Logitech MOMO Racing Wheel

Reviews: Peripherals

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Bradford Day
Kurtis
Logitech
Mar. 16, 2005

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Testing

As I mentioned above, looks aren't everything. I was eager to see what this wheel was capable of. But, before I could get started tearing up the rally course I had to set this puppy up. Driver installation was simple enough with click-through menus. Logitech includes a few extra software goodies on the driver disk (Roger Wilco VoIP application, GameSpy Arcade and the WildTangent Game channel). None of these interested me, but it's a nice use of spare driver CD space.

Also included with the driver installation is Logitech's programming software. This handy app allows you to bind specific functions to the six red wheel buttons as well as fine-tune the actions of the wheel, pedals and gearshift. You may also set up game profiles such that your preferences are loaded when you fire up the game. I found no real need for these as both games I tested recognized all of the buttons just fine and I required no special binds.

Now for the fun part. My favorite racing game is Richard Burn's Rally. This highly realistic rally game is based on WRC rally courses and cars and is downright difficult to master. But it does, in my opinion, offer the best force feedback testing platform of any driving game. The MOMO wheel was instantly recognized by the game and after adjusting my in-game settings I was ready to race.

Damn, I love this wheel! Just gripping the wheel is a pleasure. It is comfortable and really feels like an actual MOMO wheel. I used to have a MOMO racing wheel on my '74 BMW 2002 and this baby feels just as comfortable as the real thing, although it is considerably smaller. The pedals are nicely placed and the carpet gripping teeth kept the base right where I wanted it. At first I found it strange that the accelerator and brake seemed to have differing levels of resistance. But upon further reflection, I realized that this is typically how most real cars are set up. I know that in my car the accelerator is far easier to press down than the brake. I appreciated this little detail, though I'm unsure if Logitech implemented it on purpose.

The force feedback was precise and realistic. Steering through sharp, high-speed turns was difficult as the wheel fights you all the way. I'm constantly amazed at how tiring it is to play a video game with a racing wheel like this one. But even with the feedback turned off, the wheel offers precise movement. And the 240 degrees of wheel rotation dramatically changed the driving dynamic. At first it threw me off as the previously tested Saitek wheel could only rotate 180 degrees. Quickly I came to realize that 240 is far more realistic and just feels dead-on correct in comparison.

An extra feature I adored, that was absent from the other race wheel I tested, is the gearshift. I love manual transmissions and the MOMO gearshift is a fantastic little bit of racing realism. However, I typically use the paddle shifters for upshifts and downshifts so I simply bind the handbrake action to the gear shift lever and voila...instant rally car! Note to self: get roll cage for office chair.

Need for Speed Underground 2 was next up on the testing block. Again, the wheel, pedals, gearshift and buttons were all natively recognized. And yet again, the performance was nothing short of excellent. The force feedback wasn't as harsh as in the rally cross game, but the accurate wheel resistance lent a very authentic feel to steering. Each bump created a jitter or sharp jerk in the wheel and at high speeds typically resulted in a spectacular crash.

With all the motorized wheel movement, it is quite important to have the wheel securely bolted to your desk. Logitech achieves this through a very effective 3-point adjustable mounting system. The two forward-mounted grips are tightened to the desk via octagonal screw mechanisms located under a removable plastic cover on top of the wheel console. The third mounting post fits under the desk and is tightened from underneath. I found the mounting system kept the wheel in place nicely even during my worst crashes. With its large jaws, the mounts should be able to wrap around just about any tabletop that is less than ~2" deep. Although it can be a bit of a pain to remove the cover plate each time you want to move the wheel, this is a minor drawback at best. And if you can't tell already, I'm struggling to find anything bad to say about this product.

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Page 1: Introduction & First Looks
Page 2: Testing
Page 3: Head-to-Head Comparisons & Conclusion

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Add Comment

18 User Comments

1 - Posted by Bodyshield on March 19, 2005 - 11:24 pm

Con: No clutch

you would think by now they would catch on, and put a clutch, i mean, they've had them w/ clutch's for PS2 and Xbox for how long now?

you can take a ps2 racing wheel (one that has clutch) buy USB ps2 converter, plug it into comp and race like normal and have a clutch. why won't they just add the little pedal?

