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My Digital 2 Thrustmaster arrived on Thursday evening. I'm a little passed the "anxious" stage where you simply just rip open a box immediately and start "using" it, so I waited until Friday around 6pm to try it out. I really looked forward to this wheel. Tell ya why. There were some improvements I thought Thrustmaster needed to do. Some, they did and some they didn't. Here's what was important to me:
- Digital
- USB
- Stick type shifter
- "Consistent" lap times
- Better engineered wheel centering mechanism
- Better engineered pedal return mechanism
- More "adjustments" via software
Here's what I found. The D2 parallels the Naspro pretty much down the line. The outer shell is exactly the same. The clamping arms which hold the unit down are smaller, yet stronger. The steering wheel itself is "out" towards the driver about 2 inches as compared to the Naspro. This was done to accomplish the paddle shifters. The D2 has both, paddle and stick, which is nice since the paddles can be configured as "buttons" and we need more of those for some reason.
The wheel itself has gone under some cosmetic changes. It now houses 4 buttons on the face which is flat instead of the dish design on the Naspro. Also missing is the nice molded rubber on the top and bottom of the wheel between the 10-2 o'clock position and the 5-o'clock position on the bottom. In these area's the wheel is simply "plastic" hence, the wheel itself is much lighter than the Naspro's. Gone are the days where you could simply disconnect the wheel at the pod and stuff it under your desk. Now the wires are permanently attached at the pod. However you can disconnect the pedals instead. You may wish to store these under your desk:-). Speaking of pedals, some changes here as well. Mostly cosmetic with the biggest change being the overall weight of the pedal unit. It's lighter, narrower but deeper and missing the metal bottom. Both gas and brake pedals have been inclined away from the driver about 8 degrees more than the NasPro. Their distance apart remains the same. The brake pedal is stiffer than the gas, just like the NasPro.
ERGONOMICS
I don't like the lighter, plastic feel of the wheel. Keep in mind it still has the rubber coating on the sides of the wheel to mimic a "F1" type wheel with plastic completing the full circle. It is simply a "feel" issue and I can see myself retraining to accept it. The wheel being moved out 2 inches actually is nicer for my particular racing setup. I sit REAL low when I race, center of monitor slightly above my line of sight and back quite a bit. Therefore it moves the wheel closer to my body. The increased incline of the pedals is very nice. Much more comfortable. I like the resistance of the wheel/pedals, it feels "right" to me. The lighter pedal pod doesn't bother me since my subwoofer box is used to back-up my pod, chasing the pedals has never been a problem for me. There are some huge rubber "feet" that stick to the bottom of the plate, helping to secure it from sliding. The shifter is the same as the Naspro, so no problems there. Overall, not much that will really hit you in the face ergonomically has changed. And maybe with good reason.
FUNCTION
Pedal pod
Ah, let's get to the meat and potatoes. If you think the NasPro or the wheels from Thrustmaster that preceded it were poor performers than you can stop reading here. Obviously, it goes without saying that the wheel flat-out works. The question is and has always been, for how long? Yes, the design has had it's problems. Without a doubt the biggest being the springs in the pedals. Let's see if Thrustmaster has listened:-). Well they have done some engineering in this area, but it still falls short of what I'd like to see and still stay in the price-point. Behind each pedal resides the dreaded torsion type springs of old. Except the following improvements have been made. There are 2 extra wraps in each spring, which will help dissipate the energy when the spring is loaded(pedal is pressed)so it should last longer. The springs use a beefier wire which may effect it either way. If it's softer material then it will last longer, but lose resistance sooner. I would think they used a softer material to make it last longer and then increased the diameter so it would retain resistance. But without doing some metallurgical work I can't say for sure since composition would override those observations in a heartbeat. Thrustmaster laid down two metal plates under the contact end of the spring(where it contacts the bottom of the pedal unit). This makes good sense since the springs will now float on the surface and yield a more consistent feel over their respective lifetimes, whatever that may be. It will also lessen any twisting action and place the spring in a precarious position that may accelerate it's useful life. Thrustmaster helped us out a little on the gas pedal by using some gear reduction. The gear that turns the pot is larger in diameter on the gas and smaller on the brake. So the gas pedal will have a more "sensitive/precise/wider" range. Whereas the brake with a smaller gear, a much more abrupt range. But don't worry. You can adjust these via the software to your liking. The pins that hinge the pedals have been changed. Fortunately the pedal axis is tighter, no clearance at all. Unfortunately the bolts in the Naspro are gone replaced with pins that are pushed in to a "blind" hole. That is, you can't get the pins out. So when the area wears(the pedal hinge point wears, and picks up clearance)you can't modify as easy. You'll have to drill a hole through the plastic and push the pins out and then "bush" the axis. The pots are smaller, much smaller. I have no idea what value they are or the composition. On the bad side is that there are more screws on the bottom plate. So if/when a spring breaks,
it's gonna take longer to get to it:-)
 
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