Direct Drive wheelbases have exploded in popularity over the past few years, with the technology becoming more affordable, more compact and therefore more accessible for sim racers.
Just about every major manufacturer has jumped on the Direct Drive train, and this hot competition has driven innovation to the point where most brands are quite close to each other when it comes to raw force feedback quality. Naturally, this drives manufacturers toward other innovations to differentiate their products from the competition and this means that while the force feedback may be similar, the experience of owning these products varies significantly.
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Direct Drive Wheel Base Comparison
The chart below shows what we believe are the most relevant Direct Drive wheelbases in the current market, ordered by our subjective opinion of overall value for money. Click on any of the products to view the objective facts and subjective ratings to get an overall picture of what might be best for you!
Product Details
Understandably, force feedback quality tends to be the primary differentiator when it comes to making a purchasing decision, but other factors are becoming important, and the best product for your specific needs may not be so obvious.
So in this guide we take you through all the major manufacturer’s ecosystems, and what it’s like to actually use the products day to day.
This isn’t about suggesting any one brand over another. It’s purely about arming you with as much info as possible so you can decide what will suit your specific needs and budget best based on direct side by side comparisons of the overall ownership experience.
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LOGITECH – TURTLE BEACH – MOZA – CAMMUS – SIMAGIC – VRS – SIMUCUBE – ASETEK SIMSPORTS
You’ve probably heard a lot of talk about Fanatec’s financial troubles and customer service issues over the couple of years. Fanatec have been acquired by major tech company CORSAIR and with that has come a new website and hopefully an improved experience for customers. Check out the Fanatec blog for the official statement from Corsair regarding the take-over and how it will impact Fanatec customers. bit.ly/3FzDOa5
For the latest real world experience from Fanatec users an the most up to date info regarding what to expect as a customer, I’d suggest you jump down in to the comments section on any one of our Fanatec review videos, or check the Fanatec subreddit.
As far as the hardware goes, Fanatec have the largest available ecosystem of products including wheels, pedals, direct drive wheel bases, a shifter and a handbrake (although the shifter and handbrake are well overdue for a refresh). Their products are split across 3 different tiers. The CSL range, which is their cheaper more entry level gear, ClubSport, which sits in the middle, and Podium at the top. Although this gets a little confusing as their new ClubSport DD and DD+ actually provide a marginally better driving experience than the older Podium DD1 and DD2, with smoother, faster response and more force feedback detail. The new ClubSport DD and DD+ also boast Fanatec’s new “FullForce” technology, which adds more granular detail to things like road textures and kerbs for the games that support it (which at the time of writing is none).
Fanatec’s products are also natively console compatible, which is one of the major reasons why their products are so popular.
Worth noting is the fact that Fanatec lock out force feedback on their bases if you do not have a Fanatec branded wheel or hub attached to the base, which will increase the cost associated in using their bases with any aftermarket wheel. There are aftermarket adaptors which can circumvent this.
For more details on Fanatec products, check out our detailed Fanatec reviews.
FANATEC Pros and Cons
Pros
- Extensive ecosystem that covers a variety of needs and budgets
- Natively console compatible (PlayStation & Xbox)
- Ability to tune force feedback and driving settings or switch profiles directly from the wheel
- Excellent game compatibility and game level integration (Many games already have presets baked in, etc)
- Excellent consistency in the driving experience between different games
Cons
- Historically have had customer service issues
- Software on PC is outdated compared to competitors
- Force Feedback locked out unless you use their wheels or hub adaptors
- Uncertainty in product development following acquisition by Corsair
- Not the stand-out value proposition it used to be for entry-level Direct Drive
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Logitech have been a major player with their entry level gear for about as long as sim racing itself has existed, but only moved into the mid-high level Direct Drive market about 2 years ago with their G Pro wheelbase, wheel and load cell pedals.
These products are console compatible (you’ll need to ensure you order the right version to match either Xbox or PlayStation) and follow a similar design philosophy to their more entry-level gear—prioritising simplicity and ease of use over the deeper configurability and feature sets found in other products in this class.
