Rating: 
Summary: Could be better with a little more development effort
Review: I've gotten two of these, the first one as a gift for my stepfather (who is a huge NASCAR fan) and one for myself courtesy of my wife for Christmas (I'm becoming a NASCAR fan). I couldn't get the software to install on my stepfather's Dell Dimension tower system (Windows Millenium Edition), nor to get the OS to manually recognize the wheel through the Control Panel, but when I loaded "NASCAR Racing 4" by Sierra Sports, the game recognized and calibrated the wheel without any fuss and it worked just fine. Two days later when I set up my own wheel on my Dell Dimension tower system with Windows ME, the software installed just fine and the wheel was recognized by the OS. I was happily surprised. Then when I installed "NASCAR Racing 4", the game wouldn't recognize the wheel and wanted to keep using the CH Combatstick that was plugged into the gameport on the soundcard. I found that the only way to get the wheel to work was to have the OS not recognize the Combatstick, so that the game would see only the wheel (there were no other controllers attached to my stepfather's PC). Once that was done, the game and wheel worked fine. When I get ready to fly a flight sim, I'll have to reinstall the Combatstick again, which isn't too difficult but is annoying as its just one more step to perform before playing Combat Flight Sim 2, my favorite flight sim. My Sidewinder wheel came with a free game (Midtown Madness 2), but my stepfather's came with a rebate, so I suspect that I have newer software than he does. Next time I'm at his house I'll bring my disk and reload his wheel to see if that resolves what is now a moot problem. The Sidewinder wheel's software includes a schematics feature for games that allows you to map functions to certain buttons. I never really used this, as all of my driving games have the same utilities (Need For Speed 3; Need For Speed Porsche Unleashed; NASCAR Racing 4; Midtown Madness 2; Viper Racing; and F1 2000). Maybe some people would use it, but it was just an unused feature to me. After a week's worth of racing around Daytona International Speedway, Watkins Glen, Pocono, Sears Point, and Indianapolis in NASCAR Racing 4, and various other tracks in the other games, I noticed that the wheel's shaft is starting to loosen up such that the wheel feels loose on the spindle, which raises concerns about construction quality and the longevity of the product. I suppose that once the plastic housing comes apart I can put my handyman skills to work and build my own wheel using a real automobile wheel, a wooden console, and the Sidewinder electronics, but I would rather not get that serious about sim racing just yet. A couple of things I dislike with the product is the design of the pedal base. The brake and gas pedals are sprung very tight, which is good, but the base needs to be longer to resist flipping forward when the pedals are pressed. The connection cord to the PC could be a foot longer, so that I can run the cord under and behind my big executive desk rather than in front and on top of it, where it gets tangled up with the mouse cord. The edges of the pedals themselves are sharp and could cut skin if you aren't careful. I plan to take mine into the garage and sand them down with a Dremel hobby tool to soften the edges a bit. As an alternative, try the Thrustmaster and Logitec product lines. They usually compare very well to offerings from Microsoft and have more features at a better price. When this Sidewinder wheel falls apart, I'll probably go with a different manufacturer. *** Update: January 28, 2004. I've had the wheel for awhile now and no problems at all! All of the new driving game work fine. I've ditched the old gameport joystick I was using and now am all-USB, which has the benefit in that I can use my CH Pro Pedals with the MS Sidewinder steering wheel. The MS pedals are off to the side, still plugged in, but not being used. EA Sports' F1 series and the NASCAR Racing games by Papyrus recognize the CH pedals/MS steering wheel without any problems at all, including customization of the buttons. The steering shaft isn't any looser than it was after the first few weeks of use, so I guess it just needed a break-in period. One advantage of the all-plastic construction: no rubbery smell on your hands. :) Overall, the wheel works as advertised and I haven't upgraded because it can do everything I need it to do. Not a bad deal for the money.
Rating: 
Summary: Windows 2000 and the Precision Racing Wheel
Review: The sidewinder precision racing wheel is by far a very good deal for the price. I originally bought one for my brother, and after testing it i ended up buying two more. I have read some complaints about the functionality of the wheel, but I have not experienced ANY problems with it at all! Considering the fact that i have installed it on 3 different machines without a problem, i feel that some of the complaints may be due to improper installation and/or configuration of a user's pc. The pedal unit is very solidly built, and does not slide when pressing on the brake or accelerator. The wheel itself is highly configurable with the software to accomodate the user's preferences. Overall, an excellent piece of hardware!
