Works great for my Windows 11 PC, ATS, ETS, Dirt Rally 2, and Assetto Corsa
The PXN V3II is the only wheel I've ever owned or used and I'm very satisfied with my purchase of this wheel. I was using an Xbox One controller and the controller is not a bad way to go. However, after a bit of tweaking the wheel's settings and adjusting a games setup options with the wheel it has become my 'go to' option for driving simulators, especially American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator, both installed in Steam. I haven't spent a lot of time in DR2 or AC with the wheel yet, so this review will focus on ATS and ETS. All I can really say about DR2 and AC is that I it works well with these games on Steam/PC and I do feel vibration in the wheel. The most useful tip I have found deals with the wheel itself, and that is to go into the wheel's setup by holding the 'share and options' buttons down for 3 seconds and then pressing 'options' to cycle through until the green led blinks at the slowest rate. This sets the wheel to be the 'least sensitive' to steering movement. I only use the wheel in 'X' mode, as I've never gotten the wheel to be recognized by a game when in what is advertised in 'D' mode. ETS is still very sensitive to steering and the game's settings require the steering sensitivity to be set as low as possible, but it's very usable when set to the lowest game setting and the wheel is on the lowest sensitivity setting also. I also use a USB 3 port as I haven't gotten the wheel to work on a USB 2 port, although I'll admit that I haven't spent a lot of time fiddling around with 'D' mode or USB 2 ports. There's a USB port for a controller on the wheel intended for game consoles to plug a controller into, but that makes no difference on a PC as it doesn't fix my ability to use the controller at the same time as wheel. I don't feel any gears in the wheel when turning it, so maybe it's a belt drive, but I don't know. I was concerned about getting a wheel that wasn't smooth when turning, but that was unfounded because this wheel turns smooth as butter. I've read a few threads about how awful this wheel is because it only turns 180 degrees (90 to the left, 90 to the right). This has not been an issue at all for me at all in ATS or ETS, as lane changes, U-Turns in parking lots, and cornering all look and feel very natural to me. The vibration works in both ATS and ETS when I setup a game to use the wheel as an XBox controller and not use the PXN setting when it is recognized by a game. I haven't felt any force feedback in any game. Also, I do not have my Xbox controller connected and turned on when using the PXN wheel, as that seems to cause some confusion in my wheel settings such as odd buttons on the wheel will cause the truck to brake as an example. I found that using the clamp to secure the wheel works best for me as the suction cups tended to release and/or slide around on the table surface be it dense wood or granite. I ended up clamping to a piece of scrap granite about an inch thick that I put on top of my wood table. Ergonomically, the wheel is pretty comfortable, it's a bit small in diameter but but it's quite livable. It's a little stiff when turning due to the built in wheel's auto-centering spring being a bit stiff for me and after driving for several hours, my wrist's become tired. An option to adjust the steering wheel resistance would be nice, but this is not a deal killer for me on a sub $100 wheel. Like other's have said the build quality is quite nice also considering the low price point. The pedals also work fine, though they do tend to walk away from me a bit on a low pile rug after an hour or so, even with the extended heel platform deployed. No big deal though, they 'feel' right when pressed and I put a small granite slab behind the pedals to keep them from walking around on the rug. The pedals make a creaking sound when using them which is pretty noticeable when the room is quiet otherwise. I plan to attempt to take them apart if it's possible without breaking the case to see if I can't lubricate the springs or something inside the pedal base to improve the situation. The real downsides for me are the buttons on the wheel. Don't get me wrong, they feel and press well enough, it just that I tend to press the upper buttons on the top front of the wheel by accident. I have unassigned all the buttons on the upper half of the wheel as I don't really need them anyway, so that fixes it ultimately. The other issue I have is a caution about how Amazon shipped the item. They did not double box it or even bother to tape the box shut. The box is only sealed by a couple of cardboard tabs from the manufacturer, so it could have come open easily during shipping. I'd suggest that perhaps it be ordered 'gift wrapped' from Amazon to prevent this possibility. While I really enjoy driving a stick in a real car or truck, I only plan to ever use an automatic transmission when gaming, so this wheel is a great option for me. If I do want to shift, I'd use the attached paddle shifters, which have a clicking sound when pressed, but it's not too loud. Any louder of a click though and I wouldn't care for it. Unless I win the lottery, I don't plan on spending a thousand dollars on a back ordered wheel in the near future. If this one breaks or wears out, I'll just buy another inexpensive wheel. I may even buy another PXN V3II just to keep as a backup just in case. Read more