The driving experience with the G Pro gear is solid, and like FullForce with Fanatec, Logitech’s “TrueForce” force feedback technology adds an extra layer of road texture, kerb detail, and engine vibration in games that support it. It doesn’t necessarily make you faster, but it does enhance immersion.
More recently, Logitech released the RS50 wheelbase—a lower-cost 8Nm direct drive unit that brings much of the same driving feel and TrueForce integration as the G Pro, but at a much more accessible price point. It’s also fully console compatible and aimed squarely at the mainstream sim racer who wants performance without the complexity.
Logitech is still playing catch-up to brands like Fanatec when it comes to the breadth of its sim racing ecosystem. While the quick release system now supports third-party wheel rims via an optional hub on PC, there are still limited wheel options available, especially for console users.
LOGITECH Pros and Cons
Pros
- Wide availability and support
- Simple, beginner-friendly setup
- Cross-platform compatibility
- Affordable entry point
- Pro series brings load cell braking and direct drive wheelbase to the lineup
Cons
- Limited upgrade path
- Few options for adding third-party gear
- Gear-driven G29/G923 systems do not compete with modern Direct Drive
- Basic construction and materials
- Not particularly cheap these days
Sim RACING
Discount Codes
Turtle Beach have recently released their first Sim Racing product, the Velocity One Race bundle which includes a wheel, 3NM Direct Drive base, Load Cell Pedals and Button Box.
The bundle has a lot of what I would call “shelf appeal”, in that it looks like it packs in a lot of features for the price when you see it on a shelf in a retail store next so something like a Thrustmaster or Logitech base, but this comes with significant sacrifices in build quality.
It’s certainly not a bad first attempt at a sim racing product, but I feel like it has a way to go before I could recommend it compared to other options available in the market and would recommend you check out our full review of the product before considering it.
You can check out our detailed Turtle Beach VelocityOne Race review here.
Turtle beach Pros and Cons
Pros
- Natively Xbox compatible
- Ability to tune force feedback and driving settings or switch profiles directly from the wheel
- Large colour display dash for adjusting settings, tuning force feedback, telemetry display, etc
- Quieter than the cog/belt driven products it competes with
- Good pedals for the price and one of the few load cell pedals that can be used without a cockpit or wheelstand.
- Well presented and easy to use software.
- Available in bricks and mortar retail stores.
Cons
- Unrefined and weak force feedback compared to other DD options
- Some of the presets provide a terrible driving experience and should be avoided
- Generally low build quality
- Lots of flex in the button box
- Stop button on the button box turns off the base
- Limited button mapping options
- Limited ecosystem, with no shifter or handbrake available.
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Moza exploded onto the scene out of nowhere in 2021 with their R16 Direct Drive wheel base, and took advantage of Fanatec’s stock problems at the time by releasing a huge range of products and very quickly building a large market share. They now boast an extensive ecosystem with Load Cell pedals, wheelbases ranging from an entry level 5NM, all the way through to their high end R21 21NM wheel base, shifters and a hand brake. They also have a large variety of wheels to suit various budgets and driving styles, and even recently released a dedicated truck sim wheel!
Due to their rapid growth and the speed in which they’ve released products, the products themselves are a little less refined than we find elsewhere, but overall they provide a good driving experience for the aggressive price point which has certainly been a big factor in their success.
MOZA Racing Pros and Cons
Pros
- Extensive ecosystem with something to suit just about everyone
- Can upgrade your base without having to upgrade all your wheels
- Great (and cheap) Quick Release
- Well established reseller network
Cons
- Limited Console Compatibility
- Build quality and materials not as refined as other alternatives but OK for price
- More filtering required in force feedback settings than other alternatives in order to remove robotic feel, which also sacrifices fine force feedback detail.
- Software is glitchy and unrefined compared to other brands despite lots of adjustability.
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Cammus is another relatively new brand to Sim Racing who as well as some more conventional style wheelbases which we’re yet to test, also sell some interesting bases that integrate the wheel and base into a single compact unit which can be table or rig mounted.
