Customers are enthusiastic about the VelocityOne Race KD3's build quality, noting its good feedback. Many users appreciate the realistic pedal feel and solid force feedback. However, some find the button layout less than ideal. A few customers have also reported issues with game compatibility.
This summary was generated by AI based on customer reviews.
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Pros mentioned:
Build quality, Pedal feel
Cons mentioned:
Game compatibility
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Great Steering Wheel with PC Compatibility Problem
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Pros:
Resistance and feedback of wheel
Pedal feel
App settings
On wheel settings
Cons:
Setup
Mounting
Written setup instructions
Compatibility with games
Mounting:
This is where I had a lot of problems. The assembly and mounting instructions are all pictures and they are not clear as to what you are supposed to do. I ended up looking at YouTube to find out how to do all of this. The bracket to attach the wheel to the table/desk/etc. is a separate piece that does not mount to the wheel so you must make sure you don’t lose it. It clamps the wheel to the desk by pressing the plate of the wheel against the desk. I had a hard time trying to figure it out. I assumed that the bracket mounted permanently to the wheel what the screw holes on it, but no, it is a separate piece. Now I must keep track of it. Also, the bracket does not open very far so you really must have a thinner desk. It does mount very deep so you must have a desk with a narrow vertically, but steep horizontally to make it fit. The pedals also have rubber feet on them, so they do slip on the bare floor. Wiring is typical with a cable between the wheel and pedals, a power cable going to the wheel, and a USB-A cable going to the computer or Xbox. I think that is generally the same with all wheels.
Setup:
This was a pain also. First off, you must set it to either PC or Xbox mode when you start. I was using this on PC. Setting this was not obvious. I knew I had to do it to communicate but doing it required research on the internet. Installing the app which you need did go smoothly as well as updating the firmware, although it took a long time.
Games:
Having the wheel communicate with the games did not go smoothly. I tried it with a bunch of games and although I was able to select it in the game, I could not get the wheel to control the game. I tried a bunch and the only one that worked was Forza Horizon 5. Now this may not be the case with Xbox, but it was on PC. I will spend more time on this but at least I can use it with Forza which is my favorite racing game anyway.
Settings:
There are plenty of settings to keep you busy trying to get everything the way you want it. The nice thing is that you can change the settings both using the app or using the screen on the wheel itself. Speaking of the screen, it is beautiful and well designed for setting up everything and getting feedback. You can also use the app for updating the firmware.
Feel:
Now, as I said, I was only able to get this to work with Forza Horizon 5 so I can only comment on how it feels with that game. At all default settings, the resistance of the wheel when driving is perfect. It allows you to steer when you need to but also provides enough resistance to keep the wheel straight. The feedback is also perfect and really works well with Forza, especially when on the road, off the road and hitting something. All feeling different. The pedals are typical. Brake provides more resistance than the accelerator. Both feel nice although they are more vertical than I would like making them a little hard to use. I’m not sure if there is a way to adjust them to make them lower. The wheel is direct drive, and I think that may be why it feels as nice as it does. Who knows but it does, and I think direct drive wheels in general work better and last longer.
Settings available:
Wheel rotation
Brake deadzone
Brake sensitivity
Throttle deadzone
Throttle sensitivity
K -Drive Strength
K-Drive Surface
K-Drive tuning
K-Drive Center Spring
K-Drive Damping
Creating and selecting profiles
RMD Indicator
Units (MPH or KM/H)
Set colors on buttons and around the wheelbase
Calibrate wheel center point
Pedal calibration mode
Screen brightness
Screen dimming timeout
Reset to factory settings
Update firmware
So how do I feel about this? Well, I love the feel of the wheel and pedals (although I wish the pedals were lower). The resistance and feedback are excellent. The screen is nice. Unfortunately, I was only able to get it to work with Forza for unknown reasons, so this will require tinkering, hopefully. As much as I would like to give this 5 stars, because of this, I can’t.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Build quality, Force feedback
Cons mentioned:
Button layout
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Solid Wheel at a Good Price
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
"So then... I put him in the wall." - Me recounting my latest race to my wife whose eyes glazed over thirty minutes prior.
The Turtle Beach VelocityOne Race KD3 is my first racing wheel. I have always wanted one but have never taken the plunge before. As a result, I cannot really compare this wheel with others. I also used the racing wheel on PC. So, I cannot really talk about how this wheel performs on X-Box game consoles. What I can say is that this wheel is a lot of fun. It feels well made. Feedback in games that have supported it feels great. Telemetry data displayed on the steering wheel adds to immersion (when it works.) I have some quibbles with software compatibility (something I gather is standard when dealing with PC gaming wheels), and with Bluetooth app support that feels lacking at this point. All minor quibbles to be sure. Without any basis to compare, I can say with 100% confidence that this is a good racing wheel. Or, at the very least, that I enjoyed it.
Setup: Turtle Beach makes setup straight forward. There are lines designed to guide the user to attach the wheel to the base. The base has extra USB-C porta built-in to function as a hub for connecting other accessories such as the included pedals.
Experience: Users will need the VelocityOne Tuner app. This really is not optional as the VelocityOne Tuner app has firmware updates for the wheel and enables a sub-PC app for telemetry data in programs that support it. Out of the box, there were at least two firmware updates in my experience.
I clamped the steering wheel to my desk. No fancy driving rig in my house, yet. I took full advantage of the clamping system, and it worked, mostly. Unfortunately, it was impossible for me to get it fully stationary. No matter how tight I tried to get the clamp, this wheel will move a bit. That could be a combination of the surface of my desk combined with the foam pad used for the clamp. On the plus side, the clamp does not damage the desk, but on the downside, it was difficult for me to keep the wheel as tight as I wanted. Still, that could just be my desk. I tried two other desks and neither worked. Either the desk had a keyboard tray in the way or framing kept me from mounting the wheel. I will take slightly loose as that was my best option.
The pedal system has textured grips, but if you are gaming on carpet, you will need something to brace the pedals against as they moved all over the place in my testing.
Once everything was plugged in and the machine and the racing games were up and running, I discovered the entire experience was not as “plug-and-play” as I was hoping. The problem is every racing game is going to require additional configuration. I spent most of my time on Forza Horizon 5 and Forsa Motorsport. I had to map buttons, pedals, and the wheel for every game. The experience was particularly buggy with Horizon 5. Once mapped, force feedback worked on the games I tried, and the wheel performed well. Your mileage may vary. But from what I can tell, this is a common experience with racing wheels in general. I wish the experience was true plug and play with button mapping. If an XBOX or PlayStation controller works with assigned buttons automatically, why is a racing wheel any different?
Which gets me to “telemetry.” Telemetry allows your game to send data to an external device. It could be to a spreadsheet or in this case data out to the wheel in the form of speedometer and gear data. On the KD3 telemetry data looks cool. It adds to the immersion, but it does not work with every game and even on the games where it does work, there is extra setup involved. Turtle Beach has information on how to set up telemetry in supported apps on their website, but you will need to refer to Turtle Beach for instructions. Unfortunately, Horizon 5 did not support telemetry with the KD3, but Forza Motorsport did.
