Just joined the direct drive wheel club

Dear internet,
I recently became the owner of a direct drive wheel.

Beforehand I was a happy user of a Thrustmaster TX base, but that started to show the usual TX/T300 sickness of weakening FFB, and I constantly had to recalibrate it. (Thanks to a nice user on RD I learned this is a known issue, coming from the motor's permament magnet loosening from the shaft. A motor replacement brought the base back to life, so I could sell it in it's full glory.)

I was pondering whether to buy a new TX/T300 base, upgrade to T500 or even TS-PC, or switching to Fanatec's elite base.
Fanatec was off the table soon again, after I had to learn I'd need to invest another 200€ in a Podium Hub to escape their ecosystem and to be able to use my own custom rim.
And then I did not really like the idea of investing money in yet another belt driven Thrustmaster wheel. That thought lacked the "upgrade" feeling.

And then I noticed there are direct drive wheels in the sub 1k€ region available. And after some investigation, I decided to pull the trigger on a Sim-Plicity SW8C+. It ticked all boxes: A proper MiGE servo, decent amount of tourque, not too heavy, and the mounting plate features the common Thrustmaster / Fanatec / Logitech patterns, so I could mount it to my Playseat Challenge.

So, two weeks ago the parcel arrived, and the same evening I found myself smiling around my head.
I run the wheel at 80% gain ingame. The average FFB does not feel that much stronger than the TX's, but on bumps and in corners it still has capabilities, where the TX already clipped.
The level of detail the wheel provides is overwhelming. Even though I have it mounted to my Playseat "hurr durr I'm a deck chair" Challenge, I can feel so much more details through the wheel than before. Also countersteering is so much more easy due to the low inertia.

Last night I had a 30 minute race on the Nürburgring in damp conditions, and I had some situations, where I was able to catch slides and I am pretty sure I'd binned it with my old wheel.
The impact on my driving is not as much as that of my LC brake, but close to. The wheel brought quite a bit of confidence and precision with it.

 

Welcome to the club! Mind your thumbs

 

Any improvements in hot lap lap times?

 

Not sure tbh. I cannot compare "before" and "after" times, as I do online MP for 99% of my ACC time and do not care about lap times that much.

I would not say a DD wheel makes you faster, rather more precise and confident.

 

Nioce. Do you think you'll need to replace the playseat with something more robust now?

 

Pictures?

 

No, not at all. I had to add some counterweights to keep the seat from tilting over when opened, but apart from that it handles the heavy motor really well. The flex is not that bad; in fact there's almost no lateral movement, just vertical. As long as you're driving with both hands on the wheel, that is no issue either, as the turning forces even out that way. However, a friend of mine likes to drive rallye cars with a h shifter, and he did not like the seat, as the wheel bounced up and down when held with one hand only.
Also, the Challenge includes a poor man's buttshaker. Drive over kerbs and the whole thing rattles along. I love it. (Also the Caracciola-Karussell on the Nordschleife is a party in your pants. )
As long as we're not moving and I get the room for a dedicated sim space, I'll happily keep the foldaway chair.

I posted some on Race Department.

 

From my experience, I gained about 1 second per lap across the board when I switched from my G25 to the Fanatec CSL, because I lean heavily on FFB for judging car reactions. I gained not much more time when I switched to DD, apart from what you'd expect to gain by having more experience and practicing. I think it depends much mor on the FFB range your wheel is capable of, not the strength of the effects, and even the Fanatec CSL is quite good there. I did gain a lot more fun on DD though

That rim is massive How much does the whole unit weigh? How does Mario Kart handle on a DD wheel?

 

It's made from a 3DRAP kit.

I just hoisted it on a scale for you: It read 28.8 kg.

Underwhelming. Those banana peels are all canned effects.