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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:
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:-) Steering pod Okay, let's tear this bad boy down. Don't miss the screws located under the rubber pads. Inside we find the analog to digital conversion board. They did some work to the stick shifter as well. Still a single torsion spring but it's also beefier and gone are the little "buttons" simply soldered to the board, it now has actual microswitches, albeit, plastic they are nicely sized. Big disappointment in the steering area. Yes Virginia, they've "unbeefed" the most worn part of the unit. The steering column/axis. This explains the slop in the wheel.(side to side). It stems from a poorly sized "fit" between the molded panel and the molded steering shaft. One thing nice is that they no longer use a "push" fit pot connection. The end of the molded steering shaft simply has a half moon shaped hole so the pot shaft just pushes in....and it's tight, side to side. That's why the wiggle in the wheel doesn't translate to movement of the pot. The bungee still resides as the centering mechanism:-(. As a matter of fact, it's identical to the Naspro. I like the way the wires that travel through the steering column(from the paddle shifters,buttons)now go to the rear of the unit before attaching to the converter. This is much better than the board that was mounted so close to the steering column on the NasPro and would fatigue the wires. So alas, an improvement in a past problem? Okay, let's give that one to them. SUMMARY This wheel is best described as a cost reduction project on a successful middle of the line priced wheel which resulted in bringing it down to a lower price-point. A lot of emphasis has been placed on the reduction of "shot size" for molded parts. Less tonnage required from the press to mold these pieces also reduces cost. You'll notice it throughout the D2. Smaller webs, less molded rubber on the wheel, no metal plate on the bottom of the pedal pod, etc. But let's discuss performance. Simply put it's "there". Steering, braking, gas operation is all smooth and performance enhancing. But what should we compare it to? That's the measure. I don't think you'll find a wheel in this price range that has better features or functionality. Dual shifters, loads of buttons for assignments a nice software package for interfacing to games, digital, usb, etc. My laps times right out of the box were comparable to my NasPro, which has been heavily modified, it's all but a TSW. This was surprising since I figured a little stick time would be necessary to get consistency which followed suit in a very short race. All in all I've made the transition from my NasPro to the D2 very easily. NEGATVIE POINTS
POSITIVE POINTS
In short, I'm impressed with the unit, for 45 bucks:-) and recommend it. If it was $75 I wouldn't be impressed. I cannot comment on life expectancy issues with the pedal springs, since they are different. However the bungee is the same so expect the usual result there. You get what ya pay for....and at $45 your getting a good wheel imho. |
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Comments : |
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| Author: TRIANTULA | 21-09-2002 |
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I actually own two of these wheels. I think they were most definitely worth the money. I bought the first one to try out a wheel for sim racing as I was using a joystick at the time and suffering dearly from my carpal tunnel issues.Not only did the wheel end the carpal tunnel pain, but it increased the enjoyment of the sim racing experience ten fold! Three months after I had it, the brake stopped working. I took it apart and when I found out the problem (the potentiometer,) I went down and purchased a new wheel. I was unable to find a replacement pot that day and I was impatient to return to racing. Now I have two!! I've fixed the first one. In the year that I've had these two wheels I have gone through several potentiometers for the pedals. They wear quickly. Definitely a weak spot. I have been trying to make a light sensitive design to replace the pot. no moving parts means no wear and tear eh?!!? I've also noticed a disturbing feeling in the pedals when I get a little over zealous in a race. They feel as though they are going to break. I don't know if they're flexing or what but it's kinda scary and very distracting.I thought of reinforcing the pedals, but this would then transfer the pressure to the mounts etc. etc...... Anyway, No pedals have broken yet. I did have a pin pop out of the accelerator pedal once. It somehow managed to work its way out over time, but no permanent damage was caused and I've since added a holding plate to prevent any further mishaps in that area. I do reccomend these wheels for the low budget people out there, though I might add one thing, you better be able to work this sort of thing if you don't want to buy a new one every 4-6 months. I myself am saving up for a substantial upgrade, something in the 3-500 dollar range. I think that it will be worth it |
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| Author: JulzzEv | 16-06-2003 |
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Good article, very informative. Unfortunately I just got the discontinued Naspro and wish I had gone for the extra 5 bucks...can't even get the foot pedals to work and Thrustmaster said they won't support...If you have any ideas I'd appreciate the help.... |
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| Author: Aaron | 04-07-2004 |
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Hey... I really think this streering wheel sucks. I bought it awhile ago and have had so many problems.... Ive had 3 dif ones lol... Had to keep going back and exchanging it. The shifter was messing up and sometimes the pedals didnt work and I take care of my things, I didnt pound on it and stuff... But I finally returned it and spent $50 more dollars for the MOMO Thrusetmaster wheel which was ALOT better, because it has Force Feedback and didnt brake lol. And it didnt seem cheap like the Thrustmaster wheel :P. |
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| Author: Jay | 04-09-2006 |
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I have had two of these wheels and for the money. You can't go wrong. |
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