One of the major advancements in sim racing is the development of direct drive steering wheel units. While gear drive and belt drive FFB steering wheels can provide decent force feedback, clarity can be lost due to having a “gear ratio” in the form of the gear/belt between the motors and the steering wheel. Direct Drive, on the other hand, has nothing between the wheel and motor, providing maximum clarity, as well as wrist-breaking torque. As of right now, two plug-and-play solutions are available, one from SimXperience, and another from SimSteering. There is also a DIY solution, the OpenSimWheel. Which one works the best? Barry Rowland of Sim Racing Garage decided to put the three to the test.

This is likely the most in-depth review you’ll see of the three wheels, with Barry taking apart each unit and analyzing the specs in painstaking detail. Barry also invited other sim racers to his garage, to get objective opinions on the three wheels. At almost an hour and twenty minutes, this is quite the watch! If you are strapped for time, Barry provided links in the description to quickly jump to different sections in the video.

For more information on each wheel, you can check out the SimSteering website, SimXperience website, and the OpenSimWheel Wiki Page. Which wheel do you think you’d pick? Are you a DIYer, that could build your own direct drive wheel? Let us know in the comments!