Transitioning from a Thrustmaster T300 to a Moza R9

in this video I transitioned from  a belt driven thrustmaster T300 to   a direct drive wheel the Mazda R9 and  all from an older Gamer's perspective [Music]   there are plenty of videos reviewing the  T300 or the Mazda R9 but here I wanted to   give my personal feelings on what it's like to  transition from a belt drive wheel to a direct   drive wheel and I'm doing this so you can perhaps  be better informed if you really need to go direct   drive just yet but we need it to be very honest with you I haven't owned or used a thrustmaster T300 for very long in fact I had it for about  two months and in that time I came to realize that rsgt pedal set that comes bundled with the wheel is not really much good I mean it's okay throttle is a bit springy but fine for the job and  the clutch when I use it is usable but the brake   is just horrible it has almost zero realism and it  replicates a real live brake pedal in the same way   I replicate the good looks of George Clooney in fact I use the supplied pedals for about two weeks before I upgraded to a thrustmaster tlcm pedal set  that features a load cell brake pedal and a more   consistent Driving Experience I will fully review  this pedal set in another video of course once   the pedal set was upgraded it was only a matter of  time before I'd want to upgrade the wheel and the   obvious choice was one of the lower cost direct  drive Wheels I chose the moza R9 partly because I   didn't want the lower powered variants such as  the moza R5 or the fanatec csld D5 and partly   because I like the design of the mozzle wheels  and the price of the basic mosa es wheel was   was also one I could live with even so it is an  expensive upgrade but is it worth it is it worth   changing from a belt driven wheel the T300 with  2.9 newton meters to a direct drive the R9 with   three times that power I figured the best way to  test this would be to run a race in iracing on   the same circuit and with the same car using first  the T300 then the motor R9 I'm racing against AI   drivers in order to cut down on the variables as  much as possible and the car I chose was the MX-5   partly because I have a fair amount of experience  driving this in eye racing and partly because I   used to own one in real life and have a soft  spot for this car the race is five Laps on the   knock Hill International circuit with me gridded  at P4 with six cars in the field I narrate while   driving to give a first-hand experience of what  it's like to use either wheel there is a wheel   Cam and a pedal cam although the pedals stay  the same for both wheels that I test [Music]   here we are on the grid with gridding fourth out of six cars he's waiting for the green and away we go okay fair to middling style there  never quite get the style right on the uh on the   clutch there maybe somebody could comment below  and tell me how I should be doing that better   okay I'll come in here got to be a bit careful  we're still on cold tires as is everybody else   of course but uh obviously don't want to spin  off and watch all these people sail past me   at the same time I don't really want to see second  and third sailing off into the sunset so 2 300   force feedback in irating does feel a bit better  than project cars is not quite as Lumpy um to be   expected I suppose because project cars is end of  life now and iracing is always being updated um but still there is this feeling that T300  is not really giving me the full picture of   what's going on here I'm not always getting  all the information from the wheels that uh   I might need that's just a feeling I don't really  know so it's going to be really interesting to   find out when I go to the direct drive the Moza  R9 in this case what that will give me as an extra oh there you going buddy   now you see in Project CARS I'm pretty much sure I  would have picked up a time penalty for what that   car just did but it seems to be fine okay all  Amway through to third so let's see if we can   catch up there's only five Laps on this just to  keep it down to something realistic for a test so   we're not sitting here for hours but uh of course  mean I don't have a lot of time to catch a leader there we go totally stuffed up that corner   anybody in the comments could tell me how to  do that corner possibly a little bit better   I'm never quite getting it sometimes I  get it really good and sometimes I just   don't do it they're having a little bit of a  fight there so number two just took first place   that's interesting I wonder if these two guys  are actually going to take each other out   they've done me a favor because number two is   or who is number one was number two is the  slower driver of the two and so he's holding   up number one for me now and I can catch him  up which is nice okay so I'm gonna try and see if we can get a bit of drafting  here I could probably be too far away   for that I'll maybe try and catch  him on this corner whoa there we go there we go oh and a bit wide there so did  Heber look at it so comfortable second place now there you go confirmed by the  spotter so now I need to not crash   and also catch up this guy who  just did actually I mean he must   have the time penalty for that surely  let's get warm oh I'm off as well now   go back yep managed to hold it this is what  happens when the pressure gets on you kind of like   all your driving tactics just go completely out  the window I just went down the first gear there oh dear oh dear Paul what are you doing  you know just all over the place okay back on track again [Music]   White Flag can I catch this guy on the last lap   my dad said if you come down the street if I