Threaded Mode | Linear Mode

**[TC]»Pete«** · 2012-06-22, 16:23

Here's a review on the 4 Logitech wheels I've owned. The purpose of this review is to give those of you who are thinking about buying a wheel something to go by. If you don't yet want to spend £100+ on a mid-high end wheel, it's worthwhile buying a low end one to start with. That's what I did, twice! Three times technically!

So in short, if you're after a good cheap wheel then it's worth checking out the first 3 wheels in this review. The DFGT might just tickle your fancy though too.

These are the wheels I'm reviewing:

Logitech Wingman Formula Force
Logitech Formula Vibration Feedback
Logitech Formula Force EX
Logitech Driving Force GT

The image below shows the wheels above from left to right.

[Image: ed60060b.jpg]

Logitech Wingman Formula Force

- My Score: 6/10
- Cost (New): £55.00
- Cost (Now): £15.00
- Wheel Diameter: 10"
- Wheel Rotation: 180°
- Feedback: Force Feedback
- Number of buttons: 6 (4 front, 2 paddles)
- Pedals: Accelerator & Brake
- Clamp Type: 2 x Plastic G-Cramps

Let's start with the first wheel I bought, 7 years ago in 2005 after I'd been using a trackpad for nearly a year. The Wingman Formula Force is still a popular wheel today, brand new ones are still popping up on Ebay! It's no wonder though because it lasted me three and a bit years of hard graft. In the end, the potentiometer gave up on me, it became inaccurate and became annoying when driving on the straights as it needed constantly correcting.

I just googled the name of this wheel and the first link was to a brand new yellow one on Ebay which had a price tag of £14.99. This wheel is still desirable because it's a fantastic beginners wheel. The pedals still worked even when the wheel gave up the ghost. If you want a cheap and simple wheel with good rustic force feedback then I would recommend this if the details above are what you're after.

I'd give this wheel a 6/10 in todays wheel market because it was so well built and lasted such a long time.

Logitech Formula Vibration Feedback

- My Score: 4/10
- Cost (New): £35.00
- Cost (Now): £15.00
- Wheel Diameter: 10"
- Wheel Rotation: 180°
- Feedback: Vibration Feedback
- Number of buttons: 16 (14 front, 2 paddles)
- Pedals: Accelerator & Brake
- Clamp Type: 2 horizontally extendible suction pads

I bought this wheel for my sister when she was interested in the game. At the time, Logitech were selling it for £35.00 but I picked up a slightly used one off of Amazon for £20.00. This was in 2007 when my formula force was still going strong. Although the wheel itself looks and feels very cheap, the vibration feedback is actually very good. There is a button on the wheel which turns the feedback on and off. The only annoying thing about this wheel is the centring spring, which is far too strong. The reason for this is that the wheel itself sticks to a desk using 2 crappy suction pads that can come off when steering too fast. The centring spring doesn't help.

The best part of this wheel has to be the pedals. They're fantastic. They're not too weak and don't slide around the floor, even on shiny surfaces. In the end though, this wheel became inaccurate after just two years use.

The 16 buttons on this wheel make it quite an attractive upgrade to the formula force, but seriously, the centring spring and the suction pads let this wheel down big time and for that reason, this wheel scores 4/10.

Logitech Formula Force EX

- My Score: 7/10
- Cost (New): £45.00
- Cost (Now): £40.00
- Wheel Diameter: 10"
- Wheel Rotation: 180°
- Feedback: Force Feedback
- Number of buttons: 16 (14 front, 2 paddles)
- Pedals: Accelerator & Brake
- Clamp Type: 2 x Plastic G-Cramps

I was surprised to find that this wheel still sells today on ebay for just £5 less than what I paid for a new one from Logitech nearly 4 years ago. It shouldn't really be surprising though because it lasted me so long and was fantastic every moment it worked. I bought this wheel because I'd had a go on Streets and thought it would be a good replacement for my formula force. I was right. The force feedback was much more realistic and was a lot, lot stronger. The wheel itself was probably better quality but the pedals are exactly the same apart from a different adapter.

The only competition this wheel has is its younger brother. It's definitely an improvement but if you are put off by the higher price, going for the old one isn't a bad decision. The only thing this has over the old one is 12 more buttons and a fancy green light when the force feedback's plugged in.

Because it lasted me so long and I had no problems with it other than old age, this gets a respectable 7/10.

Logitech Driving Force GT

- My Score: 9/10
- Cost (New): £129.00
- Cost (Used): £65.00
- Wheel Diameter: 11"
- Wheel Rotation: 900°
- Feedback: Force Feedback
- Number of buttons: 22 (A 24 setting dial, 19 front, 2 paddles)
- Pedals: Accelerator & Brake
- Extras: Sequential Shifter
- Clamp Type: 2 x Plastic G-Cramps

The other 3 wheels in this review have been low range wheels, the DFGT is a mid-high end wheel and it's certainly worth every penny you pay. For logitech, this is actually a reasonably priced wheel. You're getting quite a lot for your money. Even though this doesn't really belong in this review I will still write what I personally think about it.

