Xbox 360 wireless speed wheel problems drivers#
Xbox 360 wireless speed wheel problems driver#

It is easy to overpower the force feedback, given the small size of the motor, but the subtle driver will still benefit from the enhanced feeling of the racing surface and the reactions of the car. For games that are developed to provide true physics-based force feedback, the MadCatz wheel faithfully reproduces the feelings of rolling over a curb or hitting bumps in the track. The MadCatz wheel will never be mistaken for a Logitech G27 or a Thrustmaster wheel, but nor is it simply a вЂrumbleвЂ™ feedback kind of thing. In operation, the steering forces are about what one would expect from a small-ish force feedback wheel. Unfortunately shifting between the lap pads and the desk clamp is somewhat burdensome due to the need to first unscrew the lap pads, but itвЂ™s also not something the typical user will be required to do all that often.

There are rubber grip areas at the standard 3:00 and 9:00 positions that offer a non-slip, positive grip area for those white knuckle moments and the lap pads, combined with the weight of the unit, give as solid a feel as possible without resorting to the desk clamp. Micro switches arenвЂ™t free, of course, but when talking about a $250 unit it seems fair to expect a more solid feeling.ДЄside from the lack of clicks on the shifting controls, the rest of the wheel has a solid feel to it. While it works fine in operation, it just doesnвЂ™t feel imbued with a sense of high end quality. The toggle shifter mounted on the right side (it can easily be moved to the left side for those international types accustomed to driving on the wrong side of the road) of the wheel base shares that trait. The control buttons have a nice solid feel to them, but the shifter paddles lack the вЂclickвЂ™ that one would prefer for a satisfying tactile feel. Once a connection is established with the Xbox, the buttons located in the hub of the steering wheel provide all of the controls needed to navigate through the Xbox menus and launch an appropriate game.The ABXY buttons and the D-pad buttons all fall naturally under your thumbs, and the metal shifter paddles mounted behind the wheel are right where your fingers expect to find them. Close inspection of the connection panel shows a little screwed in door, behind which is hidden a mini-USB connection, presumably for future console development or for firmware updates. A third wire can be plugged into the base to provide a connector for a headset. Once that is done, it is simply a matter of plugging in the AC adapter, plugging the pedal unit into the back of the steering wheel base, and pressing a couple of buttons to make the wireless connection with the Xbox. On the other hand, F1 2011 as driven with the MadCatz wheel was orders of magnitude better than it had been with the standard controller, albeit after some fine tuning in the relatively robust controller configuration screen.ДЄssembly and configuration of the wheel and pedals was quite simple, although opting to use the included lap pads rather than the desk clamp does require the use of a screwdriver. As a stark comparison, consider that a test session with Need For Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed was every bit the exercise in abject frustration that it had been with the standard Xbox controller. Hmm, not quite as definitive as one might have hoped, right? Well, the problem is that it all comes down to how any given title was developed. With a few hundred virtual laps using this wheel now under my belt, I am able to provide a definitive answer to the question of whether or not a better controller will have a salutary effect on lap times: it depends. I was recently offered the opportunity to test my theory when I was asked to take a look at the MacCatz Wireless Force Feedback Steering Wheel for the Xbox 360.

Xbox 360 wireless speed wheel problems drivers#

Without a basis of comparison, though, it was a tough theory to prove, although repeated racing incidents with ham-handed drivers using Xbox controllers on the PC for use in iRacing did nothing to dissuade my belief that the Xbox controller and meaningful simulated racing were a match made in hell. Without a good steering wheel, I believed, even the best implemented racing game was going to be at a severe disadvantage when compared to a PC equivalent due to the need to use the standard Xbox controller and its thumb sticks. The problem for me has always been the dearth of good steering wheels for the Xbox. The console itself is not the problem it has the processing and graphics power to provide a platform for the same simulation grade racing titles found on the much more expensive PC platform, without all of the commensurate hassles of keeping a PC clean and virus-free.

IвЂ™ve often been frustrated with racing games on the Xbox 360.