Gaming: can you have too many sim racing wheels?
Nowadays sim racing rims are separate from the wheel base, which means they're becoming more complex, and desirable Skip 1 photos in the image carousel and continue reading
My name is Mike and I'm an addict. The things I'm addicted to are usually round in shape and produce a feeling of euphoria, but they're not drugs. Tragically, I'm talking about sim racing steering wheels.
It's not really my fault. Back in the early days of sim racing equipment, the wheel rim remained resolutely attached to the base and was usually generic in design. Then in 1999 a company by the name of Thrustmaster, which I'll confess sounds like the alias of an adult movie performer, released a licensed Ferrari 360 Modena steering wheel. Proper automotive manufacturers had got involved in sim equipment and all bets were off.
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These days, the rim and the wheel base are separate, hot swappable via motorsport grade quick release systems, and the effect on my bank balance has been, frankly, catastrophic. Depending on the type of pretend racing car I happen to be driving at any given time, I'll have a variety of rims to suit the job, whether that's a wide circumference circular wheel for rallying or a miniscule batarang festooned with buttons for formula cars. I have a McLaren wheel for driving McLarens and a Porsche wheel for driving Porsches. The other thing I have, clearly, is a problem.
It's only getting worse as products become more complex, authentic and ultimately more desirable. Fanatec made arguably the biggest step five years ago with its Podium Steering Wheel BMW M4 GT3. That name is burying the lede slightly, the important part is 'BMW M4 GT3' because it is the exact same wheel, and therefore directly compatible, with the one found in an actual BMW M4 GT3 racecar. As a gamer, getting one feels like buying the first issue of one of those overpriced build it yourself magazine subscriptions. You might like
More recently, Fanatec has pulled a similar trick with its Podium Steering Wheel Bentley GT3, this time adding a circular, self-centring display in the middle of the wheel and including rotaries that are 'knurled', a word I'm convinced was invented solely to sound expensive. The only thing missing is a hand stitched, diamond quilted Bentley branded bib to catch the drool every time I look at it.
These more authentic wheel rims are only multiplying, with a small cottage industry springing up. Relative newcomer VPG Sim has secured the licence to produce a replica of the new Ford Mustang GT3 steering wheel, constructed from the same materials and moulds as the real thing. Is it excessive for me to have a different rim for every different GT3 car on the grid? It feels excessive.
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I think the biggest test of my resolve, though, comes in the shape of the £8,000 Cosworth CCW Mk2 Pro Sim Wheel, which is built by Cosworth itself and is an exact replica of a wheel I've spent years staring at in the cockpit of various Indycars and sports cars in iRacing. Look, I swear I could quit any time I want but, just out of interest, what's the going rate for a human kidney on the black market?
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As a very basic test of the primary usability of an EV made with this sort of driving in mind, I reckon that's valid: and the Mach-E Rally passes it. But, at all points, we keep a wary eye on that range meter, in a way we simply don't need to with the fossil-fuelled alternatives, and perhaps have just a little less outright fun as a result. On a more normal day, of course, the Mach-E Rally is still a car you could get all manner of profitable, zero-emissions use out of. It's practical but not huge; fast, alternative and interesting to drive but not a six-figure buying prospect. Suited to the school run, supermarket shop, office commute and football practice. It has five doors, five usable seats and Ford-typical real-world appeal baked right in. Need we point out that the Nomad, er, doesn't? I doubt it, because it's the kind of car you take giant helpings of enjoyment from on the more limited occasions you have to drive it, not the other way around. The one with the green frame that Ariel brought to Sweet Lamb for us has Perspex side protection to stop the breeze billowing up your trouser legs so much, as well as a canvas roof as rain protection. You expect to finish driving it by removing so much dust from your various facial orifices, but it actually shelters you from all that fairly well. Hit a water splash in it at pace, though, and… you get wet. But generally, it doesn't throw enough dirt into the cockpit to make you wish you had packed ski goggles or to make it a mission to clean up afterwards. The Nomad may be the kind of car you would only really ever seek to have fun in, but what fun it is. You can have one with a rally-style hydraulic handbrake fitted if you want (as our test car has), in addition to the optional winch, roof-mounted headlights and gorgeous Öhlins TTX suspension – and, trust me, you should. Onto the gravel we go, then. In descending order, 534lb ft of torque per tonne in the Ariel plays 271lb ft in the Ford and only 235lb ft in the Octa. Even there, you can start to see the enormous difference that the Nomad's lightness makes. But the proper all-terrain tyres of the Nomad and Octa will have an impact, too, versus the more road-intended rubber of the Mach-E, while peak torque at revs isn't the same thing as accessible torque right under your big toe, right at the wheel where you need it most. Is your idea of a fun gravel driving experience something pointy, drifty and responsive, which rotates freely as you turn it in and 'gas it up'? Whose cornering attitude can be adjusted with power as quickly and easily as a flick of your ankle and roll of your wrists? S omething that powers away from 