2 - Posted by handrail on March 21, 2005 - 9:04 am

because most people don't know how to drive with a clutch anyway!

i wouldn't mind having the option of a clutch pedal though. the only draw back i could see to adding a clutch to that system is that left foot braking in games like Richard Burns Rally would be a bit tougher for those of us with large feet. besides, every car motorsport uses paddle shift now in real life anyway...well almost all.

3 - Posted by Bodyshield on March 21, 2005 - 10:05 am

exact reason why they should make one w/ a clutch, you can somewhat teach a person how to drive a manual (although no games are completely realisitic), thus you can save your clutch and your first gear in real life....

adjustable pedals?

4 - Posted by handrail on March 21, 2005 - 12:36 pm

yup, well if they made them so that you could adjust the spacing between the pedals, not just the height. i think the limiting factor here is if anyone would actually buy it if they added all that stuff.

5 - Posted by Bodyshield on March 21, 2005 - 1:35 pm

i think people would, cause i mean there are people who pay 100 bucks for one, and if you add those things to it (adjustable parts) shouldnt raise the price too much

6 - Posted by PennyManDeux on March 21, 2005 - 2:14 pm

If it was worth doing it probably would have been done. Thing is, I doubt there are many people who would want that features and would also be willing to pay the higher price. Movable parts aren't cheap. To have these features and build it well would cost more than most are willing to pay. How many people have racing wheels to begin with? I am sure that not even close to 10% of the gamers out there have a racing wheel and even less would want a higher priced wheel with these additional features.

7 - Posted by handrail on March 21, 2005 - 2:52 pm

that's kinda what i was thinking. might as well buy this thing
http://www.force-dynamics.com/video.shtml

8 - Posted by Bodyshield on March 21, 2005 - 7:16 pm

i just think there hasn't been a good enough game for PC made, for instance. Look at GT4, is an extremely good game, and look what ends up happening. Racing wheel sales sky rocket, and ppl end up making racing sims why? Cause a great game was made, but unfortunately only for PS2

9 - Posted by Rich on March 21, 2005 - 7:49 pm

I personally would go buy GT4 right now if it were for the PC, but I am not going towaste my money on an unupgradable console which is only really good for a couple of years.

10 - Posted by Dyrewolph on March 22, 2005 - 3:57 am

I'm still playing NFSU2...

11 - Posted by mike on March 22, 2005 - 12:02 pm

[QUOTE=handrail]because most people don't know how to drive with a clutch anyway!

Only if they made a race bar for motorcycle racing games, then you could get away with hand clutch. Ease the populus into knowing how to use a clutch "properly".

(If some corpoartion picks up on my race bar idea, 10% would be nice)

12 - Posted by Bodyshield on March 22, 2005 - 6:04 pm

clutch idea from me for PC, 40% lol

13 - Posted by BCSchnei on March 22, 2005 - 6:57 pm

Sorry, someone beat you to it.

http://www.thomas-superwheel.com/prods.html

One of the best non-Forcefeedback wheels I have ever used!

-BCS

14 - Posted by Brian on March 22, 2005 - 7:03 pm

Welp, there ya go :-P

15 - Posted by handrail on March 22, 2005 - 8:40 pm

eeesh...i can get a real clutch for my real car for that much!

16 - Posted by Bodyshield on March 22, 2005 - 10:12 pm

*runs and sells hand so he can buy one of those*, thats a waste of money, and like u said, you can buy a real clutch for that much, just cuz its not mass produced

17 - Posted by J2T on March 23, 2005 - 8:03 am

Well now, my virus scan here at work caught a virus when I loaded up that page :-|

18 - Posted by Cabot_Teg118 on March 23, 2005 - 4:39 pm

Has anyone had any experience with using a USB PS2 wheel on a pc? I'm looking to get this wheel

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details...

but the only way i'll pay that much is if I can use it on a PS2 and my pc

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