Has anyone tried this wheel out? Unfortunately it only has two buttons but if the force feedback is quite good I might consider getting one.

Has anyone got any recommendations for any other wheels? I'm looking to have at least 4 buttons, and good force feedback. Whether it has a shifter or not is no big deal but it would be nice and make driving cars that don't have paddles a bit more realistic.

I think you would be more happier with the DFP wheel. There was some discussion here about saiteks wheel some month ago. However i think the pricetag is twice that of Saiteks wheel. But on the other hand that wheel (Logitech DFP) is worth the money.

However, the best wheel (if you exclude the extreme ones) is Logitechs G25. A wheel i recommend with my whole heart! Great force feedback, and mostly, great pedals! Altough, this wheel will set you back twice the price of a DFP!

Even if you think this will just be used for fun, i think the Saitek will dissapoint and make you think that driving sims are not for you. (if your not into them right now).

This is my opinion and it will differ from person to person!

Well I am already getting into them with just a joystick designed for flight sims. However I should have mentioned money is a factor. I don't really want to spend less than $100.

Hm, perhaps i am mixin wheels today...

Is the R4 wheel the same as the R440?

Nope, this is the R4 http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00000JJFL.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

I speak from recent experience, although I can't comment about the G25 as I don't own one, have a quick look at my thread linked below regarding some Saitek eqpt:

Saitek R660 - (Saiteks latest wheel)

I tried 4 feedback wheels in a similar price range over a period of a couple of weeks making sure I bought the right one..

Saitek R440
Saitek R660
Logitech Momo Force
Logitech Driving Force Pro

To summarise, the Saiteks are very plasticky and the FF is either too subtle or too harsh. You can obviously alter the settings in the control panel but the steps are too great.

The Logitech Momo is a decent wheel but the Driving Force Pro with 900 degree rotation beats it hands down. I ended up buying the DFP second hand from ebay and would recommend that over a brand new Saitek every day of the week. The FF is spot on, the resistance is good and the degrees of rotation can be set to whatever you want..i.e you don't have to use 200, 600 or 900 etc, and it works fine with Vista. All the wheels are approx £50, the DFP and Momo are obviously slightly more expensive than that if you find one brand new.

If you have the budget, I've no doubt the G25 is at another level, I'd recommend you try before you buy if possible and make sure you get the one that's right for you.

I was waiting for you to join Paradaz. I rememberd reading your experience with the wheel.

The price difference between the Saitek and DFP is only 250 SEK (600 / 850) which is to little to not to choose the DFP. (Sweden).

Paradaz

Can I ask how you managed to try that many wheels, did you borrow friends', or is your pc shop good to you? I'd love to be able to try the wheels out before I buy. I have a DFP which is great, but would love to have compared it to the G25 and maybe the Thrustmaster offerings.

This is my story lol...

I owned the MOMO and had an R440 gathering dust in a cupboard, I then read a magazine review of the R660 stating it was the best thing since sliced bread so I went ahead and paid £50 for it online (free delivery). At the same time I put my MOMO up for sale on ebay safe in the knowledge that the holy grail of budget FF steering wheels was due in a couple of days (mistake!)

My MOMO wheel sold within a couple of days on ebay and then my R660 arrived. The pedal set was exactly the same as the R440 and I could tell within a few hours of playing around with it that Saitek had simply 'refurbished' the R440, dropping a little bit of rubber on it, added the gearstick (the R440 didn't have one - just paddles) and renamed it basically making it look like a new product.

At that point I knew that selling the MOMO so hastily was a big mistake as it was the best of the three. At that point I vented my frustration by going to the official Saitek forum and opened up both barrels on the unsuspecting tech support - I wasn't rude or anything but gave them a piece of my mind and told the other users what to expect of the wheel and that it definitely wasn't an upgrade as advertised.

Sods law.....I then got the opportunity to buy a brand new Logitech DFP for £35, which I duely obliged. It was obvious quite early on that the Saiteks weren't in the same league as the MOMO and the DFP whilst not massively different in feel from the MOMO had the 900 degree turns and slightly better force feedback in my opinion.

If you already have a DFP, I would say keep hold of it as it is the best wheel in its class and if you have the cash - the only real upgrade would be the G25 which you can get from a shop seller on ebay or amazon for approx £140 inc delivery.

I would still like to try the latest Thrustmasters though. I had one before the DFP, and it was a level down from the DFP, but still good at what it did for the money. The later Thrustmasters are more expensive, costing about the same as the DFP (I think) so it would be good to be able to try them.