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The 7 Best Xbox Series X Racing Wheels

The Xbox Series X consoles are finally here, and it launched with arguably the most robust lineup of racing games of any game console to date. While the new Series controller somehow manages to be even better than the nearly-perfect pad that dropped alongside the Xbox One, it doesn’t hold a candle to a great steering wheel for racing games. For the Xbox Series X racing fan, nothing but the best will suffice – which is why we’ve created this list of the absolute best Xbox Series X racing wheel contenders!

The Top-Rated Xbox Series X Racing Wheels

Top Pick: Thrustmaster TX

Thrustmaster TX

The most well-rounded and versatile Xbox Series X racing wheel

The Thrustmaster TX is a great wheel that was originally designed for the Xbox One (and sister to the Thrustmaster T300) but it’s fully compatible and ready to roll in the racing simulation of your choice on Xbox Series X. This awesome wheel is available in two variants, but the limited Leather Edition is exceedingly difficult to find; as such, this review will be based upon the Ferrari 458 Italia Edition.

Thrustmaster has been making great wheels for what seems like forever, and this wheel represents the accessories maker at the top of their game. Steering wheel rotation of 900 degrees sets the table for accurate sim racing, and a powerful brushless motor provides awesome force feedback for realistic effects. Under the table is a Ferrari-style pedal set; behind the wheel sits paddle shifters.

Users praise Thrustmaster in comments, citing optimal weight, absence of dead zone, easy setup with Xbox Series X and Xbox One, and great force feedback. Compatibility with the Thrustmaster accessories ecosystem is another huge plus for those who like to customize their controllers. If you’re on the search, search no more – this is the best and easiest to recommend wheel on the market today for Xbox Series X!

Runner-Up: Logitech G923

One of the best steering wheels available, now ready to roll on Xbox Series X

The Logitech G923 is another great racing wheel for Xbox One Series X that is just slightly edged by the top pick – but there are plenty of reasons to consider this one instead. Namely, compatibility. Unlike the top pick, the Logitech G923 is fully compatible with PlayStation 4 and 5 in addition to PC and the aforementioned Xbox consoles – if you intend to play racing games on both of the next gen consoles, this is the absolute best value for your dollar and should go with it!

The Logitech G923 has other great features that make it an excellent choice for one-platform gamers as well – a great pedal set, powerful force feedback, LED RPM indicator and great build quality. Comments from verified buyers and racing sim enthusiasts all over the internet confirm: this really is one of the best wheels on the market bar-none, and you can’t do much better for racing on your new Xbox Series X!

Budget Pick: Thrustmaster TMX

Thrustmaster TMX

Designed from the ground-up to provide an optimized experience on a budget

The Thrustmaster TMX is yet another hit from the biggest maker of steering wheels and other racing accessories, and it looks and feels amazing – to the extent it’s hard to believe how much cheaper it is than the top picks. Despite the budget pricing, Thrustmaster TMX impresses with essential features such as variable rotation range, realistic force feedback, adjustable pedals and even variable resistance for the brake pedal.

Officially Licensed for use with Xbox One and fully compatible with Xbox Series X, this wheel automatically shows up in your consoles menu, which is a nice touch that’s unexpected for wheels in this price range. Comments from users confirm what you’re likely realizing at this point – this is a great racing wheel that’s worth more than it’s reasonable asking price!

Luxury Pick: Fanatec DD1

Fanatec Podium DD1 Fanatec Podium DD1
This direct drive wheel base will require you to purchase a separate wheel rim, but the force feedback you get from it is unmatched

The Fanatec DD1 is a luxury wheel base from the boutique racing accessories maker that blows all expectations off the track in terms of both features and price. For the uninitiated, wheel bases are just that – a base for your wheel. In fact, the actual literal wheel is not included with the package – nor are other essentials such as shifters or a pedal set.

What is included however is a custom Outrunner direct-drive motor, wireless data and power, a real-time OLED display for in-game telemetric data as well as onboard customization, a 5 year warranty and most importantly – full backwards compatibility with the Fanatec accessories catalog.

Despite the wildly costly tab you could run-up assembling a Fanatec cockpit from scratch, many users comment on the long-term value on offer, and it’s hard to argue with some of these folks who are bringing-forward components from their Xbox 360 wheels into the Xbox Series X era! Honestly, if you have the money to spare and feel content with dropping it on a racing wheel, you couldn’t find a better place to start than right here.

