Dear fellow Petrolheads,
Frequently, on this forum and on Reddit, I see people constantly struggling with wheel settings or they mention that FH4 is unplayable and not enjoyable with a wheel. First of all, I can imagine the frustration when you invest your hard earned money in a wheel-setup and it doesn’t reach your expectations. Therefore, I wrote down these tips and tricks how I managed to enjoy FH/FM with a wheel!
IMPORTANT NOTE:
I’m here to help others by sharing my own experiences, maybe other experienced wheel users don’t share my tips or opinion. To other experienced wheel users, feel free to share your feedback, own methods and tips proactively!
Before you read the tips, to get it right: practice & patience.
My top tips:
Personal setup and play style:
I am Using a Logitec G920 with additional H shiftier on a wheel stand pro V2.
• Steering - Simulation and on 900 degrees. This gives me the best feedback thought the wheel (do not use Normal steering).
• ABS off - This maybe sounds strange, but you will learn to brake way more precise when you get the hang of it.
• Traction control off, stability control off - Better for learning drifting and feels unnatural for me when this is on.
*I will share my exact wheel settings later.
Car choice
Do not start with a mid-engine 800bhp RWD fire spitting beefed-up super car. It may be your absolute favorite car in the game. But believe me, easier to start/train on a lower level and work your way up. For me, the best way to get the right feel, is to start with a STOCK (or slight tuned) RWD or AWD front engine C or B class. One step at the time, every car drives (slightly) different, so don’t switch to often. I prefer the BMW M3 lineup: Font engine, means you learn to deal with under-steer situations, and Rear wheel drive will teach you to manage and eventually control over-steer (drifting). For example: M3 E30 C-class, M3 E36 high B-class, M3 E46 low A- class ect ect.
A short list of other cars + [PI class] that are a good practice in my opinion (I understand not everybody is a BMW fan):
• Any Nissan Silvia [C&B]
• Any MX5 [D-B]
• AM DB5 (great for drift practice)
• Jaguar XE-S and XF-R [A]
• Kia Stiner [A]
• Vauxhall MONARO VXR [A]
Extra tip: I also think that cars which are long wheel based, are less twitchy and slightly easier to control.
Camera options
Begin with first person view. Hood, dashboard or cockpit mode. This will give you several advantages:
A natural view with is similar to the real deal, a clear view of the road ahead of you, plus the apex and ideal line. And most important, this will help to generate a feel for the cars physics.
Third person will show you the back of your favorite car, but it will generate less feedback of what the front wheels are doing into your steering wheel. I know with a controller third person is way easier. Personally, I race in POV and cruise in third person.
Tire choice
People may think, the racing tire is the best choice, and guess what? they are right!
The point is, when you have a super grippy tire, the moment you lose traction, its way harder to compensate, especially with a wheel. Therefore, start with the stock tire. Yes, it will lose grip earlier. However, this way you will get a feel of your cars limit into your steering wheel. In other words, it will help to manage and learn to deal with understeer and oversteer.
Conclusion
Now when you combine those tips: Find a circuit race with a great variety of corners (high and low speed). Ignore the other AI, put Driving line on, focus on clean laps and eventually you will find the cars limit of grip. When you do so, try learn and control the car; Use rewind, try a different line, adjust breaking, lifting and eventually try to correct small drifts. This way you will get a feel of the cars physics and you can up your game.
Give it a try and for sure provide (proactive) feedback.
If someone has any questions, I will try and answer them.
At last, remember: practice and patience.