just  take my hands off the wheel there slightly [Music] not really feeling much there you get  a few bumps here and there [Music]   project cars there was a lot more  information coming in but it felt gritty   in a racing there's not as much information  coming in um and it feels slightly muted whether I can improve on that using the  settings that we've got available to us   in the uh Mazda software the pit house software but uh yeah generally speaking with the load cell  pedals I think the T300 makes a lot of sense it   becomes a very smooth wheel you can control it a  lot you get a reasonable amount of feedback and   um a readable amount of information you can  see it's bouncing a bit there oh and there I'll do that corner a bit better that time okay  so we're through we're in the second place there from where we greeted and that was the thrustmaster T300 in summary  a great wheel offers one of the best force   feedback experiences for this price category but  ultimately it feels muted and the tug of the belt   drive on the wheel interjects into the realism  of the moment in short it's good great even for   the price but it's not brilliant and there are  drawbacks then I tested the Mazda R9 although   it's important to mention that I did this test  after first using the wheel for over a week in   order to familiarize myself with the overall feel  of a direct drive wheel I also calibrated the   wheelbase using the wheelbase recovery and reset  option in the pit house software as initially I   was having some lumpy force feedback but this  does seem to have cured that problem knockhill   in the Mazzy where gridded forth six  cars here and we're using the Mazda R9   what difference will it make to my driving   it's kind of cheating really because um this isn't  my first race it was a R9 I spent a week with it   so that I could get to grips with how it works how  it feels and also to alter the pit house software   there are a lot of settings in there and no  matter what anybody tells you on YouTube one   size does not fit all you will need to go  through each and every individual setting   to find the combination that works for you in  the software that you like irating a set of   Corso project cars whatever and also for the car  that you're driving it's really not as simple as   putting in some settings and  then it will work for everything I found with eye racing I've got these settings  I'll share them with you once this roast is over off on the straightener one  on the left but we're okay and   the steering now feels very responsive I  have everything I want from the information   of it if I get into a slide I can feel it and  I can react to that slide and I can correct it   I can feel plenty of texture on the track on  speed bumps and the sand and and everything else that's a bit cheeky wasn't it but uh is it life-changing uh no no it's not it's better  than the T300 in some ways perhaps many ways can you get away with using a T300 and  still win yes of course yes people have   been doing that for a long time now will  you win races if you buy a direct drive   probably not no because you still need  to have certain amount of skill to use   it and if you don't have it the direct  drive's not going to give that to you but if you practice and if you find the right  set of settings that suit your driving Style   the direct drive is magic it  really is it's suddenly unleashes   your creative abilities of driving or it  does with me I found that [Music] I am more   consistent with my lap times on some tracks I am  even much faster than I ever was with the T300   I'm still the same driver I've still practiced as  much as I have so it's it's not really anything   to do with that it is simply that this this wheel  is more precise it shows me what I'm doing in a   in a very accurate way and I'm able to capitalize  on that oops AI buddy going off the track there two get faster and more precise and keep it on  the track as well it was something I found it   was difficult with the T300 sometimes  was just keeping the car on the track   see I went into a slight spin there really  the the feeling to correct it was very natural [Laughter] again overcooked the acceleration  on the exit of that corner   began to lose the rear end and I  was able to correct it the wheel   told me the information I needed  to know to run those Corrections whoop there we go oh there we go and wait for it he's hunting me I was bad I've always knew this  when people are right on my tail   even when they're AI drivers that's okay  I think we're gonna make this corner try not to overdo it so yeah direct drive  wheel it gives you a more consistent lap time   it gives you a better feeling  of what the car is doing and dare I say it's a lot more fun it certainly feels less taxing I don't know why  it was with the T300 but sometimes when I finish a   race with that wheel I would feel quite exhausted  from wrestling around with the the belt driven   feedback um kind of like fighting me quite a lot  and with the direct drive wheel once you have the   settings right once you work out where you need to  be and and how it works and how it works for you   it is a pleasure to drive it's not at all  taxing I can drive three or four races   of an evening with this wheel and with  the T300 I did two and then I was done is this wheel going to change your life no I don't  I don't think it will I don't think it ever will   um if you combine it with loads so if  you combine it with load cell pedals I think it makes a lot of sense I think a  direct drive wheel without load cell pedals   is half the story load cell pedals with a belt driven  wheel like two 300 is probably a   fantastic upgrade and if you