Logitech G29 / G920 Review – A Real User’s Guide

There are lots of brands in the sim racing gear market, and Logitech is one that is aimed more towards the beginner sim racer. Their equipment is relatively cheap, but it still does the job very well. The Logitech G29 is their most popular wheel, and it is one of the most popular for beginners.

The Logitech G29 is a great sim racing wheel for beginners, and it balances build quality very well with price and performance. It offers reasonable force feedback, realistic feel, and is highly compatible, but it is not the best choice for more experienced sim racers.

In this review I will go into detail about my own personal experience with the Logitech G29 for PS4, and why I think it is a great choice for beginner sim racers. I will also discuss the limitations of the G29, and what kind of things you should consider before you buy any sim racing wheel.

Overview Of The Logitech G29

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Budget Sim Racing Wheel

The Logitech G29/G920 is a budget sim racing wheel that is aimed at beginner sim racers. Although this is the case, I still believe it is a good sim racing wheel for anyone to try, as I myself bought this as a beginner and am now finding it to be holding up quite well even with a decent amount of experience under my belt.

The G29 is the version I have, as that is the one for PlayStation 4. The G920 is the same wheel but designed to be compatible with an Xbox One instead. You can buy the wheel and pedals as a set, but if you look around in the secondhand market you may find the wheel on its own for a lower price. You can also grab yourself a compatible gear shifter as well.

The Full Set

I bought all three, and so I will go into detail about each in this review. However, I will focus on the wheel and the pedals, as they are by far the most important parts. Just looking at the price and what you get, for a decent price you can pick yourself up a decent set of not just a wheel and pedals, but a gear shifter too, which is pretty much all a beginner needs for sim racing.

The focus here will be on the aspects of the setup that make it beginner friendly, but at the end of the article I will go over a few of the limitations of the wheel and a few reasons that you might want to opt for something else depending on your experience level. But before that, let’s take a closer look at the wheel and the pedals and why I believe this to be such good value for money.

Logitech G29 Review – How It Looks And Feels

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Basically The Same

Once again, I have the G29. The G920 does look slightly different, but not enough to warrant its own section here. Straight away, the wheel looks great. It has a lovely leather-style finish around the wheel rim that makes it feel nice and realistic, and it also looks great too. There is a nice blue band at the top too, which not only looks great, but it makes it easy to feel for the top of the wheel as well.

The wheel offers the usual buttons from the PS4 controller, along with some extra ones too. There are your usual trigger buttons but arranged on the front of the wheel rather than the back of the controller, and there are also plus and minus buttons too. These can be programmed in game to whatever you like, so it’s great to have some additional functionality.

Lots Of Functionality

There is a dial as well which spins 360^o, which can be used to adjust things on the fly, along with an enter button in the center. There is also the PS4 button, along with the regular share and options buttons too. But there are also two paddle shifters at the back, and these are, in my opinion, the best parts of the wheel physically.

These are made of metal, and they feel and look amazing. They give a satisfying click when they are pulled towards you, and they really make you feel like you are driving a race car. In between these on the front of the wheel is a nice extra feature too; a set of RPM lights. These lights up as you accelerate, giving a good guide on when to shift up and down.

Handy, But Not Essential

I haven’t found myself using these very often due to my setup and my playing style, as I find myself not paying attention to the lights when racing. However, it is still a handy feature, and one you see on the real steering wheels of some race cars, such as in F1. That’s it for the buttons, we then come to the setup of the wheel, which is very straightforward.

I bought myself a fairly cheap stand for my setup, but you really could get away with building your own or opting for a cheap one yourself. The wheel has a decent sized body, which attaches to whatever you have setup via two simple clamps. These are not the most secure, and they do offer a bit of wobble when just used on their own, but there are screw holes in the base for compatible stands.

