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laserbeam273

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 7, 2010
424
0
Australia
I bought DiRT 2 ages ago but had trouble with my wheel.. I ended up selling it. I'd like to buy another wheel again, any recommendations? Just had a quick look at the Logitech site, and the G25 is AUD 250 while the G27 is AUD 500... don't think I could bring myself to pay 500 for a wheel, is the G25 still good?

EDIT: Actually looks like most stores don't stock the G25, but instead stock the G27. I can get the G27 at AUD 267, is this a good wheel?
 
Last edited:

JaguarGod

macrumors 6502
Mar 27, 2010
304
29
Ahh, steering wheels.... One of my favorite subjects! I am the developer of the Mac App Store game, Auto Sport Driving and I have tested quite a few wheels in OSX Lion. Dirt 2 is one of my favorite Mac racers right now and works the best with a wheel. These are my findings. All money is listed on US Dollars.

Here is a list of the wheels and the results on the Mac side that I have tested. VERY IMPORTANT: Force Feedback has been left out of Lion for some reason. You will have to re-install the kext to get the Logitech wheels to use Force Feedback. I have instructions on how to do this on my site HERE.

Wheels WITH FORCE FEEDBACK (must install FFB kext if using 10.7)
1. Logitech Momo racing wheel (black) - Works perfectly! All the buttons on the wheel along with the sequential shifter are beautiful. But this the lower end wheel model from Logitech and does not have the best FFB. But FFB does work well. If using Lion, you must install the Logitech FFB kext to get FFB to work. These are now discontinued , but you can find them on ebay for anywhere from $50-$100.
2. Logitech Driving Force GT - This wheel works very well also but not all the buttons work on the wheel. For the price, this wheel is great. It does have 900 degrees of rotation if you like to drive that way, but it does not always work right in OSX and can be buggy. It is better to plug the wheel in after the Mac has started. This should disable the 900 degrees of rotation and makes for a better driving and FFB experience. This is a great wheel. They are sold in a lot of stores and online for $130-$150.
3. Logitech G27 - My favorite wheel for the Mac! Again, it is better to plug the wheel in after the Mac has started for a better racing experience. The FFB is so much better and the wheel itself is beautiful. It is the best unit for Mac in my opinion, but it is a bit more expensive at anywhere from $230-$299. But if you have the money, this is the wheel to get.

Note: The G25 is also out of production, but works very well on the Mac. All the same steps should be taken as I have listed for the G27 as it is the successor to the G25. ;)


Wheels with NO FORCE FEEDBACK

1. Thrustmaster F430 - Works very well and is a beautiful wheel that can be purchased fairly inexpensively if you shop around. But again NO FFB!
2. Thrustmaster Ferrari GT Experience wheel - An inexpensive wheel that works well, but is not as flashy as some other wheels. A lot of plastic and it feels a bit cheap. NO FFB!
3. Thrustmaster T500 RS Wheel - Simply one of the best wheels available right now. But with no FFB, it is not really a great Mac alternative. This wheel looks about as good as any wheel out there and is made to last. The pedals are great and the wheel itself feels like a real wheel. I really wish someday we can get FFB on this wheel. But this wheel is expensive! Around $600 and NO FFB!

Again, I have not tried any of the Fanatec wheels, so I am not sure how well they work on Mac. These are the ones I have tried on my setups. If you purchase a wheel and have results, please let me know if possible.
 

laserbeam273

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 7, 2010
424
0
Australia
Ahh, steering wheels.... One of my favorite subjects! I am the developer of the Mac App Store game, Auto Sport Driving and I have tested quite a few wheels in OSX Lion.

Haha love the shameless advertising plug ;) I'll hopefully be doing the same too soon once I start developing!

Thanks for the information, looks great. Think I'll end up getting the G27, though I'll need to wait till after June.

So how many cars do you have modelled in your sim? Do you plan on modelling heaps? I always dream of a car racing game that models every car in existence - I'd love to race my 1994 BMW 320 around a virtual track :D Then race it against my friends 1991 Vovlo 740 wagon!
 

JaguarGod

macrumors 6502
Mar 27, 2010
304
29
Haha love the shameless advertising plug ;) I'll hopefully be doing the same too soon once I start developing!

Thanks for the information, looks great. Think I'll end up getting the G27, though I'll need to wait till after June.

