Customer Ratings & Reviews

Very great DAD wheel . Makes sim racing so much more real feeling . Great quality great buy for the price . Thrustmaster has alot of great add ons as well to match up with this set up . The 5nm strength is great . Has a great force feedback strength and you will feel lots of different responses threw the wheel from the track . Buy and have a blast.

After getting all set up and dialed in for the game I was playing (gran turismo 7 on PS5) it’s amazing! Don’t be discouraged if you’re graduating from a gear or belt drive wheel like the g29/923. This will be a game changer!

Excellent product for getting into sim racing just as good as more expensive options. Very budget friendly compared to other brands.

nice racing wheel thrustmaster t598， The top choice for beginners

Honestly best bang for buck direct drive wheel you can get which is also Playstation compatible! (rare) i’ve used this wheel for about 2 months now and I love it. It can run 30min-1 Hr+ races on ACC & GT7 as long as the force feedback isn’t at its max setting or it starts to get hot. As far as downsides go: the steering wheel itself is a bit cheap feeling but that can be upgraded, as well as no 3rd pedal for now, which Thrustmaster is planning to offer a Load Cell Brake pedal add on sometime this year. So 10/10 as for entry level direct drive wheels go. $500 well spent and am excited for the upgrades to come!

Amazingly smooth and strong. Huge upgrade from logitech g29

Very good wheel. Not the best but still a good one.

