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I've had this wheel for a few days now and I thought I'd post a review because some of the early information about this wheel has been misleading and I almost didn't buy it based on that information.

I also have a DFP and a G25 in the house and I have had both hooked up in the last few days to compare. I'll only compare to wheels that are currently in the house because as I found out my views of the G25 were incorrect even a short time after removing it from my rig, because we have two rigs I have been able to test all the wheels side by side.

I paid AUD275 for the wheel and I also purchased the shifter for AUD50 which is on back order. This works out to $198 USD for the wheel and $36 USD for the shifter at today's exchange rates.

Out of the box

The wheel uses a similar base to the G25. The wheel looks more like a toy compared to the G25 (and G27) IMO simply because of the buttons and playstation branding. As everyone would already be aware it looks like a wheel with a playstation controller hacked to it. I don't like the blue buttons on it or the red dial or the Playstation branding but none of that bothers me. I chose this over what I think is a better looking G920 simply because of the functionality. I do like the blue indicator at the top of the rim.

The Pedals look great. They look similar to my G25 pedals but are black where the G25 pedals are red which I like. They have the same spacers as the G27 pedals I believe.

Construction looks to be good quality but if I'm picky the red dial looks and feels cheap and tacky and there are a couple of threads in the stitching that stick out a tiny bit and in general the stitching is not the same quality of previous Logitech G wheels.

Mounting points are the same as the G25/G27.

Plugging it in and Logitech Gaming Software

I tried it with the old LGS that David said his worked with but it was not recognised so I downloaded the latest LGS. It works in either PS3 or PS4 mode. The software is straight forward and easy to use. The only things you can adjust on the wheel are degrees of rotation up to 900 degrees and sensitivity which is best left at the default 50%. In the latest LGS it no longer has the shift functionality which allows older wheels to have a second function assigned to each button however the LGS is much more user friendly as everything is only a click or two away and available from the same window. LGS loads quicker now, profiles are easier than ever although I simply use a persistent profile. Button assignments and macros are also easier than ever. Firmware update if they are ever released can now be performed directly from LGS.

Also I'll jump ahead a little here. The red dial registers for each click in the LGS but not in iRacing with default settings. To get the red dial to register each click and actually be usable you need to assign a key press to each side in the LGS. Once this has been performed everything on the wheel works in iRacing.

Using the Wheel

Something I saw posted by David earlier was his G29 is a lower resolution than his G920 but it seems he may have got an early prototype because my wheel has the same resolution of 65535 as his G920 does.

The first thing I noticed is the paddles are much nicer than my G25, they have a nice feel and a much more positive click to them and they seem to have a shorter throw. However the paddles do feel a little sharp on the back edges and this bothered me a little at first as I have a healing burn on my finger.

The reach of many of the buttons isn't great, this is to be expected with so many buttons on the wheel but I have short fingers and I think some of the buttons could have been better placed for ease of use.

Some of you might have seen some of my early comments about the FFB and dead zone but now that I've compared my wheels side by side I have changed my opinion. This wheel seems to have the same amount of dead zone as previous G25/G27 wheels (I know this because I have previously compared my G25 to a G27). My G25 is old and worn, it is loose, it is held together by glue and big screws as it is broken and was falling apart inside and it chatters and is noisy, but all this makes it feel great. When I first used the G29 I noticed how quiet and smooth it is and I'm guessing that is why I noticed the dead zone which I never notice in my G25 but testing them side by side they have the same dead zone, the difference is the G25 chatter and looseness hides it well so I don't notice it. With my current settings I only notice the dead zone if I quickly pass the center of the wheel like in a correction but only if I am thinking about it so it is no longer an immersion breaker for me. Because the wheel is new it isn't as loose as my G25, this makes my G25 feel a little stronger and a little more direct than the G29. However after a few days with the G29 I now prefer it and will not be switching back. Much to my sons disappointment because he wanted the G29.

