Thrustmaster T248 Wheel Kit Review

Final thoughts on the Thrustmaster T248 FFB wheel kit. Out of the box, this wheelbase feels very light. At almost 5lbs, I was expecting something with a bit more mass to it. Especially with Thrustmaster claiming a “power” increase of 70% over the T150 kit. This entire wheel kit is made from injection molded plastics. As are most at this price point. The steering wheel grip has plastic on the inside with a fake leather wrap on the top. The leather feels good but accentuates the different feel between the materials when gripped. The steering wheel has a surprisingly functional LCD screen. Where you can adjust FFB parameters, display options and more without having to go into driver menu on your PC. It worked without any dramas out of the box once the proper drivers were loaded. Another surprise here is the paddle shifters on the wheel. They have a nice tactile feel when actioned. The plastic levers do take something away from this feel, but not enough to keep from enjoying using them. But, with tactile feedback usually comes increased noise levels of the shifts. These shifters are loud, and this may cause issues for those who live in close quarters with others. Only you will know if your racing space can tolerate the increased noise. The included pedal set is the T3PM model. With a hall sensor like setup for position sensing instead of some cheap potentiometers. This should give longer life cycles and be easier to keep clean than the pots found on other pedal sets. The brake pedal had four different levels of resistance adjustments. It is easy to make changes to the stack. And even easier if you use some kind of lever tool to assist in removing it. I used the hardest resistance setting, which is the white elastomer with the black spring. In use, I found the pedals to achieve the kind of performance that most pedal sets at this price point deliver. I was able to get adjusted to the position based brake pedal and get some constant lap times posted. Still being a position based pedal, it will never be asconsistent feeling as a pressure based pedal. The T248 wheelbase did feel like it was delivering more power than the T150. Which is a welcome change for me. The belt to gear drive system brings a different feel that a system based solely on a belt, or gear driven setup. More fine detail than a belt drive, but without as much cogging that is present it a gear drive setup. You can still feel the gears meshing, just not as much. When turning laps with this wheel, I was able to get it to where I could be consistent. But even with the increased power levels of the T248, I was left wanting for more. Of course this is an entry level wheel and pedal kit, so there is only so much you can do at these price points. Overall, if you are looking for an entry level FFB wheel kit that you can use on a PC or PlayStation, I think most will be happy with the T248.