Once in a game with everything running as needed and all the mild settings in games tweaked to my preference, the wheel is fun. It is. There is a decent level of force feedback. The wheel fights you in your races, but man is it a blast.
I must talk a bit about the buttons and button placement. The XBOX buttons on the side of the steering column seem out of place to me. I would have preferred those buttons on the wheel itself. Also, the buttons on the wheel, specifically the direction buttons on the left side, felt squishy to me. It was hard to get a press that felt quite right. Occasionally, button presses did not register.
The KD3 supports a Bluetooth app on the phone, but I do not think that feature is ready for primetime. As app functionality was incredibly limited and really did nothing more than tell me firmware version of the wheel.
Regarding apps, VelocityOne app for Windows allows you to tweak settings for profiles, but I could never get my lighting profiles to stick. Now, I could manually toggle the lighting with the wheel itself, but I could not get changes made in the VelocityOne app to stick to the device.
The wheel has a solid build. The racing wheel itself feels good in my hands. The foot pedals have adjustable tension and, once I had them locked into place, they work well. The fact that I can swap out the included wheel with a formula one style option down the road is a nice touch. The extra USB-C ports make this feel like an expandable option that can really grow to meet the needs of the user. I wish there were a clutch pedal included with the other two pedals. But I cannot
Conclusion: I have had fun with this wheel. This is a gateway drug I never knew I needed. But I wish the software experience were better. I wish application compatibility was better. I am not sure how many of those software problems are within Turtle Beach’s control, but Forza Horizon 5 is one of the most popular racing systems on XBOX and PC and it should work without complication. The VelocityOne Tuner should work without hiccups. I should be able to make lighting adjustments in app and have them stick to the wheel.
Still…. I am having fun.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Build quality, Force feedback, Pedal feel
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Good Entry-Level Direct Drive Wheel
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The KD3 from Turtle Beach feels like a good-level option for a direct drive racing wheel. The base doesn’t have the torque of the other choices out there, but the cost is also a lot lower. It feels like a substantial upgrade over the Logitech G923 I was using to be sure and could be a good option for someone trying to get into a higher quality racing on a budget.
The KD3 includes the wheel base, a 300mm steering wheel, and a pedal set with brake/gas pedals. The wheel base has a nice compact design and feels solidly built. The Xbox-specific buttons are positioned along the side of the base near where the wheel slides on, which does make them difficult to see so you do have to learn their positions by feel (I have accidentally hit the ‘share’ button many times now). The aluminum pedals have adjustable springs and the brake pedal can also be adjusted to the left or the right. The wheel probably feels like the lowest quality component of this whole setup in terms of its general hard-plastic feel, but it seems durable, the button layout is good, and the magnetic paddle shifters feel great.
The wheel base can be directly mounted or attached via the included desk clamp. The desk clamp slides in between the mounting holes and seems to hold the base well, though I went for the direct mounting method on my wheel stand utilizing the 78.4mm x 66mm pattern. I was only able to mount using 2 of the 4 holes on the front of the base, but even with just those attached it felt like a secure fit. The base has a built in angle adjustment via a thumb knob that can be set to either 0, 10, or 20 degrees. The pedals also have a 202.9mm x 185.1mm pattern on the underside for mounting if you don’t plan on using them on the floor. The pedals connect via the included USB-C cable to the back of the wheelbase and there are 3 additional inputs for things like the gear shifter and presumably other accessories that Turtle Beach will introduce. The cable going between the wheels and the pedals was plenty long for my setup, but I feel like the power cable and Xbox/PC USB cable could be longer.
I primarily used this with my Xbox Series X and Forza Horizon 5. I downloaded the VelocityOne Tuner app and there was a firmware update available, which took about 20 minutes to download. The Tuner app has a lot of options for setting up profiles, rotation, deadzones, lighting, etc., but I wasn’t able to actually get any of the changes to communicate to my wheel and ended up having to make them via the built-in display and navigation. From what I have read there have been some firmware issues with this and previous Turtle Beach wheels, which is of some concern, but it does look like they are actively working on firmware updates.
I’ve never used a direct-drive racing wheel before, but compared to the Logitech G923 that I have been using, the KD3 is a significantly better experience. It provides excellent feedback across a variety of road surfaces and it feels easy to feel out where I am through the wheel. The base is rated for 3.2Nm and in general does a decent job of transmitting a convincing experience. The built-in display can show some telemetry in certain games, but on Xbox the compatible games I saw were F1 2024 and F1 2025. PC has a lot more options available though. The pedals feel good, though I suspect I will need to tinker with the tension on them to get them in a spot where I really like them.
Overall besides a couple of nitpicks and an inconsistent software experience. I like the KD3. It feels like a good step up for someone who wants to get a direct drive wheel but doesn’t want to spend $800+ on the other options.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Build quality, Force feedback, Pedal feel
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
What have I been missing!
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This is my very first racing wheel and I am not sure why it took me so long to get one. Until now, I have always just used the controller that comes with the game system. While using a controller has gotten me by for years, having the wheel and pedals with the built in force feedback is simply another level of gaming fun.
*** UNBOXING AND SETUP ***
The unboxing experience was great. All parts and cables were packaged neatly and were very easy to assemble. When I first set up the wheel and pedals, I chose to hook it up to my gaming laptop. I mounted the wheel on the front of my desk, and put the pedals below. I quickly learned that not all games are supported with a PC connection, including Forza Horizon 5, which is my go-to racing game. With the wheel set to PC mode, it unfortunately didn’t work at all through the Xbox app. After trying to make it work for a few minutes with the windows tuner app (more on this later), I plugged everything into my Xbox console instead, and I was off to the races.
*** IN GAME ***
There was definitely a learning curve going from a controller to a wheel and pedals. At first, I could barely keep the car on the road and it seemed like I was both over steering and over braking. Just like any new experience, sometimes it takes a bit of patience and practice to feel comfortable. It took me roughly an hour to start feeling like I was actually in control of the car. What I found was that you can easily over-react to turns, so less is more comes into play. If you are finding that you are hitting walls and running off the road too easily, simply try to have more finesse with your moves and you will start to get the hang of it. All of that said, racing with the VelocityOne has been extremely fun so far. The force feedback when driving on different surfaces, or drifting, has been a “game changer” for me. Once I got the hang of it, I was fully immersed and losing track of time.
The steering wheel buttons are confusing at first. It’s not like using a standard controller and will take a few tries to understand the layout. As mentioned previously, with a little bit of patience and some actual use, you will feel more comfortable and they will also become easy to navigate.
The pedals feel great to me. At first I was over compensating, but once I got the hang of it, they felt just right. They are solidly built and the spring action/tension feels perfect to me. Again, I don’t have another reference to compare, but they feel great and only add to the enjoyment of using the whole system.
*** BUILD QUALITY ***
This is a really well built wheel. While I do not have prior racing wheel experience, I can confidently say that this feels solid, and should provide years of racing fun. The wheel itself has a great feel and the size feels just right for me. I am still getting used to the button layout, but in my first few races, I feel like they are all easy to access. The shift paddles also feel very well made. The base of the wheel that connects to the desk, or racing stand/cockpit (which I will be looking for soon), is heavy and substantial. The pedals and springs are both robust, have a great feel, and seem like they will also last a very long time.