TLDR: Takes racing immersion to the next level. Offers precision and dynamics unobtainable with cogged or belt drive wheels. I’ve been a fan of racing games since day 1. Whether the game be Gran Turismo, Need for Speed, Forza, WRC, Dirt, Assetto Corsa, I’ve played them all and while some are better than others, they are all good in their own way. I got my first wheel when I picked up my PS3 back in the day. It was a lower-end model that was belt-driven and made entirely of plastic. While it was fine at the time, it never really made games that much better. There was just too much slop and lag to make it entertaining. There was nothing I could do or change to make the wheel feel like I was driving a real car around a track. Controls were crude with little discernible difference between a slight pedal push or small steering input than a full-on lock to lock turn. After using for it a while, I eventually went back to my controller and whether it was XBox, PlayStation, or the PC, it became my go-to interface. As disappointing as my experiences were, I never thought about having a wheel again. I’ve looked at direct drive wheels, but frankly their price is off-putting. Manufacturers must think people that buy direct drive wheels are only professional racers or wannabe pros, pricing their products accordingly. Putting them out of reach for most people wanting a decent wheel at an affordable price. The T598 is priced at the lower end of the range for direct drive wheels. Anyone that has looked, will see that a direct drive wheel can cost into the thousands of dollars. While those wheels may have a premium feel and premium electronics, the T598 strikes a great balance between affordability, precision, and features. PROS Thrustmaster gifted the T598 with its first axial direct drive motor. Differing from all the competitors’ wheels, the axial motor is unique and works flawlessly. Anyone who is using or has used a cogged or belt-driven wheel in the past should be immediately surprised at the T598. I know I was. Having the ability to use the T598 with a PS5 and a PC is great! It helps justify the purchase immensely. Switching between the PlayStation and the PC is simple. Plug in the USB-C cable to your PlayStation or PC and press the Mode button, toggling between PS Mode 1, PS Mode 2, and PC. The PlayStation makes hooking the T598 a no-brainer. More or less, plug and play. Connecting to the PC, is a bit different and more involved. Most Game Pass games don’t include native support, so you must individually map each button to the game. Not hard, just time consuming. While Horizon 4 and Horizon 5 didn’t recognize the T598, Forza Motorsport 7 recognized it as a Thrustmaster wheel and automatically mapped button defaults. While not perfect, it got it about 90% right and required minimal tweaking. As for Forza 4 and 5, I was able to select “Wheel” as the input device and manually map each input to a function on the T598. But everything had to be done manually. Unlike the PS5, I had to download the Thrustmaster app and drivers via the Microsoft Store. They were not installed automatically. Even though the games recognized the wheel, Windows did not automatically download and install drivers by default, like it usually does. The wheel is fully customizable using either a PS5 or PC. Making it easy to set it up to your liking. Though, I will say the PlayStation integration is easier and more intuitive, especially when Gran Turismo nearly got everything right immediately with almost no changes on my behalf. Slick! CONS The axial motor is limited to 5Nm of torque. While it does have an overshoot capacity of 100%, it is temporary and brief. Other direct drive models can reach 15Nm and greater, along with sporting a higher constant torque. Enhancing the realism even more. With that, 5Nm is no slouch and I feel it is a good compromise. Much more force and it would get tiring to drive for prolonged time, just like a race car does. With being an entirely new product in the market, full integration for the T598 is still lacking, especially in the PC world. The wheel works fine during most games, but there is still some tweaking needed from the game manufacturers to extract its full potential. As of now, there are some aspects in games that feel unnatural. Things like correcting oversteer or for a spin, just aren’t quite nailed down yet. Neither is the force feedback. While it works pretty good on the PC (much more natural on the PlayStation), there is still some tweaking needed. For example, when your car loses grip in a corner, it would normally transmit those harmonics into the wheel. PC’s games aren’t to that point yet. PC’s games as of now do not take full advantage of force feedback or the Thrustmaster’s high frequency harmonics. CONCLUSION I give Thrustmaster props for making a direct drive wheel affordable for the masses. Yes, it is ugly, and the motor housing and wheel are made of plastic, feeling cheap. But the paddles and pedals are metal and have a nicer, high-end feel to them. Thrustmaster has integrated the T598 fully into their ecosystem which makes it upgradeable. Users have the option of upgrading the T598 with a nicer wheel and according to the documentation, buyers will be able to add a clutch pedal in the future. The T598 is a winner in my book. It is reasonably priced, has a bunch of features, can be used on more than 1 platform, and is very precise. Anyone currently using a cogged or belt-drive wheel now will be surprised at just how much better their racing experience can be. Mashing buttons and pulling triggers is no way to truly experience a proper racing game. The T598 is THE FIRST product I’ve ever owned that has the precision and feedback necessary to correct my bad habits with a controller. No more ham-fisted button bashing and full-throttle to full-brake races. Honestly, the T598 has made me a better sim driver. I have a product that can replicate the feeling and performance of driving a real car. Something I’ve never had with lesser wheel and pedal combinations and certainly something I’ve never had with a controller. The direct drive technology feels leaps and bounds better than any other non direct drive product on the market, regardless of price. Inputs are much quicker. Feedback is much quicker. There is just too much slack in lesser models making them feel artificial. With a direct drive wheel, even small inputs are immediately recognized. I play more racing games than I do any other type of game. I am FAR from a pro driver but have always wanted the ability to make a game feel less like a game and more of a real-life sim. The Thrustmaster T598 finally allows me to experience this. Honestly, the T598 has changed racing games enough, that I even bought a sim rig to mount it on. Something I never would have done with my prior set-ups. Fans of racing games, the T598 should be on your must have list. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I recently bought the Thrustmaster T598 racing wheel and GTLite folding cockpit from Best buy. The wheel set was amazing! Truly next gen, with zero cogging, and an all metal petal/wheel base build. Unfortunately, I experienced early manufacturing issues and had to return the wheel set. Best Buy went above and beyond throughout the exchange process. In just a little over 24 hours, I'll be back to racing, and I cannot wait. This is why I will be a Best Buy customer for life!

Great feels realistic and has great force feedback you just have to dail in the setting on gt7

Upgraded from a Logitech g920 definitely a step up.

Sure! Here’s a more concise five-star review for T598: “The T598 exceeded my expectations! With its excellent performance and sleek design, it’s perfect for both work and entertainment. I highly recommend it for anyone seeking a reliable, high-performance device. Truly worth every penny!”

Love this wheel the feel of it is really smooth with great feedback definitely would recommend to anyone who is on the fence.

I really dig my thrustmaster t598 sim steering wheel

Works great, actually better than expected in this price range. The power cord doesnt fit snug and will have to secure it to avoid wheel glitches.

