Yes, another racing thread...

I have some extra graduation money to burn and am looking into getting a wheel/pedal combo and a good racing game. I would appreciate it if someone could link me to a wheel that's worth my time. Also what games would you reccomend? I realize another thread has a lot of games listed, but I'm specifically looking for something with a good online community. Single player is NO FUN. Realism is another thing I'm looking for, but too real is not a good thing. I want something with better than average graphics. I don't want to get frustrated all the time. I want a learning curve, but not something too steep. I'm open to many things as far as the wheel goes, but I want it to not be a piece of crap. I want to know how to drive a stick-shift car after playing my game (I drive an automatic). Thanks ahead of time for the suggestions and your input.

if you want something with a stick shift and a clutch to give you an idea of how to drive manual IRL, i think they only sane choice is a logitech g25. unless of course you want to spend $500+ on higher end gear.

the g25 has gotten great reviews and looks like a lot of fun (look up "g25" on youtube), but it is criticized by the hard core race sim fans because the shifter isn't perfect. it of course doesn't feel like a real shifter. also, the clutch doesn't feel like a real clutch. the setup is still around $300 i think, the next best option from what i've read around would be a logitech DFP. i have one myself, but it only has a sequential shifter and no clutch, so clearly not what you are looking for.

hUMANbEATbOX said:

if you want something with a stick shift and a clutch to give you an idea of how to drive manual IRL, i think they only sane choice is a logitech g25. unless of course you want to spend $500+ on higher end gear.

the g25 has gotten great reviews and looks like a lot of fun (look up "g25" on youtube), but it is criticized by the hard core race sim fans because the shifter isn't perfect. it of course doesn't feel like a real shifter. also, the clutch doesn't feel like a real clutch. the setup is still around $300 i think, the next best option from what i've read around would be a logitech DFP. i have one myself, but it only has a sequential shifter and no clutch, so clearly not what you are looking for.

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that's a lot of dough just to jump into the genre with. I guess instead of being able to drive a stick-shift, I'd want to be familiar with shifting. I just want something realistic....that's really all it comes down to.

yeah, it is a lotta scratch. that's why i went with the dfp myself. it has a sequential shifter, so you will get the feel for shifting at the right times and downshifting while braking. its a lot cheaper, and it has the same 900 degree turning radius as the g25. another plus is that it works with ps2's.

G25>DFP>MOMO
you can configure the dfp and g25 to use anywhere between 0-900 degrees of steering wheel rotation. the momo has a max range of about 270degrees.

LFS gets my vote for the best online sim racer. Rfactor's got tons of cars and tracks, but the physics and online racing and online features aren't as good as LFS.

Netkar Pro is one to look out for as well once patch 1.3 comes out.
Live For speed has the strongest online community at out all the other sims by a large margin.

If you get the dfp, you can plug in another cheap 25 dollar wheel and use one of the pedals on that as a clutch. The only reason i don't have a g25 right now is because I am literally broke.

As for games, there is not much for the PC Side. If you have a 360, Forsa 2 is out this Tuesday. There is a Demo on Live.

Vengance_01 said:

As for games, there is not much for the PC Side.

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are you serious? have you not noticed the huge amount of pc racing games that have already been suggested?

Herr Rogers said:

...a wheel/pedal combo and a good racing game.

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rFactor
http://www.rfactor.net/index.php?page=features