HomeControllersThrustmaster T500RS Racing Wheel |
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28 of 29 found the following review helpful:
Great for 3 hours, now dead; support is slow to resolve May 21, 2011
By kkalp77
"kalper"
I was very excited as I unboxed my T500RS to replace my well worn G27. I attached the wheel and pedals to my Playseat WRC; the wheel fit perfectly, but the mount holes for the pedal set did not line up, had to zip-tie in place. (I have seen rumors on line that Playseat is working on an adapter but 5 months after release it is still yet to be seen...)
I started Gran Turismo 5 on my Playstation 3 and got in about 3 hours of play. The wheel was remarkably better than the G27, impressively responsive.
I turned the system off, and returned a few hours later for another session, to find that the unit will not power up. The AC Adaptor's indicator light is on, so it must have power, and when I connect the USB cable, I hear a high pitched whine coming from the wheel, but the power light on the wheel does not light up and the unit is not responsive.
VERY disappointed that a such an expensive unit would die on day 1. Awaiting a response from Thrustmaster support and trying to figure out if it is worth the effort to set the G27 back up...
UPDATE: I initially called Thrustmaster support on Monday May 23. They ran me through the usual script - attempt to connect to multiple different PCs, attempt to re-flash firmware, etc. After I reported back through e-mail that none of these steps worked, I received a reply 10 minutes later asking for more detailed contact information and proof-of-purchase. I was hoping that meant this would be a quick repair, but I did not receive any further contact. After one more e-mail to them asking for status, I called again Friday May 27. The rep I spoke with confirmed that they received my e-mails earlier in the week, and said they would follow up with the person this case was assigned to and have someone get a status to me that day. I have heard nothing back. I am giving them until Wednesday June 1, then I will just return the unit to Amazon.
UPDATE 6/20/2011: Shipped the base unit to Thrustmaster on May 31st since I was going on vacation for 10 days anyhow -- as of today, still no replacement. Very disappointed in their customer service -- they always say to e-mail for a status update, but I never get a response without calling. At least they paid for shipping...
UPDATE 6/24/2011: Received the wheel back yesterday; TM says they had to resolder some wires to the board. I hooked it up, this time it died the exact same way after 45 minutes. I am trying very hard to remain polite with their support staff.
UPDATE 7/04/2011: Received a new base on Friday. Still working after several hours of use this weekend, bumping my rating up a star -- we'll see how long this lasts.
UPDATE 9/14/2011: It has been working for three months, moving up to a 4-star rating since the product is great -- their customer service however was terrible at getting me a working unit. For a $500+ product, they should be bending over backwards and should just be swapping with a new unit right away when something is broken rather than making customers wait for their faulty repairs.
22 of 24 found the following review helpful:
 The best wheel on the market Mar 14, 2011
By C. Bishop-Wright
"Curry"
When the Thrustmaster T500rs came out, I laughed a little bit. Thrustmaster has not made a good wheel in quite some time and at the price of 600 dollars, its double the cost of a G27. Not only is it double the cost, the wheel wheel housing is intensely large and the pedals are quite cumbersome. That being said, the wheel is superb in most every way.
I recently had a chance to use the T500rs for a while and was taken aback by how good it is. The force feedback is quite robust and precise. It gives a lot more feeling of realism only dreamed by the other wheels on the market. The wheel feels weighty, like a real car wheel, but lightens up the faster you drive and turn. This dynamic response is greatly appreciated when driving simulation racing games. Road inputs are much easier to feel with this wheel improving the users ability to respond and drive dynamically.
The buttons on the wheel are a mix between the G27 and the driving force GT. The versatility of the buttons on the driving force GT carry over to the T500rs but the buttons are small and hard to identify during races and quick turns. The buttons are unfortunately placed quite far from the rim and because of the diameter of the wheel, this makes it very hard to use during races unless you are on a straight or not in a race. The buttons do include a PS button which is very helpful on the PS3 as you don't have to keep a controller around to navigate menus.
The pedals on the T500rs are quite good. Though I think they are too large and are cumbersome in many instances, their performance is another story. The brake is firm and requires a bit of force to apply pressure. The clutch and gas pedal don't have the resistance that the brake does but they still take force to press down which is really nice. All in all the pedals are great during game play and give a relatively realistic depiction of real car pedals. Much like the G27 pedals, they don't have progressive feel that real car pedals provide. The brake pedal has a resistance mod that you can install that increases braking resistance and has the ability to create a progressive feel by adding a pieces of rubber that comes in contact part way through the brake travel. Its not perfect but it does enhance braking.
One of the most unfortunate things about this wheel, is that it does not include a shifter. Thrustmaster says they are developing one and it will be out soon, but it sounds like its not included with the set. This is unfortunate for being a 600 wheel, any of the wheels close or below this price point includes one (Fanatec and Logitech wheels). That being said, when racing competitively, I don't use a shifter, just shifter paddles so its not a huge loss.
The paddles on the T500rs are massive. Each one takes up about 20-25% of the wheels circumference. They are made of chromed metal and are quite hefty. They give a great tactile feedback when shifting. The big downside is that they are fixed to the wheel base, so they do not rotate with the wheel. This makes it hard or impossible to shift when turning certain cars. If you are in a 90 degree turn, you will not be able to shift unless you take your hand off of the wheel.