Works really well. First wheel I’ve gotten and it is plenty strong enough. Would recommend

The Thrustmaster T598 has everything in one box that you need to start online racing. The package includes table clamps, pedals, an 11.8" steering wheel, and all of the cables you need. The wheel is also interchangeable with other Thrustmaster designs (although this one is great). The system is compatible with PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. It's described as a "direct axial drive" unit and although I don't fully understand it, it's supposed to revolutionize gaming wheels. Since it requires less copper, it generates less heat, and provides better force feedback. I had a little difficulty mounting it to a traditional desk - definitely need a flat table without drawers. I ended up mounting it to my slide-out keyboard drawer and have it pulled out about 6 inches. This actually works really well since it puts it a little lower than if it was on top of a desk. Quick hint - hook up the cables/wires before mounting it as they are located on the back/underside of the unit. I'm using it with a PC so your experience might be different. Once mounted, I installed the software, updated the firmware, and navigated through the settings. I struggled with activating the left/right steering functions but persistence paid off and I got it to work! Another hint - there's no visible on/off switch as it's located on the backside of the unit. Probably a great location so you don't accidentally hit it while in the middle of a race. The main unit has a small display which shows multiple options and is very informative. I mainly look at the screen but I'm sure there are many benefits I haven't discovered yet. The steering is tight and very responsive. I especially like the feedback from rumble strips or occasionally hitting the wall (I hope I drive better in real life). The wheel is comfortable and has rubberized grips and thumb indentations. The paddle shifters react easily and have a nice "click" sound to them. The pedals can be adjusted to shorten/lengthen the amount of travel and increase/decrease the resistance. The box includes your choice of two springs for the brake pedal which also changes the resistance. According to Thrustmaster, a third pedal option should be available next year and it appears that it would easily mount to the existing cluster. The pedal cluster has rubber feet to hold it in place on hard surfaces, and additional clip on grips for carpet. There are preset profiles for several games and the ability to assign buttons within the app. What an impressive product and so much fun!

