This is the first racing wheel/pedal set I have ever tried. I love F1 and downloaded the “F1 2020” game on my Xbox Series X a few weeks back. Upon playing with the Xbox controller, I really struggled with corners and found the whole experience very disappointing. I am a very casual gamer so don’t have hours to devote to games. Therefore, I shelved the game for some time.Enter the Thrustmaster T248 Wheel and Pedal set.The box contains a wheel (and desk mounting clamp), a set of three pedals, a power brick and cables and a USB-C to USB A cable. There is also a proprietary cable to connect the pedals to the wheel.Once I unboxed the equipment, it was pretty obvious that I would struggle to use this equipment in my theater chair I game from. For those who game at a ... MoreThis is the first racing wheel/pedal set I have ever tried. I love F1 and downloaded the “F1 2020” game on my Xbox Series X a few weeks back. Upon playing with the Xbox controller, I really struggled with corners and found the whole experience very disappointing. I am a very casual gamer so don’t have hours to devote to games. Therefore, I shelved the game for some time.Enter the Thrustmaster T248 Wheel and Pedal set.The box contains a wheel (and desk mounting clamp), a set of three pedals, a power brick and cables and a USB-C to USB A cable. There is also a proprietary cable to connect the pedals to the wheel.Once I unboxed the equipment, it was pretty obvious that I would struggle to use this equipment in my theater chair I game from. For those who game at a desk and have a wall to push the pedal set up against, they should be fine but for me, this was not going to work. Fortunately I figured this going in so quickly ordered a purpose built, adjustable, foldable metal frame from a speedy shopping site and 36 hours later, had bolted my wheel and pedals to it and set it up so I could play from my chair.This wheel was originally designed for the PC (and Playstation) so the Xbox flavor is new. I connected it all up to power and then plugged the USB A side of the cable to the USB port on the front of my Series X and the steering wheel began to turn itself quickly, as a self-calibration it runs each time it starts up.The first noticeable issue for me was that the USB cable was too short. I believe it shipped with a 6’ cable but my Xbox is in a cabinet, with the seats set the appropriate distance back from a 75” TV so this cable was too short for me. Another quick online shopping trip got me a 10’ cable which worked great and let me sit more comfortably in my seat, rather than the neighboring seat my wife usually watches movies in.My next issue, which is probably a noob thing, was that I could not get my F1 game to recognize the steering wheel even existed. None of the buttons worked in the game and on checking settings, it only recognized my Xbox controller. After about 20 minutes of head scratching and random button pushing, I found the Mode button and noticed that the built-in display on the steering wheel was saying PC. When I figured out how to change that to Xbox, it was a “Halleluiah” moment and things started to happen.I was happy to be able to navigate around the game with just the steering wheel controls and not need to grab my controller. I soon fired up some laps on the Paul Ricard track in France and tried to get used to the new control method.I have to say that as my lap times got better and I felt more comfortable with the steering wheel and pedals, it felt like a joy to have an intuitive and realistic way to drive in a console racing game. Unfortunately I can’t say this set is any better or worse than an existing set but as a brand new racing wheel owner, I was so impressed and got a lot of enjoyment out of just blasting around the track, trying to beat my personal bests and other similar players who had recorded times around mine.For the seasoned console racers who already own a wheel out there, I hope the following information is helpful.The pedals are adjustable in various ways so that you can get them feeling exactly the way you need for muscle memory braking, clutching or heel-toe. The pedal set ships with an extra spring and instructions on how to adjust the tension in the brake, if the default setting doesn’t work for you.The wheel itself is a little smaller than any steering wheel I have ever used in the real world but I can’t decide if that is just space saving or if there are any racing wheels out there which are deliberately small. Either way, it still works great. It has a red stripe at the top which gives a visual clue as to when it is at position “0”.Attaching these to the GT Omega frame I own was very easy. The frame came with a selection of bolts that worked and it was possible to adjust the pedals up or down to match how far from the chair I wanted them. The wheel attached in one place but could be tilted on the frame up or down and the frame itself let me raise or lower so you don’t need to tilt the wheel itself, just what it attaches to. The ports to connect power, USB-C, the pedals and an optional gear shifter are hidden underneath the wheel base. This would make it difficult to get to them after the wheel is attached to a frame. They do include a USB-C to USB-C extender so you can unplug that cable if necessary but otherwise, anything connected is hidden until you unbolt the wheel.The force feedback on the wheel is fantastic! I got a real kick out of knowing when I was going over bumpy track, rumble strip or occasionally understeering into gravel or grass! You can adjust the settings across three levels but I just left them on default for now, which was great in F1 2020.I was able to go into the settings on my game and adjust the wheel and pedal settings in detail. I felt the wheel turned too much for an F1 car when I first started playing so went in and reduced the turn radius from about 900 degrees to 360. This helped get some much tighter driving and the wheel onscreen then matched the wheel I was turning. You should be able to do this in just about every driving game so this one