What Is Force Feedback In Sim Racing? (Simple Explanation)

Whenever you’re scouring the internet looking for sim racing wheels, you will notice the constant use of the term force feedback. This can leave many beginners wondering what it means and whether they need it in their setup.

Force feedback is the resistance and force provided by many sim racing wheels to try and simulate a realistic driving experience. With the use of a motor in the wheel, force feedback offers users more information about the car’s behavior than a controller can provide.

Not all sim racing wheels have force feedback, although we always recommend getting one that has it. In this article, we will further explain how force feedback can improve your experience, while also discussing the different types of force feedback you can get.

What Does Force Feedback Mean?

Force feedback is a term used to refer to the resistance and force provided by certain sim racing wheels. Force feedback wheels are designed to simulate real-world driving, reacting to bumps in the road, curbs, and changes in traction between the wheels and the tarmac. Force feedback wheels will also behave differently depending on the way that you take on a corner.

For example, if you take a sharp corner too fast, the wheel will provide lots of counter resistance, making it tough to turn the wheel, as it would be in real life. It’s these cues that help you to learn the limitations of the car and the intricacies of the track, giving you a better chance of improving your driving consistency. It will also improve your enjoyment of sim racing!

Without having a full motion system installed, taking up most of the room and costing an absolute fortune, using force feedback wheels and a good set of pedals is the next best thing for the average sim racer to own if they want to feel like they are behind the wheel of a real race car.

How Force Feedback Is Created

Detail heavy games such as iRacing have a large database algorithmic models taken from real life car data. This is combined with tire data, including tire wear, grip levels, and temperatures, and track data, like tarmac temperature, bumps and potholes, and even rubber marks on the surface. During your race, the game will be sending this information to your wheel’s software.

Your wheel base’s internal driver will process this information, as well as upsampling it (filling in any missing data that the game isn’t quick enough to send). As the motor in the wheel base is capable of working faster than the rate at which the game can send it information, upsampling is vital to ensure a smooth experience without any gaps or lag in the force feedback. This process is called interpolation.

High Quality vs Cheap

Higher quality wheel bases will be able to achieve this process at a faster rate than cheaper products, which will allow for stronger and more detailed force feedback. Ultimately, the hardware drivers inside the wheel base are designed to translate information from the game’s software, turning it into fully functioning force feedback.

There are three main types of force feedback used in sim racing, and each type has different characteristics and comes at a different price point. We take a look at each type in the next section.

The 3 Types Of Force Feedback In Sim Racing

1. Gear-Driven Force Feedback

Gear-driven force feedback is usually seen as the entry point into force feedback wheels. It relies on a small motor within the mechanism that shifts through gears, creating force feedback effects in the process. This force feedback is unlikely to be very strong, especially when you compare it to a direct drive system. However, it provides an insight into force feedback technology for a low price.

Gear-driven force feedback systems are noisier than the other two types due to the constant moving of gears within the wheel base. Users of gear-driven wheels are also likely to experience the occasional grinding of the gears inside the mechanism, which is both uncomfortable and reduces the lifespan of the product. It’s unlikely you’ll want to keep a gear-driven wheel forever, but they’re a good starting point.

The Best Gear-Driven Force Feedback Wheel

2. Belt-Driven Force Feedback

Belt-driven force feedback offers a step up from gear-driven systems, usually at a slightly (or much) higher price. Feedback is provided via the use of a belt and pulleys inside the system, which provide resistance and vibrations. Those transitioning from gear to belt-driven force feedback will likely notice an improvement in the strength and smoothness of the force feedback.

The reduction in noise is also noticeable, and the consistency of performance will be enhanced as there are no clunky gears inside the system. The internal belts are prone to wear over long periods of time, especially if you like the settings cranked up to the maximum that the wheel will allow. They can also run hot too, with many wheel bases requiring internal fans.

The Best Belt-Driven Force Feedback Wheel

3. Direct Drive Force Feedback

Direct drive is the top level of sim racing force feedback. Direct drive wheel bases are capable of producing over ten times the strength of some gear and belt-driven wheels, taking you closer to the feeling of driving a real car. When using a direct drive setup, you’ll be attaching a steering wheel directly to an electric motor, which is often capable of producing up to 20+ Nm of torque.

