Logitech G29 and G920 First Impressions

[Darin Gangi 1,074]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhcW3Rfc6qM

 

Presenting one of many post E3 shows. This one will be covering the new Logitech G29 and G920 first impressions. The Logitech G29 will work on the PC, PS3 and PS4 and the G920 will work on the PC and Xbox One . I'm going to cover both of them in this show since they are pretty much identical except button layout and placement.

 

It's been six long years since the release of the Logitech G27 for the PS3 and PC. Logitech had announced a little while back that they wouldn’t be developing hardware for the console systems any longer. Well, I guess they changed their minds cause they're back now and on both new gen systems .

 

The Logitech meeting room was my first stop on my E3 tour and I met up with Chris Pate who's a Logitech Project Manager and who I've met a few times over the years. Great guy by the way and it was great to see him again.

 

Lets start things off with some pricing and specs.

 

Both wheels will retail for $399 and neither come with the optional Driving Force Shifter that will have a suggested retail price of $59.99. The G29 will be available in July while the G920 sometime later this year. You are able to pre-order either setup from the Logitech site with free shipping.

 

Both wheels feature a dual-motor force feedback transmission with anti-backlash helical gearing, a hand-stitched leather-wrapped rim.

 

Both come with the very familiar G27 style pedal sets but now have a rubber bumper type modification to add some progression to your braking. I was also told that they now use hall effect sensors and I assume they meant for pedal functionality but will find out more for my full review.

 

The G29 has the familiar shift / rev lights that the G27 had. The G920 does not have that option. Both have the same paddles shifters we are used to from the G27.

The G29 rim is now a combination of the Driving Force GT otherwise known as the DFGT and the G27. It has a D-Pad, the standard PS button layout including the X, square, Triangle circle layout, plus the 4 left and right bumper buttons. It has the 24-point selection dial and the plus/minus buttons that we saw on the DFGT. It also has the share, option and PS4 button. So if you include the plus minus selector, on the PC you will have 13 buttons you can map plus the dial.

The G920 has a Dpad, the Xbox One button layout with the A, B, X, Y buttons, LSB and RSB buttons, the Back and start, as well as the Xbox button. So on the PC, you would only have 9 buttons compared to the 13 on the G29.

 

Both will support up to 900 degrees of rotation.

 

No on to my initial impressions:

 

I drove the G920 on the Xbox One with Project Cars. Then I drove the G29 on the PS4 with Drive Club and Project Cars on the PC . All three were connected to Playseat chassis.

 

My impressions were pretty much the same across the board in regards to performance on all three systems. They all feel pretty much identical to the G27 in regards to force feedback and general performance. The wheel rim is now D shaped, but the leather feels the same as what you would find on the G27. The feel of the buttons were similar to how they feel on the DFGT.

 

On the PC in project cars, it was recognized as a G27 in the menus so I assume they were using the G27 windows driver.

 

The pedals have the same feel and spacing as the G27 pedals but now have the additional brake mod that felt much better than a stock G27 brake. Felt similar to having a Nixim brake mod.

 

 

Finally the shifter.. It felt exactly like the G27 shifter without the buttons and dpad which have been moved to the rim.

 

 

The way it looks to me is that they are taking the , if it aint broke don’t fix it approach by basically upgrading the G27 in a few ways. Also looks like they went this route to add full compatibility on the new gen consoles versus getting the software developers to write code to make the G27s work. Seems the whole security chip debacle was a farce because the Thrustmaster T500 and Fanatec wheels work with Project Cars on the PS4. They don’t work on the PS4 menus, but they do work with the game because Slightly Mad was able to develop for them. Seems like Logitech wanted to have that full compatibility and also make a wheel that works on the Xbox One.

 

Would like to hear your take on this situation and leave a comment either here on You Tube, our Facebook page, Twitter or ISRTV forums.

