Thrustmaster 4169056 T500RS GT Racing Wheel US Version

I was very excited as I unboxed my T500RS to replace my well worn G27. I attached the wheel and pedals to my Playseat WRC; the wheel fit perfectly, but the mount holes for the pedal set did not line up, had to zip-tie in place. (I have seen rumors on line that Playseat is working on an adapter but 5 months after release it is still yet to be seen...)

I started Gran Turismo 5 on my Playstation 3 and got in about 3 hours of play. The wheel was remarkably better than the G27, impressively responsive.

I turned the system off, and returned a few hours later for another session, to find that the unit will not power up. The AC Adaptor's indicator light is on, so it must have power, and when I connect the USB cable, I hear a high pitched whine coming from the wheel, but the power light on the wheel does not light up and the unit is not responsive.

VERY disappointed that a such an expensive unit would die on day 1. Awaiting a response from Thrustmaster support and trying to figure out if it is worth the effort to set the G27 back up...

UPDATE: I initially called Thrustmaster support on Monday May 23. They ran me through the usual script - attempt to connect to multiple different PCs, attempt to re-flash firmware, etc. After I reported back through e-mail that none of these steps worked, I received a reply 10 minutes later asking for more detailed contact information and proof-of-purchase. I was hoping that meant this would be a quick repair, but I did not receive any further contact. After one more e-mail to them asking for status, I called again Friday May 27. The rep I spoke with confirmed that they received my e-mails earlier in the week, and said they would follow up with the person this case was assigned to and have someone get a status to me that day. I have heard nothing back. I am giving them until Wednesday June 1, then I will just return the unit to Amazon.

UPDATE 6/20/2011: Shipped the base unit to Thrustmaster on May 31st since I was going on vacation for 10 days anyhow -- as of today, still no replacement. Very disappointed in their customer service -- they always say to e-mail for a status update, but I never get a response without calling. At least they paid for shipping...

UPDATE 6/24/2011: Received the wheel back yesterday; TM says they had to resolder some wires to the board. I hooked it up, this time it died the exact same way after 45 minutes. I am trying very hard to remain polite with their support staff.

UPDATE 7/04/2011: Received a new base on Friday. Still working after several hours of use this weekend, bumping my rating up a star -- we'll see how long this lasts.

UPDATE 9/14/2011: It has been working for three months, moving up to a 4-star rating since the product is great -- their customer service however was terrible at getting me a working unit. For a $500+ product, they should be bending over backwards and should just be swapping with a new unit right away when something is broken rather than making customers wait for their faulty repairs.

I bought the T500 rs in march of 2011. Three months later the cooling fan started to sound like it was going to break off. I emailed thrustmaster customer support as my 30 day return period from amazon was over. They took two days to respond and started by asking me for a video in which they could hear the abrasive sound. I did so immediately. Customer service is located in France so they took another 24 hours to respond. When they did so, they started asking me questions which I felt were designed to incriminate me regarding foul use of the wheel. This process took several days, they then asked me for proof of purchase, to which I replied with the invoice from amazon. They then told me that they could not open the attachment. I had to resend it. This of course took another 24 hours of what was now starting to become a tediously long and cumbersome process. After this they told me that the unit would have to be mailed by me to France. They would not pay for shipping. This of course is not the way returns should be handled by a corporation doing business in the U.S. I was not about to spend hundreds of dollars on shipping a faulty unit I had just bought for $600.00 dollars. I politely asked them to please send me a new fan so I could perform the repair myself. They took a couple of days to respond, and when they finally did, they asked for my telephone number. I gave it to them that very day. A couple of days later, I get a call from a woman in France. She proceeds to question me again about the use I have been giving the wheel. She asks me if I am forcing the wheel in any way from side to side during start up. She then asks me if I have the wheel set up to a Dell computer. She starts to give me explanations as to why the user needs to first hook up the wheel to a Dell computer, and only a Dell computer. I told her that I only use the wheel on my ps3, and that the wheel's manual clearly states that it is designed to be plug and play with this console. She asks me to update the firmware with a Dell computer. As if a software update would fix a faulty fan. Fortunately I have a dell computer, so I did what she asked and sent her a picture of my dell computer next to my wheel. Two weeks later part of the wheel's casing containing another soon to fail fan arrived at my house with complex instruction on how to open the wheel and perform the replacement procedure.
I hoped that this would be the last time I had to deal with this company and its employees, but I would not be so lucky. A couple of days ago a spring in the gas pedal broke. This left the pedal limp and unresponsive. I replied to their last email asking for a new spring. I waited for four days, no response from customer support. I decided to go on their website and email them from there. I then get a response from an automated service with a case number. Immediately I send them a video showing the damaged pedal, proof of purchase and my information. I get a reply two days later from a customer rep who asks me to email him the version number of my wheel. Another cockamamie question designed to delay the process. I email a reply as soon as I get home and are able to look under the wheel to check the version number. Here I ask the rep if it is possible to receive an extra spring and a plastic gear in case this happens again to another of the pedals. To which I promptly get a negative response. It's incredible that I get such a fast response refusing to send me a couple of parts which together are probably worth less than a dollar. But somehow I am not surprised. I also get an email from a different customer rep asking me for my address and proof of purchase. I email them, for the third time, a copy of my amazon invoice. Two weeks later and still no spring.
If you want to spend $600 dollars on a wheel which will eventually malfunction, look no further. Having been given permission by thrustmaster to disassemble the wheel I can tell you that the parts used to manufacture such a product will fail. It is only a matter of time. The motor is of good quality and so are the sensors, but mechanically moving parts are of poor quality. The steering column is made of plastic, that when updated with the F1 rim shredded a bit. The hex screws are made of very poor quality metal and are prone to rounding. The case housing the internal components of the wheel is overly large and is prone to overheating due to a proper lack of ventilation. The score of 1 star regarding how much fun is this wheel, is due to the employees of thrustmaster who have created a corporate climate of blaming the end customer for their company's shoddy workmanship. They have become very adept at evading the responsibility of the warranty claims they make when selling their overpriced equipment. If you want to be treated disrespectfully, with disdain and even contempt for purchasing an overpriced toy which will only give you headaches; please do what I did and buy Thrustmaster.