50mph corners with a real surge of urgency and a carefree wiggle of its hips? Well, you might be surprised just how well the Mach-E Rally fits the bill. Being electric might actually make it more fun than it would otherwise be here. It's lively and responsive to the controls at speeds that don't make you fear for what's waiting on the other side of the grass verge. The bigger, more stable, more under-control-feeling Octa isn't quite so lively. That's partly a function of grip and partly of size. It has loads of grip on gravel, its Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac all-terrain tyres chewing through the surface scree and making it ready to pull bigger speeds than the confines of this circuit really allow something of its sheer size. It feels a bit like a monster truck on a Race of Champions stadium circuit. The Mach-E's all-season Michelins get to about 50mph, by contrast, and then start to skate around on the top layer of stones, their tread blocks failing to clear the rubble they're bombarded with, and allowing the chassis' naturally more expressive tendencies to start to become a liability. So driving the Ford on gravel is a kind of quick-quick-slow progression; you will have a blast, provided you don't go too fast. In the tighter bends, there's nothing the Defender's posh active suspension can really do, by comparison, about the more languid chassis responses of a bigger, taller, heavier car, but the Mach-E feels much lower, keener and more willing to be teased into a positive cornering attitude than the Land Rover, which only really wants to tuck its nose in under trail-braking (although it will certainly do it). Both cars are fun. The Defender is leagues tougher and more capable and would come into its own on a quicker, wider gravel track, I'd wager. But here and now and in a corner of the Powys countryside that seems to suit it peculiarly well, the Ford is actually the more addictive driver's car. And then you get into the Nomad and it's like you're in another place altogether and engaged in an interactive physical act of a different order of magnitude. The Octa ultimately goes perhaps 10-15% further than a regular Defender for entertainment factor but still trades squarely on its assured feel. It can only make so much room to really entertain you without the risk of bursting that safe, silver-lined bubble. The Mach-E goes further still, but its ultimate lack of grip, ground clearance and damping authority would make you fear for it if tougher, quicker surfaces and tests presented. But the Nomad simply yums it all up, lets you feel every little deflection and work for every correction, and puts itself on a different plane of motoring existence in the process. It is enormous, monumental fun. It's a test of nerve to begin with, though, and a huge change of tone. Because suddenly every channel, bump, ridge, rock and camber gets right through to your fingertips and backside. The Defender was filtering them out, mostly, although you didn't know it; the Ford only hinting at them. But the Nomad broadcasts them right into your forearms and shoulders. Lots of physical effort is involved in getting on its level and armfuls of corrective lock require plenty of fast dexterity. But it gives back what you put in and more, with its incredible, oh-so-faithful handling. On 16in wheels and chunkily sidewalled Yokohama all-terrain tyres, it finds plenty of grip and traction on the gravel but still demands a much closer watching brief before you can let all 382lb ft loose through the rear wheels without a bodily reaction. The steering communicates tirelessly, so you know without doubt when you're on a good line and, very clearly, when you're not. Get wide, get lazy, turn in in the wrong gear or fluff your lines with the pedals and you will have plenty to sort out. But drive well and you can take pretty much whatever line and angle through a third-gear, 50mph corner you want to and feel every move the chassis makes. And the most awe-inspiring move is when it takes to the air. The jump on the Mile Loop isn't a desperately quick one, but it is quite steep and severe. You wouldn't risk what damage the Defender's bulk could do to itself by jumping it there; even less the not-as-well-damped, shorter-travel Mach-E. But the Nomad takes it like some magic flying La-Z-Boy armchair. It vaults like a gazelle but, thanks to that Öhlins suspension and its modest weight, comes back down to earth in a more comfortable, matter-of-fact way than you would ever believe possible. And so you line it up again, just to check it wasn't a fluke. The same way you do once you've found the perfect line through that tricky off-camber corner. And you don't stop until you're blowing and grinning in gloriously equal measure. Cars this compelling may not play by the rules, but they're absolutely worth making room, time, occasion and effort for. The Nomad vividly proves that if you really want to have fun off road, committing fully and putting the effort in truly pays off – and it does it in singularly superb fashion. The Result 1st. Ariel Nomad 2 Has neither usability nor capability to worry about and feels superbly, vividly liberated as a result. Fun on the loose like just about nothing else. 2nd. Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally A simple, direct and surprisingly effective way to enjoy yourself on gravel, although it lacks some toughness, stamina and true capability. 3rd. Land Rover Defender Octa Would get you to almost anywhere there is fun to be had and with plenty of entertaining flourish. Needs a big canvas to really impress as a driver's car, though. Join our WhatsApp community and be the first to read about the latest news and reviews wowing the car world. Our community is the best, easiest and most direct place to tap into the minds of Autocar, and if you join you'll also be treated to unique WhatsApp content. 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