From: Rich Hutson, Moderator
2h
Say hello to Thrustmaster’s Ferrari SF1000 Wheel Add-on, possibly the best looking sim racing rim I’ve ever seen.
The relationship between Ferrari and Thrustmaster dates back to 1999 and they made a variety of licensed products in their time, but I don’t think any of them compare.
The SF1000 is a replica of the 2020 wheel used in Ferrari’s real Formula 1 vehicles. This design swings a little more to how Charles Leclerc likes its layout. Every button here is mappable – aside from a few that have specific functions we’ll get to know – and there’s a preprogrammed layout for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox that’s ready to use right out of the box.
Though I’d check the manual for these layouts as the wheel itself doesn’t say much about which buttons are Accept, Back, and Talk to Jeff …
The bike itself is made of carbon fiber, aluminum, very robust plastic and has ergonomic rubber handles. Whether you ride with gloves or play naked, you will be incredibly comfortable.
The buttons require a lot of force to operate, but have tactile feedback. The dials are incredibly satisfying to use, some of which can also be pressed, and these rotary switches aren’t just for show – they change your fuel mix and front brake preload by default.
On the back there are two analog paddles with a variety of assignments that can be changed on the fly with this central dial. Once unpacked, it’s set on your accelerator and brake pedals. So if you don’t have pedals on hand or you are a disabled gamer, this wheel allows you to control your car with just your hands. I’ve tried it and it feels surprisingly good. The manual transmission at the same time is a bit fussy, but it works.
Thrustmaster Ferrari SF1000 Wheel Add-on Optional T-Chrono Paddles
Speaking of the gearbox and its location on the back: The SF1000 has interchangeable rocker switches. The supplied set has a push-pull magnet operation. They’re solid and precise, if not clunky in their operation, but that’s where the T-Chrono paddles come in.
These are sold separately and have the same fantastic machined aluminum build quality, but with switches that are faster, crisper, and more pleasing to the ear. They also have a jump time of less than five milliseconds. I prefer these to the standard products but you have to spend an additional £ 54.99 / $ 69.99 / € 59.99 for them. Be worth.
Okay, I kept you waiting long enough let’s talk about this ad, aka the piece of resistance. The 4.3-inch full color LCD is what you’ve always dreamed of slapping in the middle of your sim rig.
F1 2020 is built into this wheel, with the top LEDs being used for RPM, the LEDs on either side of the display being used for marshal flags, and the screen itself being used for everything else. Gears, lap times, the vast majority of what the MFD can show in the game, it’s a spectacular piece of gear really.
However, if you are not playing F1 2020 you are out of luck. It’s still relatively early on for this rim, and there aren’t too many in the wild, so support beyond the F1 is currently barren.
While you can still use the wheel, with all of its assignable buttons, for pretty much any track that supports a wheel, the display can only fade between the Ferrari and Thrustmaster logos or be completely turned off with an incredibly enjoyable switch.
We’ll have to wait for Thrustmaster and various developers to get on board with this bike, but at least the F1 integration is great which is why you’re probably going to buy this rim first.
The dial bang loaded with Prancing Horse in the middle of the wheel and the dials on both sides are used for navigation in the display. You can check the firmware versions of the wheel and base in use, change the brightness of the LEDs and display, connect Wi-Fi and enable UDP telemetry, as well as choose in-game which skin to use for your data.
There is also an additional skin to choose from after booting F1 2020, which also includes most of the fancy graphics you would normally see on the in-game MFD.
That is the operative word. ‘Most’. Checking whether your car is damaged, the temperature of the tires and the condition of the unit can be checked both via the MFD and via the wheel display. The additional functions of the UI element, e.g. B. Changing the brake preload, the fuel mix etc. as well as your radio commands are not displayed on this screen.
So if you really want to get the most out of the display, you should turn off the UI element on the screen so that you have to use the wheel display. But then what about the parts that you can’t see on the steering wheel? Well, Codemasters gave it some thought, and they still appear on the screen when you use the MFD and radio buttons. Neat.
Thrustmaster Ferrari SF1000 additional wheel LCD display
F1 2021 may allow all of this information to be shown on the display. As I said, it’s early days for assistance on this wheel. But if you don’t spend all of the time turning off the UI bits, how often are you going to be using this screen?
You’d have to adjust your rig to have it right on your face like an F1 driver would, which you probably can’t do on your desk. However, if you have an F1-style seating arrangement, such as from Playseat, you will get more benefit from this design.
The display is a bit tricky and quite a spectacle to flaunt, although it’s incredibly functional when used properly. F1 esports drivers might be very interested in something like this. Or just people who like things that look incredibly cool.
So that brings us to the burning question: price. How much does the bike cost? Remember, this is just the rim, base, or accompanying pedals. These are separate costs. The SF1000 costs £ 329.99 / $ 349.99 / € 349.99. As it is incredibly well built, a stunning replica of a real F1 wheel, it has a wide variety of bells and whistles and customization options, and has a lot of potential for more developers to add, you will definitely get your money’s worth.
Thrustmaster Ferrari SF1000 wheel attachment on a TS-WX Racer wheelbase
While it’s pretty confusing at first (as I said, read the manual), the SF1000 is the perfect cherry on top of an F1 enthusiast’s dream racing machine. It feels amazing, looks phenomenal and does what it set out to do.
More importantly, feel like you are behind the wheel of a real Ferrari F1 car. It looks so convincing when you take it off the rig that you think I pinched the Silverstone box and pinched Charles’ …
The Thrustmaster SF1000 Edition Wheel Add-on is available starting today in APAC regions and will go on sale worldwide starting August 26, 2021. It is compatible with the Thrustmaster TS-PC Racer, the T-GT Servo Base, the TS-XW Servo Base and the TX Racing Wheel Servo Base and T300 Racing Wheel Servo.
Full Disclosure: A bike was provided by the manufacturer for verification purposes.
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