 

Wish I had more to say, but I didn’t have much time with them. To really get a good feel for them, I will need some time to dial them in and try it with different titles across the board. Project Cars for instance as you may well know, there's almost too many settings and if you don’t get them right, it won’t feel right. It did feel good though with how they set it up. Soon as I get them, I will put them through their paces and try them with multiple titles on all systems.

 

Hope you've enjoyed my first look and impressions of these new offerings from Logitech. Great to see them back in the mix and on the Xbox for the first time. Stay tuned to Inside Sim Racing for more coverage from E3 coming soon!

[Chilza381 4]

Great video Darin, really enjoyed it. I have owned both the DFGT and G27 and have loved them dearly, but have recently moved to the T300. Logitech I think have fallen short with their new wheels which is a shame. Charging $399 for a G27 with more buttons and no shifter is unacceptable, especially when the T300 is the same price and far superior. Logitech had the chance to have a middle wheel, cheaper than the T300 but more expensive than a T100 or to redesign the wheel to compete properly with the T300/T500/TX. Unfortunately they have done neither and I think until they reduce the price there is no reason to buy either of Logitech's new wheels.

[Paul GT73 1,398]

anybody even slightly interested in this wheel should forget it and go get a t300 instead...this brand new wheel is around ten years old....shame on Logitech for this and the way they killed off there old wheels just to re-box them and sell em again.  the whole thing really stinks

[Krassi 692]

If we forget that we know this is redesigned G27 - the wheels are not so bad. Just the price is too high for dated gear driven wheel.Its like Logitech open the carton boxes with unused spare parts and create these 2 wheels.Maybe if DFGT was made to a PS4 on its great price was a better chance to fight against TM. But new coming T150 will fill the gap between T100 and T300RS - so who knows now.

 

Btw I like the cut out shifter new look;)

[tjb1 1]

This is ridiculous, the drive system they used on the G27 is terrible and it sounds like they are using the same one.  I sold my G27 because I wanted to play Project Cars on the PS4 and still use iRacing so I went for the T300RS and what an upgrade that was.  No more deadzone in the center of the wheel, no more notchy feedback, and it's very quiet.  Just playing with my friend the other day on iRacing and I was reminded why I hated the G27 as I heard his make all kinds of noise going over a bumpy part of the track in the Indy Oval series while the T300 just gave me feedback quietly...  The G27 is actually the reason I quit playing Assetto Corsa due to all the noise it made from the force feedback in that game going over rumble strips and such, not a problem anymore and I now understand why everyone says AC has great force feedback.

 

The only "pro" I see with these wheels is the pedals as the pedals included with the T300RS are terrible and the price might be a little easier to swallow if they could throw you a bone and include the cheap shifter.  Logitech - "Hey guys, we're including a clutch pedal but to really get the feel of it you need to spend another $60 on our cheap shifter."

[Krassi 692]

This is ridiculous, the drive system they used on the G27 is terrible and it sounds like they are using the same one.  I sold my G27 because I wanted to play Project Cars on the PS4 and still use iRacing so I went for the T300RS and what an upgrade that was.  No more deadzone in the center of the wheel, no more notchy feedback, and it's very quiet.  Just playing with my friend the other day on iRacing and I was reminded why I hated the G27 as I heard his make all kinds of noise going over a bumpy part of the track in the Indy Oval series while the T300 just gave me feedback quietly...  The G27 is actually the reason I quit playing Assetto Corsa due to all the noise it made from the force feedback in that game going over rumble strips and such, not a problem anymore and I now understand why everyone says AC has great force feedback.

 

The only "pro" I see with these wheels is the pedals as the pedals included with the T300RS are terrible and the price might be a little easier to swallow if they could throw you a bone and include the cheap shifter.  Logitech - "Hey guys, we're including a clutch pedal but to really get the feel of it you need to spend another $60 on our cheap shifter."

Just to say that this bad noise when you going over rumble strips is when the G27 became faulty in this part of the construction. But here the construction is the same , so same problem will ocure after some time usage.

[Tino 16]

[Krassi 692]

To say something possitive - they at least put hall sensor in the wheel instead of the optical sensor.

