Thrustmaster Nascar Pro Digital 2… (2000)

Racing Wheel

Nascar Pro Digital 2 Racing Wheel

Manufactured By: Thrustmaster

Retail Price: $59.99 (US)

Review Date: 11-4-00

Last year The Control Center did a review of the first Thrustmaster product to be released after Guillemot took over Thrustmaster- The Nascar Pro Digital Wheel. The wheel was well accepted by hard-core racers and redeemed the Thrustmaster name (the Nascar Force GT Wheel that was one of the old Thrustmaster's last products had high failure and return rates). The Nascar Pro Digital won the exclusive "1999 Award for Best Wheel" from The Control Center.

The wheel had one minor problem- the wheel had a dead spot in the steering that made it necessary to tweak game setting to overcome. Despite a few patched drivers the problem still bothered some users (however, this reviewer didn't have issue with it). Rather than quietly addressing the issue and releasing the fix in later issues of the same product Thrustmaster came up with the Pro Digital 2.

The only cosmetic difference between the 1st and second version of the wheel is the color of the brake and gas pedals. The 1st wheel had black pedals and the new wheel has grey/silver pedals. The other noticeable difference is the price. The Pro 2 comes to you $20 lighter than its predecessor.

Features-

USB connection (digital output at 1.5megabits/sec.) with new (improved) IC chip
10 1/4" Padded wheel
Dual paddle shifters
4 buttons on wheel
2 position, short-throw shift lever
Heavy pedal base (combined or split axis capable)

Appropriate For-

Racing Games (Need For Speed series, Powerslide, Midtown Madness series, Re-Volt, Star Wars: Racer, etc.)

System Requirements-

Windows 98/SE/ME/2000, USB port

Price-

At just under $60 the Nascar Pro Digital 2 is a good investment for a large, comfortable wheel. The wheel comes in $20 less than its first incarnation and supports all of the same features.

Warranty-

1 year limited.

Performance-

The original Nascar Pro Digital 2 wheel from Thrustmaster was one of the best non-force feedback wheels you could own. The only criticism of the old design was the possible sloppiness of control due to the wide dead zone of the wheel. With the new IC interface of the new wheel the wheel has overcome this issue. This gives you tighter control and better response.

Like its predecessor the wheel can be setup as a 2 or 3 axis controller. In 2 axis mode the pedals are treated as one axis. This mode is the default and is compatible with all games. The 3 axis mode allows you better control since the pedals are read as separate axis. This means you can enter a turn at full acceleration, tap the brakes, enter a slide and continue on without pulling off the gas- a move that takes practice (and guts) but in a tight race can make the difference between first and second place.

The wheel is quite versatile with its button layout allowing you to use the shifter knob or shift levers behind the wheel for shifting (or other functions). The mapping of the shifters is independent so you can use 2 for shifting and 2 as button functions or all 4 for button assignments. Most games support in game programming of buttons and axis but the properties button from the game controller applet allows you to also assign keyboard functions to the buttons for specific games if desired.

The wheel was put to the test with a whole bevy of racing and driving games. Where supported, the pedals were configured with a split axis. This allowed for better control as described above. For shifting purposes I prefer the paddle shifters over the stick simply because you can maintain a grip on the wheel while moving through the gears. The stick was usually used for lesser but needed game functions.

The buttons are well within the reach of either thumb. There is no need to adjust your grip to access any of the buttons, just the shift stick. The wheel itself is larger than most PC wheels. It measures over 10" across and is padded with a rubber coating for comfort and grip.

For the real tweak freaks out there you can configure the different axis sensitivity from within the properties tab and save the setting for different games. Using this feature is much easier than trying to make these adjustments from within the games if its even an available option. The wheel is very solid in construction, very comfortable to use and a great performer. It hold its calibration well and the pedals stay put even with heavy stopping.

Performance of the wheel was almost identical to the original Pro Digital Wheel. The steering seemed tighter which may be due to the correction to the dead spot. It also may just be because its a new wheel. After all, a new car drives better than an old one and game controller act in the same fashion.

Setup-

Setup of the Nascar Pro Digital 2 Racing Wheel is a standard plug-and-play operation. The wheel requires little assembly. The desk clamps need to be screwed into the base of the wheel. Be sure to take care during this step since the nylon screws can be stripped if they are forced improperly. Once the wheel has the clamps installed place the wheel on your desktop and make the one time adjustment to the tension levers on the upper portion of the wheel. The levers will later allow you to quickly secure and release the wheel to your desktop by simply lifting up the toggles.

The pedals have 5 large rubber feet that need to be stuck on the base of the pedal unit. Plug the pedals into the connector at the back of the wheel and place them at your feet and start your system. With Windows running attach the USB connector to a free USB port and your system should auto-detect the wheel. Feed your CD drive the enclosed CD and be sure the CD is a selected location to search for the drivers and follow the on screen instructions to completion. Before attempting to use the wheel assure the wheel is selected in the game controller applet (should be controller #1 for most games) and test the digital calibration.

** Software -

** The drivers contain a few features beyond the typical setup/calibration/test options. By accessing the "properties" of the wheel a test page will be displayed. The graphical representation of the wheel displays any wheel or pedal movement and button presses. You can also access the button programming utility- Thrustmapper from your Start menu.

As mentioned earlier, the Thrustmapper utility allows you to adjust the axis parameters to your liking. This is especially useful in games where the wheel sensitivity in not adjustable within the game itself. Button programming allows you to assign keystrokes to different buttons on the wheel. Again, where this is not supported in the game its a useful utility. I still prefer to do this in game if an option though. The preset programming screen allows you to save multiple axis and button configurations for different users and games.

One option worth exploring is the keyboard emulation utility. Its accessed by right clicking the Pro Digital Racing Wheel icon. This allows you to change the frequency of communication between the wheel and the system. By lowering the frequency of this setting you can perform actions quicker due to the freeing of the system resources being allocated to the wheel reading. However, "your mileage may vary".

Documentation-

The Nascar Pro Digital ships with a 48 page users manual describing setup and programming of the wheel. The manual is printed in 4 languages The users manual does a great job describing use of the wheel features and the Thrustmapper programming utility. It does this without excessive verbiage, using screenshots to display examples instead. You can also access the help files of the Thrustmapper utility for a better understanding of the utility

The Thrustmaster website offers good information on the Nascar Pro Digital 2 Wheel and other products from the company. Drivers and useful utilities are available for download from the site and the site has FAQs for most of their products. The people at Thrustmaster have also setup "communities" for both flight and racing enthusiasts featuring game news, screenshots, add-ons, etc.

Overall Rating-

The new and improved Nascar Pro Digital 2 Wheel is a great wheel. The improvements make this wheel an even better choice than its predecessor. Guillemot has taken a top product and made it even better with tighter control and a lower price!

The Control Center highly recommends the Nascar Pro Digital 2 Racing Wheel. It has a good price, great features and is easy to setup and use. What more could you ask for in a wheel?

Pros-

USB connection
Split or combined axis
Button programming option
Many buttons and shift options
Comfortable layout and wheel surface

Cons-

No force-feedback

Similar to-

Review date as printed on the original page. Images from the original page are not reproduced.

Thrustmaster Nascar Pro Digital 2 Racing Wheel