Hi all, I have a Logitech Formula Force Ex with 180 degrees of steering angle (90 degrees for each side). I have been struggling very hard to get good and consistent lap times and lately a friend of mine told me that I should not even try with a 180 degree wheel. He told me that was the reason I couldn't get back on accelerator on corner exits and also the reason why I was wasting tyres so early. So, should I not even bother at the moment with this wheel? I wanted to have your opinions as well because this might be the final sign that I should stop pushing until I get a better wheel. Thanks in advance for your answers.
I think more important than the range of the wheel is the force feedback. I was racing with a controller recently and my times were OK, but I had lots of tire wear since I was putting too much steering input at corners. It is difficult to know if you are past the optimum steering angle if you dont have FFB, and it also helps to feel when the back is loosing grip. If your wheel has limited range you can somehow mitigate that playing with the steering sensitivity, and also with the steering lock setting in the garage. But compared with a controller 180 degrees is plenty in my opinion. If some people can race with a controller you surely can with a limited wheel, specially if that wheel has FFB.
I started with a Logitech Formula Vibration Feedback wheel, which had only 180 degree rotation. If you're not used to anything else, it will be fine to start with. Just make sure you set the steering lock very low in the car setup screen.
You could also lower the steering axis sensitivity (not speed sensitivity, that's something else) so the centre movement is slower. I did that when I had a 240º Logitech momo, it helped make centering the wheel when applying power easier to do. It took a little time to adjust when I later got a wheel with more movement, but the centre was largely unchanged (I just had to get used to turning the wheel more in sharper corners). I think I had it on about 20% (this is in rFactor 1, but I'm sure it's still similar), you might need lower for your more limited range. Doing this gives you a bigger area to aim for when accelerating, because often you want your wheel to be very straight when applying power. Having said all that, you can adapt to basically any wheel (considering most have at least 180º lock) with a bit of time and practice. It's just important to understand what you should be doing, and what you're doing wrong (check replays etc). The best equipment in the world doesn't help someone that doesn't target their practice, they're just paying more to go slow.
Mine is Logitech Wingman Formula Force GP and setting speed sensitivity on 30 helped a bit with precision
