The SimXperience AccuForce Pro V2 is possibly one of the coolest-looking direct drive wheel bases around. While other brands have opted for subtlety in their design, SimXperience has opted for an aggressive design. Bundle includes: CSL DD Wheel Base, CSL Steering Wheel WRC, and Boost Kit 180 (power supply upgrade) Fanatec ecosystem compatibility: Fully compatible with Fanatec’s range of steering wheels, pedals, shifters, and handbrakes Fanatec CSL DD Racing Wheel WRC for Xbox & PC (8 Nm) Bundle The other option is the Fanatec Podium F1 racing wheel. This is a much more premium direct drive wheel. It includes the DD1 wheel base which can produce up to 20Nm of peak torque. This is over double the strength of the GT DD Pro. As a result, the Hori is also much lighter than any other wheel here. You’ll still need something to clamp it to, but this is the one wheel here that won’t seem hard done by if it’s not treated to a proper frame or wheel stand.

Both the R16 and R21 wheel bases were among the first sim racing products that MOZA ever released. Both wheel bases are direct drive, and produce 16Nm and 21Nm. Other wheel bases such as many OSW wheels utilise servo motors, quite often created by MiGE. There are also stepper motors which are much lower cost option. All of these wheelbases are incredibly impressive given their size and cost. If I were to choose one, it would be the Fanatec GT DD Pro. It offers the same performance as the CSL DD but with added PS5 compatibility. There are good bits, sure, particularly the lower price. However, the Hori Apex (and the Hori Overdrive) is easily the most toy-like wheel in this group. It has plastic gear shifters, fairly cheap plastic pedals and no parts to upgrade. It also has very limited rotation compared with all the other wheels here, turning just 270 degrees rather than 900 or 1080. As Fanatec’s high-end product category, the Podium series offers the most powerful hardware, including the DD1 and DD2 direct drive wheelbases and top-quality steering wheels with magnetic shifter paddles. Fanatec DD2 with Formula 2.5X wheel attached

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Brake pedal spring is stiffer than throttle pedal spring, PU foam damper adds additional resistance for progressive braking feel This series provides a solid and reliable choice for those looking to upgrade their sim racing experience. Podium We’ve covered the industry’s huge range of pedals in our pedals buyer’s guide, but of course, Fanatec builds pedals too! They have a very budget CSL range that comes bundled with their CSL DD starter kits, however, I’m only going to make one Fanatec pedal recommendation, and that’s the CSL Elite Pedals V2, the successor to the excellent CSL Elite pedals: Fanatec Elite CSL V2 pedals – the best Fanatec pedals you can buy (in our opinion) This gives you multiple options to combine hardware of different vendors the way you want. Most simulation games on Windows PCs will allow you to use combinations like: Logitech wheel, Thrustmaster shifter and Fanatec pedals for example. Since Fanatec provides USB solutions for more or less every kind of hardware (shifter/handbrake by USB adapter, USB pedals, USB wheels, etc.) the possibilities to build your perfect setup are endless.

Your sim racing PC serves as the most adaptable and accessible gaming platform for sim racing, which means that every Fanatec product is designed to work seamlessly with Windows PCs.As I mentioned, Fanatec paved the way for more accessible direct drive racing wheels with the introduction of the CSL DD. This led to the discontinuation of all Fanatec racing wheels that weren’t using direct drive technology.

If you are looking for the outright cheapest direct drive wheel, then you will be looking at one of the newer direct drive racing wheels from Fanatec or MOZA Racing.Without spoiling the winner of that comparison, it is safe to say that it was incredibly close with both wheel bases performing very well. Both of these cheap direct drive wheel bases are essentially the same product, just badged differently for their respective consoles.