Review: Logitech G25 Force Feedback Racing Wheel - Part III

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Throttle

This pedal has a very nice feel and spring tension. The long throw of the pedal makes it much easier to squeeze on the throttle progressively coming out of a corner, and more precise application equals more grip and quicker acceleration.

Pedal resistance is just right, making it hard to over-cook the throttle with an over-eager foot muscle.

The stainless steel pedal face provides just the right amount of friction whether you’re wearing socks or thin-soled shoes (as Logitech’s designers recommended to me).

Regarding footwear, after a month with the G25 I still recommend comfortable socks or Sim Socks for better feel and control with most racing simulations. However, if you’re planning on doing the old heel-and-toe, you may need to wear thin soled shoes as the edges of the pedal feet are of small radius and will start to irritate your feet if you’re only wearing socks.

The one gripe I have with the throttle is that all three pedals are in same static plane when fully released. In other words, if you laid a long ruler across the pedal feet, it would lay flat across all three pedal faces.  

I am sure the configuration of the pedals on the G25 was driven by engineering constraints, but the drawback to this design is seen when heel-and-toe braking. In most manual transmission cars, the static plane of the throttle pedal is set a short distance further forward (away from the driver) from the brake when both are fully released. In order to put both brake and throttle in the same static plane, the brake must be partially depressed. This positioning helps to facilitate heel-and-toe braking, because the brake is depressed before it reaches the same static plane as the accelerator, thereby reducing the leg and foot contortions required to affect a heel-and-toe downshift.

Because the G25’s pedals all live in the same static plane, sim drivers will have to generate some interesting foot contortions when attempting to heel-and-toe throttle blip. You don’t want to be riding the throttle as you brake, regardless of clutch position, but it’s hard not to when the brake pedal is in use and is operating in a static plane below that of the throttle at idle. It makes it so awkward for me, that I am finding that heel-and-toe almost isn’t an option. I hope that most other people will have less difficulty than I have had in learning to heel-and-toe with the G25.

Wheel

The larger diameter wheel, adjustable rotation angle, and dual motor Force Feedback definitely have had a synergistic effect on my performance in every sim I tried. Feedback cues had more depth to them, felt more intuitive, and conveyed a better sense of how the tires were performing, as well as weight transfer across the chassis. Wheel movement is easier and more precise, allowing me to get on the throttle quicker out of the corners, and to do so with more confidence that I wasn’t about to spin the car. I like the option to pick the total range of wheel rotation. The setting you pick will vary with your tastes and which type of car you’re simulating.

Although Logitech claims to have equipped the G25 with anti-backlash gearing, it doesn’t mean that backlash is totally eliminated. On occasion I have noticed a bit of FFB backlash with the G25. But it’s at a greatly reduced level, and feels more natural, like flaws in the pavement. Overall I think the steering response and force feedback “feel” very realistic, and improve your perception of how the car is handling.

The G25 has much smoother and complex FFB response than Logitech’s earlier wheels, more like the forces you feel in a real car’s wheel due to tire slip angles and weight transfer in the chassis. Now if it only came with 4 buttons on the wheel...

Shifter

Driving with the H-pattern shifter is a real treat that no hard-core sim racer should miss out on. You have to be careful with it though, to prevent popping it out of gear.

Although I am still becoming proficient at manipulating the G25, it certainly seems easy to miss shifts. This is true for both modes of operation, but seems the worst in sequential mode. In my first SimHQ.net race at Adelaide, in practice I found the shifter not responding to about 1 in 5 downshifts or upshifts. I had to really tighten up the accuracy of my hand movements, because the slightest off-axis push on the shifter will result in a missed shift. This is a tad frustrating for such an expensive wheel, but I do appreciate the options Logitech has provided me for shifting. I just wish the sequential was more precise.

The sequential shifter is a bit less communicative about gear engagement, but I’ve discovered that if you bang it straight off the stops you’re sure to get the gear you were looking for. It does make me wonder how long the micro-switches will last with this kind of abuse, because shift motion less than “firm and positive” will often fail to execute a gear change.

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