PlayStation 4 Steering Wheel Buyers Guide 2020

Published 1/10/2020

If you've read the XBOX One Steering Wheel Buyers Guide then much of what you will read below will be the same or similar enough as all the steering wheel manufacturers built similar wheels for the two consoles.

The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is nearing its end of life but its price has dropped significantly and it features a good selection of driving games such as the Gran Turismo series, F1 2019, and Project Cars 2.  If you're into driving games you'll want to be using a steering wheel with force feedback (FFB).

There are many wheels available based on what you'll want to spend so we categorized them into 4 groups based mainly on price (USD) with Entry (up to $350), Consumer ($350-700), Enthusiast ($700-1200), and finally Professional ($1200+).  The great aspect of all the steering wheels listed is their support for the PC once you plan to move off the PS4.  None of the listed wheel bases support XBOX One.

You should look for a wheel base with at least 16 bit or 65K steps of resolution (number of zones for recognizing a change) and a pedal with at least 10 bit or 1024 steps of resolution. For example, a wheel base with 8 bit resolution has 256 steps so only if you move 1.4 degrees does it recognize the wheel has moved. Any lower than the recommended resolution and slight wheel adjustments or pedal press/release won’t be recognized.



Entry Level (up to $350)
At this price point, wheel bases feature small motors, older force feedback technology, and low enough steering or pedal resolution that may affect your driving.  Two steering wheels are available at this price range with differing set up.  Thrustmaster offers the T150 in two packages and Logitech with the G29.  The Logitech G920 uses an much older dual brushed motor, helical gear based force feedback, and only 8 bit resolution for the pedal.  Although the Thrustmaster T150 only has a 12 bit steering resolution, it uses a newer brushed motor with belt and gear force feedback.  For only $20-40 more for the Pro version with the 3 pedal T3PA over the 2 pedal and much cheaper than the G29, it's easy to recommend just going for the T150 RS Pro in this category.  What's really odd is the pricing of the T3PA shifter - it can be more expensive than the steering wheel, pedals, and wheel base packages.

Consumer Level ($350-700)
At the consumer level, all wheel bases utilize a brush less motor, dual belts for stronger, smoother force feedback, 16 bit wheel base resolution, and 10 bit pedal resolution.  At this price point and above, the steering wheels can be swapped with other steering wheels from the same manufacturer.  Thrustmaster offers their T300RS in several different packages such as the Alcantara edition, GT, or with the two pedal. The Thrustmaster F599XX EVO 30 Wheel Alcantara that comes with the Alcantara version is really nice with high quality materials but the package costs $200 more than the Pro.  If you can wait, the F599XX wheel has gone down to $99 but usually hovers at the $128 price range so I recommend buying the T300 RS GT then picking up the F599XX wheel by itself.

The Thrustmaster T-GT has a slightly stronger motor, external power brick, better cooling, full metal pedal arms, brushed metal pedal surface, and more metal on the wheel base than the T300RS GT.  If you primarily run Gran Turismo Sport, the T-GT features a extra vibration motor at the steering column for suspension and vibration efforts called T-DFB (depth feedback). Where you may run the T300 at 100% FFB you will get about the same on the T-GT at 75% FFB.  At this price point, the T3PA pedals are a real let down being position based brakes.  There's enough differences between the T300RS GT to the T-GT that it may be worth choosing the T-GT over the less pricey T300 if you get the lowest price. But at the median price of the T-GT, it’s better to move up to the CSL for the better pedals.

Enthusiast Level ($700-1200)
Featuring stronger motors and smoother force feedback but also similar brush less motor and dual belts found in the consumer level wheel bases.  The stand out improvement is the factory included load cell in the Fanatec CSL LC pedals which measures your pressure rather than position of the brake pedal to translate to the car and 12 bit or higher resolution pedals.  Unlike the XBOX One, if you prefer another steering wheel from Fanatec you can just buy another steering wheel without a need for a hub.

Professional Level ($1200+)
Here lies direct drive (DD).  No longer are small motors powering belts/gears to make you feel more than what the motor can really put out.  The motor is directly driving the shaft that connects the steering wheel.  These wheel bases are much stronger and provide levels of precision and subtle-ness that are unmatched.  Considering a PS4 can run for $200 USD and just the wheel base is 10 times that, you are probably going to want to switch over to PC where there's more control over the steering wheel, better flexibility of pedals and shifter you can use, and better force feedback in the titles. So if you're really serious about sim racing and just want to buy one and never really have to upgrade, Fanatec's Podium is the only DD that support PS4.

Conclusion
There are steering wheel sets available at various price points for everyone to get into racing on their PS4 and when they're ready, they can bring that same steering wheel onto the PC.

Although manufacturers sell you on their ecosystem, unless you jump to the Enthusiast level with Fanatec, you're stuck in the Entry/Consumer level with Thrustmaster and Logitech only has a shifter.  If you can jump right into Fanatec, it'll provide you the ability to interchange pedals, brakes, and steering wheels between their various wheel bases.