Cammus gear is very aggressively priced and boasts impressive materials and presentation for the price, utilising things like genuine carbon fibre and machined aluminium. However the products we’ve tested do have a similar level or refinement to Moza, with minor defects being present on most of the samples we’ve received.. That said, the quality of the force feedback on all the bases that we’ve tested so far has been impressive for the money.
Their ecosystem is still somewhat immature at the time of writing, but they’re certainly one to keep an eye on into the future.
CAMMUS Pros and Cons
Pros
- Impressive Force Feedback for the money
- Very compact systems available
- Unique mounting options allowing screen position flexibility
Cons
- No Native Console Compatibility
- Integrated bases like the C5 and C12 do not have interchangeable wheels
- Build quality and materials not as refined as other alternatives but OK for price
- Current pedal offerings are inferior to competitors even at a similar price point
- Immature ecosystem (no handbrake, shifter, etc).
- Software lacks a lot of the adjustments and features found elsewhere
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Simagic first appeared in 2019 with their M10 direct drive wheelbase which we were not impressed with. The product had grainy force feedback compared to competitor belt driven products available at the time, and had several build quality issues.
However, in the time since they’ve completely transformed their product lineup and established themselves as one of the key players in the sim racing market. Their ecosystem now spans from entry-level to high-end with the introduction of the impressive Alpha Evo series in 2025, offering exceptional value from 9Nm to 18Nm, alongside their established Alpha series which extends up to 24Nm in strength. The new Alpha Evo bases feature custom-designed 5-pole servo motors with low inertia characteristics, improved responsiveness, and reduced torque ripple compared to their earlier offerings. The Evo series sets a new standard for price-to-performance ratio in the direct drive market, with an unprecedented value proposition that earned our perfect 10/10 value rating.
Simagic offers a variety of wheels, pedals, handbrakes and shifters which compete very aggressively against established brands like Fanatec and Moza. They’ve also introduced innovative products like their haptic feedback motors for pedals, which integrate seamlessly into their ecosystem but can also be paired with other brands.
Compatibility with third-party wheels has become a real strength for them – while some competitors intentionally make it difficult to mix and match products with other brands, Simagic takes the opposite approach, embracing affordable industry-standard D1-style quick releases and open connectivity options.
We have honestly been blown away with the improvements we’ve seen since the M10, with the Alpha Evo series representing their most refined and value-oriented offering yet.
Check out our detailed Simagic reviews here.
SIMAGIC Pros and Cons
Pros
- Well established ecosystem with something to suit everyone in the mid-high end market
- Well established reseller network
- Outstanding build quality, materials and product refinement for the price you pay
- Products intentionally designed to be easy to mix and match with other brands
- Alpha Evo bases are what I think are the best value bases available right now
Cons
- No Native Console Compatibility
- Some minor but persistent software quirks.
- Force Feedback not quite as detailed as some other brands on the higher end
- Customer service experience varies depending on where you buy
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Many Sim Racers will be familiar with VRS or Virtual Racing School as one of the major players when it comes to sim racing driver coaching, so we were surprised to see them come out with their own Direct Drive wheelbase, and then follow it up with a wheel and some of the best value high end pedals we’ve ever tested.
VRS hardware is designed in collaboration with numerous professional sim racing champions and where other brands try to cram in as many features as possible in order to differentiate themselves from the competition, VRS does the opposite and focuses on just giving you what you need to drive as quickly and consistently as possible, but doing it in a no-expense-spared kind of way.
That places their products at the more high-end of the spectrum, but also means you get great value for money if you don’t care for tonnes of subjectively unnecessary features like LEDs, LCD Dashboards, etc.
Their 20NM DirectForce Pro utilises a custom spec’d Small Mige motor which is quite bulky compared to their competitors, and requires large cables connected to an external control box, so this is definitely a consideration, but the product has evolved impressively on the software side over the years since its release and has gone from being one of the more limited bases in terms of adjustment to perhaps the most highly configurable direct drive base on the market.
Check out our detailed reviews of the VRS Pedals, Wheel and Wheelbase here.