*** THE APP ***
The VelocityOne app for Windows is a nice addition and lets users update firmware and tune specifics on the wheel and pedals. You can adjust dead zones and calibrate both the wheel and pedals to your personal taste, as well as creating custom lighting profiles. The only problem is that you will need a PC running Windows to use the app.
*** IN CONCLUSION ***
The Turtle Beach VelocityOne Racing Wheel is a great racing wheel setup that is built to last. With a company like Turtle Beach who have been around for decades, I trust that they will support this wheel with updates for both PC and Xbox, and the games that are supported. This is a massive upgrade to the racing experience over using a hand controller, and one I didn’t think I needed until I tried it. I am now in the market for a driving cockpit, as well as looking into flight simulation joysticks. Thank you Turtle Beach, but what have you done!
*** PROS ***
Solid build quality, everything feels sturdy
Force feedback is awesome
In game experience is a massive upgrade from hand controllers
*** CONS ***
Some games are not compatible with Windows yet
The tuner app is only available for Windows
This is making me want to invest a lot more into a gaming cockpit :-0
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Build quality
Cons mentioned:
Button layout
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Extremely fun home racing rig!
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I love racing games and have always wanted to have a home arcade racing setup. This Turtle Beach VelocityOne KD3 Direct Drive steering wheel & two-pedal set is a setup I would have loved as a kid and now get to enjoy as an adult. It gives you the same resistance in the steering wheel that you get in arcade racing games, but even better and it is in the comfort of your own home.
Here are some of my thoughts as someone who is new to home video game racing rigs.
Pros:
• The steering wheel is comfortable. Its rubber seems exceedingly high quality, near car quality I might add.
• The paddle shifters are very responsive and give you a satisfying tactile click when you press them. They also act as the right and left bumper buttons.
• The button layout on the steering wheel is (for the most part) well organized and nearly every button is easy to navigate while ‘driving’. I just don’t like the placement of the Xbox button, menu button, screen capture, and start buttons all being on the side of the force feedback motor.
• The force feedback motor is plenty strong. Make sure you have a sturdy desk or racing sim to clamp this thing to. I’m personally using a portable folding desk (for the time being), and at times that thing is too lightweight to handle the force feedback motor, and it will wobble.
• Along with the force feedback, the steering wheel provides a satisfying vibration, which adds to the tactile feel of the driving experience.
• I really like the display on the feedback motor that shows you that you’re connected to your device (Xbox or PC) and what gear you have connected (pedals, stick shift, etc.) If something isn’t working, you can see if it’s getting a signal right away.
Cons:
• As previously mentioned, I don’t especially like the placement of the Xbox button, menu button, screen capture, and start buttons which aren’t on the steering wheel, but rather the side of the force feedback motor. In games like Forza Horizon where the menu button is used to begin an event or race, I found myself accidentally hitting the wrong button and getting a screen capture of some innocuous race starting points.
• While the provided USB cables are plenty long enough, the power cord could be longer. It’s shorter than either of the provided USB cables unfortunately.
• The pedals can and do slide a little bit if using them on carpet.
• The steering wheel angle might not be everyone’s favorite, and I don’t believe it’s adjustable.
Another thing to note is that if you’re curious about game compatibility with this system, Turtle Beach provides a VelocityOne compatibility guide on their website that shows all games that work with this setup.
Also, no matter what system (Xbox or PC) you should download the VelocityOne Tuner app and make sure your system has the most up to date firmware. This will help with game compatibility for current and future games. Plus, you can customize the steering wheel configuration settings.
Overall, I am extremely happy with this unit. As someone who has always wanted a home racing simulator experience, this is the perfect all-in-one package. I’ve had so much fun after work just driving through Mexico in Forza Horizon 5.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Build quality, Pedal feel
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Good mid-tier setup
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I have had a few racing wheels, and I do really like this one. The finish and build quality seem very solid and premium, not toy grade. Even the packaging was very well done and felt high end.
After unpacking this wheel, I connected it to my desk. I was a little worried that my desk wouldn't be able to handle this wheel since its cheap particle board. However, after a few hours of playing my desk is still holding up with no problem, so that's a bonus. Once you get it setup make sure to download the Velocityone software (windows) to fine tune and finish connecting the wheel.
The velocity one software has lots of different adjustments and mine automatically updated the firmware. One thing that I could not get to work with the software was changing the color of the wheel. Mine is just stuck on green and no matter what setting or color I changed it did not take effect on the wheel. Not a huge deal and it's probably some setting on my computer that is blocking the change.
The wheel itself reminds feels just like a real car steering wheel. It's not fine napa leather, but it's also not a hard plastic/rubber, but more of a nice softish vinyl that mimics leather. The size is comparable to my actual cars wheel, and I can firmly grip the wheel with both hands. The paddle shifters on the back are metal, have a good weight to them, and a good snap when pulled on. The feedback from the paddle shifters is great as there is no second guessing if you pulled on it to change gears. The force feedback is good, but not as strong as other wheels I have used. The force is strong but not overpowering. In one of my racing games the wheel vibrated and felt just like I was out driving on a track, but the force feedback should be stronger in games, the wheel actually felt to light when in reality it should require more effort to turn.
The brake and gas pedal feel like a real car. I really like that you can adjust the spring on the back to make them looser or tighter. I tightened up the gas pedal slightly as it was too easy to push to the floor. The pedals are metal and seem really well built. One issue I had is on carpet the pedals will slid back. They need a better way to grip onto the floor to reduce this issue.
I do like this wheel and will be keeping it connected to my computer for racing games. Playing with a controller versus an actual wheel is night and day difference in fun. I feel like the games are a lot more engaging and fun to play again.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Force feedback, Pedal feel
Cons mentioned:
Game compatibility
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Great wheel, limited compatibility
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The Turtle Beach VelocityOne Race KD3 Direct Drive Force Feedback Racing System for Xbox and PC is a very good wheel and pedal combination.
Setup out of the box was somewhat easy, but I did have an issue with the knob that allows you to put in the bracket for mounting the wheel to the desktop being overly tight, to the point that when It finally broke free to loosen it up, I thought I had broken it when it cracked free.
You need to download the Turtle Beach Velocity Tuner software in order to get going with this wheel, which is pretty standard nowadays. It also required a firmware update to took a much longer than expected to complete. After all this, I was able to go in and setup the wheel how I wanted, with the exception of the RGB lighting. For some reason I was unable to set lighting through the app, and was only able make any changes to lighting directly through the wheel. Hopefully there will be an update to correct this.
I was excited to try this on one of my favorite games at the moment, The Crew Motorfest, and sadly all it would do is crash the game. Unfortunately there is a limited amount of games on PC that are compatible with this wheel. I then tried Asseto Corsa, which it works mostly after you manually set it up in game. The issue I had with this game is that for whatever reason I could not map the D-pad at all. Once I was able to get mostly everything going, it was a very fun experience playing the game with a wheel and pedals.
While using KD3 Racing system, it felt like using a regular wheel in the car. The force feedback felt great, and the pedals didn't feel fake. They had a solid feel to them making the experience more realistic. I also like the adjustability of the pedals. You can make them harder or softer to push. I also like how the wheel can be removed and stored away when not in use.
