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Blackhole Motorsports takes a look at Thomas Enterprises' top of the line racing system the Formula 99. Price at $1050, this fully loaded racing system is not for the casual or average auto racing simulation enthusiasts. It's more geared to the serious racer that wants the best product that Thomas Enterprises can provide.
Is it worth the price tag? Read on and you will find out.
As most diehard auto racing simulation enthusiasts have known, Thomas Enterprises has been known to develop one of the best wheels that are available in the PC market today. The company has grown into the mainstream, as their products has been available through several big retailing chains. They are known as TSW (Thomas Super Wheel).
What is amazing about Thomas Enterprises, is that I have seen the company grow from the beginning in the early 1990s, so I can attest the evolution of their products and their growth. Several years ago, I was in the process of looking for a replacement for my Thrustmaster wheel. One of my fellow racers just happened to have two TSW systems. He loaned me one of them to give it a test drive for a couple weeks. It didn't give me the type of feel that I was looking for in a competitive racing system. So, of course, I returned the system back to him.
It's now 1999 and I get an opportunity to evaluate a current TSW model thanks to the nice gents at Thomas Enterprises. Being a reviewer does have it perks! I opted to review two of their models, choosing from the pricing extremities from their base model, the TSW 2, to their flagship, the Formula 99. The latter is what this review is based on.
CONTENTS
Thomas Enterprises shipped the Formula 99 in a medium-sized box. To prevent movement or damage to the highly priced product, they used paper and I mean they used lots of it! The paper did a good job in protecting racing system, yet, I think the cold weather had something to do with the rubber pads which fell off the base of the units when they were being shipped here. No need to worry, you "glue" them back on! -Thomas, where's my labor fee?
Unpacking the contents, you get the two main assemblies for your racing endeavors; the wheel and pedal units. And let's not forget the clamp and the ever-important explicit operation manual that gives all the information about the racing system.
FEATURES
- What the Formula 99 offers:
- Steering wheel and pedal controls
- All steel construction - (Hmm, there is wood here!)
- Actual MOMO steering wheel, 4 styles to choose from
- Authentic MOMO ergonomic racing pedals
- In-line shift lever on the right side
- T-shaped, cross drilled paddle shift levers
- Heavy-duty extension springs for wheel and pedal return
- Easily replaceable, high-grade conductive plastic potentiometers
- 2 wheel mounted buttons for extra functions
- Plug-in wiring for upgrades and potentiometers
- Three pedals for gas, brake, and clutch
- Switchable linked or independent pedal axis' � Very Heavy, doesn't slide around while driving
- 90 Day Warranty on Potentiometers
- Lifetime Warranty on everything else
As you can see the Formula 99 is packed with a lot of influence from Formula 1 racing and you see how serious it is. Its basic agenda are for dedicated sim racers that race on road course, hence the paddle shifters, to give the quick reach for that shift. It offers sim racers the look and feel of real racing equipment, as some of the components on the racing system are actually used in real life racing. Also, it is designed, like all the TSWs, to have durability unlike other inferior racing systems that can fail at those unpredictable times.
CONSTRUCTION
Let's see why this model is priced the way it is. From my experience the higher the price, the more adjustability and options available to the product.
I was a bit discouraged by the exterior appearance of the Formula 99. Beside the MOMO wheel, in which you have the option of four different styles to chose from, I didn't like the textured covering that was wrapped around both the wheel and pedal assemblies. I will let you know why later. What they should've done was at least use some ABS plastic, it's thicker and more rigid. Yet, if you add a better material the price does go up, but heck, if you are going to pay this much for it so why even worry about it?
Both assemblies seem to contain MDF particle board as their base. The particle board is not you ordinary particle wood as the MDF is dense and used by the audio speakers manufacturers to make those BOOM-BOOM speaker boxes. (Note: MDF.. Medium Density Fiberboard.. of course it wouldn't be ordinary particle board, otherwise known as "oxboard". ; P) I should know, I have seen my brother-in-law makes many a day. I was a bit shocked to see wood though.
You need not to worry about a potentiometer failure as TSW has tested a lot of them. The units being used in all their products are military grade units. They are the good stuff and not the cheap stuff you see available elsewhere. I do love the innovation of the simplicity when replacing the potentiometers, as they plug in and out for easy replacement. With the TSW's easy potentiometer changing design can make an afternoon's job on another controller take only a matter of minutes. Great job, guys!
The wheel unit:
Besides the authentic MOMO racing wheel and weighing in a 15lbs, you get an adjustable tear dropped shaped inline shifter on the right, which I don't understand. I guess it's for the sim racer that opts to use a shifter for those NASCAR races. Behind the suede wheel, there are two adjustable big paddles located on the right and left, that are gun-drilled to give that racing look and constructed are out of heavy gauge steel. From the appearance, they look very thin and you would worry about bending them under heavy usage. This is actually not the case here. You'll like it. In the front of the unit, there is a hole in which the clamp slides into to mount onto your desk for those long racing excursions. On the right of the assembly, there lies a switch and two connections for connecting the pedal assembly. On the MOMO wheel, you get two buttons. I feel it would've better if they added two more buttons, making the total buttons as six, for those racing games that have a lot of options. The wheel has a radius of 270� lock to lock. The wheel's was a stiff but not to stiff that it would take an over exerted effort to make it turn, it's more on par with today's power steering systems in today's automobiles.
The pedal unit:
I was surprised to feel the weight of the pedal unit, it weighs 10lbs, so it's certainly not going to move! You have a gas, brake and a clutch pedal. You have the option of using the clutch pedal. Pedal construction consists of MOMO pedal grills with rubber protruding through the grills for that authentic racing touch. The rubber provides added grip, so your feet don't slip off. I do like the appearance of the pedals; this was the first time a pedal set looked like it belonged in a racecar. There are two cables that come out of the rear of the assembly to connect to wheel assembly.
With it's plastic covering, I took a point off on the grounds of appearance and feel. But it is ingenious in other ways of construction.
 
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