Thrustmaster TS-PC Racer TS-XW Review and SPARCO P310 Review in 2023 ASMR

[@robwilleford3737]

thanks for the video, I just got a new pc racer base new for $200 it will replace my T300, I already own the sparco rally wheel and the TLCM pedals... It shows up in 2 days I cant wait...

[@caaarlos]

Wow the base for 200 is just insane value if you're on a budget and while direct drives get all the hype, TBH getting a low power direct drive won't make you feel such a big difference. if I ran my DD1 at the same nm strength as the TSPC the difference isn't "that big". And the TSPC was shaking my desk a lot, before I got the Playseat Trophy to get it more stable. Have a great time with the new base and happy new year! Don't forget to turn down dampening on thrustmaster settings, I think it's dampening and spring forces that most people usually turn off in the control panel. GL HF

[@robwilleford3737]

@@caaarlos Happy New Year and I will adjust the dampening...

[@robwilleford3737]

I have it all dialed in and it is a fantastic wheel base, I love it!

[@caaarlos]

​@ Glad to hear you are having fun. I don't know how but Thrustmaster does have very good drivers for FFB because you get a very consistent high quality ffb experience across many different titles and there is no need to stress a lot with complicated settings to find a good feeling ffb. In some more expensive bases one thing that bothers me is that sometimes the FFB feels a bit different and not as good out of the box, and you need to use lots of different settings to get good FFB on each title. OFC on high end bases ffb ends up being better, but it only gets to that "better point" after you do a lot of work and spend time, after spending huge amounts of money as well.

[@tednicholl7025]

I've watched your video a couple times now, very nicely done and well reasoned. After having my TS-XW for about six months or so with daily use it's certainly a worthy and capable wheelbase. First, 6.2Nm is plenty of power to deliver consistent, realistic and distinguishable forces. I have six different wheels, EVO32R Leather, Ferrari SF1000, Ferrari 488 GT3, custom 4mm Duralumin GT3 swap for my stock round T300 rim, 350mm/3" deep dish and basic stock T300 wheel on generic 3D printed Thrustmaster screw connector. I love using each of these wheels and swap them often because it's fun if for no other reason. I have some nice wheels and appreciate having each one for a different discipline from small round open wheel to F1 and rally etc. What I've decided to do is invest in the true quick release from Peter Makes Things which requires some disassembly of each wheel to replace the giant Thrustmaster screw release but in the end, if done with care will be very much an upgrade with swaps measured from 34 seconds with the original setup to 4 seconds with the PMT True Quick Release. My wheelbase runs for hours on end and never loses power, nor does the fan make any measurable noise, it's near silent at all times. For my setup on a wheel stand, 6.2Nm is more than enough power and realistically would do better on a more rigid mount such as wood or aluminum profile. At 57 years old, in my 4 years of sim racing starting with a G29, modified it like crazy, then a T300 with pedals and other sim gear from multiple manufacturers., This TS-XW with all my awesome wheels is absolutely 10/10 as far as dual belt drive wheelbases go. That with a 49" super ultrawide and a 34" ultrawide above is more than I could ever possibly need in my living room. Great review, Cheers✌😎

[@caaarlos]

Thanks man! Really glad you are enjoying it so much and you moded the quick release for comfort. It's really nice to have everything in the same ecosystem make the experience more streamlined and you also have tons of compatibility since that has been for long on the market, and lots of people will share already tons of settings. Huge time saver. I'm not a huge fan of jumping blind into new tech since many times costumers end up being guinea pigs for big tech companies. I could've gotten a more recent DD but the DD1 for me was again in a similar "sweet spot" and tbh the power is overwhelming, I struggle to keep the DD in check. Specially with smaller 270mm rim, I've bled from my hand after a crash. I've hurt my joints and experienced wrist pain running 90% for extended periods of time and I'm a mfkin 200pound 6"4 tall 37old dude that squats 200kg after my first 4months of gym after years of calisthenics. Even then the DD can overpower me due to leverage in a proper driving position. The market has been moving towards light DDs for a reason, if wheels aren't GSI or McLaren made of metal and carbon... get titanium... any "poly whatever" will get shredded by 25nm and the simcube ultimate 32nm? I can't imagine anyone running 100% on that without getting sent to physiotherapy. At 57 years young the TSPC/TSXW power is in that right confortable spot. Even people with the new "cheap DDs" around 10nm don't run them at 100% making their use of force closer to the 6nm. And that is actually the most realistic feel of force for most cars. The only thing you need is something at least as rigid as a Playseat Trophy or other, to get always the same exact position as that will give familiarity to muscle memory and increase consistency and immersion compared to a desk.

