Logitech WingMan Formula Force GP Wheel with Pedals Review

Customer Ratings:

The product arrived in 2 days in good order. It is a good quality wheel with a good feel. The pedals are large enough and well spaced. The wheel comes with an installation CD and a bundled game. The biggest problem I had was during installation. At one point it asks for you to insert the Windows '98 CD into the drive. My Dell computer did not include this CD so I was stuck without a necessary driver. After some time searching the internet, I was able to get the driver and complete the installation. Once over this hurdle, everything went well. The wheel is easy to set up and it works with all the games I have tried. The 6 buttons are easy to program for shifting gears, lights, horn or whatever you wish. By the end of the day the whole family was engrossed in Need For Speed High Stakes. The force feedback experienced with most games is amazing! You will feel bumps and turns and other cars hitting you. One thing to note is that if you have a heavy foot, the pedals may slide away from you, even on carpet. I have not used other force feedback wheels but I could definitely recommend this one an excellent option!

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The Formula Force GP wheel is a very comfortable, responsive USB steering wheel. I've been running it with Windows 2000, and have had not a bit of trouble with it, in fact, it has added a significant amount of fun and realism to my driving games. This, added to the low price (compared to other wheels) I paid ($49, after rebates) has made the wheel one of the best additions I have made to my computer.

Likes: 1. The rubberized red pads and cut-outs make the wheel much, much nicer than the all-plastic wheels out there 2. The wheel mounts easily and positively to your desk, and doesn't take up too much room 3. Force feedback effects are good 4. Wingman configuration program provides good configurability and control of the wheel 5. Great plug and play USB installation

Gripes: 1. The wheel is too small 2. The pedal base is too light, and should be further secured to prevent sliding 3. Odd noises from the wheel in use (when not drowned out by the game audio)

Overall, a great value and a very good wheel. This should tide me over until I can pony up the money for a better, metal wheel and pedal set (if EVER).

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Okay, I'm in my mid 50s and copy of Need For Speed jumped off the shelf into my cart the last time I went shopping. I installed the game and played it for awhile, first using the keyboard (can't be done), and then using a flight yoke I have. That was okay, but braking and accelerating was difficult, and I was all over the place as the yoke just didn't cut it.

Anyway, I was now addicted to this stupid game, so I searched Amazon.com for a "real" steering wheel. After checking the customer reviews I settled on this one. I don't plan on using it all the time, so I didn't want to spend a fortune, and for a few extra bucks the force-feedback feature seemed like it would be fun. It is.

The unit installed easily in Win 98, but I have to agree with another reviewer that the wiring on this thing is nuts. The pedals are already on the floor, so why not attach all the cables to that, then run one cable to the wheel? Also, the USB cable from the wheel to the computer isn't very long. I'll probably pick up an extension, and you may need one, too.

I had no problems with the pedals moving around, as some others said, but I have this really cheap carpeting in my office that I think helped. Also, the wheel clamps securely to just about any desk, but if you have a slide out keyboard drawer, like I do, you may have problems. Many games require use of the keyboard, and I can't pull mine out when the wheel is attached. I had to move the keyboard out of the drawer to get to it.

As for play: The wheel makes driving games a lot more fun. It has a good feel to it, the feedback isn't bad, but like another reviewer admitted I'm also spoiled. I have a Porsche 911, and this wheel and a game can't come close. I can tell when I'm off the road, and I can tell when I've hit something, and there's even some road feel (when I drive over cobblestones the whole desk shakes), but it's not even close to the real thing. Not that I would know what it feels like to hit a lot of trees, fences, and other cars. We're simply talking road feel here.

Still, it's a lot of bang for the buck, and they even give you a free game with it. You'd think they'd give you something that would really show off the wheel, but they don't. However, for [the price]the combination of the wheel and the game is a damn good deal. Even better when you discover that older versions of Need For Speed, and similar programs, are really cheap.

I should admit that I have not compared this wheel to any others. The four star rating is based on the four star grin on my face, and the fact that I felt it was a bargain. At least if it winds up on a shelf after awhile I won't glance over at it thinking about all the money I wasted.