set should work great for the different games you own.The game I was testing in did not make use of the built-in display. The included manual says this currently only works for PC gaming but it would be amazing if they could have this work for Xbox as well. PC gamers can have some of the instrumentation show up on this LCD screen above the hub of the wheel and there are various customization options to show the telemetry or information you want at that moment. I would have liked it to help time gear changes but it doesn’t work on console yet, if ever.The paddle shifters seem unnecessarily noisy – I don’t have those in my real-world car, just a semi-automatic gear shifter but if I had paddle shifters as noisy as this, I would not want to use them much. I don’t know why the T248 paddles click so loudly up and down – perhaps there was a reason but it does detract slightly from the experience and I wouldn’t think I was in a Ferrari with that amount of clicking going on.There are yet more buttons and clickers within thumb range so you can customize these in most games. The clickers will let you shift to various pre-sets you might have set up before a race or session which is a great addition for those who want more realism.I was hoping to test this with other games like Forza 4 & 5 but haven’t got those to run successfully yet on this Xbox (it just replaced a One X about 2 weeks ago). I would imagine it will make those games even more immersive as they were already fun to play on the controller.I would definitely recommend this set with a few caveats for more casual, console gamers. You will need a place to more permanently attach the wheel and pedals, as the wheel won’t work in your lap and the pedals will slide on most surfaces, without anything to backstop them. The supplied cables may be a bit short if you game in a media room but as you only need to run power and a USB cable, it should be fairly cheap and easy to swap for longer cables.I have to say that playing a driving game with a realistic wheel and pedals is much more tiring than using the controller. You really get into it and after a few sessions, I am starting to notice it’s like a mini-workout. It is still nothing like the G-force the real F1 drivers feel but it definitely helps to put you in the right frame of mind to drive cars fast.As a final tip of the hat to Thrustmaster, my wife who is not interested in gaming in the slightest, asked if she could have a go, so once I get a less technical game than F1 up and running, like Forza, she can try it out and hopefully enjoy the immersion and fun we all remember from driving games at the arcades.

This was the first time using a wheel to play my PC racing titles and I'll never not play them without one. This wheel came with everything you need to get started although there are a few flaws to be aware of. Setup was very easy but I do highly recommended taking a quick look at the manual before setup in order to get familiar with how to adjust the pedals and wheels to your liking. As seen in my pictures, my desk is exactly 1 inch thick and it's 30 inches deep. The bottom lip of the Thrustmaster T248 that sits flush on the desk extends about 4 inches out into the desk. The clamping mechanism that comes with the steering wheel has a tensioner that you tigten to clamp the wheel to your desk. It does a very solid job of staying put. There were only a couple of times ... MoreThis was the first time using a wheel to play my PC racing titles and I'll never not play them without one. This wheel came with everything you need to get started although there are a few flaws to be aware of. Setup was very easy but I do highly recommended taking a quick look at the manual before setup in order to get familiar with how to adjust the pedals and wheels to your liking. As seen in my pictures, my desk is exactly 1 inch thick and it's 30 inches deep. The bottom lip of the Thrustmaster T248 that sits flush on the desk extends about 4 inches out into the desk. The clamping mechanism that comes with the steering wheel has a tensioner that you tigten to clamp the wheel to your desk. It does a very solid job of staying put. There were only a couple of times during rough handling where I noticed the wheel slightly slip out of position. In terms of mounting, I do think that this wheel works best with a slightly thicker desk of maybe 2 to 4 inches (although you should be fine with something thinner).Upon initial setup, I highly recommend downloading the drivers from Thrustmaster's website in their "support" section. In the same support section, I also highly recommend watching the video on how to adjust the resistance on the brake pedal. I did not have a "plug and play" experience. Windows did detect the wheel as a gaming peripheral but it did not automatically download and install the necessary drivers so my games were not detecting my steering wheel at first. It wasn't until I manually downloaded the drivers that it detected it right away. It also installs the 'Thrustmaster Control Panel' which allows you to customize things like your gain settings, damper, and allows you to test that your wheel is working properly. The software also checks to make sure you always have the most up to date drivers. Once plugged into your PC via USB, the wheel will self calibrate itself without you having to do anything.Playing racing games with this thing is an incredible experience. I paired it with a 35 inch ultrawide curved monitor and it is such an immersive experience. I played a lot of Forza Horizon 5 and Dirt Rally 2.0 with this wheel with no in-game issues. Both games detected the wheel instantly and I was able to map and customize my d-pad mappings as well as the buttons in order to navigate and do everything directly from the steering wheel. The force feedback on this wheel is simply amazing. It needs to be experienced. It feels very accurate to whatever terrain I'm driving on and to whatever objects I'm hitting or crashing into. The feedback also changes depending on the vehicle I'm driving. The LCD display