Fueled by the increasing popularity of motorsports around the world and overall affordability of hardware, the market for sim racing hardware is larger and more competitive than ever. One of the longest-running names in the space is Thrustmaster, having established itself in the 1990s as a premier manufacturer of flight-sim and racing-sim hardware for PCs and consoles. Decades of experience and iterative products have kept them near the forefront for casual and serious sim racers alike, with a full ecosystem of T-series sim racing hardware spanning entry level to upper-midrange gear. Thrustmaster’s new T598 force feedback wheel brings another high-end force feedback technology down to more affordable prices - indeed, this is one of the least-expensive direct-drive sim racing wheels available. Advertising a new “axial” motor that significantly reduces total package size while maintaining high-end force feedback performance, the T598 should toe the line between midrange and high-end racing wheels. After a week of testing, and having nearly 20 years of experience with sim racing hardware to fall back upon, I can confidently say that Thrustmaster has nailed the brief. Just a shame about the included pedals… I tested the Thrustmaster T598 on a PlayStation 5 console with Gran Turismo 7, and a PC with iRacing. - Important Note on Force Feedback Sim racing wheels employ one of three force feedback mechanisms: Gear-driven (least expensive), belt-driven, and direct-drive (most expensive). The Thrustmaster T598 is a direct-drive wheel, where the wheel connects directly to the output shaft of the motor via the steering column. Direct drive is considered the highest quality force feedback for sim racing due to its ability to output full power directly to the wheel rim, resulting in highly detailed and responsive force feedback that the less-expensive solutions can’t match. As a result, the T598 is not recommended for casual gaming. Games and simulators will need to have high quality force feedback logic for a wheel of this caliber to perform at its best - and the strength of a direct drive wheel like this one is far beyond what gear and belt-driven wheels can provide. You can injure yourself on wheels this strong if you’re careless. This is NOT a toy for kids. - Unboxing and Setup The Thrustmaster T598 ships in a surprisingly smaller box than I imagined - due in part both to the much more compact wheel base and pedal set, and the fact there’s more assembly required than with other racing wheel kits I’ve used previously, including Thrustmaster’s older T300RS and T-GT wheels. Parts are clearly laid out in the packaging and easy to discern in the included quickstart guide. As with most racing wheels, you have the option to mount the wheel to a cockpit frame or to a desk using clamps. The Thrustmaster T598’s clamping mechanism is arguably the strongest I’ve seen, with its upper arms reaching the full depth of the wheel base to prevent rocking motion back and forth when in use. The mechanism can mount to a tabletop or desk up to about 2 inches thick. Desk mounting is done using a metal base that tilts the steering wheel upwards at about a 15-degree angle; mounting to a cockpit can be done with the base attached directly to the frame via 4 M4 bolts, while the angled metal base has rows of pre-drilled holes to accommodate virtually any sim rig’s base. The pedals require some significant assembly too, coming without springs installed on either the accelerator or brake. Two spring stiffness options are provided for the brake pedal, and both pedals can be slotted into one of three grooves for a wide range of pedal pressures. Neither will affect the pedals’ ranges of motion; both are potentiometer-based and will register input based on the current angle of the pedal rather than the amount of pressure on the pedal like a load cell would. Once finished, the pedal base can either be mounted to a racing cockpit using 4 M6 bolts, placed on a hardwood floor and held in place using the rubber pads at all four corners, or two grippers can be attached under each pedal’s floor base for use on carpet. The last piece of assembly is to simply connect the wheel to the base using Thrustmaster’s single-lever quick release mechanism. From there, simply connect the AC adapter, the USB-C cable to a PlayStation or PC, and the 3.5mm pole jacks to the underside of each pedal and shaped RJ-11 connector to the back of the wheel base. - Force Feedback Performance I’ve used many force feedback racing wheels over the last 20 years, including custom, high-end solutions that require many supporting softwares and setting adjustments to work with specific simulators. Thrustmaster’s best offerings have traditionally been midrange in the market, but the T598 represents a midrange within their own lineup; a stronger direct drive wheel, the T818, is the current top-end. I didn’t expect the T598 to match it simply due to market positioning, but with an advertised +100% “overshoot” and “HARMONY” technologies, it can supposedly deliver 10Nm peak torque on demand. Marketing gimmicks aside, I was thoroughly impressed with the Thrustmaster T598’s performance after a little bit of tweaking. The default mode for the T598 is “D” (direct), where the force feedback data from the game is interpreted 1:1 and is unboosted. Using Gran Turismo 7’s default force feedback setting (5 / 10 strength), I found the T598 was fairly weak in communicating road details and slow to respond on countersteering forces. Dialing up the setting to maximum helped some, but ultimately the experience was one that didn’t feel quite accurate compared to other wheels or my own sports car on the track in real life. Once I switched to a custom profile slot on the T598 and made a few adjustments (75% power, Friction MID, Low forces +1, High forces +1), the end results were fantastic. The power and smoothness of the T598’s axial direct drive motor is truly surprising, delivering crisp details over every bump and camber change on the track. It feels like it’s outputting much more than its rated 5Nm torque, helped in part from the lightweight, large-diameter wheel rim it ships with. Most impressive is the wheel’s rotational speed and slew rate (how quickly it can spin up) - full force spins the wheel so fast it makes drifting by feel alone easy. The T598 is also an exceptionally quiet wheel in operation, better than even other direct drives I’ve used. The motor emits absolutely no noise when it’s actuating, and the wheel rim’s buttons are good quality that don’t rattle or shake when the wheel’s in motion. The wheel base does not have a cooling fan, and I noticed it got a little warmer than I’d like after an hour of consistent use, but it didn’t approach anything truly concerning. - Integrated Display & Settings The small display at the top of the wheel base lets you configure all the wheel’s force feedback settings without needing to connect to a computer, and in supported games can show very basic real time telemetry. Dedicated buttons on the wheel base bring up setting screens, including the ability to switch between compatibility profiles for use on PS4 and older PS5 games, where the wheel will report and function like Thrustmaster’s T-GT (albeit without joysticks or rotary encoders - if your game depends on those you’ll be out of luck). On PC, the My Thrustmaster Panel software gives you a wider range of settings and functions to customize - the most important of which are setting the wheel’s rotation range, updating the wheel base (and where applicable, wheel rim) firmware, and calibrating the wheel’s center. This last one is especially handy as my T598 did not ship with accurate calibration; the wheel was canted about 4 degrees off center, but a quick firmware update and recalibration fixed the issue on both PC and PlayStation consoles. - Wheel Rim & Pedals The wheel rim included with the T598 was a pleasant surprise - it’s a large, 12” diameter wheel rim that’s usually an aftermarket upgrade for wheels in this price range. It’s also exceptionally light, which is a huge boon for boosting the perceived force feedback strength (the less unsprung mass, the quicker a motor responds and less torque is needed to overcome rotational inertia). The buttons feel fairly good, are sized appropriately, and laid out well enough to hit buttons with your thumbs through muscle memory. The paddle shifters are wonderful to use; they’ve got perfect feel and just the right amount of “click” with a short throw to bang out gear changes on the fly. Sadly, the included pedals are fairly weak. The issue I have with them isn’t the fact they’re potentiometer based (a load cell brake would’ve been ideal at this price point, as some competing wheels ship with one for more consistent braking), but the fact the pedal base is so light and small that they simply don’t stay in place for long on either carpet or hard floors. Every lap or two I would have to pause and use my feet to put the pedals back where I needed them to stay - worse than most other wheel sets I’ve used. You could always put something solid behind the pedals or bolt them to a wheel stand, but in any case the small pedal base is not very comfortable to use. I ended up using Thrustmaster’s T-LCM pedal set with the wheel, which connects directly to the wheel base using an RJ-11 jack, and this is a highly recommended upgrade for serious sim racers all the same. - Bottom Line The T598’s market positioning is really the only thing holding it back. Serious sim racers likely already know about the need for a proper load cell brake, and selling the wheel base and rim without one to save a buyer a few bucks would’ve been a much better choice. For starting sim racers I would be hesitant to recommend the T598 at MSRP over its competition, but for those who want a compact and powerful wheelbase and rim, the Thrustmaster T598 comes recommended.

