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Reviewed - The Curious GTR Simulator RS30 Ultra Force Feedback Wheel (with v3 Pedals)

Writer's picture: Roger MaedaRoger Maeda

The oddball wheel and pedal set for drivers who want to put real-life racing first





People always seem surprised when they find out that many club and pro racers don't own high-end sim racing rigs. If you have ever raced on a mid to high-end sim racing rig, you probably already know why: Even the newest, most expensive prosumer / eSports-grade sim racing gear can't replicate the subtle sensations or the "seat-of-the-pants" feelings that drivers rely on to control a real racecar on an actual track.


And while that is still very much the case in 2024, there is another, much simpler reason as to why many fast drivers drive on Logitech wheels and secondhand Fanatec gear:


Racecar drivers have surprisingly little money and even less time.


Racing is expensive, especially in ultra-competitive series where the difference between winning and finishing 10th comes down to how many dollars you can invest into developing the car and driver. Because of this, most competitive racecar drivers will put their hard-earned budget into development, consumables, and testing time in a physical car (or kart) before they even think about spending money on sim racing hardware.


That said, sim racing can still be a valuable tool for keeping a racer's instincts sharp and staving off the off-track blues during the long gaps between race weekends.


What all of this means is that there is a market for a simple, affordable, sim racing wheel and pedal set that is designed to mimic the feeling of driving a real car on a real track.


Enter the GTR Simulator RS30 Ultra Force Feedback Wheel + v3 Pedals


In 2021, sim cockpit maker GTR Simulator built just that — A budget-friendly force-feedback wheel and pedal set that comes pre-tuned to satisfy the needs of real-life racers and track enthusiasts.




The RS30 Ultra Force Feedback Wheel was originally sold through an Indiegogo campaign, with the claim that it was "Expertly Designed by a Professional Racer". While the original campaign experienced delivery delays and issues with support (the hallmarks of any crowdfunded hardware project), it eventually did deliver.


And to our surprise, it seems to have delivered on its original promise particularly well.



The Wheel Base



The RS30's wheel base and button setup is visually identical to the oft-forgotten MadCatz Pro Force Feedback wheel, which later became the base for the PXN v10 Force Feedback wheel.


Inside the familiar plastic housing is a surprisingly powerful helical gear mechanism that gives a force feedback sensation that is both sharper and stronger than what you get from the Logitech G29 / G920 / G923 series of wheels. The hardware force feedback profile is reminiscent of that of the much-loved Logitech G27: Slightly muted, with movements that "knock" rather than "jerk" the wheel in response to the FFB from your sim of choice. Some competitive sim racers dislike this feeling, as it can potentially limit the amount of information that you get through the steering wheel. But ironically, this sensation is very similar to the feedback that you get in a real car on a racetrack.



The wheel itself is a 280mm D-shaped wheel wrapped in Alcantara, an unusual choice for a budget-friendly wheel. Having used the RS30 for longer sessions, we can say that this results in a noticeably more comfortable (read: less sweaty) sim racing experience for those of us who prefer to drive with thinner (or no) gloves.


Because the RS30 uses a gear-driven force feedback mechanism, it runs significantly cooler than most Direct Drive wheels. This means that you won't have to worry about heat-related force feedback fade or overheating problems that you get from some cheaper Direct Drive wheels.


At the back of the wheel base, there is a toggle switch which allows you to lock the wheel at a max rotation of 270 degrees for Formula car games and older titles. We found this function to be unnecessary for most modern racing sims.



The button layout is intuitive, with the D-pad and X / Y / A / B buttons placed towards the outside of the wheel center, so that most racers won't have to stretch their thumbs to reach them. However, the inputs for the two shoulder (bumper) buttons are missing. In their place are two trigger paddles placed directly under the shifter paddles, which are hardware-mapped to hand controls for the throttle and brake.


Wait, Hand Controls? On an Entry-Level Sim Racing Wheel?

