Thrustmaster Shifter Worth It?

[Robertinotje]

Hi guy's.
I already have a thrustmaster 300 and upgrade the pedals to the pro. I am about to get a shifter for a more sim feeling experience. I was thinkin'g to purchase the thrustmaster shifter. Is it worth it? Any advice ?

 

[ouvert]

it is good .. switching to sequential or analogue handbrake mod is not super practical .. you always have to unscrew 4 screws and change/rotate plate but other than that good shifter ..

 

[Hor-hay]

It's a decent shifter and even better with: https://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/th8-shifter-short-shift-plate.14531/

 

[Michael Hornbuckle]

Great shifter for the money, a friend of mine has one and loves it. If you have the coin and want to go 'full awesome' buy the Fanatec.

 

[Jebus]

I have 2 TM shifters and I'm very pleased with them. And +1 for that short shift plate, I have it and it's great.

But if you have money for it Fanatec shifter probably feels more close to real, never tried one but that's what I've understood from user reviews.

 

[Elaphe]

Not worth in my opinion. The spring is too weak and too loose. The gear change doesn't resemble any of the cars I've driven. It feels too mechanical, but weak at the same time. I have never driven a Ferrari with manual gear shift, which is the mechanism that it resembles the most, at least the looks. The worst part, however, is not the shifter itself, but how bad the manual gear shift is emulated in all sims, with almost no connection with the clutch. Basically, you can shift without even pressing the clutch. You may hear griding noises and brake and brake the gears eventually, but you will not notice anything when using the clutch together with manual shifting. A clutch is a complex system and it's not emulated properly.

 

[ouvert]

Not worth in my opinion. The spring is too weak and too loose. The gear change doesn't resemble any of the cars I've driven. It feels too mechanical, but weak at the same time. I have never driven a Ferrari with manual gear shift, which is the mechanism that it resembles the most, at least the looks. The worst part, however, is not the shifter itself, but how bad the manual gear shift is emulated in all sims, with almost no connection with the clutch. Basically, you can shift without even pressing the clutch. You may hear griding noises and brake and brake the gears eventually, but you will not notice anything when using the clutch together with manual shifting. A clutch is a complex system and it's not emulated properly.

that has hardly anything to do with shifter itself .. it is just 8 switches activated by stick movement .. if there is bad clutch implementation it is not TH8A fault ..
Im not gonna claim it feels realistic but it at least doesnt feel like toy .. well build, reliable and cheap

You can adjust tension of spring to some extend with screw accessible from the side (I guess that was first thing you did but in case you missed it) ...

 

[Elaphe]

My point is that, if the manual gear shift with clutch is not emulated properly by the sims, then there's no reason to consider a H shifter for your rig. I had the TM shifter for a week or so and it took all the inmersion away because of how unrealistic it felt. As you say, it's not really a problem of the shifter, but the clutch. You do not feel any mechanical connection, for instance when trying to shift without pressing the clutch, and you don't feel any effect on the car when you incorrectly release the clutch too suddently, for instance. The clutch mechanism doesn't know if the gear is engaged and the shifter doesn't know if the clutch is pressed, released or how much it is. It would be amazing to have that hardware communication between both peripherals and then a proper software simulation that takes advantage of it, but I'm afraid nobody is interested and it will never happen. That's why I discarded upgrading to the Fanatec shifter and decided to use a sequential shifter.

 

[RasmusP]

Can totally understand that! If that breaks the immersion for you, then it's your right to not like it for sure. I know how that feels!

To the shifter: Touched it in a store and I liked it. Not fully real but a big step up compared to my Logitech G27 plastic toy!

But I have to say even my plastic crap makes me grin when you do a head to head fight on the straight with an old BMW E30 and shift through the gears, trying to squeeze out the last rpm to get ahead. So yeah, if you don't want to go Fanatec, then it's worth it.
You just have to consider that it won't be truly simulated and just a gimmick more or less. And awesome one though

 

[BluePotato00]

If you’re just interested in sequential (and not the handbrake functionality), consider the Heusinkveld sequential shifter. It’s a tank in a small form factor and well reviewed by Barry at Sim Racing Garage.

 

[ouvert]

My point is that, if the manual gear shift with clutch is not emulated properly by the sims, then there's no reason to consider a H shifter for your rig. I had the TM shifter for a week or so and it took all the inmersion away because of how unrealistic it felt. As you say, it's not really a problem of the shifter, but the clutch. You do not feel any mechanical connection, for instance when trying to shift without pressing the clutch, and you don't feel any effect on the car when you incorrectly release the clutch too suddently, for instance. The clutch mechanism doesn't know if the gear is engaged and the shifter doesn't know if the clutch is pressed, released or how much it is. It would be amazing to have that hardware communication between both peripherals and then a proper software simulation that takes advantage of it, but I'm afraid nobody is interested and it will never happen. That's why I discarded upgrading to the Fanatec shifter and decided to use a sequential shifter.

well but that goes for any commerialy available H pattern shifter ..

Personaly I still prefer to use H shifter-clutch mechanism that is working only on SW level (you can physicaly select gear on stick but it wont engage gear without proper clutch operation or matching revs) than driving cars thgat have H-pattern with seqential shifter .
That brakes immersion even more .. I would rather not use those cars at all ...

And mostly for the same reason I Heel&Toe in real life ... it makes driving pretty much every car more fun ..

 

[Elaphe]

On the other hand, however, in many sims such as Assetto Corsa, if I remember well you cannot use manual gear shifting with cars that use sequential shifting, but you can do the other way round (even if it's not totally realistic). That's what the automatic clutch and the automatic throttle blip options are there for. That's too something to consider.
Personally, I liked H shifting some years ago, but now I see it too old fashioned. It's against the performance and I don't think it goes well with competition, unless you are much into historic cars. I also have much fun with my HE shifter and I don't miss the clutch at all. Actually, resting and using my left foot all the time for braking (something that I've learnt recently) is really fun and gives you more control over the car.

 

[ouvert]

I think only AC does that .. that is cause not everybody has H shifter and it would be bad for them to cut of so many players from half of the content.
But I can see it from your point of view .. I`m spending quite a lot of time in different cars in different situations (sometimes in those you regularelly dont do) and I still preffer manual H shiffter .. give me another 15 years behind wheel and I`ll be telling you different story I guess

In sims I just use what is in that car .. braking with both legs in H pattern and left one in clutchless and it is not about wanting to use H pattern .. it is more about feeling weird using paddles or seq in cars (modern or historic) that doesnt have it ..

 

[Michael Hornbuckle]

So the OP is asking if the Thrustmaster shifter is worth the money and somehow the topic became whether or not the OP should even use a shifter or even drive cars that would require it. WTF is wrong with you guys?

Anyways, yes, the Thrustmaster shifter is well worth the money (especially with the short throw mod) if you enjoy driving H pattern cars and want to extend the immersion you get while driving them. The Fanatec Clubsport is an even better shifter, but at three times the price you really have to be into driving older cars in order to somehow justify the price. (being able to switch to sequential mode simply by sliding a lever is awesome and well worth the extra fifty bucks or so over the h pattern only version)

 

[Fat-Alfie]

I love mine, paired with T500RS and a set of T3PA-Pro pedals. The feeling of driving the Lotus 49, approaching a hairpin bend and braking, downshifting and blipping the throttle through 5 gears puts a big grin on my face every time If you can justify the (modest) cost, go for it!

 

[vee10]

Well worth the money in my opinion, nothing better than a bit of heal and toe and banging down the gears. I have modded mine with a heavier knob and short throw gate and also just added some extra tension to movement via some tpu bands fitted under the gate area. It feels lovely