Another nice feature is that the firmware for the wheel is upgradeable. This helps with comparability with new games and systems later on down the road. Other than that, its a plug and play experience on the PS3 and all you have to do is install the driver to make it work on the PC.
If you are a serious sim racer, this wheel is the best wheel on the market. If you are more of a casual gamer this wheel is unnecessary. If you have the cash to drop and you take sim racing seriously, order this now.
Pros:
Realism
Force feedback precision
Button functionality
Pedal feel
Paddle Shifter feel
Clutch pedal
Ease of use on PC/PS3
Upgradable firmware
Cons:
Bulky
Pricey
No shifter
Fixed paddle shifters
12 of 13 found the following review helpful:
Thrustmaster T 500 RS Mar 03, 2011
By FerrariFig
Amazing, Unbelievable, worth every penny. I have a Logitech G 27 and the T500 blows it away in every way possible, pedals are fantastic. Works with PS3 and PC. If you love simracing of any kind you wont regret this purchase. Check out [...] for a full and detailed review that i completely agree with.
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
 Great wheel but quality control is questionable. Jul 18, 2011
By C. Green
Fantastic wheel and pedal combination ...... how best to describe this product without recycling what has already been said in previous reviews and what is available on Thrustmasters website? .... hmmm, how about when I opened the box it had that "new car smell" ... no bs; that's how realistic this product is ...... close your eyes while this is connected and running, and you will swear you are behind the wheel of a real car ...... I have this installed on a Obutto, so I also have the seat feel to go with it ..... the heft of the wheel, the size, weight and feedback of the pedals .... all top notch ...... ultimately, the best driving sim wheel/pedal combo on the market today .... this is not a toy ... hence the price tag and warning stickers ......
But ... and this is a big but ....
While researching this wheel prior to purchase, I read many a story on the GT5 forums about problems with this product ... most of the problems centered around the wheel and not the pedals ... DOA, paddles not working (my problem), wont power up after a week or so ..... for those that had Thrustmaster do the repair, the fix always seemed to be 'resoldered wires' or "replaced pc board" ......
My right shifter paddle stopped working a week after receiving it from Amazon ..... after swapping PS3's and flashing the firmware, I have it going back to Amazon tomorrow for a replacement .... hopefully the replacement will be defect free ......
[20 July 2011 update]: Within a couple hours of advising Amazon that I needed a replacement, I received an email that another unit was being shipped 'next day' delivery .... how can you beat service like that? .... this isn't a toaster; this is a large box weighing in at almost 50lbs ..... unbelievable that customer service still exists like that ..... anyway, the new wheel and pedals arrived ..... and it didn't take more than a few minutes to swap the new wheel with the old on my Obutto .... everything is now working great again ....... that's a good thing as I would never again be able to use something as toy-like as a G27 or Fantec wheel ... I'm not knocking those wheels as being decent products in there own right; just saying' they don't compare to the realism of the T500RS .... I didn't bother messing with the pedals as the original ones are still just fine ...... I have also changed my product rating from 2 to 3 stars due to the quick response from Thrustmaster after I advised them of the dead paddle .... they wanted me to perform a bunch of diagnostics that I had already done; but their initial response was less than 24hrs, so I feel comfortable that they will be there for after warranty service ...... I am eagerly waiting for the 7 speed shifter to compliment this wheel/pedal setup .......
[03 August 2011 update] : well, it has been a couple of weeks now since receiving my replacement wheel and everything is still working great ..... my lap times in GT5 have improved dramatically ..... Dirt3 is a blast now as you can 'feel' the tires break grip on the track ..... I'm waiting for F1 2011 to release later this year ..... I'm still seeing many new reports of wheel problems in the forums, causing me to almost feel relieved that it still works when I turn my console on ..... I'm also back down to 2 stars after receiving no correspondence from TMasters after my initial inquiry ... sad that such a great product is spoiled by lousy customer service and what looks like quality control during manufacture ..... I have a week or so left on my return policy, so if I see anything even looking like it may be a problem, it's going back to Amazon ..... a week or so ago, I noticed that this was no longer being fulfilled by Amazon .... too many returns? .... don't know what was up there but Amazon is selling it again now ..... I would NEVER buy this product from anyone not having such a superior return policy such as Amazon .... too much risk ..... so anyway, to end on a positive note; the 7-speed shifter has been announced and should be available in a month or so ..... hopefully Amazon will carry it as it is a must with this wheel/pedal combo ......
9 of 10 found the following review helpful:
2 to 3 times the wheel of the G27 Feb 17, 2011
By Robot Guy
I haven't had many racing wheels, but compared to the Logitech G27 I can tell you it is more than two to three times better. It's twice the cost, but worth it. It drives straight with no oscillations and the force feedback can be quite strong if on the highest settings. The self-calibration puts it dead nut center every time. Also having the PS3 controls on the wheel is very nice compared to the G27. I've had it for near a month and have no regrets on buying it. If you are serious about your racing simulation games (GT5) then this is the wheel for you. The G27 I had only lasted one day before it would no longer calibrate, but I'm happy it was defective and I got the Thrustmaster T500RS because it that much nicer.
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