It’s all well and good to have a steering wheel for your F1 gaming, but have you got an actual F1 steering wheel? Even the best F1 style wheels haven’t been quite the real deal. We now have a new benchmark as I’ll explain in my Thrustmaster SF1000 Review.
This is not for the basic gamer. If you want, you can find wheel and pedal sets for under $400, good brands, great performance. The Thrustmaster SF1000 is $599 – and it’s an add-on. You need an existing Thustmaster T-Series wheel base and pedals to get it going.
We’ve paired this Thrustmaster SF1000 with the TS-XW Servo base which will set you back $1,199 and we’ve also pimped the pedals adding the Thrustmaster T-LCM set which have an even more realistic feel to them.
So, we’re over $2,000 deep – with no regrets.
Out of the box you get an amazing sense of value, precision and production from the Thrustmaster SF1000 wheel.
The front face of the wheel is genuine carbon fibre, and it has all the same buttons and dials as the actual 2020 Ferrari F1 Car.
Every dial turns, every button presses, none of them are for show.
However, when paired with an Xbox there are limited customisations available. In reality, there’s as many customisable settings as there are on an Xbox controller give or take. But, because of the layout, you get a more personal experience when pairing your DRS or other buttons.
This was not easy, in fact, I’ll detail the process in a separate post for those interested, but in short, you need to do Firmware upgrades on your base and the wheel, and learn how to setup a UDP broadcast in the F1 2020 game. Once I knew this, it was a breeze.
If you want to dive deeper into the bank there’s a set of Thrustmaster T-Chrono paddles you can swap out on the SF1000.
They interchange with four simple screws, and provide a snappier shift experience, lighter touch but still the same amazing high quality.
The amount of information possible to display on the wheel is staggering. Something like 69 items of information, from tyre wear, lap count, race position, lap time and of course gear selection in a clear 4.3 inch display.
There are three default info screens, each with sub options for display. These are switched using the rotary dials on the wheel either side of the large Ferrari dial in the centre.
At the top of the wheel in your eyeline are 15 LEDs for engine speed and marshal flags. These are bright, clear and provide the best shift experience I’ve seen on a SIM wheel.
Look, On a PC I’m sure this is taken to the next level again with completely customisable controls. But for an average gamer like me, with cash to burn, this is the ultimate showpiece.
It’s a legit Ferrari F1 wheel, but it also works and shows real-time data. Stunning.
As you’d expect it’s also comfortable to use when driving too.
Buy: The Gamesmen
Trev is a Technology Commentator, Dad, Speaker and Rev Head.
He produces and hosts several popular podcasts, EFTM, Two Blokes Talking Tech, Two Blokes Talking Electric Cars, The Best Movies You’ve Never Seen, and the Private Feed. He is the resident tech expert for Triple M on radio across Australia, and is the resident Tech Expert on Channel 9’s Today Show and appears regularly on 9 News, A Current Affair and Sky News Early Edition.
Father of three, he is often found in his Man Cave.
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