If you want a more authentic experience with your racing games, especially SIM racing games, this would definitely be something you may be interested in.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Turtle Beach Support
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Hello! We are sorry to hear about the experience you've had with your Turtle Beach Product. Our products are each sold with a manufacturer's warranty, and we have a dedicated Support Team available to provide assistance as needed. Please reach out directly to our dedicated Support Team so they can lend a hand. They’re always happy to help and can be reached right from the support section of the Turtle Beach website. Thank you and have a great day!
Pros mentioned:
Build quality
Cons mentioned:
Button layout
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Absolute must-have for realistic racing
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
It should be obvious that nothing beats having realistic vehicle controls in any driving game. The difference between racing using a typical game controller and an actual wheel is night and day, and having a race setup like this Turtle Beach VelocityOne System makes playing games like Forza so much more fun and enjoyable.
I saw this first hand with my 10 year old daughter. We have an Xbox Series X and once in a while she'd hop onto Forza Horizon 5 before we got this wheel, but after about 30 minutes to an hour, she would start getting over it. Then we got this racing system and she played almost non-stop for an entire weekend!
The direct drive force feedback system of the wheel does an amazing job of simulating actual driving conditions, especially when going off-road in Forza Horizon. For my daughter, who obviously hasn't driven any real world vehicles beyond an electric go-kart on a smooth track, it confused her at first, she thought the wheel had a mind of its own. This turned into a fun teaching lesson for me as I explained to her why the wheel would react the way it does in the real world too. The accuracy you get with this wheel is insane. It feels solid too and has quite a bit of weight to it giving it even more of a realistic feel.
The pedals feel pretty good too, and you can physically adjust the spring tension somewhat. But if I'm being honest, the pedals just aren't as impressive as the wheel. I realize there's not as much to the pedals, but they don't feel as solid as the wheel, and definitely don't have anywhere near the weight. I had trouble, and still do, with keeping the pedals from sliding around on the floor. The rubber feet underneath aren't enough to keep it in place and I ended up grabbing a couple 25 and 35 pound dumbbells to help. If you had a racing seat and frame to mount the pedals in it wouldn't be as bad. If you didn't know any better, you wouldn't think the pedals are from the same racing system the wheel is.
As much as I do love the wheel, it's not perfect either. Not all the buttons work out of the box, like the 'rsb' (right shoulder button) and 'lsb' (left shoulder button). At least with Forza, I couldn't find a way to get them to work, even with the VelocityOne Tuner App. It made navigating the game menus, which isn't a very simplistic UI in Forza, kind of difficult. I learned that you can actually have a game controller on and just go in between using the wheel and the controller effortlessly. So now I just keep the regular controller next to the wheel and just pick it up and use that instead anytime I need to get into the Forza game menus.
Besides all that, I don't have anything else negative to say. The wheel works great and I actually love the VelocityOne Tuner App. It makes it so easy to configure the wheel and pedals to how you like them, between pedal actuation and wheel force to the controls. Setting up the wheel overall was really easy. So while it's not perfect, it's a great wheel and racing system and even my daughter absolutely loves it. It's a great wheel for both more advanced players and novice players alike.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Build quality, Force feedback
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Takes racing to the next level!
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This review is for the Turtle Beach - VelocityOne Race KD3 Direct Drive Force Feedback Racing System.
When I started unboxing the first thing I noticed was the weight and feel of the components. They felt very sturdy and durable. The force feedback drive unit has a metal case, and the pedals also feel very robust. The wheel itself does feel a little less sturdy. I think it’s the plastic. But once connected to the drive unit, it feels very comfortable in your hands. So good for them long days of racing hours at a time.
One thing to think about is your desk or where you will be mounting the wheel too. I have a glass top desk and was a little worried that it would be too much weight. But I haven’t had an issue with it yet, Just something to think about.
Hooking the unit it self-up to the PC was very easy. Come with all the cables needed.
What took the longest was you need to set up very input/button/pedal for each game individually. So, it’s not just plug and play. The most common input commands are no brainers like stop/acceleration, turns. But it took me a little playing around some time to set up all the buttons on the center of the wheel to my liking. The good thing is you only have to do this once per game.
Once you have everything set up, it changes everything about the game, I love the feel and feedback you get from this wheel. From the road to the grass, it is a totally different experience playing now. I feel like I have way more control now. I find it easier to drift around corners and recover from spin outs. If you haven’t tried one for yourself yet you need to.
It also has its own display on the drive unit that you can use to fine tune things on the fly with.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Pedal feel
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Fantastic racing wheel for the XBOX
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I haven't had a racing wheel in quite a few years so getting this to play on the new XBOX Series X has been a lot of fun. My daughters have also had a lot of fun playing Forza horizon 5 using this new steering wheel. The feel of the steering wheel itself is very authentic with the placement of the buttons on the wheel making it very functional as a controller to navigate while using the XBOX.
The force feedback is very realistic and even when bumping into other vehicles while racing or rubbing other vehicles you get different levels of feedback versus when you actually run into something much harder with force in the game. The paddle shifters also work very well when using manual mode in the racing games. The pedals have a solid feel to them with a good amount of weight to keep them from sliding around on the floor.
When I connected them to my XBOX Series X Digital the system immediately recognized the steering wheel without any issues. I downloaded the velocity app and ran the firmware update which took about 5 minutes and was up and running playing Forza horizon 5 within a matter of minutes from plugging it into the XBOX.
Pros
- Realistic feeling steering wheel
- Realistic force feedback
- Solid pedals
Cons
- Very heavy
- Must have a sturdy table to be able to attach
- Will be great with a racing seat setup which are not cheap but would be a great way to use this wheel
Overall this steering wheel is a great way to experience racing games on the XBOX but you will need room and a way to attach it to a table to be able to fully utilize it. My kids have had a great time playing with it since we got it and set it up.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Build quality
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Feed Your Need for Speed!!!
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This was my first experience using a racing simulator with a steering wheel and pedals. It allows individuals to experience aspects of racing in a legal and safe manner right from their home. Introducing the Turtle Beach Velocity One Race KD3. This thing is seriously amazing, its fun, easy to setup and honestly I have never enjoyed racing games as I am now. So, lets go over what makes the Velocity One so amazing.
Build Quality:
First of all I would like to touch on the build quality. The steering wheel and pedals are sturdy and high quality, the steering wheel giving you the feel of an actual racing steering wheel, from attaching it to the base down to the touch. The wheel is comfortable for long use, and the buttons and paddles have a satisfying click and I must say the paddles work really well
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Setup:
Next, we will go over the setup. Now the Velocity one is compatible with XBOX and PC, unfortunately, I don’t have an XBOX, I am a PlayStation fan, I was able to setup this up on my gaming laptop to test this out. The setup process is really simple. Just connect the pedals to the KD Drive, attach the KD Drive to the laptop and the windows will detect it automatically and that’s it. I would highly recommend downloading the Turtle Beach Velocity One app to update the firmware on the unit and to make any necessary customizations to your liking. The wheelbase can be attached to the table using the table clamp and the pedal stay in place using the non-slip base.
