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Every once in a while a product comes along that just blows away all your expectations. Today Blackhole Motorsports presents you with a review of one such product, ECCI's Trackstar 6000 GTS Wheel and Pedal System. The Trackstar 6000 represents ECCI's return to the consumer market. ECCI's background goes back almost a decade now. Started by two friends who wanted something better than anything on the market one day decided to build a wheel and pedal set that would last. This partnership led to Extreme Competition Controls Inc. In leu of a more in-depth background of ECCI, Blackhole Motorsports will present you with an interview with the creators of these beautiful pieces of art work in the future! Package Contents The Trackstar 6000 was shipped in three boxes that where packed extremely well. Total weight of the system is in the neighborhood of 60lbs with the steering unit weighing in at almost 30lbs so remember to bend with your knees when lifting the largest box containing the wheel unit. The Trackstar 6000 is shipped in a broken down form to reduce the size of the boxes required to ship the unit. The parts are broken down into the following: Grant Steering Wheel, Paddle Shifter Unit, Wheel Unit, Securing Clamp, Pedals, and the Pedal Base. If I have one major complaint about this unit it is the assembly that is required; however, ECCI provides the tools and excellent documentation on assembling your unit. But look to spend an hour to an hour and a half assembling your unit. You may also want to ask a friend (or a loved one, if you still have one after spending $1099 US) to help hold the pedals in place while you attach them to the pedal base unit. Features The Trackstar 6000 has many features that you will not see anywhere else including:
Assembly Like I stated previously the unit is shipped in three boxes with six distinct parts that need to be assembled. The instructions provide exact details on how to assemble both the wheel and pedal units and include all the necessary tools needed except a wrench for tighten and loosen some bolts. The first order of business is to attach the securing clamp. Once the clamp is on you can secure the wheel unit to your desk to attach the paddles and wheel. Assembling the paddles and wheel may take a 2nd person to help hold the paddles and wheel in place while you thread the bolts through the wheel and through the paddles into the wheel unit. That's it for assembly of the wheel unit! All you need to do after this is adjust the tension of the spring for the Monopoint system and adjust the travel of the wheel, which can vary from 180 to 240 degrees of rotation. Assembly of the pedals is a little more tedious and requires the help of another individual unless you have extremely little fingers. Once the pedals are secured to the base pedal plate you will want to adjust the heel rest and the angle of the pedals for maximum comfort. Did I mention this wheel and pedal unit has about all the adjustably built in that you could ever want? Once you have made all your adjustments to the wheel and pedals you hook the pedals into the wheel unit and then connect the wheel to an open USB port on your computer. The wheel unit requires no special drivers and shows up in Device Manager as a USB Human Interface Device. Now you just need to calibrate the wheel in the Gaming Options in Control Panel and you will be ready to race! Construction The all steel construction of the ECCI is covered in a Ferrari red powder coat that will make all fellow sim racers jealous. Both the wheel and pedal units are machined to the highest quality that ensure perfect bolt alignment and no rattling between fittings. The construction is flawless with no hint of cutting corners or use of any cheap parts. The construction of the unit has left no stone unturned. The wheel unit cover is cut away to reveal the inwards of the wheel components, specifically showcasing the aluminum billet fluid dampening cover sleeve. Wheel Unit The wheel unit is the showcase of this marvel; from the fluid dampening system to the Monopoint steering system this piece of machinery is a work of art. In the decade history of ECCI, the Trackstar 6000 Wheel unit is the smallest of the bunch and the first to require a securing clamp. The wheel unit has two unique features, the fluid dampening system and the Monopoint steering resistant system. The fluid dampening system allows smooth control over slow precise inputs while providing smooth resistance over sudden inputs that help reduce such things as over correcting from a loose condition. The Monopoint system is a cam style system with a single spring that can be adjusted to provide resistance during steering. The unit can accommodate any one of arrangements of three springs that allow precise control over the steering resistance. The spring load is controlled by a bolt and plate that is secured to the wheel unit. The wheel unit also houses the electronics for interfacing with your computer. Here you will connect the pedals to the wheel unit and from the wheel unit you connect to your PC. There is an extra DB-9 connector that is used for expandability and is discussed a little later in the review. On a side now, the securing clamp is quite large and prevents the use of a keyboard drawer from working properly. This may or may not present a problem depending on your setup. Paddle Shifter The paddle shifter contains two paddles on either side of the wheel along with two buttons on either side. The paddles are located just inside the wheel and are easily flicked with your index fingers for lightening fast shifts without removing your hands from the wheel. The paddles also include two buttons that are easily pressed with your thumbs. These two buttons and two paddle shifters, which are essentially buttons mounted on the back side of the paddle unit, can be assigned to whatever functions you want. Most users will assign the shift paddles for up and down shifts and the buttons for a left and right glance. The paddle unit, like the rest of the unit, is constructed of solid steel except for the little strip of thick rubber/plastic and springs that are connected to each of the paddle shifters. There is a little adjustably in the paddles in that you can extend or retract the