WheelStandPro - 8/10
Well the G25 and the WheelStandPro ( wheelstandpro.com/ ) both arrived at exactly the same time yesterday, which was astonishing since the WheelStandPro was sent from Poland and only ordered last Thursday!
I Promised a review and pics in an earlier thread and I've spent a good number of hours racing with it in GT5 Prologue so here we go:
Firstly, a few things to consider:
1. The G25 is the first wheel I've ever owned.
2. Forza 2 got me interested in Driving sims again and GT5 Prologue's graphics and presentation sealed the deal. I needed a wheel and a place to put it!
3. I didn't have enough room for a full ****pit or playseat etc. so I needed something relatively compact.
4. I needed something that I could quickly store away to make room for movie viewing and other gaming.
5. Finally, I'm interested in quality and something that doesn't look ridiculous (i.e sawhorse, ironing board, ugly piece of wood etc).
After searching for hours online for a solution, and deciding I'll have to wait for a bigger place before buying a playseat ( www.playseats.com/ ) , I came across the WheelStandPro.
It certainly looked the part; neat, compact, and it folded up for storage! I quickly did some research online and saw a few forum posters saying good things about it so I jumped straight to the order page.
I must admit I really did think twice about the price. For Aussies the stand is quite expensive, (see price at the end of the review), but again my alternative was a $600+ play seat which is a serious commitment. To the company's credit, the unit was delivered extremely quickly and tracking numbers were provided so that I could see exactly when the unit was due.
The first thing that struck me as I was unboxing the WheelStandPro is the build quality. This thing is built to last. The metal frame is rock solid and beautifully put together. The few fears I had about buying a flimsy piece of kit were quickly put to rest.
Setup was very simple. The WheelStandPro's height and length is fully adjustable with lockable joints. These are a brilliant idea and make quick adjustments relatively easy, with no tools required. The package includes an allen key and a small wrench to adjust the angle of the wheel's mount point. This was also easily done and well designed.
A few adjustments to the height for the wheel and the angle of the stand and I was ready to install the G25 wheel and shifter.
The unit can be ordered to spec for most wheels, and for the G25 an extra metal plate is included that essentially provides a mounting point for the shifter. Once the wheel and shifter was screwed on tightly it was time to get the pedals in place.
I was a little worried on how stable the pedals would be on the stand. The G25 pedals are designed with mounting points and a handy carpet grip but neither can be used with the WheelStandPro. Instead, there are four rubber "grips" that can be adjusted to the size of your pedals base. I was extremely skeptical that this would hold the pedals sufficiently during intense racing (we'll get to that later), but the grips did seems to do a good job of locking the pedals in place for now.
After a bit of cable management I was ready play.
I started up GT5 Prologue and went immediately into a time trial with the latest EVO.
Now keep in mind I'm purely reviewing the stand here. The Logitech G25 is a seriously amazing piece of kit and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a wheel. The thing just blew me away and I'll never go back to a controller for a racing game again.
The first race was a bit of a disaster as I had positioned the stand poorly for my build. After a quick readjustment and retightening of the stand I was back in the race.
The stability overall was impressive. I was expecting a lot more sideways movement and even some serious slipping of the stand's position. But all in all the stand performs beautifully. Don't get me wrong, there is some minor sideways "rocking" movement in the stand, a full racing ****pit this is not, but its not enough to take you out of the game, and after a few laps you won't notice the movement at all.
The rubber grips on the stands front and rear base worked brilliantly. I experienced no slipping of the stand at all on carpet although I did not test it out on hardwood floor. An excellent result as a failing in this area would crush the racing experience.
The pedals are perhaps the stand's weakest aspect. They stay solid and in place during most racing sessions but I can see some people kicking them out of place with heavy braking and shifting. They won't move forward or back as they are locked in by the stands rear base, but there may be some sideways movement. It wasn't really a factor for me because I wasn't wearing shoes and wasn't hitting the clutch like a mad man. Some large cable ties could easily be used to restrict the possibility of sideways movement for heavy users though.
Its also worth noting that the chair I'm using is quite low and the wheel stand's height is relatively low. Yet, even with a very low height setting, if the pedals are removed from the base it will tip backwards from the height of the wheel. In fact if you don't keep your feet sitting on the pedal plate during racing there is a slight chance you may tip the stand back while racing.
With a low profile seat like mine this problem is almost non existent but chances are a higher wheel stand may increase the tipping point slightly. Again with the users feet firmly placed on the pedals though the issue is almost non-existent.
Finally after racing is finished the unit can be quickly folded up for storage. This really is a huge advantage for my own situation and I imagine most users will find this to be a killer feature for the wheelstandpro. It keeps the wife happy and that is good news for everyone!
Overall the WheelStandPro is an excellent solution to a problem a lot of gamers have i.e How to use a racing wheel without taking over the living room with a giant, monstrous ****pit, while still maintaining a solid racing sim experience. Although some may find it a little pricey, the superb build quality, flexibility, and storage options of the WheelStandPro make an excellent accessory I would highly recommend.
8/10
wheelstandpro.com/
Price: $299 AUD
See all the full res photos on my FlickrStream:
www.flickr.com/
Pros:
- Amazing Build Quality
- Compact Size
- Easily stored
- Flexibilty
Cons:
- Price
- Stability is somewhat dependent on user's positioning
- Pedal mounting could be improved
Submitted by ironmonkey
24/04/2008
15
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