[@aethersuperfluid]

Hi, have you tried playing F1 games with this wheel? I’m currently driving with the T300 and I don’t think the FFB is enough. Thank you

[@caaarlos]

Hi, maybe I've tried it in F1 2018, recently last year I got 2023. The FFB from the F1 games feels quite a bit dampened compared to AC, even ACC and AMS1 and 2. U can use 100% ffb force on the Thrustmaster Software: Force 100, Constant 100, Periodic 100, but you can fiddle around with Spring and Damper from 0 to 50 for lighter "static weight" of turning wheel effort. But those sliders don't seem to add much information about the car and ffb behaviour. Usually I try to lower as much damping forces and smoothing forces as I can specially in lower wheels because the Belt mechanisms are already a bit dampened. Then the wheel might feel a bit lighter than with all at 100% but the effects will come through a bit stronger and clearer. On the F1 games there are some ffb settings aswell but I dont really remember fooling around much with sliders. Depending on base u might want to have more overal Force to compensate lower nm bases. (mind the TS PC is quite powerful and surprisingly good at the 200€ I got it at the time back then when cheap DDs weren't as readily available.) (now we have cammus C5) Don't forget to put 300 or 360 degress on TM software and then on the F1 game so ur real life turning aligns with the screen hands and also u get a more realistic feeling of turning the car! (Many sims u can leave 1080 or have "auto" and everything is adjusted automatically for you but in this case of the F1 games you actually need to change the steer rotation manually everytime you log into the game) (W Fanatec I can save profiles for each game so i forget about that detail since the Fanalab software does it for me automatically and some games I can save each profile for each car inside the "game name" tab. smol QOL features etc) GL HF I hope this helped anything else just ask.

[@aethersuperfluid]

@@caaarlos great amazing feedback really appreciated! On my experience I play only on console PS4 I know you gave me a bunch of insight using this wheel on pc. I def know that this wheel works only for PC. But I also know that the TS-PC and the TGT II basically share same motor. So I’ve been looking on reviews for the TGT II but everyone seems to be only playing GT sports and GT7 cuz the wheel is advertised for those games specifically. But I was just wondering how good could be playing other games. I’m a big fan of F1 games pretty what I like to play the most, I’m just not finding the right settings for the T300. I solve the overheating issue but I feel that’s not helping the FFB completely. The T300 lacks on detail and grip playing F1 games. I found that the best one for the T300 performance is when playing F1 2020 all their newest ones are really bad with the T300. SO I really wanna know is this bases TS-PC the TGT II are a step up I will assume from the T300 in all aspects? Thank you so much for your time!

[@caaarlos]