As direct drive is the best of the best, it inevitably comes with a higher price tag than gear and belt-driven wheels (although there are some cheap options like the MOZA R5 wheel base and the Fanatec CSL DD). Direct drive systems are aimed at those who are a bit further along in their sim racing journey and are looking to take their setup to the next level.

The Best Direct Drive Wheel Bases

Do You Need Force Feedback For Sim Racing?

You need force feedback for sim racing if you want an immersive, realistic experience, but the real answer to this question depends on what you want to get out of sim racing. If you’re just looking for a fun alternative to a controller, and have a very low budget, you may not need force feedback.

If you want the most immersive experience possible, then force feedback is necessary as it will help replicate the feel of a real car, especially if you invest in a direct drive setup. However, if you’re a casual racer and just want to use a cheap wheel instead of a controller, it isn’t necessary.

The same can be said if you are buying a wheel as a gift for a young child, or someone who is getting into sim racing for the very first time. Wheels without any force feedback are cheaper and offer a risk-free introduction into the hobby. They are designed for ‘plug-and-play’ style racing, and don’t have all the complications that come with more expensive products.

If you do plan on taking sim racing seriously in any way, then we recommend you go for a force feedback option, even if it is the lowest level of force feedback. This will instantly boost your level of immersion and help you to catch the sim racing bug that little bit easier!

The Best Non-Force Feedback Sim Racing Wheels

The Benefits Of Force Feedback

Force feedback can benefit your performance during races. While it may not necessarily make you drive faster on its own, it will give you more information about how the car feels on the track, as well as more cues regarding the way you are driving and whether you’re actually in control of it. Force feedback wheels certainly help you maintain a higher level of consistency around the track.

As force feedback wheels are more expensive, they are often made to a better standard, with better quality materials used in the manufacturing process making them more durable overall. They usually feature better electronics too, with more precision in the sensors and other components allowing you to be more accurate with your inputs around the track.

So, while you may not need force feedback in order to enjoy sim racing, it will without a doubt greatly enhance your overall experience, being the more immersive and realistic option. It will also help you with consistency during races, as well as enhancing your ability to learn about the intricacies of the track and the car you are driving.

KEY POINTS

• Force feedback adds a new layer of immersion to racing games

• There are 3 main types, with direct drive being the best

• While you don’t need force feedback, we always recommend it for the best experience

What Is The Cheapest Force Feedback Wheel?

The cheapest force feedback wheel is the Logitech G29/G920. The G29/G920 is a gear-driven force feedback wheel and pedal set, which is perfect for those who want to keep the cost of their sim racing setup to a minimum. The force feedback isn’t that strong, but there will always be a limit to the strength of gear-driven mechanisms.

For a reasonably low price, the G29/G920 feels great to use, with its leather wrap and metal paddle shifters, and it feels like a premium product without the premium price tag. It has gained a reputation of being the ideal wheel for beginners, partly because it comes as a wheel and pedal bundle, but also because it is one of very few entry level wheels that come with force feedback.

Force Feedback & Logitech’s TRUEFORCE Feature

Logitech first implemented their glitzy, all-capitalized TRUEFORCE feature into their G923 wheels – essentially the upgraded edition of the G29/G920. TRUEFORCE is designed to replicate the vibrations that you would feel in the chassis of a real race car. It triggers vibrations throughout the wheel rim that work in accordance not only with the track surface, but also the game’s audio output.

The louder your car’s engine, the stronger the vibration you will feel in the wheel. If your game has more intense physics, it will also lead to stronger vibrations in the wheel. While TRUEFORCE is a great idea, the system doesn’t always feel natural, and the constant vibrations can lead to your hands feeling numb. It is a feature that will likely be improved in the future to greater effect.

Note: Logitech’s TRUEFORCE feature isn’t available in all sim racing games.