individual paddles to adjust for users with shorter or longer fingers. If there is something you wanted adjusted these guys thought of it! Pedal Unit The stock pedal unit comes with the standard gas and brake pedals with an optional clutch pedal. This pedal unit represents ECCI's first top hinged pedal set. Many hardcore sim racers will remember the previous models ECCI sold that had either rollers or steel plates (aka "Tractor Pedals"). This new top hinged pedals allows for a greatly expanded adjustably that was lacking in previous pedal sets from ECCI. The gas pedal is controlled by a spring that can be adjusted for tension and allows for smooth and quick control of the accelerator. The brake pedal is controlled by a spring plus ECCI's progressive modulated unit (PMU). The PMU works like a real car brake pedal, the harder you press the brake the harder it is to push. This gives the user the feedback to locate exactly how far the brake pedal has been pressed and allows for smooth and controlled braking. Lets talk about adjustably in the brake unit for a minute. Unbelievable! There is no less that five ways to adjust these pedals. You can adjust the heel rest, the pedal angle, pedal height, distance between the pedals and spring tension for both pedals. All of these options combined will give you all the adjustment you could ask for and provide the most comfortable racing experience. Hi-Definition USB Anyone who has kept up with the controller world knows how the quality of pots can affect the precision of wheel movement. ECCI has cut no corners in this department and employs custom military grade pots to do the job. Joined with the new Hi-Definition USB hardware that ECCI is offering you get the smoothest control possible. I was amazed at the lack of jitter this produced. I've tested about ever wheel made and I have to say this combination is by far and away the most accurate I have ever driven. If you plan on purchasing a new ECCI or currently own an older model you MUST purchase this upgrade. It will make a difference! The only downside is you will need to purchase replacement pots from ECCI but this is a small price to pay for the absolute best! Repeat after me: Goodbye Gameport! Expandability Not satisfied with two paddle shifters and two buttons? How about adding up to eight more buttons? With the extra DB-9 connector on the side of the wheel unit you can add eight more buttons. Rumor has it ECCI may be working on a shifter unit that will use these extra buttons. In the meantime, the electrical engineering savvy could easily wire up additional buttons or controls for that added bit of realism! Did I mention these guys thought about everything? Compatibility The ECCI wheel installs as a USB HID (Human Interface Device) with all the necessary driver software contained on the actual integrated circuits of the wheel unit. I experienced no compatibility problems with Windows 2000 or Windows XP. Today's latest games all accepted the wheel without hesitation and setup was a breeze! Performance Well this is the part many of you have been waiting for! Will this thousand dollar wheel lower my lap times? Absolutely! Just as driving a high performance car, it forces you to rise to a higher level. It gives you the confidence to push harder and brake harder thus decreasing your lap times. This wheel is so much different than the rest of the crowd that once you try it out you will never go back. The fluid dampening steering system creates precise, smooth cornering while preventing dramatic overcorrected after severe oversteer. The pressure modulated braking unit allows gradual and accurate braking preventing lockup and allowing for taking that next hairpin a few yards deeper with confidence to overtake your oppenent. Conclusion Is the ECCI Trackstar 6000 GTS system worth the $1100? Is a Ferrari worth the money? Of course! The Trackstar is a work of art that will provide you with years upon years of enjoyment without failure. If you are serious about simulated racing and must have the best, this is it folks. It doesn't get any better than this. |
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Comments : |
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| Author: Dag\'s | 16-08-2004 |
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I own these pedals for my Red Momo, and the quality is like it came from the Hendrick Motorsports shop. Great words written here too. SD |
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| Author: zook | 16-08-2004 |
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A good article, I could have it scored higher if only there would have been some pics attached. Or did I miss them? |
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| Author: bokinatr | 16-08-2004 |
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Good review. But I'd really like to see more elaboration on performance. And post pictures!!! |
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| Author: Ivan | 16-08-2004 |
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Pictures will be posted ASAP. |
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| Author: Gadaga | 16-08-2004 |
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Looks good but if I get it right there is no Froce Feedback and for me that is not the way forward |
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| Author: nojar | 16-08-2004 |
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Great review. This wheel is definitely worth the money if a person is serious about sim racing. One thing that was not mentioned is there are three different pulley sizes that can be used to change the resistance on the FLDS. |
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| Author: Mazic | 17-08-2004 |
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Is there an option for a force feedback steering wheel? |
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| Author: Zucar | 23-08-2004 |
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No FF? How sad. This is like a beautiful Ferrari boat that rides on water instead of tires where you can 'feel' the road. I was curious about how large the turning arc is and saving up the money someday but it makes no sense now. It would be like paying for a wedding but having to go back to condoms. |