[Thirsty 601]

It's still a very good wheel imo. Offering that thing for 100 bucks less would be cool

...and of course guys will be very fast with this one as well.

[claykeedee 35]

Take 150 off. 249 since no shifter included. At 249 I'd consider the wheel and after considering it, I would still choose a thrustmaster .

[Krassi 692]

Yes,249 is the price! Btw Logitech did tricky move to raise G27 to 350 Euro on their website. Now 400 Euro for G29/ G920 must look reasonable. LoL 

[OdeFinn 0]

@Darn Gangi, next time you have hands on G29 could you test are they using same base firmware?

Easy test, while pressing and holding [start] and [select] buttons down choose O-button or []-button. This will change wheel turn radius on older Logitech wheels. I just want to know is this still working on G29.

[dynt 93]

Logitech have truly dropped the ball with this i have no idea what the marketing plan is for this, but will raise the second hand value of the g27.

[Krassi 692]

One thing that is possible is after developing hall effect sensor in G29 wheel they put it in G27 new production,too. So the raised price comes from this factor.

[Paul GT73 1,398]

again...I repeat....DO NOT FOR ONE MINUTE CONSIDER PURCHASING THIS WHEEL.

[Krassi 692]

I gave your name to Logitech, they blacklisted you for life.

[Paul GT73 1,398]

I gave your name to Logitech, they blacklisted you for life.

 

thanks krassi...big thumbs up...

 

[SergioCarr 22]

Those wheels might even be ok, but that design really throws me off

[Krassi 692]

They have even new logo now.;)I mean really new. Check it on their web page.

[BoFlossie 1]

One thing everyone needs to understand about the new line-up of the new racing wheels from Logitech is that although there are essentially repackaging the G27 wheel, this open's up a whole new world to those Xbox Console Users. I agree that Logitech is over-pricing their wheels by a long shot w/ the G29 but I have to disagree when you look at the competitor's prices on the Xbox Console. Thrustmaster TX Racing wheel will run you $300 w/ a 2-pedal set. I am looking at this from a drifter-for-fun point of view. In order to get the ideal drifting set-up for the Forza Series running the Thrustmaster TX racing wheel will cost you; $300 for the base wheel, $100 for the T3PA 3-pedal set, $150 for the TH8A shifter(Crazy Expensive), and Optional $130 for the GTE rim add-on. Ideally this would cost the semi-serious console drifter $550-680. Now, with this being said, you get what you pay for, and Thrustmaster has an outstanding engineering in their wheel and other gaming "add-ons" but when you will only be using this an Xbox One because you don't want a PS4 or to spend $1k on a solid gaming PC, why spend $680 dollars when Logitech has been in the business for 15+ Years. My point being is that although they are essentially "repackaging" the Logitech G27, they are still repackaging one the greatest racing wheels money could buy. The logitech G27 was the go-to for console drifters, but xbox never had a product for a price point like the G27 and the only company producing a wheel for Xbox Consoles was Fanatec and they had phenomenal products for us Xbox Drifters, but weren't cheap. Once this wheel is released in late fall, an Xbox drifter will be looking to spend $550-680 on a thrustmaster or spend $400 on the Logitech G920 wheel which includes the 3-pedal set and an additional $60 on the shifter. I know, the TM TH8A shifter blows the Logitech driving force 6-speed shifter out of the water but is it really worth $90 Dollars more for the Xbox Console Drifter? I know you all must be annoyed by me being a biased console drifter but it is the most fun for me and many others. I feel that people will be buying the G920 for xbox DRIFTING, I feel that Logitech will sell 4x more G920 wheel's than G29 wheels because it will make it cheaper to get a near same experience drifting on Forza with the Logitech setup as the Thrustmaster Setup and the Logitech setup will be $110 cheaper. Although the logitech setup is cheaper it is based around the G27 which, as i said before, was the go-to wheel for console and even PC drifters. If i was to purchase a wheel for serious sim-racing when all these wheel's are released I would still buy my Thrustmaster T500rs in a heartbeat. But looking from a soon-to-be Forza Drifter, I need to buy a new wheel and I feel that Logitech is "repackaging" a great wheel that is finally available for Xbox users. Obviously, the Logitech G29 wheel is a huge mistake. The only reason why I feel the G920 wheel is going to make such a substantial difference in sales is because it will be among the very few racing wheel available on the next-gen Xbox console. Can't wait for this wheel to be released and to get my hands on it. 

