Datel
Super Sport 3X Steering Wheel
Introduction:
After
several years of using a joypad for playing racing games on the PC I
decided it was time to buy a steering wheel to see if I can improve
on my lap times.
Looking
through several reviews and gaming forums it became clear that if you
want a good quality wheel that gets you right into the action then
the Logitech steering wheels seem to be the popular choice.
Unfortunately the cheapest one available is over £80 so not an
affordable option for me.
After
researching the cheaper options it was down to a model by
Thrustmaster, the Ferrari GT Experience and the Datel super sport 3X.
There wasn't many reviews for the super sport 3X but the few there
was were positive, the trust model had good reviews but there was
some negativity towards the pedal angle. So I closed my eyes and
brought the Super Sport 3X for £41 from Amazon as Argos had sold out
for £30 unfortunately.
Datel
Super Sport 3X Review
This
review looks at how usable the steering wheel generally is and how well
it performed on games such as Codemasters F1 2011 and Nadeo's
Trackmaina.
I was
expecting the wheel to be plastic and cheap but was pleasantly
surprised that it is sturdy with a fairly good build quality. Yes it
is plastic and doesn't have a padded wheel as you get on more
expensive wheels but the light grey area is a thin foam layer for
extra comfort which is perfectly adequate for casual gaming.
The
buttons are in a convenient position though I
haven't used the sequential gear stick in anger yet. The wheel has a
4 way Digital thumb stick to the left and a four way POV thumb stick
on the right. L1 and R1 are 10:00 and 14:00 positions with L2 and R2
in the same position behind the wheel. Also behind the wheel is two
F1 style paddles for changing gear. In the centre of the wheel is
Select, Mode and Start buttons which are also used for setting the
wheel up. Unfortunately both the sequential gear stick and F1 style
paddles have an audible click, so could/will become annoying to other
people in the room who are not interested in your amazing overtaking
manoeuvres especially if they are watching TV.
The wheel
only has a 180 degrees turning angle which is limited compared to
other wheels which can be as much as 900 degrees on some games.
Coming from a joypad controller this is perfectly adequate for the
casual gamer. I can see that this might be a problem on rally games
or games that drifting is required but it still feels better than a
game pad. If you are into F1 games then this is perfect as real F1
cars have a similar turning angle. There is a super boost option that
can be assigned to a button of you choice that can make the turning
angle more sensitive, but how useful or practical this is I don't
know.
View of Sequential Gear Stick, F1 Paddles and L2 & R2 buttons |
The
wheel is designed to be attached to a desktop
with 7 suction cups. They hold fairly well but the back 3 do tend to
come loose causing the wheel to tip, this may be a consequence of my
desktop being high causing me to pull downwards on the wheel as I
drive. The wheel is about chest height on my desk. Making the cups
moist before pushing them down gives much better suction and makes it
sit firm.
Though it
is possible to use the wheel on your lap you will catch your arms on
your legs on full lock so is not that practical.
Peddles |
Set-Up
The Super
Sport 3X does not have it's own PC drivers as the settings are stored
on the wheel it's self. You do need to download the SuperSports3X
config program from datel to change the button configuration and
sensitivity.
There are
several game settings set-up built into the wheel for Xbox and PS3.
Blur 360
Dirt2 360
PS3
Dirt3 360
PS3
Formula1
2010 360 PS3
Formula1
2011 360 PS3
Forza 2
Forza 4
Gran
Torismo 5
Grid 360
PS3
Need for
Speed: Hot Pursuit 360
PGR 4
Sega
Rally Online Arcade 360
Use
Xbox mode for PC not PS3
All
buttons are configurable and can be set-up to be used in PS3 mode of
Xbox 360 mode. The manual says that the wheel has two modes, one with
a green light for Xbox 360 and one with a red light for the PS3 and
PC. This is wrong! if you are using the wheel on a PC then you need
it in the green Xbox 360 mode. Windows will then install a Xbox 360
controller drivers. The down side is there is no rumble with the
standard windows driver, though there is a alternate driver called
HBCD that can be installed for more advanced users.
http://www.redcl0ud.com/xbcd.html
98/2000/XP Xbox controller drivers
Then patch
the above driver with a suitable driver from here to activate Rumble
http://matt-land.com/xbcd/
This
set-up has worked for me on Windows XP. Use at your own risk.
When the
rumble is active it vibrates more as you turn, when you are straight
there is no rumble.
It's does
improve the feel of driving but not as good as force feedback.
If you
follow the instructions and set-up the wheel in red PS3 mode the
wheel and buttons will work but the axis for the peddles are messed
up. You have to press half way down to get any acceleration and fully
to get brake so un-drivable.
Once you
have configured the settings to your liking and set-up the game you
wish to use then it is ready for action.
In Game
Driving
So
how does it perform? You will need to fiddle with the in game
settings to get the feel of the wheel right, which can take some
time. The main games I have used the Super Sport 3X on are Toca
Race Driver 2, Trackmainia Forever and Formula 1 2011.
Toca
Race Driver 2:
For this game I switched off all the dead zones and
just increased the steering saturation as the steering isn't
responsive enough with it off. I found I could corner much better
than a joypad and the pedals are a definite advantage at carrying
speed through corners. Previously I had practised on the Brands Hatch
Indy circuit in a Formula Ford with the joypad for more than an hour
achieving my best time of 46.27 which after many attempts I was not
able to beat. I have tried the same set-up with the wheel and after
about 20 laps of getting use to the new controller I managed to beat
my time by 0.16 of a second. That may not sound a lot but on a 46
second lap that is a big time improvement. I would put most of the
improvement down to being able to use pedals and controlling the
corner speed better but racing with a wheel feels much better than a
joy pad.
Trackmania
Forever:
This
game requires fast reactions and responsive controls. I may need to
play with the settings a bit more on this one but the fast reactions
required for this game suit a joypad so im struggling to beat my
previous lap times. Being straight before jumps is important which I
think is easier to achieve with a wheel, also getting close to corner
barriers is better when you have time to line yourself up is better.
I find it a bit harder in fast left right sections to take at speed.
Trackmania
requires you to complete a stunt track in a time better than a target
time. The platinum time is the hardest and requires a perfect lap to
complete.
Though
the joypad is an advantage on sections requiring quick full lock
chicanes the wheel is better for constant radius corners and
banking.
I
tested the wheel by trying to beat my platinum time on 3 tracks.
Though i did manage it in all 3 cases it took many many goes on each
track and I only made small improvements of 0.01sec, 0.03sec and
0.07sec. So using a wheel in this game is not much of an improvement
over a joypad but feels better anyway.
F1 2011:
This
is the game I manly brought the wheel for to play. After trying
several in-game settings I have gone for all saturation and dead
zones off.
I
can race comfortably and this wheel defiantly enhances the experience
and I think performs well. I have had to set the DRS and Kers buttons
to the L2 and R2 buttons behind the wheel as the front L1 and R1
buttons I use for gear change as the clicking of the f1 pedals is too
prominent for a computer used in a lounge.
Conclusion:
Overall
I think this is a good budget wheel. You will need to spend time
setting it up right for each game but that is probably the case with
all wheels.
Pro's
You
can change all the buttons functions simply.
Sturdy
build
Pedals
stay put on laminate floor.
Con's
Noisy
gear shift and F1 paddles
No
rumble with standard Windows drivers.
See below for Datel Super Sport 3x Video
Slide shows for Electronic Photo Frames and Multimedia TV's
From only £2.99 at www.digislides.co.uk