can't  afford a direct drive wheel or you   can't afford a good direct drive wheel  I would have said go with the load cell   pedals first and then think about that a  direct drive at some point in the future the difference between a belt driven wheel  and a direct drive wheel is sad to say   like night and day it really is you will  love a direct drive wheel if you get one   but if you don't have the money to 300 is also  a lot of fun when combined with load cell pedals but if you can afford the Maser R9 and load cell  pedals you are gonna have so much fun yeah over and out feel better and that was the  Moza R9 in summary a fantastic wheel that gives   so much more feedback to the drive in a very  subtle and understated way but the important   thing to note about this video is that I spent  a considerable amount of time in the pit house   software and the iracing options page sorting out  the optimal settings for the R9 it really is not a   Plug and Play device it needs care attention  a bit of understanding of what the various   settings do and lots and lots of test labs to see  if each setting you change will be for the better   in order to find out what each setting did and  how it affected my lap times I zeroed everything   then introduced one element at a time taking  note of which settings had a knock-on effect   on any other settings eventually after about 80  laps a couple of AI races I was happy with the   choices I made I ended on this combination that  we're looking at here in the various pit house   screens and this setting in ironating that's  not to say this is a definitive Guide to the   perfect settings to drive the MX-5 in irasing  with the R9 it is simply the settings that best   suited my style of driving your style of driving  is almost definitely going to be different and   will almost definitely require settings that  are completely different from mine put simply   if you are looking for a wheel that you can  get out of the box plug in and race then the   moza R9 and probably most other direct drive  wheels are not for you in which case I would   recommend the T300 which when combined with  a load cell pedal set is probably the best   non-direct Drive wheel on the market today  but hey you know what that's just one guy's   opinion outside of the driving style the physical  differences between the T300 and the R9 are normal   both come with interchangeable Wheels although  the T300 requires a screwdriver to remove it   and is as such not actually a quick release  system the default T300 wheel with the rsgt kit   is approximately the same size as the lowest cost  wheel for the R9 the es I think the es is slightly   smaller in diameter but it wasn't something that  I really noticed at all while Racing for the MX-5   and I would suspect foremost road racing cars this  wheel similar to the T300 is about the ideal size   for Sim Races they both feature a nice selection  of controls specifically aimed it would seem at   the PlayStation or PC user even though the R9  is not officially supported by the PS bandwagon   the Maza es wheel has a nice radio button and  the paddles are arguably a little snappier to   use but essentially there isn't much difference  between them except the actual material covering   the wheel itself on the T300 the material is some  kind of fake lever that's actually fairly Pleasant   to touch while the moza es will has some kind of  fake lever that's not very pleasant to touch and   worse still seems to invoke sweaty hands after  only a short time of driving something that never   occurred while driving the T300 if you do get the  es wheel I would advise you also to get a pair of   sim racing gloves like my Natty orange ones here  that also match My Chosen car color I attach both   to my GT Amiga art rig and both were accommodated  by pre-drilled holes and both were super easy to   fit whether or not the R9 is suitable for use with  a desk clamp I am not so sure but I didn't try it   so you will have to look elsewhere for an opinion  on this topic so do I regret my transition to the   R9 or more importantly was it worth the upgrade  price once I combine the T300 with a load cell   pedal I got a decent Driving Experience out of  this wheel however the R9 combined with a load   cell pedal added another level of consistency  to my Driving Experience I don't go that much   faster with the R9 but I have found a superior  level of control that allows me to stay on the   track and have a more consistent lap time leading  eventually to faster lap times in fact after just   a short time of using the R9 I won my first  ever race in eye racing which I documented in   this video link below no the Mazda R9 is not life  changing but also it's not disappointing and I do   not regret the upgrade in fact kind of wish I'd  skipped over the T300 and gone direct drive from   the onset and that about sums up how I feel on  the transition from the T300 to the R9 it wasn't   life-changing but it wasn't disappointing  either and boy am I enjoying the experience   if you enjoyed this video don't forget to click  the like button and if you haven't already done   so subscribe subscribe click the little bell icon  if you want to be notified of any future videos

Channel: An Older Gamers Perspective

Views: 17,377

Keywords: t-300, t300, thrustmaster, thrustmaster t300, thrustmaster t-300, Moza, moza R9, R9, direct drive, direct drive wheel, direct drive wheel review, belt drive, iracing, sim racing, simracing, transitioning, t300 to r9, thrustmaster t300 to Moza r9, direct drive comparison, project cars 2, reddit, T-Lcm, thrustmaster T-lcm, tlcm, fanatec

Id: VAY-Ff1G6t4

Length: 22min 15sec (1335 seconds)

Published: Tue May 23 2023