Also Great: Fanatec CSL Elite V1.1

A more reasonably-priced starting line for racing game enthusiasts to build upon

The Fanatec CSL Elite V1.1 is another great wheel base for Xbox Series X, and this one is only a fraction of the cost of our luxury pick. While it doesn’t have some of the more flashy and luxurious features of it’s bigger brother, the Fanatec CSL Elite V1.1 does have a lot to offer and serves an ideal base for racing game enthusiasts who are happy to drop a considerable sum but don’t want to go completely overboard.

A powerful brushless servo motor lies at the heart of this wheel base, and can be connected to any of the great wheels in the Fanatec catalog; paired with a shifting solution and pedal set, you’ll have everything you need to smoke the competition off the starting line and beyond.

Perhaps the most important thing to do before deciding to invest in one of thee wheel bases is to have a look through the Fanatec catalog and build a list of the accessories you’ll want to plug into it – then add the cost up, throw in shipping if applicable and see where you sit. The tab can certainly get out of hand if you splurge on all of the available accoutrements, but a great experience can be had with some of the (relative) budget-minded pieces of kit.

Honorable Mention: Logitech G920

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Logitech G920

Another great Logitech wheel that hits a certain sweet spot

The Logitech G920 is yet another great racing wheel for Xbox Series X from a company that always seems to have great accessories of every imaginable variety at every imaginable price point. The biggest problem with regard to Logitech accessories can sometimes be figuring out which one is best for you, but that’s what we’re here for.

Why choose this one over the very-similar runner-up pick? Compatibility. While the build quality, component assebly and feature set are virtually identical, the big differentiating factor here is whether it’s worth it for you to spend some extra money for a wheel that’s ready to roll on PlayStation consoles in addition to your Xbox Series X, Xbox One and/or PC.

To clarify: if you have or intend to have a PS4 or PS5, get the G923; if not, save some money and grab the G920! Either way though, you can’t go wrong with these great steering wheels for Xbox Series X!

Honorable Mention: Thrustmaster TS-XW

Thrustmaster TS-XW

Thrustmaster’s finest and most powerful option for Xbox Series X

The Thrustmaster TS-XW just barely missed being listed as our top luxury pick for Xbox Series X, and as such it definitely belongs in this conversation and gets an honorable mention here at the bottom. While it’s last, it’s certainly very far from least; this is a powerful, beautiful and seriously full-featured racing wheel!

Licensed for use with Xbox One, PC and Xbox Series X, this wheel is a 1:1 perfect replica of the Sparco P310 racing wheel used in real, professional race cars and as such provides one of the most authentic racing experiences of any racing wheel accessories out there.

The base houses a massive 40-watt brushless servo motor that’s so powerful it requires a custom built-in cooling solution. A beautiful metal pedal set is included, and the kit is fully compatible with the Thrustmaster accessories ecosystem – and its just begging to be paired with one of their brushed metal gearboxes (at additional cost, of course).

This is another one of those racing wheels that we could go on and on about, and it deserves to be on your short list if the price doesn’t throw you off its trail.

What to Look for in a Xbox Series X Racing Wheel

Compatibility

Any sim racing fan will tell you that playing sim racers is essential to the racing experience – but authentic racing comes at a cost. Because racing wheels are so expensive, it is highly recommend that you consider buying a wheel that is compatible with all of the consoles you’ll be playing on now – and hopefully some time into the future.

While forwards-compatibility can’t be guaranteed, backwards-compatibility currently is! This means that all Xbox One steering wheel peripherals are also compatible with Xbox Series X. By virtue of the ubiquity of USB, most PC wheels will also be compatible with Xbox Series X and vice versa. As an added bonus, some manufacturers (such as Logitech) take special consideration to ensure cross-platform compatibility with the PlayStation consoles as well – providing unbeatable value for those that can make use of such features.

Immersion

If you just wanted the most bare-bones experience when racing on your new Xbox Series X, you’d just stick with the basic controllers – but that’s not what this list is about! Immersion is all about emulation of an authentic racing experience, and the best accessories are designed with the aim of making players feel like the car on screen is in their hands.

Quality materials and craftsmanship in a steering wheel and pedals move things in the right direction, but it’s the force feedback, rotation angle and customization options that really sell the experience and put you in the cockpit.

Price

Xbox Series X racing wheels vary dramatically in price, and it’s important to consider your budget when you start shopping. The biggest variability between the luxury and budget accessory options will be in build quality, but higher-end accessories tend to also have more features that their cheaper brethren do not. Whether these additional features are superfluous or essential is really up to you!

Last Updated on May 2, 2021