FUN:
Now lets get to the best part, actually using this setup. The direct drive force feedback is on another level—it’s powerful, and smooth. You can actually feel the road textures, the way the tires grip, and even subtle slips in corners. Playing racing games like Forza and Need for Speed is such a blast; drifting around turns and catching the force feedback kicks makes the experience incredibly immersive and just plain fun. Even my kids have started using it. What I really appreciate is how customizable everything is. Tuning the pedal resistance and tweaking the force feedback through the app is super easy, so every game feels just right, whether I’m tearing through city streets or tackling off-road tracks, everything is just a blast.
Overall, the Velocity One Race KD3 takes racing games to a whole new level. The performance, comfort, and all the fun little details just make it truly enjoyable. This is a fantastic investment for anyone who wants to make racing on PC actually feel like racing, not just playing a game.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Pedal feel
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Makes old games fun again
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The Turtle Beach VelocityOne KD3 is a nice racing wheel for the XBox. The first thing you need to do is download the VelocityOne Tuner app for your XBox. It is free to download. Next, make sure you are up to date. I made a mistake in just installing the Turtle Beach tuner app, opening it and just checking things out without checking if there are any pending updates.
I opened my game up and it did not recognize the racing wheel. I spent some time looking up articles. There is even a compatibility list on their website. I did not see my specific game, but there are other games in the series that are compatible. I went back to the tuner app and saw there was an update pending and installed it. I restarted the game and now the racing wheel is recognized.
I played Forza Motorsport 6 with it. It is an older game, but it made this game even more fun. The racing wheel makes it even more realistic. The wheel feels really good. There is a good amount of resistance when turning. You can turn the wheel a full 360 degrees and as you complete a turn, the resistance increases. I did not go beyond two full turns since I will not do that in my racing games. I was just curious but happy to report the increase in resistance. The paddle shifters feel good to press as well. Default value is 900 degrees but you can increase it.
The pedals feel good too. There is a good amount of travel when pressing on them. The base underneath has rubber. Even on wooden floors, it does a good job of staying in place. But if you press the pedals hard, you can move it.
The tuner app has a lot of settings. You can change the units between MPH and KM/H. You can change the lighting. It has 20 different color presets. Some colors have multiple shades. You can adjust the brightness. There are different effects like static, breathing, and color cycles.
The pedals sensitivity can be adjusted. The default is 50% while the deadzone is 0%. Each pedal has both settings available. You can calibrate the wheel’s centerpoint. The tuner app has many settings. It also supports profiles so the wheel can be used by multiples players in your household.
Overall, I like the wheel. It made an old game fun again. Racing games are meant to be played with a racing wheel. Controllers are fine but I cannot get used to the different levels of braking and acceleration with buttons. It is a lot better with pedals. The steering wheel is better than analog controls specially when the angle of turn is slight. If you are into racing games, get this racing wheel. The only issue I have is the way the “B” button feels. It feels different than the other buttons. It may have been pressed to hard while in shipping.
I would recommend this to a friend
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Solid wheel option for Xbox and PC
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The Turtle Beach Velocity One KD3 isn’t my first racing wheel, but it’s my first exclusively for PC and Xbox. I initially received a non-functioning wheel but Turtle Beach support was phenomenal and quickly replaced it. The replacement worked perfectly out of the box. I aligned and connected the wheel to the wheelbase using the sliding lock sleeve, mounted the base to my wheel stand, connected the pedal base and power adapter, connected my PC and installed the Turtle Beach Velocity One tuner app. The app detected the wheel immediately and the first thing it did was instruct to upgrade the firmware. I did so and the wheel was then ready to use on my Windows gaming PC. There are two cables that connect everything in the system. A USB-C cable connects the wheelbase to the pedals and a USB-C to A cable connects the wheelbase to the PC/Xbox. The cables are easy to identify thanks to color coded tips and labeled Velcro straps. Additionally, the PC/Xbox USB-C to A cable cannot connect the pedal base to the wheel.
The textured wheel is a comfortable size and handles well. The large metal paddle shifters are easy to access and operate while driving. I like the button placement of the wheel mounted controls. Buttons are easily within my reach and readily accessible during gameplay. The wheel has customizable lighting that allows the color and/or light pattern to be changed. The metal pedals respond well and both spacing and tension are adjustable. The whole setup fits nicely on my wheel stand and doesn’t wobble or slide during use. The pedal base has threads on the bottom which align with openings on the stand and allowed me to bolt it securely to the stand bottom for stability. I was concerned initially about the large size of the pedal base, but it fits and aligns perfectly on the stand.
I try to map the buttons to match the controller as closely as possible. The wheel itself replaces the analog stick that I normally use for steering. I mapped the directional arrows to replace the view functions of the other analog stick and used the default controller button mappings for the remaining buttons. Not all controls are an exact 1 to 1 match, so I had to get creative with a few lesser used controls that don’t have corresponding buttons on the wheel. There is no guesswork with the primary buttons that I use for rewind, map or e-brake and the paddle shifters make manual shifting a lot easier and more intuitive than on controller.
I primarily play Forza Horizon (4 & 5) and Motorfest on both Xbox and PC. I’m currently using this wheel in Forza Horizon 5 on PC. Although I mapped the controls suitably, the car handled horribly at first and kept oversteering and spinning out. I exited the game, calibrated the wheel in Velocity tuner, and further tweaked handling in Forza as well. Part of the issue was that I previously tweaked controls and handling to compensate for a controller. After resetting to default and adjusting controls for a wheel, it handles much better. Using cockpit view instead of the chase view I normally use with controllers also helps a lot. The wheel's force feedback was another thing that needed tweaking. Initially it was too aggressive and made me fight the wheel for control with every tiny bump. It works wonderfully now after being fine-tuned and adds to realism by rumbling whenever I drive over rough surfaces or encounter loss of traction or control. Vibration can also be disabled completely if desired.
The wheel makes driving feel more realistic but is less forgiving than a controller. It has more nuanced handling and feels more like sim than arcade. The pedals respond well with no latency and allow more controlled acceleration and braking. I haven’t yet had to make any tension or spacing adjustments since the pedals feel and work fine for me in the default positions. There is no clutch pedal in this set but the wheelbase has extra inputs for optional accessories. The V1 KD3 also offers advanced telemetry output options that integrate with in-game telemetry on supported games for detailed metrics output. Once telemetry is enabled it requires configuring the in-game i/o feature to use. Customized wheel settings can be saved to five different profiles.
I’ve been having a lot of fun using the V1 KD3 wheel in Forza. I tried to get it working in Motorfest on PC but the game crashes whenever I connect the wheel. At first the game wouldn’t even launch, so I tried upgrading display and system drivers, clearing the game cache, and even tried launching the game using a controller first and then connected the wheel. It immediately crashed again. I don’t fault the wheel because that game hasn’t exactly been the model of stability for me on PC, even with controllers. I plan to continue troubleshooting to try and eventually get it working with the wheel, but I'm not in the mood to deal with the aggravation anymore at the moment. I also ran into a couple other minor issues. The adjustable lighting doesn’t always change to the selected color and keeps defaulting back to the yellow. I also have trouble powering off the system using the Xbox button. I have to either pull the USB cable from PC or push the emergency drive stop button to power off the wheel because pressing the Xbox button does nothing. I’ve held the button for up to 20 seconds and the wheel doesn’t power off. I am hopeful these will be addressed in future firmware updates, but for now they don’t negatively affect gameplay and are more nitpick than major issues.