Simucube’s Force Feedback Pedal

Force feedback isn’t a feature solely confined to racing wheels, as is evident with Simucube’s force feedback pedal. The Simucube Active Pedals are the first of their kind, featuring a rotating gear and a servo motor, which produce a fully active force feedback pedal. This means you’ll feel every rumble and shake beneath your feet, as if you were in a real race car.

The pedal is fully adjustable, and it can be used as a brake, accelerator, or clutch pedal. You can also adjust the resistance of the pedal as you push it down, allowing you to find the exact feel you’re aiming for. But it’s the force feedback features of these pedals that make them stand out from the crowd.

Unique Force Feedback Effects

Whereas most pedals will allow you to change the load capacity and other technical features, the Active Pedals are designed to help you become fully immersed in the game. They feature ABS and RPM feedback, both of which can be altered to match the car that you are driving. This will give you a far more realistic portrayal of the car’s behavior, simulating its real-life characteristics.

The pedals use telemetry-based force feedback effects, which work alongside the data being presented by the game, giving you real-time force feedback. Simucube have strayed away from using degradable parts such as springs, oil and hydraulic fluids, which are commonplace in many high-end pedal sets, making the Active Pedals perfect for long-term use.

These pedals are of course very expensive as a result of all this exciting technology, but it’ll be interesting to see how many other manufacturers create a set of force feedback pedals in the future. Watch this space!

How Do You Know Which Force Feedback Settings To Use?

Achieving the correct force feedback settings depends on your racing style and the limitations of your wheel. However, there are a few key settings that everyone should consider when configuring their force feedback setup, as they will have a big impact on the way that your wheel will behave during races. Note that specific settings vary from game to game, and between wheels too.

Force Feedback Strength

The most obvious setting is the strength of your force feedback. This will dictate the peak torque outputted by the wheel and the weight that you feel when turning it. Have it too low and you won’t be able to feel much of the detail being provided to you, but have it too strong and the wheel will feel heavy and unresponsive, as well as leaving you vulnerable to clipping (more on that soon).

Most sim racers will want their force feedback edging towards the maximum output that their wheel or wheel base will allow, taking into account whether they are using gear or belt-driven feedback or direct drive. The main thing to consider is whether the wheel still feels comfortable to use late on into a race. It will take some experimenting to find the right levels for you.

Note: You can usually change your force feedback strength on the wheel itself and in-game.

Damper & Damper Effect

The damper setting is responsible for eradicating any strange wheel movements, such as unnatural left to right movements after a crash, or unwanted vibrations down long straights. If you turn up the damper settings too high, it will reduce your wheel’s ability to deal with fast inputs, as well as adding extra resistance to your wheel.

Damper effect works very similarly to the natural damper setting, just to a lesser extent. It won’t change the feel of your wheel if it is turned up to the maximum, but it will take care of any remaining vibrations to smooth out any potential rough edges.

Linearity

If turned on, the linearity setting will compress the range of force feedback to help accommodate less powerful wheels to align the torque levels with the torque levels of the car in the game. This will only be necessary for those who use gear or belt-driven wheels, rather than direct drive systems.

Friction & Inertia

The amount of friction that you apply to the wheel will determine how difficult it will feel to turn. The higher the setting the more resistant the wheel will be, and the more sensitivity you will lose. As the strength of the wheel already has a setting of its own, it is usually best to keep friction low, unless you like your wheel to be as heavy as possible.

Your inertia setting will vary depending on the way you like to drive. Fans of drifting will want to set the inertia high as it will help the wheel to return to its central state with greater ease. Standard track racers won’t need inertia to be too high.

Force Effect Intensity

Force effect intensity will help to determine how strong the force feedback details will feel, without changing the resistance of the wheel. If you have it high you will feel the nuances of the track, as well as tire grip, weight transfer, and other car details, to a higher level. However, if you set it too high, you may risk the details feeling unnatural and off-putting.

What Is Force Feedback Clipping?

Force feedback clipping occurs when the game outputs more force than your wheel can handle. As a result, force feedback dead zones are created, meaning you’ll lose the feel of the wheel when the game demands too much force feedback. It happens when the force feedback is turned up too high in-game.