When the Thrustmaster T500rs came out, I laughed a little bit. Thrustmaster has not made a good wheel in quite some time and at the price of 600 dollars, its double the cost of a G27. Not only is it double the cost, the wheel wheel housing is intensely large and the pedals are quite cumbersome. That being said, the wheel is superb in most every way.

I recently had a chance to use the T500rs for a while and was taken aback by how good it is. The force feedback is quite robust and precise. It gives a lot more feeling of realism only dreamed by the other wheels on the market. The wheel feels weighty, like a real car wheel, but lightens up the faster you drive and turn. This dynamic response is greatly appreciated when driving simulation racing games. Road inputs are much easier to feel with this wheel improving the users ability to respond and drive dynamically.

The buttons on the wheel are a mix between the G27 and the driving force GT. The versatility of the buttons on the driving force GT carry over to the T500rs but the buttons are small and hard to identify during races and quick turns. The buttons are unfortunately placed quite far from the rim and because of the diameter of the wheel, this makes it very hard to use during races unless you are on a straight or not in a race. The buttons do include a PS button which is very helpful on the PS3 as you don't have to keep a controller around to navigate menus.

The pedals on the T500rs are quite good. Though I think they are too large and are cumbersome in many instances, their performance is another story. The brake is firm and requires a bit of force to apply pressure. The clutch and gas pedal don't have the resistance that the brake does but they still take force to press down which is really nice. All in all the pedals are great during game play and give a relatively realistic depiction of real car pedals. Much like the G27 pedals, they don't have progressive feel that real car pedals provide. The brake pedal has a resistance mod that you can install that increases braking resistance and has the ability to create a progressive feel by adding a pieces of rubber that comes in contact part way through the brake travel. Its not perfect but it does enhance braking.

One of the most unfortunate things about this wheel, is that it does not include a shifter. Thrustmaster says they are developing one and it will be out soon, but it sounds like its not included with the set. This is unfortunate for being a 600 wheel, any of the wheels close or below this price point includes one (Fanatec and Logitech wheels). That being said, when racing competitively, I don't use a shifter, just shifter paddles so its not a huge loss.

The paddles on the T500rs are massive. Each one takes up about 20-25% of the wheels circumference. They are made of chromed metal and are quite hefty. They give a great tactile feedback when shifting. The big downside is that they are fixed to the wheel base, so they do not rotate with the wheel. This makes it hard or impossible to shift when turning certain cars. If you are in a 90 degree turn, you will not be able to shift unless you take your hand off of the wheel.

Another nice feature is that the firmware for the wheel is upgradeable. This helps with comparability with new games and systems later on down the road. Other than that, its a plug and play experience on the PS3 and all you have to do is install the driver to make it work on the PC.

If you are a serious sim racer, this wheel is the best wheel on the market. If you are more of a casual gamer this wheel is unnecessary. If you have the cash to drop and you take sim racing seriously, order this now.

Pros:
Realism
Force feedback precision
Button functionality
Pedal feel
Paddle Shifter feel
Clutch pedal
Ease of use on PC/PS3
Upgradable firmware

Cons:
Bulky
Pricey
No shifter
Fixed paddle shifters

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