VRS Pros and Cons
Pros
- Pedals and wheelbase are outstanding value for money
- Designed in collaboration with professional sim racers
- Excellent adjustability and very refined Force Feedback
- Fantastic build quality, materials and refinement across the ecosystem
- You aren’t paying for anything you don’t need
- Software evolution over time demonstrates commitment to continuous improvement
Cons
- No Native Console Compatibility
- Limited ecosystem with no shifter or handbrake
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The Simucube name is pretty much synonymous with Direct Drive sim racing wheelbases, and their parent company Granite Devices has a wealth of experience in mechanical engineering and mechatronics. Many people consider the Simucube bases to be the benchmark when it comes to force feedback quality, despite the product range being almost 5 years old now.
Simucube 2 bases are on the high end of the scale price wise, even with their cheapest 17NM Simucube 2 Sport base and it only goes up from there. However you are getting what you pay for and the products feel more like a piece of high end machinery you’d find in a manufacturing facility than a video game input device.
Their ecosystem is somewhat limited, with only a few of their own wheels available, and their active pedals which are revolutionary for sim racing, but also prohibitively expensive.
Their wheelbases do not feature any kind of electrical connection through to the wheel, but unlike VRS, they do offer their own proprietary bluetooth protocol which partner wheel manufacturers can utilise to connect their wheels wirelessly. This does however require the use of batteries in the wheel unlike other brands.
With the Simucube 2 wheel bases now being 5 years in the market, the software is starting to feel a little outdated in some aspects, however they have innovated with things like cloud based force feedback profiles and more recently 360Hz Force Feedback for iRacing which adds noticeable detail to the driving experience. There’s a multitude of tweaks and adjustments available to really dial in the settings to suit your subjective preferences, but the software is less approachable than other brands and may overwhelm novices.
simucube Pros and Cons
Pros
- Exceptional build quality, materials and refinement
- Industry leading Force Feedback quality
- 360Hz Force Feedback in iRacing
- Excellent adjustability and very refined Force Feedback
- Cloud based Force Feedback Profiles
- Continuous innovation with exciting products like active pedals
- Backed by a large parent company with greater resources than some smaller competitors
Cons
- No Native Console Compatibility
- Limited ecosystem with no shifter or handbrake and only a small selection of wheels
- No provision for connecting wheels electronically through the wheelbase
- Batteries required for any wheel which connects wirelessly
- Price and quality potentially past the point of diminishing return vs modern competitors
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Asetek SimSports are a relative newcomer to the Direct Drive market, having only released their first wheel base about a year ago at the time of writing. Their first product, the Invicta hydraulic sim racing pedals were released about a year before that.
However they are a division of a much larger company in Asetek who make a lot of the All-In-One water cooling products you probably have in your gaming PC, as well as for huge server farms, etc, so despite their relatively small market share in Sim racing, they are a big company with a lot of money behind them to innovate in the sim racing space. They came straight out of the gate with impressively well refined products, and their ecosystem is maturing quickly.
Asetek Simsports market their products in 3 distinct tiers which are intended to suit the needs and budget of sim racers within the mid to high end market. However they have taken a unique approach to this, and where other brands sacrifice build quality and materials in their lower end hardware, Asetek Simsports removes features like extra buttons, LED lighting, motor strength, etc to reduce the price of their cheaper products.
This means not only are the materials used and the overall build quality is consistent across the range, but many of their products can be upgraded from La Prima spec to Forte. Pretty cool!
ASETEK Pros and Cons
Pros
- Industry leading Force Feedback quality
- Outstanding quick release and open ecosystem that allows just about any wheel to be used wirelessly with their bases
- Clean and easy to use software despite being feature rich
- Products are cross compatible between product ranges and in some cases even upgradeable without the need to buy a whole new device
- Outstanding customer service as reported by most customers we’ve spoken to
- Rapidly expanding network of partner wheel manufacturers
- Backed by a large parent company with greater resources than some smaller competitors.
Cons
- No Native Console Compatibility
- Limited ecosystem with no shifter or handbrake at the time of writing
- Current wheels are…. let’s say “polarising” in their visual design
- Products use a different mounting pattern to well established competitors which means you may have to drill holes in some cockpits to mount properly
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