on the upper-center area of the wheel can be customized to display things like RPMs and gear changes. It truly provides a very engaging experience and completely changes the dynamic of playing a racing video game. I'm hooked and I'm now even looking at racing sim cockpits. And that leads me to my first con. While the pedals are of very high quality (combination of metal and high quality plastic), I wish that the bottom of the pedal board came with carpet spikes or some way to help fasten the pedal board to the floor. Unless I have the pedals up against the wall, which doesn't work for my setup, or I have several books anchoring the back of the pedals, the pedals move all around my carpet. This also leads into my next minor con. The brake seems to have quite a bit of resistance. Even by adjusting the resistance to the lightest setting by taking off the white stop cushion, it still feels a bit stiff. If the pedal board is not anchored properly to the floor, this again causes it to move all around the carpet. For now, I've rectified this by anchoring the pedals against some books but I'm already looking for a longer term solution (maybe a cockpit!).In terms of construction, build quality, and form factor, overall this Thrustmaster T248 feels like a well built wheel. However, I must admit that the wheel does look a bit more premium than it actually feels. Although the wheel does have a thin & soft leather outer lining, the inner part of the wheel feels a bit cheap due to the light shallow plastic. Ergonomically though, the wheel feels great. I really wish Thrustmaster would have made the wheel feel a bit more substantial and either use metal construction all the way around or at least cover the inner plastic lining in leather as well. On a positive note, I never found that any of this detracted from the immersive driving experience in any way. The paddle shifters are built really well and provide great tactile feedback. My only qualm with the paddle shifters is that they are loud; excessively loud in my opinion. Lastly, my final con is that I wish Thrustmaster would have made the wheel just slightly bigger. The steering wheel is certainly a bit smaller than steering wheels I've used in real life but it could just be that this steering wheel is modeled after smaller high performance vehicles.Despite the aforementioned cons, I'm loving this wheel and I've never been so eager to play my racing games as soon as time permits. The engaging experience takes me back to fond memories at the arcade when 'Cruis'n USA' was the hit racing blockbuster. I love that I can have a bit of that experience right at home again. If you're into racing games and you've only ever played with a d-pad, I think the Thrustmaster T248 is a great entry level to advanced wheel that will elevate your racing experience when it comes to arcade and sim racers.

I used the Thrustmaster T248 Racing Wheel (Xbox/PC) on my PC primarily playing Forza Horizon 5. The T248 sits above Thrustmaster's entry level offering, but a bit below their mid-level tier force feedback (FFB) wheel. It has very good FFB effects, but I found that I couldn't quite get the feel I liked. It worked pretty well for driving on a track, but felt a bit overmatched when on dirt surfaces like in rally games. Perhaps some more fine-tuning on my part might achieve better results. The paddle shifters are very precise and I never missed a shift. Neither did anyone else in my house as the shifters are ridiculously loud. I guess I'll take the precise shifts over the noise, but my wife in the room may not, especially if I'm playing late at night.Installation was ... MoreI used the Thrustmaster T248 Racing Wheel (Xbox/PC) on my PC primarily playing Forza Horizon 5. The T248 sits above Thrustmaster's entry level offering, but a bit below their mid-level tier force feedback (FFB) wheel. It has very good FFB effects, but I found that I couldn't quite get the feel I liked. It worked pretty well for driving on a track, but felt a bit overmatched when on dirt surfaces like in rally games. Perhaps some more fine-tuning on my part might achieve better results. The paddle shifters are very precise and I never missed a shift. Neither did anyone else in my house as the shifters are ridiculously loud. I guess I'll take the precise shifts over the noise, but my wife in the room may not, especially if I'm playing late at night.Installation was fairly painless, although I had the wheel/hub sitting on my desk upside down, and plugging it in caused it to immediately auto-calibrate and the wheel was sent spinning across my desk. I barely caught it before it hit the floor!The wheel and housing is primarily plastic, though it offers a solid feel and build quality appears high on initial inspection, with the exception of the clamping mechanism, as the wheel came loose from my desk multiple times while driving.The plastic wheel, which does not offer a quick-swap mechanism for different wheels has a padded, simulated cover over the outer half, but is hard plastic on the inner half, leaving a weird contrast in the feel -- the outer half being grippy and the inner half feeling weirdly hard. Seems short-sighted not to simply cover the whole wheel. There's a digital display on the wheel, and offers the very nice feature of being able to select from three pre-set settings of FFB without having to access software. The hub offers cable management, which is a nice touch.The T248 comes with pedals, and they are fantastic in terms of feel and response. Not so great was trying to keep it from sliding all over the place, despite it's rubber grips.Overall, there's a lot to like while trying to overcome some obvious shortcomings. I'm not sure that it offers the best value, at least at its suggested retail price. Perhaps spending a little more to get into the next tier may yield better results. If you get on sale the value question is a lot less relevant. I will say this though, driving sims are a helluva a lot of fun using a FFB wheel and provides a far better experience than a simple controller.