So how many cars do you have modelled in your sim? Do you plan on modelling heaps? I always dream of a car racing game that models every car in existence - I'd love to race my 1994 BMW 320 around a virtual track :D Then race it against my friends 1991 Vovlo 740 wagon!

When you develop small games for the Mac, you need all the advertising you can get!:D

I do not want to derail this thread due to the fact that is is about Dirt 2 (I am sorry for the plug). But you can go HERE for the information and what I am planning for ASD.
 

laserbeam273

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 7, 2010
424
0
Australia
When you develop small games for the Mac, you need all the advertising you can get!:D

I do not want to derail this thread due to the fact that is is about Dirt 2 (I am sorry for the plug). But you can go HERE for the information and what I am planning for ASD.

Not a problem! It was somewhat relevant so hey, no complaints from me. I posted on your other thread.
 

WRXGuy64

macrumors newbie
May 15, 2012
1
0
G27 Wheel

Hey JaguarGod,

I just got the Logitech G27 wheel, thanks to your post here, but am having trouble getting it to work on my iMac. I am new to Mac gaming, I'm a PlayStation guy, and am having trouble finding the option on Dirt 2 to select the wheel. Do I have to download software before I can use it? The wheel came with two discs, but they don't work on a Mac.

Thanks
 

mykem

macrumors regular
May 20, 2008
117
0
.....

3. Thrustmaster T500 RS Wheel - Simply one of the best wheels available right now. But with no FFB, it is not really a great Mac alternative. This wheel looks about as good as any wheel out there and is made to last. The pedals are great and the wheel itself feels like a real wheel. I really wish someday we can get FFB on this wheel. But this wheel is expensive! Around $600 and NO FFB!

Again, I have not tried any of the Fanatec wheels, so I am not sure how well they work on Mac. These are the ones I have tried on my setups. If you purchase a wheel and have results, please let me know if possible.

Actually the Thrustmaster T500RS is belt driven (as oppose to gear driven G25/G27/DFGT) Force Feedback (FFB) wheel. The FFB works (splendidly) on the PS3 and PC (and Parallel-run Windows on your Mac).
 

JaguarGod

macrumors 6502
Mar 27, 2010
304
29
Hey JaguarGod,

I just got the Logitech G27 wheel, thanks to your post here, but am having trouble getting it to work on my iMac. I am new to Mac gaming, I'm a PlayStation guy, and am having trouble finding the option on Dirt 2 to select the wheel. Do I have to download software before I can use it? The wheel came with two discs, but they don't work on a Mac.

Thanks

OK, you do not need to load any drivers for the wheel. Apples HID will recognize it.

To get it to work with Dirt2, here is the easiest way to do it...
1. Turn on your Mac
2. After it starts, plug in the G27 wheel. It should go through it's calibration.
3. Make sure the wheel is dead center and turn on Dirt2
4. Go outside the camper to 'Options'
5. Choose 'Control'
6. Scroll down to 'Steer Left', press Return and it will say "Waiting". Move the steering wheel left and it will recognize the axis.
7. Do this for the rest of the controls and map them how you want on the wheel.
8. Then scroll to the top where it says 'Advanced Wheel Settings' and hit Return
9. Set 'Steering Deadzone' to 0%
10. Set 'Steering Saturation' to 100%
11. Set 'Steering Linearity' to 0 (You may want to play around with this one to find how it best suits you)
12. Set 'Throttle Deadzone' to 0%
13. Set 'Throttle Saturation' to 100%
14. Set 'Brake Deadzone' to 0%
15. Set 'Brake Saturation' to 100%
16. ESC out and you should see the little purplish saving animation on the bottom right when going back to the main menus

Now play the game. Please remember though, this game is pretty delicate when it comes to keeping the wheel calibrated. If it gets out of whack, quit the game, center the wheel and start the game again. This should fix it.

Also remember that all of the buttons on the wheel do not work. Here they are...
1. The clutch pedal is not recognized
2. Of the 6 red buttons on the steering wheel, all three on the left will be recognized as one and all three buttons on the right will be recognized as one
3. The H-Shifter does not work

Other than that, this should get you up and running. Let me know your progress!
 

JaguarGod

macrumors 6502
Mar 27, 2010
304
29
Actually the Thrustmaster T500RS is belt driven (as oppose to gear driven G25/G27/DFGT) Force Feedback (FFB) wheel. The FFB works (splendidly) on the PS3 and PC (and Parallel-run Windows on your Mac).