Think of it like using a speaker – there is a sweet spot in terms of volume, where you can hear everything in perfect clarity, but if you turn it up too loud, it will distort, and you will be compromising on sound quality. The force feedback sweet spot will vary depending on your particular setup, meaning you’ll have to do a little experimenting to find the right level.

If your force feedback is clipping, you will notice a wide area of the wheel will still be providing torque and resistance, just without the usual detail that force feedback usually offers. This will leave the wheel feeling heavy, numb and unsatisfying to use. Essentially, once the force feedback has reached its limit, it won’t be able to produce any of its usual effects.

How To Prevent Force Feedback Clipping

The most obvious way to prevent force feedback clipping would be to turn your force feedback settings to low in the game (not on your wheel), but this can ultimately compromise your experience, especially if you prefer stronger resistance when racing. A lot of titles will have a metering system that will allow you to alter the strength of the game’s force feedback.

For example, on iRacing you can press the ‘F’ key during a race to bring up the force feedback settings menu, which will alert you when your force feedback is clipping. Assetto Corsa has a similar feature in the form of a mod. If your game of choice doesn’t have this, then you can test the limits of your wheel manually, adjusting the settings when you feel any dead zones.

Is More Force Feedback Always Better?

More force feedback is not always better, as the quality of the force feedback is also important to consider. While some may prefer stronger force feedback, if you go too far, you risk losing the immersive features that force feedback offers.

If you have the force feedback set too strong, the wheel will feel heavy and unresponsive, making the racing more tiring than rewarding. This is without mentioning the risk of the force feedback clipping if you go over your wheel’s maximum limits.

Force feedback highlights plenty of intricate details, such as loose bits of gravel on the track, or marbling on the tires as they start to wear. If you have your force feedback settings too high, you won’t be able to feel these details over the top of the heavy resistance being provided.

Force feedback has a sweet spot, in which it feels at its most realistic and immersive. This sweet spot isn’t usually found towards the very highest force feedback levels. Ultimately, if you have too much force feedback it will detract from your wheel’s overall performance, dampening your in-game experience.

KEY POINTS

• With force feedback, it’s not always a case of “more is better”

• The quality of the force feedback is also important

• Experimenting with the settings in your games will help you understand what feels best for you

Which Sim Racing Games Have The Best Force Feedback?

Assetto Corsa

Known for its impeccable game physics and attention to detail, Assetto Corsa has cemented its place among the top sim racing titles since its release in 2014. The developers have struck a real sweet spot in terms of force feedback, supplying accurate and detailed information about the race, without overwhelming players with excessive output.

One of the strongest features of Assetto Corsa’s force feedback is the impressive optimization for lower-end hardware, such as the Logitech G29/G920 wheel. This makes it a great title to start out on if you are a beginner or are yet to upgrade your setup. This doesn’t mean the game is simplistic, as high-end wheels will also benefit from the excellent force feedback.

Assetto Corsa also has a detailed force feedback settings menu, which will enable you to customize the feel of your wheel down to the finest of details. There are also downloadable mods available to ensure that you can prevent force feedback clipping and get the best out of your wheel.

iRacing

iRacing is often regarded as the top sim racing title by many within the community, and for good reason. The developers pride themselves on their competitive online races as well as their realistic car physics. This realism is helped greatly by the detail provided by force feedback. Each car feels different to drive and will offer unique force feedback outputs.

Much like Assetto Corsa, iRacing is an older title, but it has been constantly evolving since its release in 2008, meaning it has stayed up to date with the latest force feedback technology. The force feedback is optimized throughout the quality spectrum, with gear-driven systems working effectively, as well as high-end direct drive systems.

As you’d expect from a game as detailed as iRacing, there is an in-depth force feedback settings menu too, as well as the option to pull up the force feedback levels mid-race. This will let you see if your force feedback is clipping without having to test it extensively. iRacing’s force feedback is capable of providing highly detailed data back to drivers for an immersive racing experience.

Final Thoughts

Force feedback is what makes sim racing feel like you’re really in the cockpit of a race car. It allows you to feel the bumps in the track and when you’re losing traction in your tires, and it provides a level of immersion that a non-force feedback wheel or a controller just cannot match.