Oh, yeah. I ordered this from Amazon with the free shipping option and it arrived in only two days! That kind of service is hard to beat.

Honest reviews on Logitech WingMan Formula Force GP Wheel with Pedals

I ordered the Logitech Wingman Formula Force GP w/ foot pedals on a late Sunday afternoon, using the super saver free shipping. I believe Amazon reports that the free shipping takes 7 9 days to be delivered? Tuesday afternoon at 4pm, almost exactly 48 hours later, the wheel was at my house! It arrived in a brand new, excellent, unscathed condition.

I took the wheel out and mounted it to the lip of my computer desk using the two screw down plastic clamps provided underneath the wheel. I thought the clamps looked flimsy, and would probably break easily! However, I have been playing for days now and the wheel is completely stable and does not move nor suffer from "plastic flex"! Just make sure you do _not_ overtighten them when you screw them down! Just get them secure, they WILL hold if you do it properly. I find the wheel to be the perfect size for my desk, I can keep it attached and use my keyboard and mouse without any problems at all.

Next, I positioned the foot pedals on the floor. My desk has a bottom board, and I put the foot pedals up against it so they won't slide. They have a jack similar to a telephone, and it plugs directly into the righthand side of the wheel. The A/C adapter plugs in next to the phone-jack type port for the pedals, and is very lightweight!

Then, I started up my computer and installed the software. You put the disk in, and it comes up with a menu that lets you install it. If you already have another Logitech device, such as a Wingman joystick, then you don't need to install the software! It uses the same stuff! Once the software is installed, you simply plug the USB connector into your computer, and POOF! The system will immediately make any changes it has to, and you can start using your wheel! I would strongly suggest a calibration before use.

The wheel and pedals are very durable, and work flawlessly. The paddle shifters are easy to reach and use! I find the best game to use this wheel with is Need for Speed: Underground. They make a great combo.

It takes a slight breaking in period to get used to using a wheel. While it makes the game very realistic, remember that it is still up to the game programmers to provide good game physics for using it! I've also played with a Microsoft Force Feedback wheel at a friend's house, and I like this Logitech a lot better!

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I used a Wingman Formula Force for about 4 years, and it was a superb wheel that excelled in every game I used it with. These included the Need for Speed series (particularly Porsche Unleahsed) and the Colin McRae Rally series. When the potentiometers in the pedals began to behave erratically causing sudden and unpredictable changes in the amount of throttle pedal that the wheel would indicate, I attempted to replace it.

Unfortunately, the Formula Force is no longer available, being replaced instead by the Formula Force GP. The Formula Force GP (which was shipped to me by mistake by a vendor claiming to sell the original Formula Force) is a much cheaper wheel, and it shows in every aspect of its performance.

For one, the wheel uses a gear driven system instead of a cable driven system, and this limits the responsiveness of the wheel when continuously varying biasing force is needed, for instance, when the force on the wheel is intended to communicate the slip angle of the front wheels.

In addition, the gear-driven system produces a lot of inertia in the wheel and that inertia interferes with the feedback coming through the wheel. It also causes the wheel to have a perceived resisting feedback, even when the wheel should not be resisting your motion.

The pedals are adequate and have a good, progressive response, but they lack any grip surface on the bottom, or sufficient space on the side to use your left foot to brace the base of the pedals in position (both features on the original Formula Force). If you are using them on a surface other than carpet, they will tend to slip away from you.

The wheel provides two "paddles" and four buttons, the same as the previous model Formula Force, but the "paddles" are actually small buttons on the back of the wheel that are much harder to reach when quick reflexes are desired, or if you are attempting to operate the paddles while the wheel is turned significantly. Also, two of the four buttons are positioned at an angle that is awkward for your thumbs to reach.

In short, this is a passable wheel and pedal set, and for the money, may not be a bad choice. However, compared to the original Formula Force wheel from Logitech which it replaces, this wheel is a serious disappointment. If you can find an original Formula Force, or a Formula Force Momo from Logitech, they are better constructed and better performing products.