Cable Management

There are two cables for the wheel; one for the power and one to plug into your PS4. It will also work with a PS3, as there is a switch on the back of the wheel to go between each one. There are various other ports underneath for pedals and gear shifters, and they are all kept well organized with some simple but effective cable management.

Speaking of pedals, it’s time to give a brief description of the way they look and feel too. At first glance, they look as you might expect, with their plastic base and fairly standard setup. They come as a set of three, complete with gas, brake and clutch. This makes them a versatile set, as you can use them manual style or map the clutch to a certain function in game.

Solid Construction

The pedal faces are made of metal with a few rubber spots on them for grip, and they can be moved to several different positions depending on your preference. They each have three horizontal positions to choose from, which makes it very handy if you find yourself accidentally bumping one of them while pressing another. There is no vertical or angular adjustment unfortunately.

They are potentiometer pedals too, which means they are the most basic form of sim racing pedals on the market. This does not mean they are not a good set of pedals, but I’ll talk more about the limitations of potentiometers in the last section. Overall, I have found each pedal to feel reasonable, but I have little to compare it to at the moment.

Pedal Adjustability

There is no amount of adjustment possible other than the horizontal positioning, but for beginners, this is all you really need. The base also has some screw holes which are handy if you want to secure the pedals to a compatible stand. They come with just one cable that plugs into the steering wheel, which minimizes the need for any extra cable management.

Finally, I will give a quick word on Logitech’s gear shifter. This can be picked up for around cheaply, and it offers six forward gears and a push down reverse gear too. I personally drive a manual in real life, so I quite enjoy using the gear shifter in games as well. But for most high-speed racing games you will usually find the paddle shifters to be more useful and much faster.

Nice, But Not Necessary

So, I wouldn’t say the gear shifter is a necessary add-on, unless you want to give stick shift a go or enjoy the feel of manually changing gears. I enjoy the novelty of it, and of course when you have it plugged in you don’t need to use it. It doesn’t take up too much space, but it doesn’t have the best attachment mechanism, so I strongly recommend getting yourself a decent stand to support it.

Overall, the set looks pretty good considering the low cost. It feels nice to use, and over time you will get used to it and really find what kind of setup works for you. The ease of use is ideal for beginners, but it doesn’t feel too cheap so to make you feel like you need an upgrade after two weeks of playing.

A Quick Disclaimer

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For Beginners

Once again, this is definitely a set geared more towards beginners. This usually means that the kind of person to buy the G29 is someone who has little to no experience with sim racing, at least not with a wheel setup. As a first-time sim racer, you will find the wheel to be a difficult thing to get the hang of, as it is quite a jump from a controller. Thus, I think a few disclaimers are needed.

The jump from a controller to a wheel will obviously be made easier if you can drive in real life, but even if you can, it still takes some time to get used to matching your actual movements with those in games. You will need to mess around with the camera settings along with the force feedback of the wheel to find a setup that works for you.

It Takes A Bit Of Getting Used To

I personally tend to use the bumper camera for example, as I find that has been a good balance of field of view and perception of speed. If you jump right into the helmet or cockpit view, especially if you have never tried it before with a controller, you might find it to be quite disorientating. If you do, don’t instantly think it is the fault of the wheel.

You will need to tinker with the settings and overall setup of the wheel and pedals to find something that is both accessible and comfortable enough for you. Beginners may find it easy to think the problem is with the setup rather than the way the game is setup. With that out of the way, how does it feel to use the G29 in games?

Logitech G29 Review – Force Feedback And Overall Performance

The strength and quality of the force feedback offered by a sim racing wheel is one of the most important things to consider before buying one. As a beginner however, you can probably focus a little less on this, as you will not have anything to compare things to. Thus, it is best to simply go for an option that balances price with performance, and that is something the G29 does well.

Gear-Driven Mechanism

The G29 is a gear-driven sim racing wheel, and this is a very basic mechanism that amplifies the torque of the motor via a set of cogs. You can read more about the different mechanisms within sim racing wheels by clicking here.  The gear mechanism is the cheapest, and thus the least technologically advanced. But for beginners, it is a perfectly fine choice.