I am so thrilled with this Thrustmaster T598 Direct Axial Drive Force Feedback Racing Wheel and Pedal Set. I have been playing GT7 (Gran Turismo 7) with a controller for a bit now. I heard about this racing wheel and just had to get it to see what it could do. Well, what it does is to add realism and a lot more fun to the game experience. The T598 was fairly easy to set up just following the included instruction manual (diagrams). I had to improvise some because I don't have any sort of racing "rig" at my house. I attached the wheel to it's base and screwed that onto the included metal bracket. If I had one, I would attach that setup to a rig. I did it via C-clamps attached to the front of a stable table. The wheel setup is heavy, so where it sets must be sturdy to support it especially while you're using it. Thank goodness for delivery! I have not setup the pedals yet as there was no comfortable place for me to do so. Frankly, I hadn't even realized pedals came with this until I found them in the box. Not having the pedals setup did not impede my ability to use the wheel at all except that I had to map a brake and accelerator on the wheel. Easy enough to do, I switched the paddle shifters to be my brake and accelerator. I have not advanced enough yet to want to shift gears on my own, so for now, I don't need the shifters. Once everything was put together, I plugged in the power cord and the USB cord to my PS5. Turned the console on and BOOM - it recognized the wheel immediately as my controller. I checked out the wheel buttons further, to see that basically all of the controller buttons could be found there. I just had to get used to where. There was definitely a learning curve for me, but playing Gran Turismo 7 was so much more enjoyable with the wheel. This wheel has "direct axial drive" and I guess that is what gives the feeling of really driving a vehicle and also provides feedback which is by far more enjoyable than the vibrations from the original controller. The feel of driving with the wheel is realistic - including going over bumps and road stuff. And steering is incredible. I love the feel of the wheel in my hands. I never imagined anything like this even existed. The Thrustmaster T598 Direct Axial Drive Force Feedback Racing Wheel is something to behold. Am I better GT7 driver? Sometimes I am. But when I am, it feels so good! I would highly recommend this racing wheel to anyone looking to up their racing game for PS5, PS4 and PC.