I would recommend this to a friend
Brand response from Turtle Beach Support
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Hello J! We are sorry to hear about the experience you've had with your Turtle Beach Product. Our products are each sold with a manufacturer's warranty, and we have a dedicated Support Team available to provide assistance as needed. Please reach out directly to our dedicated Support Team so they can lend a hand. They’re always happy to help and can be reached right from the support section of the Turtle Beach website. Thank you and have a great day!
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Fun controller gets me into a higher gear
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The Turtle Beach VelocityOne KD3 marks a significant leap forward in how I enjoy racing games. I’ve loved these games for a long time, but resisted investing in a “real” wheel controller. Now I’m glad I did. This is the controller I never knew I needed
I set it up on my PC to play a few of my favorites: Forza Horizon, Motorsport, and EA’s F1. I’d previously connected an Xbox controller as that gives at least a bit more control and feedback than a keyboard. My biggest challenge in getting started was that none of the games come pre-configured to work with Turtle Beach. It takes 5-10 minutes to select all the buttons and calibrate the controls to each game the first time they’re played with the wheel controller. After that, it’s off to the races!
I immediately noticed the VelocityOne’s excellent force feedback. I found it particularly well-suited for beginners. The vibrations started to knock some papers from my desk. The resistance truly brought the virtual track to life, allowing me to feel bumps, turns, and loss of traction. I expect this will help me take my game to the next level in understanding the car's behavior. It truly makes a world of difference beyond controllers without that. The games are just so much more fun, even compared with an
Complementing the force feedback are the high-quality pedals. Their realistic feel and responsiveness contribute significantly to the overall immersion, allowing for precise throttle and brake control, which are vital for shaving seconds off lap times. This was one area the set up fell down a bit. The pads on the bottom of the pedals would not grip the hardwood floor under my desk. I had to put a footrest in front of them and between the wall so I’d have enough leverage to operate the brake. Otherwise the spring was way too tight. This simple addition prevents the pedals from sliding during intense braking or acceleration.
The VelocityOne Race boasts broad compatibility with a wide array of popular racing games. Telemetry from the game may require installing SIMHUB to get everything connected. It’s a small license fee, but it would be nice if it were included in the package considering the up front price. If you’re an Xbox user, most of the games are pre-configured. It’s only on the PC where extra work is required.
Beyond its out-of-the-box performance, one of the most appealing aspects of the VelocityOne Race is its potential for growth. The modular design and quality components mean that it can easily integrate into a more comprehensive racing rig as skills and interest in sim racing evolve. The wheel can be swapped out. The base and the motor have bolt holes for attaching to a dedicated rig. This makes it an excellent starting point that won’t need an immediate upgrade as your skills improve. Even if I never make it beyond a casual racer, it should deliver hours and hours of adrenaline fueled fun in between the spreadsheets and email which are my normal life. Well worth it!
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Build quality, Force feedback, Pedal feel
Cons mentioned:
Button layout
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Drive Almost For Real
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The Turtle Beach VelocityOne KD3 is a direct drive racing wheel and pedal system that aims to compete with some of the more established names in the sim racing space. I’ve had it for a little over two weeks now, using it mostly with Forza and Corsa on PC. I did try out a quick session in F1 24 just to see how it handled a more precision-heavy title. Spoiler: it’s good, surprisingly so, even though there are still some things that feel a bit off or undercooked.
Unboxing it felt like a premium experience. You get the wheel base, the steering wheel with all the paddles and buttons pre-attached, and the three-pedal set, which feels a little heavier than I expected. You also get mounting hardware, USB cables, a power brick, and a quick start guide. With this, I mostly ignored the guide and just figured it out as I went. The wheel itself has a decent weight to it. Not super heavy, but heavier than most non-DD wheels I’ve handled. The grips are rubbery, not suede or Alcantara or anything fancy, but they’re fine and didn’t bother me even during longer stints. I will say the face buttons are a little mushy, especially the d-pad, which makes navigating menus a bit annoying if you’re used to the tactile clicks of a controller.
Setting up was mostly plug-and-play but, I did end up downloading the VelocityOne Racing Hub software, which was more useful than I expected. You can tweak sensitivity, remap inputs, and update firmware. That last one is key because the first time I tried to calibrate the wheel, it didn’t seem to recognize the full range of rotation. After updating, it worked as expected. You can set the wheel rotation from 270° all the way to 1080°, though I pretty much just left it at 900° since that felt right for most of what I was playing. The force feedback is really solid. Strong, clean, and with enough detail that I could feel understeer and weight transfer better than I ever could with my old belt-driven setup. It's not just strong for the sake of it either. The nuance is there, especially in tighter cars with less body roll. One weird thing I noticed is that it gets a little noisy during aggressive self-centering moments. It’s not gear grinding or anything bad, more of a high-pitched whine from the motor that I only really heard late at night when everything else was quiet.
The mounting system is okay. I used the included desk clamp for the first few days and it was fine, but there was a bit of flex when I was really sawing at the wheel. Pedals are good. The brake has a progressive feel thanks to the rubber damper insert. If you’re used to modulating your brake based on travel instead of pressure, this might take some getting used to. I wish the clutch had a bit more bite. Right now, it just feels like another spring pedal with a bit of tension difference, but not enough that it helps with muscle memory in heel-toe situations. That being said, you can remap things and change pedal curves in the software, so there’s room to grow into it.
One thing I did not expect to like as much as I do is the little display on the wheel. It’s a small LCD screen that shows telemetry, gear, RPMs, and so on depending on the game. Not all titles support it fully, but the ones that do make it feel like a tiny upgrade to immersion. Also, the RGB lights on the base are totally unnecessary but kind of cool. I set mine to match the car I’m driving. Red for Ferrari, green for Aston Martin, and so on. Totally pointless, but I like it. I did run into one weird issue where the wheel would disconnect during a race. It only happened twice and both times on PC. After some digging, I realized I had it plugged into a USB hub that apparently didn’t provide enough consistent power. Once I plugged it directly into the motherboard, it’s been fine since. Still a little frustrating that the error message didn’t really help diagnose it. It just said “device not detected,” which could mean a million things. Would’ve been nice if there was a clearer troubleshooting flow either in the app or the documentation.
I think that this is a really solid entry point into sim racing. Just make sure you’ve got a stable surface to mount it to and update the firmware before you do anything else.
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Build quality, Force feedback, Pedal feel
Cons mentioned:
Button layout, Game compatibility
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
KD3 delivers a great racing experience at home!
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The VelocityOne Race KD3 is a fun and immersive gaming device with some very high quality components and force feedback that makes me feel like I'm in the race!
