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PlayStation 2 Racing Wheel Roundup

Find out what racing wheel is best for Gran Turismo 4 in our PlayStation 2 wheel roundup.

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There are a large number of PlayStation 2 wheels available on the market and the quality ranges widely from the mediocre to the superb. Some wheels may give you the feeling that you're one with the road and others will provide an experience so horrendous that you may swear off wheels altogether. It's no surprise that the expensive wheels perform better, but budget wheel shoppers should be aware that wheels in the $50 to $75 range can vary quite a bit in terms of performance. In this roundup we'll discuss the features you'll need in order to best enjoy Gran Turismo 4.

This may seem obvious, but the most important wheel feature by far is basic driving control. The wheel, or any input controller for that manner, must accurately communicate your actions to the game. You actually never notice a controller that has good response times, but you definitely notice the ones that add a movement delay or don't produce the expected onscreen movement. In our experience, the Logitech Driving Force Pro offered the best driving control. To borrow a phrase from the movie Pretty Woman: "It corners like it's on rails." We were able to adjust and improve our lap times within minutes of picking up the wheel. Every motion we made corresponded to a tangible, controlled movement on the screen.

One wheel attribute that has a significant impact on control is the amount of dead space on the wheel. Dead space is the tiny range of movement the wheel will ignore before registering an input. Some jittery users might find the dead-space cushion useful, but we want a wheel that we can calibrate to be as sensitive as possible. The Mad Catz Universal MC2 Racing Wheel failed in this regard. Even at its most sensitive setting, the Mad Catz wheel never felt responsive. Instead of executing crisp turns, we found ourselves floundering about the track trying to figure out where the dead zone ends and where the actual turning begins. You can eventually adjust to a large dead zone, but all the extra movement will add a needless delay to your turn times.

Force feedback is a critical part of the Gran Turismo 4 experience. Some of the hardcore racing buffs want nothing more than to run the best laps of their lives, but half the fun of Gran Turismo lies in experiencing the bumps, the jumps, and the sheer uncontrollability of a car hurtling down a straightaway at over 250mph. Force feedback, if implemented correctly, gives you extra information about the road, your speed, and provides an accurate gauge of how hard you need to turn the wheel to follow your line. While most wheels offer some kind of force feedback, the effectiveness varies greatly. Some force feedback implementations, like the one on the Thurstmaster Enzo Ferrari 2-in-1, may only offer a vibration strong enough to mimic a car idling in a gas station, while others will give you an exhilarating feeling as you struggle to maintain a straight line once you get your car on a long straightaway.

Go ahead and spin that wheel.  The Logitech Driving Force Pro offers 900-degree rotation.
Go ahead and spin that wheel. The Logitech Driving Force Pro offers 900-degree rotation.

One of the most talked about feature these days is 900-degree turning. Wheels that feature 900-degree turning allow you to turn the wheel 450 degrees, more than one full rotation, in either direction. Wheels that only have a small turning range, 200 degrees for example, will only let you spin the wheel 100 degrees in either direction before you hit a physical stop that will prevent you from turning the wheel any further. Only a handful of games support 900-degree turning, but Gran Turismo 4 is one of them. In practice, you probably won't need to swing the wheel around more than a full rotation in either direction, but it's nice to have the freedom to turn as much as you want without fearing the jarring stop you might encounter on lesser wheels. The Logitech Driving Force Pro is the only wheel in our roundup that features 900-degree turning.

All the wheels we tested had passable to fantastic build quality. They weren't going to fall apart on you midrace. Likewise, none of the wheels had problems staying put when secured to a table, which is way to go to for racing. Having to reposition the wheel during lap 10 of Laguna Seca wouldn't be fun and would likely hurt your finish times.

Overall, we recommend the Logitech Driving Force and Thrustmaster Enzo Ferrari 2-in-1 Racing Wheel for racers on a budget. The Mad Catz Universal MC2, while feature packed, didn't provide the precise control necessary in a racing wheel. The Enzo and the Driving Force wheels both handled well and won't put much of a dent in your pocket, but note that the Driving Force has the edge in the force feedback department if that's a feature you really want. Gamers looking for the best wheel will have to get the Logitech Driving Force Pro. It's not cheap, as prices range between $100 and $150, but the Logitech Driving Force Pro is the best PlayStation 2 wheel you can purchase for Gran Turismo 4.

Check out the full review for each product for more in-depth information about each wheel discussed in this roundup.

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"The Logitech Driving Force Pro is most likely the perfect companion for Gran Turismo 4."
- Brian Ekberg, from GameSpot's Full Review

GameSpot Score: 9.4

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"Compared to other wheels in the price segment, the Logitech Driving Force represents the best value by providing an excellent balance of control, build quality, and features."
- Sarju Shah, from GameSpot's Full Review

GameSpot Score: 8.6

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"The Thrustmaster Enzo Ferrari 2-in-1 Racing Wheel will appeal to casual racing fans who enjoy turning laps on both the PC and the PS2."
- Brian Ekberg, from GameSpot's Full Review

GameSpot Score: 7.6

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"The Universal MC2 Racing Wheel has support for all the major consoles, great design, and good overall feel. Unfortunately, its downfall came when we used it for driving."
- Sarju Shah, from GameSpot's Full Review

GameSpot Score: 5.9


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