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| Author: Terry Harten | 09-09-2004 |
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I have the 6000 for about a month now and it is truly a work of art. You only get what you pay for and Eccl is the best. Thank You ECCI |
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| Author: amos | 10-12-2004 |
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ty for the informative article! and the pictures were awesome! |
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| Author: klaus | 12-12-2004 |
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Great Report |
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| Author: Dave | 17-12-2004 |
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Did I miss something or was this a wheel and pedals? so where is the picture of the pedals? Is there FF? it appears not, which is really unacceptable today. |
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| Author: wayada | 25-12-2004 |
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I was tossing back & forth between a new Thomas wheel and a ECCI Trackstar 6000 GTS, this review has me now leaning towards the ECCI for sure. Note: For those of you worried about the lack of FF, let me tell you that FF does not reduce lap times to any significant amount, except where it adds feel and confidence to the user but it is limited at best. I speak from experince here as I have driven with FF for awhile now and have begun to slowly eliminate it as I see those turning the fastest lap times are not using it. Also, most real world drivers use wheels that do not have FF. i.e. (Dale Jr., Harvick, Newman, Truex, Jon Wood, Carl Edwards to name a few). If your objective is not reducing your lap times, but you are instead only looking for gaming effects, by all means don't spend the money on this whell and go out and get yourself a MOMO or the like. |
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| Author: jolueg | 03-02-2005 |
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Very good and detailed report. Thank you! |
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| Author: billy j wade | 23-03-2005 |
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I purchased the ECCI setup in feb 05 and it is everything it was supposed to be and more.It wont make me be the best but its made me a whole lot better.Thanks Billy Wade |
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| Author: FBR Motorsports | 26-05-2005 |
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We just purchased this unit. WOW! I see alot of comments about the lack of FF. Let me tell you this. With this wheel, you dont need it. You have the dampening system and it gives you the real experience of driving. FF only gives you a false feel of control that ECCI actually does give. It is totally the difference between driving a Pinto versus a Lincoln. One nice note, this was a gift to the admin of the site from one of the users. With the PMB2 system it is like anti lock brakes and gives you ultimate control in the corners. I was tooling around Talledega @ 170 something and slammed the breaks on. I stopped in turn 1 and never once slid. It was totally stuck to the track. The ONLY drawback to this set is there is not enough buttons for auto chat! |
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| Author: rickjackson | 07-06-2005 |
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The article was great as far as it went. Since the wheel is USB it would have been nice to know if it works with a PS2 or xbox. Maybe someone else has used it for this purpose? |
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| Author: Gabriel Diaz | 22-09-2005 |
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I am a graduate student researching in PandA Labs at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. Our research into human braking behavior requires the utmost precision for accurate data collection as well as the most realistic interface as possible. While many labs feel the need to spend tens of thousands of dollars on realistic braking environments, using the Trackstar 6000 has offered a relatively economical approach to a virtual driving environment without compromising the generalizability of our reasearch to the real world. We at PandA Labs plan to reccomend this set of equipment to our peers, and highly reccomend it to those consumers that want the highest end equipment. I should say that I'm writing this review mostly because the product deserves it, as it really is a very rugged, adjustable, comfortable, and realistic set of equipment. I'm also writing this because, on numerous occasions, the tech support was so prompt that I can't help but feel that ECCI deserves the praise. Shortly after receiving the trackstar set we sent ECCI several questions via email ( nothing was wrong, we just needed some obscure information ). THe emails were returned promptly, even outside of standard work hours. They also went as far as to type up instructions specific to some of our needs, as well as to post photographs online specifically for us. In short, buy their equipment, it's worth the money. They gave me the impression that they're a small group of really hard-working engineers that not only built a great product, but who are willing to work hard to ensure that their customers are happy with what they bought. - gabe PS: Don't think I'll I use this stuff for is research. |
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| Author: Bill Standen | 09-02-2006 |
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Damn these are tempting. Works out at nearly 2200 Aussie Pesos to get one out here but DAYUM would it rock. Does anyone know if they'll work on a PS2? If they do I'd be VERY tempted to empty the credit card on one. |
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| Author: Phil | 10-12-2006 |
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This is Truly a work of art!!! The assembly is the worst part..Now in dec 2006..The full setup is 1500 |
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| Author: FITZUNI | 24-04-2008 |
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I CANT WAIT TO GET MINE SHIPMENT DATE 4.28.08 |
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