Design
The wheel has a very sturdy and strong feel to it. The wheel ships in two parts, a heavy part with the motor in it and the wheel itself. There's a ring around the back part of the wheel that you pull back, toward the wheel, so you can insert it into the heavy, motor, mechanism. When you pull that back and line it up correctly it slides in easily and very securely. Once together, the entire part attaches to a table or desk with a simple to use clap. The clamp is sturdy and holds the wheel in place very well. Then there's the part that has the accelerator and break pedals. The pedals themselves feel very good and well made. The part holding them seems fine on top. From the bottom it doesn't look as strong and it is sort of light weight. I wouldn't say it's cheap or not strong enough, it works great and I expect that it will hold up fine, but it just doesn't seem to be quite as high quality as the pedals or the wheel. I hold it in place with my left foot while driving with my right, which works very well for me. There are holes in the bottom that could be used to secure it to the floor or you could also attach it to a racing cockpit. I would also put the buttons on the front of the steering wheel in that category. There's nothing really wrong with them, but to me they don't feel as high quality as the rest of the wheel, the paddle shifters, and the pedals. Overall, I think the quality is very good and it works great! Two braided USB cables are included. There's one USB C to USB C, for the steering wheel to the pedals, and one USB C to USB A, from the steering wheel to the PC. A power cable is also included. It goes from the steering wheel to the wall outlet. There's some cool lighting on the wheel that can be adjusted from the Turtle Beach VelocityOne Tuner. There is also a small LCD screen on the wheel, or the part just behind the turning wheel. It shows when you press the pedals or turn the wheel so you can see exactly what's being registered. You can also change configuration settings using that screen. The connectors on the back of the wheel are well marked, making connectivity easy.
Game Compatibility
You will want to install the VelocityOne Tuner app to adjust settings for the KD3. For the PC, there are additional apps that you can install to add features. I installed SimHub. This lets you use a second display as an instrument panel in your car, for games that support it.
Not every racing game will work with a racing wheel. Turtle Beach has a compatibility list at the link below. The top part is for the XBox and the bottom part is for the PC. This list also shows which games benefit from a third party app, like SimHub, if any.
https://support.turtlebeach.com/s/article/velocityone-race-kd3-game-compatibility-guide?language=en_US
I have three games that are on the list:
Mudrunner
RaceRoom Racing Experience
Farming Simulator 2022
They're all a bit different as far as what needs to be configured and how you do that. Farming Simulator 2022 detected a wheel on startup and asked if I wanted to use it. I said yes, but still had to configure the "Controller" for it to work. It did show the KD3 when selecting controls. At times in the settings screen it should show an option to select a different device, which I figured was the KD3, but I never got that to do anything and most of the time that option wasn't even there, even though the KD3 was connected and turned on. RaceRoom worked perfectly with it. The Paddle Shifters are amazing! They have such a good solid and quick feel to them. I never used paddle shifters in a race car but it wouldn't surprise me if these feel just like the real thing. The steering wheel has a great feel too! It feels like it would be in a car, not like a toy. While I don't think the front buttons have that same feel they still work fine and the wheel, paddle shifters, and pedals all feel excellent! The motion is very solid and strong. Sometimes it feels a bit on and off to me, rather than smooth pressure, and sometimes it's suppose to shake. It's hard to describe, I like the feel of the shaking and pressure that it adds to turning, but sometimes it just doesn't feel smooth or right to me - but it's not bad. I'd still much rather have the force feedback than not have it. MudRunner works very well. I don't know it's a bug with my install of that game or what but I had to configure the accelerator as the break and the break as the accelerator for some reason. Otherwise they were backwards in the actual game, even though in the test thing in the settings it was correct. That has nothing to do with the KD3 but I'm letting you know in case you run into the same issue in MudRunner or another game. Once configured though, it works great in MudRunner! I love all the buttons on the wheel giving tons of controls in the game that can be configured there without needing to use a keyboard or other device. I did setup one other game, an older one, Dirt 3. That one I was able to get working, even though it's old and not on the compatibility list. But with this, the turning is on or off with the wheel, not gradual at all, so you need to turn a lot for it to turn at all and then it may turn too much. Maybe I can fix it but so far I haven't. Really, I thought that was good news because it's not even supposed to work and the pedals worked great. I wasn't able to get it to work at all on Hot Wheels Unleashed or Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered. It did work with Burnout Paradise Remastered but the turning was the same as in Dirt 3, where you had to turn the wheel a lot for the car to turn at all and then it would turn, possibly more than I wanted.
The Racing Experience
I've never had a racing game feel so immersive! To me the quality of the wheel, the paddle shifters, and the pedals are all a huge part of this! I feel like I'm driving a race car! Another huge part of the experience to me is the force feedback. I wouldn't say it's perfect, but I think it's very good! Sometimes the force feedback feels a bit rough to me when it could feel more gradual, but it's still excellent and just feeling the steering wheel pushing against me, with plenty of force but not too much, really takes the experience up a level! I think it's incredible that you can even get a setup like this at home! Gaming always used to be about better sound and graphics. Using the KD3 is adds a new dimension of touch and response that, for me, was never there before!
Summary
I think Turtle Beach did an excellent job of bring the feel of driving and racing to the home with the KD3! I feel like I'm on the race track to driving a large truck off-road through the mud. The force feedback really helps to bring me into the action and the feel of the wheel and pedals is great! I wasn't expecting to be impressed by the paddle shifters, but I am! Wow, they just feel perfectly responsive and high quality. I found the physical setup to be easier than I expected. It took more time to get it working with games than I thought, but you get more used to it as you go. Even if games are on the supported list, don't expect them to work without some manual configuration, but I think the experience is worth it!
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Build quality, Force feedback, Pedal feel
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
“From Box to Track: My Take on the VelocityOne KD3
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
Introduction
Before actually trying out the Turtle Beach VelocityOne KD3, I found myself doing a bit of research to get a good feel for what I might be in for with this amazing setup. The KD3 is Turtle Beach’s first serious entry into sim racing hardware—a direct-drive wheelbase bundled with a simple two-pedal set. I’ve had time to set it up, race with it in RaceRoom Racing Experience on PC, and get a feel for where it shines and, in my opinion, where it still has some growing pains. Here’s my take.
Setup & First Impressions
Unboxing is straightforward: wheelbase, steering wheel, pedal unit, power supply, and cables. Assembly is quick—mount the base to a desk or rig, plug the pedals into the wheelbase, and connect one USB cable from the base to the PC. With the Turtle Beach Tuner app installed, firmware updates were easy, and switching the base into PC mode through the onboard display was painless. Within minutes I had it calibrated and recognized by Windows. Beware, however…you need to read through the included literature, watch a couple of videos, and have some patience. Otherwise the setup will not be quite as easy as it could be.
I had a bit of an issue finding a place to mount the wheel. The table I wanted to mount it to did not have a wide enough edge. And two tables later, I found one that would work. This is not a negative comment by any means. The wheel is rather substantial, you really need a good solid surface to mount it to. Otherwise you will pull it off the first time you grip and pull on the wheel.
The hardware itself feels solid. The aluminum pedals have adjustable tension, and while there’s no clutch pedal in this bundle, the brake and throttle both respond smoothly. The wheel has a premium weight to it, and the built-in Race Management Display is a standout feature, letting you tweak force feedback, steering rotation, and profiles without ever leaving your game.