I bought this wheel off of Josh a couple of months ago and I've been massively impressed with it. The quality of the wheel itself is excellent and the force feedback is superb in every way. The 2 major selling points of this wheel are the 900° rotation and the sequential shifter. The shifter is a bit flimsy but it does the job nonetheless.

On the front of the wheel there is a red dial. At first I didn't think much of it but as I began to rely on the buttons on the wheel more and more, I programmed the dial such that it increments and decrements values in the F12 view inside LFS. In the centre of the dial there is a return button which you can set to scroll through the options in F12. This means that the dial is extremely good for changing pit settings on the move. It could also be used for brake-bias settings on the go.

The worst part about the wheel is the pedals. They are worse than the pedals in the three wheels above by some considerable margin. The springs are so weak!

Even though the pedals are somewhat crap, it's shown no signs of faltering yet so this wheel gets a score of 9/10. You get what you pay for.

None of the wheels in this review are what I'd call "terrible", they're all worth the money you pay for them. If you're a mouse user and you want to try out a wheel before committing to buying one of the mid-high end ones then I stand by what I've said in this review. They're all brilliant in their own unique way.

Thanks for reading,

~ L

Speed · 2012-06-22, 16:46

About the : Logitech Wingman Formula Force

I got that wheel when It was new in store and It's still working these days if u treat it wel . Its a great starter wheel and I have enjoyed every moment of playing with it.

**[TC]►Ras◄** · 2012-06-22, 17:34

I have owned the two first ones. Both good starter wheels. I was happy with them back in the days.

McGherkin · 2012-06-22, 22:32

Shame you haven't got a DFP to review, cheaper than the DFGT but just as good if not better IMO.

**[TC]»Pete«** · 2012-06-23, 00:33

Mikee has one, I'll get him to write a review.

Nipper · 2012-06-23, 14:56

Yeah I had a DFP before I got a G25 (2 of them Tongue

), bought it when it was first released with the GT logo on the wheel, actually pre-ordered it and GT4 together hehe. Can't quite remember what happened to it though. Sad

**[RDSR] Roba** · (This post was last modified: 2012-06-23 15:06 by Roba.)

Does DFP have the GT logo? Ohmy

Oh I see

I thought it was only on DFGT Tongue

McGherkin · 2012-06-23, 16:13

Some DFPs have the GT logo, others have the Logi logo.

Paul · 2012-06-23, 16:47

I've owned the DFGT, with the GT logo.

**[RDSR] Roba** · 2012-06-23, 17:00

DFGT's only have the GT logo?

Nipper · 2012-06-23, 19:03

Was it the tie-in wheel for a GT game? or just random lol.

When I bought the DFP off Logi's site it stated that there was only 200 "GT" wheels available, whether that was just the UK's allotment I ain't sure. I never seen another in person since, so I guess it could be a rarity.

Johan. · 2012-06-23, 23:34

No, the DFGT (not sure about the DFP) was made for GT5, hence it has the PS3 controller buttons on it.

McGherkin · 2012-06-23, 23:35

DFP is the official GT4 wheel.

Nipper · 2012-06-24, 08:10

(2012-06-23 23:35)McGherkin Wrote: DFP is the official GT4 wheel.

So the "DFP" without a GT logo is called something different? Or, I'm lost, many years since I looked into racing wheels haha.

McGherkin · 2012-06-24, 10:01

Nope, same name, same wheel, just with a different logo clipped onto it.

KennyAE86 · 2012-07-10, 19:13

About the DFGT; I have one, the steering wheel itself never failed me. The shifter has once, and the pedals. The pedals faces snapped on me and the brake pedal is stuck down, idk why. The shifter stopped shifting up, i changed the knob and now for some reason it works good. I like the feeling of the wheel, I use every single button on the wheel, and you forgot to mention and possibly count the center button, GT logo, which can be used as a horn button.

jam1e · (This post was last modified: 2012-07-10 23:48 by jam1e.)

If your looking for a first wheel the DFGT is good enough but the DFP is pretty useless, the motor in it is so slow.

All of these wheels are low end/budget wheels and shouldn't score any any higher than 5/10 in my opinion with the DFGT being the best at 5/10, G25/G27 are mid range wheels and are around a 7 or 8 out of 10. 9/10's would be the new fanatec clubsport wheel, or a t500rs. 10/10's are your ecci's or frex wheels, which cost silly money.

Personally i play with a g27 and csr elite pedals which is a good combo but i want the new fanatec clubsport, being able to hotswap between f1 and gt style rim = win, also the clubsport v2's look pretty swish with a new clutch design.

McGherkin · 2012-07-10, 23:49

DFP's came with either the Logi logo or the GT logo, the DFGT is an entirely different wheel.

jam1e · 2012-07-10, 23:56

ye i misread, hence the edit.