I am so frustrated by my experience with the MS Racing Wheel for the 360.  Dont bother buying it.  I'm personally goign to try the logitech wheel or wait until Fanatec releases their xbox 360 product which I know will be worth any price and any wait.

My observations are based on my experience with the MS  Racing Wheel for xbox 360 in comparison with what is in my opinion the perfect driving wheel i've ever experienced, the speedster 3 by fanatec for the origional xbox.

My primary gripe is the lack of proper feedback with hte MS racing wheel and proper calibration.  First, you must turn on force feedback in Forza 2 to get any feel on the wheel at all.  if you turn it off, you have to guess where to turn the wheel to go straight.  If you turn FF on, then the wheel jerks all over the place, turning resistance comes and goes abruptly.  In essense, as soon as a wheel on the car breaks loose I loose the steering resistance which makes the wheel jerk in the opposite direction, and then I cant find middle (straight) because there's no resistance until I come to a stop, look down at the wheel and see where I'm steering, or the wheels regain grip... what I'm saying is its impossible to recover from a slide or spin at the slightest loss of traction.  And the biggest problem I have is lack of calibration.  The wheel sits straight or cocked to the right by about 15 degrees, depending on its mood.  Why isn't there a way to calibrate this thing?   Why doesnt it calibrate itself properly?

The fanatec wheel I use on my xbox 1 with Forza 1 has these things done right.  First, there is FF so you feel the vibrations when you hit the rumble strips or bump another car.  But the steering resistance is built perfectly.  No matter what your doing, you can feel where straight is.  there is a small deadzone in the middle, which as soon as you reach the edge of that deadzone resistance begins and the car starts to slightly turn as soon as you crest that edge, increasing the turn's sharpness as you turn the wheel, exactly as I would have expected.  I can always "feel" where straight is and I just know how far my wheels are turned at any given moment.  Second the fanatec wheel calibrates itself with each power-on.  It turns all the way left, turns all the way right, then centers itself perfectly.  THIS is the way a wheel should operate.

For the record, I immediately enjoyed my driving experience with the fanatec wheel and my driving abilities instantly improved with the smoothness of my turns and timing of my turn-in.  There was no "getting used to" the fanatec wheel, its just right from the start.  The MS racing wheel, is a pile of crap.  Its going back to the store. 

I hope this helps others avoid wasting their time and money.

It sounds like you got a particularly bad example. First things first. There is a known calibration problem with the first generation wheels. My first wheel was cocked to the right slightly. Yes, I said my first one. The right paddle shifter wore out and I replaced it with a new one. My new wheel is second generation. It is calibrated properly and feels more solidly built overall.

Those things said, your problems with the resistance in-game sound abnormal. My first wheel had its quirks, but it gave a good feel and feedback in-game. It returned to the center position properly when released. If you were trying to run with the force feedback turned off, I can't really speak to that. I've never tried to play Forza without the FFB. It is true that the wheel suffers immensely if you try to run on battery instead of plugging it in. (I played PGR3 and Test Drive Unlimited this way.) You lose most of the feel, but the wheel should still center itself. Mine did. I don't recommend that anyone play Forza or any other game with the wheel unplugged. It wasn't really designed to work without AC power, and you're not getting your money's worth this way.

My second generation wheel feels much better than my first one did when it was new. Microsoft seems to have worked out the manufacturing bugs with it. The resistance and feedback are better and the switchgear and buttons all feel more solid. Still, I purchased the two year warranty from Best Buy incase this one quits on me. You might want to exchange your wheel for a new one. I realize you're angry, but it sounds like you got an abnormally bad example. To you or anyone else reading this, this is still a case of buyer-beware. Make sure you get a second generation wheel. Do a Google search on the wheel and get a list of lot numbers. These will tell you which generation a wheel is from.

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Proud Ford owner and Ferrari fan.

It could be a bad apple.  I have a support case opened with xbox and I'll send it back to them to see what they do with it, worse case I'm out an extra $8 for shipping. 

I'm not sure if htis is a second-gen or first-gen wheel, but I just bought the thing like 2 weeks ago.  It did have an old price tag on it that said $129 which might tell us something depending on when the price reduction happened (I bought it for $99).  It came with a demo disc of Forza 2 instead of PGR.

Bottom line is that at this moment I enjoy my racing experience much more with the controller than this wheel.

Someone else posted a wheel setup somewhere on this forum. I set my FF to 75% and it seems to be OK. It doesn't jerk around everytime I run across the bricks.

You probably have the 2nd wheel if you got a Forza Demo. I replaced my wheel back in October from Best Buy and it is a little better than the 1st one. Xbox xent me a box to ship it in for the retrofit, but I decided that it didn't need it.

I don't think Fanatec is working on a 360 wheel. they have their new 911 Porsche wheel out now and it's not for the 360.

