even outs with muscle fatigue for endurance racing

 

[David B]

I have a aftermarket 330mm rim on my tx and it has been fine for the 6 months I've had it. I have put hundreds of hours to it, the ffb doesn't fade for me and the wheel doesn't get to hot either.

 

[Blkout]

I like the new rim although wish it was just slightly larger, 300mm would nice. I do like they kept the best aspects of the GTE/T300 rims and made it lighter which was easily its biggest downfall. The leather is also nice touch for everyone that hated the rubber feel of the GTE/T300 rims.

 

[woz9us]

A little too pricey for me - They had announced the suggested retail price of £129.99 but it's now showing £149.99. Not the best way to gain interest

 

[David B]

That is well over priced in my opinion!

 

[woz9us]

I have the wheel bracket for the GTE wheel and have bought another suede wheel off ebay for £50 - Job done

 

[Insert Coin]

> I have the wheel bracket for the GTE wheel
Can you elaborate on that please? Did you remove the wheel bracket from your original GTE wheel and add it to the eBay wheel?

 

[woz9us]

Sim Racing Hardware have made a bracket that you screw to the GTE base and then the aftermarket wheel screws to that.

You can find the bracket here:

http://simracinghardware.com/product/thrustmaster-gte-wheel-adapter/

Here's my 320mm wheel installed:

The paddles are a bit of a reach but once you get used to it it's fine.

 

[David B]

I have done the same with the gte adapter. I gother a suede wheel that is 330mm in size and I also extended the paddle shifters.

I modded a dpad in the wheel too so works with Xbox one and PC perfectly.

 

[El-ahrairah]

Fantastic!

This will be great for T500 owners (like me) who cant stand the static paddles. I have actually been looking for a standalone t300 wheel that I can use, but this will do the trick fine.

I think I will definitely be picking this up. I does look pretty...girthy? Picture makes it look a lot thicker than that T500 wheel.

Any word on release date?

 

[Metzger82]

Hi,

I found this topic while googling for bigger wheel rim on the t300. I ordered the simracing hardware adapter and I am looking for a wheel now and I was wondering what is more affecting to the FFB - the weight or the size of the wheel ?

I am thinking for fanatec gt wheel which is 970grams which is lighter than most of the irl wheels even good ones. Not carbon ones ofc.

woz9us
How hevier is your wheel rim comapred to the original one ?