Who Makes The Best Wheels, Pedals, Shifters, & Cockpits

[StOBeR]

As the title says I trying to compare all brands before I start my dream cockpit.

I have seen a few wheel setups:

Logitech G25
ECCI
Fanatec 911

I have also seen a few cockpits:

Fanatec
Play Seats
Hotseat
Obutto

But if you guys know of more please let me know. Add links as well if you guys or images to make it easier and faster to compare.

Thanks again in advance.

Randy Shores

[Rob Lowe]

ECCI is the best I have ever owned and I have owned allot of them. It is the best wheel, feels like driving a car and the brakes, gas, clutch are awesome.

I built my own cockpit.

[StOBeR]

Awsome setup. Yea I have heard a lot about the ECCI wheels. How do they rate as far as overall size and feel? Do they feel like a good sized wheel...

I'm coming from a crappy Momo wheel which is tiny feeling to me.

Randy

[gunny]

Randy
In my opinion the ECCI wheel is one of the best out there. I can only compare the ECCI to this other wheels I've owned (Microsoft sidewinder, act labs, Logitech MOMO (red with black leather)
When you order one you have the choice of wheel size so you can have it pretty much custom built. The wheel is awesome along with the pedals.

[TimCollier]

I have used a Thomas Enterprises TSW2 for almost 10 years now, and I can't imagine using anything else.

www.thomas-superwheel.com

Built like a tank, and the latest options enable you to go to optical pots which will never wear out, so no maintenance required....I personally have a TSW2, which the solid ball-bearing shaft, Evolution Upgrade and top of the line pots that I've changed once in the past 4 years. Worth the money in my book....and the paddle shifters are next on my list.

[Troy Dalton]

In my opinion, which is highly regarded throughout the fleet (An old Navy joke ), the ECCI is by far the best you can buy. Yes, they are expensive, but it truly is an piece of engineering artwork! You won't find any flimsy plastic pieces on the ECCI. Everything from the HD potentiometers to the fluid dampening unit is made from the highest quality products. If you purchase an ECCI, you won't be disappointed!

OBUTTO rigs are simply the best bang for the buck! Simple, sturdy, comfortable, and very customizable. You will not find a comparable rig for the money.

TSW Speed Shifter is another quality TSW product. Solidly built and they stand behind their products. Again, not cheap, but you get what you pay for.

Quality is always better than quantity!

[StOBeR]

Thanks for all the responses....

I found this link to be somewhat helpful:

http://hsrl.proboards.com/index.cgi?...lay&thread=562

I'm definately hearing a ton of good about ECCI....

Again thanks for taking the time to post something for me to ponder on and anyone else who wants to throw their two cents in this fire please feel free. The more informed the better.

Also feel free to bash certain products you had issues with...(If that's tolerated on the boards)

Thanks again.

Randy Shores

[Troy Dalton]

I'd have a hard time "bashing" any products. Most are fairly well made, but the Playseat is waaaay over priced. For the budget minded, Logitech is likely your best bet, but beware their pedals. Logitech has NEVER made pedals that are worth the price of S&H. They're crap...always have been and likely always will be...err...let me define my use of the term crap. Logitech pedals are poorly designed and use lower quality potentiometers. However, they will be great out of the box! It's after a few months of use that they start to lose their luster and I've NEVER had a set that lasted more than a year without maintenance or the purchase of a replacement. Maybe the G25 is different, but I doubt it. It's plastic, right? Plastic is great for tupperware, but not the ideal material that you can count on for taking heavy abuse for thousands of hours.

One thing that I would suggest that you consider is buying ECCI pedals and using the wheel of your choice. That's how I got started with ECCI. I bought the pedal set and used it with my Momo Black, Red, and finally a DFP. I'm not a big fan of FFB and I got tired of buying a new wheel every year, so I bought the ECCI wheel and never looked back. I've had my pedals going on four years and my wheel slightly less than that. They have worked without fail!

Cheers,
Troy

[Mike Tribble]

IF you require FFB then ECCI is not your choice. However if you don't need FFB then ECCI is the ONLY choice for long term satisfaction. I stepped up to ECCI from a Logitech DFP and at first was unhappy that I was not immediately faster (everyone said I would be) but after a few weeks learning how to really utilize the precision of the ECCI unit I DID get a LOT faster and was WAAAAAAY more consistent.

If you search diligently you can sometimes find an ECCI rig that someone is selling on e-bay or the ECCI site itself and get a pretty good deal. I bought mine from a guy in Canada that was getting out of racing. $1300 rig for $450 US + shipping. SWEET!

As for a cockpit.... I duplicated Bob Dunlop's rig (actually he built the big bits for me and shipped it to me for final assembly). You can see Bob's rig here Take a Picture of your Racing Setup, or Room, and Post it HERE!!!

Good luck and have fun.

[davidan]

I used a TSW setup (2 different ones) for the past 10 years almost and was very happy. Before that I had an Act Labs Force Feedback which I liked too. But I just recently got and installed an ECCI setup and while I need a little time to get used to it, I can already tell it will be hands down the best unit pedals and wheel I have ever owned.