Yes, you read that correctly. The GTR Simulator RS30 is the only sim racing wheel that comes with pre-configured hand controls for the throttle and brake. We aren't entirely sure why GTR Simulator chose to map these paddles to hand controls, but having tested them extensively, we can say that they are implemented quite well.



The travel on the hand control paddles is just long enough to give the driver an accurate gauge of how much throttle or brake is being applied, and the springs provide just enough resistance to not cause fatigue over a 30 or 40 minute race.


Although the brake paddle doesn't have the same feedback as the lever-based hand controls on a real car, it's definitely good enough for a sim racer to race competitively without the use of their legs.


For those of us who are fortunate enough to have full use of both legs, these hand controls give a convenient means to keep the throttle held down so you can stretch your legs or itch your calves down a long straight.


The downside is that there seems to be no way to remap these paddles to anything other than the throttle and brake pedals. We have reached out to GTR Simulator about this, as they advertise the lower paddles as being re-mappable. However, we have not yet received a response. We will update this article if we do receive instructions on how to map these to other controls, such as the XBox shoulder buttons, a hand clutch, or a handbrake.


The Shifter Paddles



The shifter paddles are wide, spring loaded aluminum units that have a solid feel reminiscent of the paddles on the Logitech G27. While these paddles lack the magnetic snap-back of real-life paddle shifters, they do feel natural and are easy to use.


Although they use a different type of switch from the current line of entry level offerings from Logitech and Thrustmaster, the paddles on the RS30 do seem to be susceptible to the same annoying "double upshift" issue that causes your car to shift up two gears at the most inopportune of times.


We were able to fix this very easily by disassembling the wheel, putting a generous dab of Nyogel 767a damping grease (or any sort of keyboard switch grease) on the end of the springs for the shifter paddles, and reassembling it. Disassembling the wheel was a surprisingly straightforward operation due to the fact that the RS30's wheel can be removed from the base using a tool-less quick release. The whole wheel rim and switch assembly can then be taken apart with a set of small Torx bits and a (+) head screwdriver.


In its stock configuration, some of our testers felt that the shift paddles came too close to the wheel when fully pressed, resulting in a few drivers pinching their fingers on up and downshifts. The fix was simple - Carefully apply 40 to 50 lbs of force to the paddles, and they will bend. We bent our shifter and hand control paddles back almost 2 inches without issue. All of their paddles have since held their shape since then (despite some unnecessarily aggressive upshifts and downshifts).



The v3 Pro Pedal Box


GTR Simulator's v3 Pro Pedal Box is the highlight of this sim racing wheel bundle.


This pedal base is adjustable for pedal position, pedal travel, and resistance. They come mounted on a heavy-duty steel platform that allows for pedal height and angle adjustment via the adjustment screws for its diamond-plate heelplate. This is the only pedal set in its price range that offers this level of adjustability, and it does so in a package so sturdy that it feels like it would survive a drop out of a 2nd story window.



While the v3 pedal box uses a spring-and-position-sensor setup (like most entry level pedals), the springs behind the throttle and brake pedals are just the right stiffness to emulate the forces required to depress the throttle and brakes on a real car. At their maximum stiffness settings, it takes slightly over 22 lbs of force to fully depress the throttle pedal and just under 100 lbs of force to fully depress the brake pedal. This is significantly stiffer than what is offered by the entry level pedal sets from PXN and Moza and is much more realistic than the ultra-stiff rubber bump stops that come in the Logitech G29/G920/G923's pedal boxes.


This is particularly important because many real-life racers use sim racing to help keep their left foot braking skills sharp. Most club and pro racers still drive three pedal manual transmission cars and rarely get the chance to practice left foot braking. Having a brake pedal that is stiff enough, yet not so stiff that it can be used as a crutch, is invaluable as a training tool.


Although Yours Truly tends to prefer a stiffer brake pedal with shorter travel, we recognize that most newer cars achieve full braking force at 77 to 85 lbs of pedal force. The 92 lbs-f of pedal force that the v3 pedals offer is about as realistic as you can get without going to an expensive load cell or pneumatic pressure pedal set.


