The Thrustmaster T248 comes with a set of T3PM magnetic pedals in addition to the T248 wheelbase and wheels, an all-in-one designed to compete with the Thrustmaster T300RS and Logitech G923 (which are much more expensive) Kit. In terms of force feedback technology, it is positioned between these two competing packages. The best racing wheels available will utilize direct drive to deliver precise force feedback. A motor converts calls from the game engine and in-game activity into bumps, vibrations, and rotational movement. However, because a sizable motor is needed to power it, this can be expensive to implement. you will check our article on Thrustmaster T248 review.
Thrustmaster T248 review: Design
Let’s start with the hardware, which we will take out of the package. The brushed gunmetal gray and black aesthetic is quite stylish. The wheels are small compared to more expensive ones, but still large enough at 11 x 11 inches in diameter to prevent over-rotation that can overwork the arms. The wheelbase is a compact version of force-feedback technology, and with 11 inches of depth, it will fit on any small setup, and the metal pedals look and feel high quality. The buttons on the wheel also have a satisfying click without feeling spongy. However, this racing wheel is less expensive. The Logitech G923’s slightly higher-quality construction is felt throughout the T248’s plastic body, which looks solid and does not creak under heavy grip loads. The wheels, on the other hand, seem plastic and flimsy, and the pads seem to be misaligned. The outside of the rim is soft, which is fine, but a hard grip can be hard on the fingers, so I dare to put the pads on the inside.
Display
The display on the Thrustmaster T248 will be discussed last because it kind of represents a poor use of resources when other factors, such as rotation smoothness and shifters, are more crucial. The meaning of certain stats, like your speed, gear ratio, or time, will change depending on the game, can be displayed on the screen. We tested it with Euro Truck Simulator 2 because the game penalises you for exceeding the speed limit, and it’s reasonably useful to check your speed there. As this display is located in the centre of the wheel, it may not be useful for faster-paced games because it is too far away from your line of sight. On more chaotic racers like Dirt 5, you’ll need to really wrestle with the wheel because it is covered in a nice leather material that feels solid and grippy. The rest of the wheel is entirely made of plastic, but it looks extremely durable and is not at all inexpensive. Inexpensive gaming steering wheels lack the LED telemetry display that provides various functions during a race. It can be modified to display a variety of data such as speed, race standings, lap times, RPMs, gear numbers, etc. To make it easy to see while driving, the wheel needs to be fairly high up in the field of vision, so its usability will vary depending on where you are sitting. Otherwise, it may be safer not to look at the corner display on the game screen.
Comfort
When it comes to your racing wheel, comfort is important, so Thrustmaster chose a cushioned, foam-filled leather lining rather than the traditional rubber, which is more similar to how a real steering wheel feels. It’s interesting to see how heat affects it. The problem of heated palms is well-known and understood by the majority of sim-racers and casual racing wheel users, especially during protracted gaming sessions. also you will learn our article on Thrustmaster T248 review. When using a rubber wheel, the heat tends to accumulate and produce pain, sweaty grains, and in severe cases, hand blisters. Making the switch to a leather lining significantly reduces these problems and makes long-term use very comfortable. The new lining doesn’t make the heat worse, but your hands will still get warm and there isn’t much you can do about that.
