Thrustmaster T128 Wheel Kit Review

Final thoughts on the T128 FFB wheel kit from Thrustmaster. At a price point of 200.00 Thrustmaster is positioning the T128 squarely at the low end Sim racing controller market. Intended for those who are thinking of trying Sim Racing or those who currently sim race using a hand held controller and want to take it to the next level. Out of the box the T128 Wheel and T2PM pedals present as an all injection molded plastic unit. Fit and finish is as good as you can expect from this kind of manufacturing process. The T128 is light, coming in at 4lbs 6oz or 2 kilos. This is the PC/Xbox version of the T128. There will also be a PC/Playstation version available. The steering wheel is all plastic with no added material to the rim. There are 19 buttons, including the shifters, for mapping to game functions. The buttons themselves did surprise me, as they actually have a tactile click to them when actioned. I was expecting the usual dead feeling buttons on other wheels that have a single stoke until you hit the stop. The shifters were also a nice surprise at this price point. They are contactless magnetic units that have a satisfying click to them when actioned. They also feel pretty solid. This because the levers stop has a large contact surface area. The Force Feedback provided by the T128 is good enough to be able to properly control the car you are driving. I did find it a bit vague when it came to road surface feel and weight transfer sensations. Nothing inspiring here, but certainly usable for the type of Sim racer this kit is intended for. This wheel is a hybrid drive design that starts with a belt drive on the motor shaft and ends with a gear drive on the main steering column. They also use an optical positioning system similar in function to those found in some anti lock brake systems. The T2PM pedals are again constructed from cheap feeling injection molded plastic. They do have contactless position sensors in them, which should give longer life cycles than the previous used potentiometers. They are very light feeling under foot. So, much so, that I drove them with only my socks on. Which might be a great thing for most entry level drivers. Overall, I think that Thrustmaster has achieved what they set out to do here with the T128 kit. An affordable solution for entry level sim racers.