The pedal covers themselves are also taller than those in other entry level kits, making them more similar to what you would find in a modern sports car. The throttle pedal comes with an adjustable lateral stop to keep your foot from slipping off the throttle while dancing on the accelerator to control a slide.

These details put these GTR Simulator v3 pedals head and shoulders above the pedals that come with the sub-$500 racing wheels from the likes of Logitech and Thrustmaster. They also put the v3 pedals miles ahead of the soft, plasticky pedal boxes offered by PXN with their v10 racing wheel.


*Although we reviewed the 2-pedal box, GTR Simulator also makes a 3-pedal version. The clutch pedal on the 3-pedal box takes a maximum of 22 lbs of force to fully depress, similar to what you would experience on a modern-day manual transmission Touring Car.


Software & Compatibility


We were surprised to find that there is no driver software to install with the GTR Simulator RS30 wheel. The only software that GTR Simulator provides are a firmware update to the latest version, a manual that shows you how to calibrate the wheel, and a pre-configured copy of Forza Emuwheel (a program specifically designed for playing Forza titles using less-popular wheels on Windows PCs).


Since our wheel was already updated to the latest Firmware version and properly pre-calibrated (as it should be), we had no use for the first two pieces of software. This was admittedly a little jarring for Yours Truly, who has spent countless hours pre-configuring Logitech, Thrustmaster, and Fanatec wheels before using them.

Because the RS30 is not a super-popular wheel, you will most likely need to map the controls and test the wheel and pedals within the settings the first time you play any PC game. However, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the RS30 "just worked" with many popular titles.


Assetto Corsa, ACC, F1 23, Automobilista 2, iRacing, RaceRoom and even the vintage Project Cars 2 worked perfectly once the controls were mapped properly. F1 23 complained about a controller mapping issue at first, but we were able to fix that by changing some of the button mappings. It's quite impressive, especially considering how buggy and resource-intensive some manufacturers' drivers and support software tends to be (we're looking at you Logitech G Hub).


Even Forza Motorsport 7 worked with the use of the provided presets for Forza Emuwheel — Though we should point out that the more powerful force feedback motors in the RS30 wheel made us painfully aware of how primitive FM7's force feedback code is compared to that in newer titles.


As expected, some titles did give us issues. The Force Feedback did not seem to work at all in DiRT Rally 2.0, DiRT 4, and GRID (2019). We tried the workarounds listed on the PXN site and on GTR Simulator's original Indiegogo page, to no avail. We also tried connecting the RS30 to PXN's Bluetooth Mobile App (PXN's method for configuring their wheels), but this did not work either as the RS30 appears to be missing the Bluetooth transmitter in the PXN v10.


From our experience, this chart on the PXN Gaming site seems to closely mirror our experience with the GTR RS30 wheel. We recommend reviewing this list to make sure your favorite titles are not highlighted in red or green before buying the RS30 Ultra Force Feedback Wheel.


*Unfortunately, we did not have access to an Xbox available to test with. While GTR Simulator claims XBox compatibility, we suspect that players might miss the use of the bumper buttons (see above) in newer titles.



How's the Gameplay?

TL;DR: The GTR Simulator RS30 wheel drives like a much nicer Logitech G920. Although the internal design and construction of both wheels are technically similar, the RS30 is slightly better in every single way.



The Alcantara wheel rim just feels more pleasant to hold and doesn't become sticky or slick during a long race. The buttons are placed just slightly far enough apart so you don't have to move your hand to press the D-pad. The gear mechanism feels significantly less "clicky" than a Logitech G-series wheel, and the occasional clacking of the helical gears is quieter due to the fact that the RS30 wheelbase uses thicker plastic walls to hold the gear mechanism in place.


The v3 pedals are far superior to anything else you can get in a $500 wheel and pedal set. They feel great regardless of whether we wear SFI rated racing shoes, wear socks, or even drive barefoot (the author's preferred method for sim racing). Even with aftermarket modifications to the pedal and shifter, our old Logitech G920 wouldn't hold a candle to the feel of the GTR Simulator RS30 or its v3 pedals.