The Thrustmaster T598 is an excellent value direct drive option in the current entry-level direct drive wheel market. Coming from a Thrustmaster T300, it is quite the upgrade. My experience is on a PC using wheelbase firmware version 2.07. Wheelbase installation: The wheelbase is quite tall at 213 mm due to the axial design as opposed to radial design in typical direct drive motors. The bracket that the clamps attach to is mounted to the wheelbase using the shorter of the 2 sets of 4 bolts (see pictures). The bracket includes a set of holes that have the same width as the T300 mounting holes at 135 mm. The bracket holes fit my Playseat Challenge perfectly and is securely mounted with only 2 bolts. My Playseat Challenge has extra braces on the wheel plate and is able to handle the T598 at full strength. The new quick release is a nice upgrade from the previous screw type Thrustmaster 'quick' release. Thrustmaster does offer a quick release adapter (not upgrade) that can adapt older Thrustmaster wheels to the new quick release. Software/wheel interface: The 'My Thrustmaster Panel' software was easy to find and download. The firmware update process had clear instructions and went seamlessly. At the time of this review, the software is only able to update firmware and cannot be used to adjust the wheelbase settings. On the wheelbase, the screen is easy to read although a bit small and can only display one set of information at a time. The buttons are easy to reach and the onboard menu system is easy to navigate. A video on Youtube is available explaining the entire wheelbase menu, which can be used to revise settings for the wheelbase and compatible wheels and pedals. Driving experience: I did all of my testing in ACC 1.10.3. My settings are FFB3/Master 100/Mode E/Inertia High/Friction Off/Boost Low +2/Boost High +2/Speed EXT/Damper 0/Spring 0/Gear Jolt Low/End Stop High. I was able to match my T300 lap times after only a few laps. The force feedback (FFB) response is significantly faster and smoother compared to the T300, especially near center. This made it much easier to catch slides and the amount that I have spun out significantly decreased. The feeling of grip is very clear, making it easier to find the limit. The wheel does oscillate slightly on long straights when letting go of the wheel and giving no steering input but the inertia setting in high mode keeps the oscillations from growing. Some kerbs do lack feeling through the wheel but I expect this will change as future firmware and game updates are released. There is also a high pitch whistling sound emitted at all times and gets louder for small vibrations like when going over kerbs or during the gear jolt, but this is normal electric motor operation according to the manual. The wheelbase does get warm after driving for a while (1 hour+) but is only felt when touching the base directly. Wheel: The Sportcar rim is lightweight and surprisingly well-built although made entirely of plastic. The 300 mm diameter is a nice upgrade from the T300's 280 mm stock wheel. The grips are made out of rubber. The design choice of 4 centering stripes is odd but does not bother me too much. The metal magnetic shifters are very quiet and feel nice to actuate. The buttons feel pretty standard but do not feel too mushy or too clicky. The Thrustmaster support website has an image with the number mapping of all the buttons. The P/+/- buttons on the bottom right can be used for 4 sets of functions by cycling through the the LED colors using the S button. The order is green, red, blue, and yellow. This system is useful and compact but a bit hard to use while driving compared with 4 independent rotary encoders as the LED needs to be checked before pressing the P/+/- buttons. Pedals: The Raceline pedals are actually quite decent for entry level pedals. There are rubber pads on the bottom intended to prevent slipping but I found they still slipped on hardwood flooring. A set of carpet spikes are included and do a much better job at keeping the pedals in place. The brake pedal comes with 2 spring options and has an elastomer. Both the brake and gas pedals have 3 different preload options. Only 2 of the preload options can be used with the shorter brake spring. I felt that I had good control of the brake pedal using the stiffer spring. The plastic pedal faces have 2 positions for height adjustment. Both pedals use hall effect magnetic sensors as upgrade to the potentiometer pedals that came with the T300. Thrustmaster advertises that these pedals will eventually be upgradeable with a clutch, load cell, wider plate, and metal pedal faces. Overall, the Thrustmaster T598 is a worthy successor to the T300 and is a great value direct drive bundle. The included wheel and pedals are nicer than those included with the T300. The wheelbase provides smooth, responsive, and detailed feedback that competes well with other entry-level direct drive offerings.