All things being considered, the setup was fairly painless. Well, until I tried to use it with Race Room Racing Experience. Windows 11 recognized the setup right off the bat. RRRE did not, so there was a lot of mapping to do. And that in turn involves a lot of remembering. But after a couple of hours, it was like I had been doing it for years.
Performance on the Track
The KD3’s direct-drive motor delivers up to 3.2 Nm of torque—enough to make racing immersive without being overwhelming. Steering feels responsive and detailed: you can actually sense road texture, curbs, and weight transfer through the wheel. It may not rival high-end Fanatec or Moza units in raw power, but it strikes a good balance between strength and accessibility.
In RaceRoom, once I mapped controls manually, the system worked smoothly. Pedal input was accurate, with progressive brake resistance that made trail braking more natural than I expected from a two-pedal kit. Paddle shifters are magnetic, giving a satisfying click with each gear change.
The Good
• Solid build quality across wheel and pedals. These are substantial quality components, not flimsy pot-metal junk
• Direct-drive feedback with impressive clarity for the price point
• Race Management Display is genuinely useful for live adjustments
• Easy setup with Turtle Beach Tuner app and firmware updater
• Compatible with Xbox and PC, making it versatile
The Not-So-Good
• Only two pedals (no clutch) limits options for manual H-pattern shifter setups. Of course, this is no big deal if this is your first setup. Otherwise you might kinda feel like you’re missing out on something.
• Button layout is simpler than some competitors, meaning fewer mappable inputs. Again, not so bad, especially since you don’t have to tax your memory, or make up a cheat sheet.
• 3.2 Nm of torque is immersive and enjoyable, but won’t satisfy hardcore sim racers chasing higher force levels
• Initial game setup, like I experienced in RaceRoom, requires manual mapping, as native profiles are still catching up. There is a list of around 15 native profiles in RRRE
My Verdict
The Turtle Beach VelocityOne KD3 is a well-designed, approachable racing wheel bundle that brings direct-drive force feedback to a wider audience. What I mean by that is that direct-drive force feedback is something typically reserved for setups that are much more expensive and out of reach for a lot of us. It’s not the most powerful rig out there, and it skips the third pedal, but what it does offer—quality build, intuitive tuning, and immersive force feedback—makes it an excellent choice for newcomers and mid-level sim racers alike. For the price, it’s one of the most plug-and-play direct-drive systems you can buy right now.
Score: 5 out of 5 stars – A strong setup from Turtle Beach, with a bit of room to grow if they want to target more experienced gamers. In the end, all I know is that I am enjoying the KD3 more than I thought possible. It makes racing games fun AND immersive. I will most certainly be recommending the Turtle Beach VelocityOne KD3 to my friends and family!
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Build quality
Cons mentioned:
Button layout
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
How to make an 11 year old smile!
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This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I got the Turtle Beach - VelocityOne Race KD3 for my 11 year old son that loves the racing games, as well as big truck ones like Farming Simulator. He plays on his gaming PC, but on the Xbox as well. I'm more of a flight sim guy myself, but to each their own!
The presentation of the sterring wheel out of the box was top notch. You knew without looking at the instructions where every thing went. I was particuarly pleased to see that the pedals could be attached. Some other wheels we've used in the past have not allowed for that. The cable management for the KD3 was a nice feature in and of itself.
We use a frame purchased online for the sterring wheel and pedal setup. Once everything is aligned and bolted on, no wiggle at all. Connecting it to the PC requires a bunch of key mapping, but that was to be expected and worth the time to get it done right.
I'm not to keen on the placement of the Xbox buttons on the side of the column. I feel as if they are an afterthought. You can always just assign those to lesser used functions. But, with the wheel being able to be popped off in exchange for a Formula One style wheel, I get why the buttons are out of the way.
All-in-all, really, the only thing missing here is an airbag!
I would recommend this to a friend
Pros mentioned:
Build quality, Force feedback
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Fun and nostalgic set up
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Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
This is my first experience with an over the top racing specific set up and I was pleasantly surprised. I grew up playing racing games on older consoles and used to love playing racing simulators with a seat, wheel and pedal set up at arcades when I was younger. I have kids now and thought this would be a fun way to introduce them to racing games and into something other than a tablet or a switch. First impressions were great, it came packaged really well and securely so that was a positive considering the initial investment for the setup. Once I took everything out of the box I was surprised by how heavy and solidly constructed everything feels. Nothing about this feels cheap and it really feels built to last. You do have the option to use this without a rig or dedicated mount but ended up ordering a rig that I will attach this to that can be folded up when not in use so it's easier to adjust and have kids play with you. My only complaint is the pedals work best when they are secured in some way so while they will work without a mounting system, depending on the space or set up in your home you may want to buy something to really set this up comfortably and securely for playing. Set up wasn't hard, there is an app that this goes with to help with updates and controls etc. We use an xbox and gaming laptops so I liked that this was compatible with both. The feedback and force from the wheel is surprisingly lifelike and brought a whole new level of fun to racing games we've enjoyed in the past. It sounds cheesy but this was actually fun for the whole family and we ended up laughing together a bunch trying to teach the kids how to drive and use the pedals etc. My spouse is more competitive with the racing games and commented on how different it is to experience a racing game with the racing wheel setup and appreciated that it felt more realistic than using a standard controller. If you're looking to add more fun into your gaming experience or laughing and learning together as a family, this is a great option for you and I'd highly recommend checking this out.
I would recommend this to a friend
Cons mentioned:
Button layout
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Great starter for Sim racing
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Posted .
This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
I am giving this a 4-star rating. I feel this is a little overpriced for what you get compared to what is out there. My first main gripe is that this only has the 2 pedals which they left out the clutch. I do not mind this that much, but I feel cheated out. They have an older model that comes with 3 pedals, so it feels a little bit of a setback. I enjoy using a shifter and having that clutch to use with games that utilize it.
Another issue that I have is that this is only 3.2Nm of force feedback. Personally, I like this myself. But again, with this price tag, I think that should have been at least 5Nm of force. So that is something to consider. For me, I have another wheel that uses gears, and I think it is 2.1Nm of force. What I like is that this being a lot less Nm, I can have it set up with my desk and not feel like it will break my desk. Again, this is also a great starting point to get used to.
Games. I play mostly on PC. Depending on the game, you may have to take some time to get this set up. But once you set it up, it is a lot of fun using. Most games, you can set up quickly depending on what you want to do for basic use. If you want to get a bit more in-depth with the game for buttons, then you will need to take some time to set up the buttons with what you want them to do. Like E-brake, look behind, to side, change camera view etc. The directional buttons are also only 4 ways. They do not have the corners (which would give you 8 keys instead of 4 if they did).
The wheel itself and pedals feel great. There is a slight flat spot on the bottom of the wheel, not sure why they did not make the whole wheel round. But it's not that bad.
I recommend getting at least a racing stand for this. They have one that you can get that will allow a chair to slide the wheels on that can help keep your chair or stand from sliding away. Or you can get nicer ones that come with a chair attached.
I also like that they went to using USB-C. Just would like to have seen the cable that goes into the PC have a USB-C or USB-A. This is a USB-A to directly plug into PC. The power cord is also unique, and its own style plug as well. Again, would have like a USB-C power cord.
I do recommend this if you are starting out.