I race with headphones so the noise is not something I normally hear however I dropped the headphones to listen for noise. There is a small amount of typical Logitech noise with this wheel which I suspect with use will increase over time as the wheel loosens up but the noise is not something that would bother me personally and I doubt I'd even notice it unless I was listening for it but it might bother someone who has been using a quiet belt driven wheel. This it by far the quietest of the 3 wheels I have in the house. One thing I want to point out is the noise does not come close to the videos I have seen of this wheel, I think those guys must have mounted a mic directly to the wheel in those.

I was disappointed by the shift lights, I really thought these would be a great feature and they are but being so low they are out of the line of sight. I wish these were on the top of the rim. At the moment I can see them out of the corner of my eye so I shift when they go out and this seems like a goo time to shift so I think my shifting has become more consistent and improved as the G25 has no shift light and the way my rig is set up the wheel blocked the on dash shift lights of the BMW so I've been shifting based on the sound of the engine up until now.

Using the Pedals

These are the stand out feature. I'm sure you have read about the new brake and sensors but these small changes completely transform these pedals. I'd recommend spending a few more dollars over a G27 just to get these pedals. They are great and I really can't imagine needing anything else.

First the bad. The go pedal has too soft a spring in it but that's an easy fix, I'll just swap the gas and clutch like I did in my G25 pedals. Well that isn't true for how I currently have my G25 pedals as the original brake spring is now in my gas pedal as I modded the brake with different springs.

I always loved my brake mod on my G25 pedals until I got these pedals and now I can't go back. The brake is fantastic, it is so easy to modulate my brake pressure now and it immediately improved my braking and lap times. I was blown away by this because there was no adjustment period, I was better as soon as I plugged them in. Now when I use the G25 pedals they are so disappointing I feel I need to improve them for my son even though he loves them.

It is common knowledge how mod-able Logitech pedals have been but with these pedals for many people I think there will be no need to modify them any more, they are now great out of the box.

Shifter

Reserved for when I get it.

Conclusion

I think this is a great package. I wouldn't pay retail for it but like the previous wheels I knew these would be discounted and my prediction for the discounted price turned out to be bang on. In Australia on discount these sell for ~AUD50 more than the discounted G27 or ~AUD100 more if you buy the shifter as well. At this price this package is a no brainer against the G27, I'd pay that much more just to get the pedals, actually I'd pay the $275 just to get the pedals and consider the wheel a freebie but I also think the G29 is a better wheel than the previous Logitech wheels.

I'm not going to compare it to a Thrustmaster wheel other than to say in Australia a T300 is $495 with the standard 2 pedal set so personally that is why I went for the Logitech because it is cheaper and has better pedals. The new Thrustmaster package which has not been released yet if it comes to Australia will likely be another $200 over this price and personally now that I have tried the G29 I would find it hard to justify spending over $400 more to get the Thrustmaster package.

These comparisons may differ in other countries but if you can find the G29 for a good price I recommend it.

Pros
Great Pedals with excellent brake
Pedals are as mod-able as ever but most will be happy with stock
Buttons (lots) on wheel
Rotary dial
Good quality
Great paddles
Nice FFB
Great price and value on special
Excellent software

Cons
Dead zone (similar to previous Logitech wheels)
Some noise (not a lot)
Console wheel looks more like a toy compared to many other wheels
Shifter is extra
Gas pedal is soft (but this can be easily improved)
Perhaps not the best deal at retail price

I think that's it but I may add to this if I think of more and I'll review the shifter when I get it and add it to this post.

 

Steve commented separately on settings:
(Note from Ed: FFB changes for 2016s1 - noted on FFB page)

I don't know if you have this on your site but few people know about the FFB settings in the app.ini file especially the damper settings which I think are actually pretty good if set to 1 (inertia) in the app.ini file, of course it would need to be on in the wheel profile and in the app because the app only gives you a percentage of what you define in the wheel profile. There is also the minimum force setting in the app.ini with a sharp and smooth setting, I use the smooth setting, David recommends the sharp setting for Logitech wheels but I recommend people experiment because it seems different people like different things. For example many people like non linear FFB but I can't drive with it and switching to Linear instantly made me better, switching it off instantly makes me worse.