Pedals and Shifters
Prior to this current series of vehicles, purchasing racing wheels on a moderate budget was relatively simple. You purchase a Logitech for the entire package, including good pedals, rather to a Thrustmaster for superior force feedback because there is no obligation to upgrade in the future. This is due to the fairly subpar pedals that came with the less expensive Thrustmaster wheels; a light two-pedal board would look childish next to the high-quality wheel base. This is addressed by the Thrustmaster T248, which comes standard with a three-pedal set from which we don’t believe most people will need to upgrade unless they are heavily into sim racing. Still, it isn’t really elaborate. The pedals feature attractive metal covers but are primarily made of plastic. Additionally, a clutch for manual transmission is now available, and the brake has much better resistance. Thrustmaster even comes with two resistance springs so you can adjust the tension while playing. A rubbery spacer that offers four different tension settings can be removed. The brake may still seem a little light to racing wheel aficionados, but Thrustmaster has chosen the appropriate amount in this case. Only use a certain amount of strain if you’re not going to lock the pedal board in place; otherwise, the board will just budge under the weight. Additionally, the clutch and accelerator each have a unique depress character. These pedals can’t compete with the Fanatec ClubSport V3, but the Thrustmaster T248 package costs 50 euros less. One of the most frequent pieces of advice given to people looking to purchase affordable racing wheels has been effectively eliminated by Thrustmaster: Thrustmaster wheels are great, but keep in mind the pedals might be bad. Nevertheless, not all of it is for the better. Shift paddles on the Thrustmaster T248 are also located behind the rim. These have a very satisfying click, which is good, but they also have a cheap feel, are almost unbearably loud, and require more pressure to depress than nearly every racing wheel we’ve used up to this point. Not just because they are made of metal, the Logitech G923 and G920/G29 series paddles feel much better. One of the Thrustmaster T248’s weakest points is this. you will read our article on Thrustmaster T248 review.
Thrustmaster T248 review: Performance
You start it up now and take off. How does it function? Pretty nice for what you pay, in a nutshell! For context, we tested this wheel in a variety of games, including Forza Horizon 5, Assetto Corsa, and Beam.NG on my Asus TUF Gaming F15, Gran Turismo 7, F1 22, and Assetto Corsa Competizione (ACC) on the PS5, and Assetto Corsa and F1 22 on the PS5. The consistency of immersion is strong across all of them, despite some differences that are game-specific, such as the increased difficulty of controlling oversteer in F1 22 and the tyre modelling in ACC. This boils down to a few crucial elements. First of all, the lack of a direct drive system may frustrate many gamers, but the combination of a gear and belt-driven force feedback provides reliable input to your steering engagements. You can really feel the upgraded system’s increased force feedback in the T150’s heavy steering, which is 70% more force feedback than the previous model T150. This does a fantastic job of creating the illusion that you are manoeuvring a heavy racing car around corners. Additionally, this was at the weakest force feedback setting. Turn it up to FFB3 for a little extra spice, and take advantage of the accompanying workout. For what you get at this price, it’s a great first wheel that teaches you the sensations to watch out for when controlling a car. It’s true that occasionally you can feel the gears in this hybrid system, which makes turning feel a little granular. Second, for the price, the T3PM pedals are unmatched. Each pedal has a large surface area and a gentle convex bend that fits your feet’s natural curvature perfectly. You can adjust the experience to suit your needs thanks to the option to customise the brake spring on each of the magnetic pedals, which have a smooth motion and the capacity to detect extremely small pressure variations. Once you find the feel that works best for you, this opens up a tonne of opportunities to hone your racing skills, such as learning to trail brake around Bathurst’s downhill turns or determining where to apply acceleration as soon as possible after the Tsubuka hairpin. Third, you have a tonne of control over in-car settings thanks to the 25 action buttons, and the two dual-position encoders on the sides are ideally situated to navigate the GT7’s MFD and change settings like fuel mapping and brake balance. The dashboard display, which no other steering wheel at this price offers, is the T248’s unique selling point. Although it only has a single line of information on it and is just a basic dot matrix display with a backlight, you can customise it to show you different kinds of data such as revs, grid position, lap times, and personal bests.
Price and availability
There are two versions of the Thrustmaster T248: one for the Xbox (referred to as T248X) and one for the PlayStation. Both come with Thrustmaster T3PM magnetic pedals and are USB compatible with Windows PCs. For $400 MSRP, all models are currently offered through independent retailers.
Thrustmaster T248 review: Conclusion
The Thrustmaster T248 addresses the most common issue with older, moderately priced Thrustmaster racing wheels, namely that the included pedals were somewhat subpar. These are fantastic and provide considerably more braking resistance and customizability than the previous design. Thrustmaster has also added a clever in-wheel menu system to allow for simple and quick changes to features as well as real-time telemetry data for a variety of supported games. Compared to Logitech’s competitors, this offers a lot more control, and the in-game display is great for both a) slower-paced driving games and b) racers who are much more skilled than we are.