We suspect that hardcore sim racers might be disappointed by the very slight notchiness of the RS30's gear-driven FFB, as well as the lack of a two-stage brake pedal that is becoming more and more common in newer sim racing pedals. But for the real-life track day enthusiast, weekend warrior, or racer without a sim racing sponsor? The GTR Simulator RS30 is the perfect fit for a budget-oriented real-life racer*.

*On PC that is. Remember, we were not able to test the RS30 on an XBox.


The Curious Conclusion



So given all of that, would we, the budget-conscious club and pro racers at StudioVRM, recommend the GTR Simulator RS30 Ultra Force Feedback Wheel + v3 Pedal bundle?


Some retailers (such as Micro Center and Kohl's) are selling the RS30 Ultra + 2 pedal bundle for $300 - $350 US. At this price, we would recommend it wholeheartedly. The incremental improvements over the gear-driven Logitech G series and the entry-level Thrustmaster wheels are both significant and relevant for racers of real-life cars. And more importantly, they are things that cannot be easily replicated with bolt-on mods, especially for this price.


However, MSRP for the RS30 Ultra + v3 pedal bundle is closer to $500. This would have been a good deal in 2021 or 2022, but with the arrival of affordable Direct Drive setups from Moza, Fanatec / Corsair, and even Logitech themselves, this price tag becomes difficult to justify. With a more advanced wheel base, better software support, dedicated buttons for the XBox shoulder bumpers, and maybe some different spring and bump stop options for the v3 pedals, the GTR Simulator RS30 Ultra Force Feedback Wheel could still be very competitive in the $550 - $650 market. As it stands, however, it looks like the RS30 may unfortunately be left behind by the rapidly evolving offerings in the entry level wheel & pedal market.


Of course, this doesn't spell doom or gloom for GTR Simulator as a company. Their bread and butter is in the sale of budget-friendly sim cockpits. They would do just fine selling sim cockpits for other companies' wheel and pedal setups.


If we were in GTR Simulator's shoes, we would forego building a "RS40 Wheel Base" and instead start selling upgrade kits for Moza, PXN, and Logitech's latest offerings. The Alcantara wheel, the rock-solid pedal base, the tuning of the pedal springs, and the hand controls on the wheels are all features that would greatly enhance the driving experience on a Fanatec CSL DD, a Moza R5, or even PXN's latest v12 Lite DD wheel bundle.



All that said, we plan to keep our GTR Simulator RS30 Ultra Force Feedback Wheel for a long time — At the very least, until we have the $1200 or so in spare cash for an upper midrange wheel and pedal setup.


Summary


The Good:


  • Wheel and pedals feel like what you have in a real production car

  • Outstanding hardware adjustability on both the wheel base and pedals

  • Helical gear force feedback system beats Logitech's gear system in noise and feel

  • Force Feedback Motor is deceptively powerful

  • Hand controls are surprisingly useful

  • No additional software needed on PC - Just plug in and go



The Bad:


  • Support and documentation are both lacking compared to competitors

  • Can't remap hand controls, which limits the number of buttons you can use in some games

  • Position-based pedal sensors won't satisfy hardcore sim racers

  • Lack of aftermarket pedal springs and wheel rims limit customizability



Disclosure Section:


StudioVRM.Racing and Roger Maeda are not affiliated or sponsored by GTR Simulator. The RS30 Ultra Force Feedback Wheel and v3 pedals used in this review were purchased in a like-new Open Box state from a fellow US Touring Car Championship driver, for fair market value.


The GTR Simulator GTS-T cockpit shown in the photos was provided as a prize from the 2024 USTCC Virtual Series competition, in which Roger Maeda placed 4th overall. Roger owns products from Logitech and Thrustmaster, and recommends products from Logitech, Thrustmaster, Moza, and Fanatec / Corsair based on firsthand experience with their products.

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