[tjb1 1]

One thing everyone needs to understand about the new line-up of the new racing wheels from Logitech is that although there are essentially repackaging the G27 wheel, this open's up a whole new world to those Xbox Console Users. I agree that Logitech is over-pricing their wheels by a long shot w/ the G29 but I have to disagree when you look at the competitor's prices on the Xbox Console. Thrustmaster TX Racing wheel will run you $300 w/ a 2-pedal set. I am looking at this from a drifter-for-fun point of view. In order to get the ideal drifting set-up for the Forza Series running the Thrustmaster TX racing wheel will cost you; $300 for the base wheel, $100 for the T3PA 3-pedal set, $150 for the TH8A shifter(Crazy Expensive), and Optional $130 for the GTE rim add-on. Ideally this would cost the semi-serious console drifter $550-680. Now, with this being said, you get what you pay for, and Thrustmaster has an outstanding engineering in their wheel and other gaming "add-ons" but when you will only be using this an Xbox One because you don't want a PS4 or to spend $1k on a solid gaming PC, why spend $680 dollars when Logitech has been in the business for 15+ Years. My point being is that although they are essentially "repackaging" the Logitech G27, they are still repackaging one the greatest racing wheels money could buy. The logitech G27 was the go-to for console drifters, but xbox never had a product for a price point like the G27 and the only company producing a wheel for Xbox Consoles was Fanatec and they had phenomenal products for us Xbox Drifters, but weren't cheap. Once this wheel is released in late fall, an Xbox drifter will be looking to spend $550-680 on a thrustmaster or spend $400 on the Logitech G920 wheel which includes the 3-pedal set and an additional $60 on the shifter. I know, the TM TH8A shifter blows the Logitech driving force 6-speed shifter out of the water but is it really worth $90 Dollars more for the Xbox Console Drifter? I know you all must be annoyed by me being a biased console drifter but it is the most fun for me and many others. I feel that people will be buying the G920 for xbox DRIFTING, I feel that Logitech will sell 4x more G920 wheel's than G29 wheels because it will make it cheaper to get a near same experience drifting on Forza with the Logitech setup as the Thrustmaster Setup and the Logitech setup will be $110 cheaper. Although the logitech setup is cheaper it is based around the G27 which, as i said before, was the go-to wheel for console and even PC drifters. If i was to purchase a wheel for serious sim-racing when all these wheel's are released I would still buy my Thrustmaster T500rs in a heartbeat. But looking from a soon-to-be Forza Drifter, I need to buy a new wheel and I feel that Logitech is "repackaging" a great wheel that is finally available for Xbox users. Obviously, the Logitech G29 wheel is a huge mistake. The only reason why I feel the G920 wheel is going to make such a substantial difference in sales is because it will be among the very few racing wheel available on the next-gen Xbox console. Can't wait for this wheel to be released and to get my hands on it. 

 

The G29 is for the PS3, PS4 and PC. It also has more buttons as well as a LED tach on it.  The only selling point for the G920 is Xbox support.

[Thirsty 601]

I stick to it, the G29 is a very good wheel with a pretty decent set of pedals and worth the money.

Logitech has never disappointed me.

[jbodin 192]

If the pedals have a Nixim-type mod already AND they're using hall effect sensors, that alone makes for a fairly significant upgrade over the stock G27 wheel and pedals. 

 

The wheel itself, though, is indeed disappointing.  Seems like they're trying to compete with Mad Catz more than anything.

 

[Thirsty 601]

...and the G29 has plenty more buttons as well, which improves functionality. It's a significant step up.