You don’t need to pay attention to torque figures at this stage, as you will struggle to handle anything above 10Nm as a beginner anyway. The force feedback offered by the G29 can be fairly strong when the in-game settings are cranked up, but it functions very well on the low to mid settings, offering a realistic feel without too much opposing force.

A Bit Noisy

The one drawback I have found with the G29’s gear-driven mechanism is the clunking sound of the gears rubbing together, which sometimes happens when you spin off the track or experience major under or oversteer. This can sound like the wheel’s internals are falling apart, but it is unfortunately just what happens with a gear-driven mechanism.

It doesn’t necessarily take anything away from the experience, and more than anything it is just useful to know that the wheel is not broken! Under normal racing you won’t experience any of the clunking, and even when you do after one or two occasions you stop noticing it. Plus, you get better at the games, so you naturally should experience it less anyway!

I have played a lot of Gran Turismo Sport and Project Cars 2, and I have found the force feedback and overall feel of the wheel in these games to be brilliant. I have played around with some settings, and you will too, in order to find the optimum setup. But right out of the gates I found this to be a great way to get even more out of my favorite racing games versus playing with a controller.

Programmable Buttons

With all of the buttons on the wheel it is easy to program your favorite options to the ones that are most convenient for you, but the real highlight is the paddle shifter mechanism. The shifters feel amazing, and there is something extremely satisfying about the clicking sound of shifting up as you accelerate. As I said, I find these more usable than the external shifter.

So, what about the pedals? As I don’t tend to use the shifter, I usually don’t use the clutch pedal either. For this reason, I have made use of the adjustability of the pedals to move it further away from the brake, giving my feet more room. This has proved to be extremely handy, allowing me to effectively left foot brake without accidentally hitting the clutch and going into neutral.

Useful As An Extra Button

But when I have used the clutch it has felt good, and it is useful when mapped to an in-game function. An example of this is in Dirt 2.0, where I use it as a handbrake as I don’t have a handbrake add-on. The brake feels good, but as I improve, I realize that an upgrade to a set of load cell pedals will probably be on the cards soon.

The Brake Pedal

This is purely because I am getting reasonable at the games and finding that my braking could be an area of improvement. The G29 gives a reasonable feel for the brake, but once you get used to it you will probably start to notice a bit less realism than you are looking for. But for beginners, like myself when I bought the set, the brake pedal feels great and offers good resistance.

The Gas Pedal

The accelerator also feels good, and I have never had any problems with it. It offers a good feel and reasonable travel, and I can only imagine an upgraded pedal would be noticeably beneficial once I improve quite a lot more. The overall feel of the pedal faces is good too, but I find that they are best used with shoes on, as they don’t offer the most grip with just socks.

As an overall view of the performance in-game, the G29 does a solid job of giving the player a high level of realism, without overcomplicating things. The force feedback is decent and can be tuned with some in-game settings to your liking. The pedals also feel great and function well, and the small amount of adjustability that they do offer is more than enough for most beginners.

Limitations Of The Logitech G29/G920

The Mechanism

With all of the good things in mind, it is worth taking a look at the limitations of the wheel and pedal set. The first is obviously the gear-driven mechanism of the wheel. This limits not only the amount of force feedback that can be felt, but also the quality of it. You will lose a fair bit of detail, but again this is not going to be noticeable for a beginner with nothing to compare it to.

The same thing applies for the pedals. The lack of detail due to the potentiometer mechanism means that you will not get the same feel in the brakes as you would with a load cell set, but for the price this is not only to be expected, but also accepted. For a good price you get a decent set of pedals that, for a beginner, does the job perfectly well.

Extra Functionality

As you progress you will want to upgrade eventually, as you may even want more functionality and customization in both the wheel and the pedals. In my opinion the wheel has more than enough buttons even for an experienced sim racer, but there are plenty of options out there with far more for those that want maximum choice over their settings mid-race.