I liked the Fanatec wheel a lot. It had more options on the wheel for control. Too bad MS locked them out for the 360.

Edit: I found the MS wheel setup that I saved. Make changes as you like.

Disclaimer: this is not my setup. I copied it from another post from this Forum somewhere.

----[ Wheel ]----
Steering axis deadzone inside: 0%-2%
Steering axis deadzone outside: 70-75%
comment: steering speed almost matches controller

Brake deadzone inside: 0%
Brake deadzone outside: 100%
Throttle - the same
comment: immediate reaction to any feet movement, even slight touch. Kicking throttle doesn't brake traction as with usual inside:15, outside 90.
Brakes depend highly on car, but with 0%/100% you get highest possible feeling.

Force Feedback Scale: 25%
comment: As force feedback only slows you down, 25% is enough to both have fun _and_ have decent lap times. YMMV.

Vibration Scale: 60%
comment: understanding vibration signals is what makes you alot faster than with controller as one quickly understands if suspesion is too stiff, or when tires are on the edge of traction. The higher the better, 60% is enough for me.

----[ Cars ]----
General tuning guide (subjective, non-expert, only 24 TrueSkill).

I'll only discuss RWD cars, since FWD are so unrealistic, that it almost doesn't metter if you use wheel or controller. I make an assumption that you drive RWD car with TCS on and FWD car with TCS off. Never, ever use STM or be prepared to loose any race. Always use ABS with the wheel, expecially with RWD cars that have unrealistically low grip in FM2.

As for the brakes: DON'T set braking bias in RWD cars to front! Front tires in RWD cars are usually smaller than wide rears. Front brake bias makes you slower and more error prone. Exactly opposite in FWD, where front bias makes brakes more predictible.

With above wheel settings try to drive a car that has toe front and rear set to 0. Than change it to front 0.1, rear -0.2. Also set caster to 5.5.
Understand already? It's not the wheel that is off center or inadequate. The Car has problems with driving straight, not the wheel (!).

As wheel is very good for subtle direction changes, as you can correct your course, easly tighten course or only add a little throttle - you might choose a car that benefits from such techniques. Feeling tires braking loose and having instant notification when a tire hits a bump, you might easly drive on the edge of traction.

With tight steering axis settings you are able to quickly make up for oversteer (by subtle yet quick contersteer).

With alot of feeling with throttle, you are able to do what controller users cannot: push both pedals with different angles. You might slowly lift of gas (not completly) and hit the brake to the floor, finishing braking inside the corner.
You might touch the gas just before exiting the turn, thus allowing RWD car to literally rocket out of corners (touching throttle makes rear wheels to add to your steering, it tightens corners).

Finally with both pedals pressed, you are able to drive RR Porsches, what is impossible with the controller (for RR combinations, you may never take feet of the gas).

With subtle controlls, you are able to accelerate just a little and overtake someone on the outside, or on exit (hitting throttle on exit makes you to tighten the turn).

So, what car for the wheel?
1. high grip, light weight (Lotuses for example). Any car that has high grip benefits from using whole avail traction. IMHO it's easier with the wheel.
2. high power rwd matched by handling (yes, that means S-class and above)
3. rwd cars with turbo (you need to be able to lift off the gas when turbo starts to spin rear wheels, but completly letting off makes things even worse). The C-class Saleen is a good example.
4. RR setups
5. low power FWD with tcs off (stock Ford Focus SVT for example). Why? You are able to both enter and exit the turn with front wheels spinning (loosen traction). Braking front wheel traction just a little, with strong steering input makes you exit a corner alot faster than any other option. This is both true for real life and FM2.

----[ Tracks ]----
There are tracks where the wheel makes you quicker, no metter the car.
1. Sunset Infield (big oval, and late braking & drifing through the rest)
2. Maple Valley (big oval and the last turn)
3. Tsukuba (last turn)
4. Sebring (alot of turns benefit from touching throttle after apex)

There are also track extremaly bad for the wheel because of FWD preference and controller doing great job on aiding player:
1. Mugello (extremely quick steering is a must on chicanes)
2. Mazda Laguna Seca (last turn is a nightmare for both the wheel and rwd cars)
3. Test tracks (strong fwd preference, high power is useless, quick steering is a must)

----[ Fun ]----
Get a car with very stiff suspension setup and drive it on Nuerburgring. Feel the beauty of both force feedback and vibration information. It's like you were touching the tarmac with bare hands. Every bump, every stone.... I'm not buying any other game in a long time... Nuerburgring with above wheel setups is ... just too good.

 

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"Unofficial Senior Citizen of Forza Motorsport"

See, this is why i wish my Logitech GT Pro worked with the 360. But it probably wouldn't be as cool as it is with GT4. I mean, I have never had a wheel let me get to feel the car as much as that wheel. You can even tell when your back end is slipping away from you. Microsoft just needs to concede and let the new GT Racing Wheel be compatible with the 360. Then Logitech can work with Turn 10 to create a wheel for them, and maybe even have a Racing Pro wheel that is compatible and works great for both GT and Forza for those of us who have both.

