Oh, you want more? --hehe Ahhite. Upon pulling er' outta the box, the first thing I noticed was the size and shape of it. A different design --as described later in this review. It looked good. Small enough to fit nicely on my desk and also to store below it.

Once installed and in use, the first thing my son noticed was the lights inside of the motor housing. They illuminate a cool looking neon green and intensify as the FF increases. ---KEWL! you can read more about that in the 'Looks' section of this review...now, on with the show!

A night with the X-Box! Did I mention to you about the X-Box vid night yet? I didn't? Well then, let me tell ya all about it. :} LAZ was gracious enough to invite me over again --after the last time we met, I totally dominated, so I was really surprised he offered to have me back-- so's, me's and the boyz: Lew, LAZ, and the notorious bad boy himself, Bad-Bob Mo-Bobsta, da-Robsta!, went at it through several driving games. I'd give ya all the names of em', but I can't really remember each one. Heck, I don't even own an X-Box. LAZ and Lew are the owners of those. I do remember that I was using a Saitek controller though. The Saitek Adrenaline Pad felt great in my hands which, in my opinion, gave me an unfair advantage over my competition. --nice plug for Saitek eh? :) I really did like it. It's a tad bit smaller so it fit my hands better than the others. I also recall the overall winner for the night. Was there ever any doubt about who it was? I wonder how much worse I would crush these guys if I did own an X-Box! Hats off to LAZ though, his several hours of practice kept him pretty close to me all night. Yeah, I'd say I saw him in my rear-view mirror at least twice or maybe even more. Lew's pretty good too. He's a farmer, and well, what can you really expect? I think he spent most of his time lookin for his spittoon and wipin the chaw off his chin. Robsta though gave me the most trouble, taking the checkered flag from me at least once or twice. However, Robsta did have his problems on the streets of Project Gotham! I was surprised he held his composure and didn't just friggin throw his controller out the window!! All in all, it was a blast and I hope to be invited again.

For this review I mainly road tested this controller with Ratbag's offering of Leadfoot and Powerslide.

Now it wouldn't be right of me to just leave ya there. I should at least mention that this SST software is very handy if you want to setup a host of commands for each button on the wheel. You can even double up on the number of commands by just a click of a button. But as I said before, just get me to the tracks so I can DRIVE!

Technical Support
The booklet has a decent troubleshooting section which should solve most of the common probs associated with the "Why the heck isn't it working" issues. If you still have probs, then I suggest (as they do) to call them directly and talk to someone about it.

Too bad they don't have a designated "why can't I win" hotline, I know three guys who would tie that one up! Four, counting the Zworm!

Wheel:
The wheel sports two buttons within thumbs reach and two paddle shifters. Not overly extravagant, but functional none-the-less. The mounting system of the wheel is unique in that it uses a 'claw-like' clamping system that grabs it from the top and uses a screwing mechanism that secures it tightly against the bottom of your desk. The thing that makes me cringe is the tweaking noise it makes while I'm getting er' tight. So, in a nut shell, set the wheel on your desk, lay the claw on the base of it and tighten er' up till she screams! Okay, bad choice of words but I think you get what I'm saying here. I'd feel much more confident with steel reinforcements in the claw. Sometimes I wonder if it's going to break when I snug it down. To the wheels credit though, it hasn't snapped yet and may never snap. I just don't like that tweakin noise it makes. eeeech EEEECH!

Pedal Durability
Again, plastic is the flavor of choice, but unlike the clamping system there seems to be no extreme pressure points. These things are rock solid. No squeaks or funny noises either. The pedal travel is good and the pedal tension is ahhite. Not a whole lot of tension as you push down, but enough to notice. Also, the design is to allow a downward motion each time you press the pedals instead of an away motion, adding that much more to the stability of the base.

Connection:
All three (power cord, PC -USB- cord, and the pedals cord, which has an RJ45 connection) of the connects are on the back of the wheel housing easily reachable and completely out of the way. No funky angles which may otherwise lead to 'heavy cord kinkage' either. The only knock here is the length of the cord going from the steering wheel to the pedals. I feel it should be about a foot and a half to two feet longer. Due to it's length, I had to run it out the front of my desk. I tried pushing it out of the way by hooking it to the rails underneath my desk, but it kept slipping out cuz of the length... or lack there of. It'd be nice if I could run it out the back behind my desk, but the cord just isn't long enough.

Visually what you notice right off the bat is the kewl blue light in the center of the wheel telling you it's got the juice and is ready to go! Upon hitting the tracks with it, the motor housing, which looks kewl all by itself, has vents on the side of it sporting neon green lights on the inside of it. These kewl little green meanies are FF sensitive! The more force it detects, the brighter the lights glow! --granted, you may never notice how bright it glows as you're going around the track, BUT, your friends will and really, isn't that all that matters anyway? -hehe The wheel sports purple grips which add to the look of it, and the grayed out paddles are located directly behind the wheel which are easily reachable. Overall a very impressive cosmetic design.

Well, like I said previously, the wheel lacks the ability to forcefully whip you from side to side, but it is force sensitive meaning that when your tires leave the ground, you feel it in the wheel. When you hit the wall or another car, you feel it in the wheel. It has all the stuff that other FF wheels have but as I said, not overpowering... with the force setting at maximum. Keep in mind the price here. If it were a high dollar wheel, I'd knock it for that lack of force range. For me it's one setting: Maximum!

Bottom Line:
I have enjoyed using this wheel while racing, heck, I'm 1 point out of first place in this second half of the Leadfoot season, and only 44 back for the entire season. That's gotta say something! I feel every bump, rub, wall, and jump. For the money, I have no serious complaints about this wheel at all. If you want to experience FF while racing and not break the bank, then give this one a try. I think you'll like it.