Well, I finally caved and bought a G25, WOW! Is there anything I should know other than what was in the excellent review??

Thanks

Be gentle with the shifter. That's about it, really. Some settings in rFactor (if you drive that) that seem to make things better, but it's all personal preference.

Enjoy the wheel!

Thanks Chunx!

I read quite a bit about the shifter being the week link and see what they mean. So far so good though!

I just wish the shifter was near silent. When I race late at night the click, click, clack of road course shifting echo's through the house. Sometimes at night I just use the paddles out of respect for others.

I might have to take it apart and see if I can deaden the sound a bit. Problably doesn't help it's clamped to a wooden desk that prob lets it resonate. Maybe I sould put an old mouse pad under it.

Two years using the thing. I must say I am very happy with it but two things have also cropped up :-

1. Like Chunx said, the shifter is the weak link. In my case, it happens with the sequential mode. The downshift on sequential (push forward) has become quite sensitive. There is some 'play' with the sensor and it sometimes registers more than one downshift with the one push. I need a positive push right up to the stops to command one proper downshift. If I remember that, then it is no problem. If I mush it up, I can end up going down 2 gears in a heartbeat which will definitely lock up the rears or blow the engine.

2. My friend's G25 has developed some problems with one of the clamping knobs. As you know they made the thing so that you first tighten the knob by twisting it and then you press the knob down and turn it so it locks and sits flush with the body of the unit. Personally, I feel the 'flush' thing is purely for aesthetics. It serves little purpose. It does not really save any space. In fact it's an unnecessary complication to the mechanism. As with all complicated things, they tend to break. And that is what has happened to my friend's G25. One of his knob will get jammed if he 'flush' it and requires some elbow grease to get it popped out again. I will recommend that you just tighten the knobs and leave them unflush. Keep things simple, as with everything else in life.

Very good observations and forewarnings thanks!

I just have to say that given the amount of problems other controllers have had at this price range, cough Cougar cough, I'd have to say Logitech did a great job!

Since I knew about the shifter going into it, I am really enjoying the H pattern shifting mode and how to use it. It really adds to the immersion when you have to "Put" the virtual car in the correct gear as you go up and down through the pattern.

Now to run a few thousand laps in hopes of joining the online experience without looking like one of the Stooges!!

Harry notes a shifter problem that I encountered on a pre-production version of the shifter. I chalked it up to "heavy handedness" with the unit and it's early production status. But really, "heavy handed" is a relative thing. With my production unit that I purchased upon my return from Iraq this Fall (2007), I keep in mind the delicacy of the item when shifting. It ain't a real transmission! Keep telling yourself that. You'll hear clicks and think you're putting it into a detent, but you are not, I can assure you. It's just sensing the position you're putting it in, and nothing more. Once the shifter is in a certain position, the gear is engaged in the game. The 'click' you hear is for human feedback only.

My personal technique with sequential or gated shifting motion is now to treat it like a mouse. I hold it and move it as though I was moving a mouse device, using those same muscles in the same gentle and controlled way. Very gentle. Quick, but not harsh. You'll find it goes through the gears quite nicely that way. Hopefully it'll thereby live a long, happy life of sim-racing.

Harry, if you would, please give me some more detailed descriptions of the above points. I can forward them to someone I know at Logitech for their awareness. You can send it to me in a PM, or post it here, but I think they should know about it.

I experience the same thing. As far as I'm concerned it's simply Logitech's poor choice of where to set the sequential shift threshold. Although the sequential shifter sends DX button presses to your sims, the shifter in fact comprises potentiometers, and when the pot values move past certain values the button presses are sent. If the values in sequential mode could be changed then these "uncommanded shifts" would not happen. rFactor at least, and most likely other ISI sims, have .plr parameters to prvent a second shift from occurring in a certain time after the first. There are choices for something like 100ms, 200ms, 300ms, 500ms, and prevent shifting until previous shift is completed. I use 200 or 300ms and it eliminates my problems with the G25 sequential shifting. I have to disable the option when I drive F1 cars, though, as I downshift more frequently than the shifting lockout time.

I find that the ability to make the mounting screw knobs flush is a necessary feature. Sometimes I forget to lock them down and I bang my knuckles on them. I assume whether or not they are in the way depends on your grip, driving style, and seating position/angle.

Chunx,

Maybe it will be easier to describe my problem with the sequential if I took some footage with my viewcam and post it online.

I don't know if I can convince my friend to subject himself to the jammed clamping knob problem again in the interest of product improvement....because when the knob is stuck, it's really stubborn to get out. Normally when we want to press the knob to be flush with the body of the steering unit, we press the knob down with the pad of our thumb and then rotate the knob via friction with our thumbpad to lock it in place. This he can do.

In order to get the knob to pop out again, we do the opposite...rotate the opposite direction with thumbpad and release pressure to allow the knob to spring up and out. That's where it is stuck. It won't rotate. There's a lot of grunting and swearing involved simply because it's hard to latch on the knob with a firm handhold when it sits flush inside the cavity in the steering unit. We don't why it is stuck. It just is and we have not bothered to take the unit apart to see what's wrong when for the moment it will suffice not to 'flush' the knob.