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Canis Lupus Racing

Nice post tomcat. I will try your ideas with my wheel (*I dont race with the controller, I hate it)

 

One thing I WILL agree on big time.....

The "looseness" of RWD's in the rear end IS WAY overamplified. Now ive never driven a FWD car at these speeds and G's.

But Ive Driven Several RWD cars like a madman.

Matter of factly right now I own an 05 GTO. (Not the crappy 04 they stuck us with in game, think vauxhall VXR or 04 GTO with an LS2 Vette motor).

The ass end only... and I mean ONLY gets that loose when you turn off the Trac control and drive like a fool. The ONLY mods I have done to this car are a GMM ripshift, Borla mufflers (car COMES with 3" duals factory) and suspension mods, cause yes the suspension sucks stock.

The suspension - Full Noltec Bushing replacement + Rear Diff Insert. 18" TSW Wheels (MY GTO had factory 18s) and upgraded to 245 width BFG TA KDWS NT.

Now then, with these MILD upgrades to the suspension I am roaring, and I mean roaring down back roads, and taking the tightest onramps at 85MPH. No loose rear. No squall. Just hug. Not on the very edge of traction.

The GTO in game drives NOTHING like mine, even with slight suspenion mods. For fairness sake, neither does the nearly identical Vauxhall (same HP and WR as the 05 GTO). Stock the gto in game is barely driveable. Even on New york at 35-45 MPH in the hair pin it loops. BS. Big BS. Im sure Im not the only person who has pointed this out.... But when I first tired the GTO... My wife was watching me play it... And I quote what she said - "Your car doesnt drive anything like that - youre only doing like 90 through this turn and its sliding out from under you back end first?".

 

One thing I found very amusing was - after a tune to A class, and widening all 4 tires to 275's (Sorry turn 10 IMPOSSIBLE on the GTO - 275 rears yes, at 255 in the front youre rubbing the struts-ask me how I know) and leaving the HP at a sickly 350 (weak compared to the stock 405HP of the 05GTO) the ass STILL wants to loop coming out of mild turns at full throttle with STM and TCS on. BS BS BS.... But.... it is what it is... You have to be so gentle with the throttle in these cars its pretty much a joke.. I finally used a tune someone posted for a charger as a base to get the ass managable in my beloved goat.....

Too bad it has to sit in my garage for off line play only because it cant compete. :(

I like it, but I would prefer the G25 or something similar. I use it to drift (very real) n for beat track records n, of course, FOR HAVING FUN!!!!!!!!!

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Z love: Some see a letter
others see an icon
True ////OFFSET\\\\ is acheived without spacers

I'm using the DriveFX currently and I"m pretty happy with it, especially for the price. I got it new in the box for $50 from a local GameStop. It doesn't transmit the feeling of back-end sliding with drifting, and it's more difficult to drift with than the controller. But for racing, I think it's great.

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Currently looking for a drifting team to tune/drive for...
Current Project: RWD R34, RWD APR Celica, Monaro
GT: ThePieMonster

TomCat7:

I don't think Fanatec is working on a 360 wheel. they have their new 911 Porsche wheel out now and it's not for the 360.

I saw that and worried the same, so of course I emailed fanatec and begged for a 360 wheel.  Their reply:

fanatec:

Thank you very much for your great feedback on our Speedster 3 ForceShock Xbox steering wheel. I am so sorry but at the moment we cannot offer any wheel for Xbox 360. and the current wheel is not compatible to the Xbox 360 due to Microsoft company philosophy.

But be asure that we work on a solution and a new wheel which will be compatible with the Xbox 360. This will be announced on website www.fanatec.com. Please look there from time to time.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Best regards

Fanatec_Team
Sabine Eiben

I'm happily awaiting the announcement.

I love the MS wheel, but it is obviously not the best wheel ever made, especially when considering PC gaming peripherals.  But honestly, when you drew comparisons with the Speedster wheel, your credibility in my eyes went out the door     

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GT: JROD969

Borsig:

One thing I found very amusing was - after a tune to A class, and widening all 4 tires to 275's (Sorry turn 10 IMPOSSIBLE on the GTO - 275 rears yes, at 255 in the front youre rubbing the struts-ask me how I know)

Offset rims/spacers. Add minor flares if you need them. Makes your footprint wider and more stable, too.

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Mystick Racing

im not positvie but i think there is something on the serial #,s for the first gen wheels on www.xbox.com . if it is on there they had a list of all the bad wheel serial #'s. just copy that and take it with you to the store and look for a new wheel without those #'s.

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Drive it like you stole it

GT: sabre1125