Microsoft Wireless Racing Wheel

Most games on PC can be played perfectly using a keyboard and mouse or a gamepad. You don't really need anything else. Some of us though want a little more though. I am one of those people.

I like racing games, and while the more arcade style racing games are best suited for a controller, some racing games that are a bit more on the simulation side need something a little better.

I decided to buy a racing wheel to play Grid Autosport as well as Forza on xbox but mostly for Grid Autosport on PC.

There are lots of racing wheels on the market ranging from $50 to $400 dollars. I didn't want to spend too much and already had it in mind that I wanted the MS wireless Wheel that was released in 2006 for I believe $199. The price did drop to $99 not too long afterwards.

I did find one at a shop in Oshawa but it was badly scuffed up and didn't have the box but they wanted $80 dollars for it. I ended up buying one from a private seller in Toronto for $50. It didn't have the box but it was in near mint condition and came with everything it came with at retail.

The wheel itself has some weight to it, and the rubber on the wheel keeps your hands from slipping. The buttons you would find on an xbox 360 pad are all present on the wheel so that you can look behind you, reset after a crash, or pause the game and so on.

Force feedback on this wheel is great and while some games don't support it , some do and the wheel will give realistic resistance to simulate bumps in the road, gravel and sharp turns.

To shift gears you have two paddles. One on each side of the wheel which are easy to press while gripping the wheel. I personally race with automatic transmission though because I'm not all that great at racing games so I haven't used them yet.

The foot pedals offer just the right amount of resistance and were very natural to use.

To use this wheel on pc you are going to need the MS wireless dongle. I'm not sure if the new wireless adapter for the xbox one controllers will work with it , I'll have to test that out.

I have mainly used this with Grid Autosport as I said earlier and it works great for that game, though it isn't well suited to Grid 2 at all. I know there are more recent racing games like Project Cars, but I haven't picked that or any other up yet. I also recommend playing in cockpit view when using the wheel for more immersion.

This is a great option if you want a racing wheel, don't want to spend a ton of money and want a quality product. Its a nice bonus that you can use it both on PC and on your xbox 360.