​If i want to really feel the car, even F2P live for speed or RRRE with certain settings, will feel better. but then comparing to AC, ACC, AMS1, AMS2, rF2... all those are much better. And even AMS1 needs special settings cuz it's ffb settings are a bit quirky. all the serious sims also have some very bad flaws regarding physics and simulation but most content (tracks n cars) feels way more believable. Even old outdated F2P stuff has better ffb, like any simbin demo (GTR evo demo) or Live for Speed or Raceroom (I had to fiddle a bit w my settings on this one). All F2p all have way better FFB than any F1 game. Stepping up on the base will improve the game feel for sure but even with a DD1 I don't think much of F2023 ffb. Maybe explain me better your specific dislike on the F1 game ffb? Too light in the center? Lack of detail? car slides and you don't feel it? or you feel the car sliding but the ffb is just really slow delivering info? it's hard to troubleshoot without very specific details and info. Now about bases: I've had the G923 and the TS-PC being 6nm was a really nice upgrade, for you the T300 is 4nm, but you'll get a bit more clarity and quality since the belt is stronger on the TS-PC. If you research "T300 belt repair" or "TSPC belt repair" you'll see pictures of the mechanisms and both bases have a belt connected to gears to work. This will always give a bit more dampened feel than any direct drive. Some have an extra snappy feeling due to new tecnology design like the cammus C5, which is insanely light and undampened. The thing is the C5 feels stronger because it's rated at 5nm constant and for many years brands only advertised "peak force". Like the DD1 is really 15nm constant and only 20nm as peak force. I see you want to keep inside thrusmaster ecosystem maybe you have other peripherals, in that case the T818 is by far the best choice regarding ffb str detail and adjustability but IMHO Thrustmaster as a whole lagged behind with their plastic QR (i don't really trust it, also TSPC is strong enough to notice minimal flex on QR) You can still be quick and competitive (pedals are more important) A portuguese guy won an iRacing prize with Heusinkveld Sprints and a Logitech G29. The belts have visible grooves and indentations that wear overtime and an old belt base might be less precise even if everything else is perfect the belts do wear off. This is why everybody raved about similar priced DDs and the bases CSL elite and Clubsport v2.5 were discontinued as CSL DD was launched. The TS-PC upgrade over the T300 might be noticeable but it will be marginal when compared to switching to a DD and provided that you find an insanely good deal like i had at the time 200€ (half price) on a "new old stock" brand new TSPC with full warranty on a retail store. You'll still need a steering wheel etc. OFC thrustmaster gear does look much nicer than the cammus c5 or some other brands. The CSL DD might be going cheap on 2nd hand when ppl want to switch to the DD+ etc. The market lost interest in the 200 or 300 range price bracket and what used to be the "midrange" price bracket is almost the new "entry range" regarding having most features and reliability (DD vs belt vs gears). G923 to TS-PC was more "brutal" strenght and info increase than TS-PC to DD1. Eventually you reach diminishing returns. I loved the TS-PC and for a long while I would say that I would be happy with it if i didn't find good DD1 deals. But after this long I should've done DD1 reviews. The Fanatec software is miles better, profile saving ogranised by game tabs, some games u can link ffb profiles to cars. I have hundreds of ffb profiles. I can edit the ffb feel while driving even mid race just by pressing a button on the steering wheel and using a funky switch. I can edit led color and behaviour, etc. I really don't want to give up any of these QOL features. you usually run 80% ffb but mid endurance 2h race you feel your arms tired? reduce to 75% or 70%. U can reduce 1% each lap so u get used to lower force without missing details. DDs won't need belts replaced. etc the Cammus is not like the other chinese knock off brands or else Moza would be another of those, they just copied and made their improvements over fanatec. From my researches I'm a bit weary of Moza due to overheating reliability issues from the past. And from the fact that they try to present themselves as upgrades on the outside but I don't see any extra quality for the cost and the ecosystem is smaller. I've had a friend swear by his C5 and he sold is simcube 2 pro to live abroad, so I do trust his opinion on how good the C5 is as an entry level. in the end, if all this is mainly about the F1 games, I wouldn't consider too much the wheelbase. I've been really busy (no vids lately) but I gotta try to find the time for some laps in F1 2023. Sometimes when I get some "uncanny" feeling on a game I just don't want to drive it as much and pickup bad habits that will mess up my driving on real simulators. It's like going from Gran Turismo to AC or ACC expecting to still be fast lolol. And if a game is too unrealistic, when you drive realistically you're too slow because you're supposed to be slamming the gas on corner exit instead of smoothly applying it like in reality.

[@soniagouveia]

Great review and informative vídeo! Using it looks really fun!

[@caaarlos]

😄

[@FrostMPB]

great video mate, would you mind sending me you Assetto ffb setting for this wheel? coming from a g27 using the rasmus lut guide

[@caaarlos]

Add me on discord and send me a message, or follow me on instagram or tiktok and contact me there. ATM i'm really busy with this weekends European Le Mans Series in Portimão. Saw the Qualy and the Radical European Series with the SR3 XXR and also the Ligier European Series, went there to support Bernardo Pinheiro driving the Ligier JS P4 for team Virage. He is from the city of Portimão where I've lived most of my life. I've also got to play some jazz guitar gigs later on, the music instagram is carlosbluenote and the gaming is caaarlos. Pls contact me monday to make me remember. Cheers! Congrats on the purchase!

[@marquezpradoluisjavier7754]

😸✌🏻

[@lancehunziker5725]

Not sure if thrustmaster is a good product I’ve never used one. What is great about it, is that it’s not from Logitech. I have been fighting with Logitech to either ship my product or cancel my order. They won’t do either, they basically stole 1100.00 from me

[@caaarlos]

Sorry to hear that. I never dealt directly with their website and it is really sad. You need to contact support and do some complaints online about it. I've heard about some cargo companies, not sure wich one, maybe DHL? that steal cargo that companies ship to clients sometimes. I saw this tunner channel and this guy odered very specific engine parts or or turbo parts... custom made, DHL stole them and even had them for sale on Ebay. The guy bought them a 2nd time and then went legal with it. It was a massive PR issue. I hope your situation gets fixed asap. Regarding thrustmaster quality. The looks and designs are personal taste or preference. Overall they have bang for the buck and performance in mind. The materials and finish quality tend to feel a tiny bit cheaper than Logitechs but then they focus on performance that matters. The load cell is great and TBH the TLCMs have some of the best value. Same can be said for the base and rim here. You can get as much FFB info as with the G923 and then even some more. While having more strenght, wich translates into consistency. Even if there is some small flex from the plastic parts when u "force it" in the "wrong direction", in general, you will have better chances at being faster. So much so that the TS-PC is so good for the price, that TBH going from TS-PC to DD1 doesn't feel as big of a jump as going from G923 to TS-PC. I currently have mine on sale on olx.pt but only because I have a DD1 and V3 pedals. Wich I've barely had the chance to really test and review.