The pedals could do with a bit more adjustability, perhaps vertically for those that want a bit more control over their positioning. Angular adjustability is also fairly common among load cell pedals, but it is not something I personally have much desire for at the moment. This is really a limitation that will only be a deal breaker for those that need it.

More Adjustability

As for adjustability in the wheel itself, that is something rarely even seen on belt-driven wheels and is only usually common on direct drive options. Force feedback adjustments can be made in the game you are playing, and that is usually enough. But if you do feel the need for a bit more force, it could be worth going for something more expensive. So, who should buy the G29?

Who Should Buy The Logitech G29?

Perfect For Beginners

The Logitech G29 is definitely one for beginners, but more importantly it is for those on a tighter budget. There are load cell options out there for just a few hundred dollars extra, but for most beginners that should be something to consider later down the line. The price of this set really does more than justify itself with the features.

If you are someone who has never used a wheel before then this is the perfect option. But if you have already got some experience, perhaps with a belt-driven wheel and load cell pedals, this will most likely feel like a downgrade, and so I don’t recommend anyone in this situation to buy the G29. It is definitely not going to be enough for those with a lot of experience with better equipment.

Highly Compatible

One final thing to note about the G29 is its high level of compatibility. This is another thing that makes it very attractive for beginners, as it is compatible with most racing games on the market. It will work with most high-end racing simulators such as iRacing, as well as more simcade options, such as Gran Turismo Sport.

But it is also a good option if you prefer arcade racers, as these can be good ways to get into sim racing without too much complexity, and having a compatible wheel will make this even more valuable as an introduction. Even some simcade games can be too complex for absolute beginners, so the G29 bridges this gap for those that want to start off with something easier.

Final Thoughts

The Logitech G29/G920 sim racing wheel and pedal set is a great choice for beginner sim racers that are looking to get into one of the most popular gaming pastimes. While it has its limitations, it still offers a lot of realism and functionality for a entry-level budget. The wheel and pedals are compatible with most sim racing games, from arcade games through to high-end simulators.

Not only does the G29 look great, but it offers a good deal of functionality with reasonable force feedback and an overall realistic racing feel. It is well-built, and it should last you for years to come. I have found it to be very easy to get the hang of, and no matter what I decide to upgrade to in the future, I am definitely happy to have started out with the Logitech G29.

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1. Overall rating is based on a combination of validated user reviews.
2. This person is a professional racing driver within motorsport and/or esports.
3. We have manually checked this reviewer's identity and cleared their review for publication.
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5. How long the reviewer has been Sim Racing
6. How long the reviewer has owned the product
7. Judging the looks, the placement of features (e.g. buttons), and how easy it was to use.
8. How well the product performs, and the reliability of the performance.
9. Based on the materials used, and their durability.
10. How good the product is relative to the price paid.
11. This person is a professional racing driver within motorsport and/or esports.
12. We have manually checked this reviewer's identity and cleared their review for publication.
13. The reviewer verified that they have owned this product by providing a screenshot of their purchase confirmation, or a verification photo of the product.
14. How long the reviewer has been Sim Racing
15. How long the reviewer has owned the product
16. Judging the looks, the placement of features (e.g. buttons), and how easy it was to use.
17. How well the product performs, and the reliability of the performance.
18. Based on the materials used, and their durability.
19. How good the product is relative to the price paid.
20. We have manually checked this reviewer's identity and cleared their review for publication.
21. The reviewer verified that they have owned this product by providing a screenshot of their purchase confirmation, or a verification photo of the product.
22. How long the reviewer has been Sim Racing
23. How long the reviewer has owned the product
24. Judging the looks, the placement of features (e.g. buttons), and how easy it was to use.
25. How well the product performs, and the reliability of the performance.
26. Based on the materials used, and their durability.
27. How good the product is relative to the price paid.