I do realize that the wheel has FFB in Windows and on the PS3. I was simply stating for the Mac as the FFB does not work in OSX. I am sorry for the confusion.:eek: And yes, the FFB is amazing on the wheel.:eek:

This is my favorite wheel for the PS3 and PC. But the G27 is my favorite on Mac OSX. I still do not understand why Apple left the Logitech FFB kext out of Lion though.
 

chiefsucker

macrumors newbie
May 8, 2011
23
1
I just wanted to let you know that the Fanatec CSR Elite wheel and their ClubSport v2 pedals work great on a Mac in DiRT 2 with full FFB support. You just have to connect the pedals to the wheel, because DiRT only supports one controller.

The wheel setup even works greater than a gamepad. For the latter DiRT 2 managed to forget my custom controller settings after every relaunch of the game.

No kernel extension or driver is necessary.
 

LadderGoat

macrumors member
Sep 5, 2010
68
0
I have a G25 and DiRT 2. has anyone got FFB to work on DiRT 2 for mac?

----------

Ahh, steering wheels.... One of my favorite subjects! I am the developer of the Mac App Store game, Auto Sport Driving and I have tested quite a few wheels in OSX Lion. Dirt 2 is one of my favorite Mac racers right now and works the best with a wheel. These are my findings. All money is listed on US Dollars.

Here is a list of the wheels and the results on the Mac side that I have tested. VERY IMPORTANT: Force Feedback has been left out of Lion for some reason. You will have to re-install the kext to get the Logitech wheels to use Force Feedback. I have instructions on how to do this on my site HERE.

Wheels WITH FORCE FEEDBACK (must install FFB kext if using 10.7)
1. Logitech Momo racing wheel (black) - Works perfectly! All the buttons on the wheel along with the sequential shifter are beautiful. But this the lower end wheel model from Logitech and does not have the best FFB. But FFB does work well. If using Lion, you must install the Logitech FFB kext to get FFB to work. These are now discontinued , but you can find them on ebay for anywhere from $50-$100.
2. Logitech Driving Force GT - This wheel works very well also but not all the buttons work on the wheel. For the price, this wheel is great. It does have 900 degrees of rotation if you like to drive that way, but it does not always work right in OSX and can be buggy. It is better to plug the wheel in after the Mac has started. This should disable the 900 degrees of rotation and makes for a better driving and FFB experience. This is a great wheel. They are sold in a lot of stores and online for $130-$150.
3. Logitech G27 - My favorite wheel for the Mac! Again, it is better to plug the wheel in after the Mac has started for a better racing experience. The FFB is so much better and the wheel itself is beautiful. It is the best unit for Mac in my opinion, but it is a bit more expensive at anywhere from $230-$299. But if you have the money, this is the wheel to get.

Note: The G25 is also out of production, but works very well on the Mac. All the same steps should be taken as I have listed for the G27 as it is the successor to the G25. ;)


Wheels with NO FORCE FEEDBACK

1. Thrustmaster F430 - Works very well and is a beautiful wheel that can be purchased fairly inexpensively if you shop around. But again NO FFB!
2. Thrustmaster Ferrari GT Experience wheel - An inexpensive wheel that works well, but is not as flashy as some other wheels. A lot of plastic and it feels a bit cheap. NO FFB!
3. Thrustmaster T500 RS Wheel - Simply one of the best wheels available right now. But with no FFB, it is not really a great Mac alternative. This wheel looks about as good as any wheel out there and is made to last. The pedals are great and the wheel itself feels like a real wheel. I really wish someday we can get FFB on this wheel. But this wheel is expensive! Around $600 and NO FFB!

Again, I have not tried any of the Fanatec wheels, so I am not sure how well they work on Mac. These are the ones I have tried on my setups. If you purchase a wheel and have results, please let me know if possible.

Hey, it says on your site that I need a "kext installer" I download the .kext file from your site. where can I find an installer? also, is there a free trial for ASD I really want to try it out. Thanks.
 

JaguarGod

macrumors 6502
Mar 27, 2010
304
29
I have a G25 and DiRT 2. has anyone got FFB to work on DiRT 2 for mac?

----------



Hey, it says on your site that I need a "kext installer" I download the .kext file from your site. where can I find an installer? also, is there a free trial for ASD I really want to try it out. Thanks.

Try here for a kext installer.

As far as a demo, we are working on it, but it will be a bit as we would like the new engine effects to be in the demo.
 
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