Thrustmaster Ferrari SF1000 Wheel Review

Final thoughts on the SF1000 Formula wheel from Thrustmaster. Out of the box, the SF1000 presents as well put together unit. I found no defects in the materials used or fit and finish. The wheel feels solid in hand. This due to the 3mm carbon plate that spans the entirety of the wheel, including the grips. And the cast aluminum support structure inside the wheel. I could still feel minor flex when twisting the wheel. But had to use a lot of force to make it happen. The rubber grips have sharp drop off on the insides. Which lets your fingertips get a good grip on the wheel. The rubber coating provide plenty of grip even when my hands got sweaty. This wheel is a replica wheel. Constructed to mimic the actual wheel used in a real Ferrari F1 car as best they can at the intended price point. The buttons have a tactile click when actioned. Personally, I like a button to have this type of feature. Although, buttons that don’t still do the same job. I didn’t care for the decals on the buttons, but do see where they are necessary to keep inline with the real wheels details here. The encoders have good detent spacing and a proper amount of resistance when
turned. The knobs and dials are made of a cheap looking and feeling plastic, but again do get the job done. The four encoders on the left and right also have a button press feature. I found it easy to accidentally action it when first grabbing the encoder in race conditions. But was able to adapt quickly enough to where I could consistently avoid it. The thumb encoders have a decent detent, but I would like to feel more tension when using them. The shifters worked very well, and I enjoyed using them with the positive tactile feedback these magnetic units offer. The clutch panels are separate axises, and I was not able to combine them for dual clutch use. The wheels’ firmware is upgradeable, so maybe Thrustmaster will provide this in future updates. The display worked well and was easy to use and configure. It also worked in the games I tested with no issues. Still, there are a limited number of dashes and skins. And no ability to customize the dash screens at this time. Except for the cheap feeling plastic knobs and dials, I think Thrusmaster did a good job with the construction and execution of the SF1000. Especially when you consider a price tag of around 360.00, and it includes a functioning 4.3″ functioning display.