The AccuForce Pro V2 has been lauded multiple times not only by us but by a myriad of other reviews out there. It’s a powerful direct drive wheel that promises standards as close to perfection as possible. Precision, realism, immersion, power, these are all cornerstones of what a direct drive wheel is supposed to offer you. Today we’re going to take an in-depth examination of the AccuForce Pro V2 to see whether or not this wheel is really a good product for racing sim pilots.
The AccuForce Pro V2 Steering Wheel
The first thing you’ll notice when looking at the AccuForce Pro V2 is how it refers to itself: a professional racing simulator steering wheel. This is a promise it keeps with flying colours. It may not be the prettiest wheel on the market, but it’s one of (if not the) most well-crafted. Unfortunately for console gamers, this wheel is only compatible with PCs. Having said that, this wheel is a testament to how accurate modern direct drive systems can be (we don’t want to spoil too much, as we’ll go further in-depth under the features section).
Features & Benefits
While reviewing the AccuForce Pro V2, here are the main features and benefits we took into account:
Auto-Optimize
When looking at the Pro V2 you’ll often come across an “auto-optimizing” feature. This is essentially the AccuForce Pro V2 deciding that you deserve your own tiny engineering team. This incredible machine will be able to change its settings to fit your driving style, track, and car. It’s entirely optional, so if you’re someone who enjoys making these changes personally, have no fear. Still, for those of us who look forwards to the racing part more than the purely mechanical aspect of finding the best car layout, this feature will do a lot for you.
No Input Lag
One of the most aggravating feelings in racing simulators is to lose a race because the game didn’t register your input in time. You feel cheated and like you deserved to still be out there fighting for the podium. The AccuForce won’t do that to you, instead, it will allow you to rise and fall completely on your merits and demerits. This direct drive wheel feeds the sim pinpoint precision data, as it updates its motor 50,000 times per second. This means that every little move you make takes around 2miliseconds for it to be transferred, read, and reproduced by the game.
Build Quality
This is perhaps the only thing that slightly disappoints in the AccuForce Pro V2. The build quality itself is phenomenal, as the wheel is resistant, stress-tested (critical parts are stress-tested for 300lb loads) and built to last. Nevertheless, when you hold it, it doesn’t feel as sleek as say the Fanatec Podium series. The wheel is wrapped in Alcantara and it doesn’t have the same elegant look or feel to it. Basically put: from a purely practical standpoint the AccuForce Pro V2 is well built and resistant. From an aesthetic point of view, it doesn’t feel as satisfying to hold as some other wheels available on the market.
Realism
Returning to the many praises that the AccuForce Pro V2 deserves, in terms of realism, this wheel is second only to a real car. Obviously, it’s a direct drive system, it balanced torque and torque resolution in such a way that gives it the closest to possible feel, torque peaks are removed so as to truly emulate reality on a 1:1 scale and it has three force feedback systems from which to choose from (Game/raw FFB, SimXperience/user-optimized FFB, and completely user-programmed FFB). Should that not be enough the wheel has a total programmable rotation range of 4500° (though it should be noted that it’s set to 900° by default and that the coiled cable limit is of 1080°, so we recommend not pushing it above that).
Price
To say that this is the crowning jewel of the AccuForce would be insulting to the other wonderful features that this wheel possesses, but it’s certainly worth a mention. Whether or not the AccuForce Pro V2 is the best wheel is up for debate, but there’s something that isn’t: price to quality ratio. Comparable wheels to the Pro V2 come with significantly higher price tags (some almost doubling the cost of this incredible machine). If you’re looking for one of the best direct drive wheels on the market, then this will give you the best bang for your buck.
Alternatives
The AccuForce Pro V2 is a superb direct drive system, but there are others you should definitely consider:
The Simucube 2 Sport is the most affordable direct drive wheel base in the Simcube 2 line, and the most comparable to the AccuForce Pro V2. Nevertheless, it’s a fair bit more expensive. With this, though, comes a driving experience that is said to be one of the smoothest, most responsive, and most detailed in the entry-level direct drive space. The sim racing community only has good things to say about Simucube, so if you have the budget for it , this may be the better choice.
Fanatec Podium DD1
Not just the DD1, but both Podium wheels that Fanatec has put out are both beautiful and powerful. These are highly realistic, highly customisable wheels that will have you feeling as though you’re on the racetrack. They’re able to achieve the same torque as real racecars, suffer from no latency, and are more than capable of satisfying your needs. The DD2 is more advanced than its slightly older brother, the DD1, and as such comes with some great new features, but also with a significant increase in price.
Conclusion
Stepping up to direct drive wheels offers the biggest quality of life improvement to sim racers from when you decided to purchase a force-feedback wheel instead of using a controller. The AccuForce Pro V2 is an excellent choice for this step-up. It strives to mirror reality as close as possible, offering you a vast amount of options that will enhance the feeling of realism, without sacrificing anything in terms of performance. If you are considering the purchase of a direct drive wheel, we can’t but encourage you to take a look at the AccuForce Pro V2.
Last Updated on April 19, 2021