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Customer Review
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 January 2017If you're looking for a proper shifter to go with your G29 or G290, then you don't really have much choice, but I have to admit to being a little disappointed. Maybe it's because I had high expectations. Either because of the wheel (which is great) or the price (which is definitely premium).
This feels nothing like a real manual gear shifter. The wheel does feel like a proper car wheel, but this really doesn't. It's incredibly light action - too light. There's no inertia or weight to the stick at all. It doesn't feel 'snicky' like a proper gearbox does. It would have been a fantastic touch if the stick prevented you engaging gears (or even had buzzing tactile feedback) if you try to engage a gear when a real car's synchro would stop you. In Project Cars, there's a feeling that the clutch and box aren't connected. Real cars make it very obvious that they're interdependent, but the only punishment for not clutching at all is the gear showing N (when the stick is physically in a slot). There is no way of getting the feel for the right timing of the clutch, and that's where the real art is for gear changing. You can pretty much stamp on it as you change gear and there's no penalty. If you know what you're doing with a real car, you can actually change gear without the clutch with the right touch and matching the revs. There's no way that would work with this. There's no feedback to tell you how you're doing.
Oh - and reverse is really weird. The picture of the gate shows it on a dogleg next to sixth, which is where a lot of cars put it (or a dogleg off first, or that weird thing that Porsche do). That's not where it is, though. It is actually exactly the same position as sixth, but just with the stick pushed down. That means that you don't feel it engage reverse like a real gearbox would. No driver ever needs to look a the gearstick, but with this you find yourself doing it all the time. On a real gearstick, you'd feel it engage into an extra 'hidden' slot with the push down and gentle side pressure. This doesn't give you that feeling, it's really vague. If you're too young to drive, just try it in your parent's car with the engine off and the clutch pedal down, you'll see what I mean straight away. You'd never doubt if it was in a forward gear or reverse. Maybe tell them what you're up to first.
If I'm using my Oculus, I find that the stick constantly jars me out of immersion. It actually feels more natural to shift with the paddles - even on a classic GT40!
I know that sounds like I wanted the moon on a stick, but at £40 (£50 rrp) the cost of a solenoid to lock the gate and vibrator to tell you off for bad shifts wouldn't have been unreasonable. As it is, I think the nice metal stick, but plastic everything else is worth about £25. It's no more sophisticated than a stick with some switches. It could have been so much better.
