Does having force feedback wheel help?

Hi,
I'm thinking about buying a new wheel. I'll certainly buy something with FF, but do you think it can actually help you drive better? Having the feedback, and/or more degrees of rotation?

I have just an old and cheap FGT Rumble 3in1, no FF, only like 240°... And the major issue I have with this wheel is that it is extremely difficult for me to recover any oversteer and spins (note: I play mostly GT3 cars), since I have only about 1cm or less of tolerance which I have to catch, otherwise I overcorrect or not apply enough countersteer and loose control completely.

I'm also wondering, does FF help you recognize slide? Sometimes I spin out, because I'm thinking I'm turning, while it's actually my rear slowly getting ahead of me, and when I find out it's usually already too late (+the above mentioned issue)

 

Yes, and the more powerful and faster the wheel is, the better it transmits that feeling.

 

A better wheel will give you better immersion, nothing else.

You will waste your money if you think any wheel will make you "drive better" as you wrote, which probably really mean; be faster.
Fast people who compete and win online do not have particularly sophisticated wheel and usually reduce FFB to a minimum as it an hindrance to them going faster.

listen to podcast where fast e sport driver discuss how they do it, wheel is not the key to how they compete and win.

A good load cell pedal brake will help you a lot more than any wheel to get faster.

Immersion, hell yes, the better wheel, among other accessories are greatly contributing to the pleasure

 

The FFB provides extra inputs for your brain to inform what the car is doing, so yes, it helps.

 

You dont need to have a fancy wheel, (like cote dazur said).
240° rotation sounds horrible to drive, so any entry level 900+ FF-wheel will make it much easier to correct slides.
More rotation will help you also to not cause slides. It is easier to be precise if 5° input translate into 5° on the car.
With your wheel 5° input might be 15° on the car. (Those cheap wheels often have huge deadzones around the center)
Pedals are important too, as you use them to balance the car in corners.
There are aliens still winning comptitions on g25 wheels, so it is not like you need to have direct drive + loadcell brakes.
Of course even more precision is always nice...

 

Thanks for the replies!
I know it won't suddenly make me faster , but I'm really much more worried about loosing control when driving, than going through a difficult corner. It forces me to use mostly the cars with engine in front, and use very stable, slightly understeering setups, which I feel are a bit slower than when using setup I'd like.

It has a few degrees of deadzone at the center too, even when set to 0, it is annoying, glad to hear it's not the issue with better wheels. Guess I never knew AC would grab me so much and I'd spent so many hours in it.

I never really thought about pedals. Is there something specific about them you would suggest if I decide to buy some? Or are those I get with mid-high level wheel range 'good enough'?

 

yes ffb is really helpful, the wheel turns on its own when you start sliding and helps you correct it. Been using the entry Thrustmaster T150 for almost 2 years now, its not amazing but gets the job done.

 

Yes, load cell brake.

 

As someone who has gone through a range of purchases over a few years, I can only offer a couple of pieces of advice based on my own experience.

If you really enjoy this hobby, sacrifice quantity for quality. Assuming limited finances (like 99.9% of us), invest in fewer things, but whatever you purchase, target the higher-end you can.

A decent/good FFB is the cornerstone of everything. Yes, it can help you recognize when the car is getting a bit loose, but it is really dependent on the wheel and how you set up the game. Lower end wheels can make 'forces', but it can still be quite difficult to recognize clearly what they are coming from. I think many people have way too many forces going on, and it can get a bit muddy, and be hard to recognize the related messages on the lower/mid range wheels. That doesn't mean you can't, but different people have different capabilities to recognize those forces and make the connection. Personally, I still struggle a bit with this, but since getting a DD1, it's like a different world.

There are a million discussions on 'what makes you faster'. The truth to that is that 'you' are the main element in that. The equipment helps, but you make much more of an impact.

What is far, far more important (my opinion), is to consider what brings you some joy in the hobby. I guess you do it because you enjoy it. So it's more about what you enjoy, rather than finding the magic piece of gear that makes you faster. I can buy the most expensive and high-quality guitar available.... but it won't make me play music better if I don't practice and develop. At the same time, if that nice quality guitar somehow brings me some joy and motivates me to play/practice more.... then it's a wise investment, for me.

If you've already decided this is a long-term hobby for you, then I would try to save up some $ and look into Fanatec. There are pros/cons to Fanatec, but they have one thing that the other brands struggle to really offer.... a really good range of equipment that works together, and all of it is quite good. Once you're in that eco-system, a lot of it works together, and you can add/upgrade as you go. You can go really far in the Fanatec range, if you want. You can also usually find some used stuff around on local buy/sell sites... you might need to be patient, but usually things come up and you might find a decent deal.

But it never seems to end if you love the hobby, trust me. I made some pretty significant purchases in the last year. Thought I was pretty much done. Now, I recently discovered tactile/buttkickers.....

 

nice

 

get T300