3DRap Lotus 98T Vintage Wheel Review

This wheel is one of two that are being offered by 3DRap from their “Vintage” line. Where they build their own replicas of F1 wheels used in not only the 98T F1 Lotus but also the MP4-4 F1 wheel in the
1988 McLaren car. Both driven by the legendary Aryton Senna. I did some research and found that the 98T wheel did look just like the one used in the real car, as did the MP4 wheel. The 98T I reviewed here is rather small coming in at 260mm in diameter. With the grips diameter measuring in at 100mm. But it is supposed to be the same size as the real one. The grip does feel good to me. Made from polyurethane and a cushy rubber material covered by what 3DRap calls eco leather. This wheel is hand stitched, and is not perfect when it comes to the stitching spacing as you follow the seam around
the wheel. But I could find no defects as far as loose threads and such. This is a rather hefty wheel for its size. Coming in at just over one kilo. Something to consider when buying it. When I asked
the guys at 3DRap about it they told me that a lighter solution is on the way via a new formula for the polyurethane mix that forms the rim. The knitter buttons on the wheel and the paddle shifter add on work well with no dramas. The paddle shifters also did a good job with no missed shifts. They are also rather quite which could be a plus for those who want that. When driving the wheel I started to remember how fast the steering is when using one this small. It also lends itself well to catching over-steer events quickly. I did enjoy this when driving both the 79 lotus and the Ferrari 488. There was good reason the F1 cars of the day were using this small round wheel. Overall I came away with a positive feeling about this wheel. It is minimalistic when it comes to the available button functions, but I guess
Senna didn’t need a lot of buttons to go fast back in the day.