Rating: 
Summary: A very solid wheel and good performer
Review: The sidewinder precision racing wheel is by far a very good deal for the price. I originally bought one for my brother, and after testing it i ended up buying two more. I have read some complaints about the functionality of the wheel, but I have not experienced ANY problems with it at all! Considering the fact that i have installed it on 3 different machines without a problem, i feel that some of the complaints may be due to improper installation and/or configuration of a user's pc. The pedal unit is very solidly built, and does not slide when pressing on the brake or accelerator. The wheel itself is highly configurable with the software to accomodate the user's preferences. Overall, an excellent piece of hardware!
Rating:
Summary: Great product, great price!
Review: This wheel was really easy to setup. Simple usb connection and you're off to race. Great software to customize the buttons for any particular game. A nice feel and design in this wheel.
Rating: 
Summary: Problems with Microsoft Racing Wheel.
Review: This wheel works very well, when it works. Installation was easy, and I was very happy with the wheel the first few times I used it. After that, my machine would not recognize the device. I am running a Dell 1GHz with 128MB and an NVIDIA GeForce Ultra with 64 MB. I know my way around computers, but nothing would get the device to work again. Now I find that this is not an uncommon problem. I feel as if Microsoft has once again slipped one over on us.
Rating:
Summary: seems ok
Review: Thought I'd pass along a few things I discovered, maybe saving others a bit of pain.
I never could find the "schemes" they talk about, but I think it doesnt matter, cuz most games have there own setup screens. Wasted time trying to get Sidewinder listed as first gaming device in control panel(gaming options?)
Dont waste your time. Just unplug your other gaming devices(joystick, gamepad..) and things should be ok. That's the beauty of USB- easily connected, easily disconnected-even when PC is on.
Clamp for clamping to table seems pretty good. Wheel has a bit of play , rocks in and out just a bit.This doesnt affect gameplay, but could this mean I'll have a problem later? Maybe I'll go to store and see if other brands have same problem. PEDALS: stiff action, which is what u want, I think. Dont wanna have wimpy pedals where its hard to control accelerator. This is first wheel I've ever used, so I cant compare this wheel to others.
Pedals do need to be secured down, they slide away from you. Look on underside of pedal platform, make sure to tuck the cord safely into one of the grooves they provide on the bottom, else you'll end up with pedal platform eventually wearing its way thru the cord.
Physical setup is a snap. Disappointed that I clicked on links in the provided software to get help at Microsoft site. I think theyve changed the site somewhat, didnt find what I was looking for. You can find some troubleshooting tips at site, tho.
Havent decided whether I'll keep it or return it yet. May well keep it.
Rating:
Summary: seems ok
Review: Thought I'd pass along a few things I discovered, maybe saving others a bit of pain.
I never could find the "schemes" they talk about, but I think it doesnt matter, cuz most games have there own setup screens. Wasted time trying to get Sidewinder listed as first gaming device in control panel(gaming options?)
Dont waste your time. Just unplug your other gaming devices(joystick, gamepad..) and things should be ok. That's the beauty of USB- easily connected, easily disconnected-even when PC is on.
Clamp for clamping to table seems pretty good. Wheel has a bit of play , rocks in and out just a bit.This doesnt affect gameplay, but could this mean I'll have a problem later? Maybe I'll go to store and see if other brands have same problem. PEDALS: stiff action, which is what u want, I think. Dont wanna have wimpy pedals where its hard to control accelerator. This is first wheel I've ever used, so I cant compare this wheel to others.
Pedals do need to be secured down, they slide away from you. Look on underside of pedal platform, make sure to tuck the cord safely into one of the grooves they provide on the bottom, else you'll end up with pedal platform eventually wearing its way thru the cord.
Physical setup is a snap. Disappointed that I clicked on links in the provided software to get help at Microsoft site. I think theyve changed the site somewhat, didnt find what I was looking for. You can find some troubleshooting tips at site, tho.
Havent decided whether I'll keep it or return it yet. May well keep it.
Rating:
Summary: A great racing wheel!
Review: WE bought this for our son for Christmas last year and we haven't been disappointed. It's not difficult to program to any game you want to play and it clamps on the desk in such a way that it doesn't move at all. Though a little pricey, it is definitely worth the money if you're looking for a good racing wheel. We had bought another racing wheel before this one and it was junk. We couldn't get the pedals to work and compared to this one, it was [poorly built]. Microsoft makes a great product. We also own the Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback Pro joystick and that has held up wonderfully for 4 years now. We've gotten a lot of use out of both of them and I recommend them if you're looking for a wheel or a joystick.
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