PlayStation PS5 Sim Racing: Buyers Guide for Console Owners

Featured Image: A nicely built sim racing setup with a PS5 from u/Pikalov001

If you own a PlayStation and you’re looking to get into sim racing, you’re in for a brilliant time with Gran Turismo 7. But here’s the thing that catches everyone out: console compatibility isn’t as straightforward as it should be.

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Whilst PC users can mix any wheelbase with any pedals from any brand, PlayStation racers are locked into specific ecosystems. Your wheelbase, steering wheel, and pedals must come from the same manufacturer. It’s a frustrating limitation, but that’s how Sony’s security requirements work.

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I’ve spent considerable time testing various PlayStation-compatible setups, and what I’ve read on r/simracing matches my experience: choosing your first wheelbase brand commits you to that ecosystem for everything else. There are exceptions – Fanatec’s got a clever workaround I’ll cover – but the general rule is brand loyalty or nothing.

The PlayStation Compatibility Problem

Here’s what you probably already know. PlayStation requires a security chip inside the wheel base. Without it, your wheel simply won’t connect to the console. It’s a money-grabbing licensing thing. Simple as that.

For Logitech and Thrustmaster, this is straightforward – their PlayStation wheels are officially licensed and work immediately. The G29 connects to your PS5, and you’re racing. Job done.

Fanatec’s system is more nuanced. Their wheelbases carry a “PS Compatible” tag, whilst steering wheels have a “PS Ready” tag. The PS Ready wheel only works when mounted to a PS Compatible base. It’s a two-part system, basically.

The counter-intuitive bit: Fanatec’s GT DD Pro wheelbase – which is PlayStation compatible – can work with BOTH PlayStation and Xbox if you mount an Xbox-compatible Fanatec wheel to it. That’s genuinely rare in the console sim racing world. Most kit locks you to one platform forever.

Playstation / PS5 Compatible Fanatec Gear

Entry Level: The £200-300 Sweet Spot

For someone getting started with PlayStation sim racing, the Logitech G29 remains the default recommendation for good reason. It’s been around since 2015, which means you can find used examples on Facebook Marketplace for around £100-150 if you’re patient.

New, it’s currently £200 which includes the wheelbase, a 10.24-inch steering wheel with leather cover, and a three-pedal set. That’s everything you need for Gran Turismo 7. The force feedback uses dual motors with helical gearing, so it’s smooth and reasonably quiet.

The G923 is Logitech’s newer version with their Trueforce technology. It integrates game audio into the force feedback, which sounds gimmicky but genuinely enhances GT7. An extra £50-100 over the G29, depending on sales.

Thrustmaster offers the T150 and T248 in this price bracket. The T150 uses plastic construction that feels cheaper than the Logitech, whilst the T248 at £270 is more competitive. Both are reasonable options if you find them on offer.

My drive-by opinion: buy a used G29 for £100 if you’re uncertain about the hobby. If you’re committed from the start, stretch to the G923 new for the Trueforce feedback. The T150 is fine but feels like a toy compared to the Logitech metal construction.

Mid-Range Direct Drive: The GT DD Pro Revelation

This is where things get properly interesting for PlayStation racers. The Fanatec GT DD Pro wheelbase was developed in collaboration with Polyphony Digital specifically for Gran Turismo 7. It’s a direct drive system delivering 5Nm of torque (8Nm with the optional Boost Kit 180) – considerably more nuanced than any belt or gear-driven wheelbase.

Current pricing sits around £600-700 for the base unit, though Fanatec’s Ready2Race bundles often include wheels and pedals for £1,140. The bundle includes the Porsche Vision GT wheel (310mm diameter) and CSL Pedals with the Boost Kit 180.

Here’s the genuinely clever engineering: the GT DD Pro base is PlayStation compatible regardless of which Fanatec wheel you mount. But if you mount an Xbox-compatible Fanatec wheel, the entire setup works on both PlayStation AND Xbox. That’s exceptional value for anyone with both consoles or planning to switch platforms later.

Compare this to Thrustmaster’s T598 at £450-500, which only offers PlayStation compatibility. The T598 uses direct axial drive technology rather than true direct drive, which is marketing speak for “not quite as good but still better than belt-driven.” It’s decent kit, but the GT DD Pro offers better long-term flexibility.

The 11-year-old Thrustmaster T300 (released August 2014) still appears in recommendations online, priced around £500 new. Don’t buy it new. If you can find one used for £200, fine. But paying £500 for decade-old belt-driven technology makes no sense when the GT DD Pro exists.

My view: the GT DD Pro is the price-performance sweet spot for PlayStation sim racing. Direct drive feedback at £700, dual-console capability if needed, and proper upgrade paths to better Fanatec wheels and pedals later. The ecosystem lock-in feels less restrictive when you’re in Fanatec’s ecosystem.

High-End Options: £1,000+ Territory

Once you’re spending over £1,000, two wheelbase options dominate: Fanatec’s Clubsport DD Plus and Logitech’s G Pro direct drive.

The Clubsport DD Plus delivers exceptional force feedback with more torque headroom than the GT DD Pro. It’s PlayStation compatible by default, and like the GT DD Pro, works on Xbox with Xbox-compatible Fanatec wheels. The build quality is noticeably better – all-metal construction, smoother force feedback transitions, less mechanical noise.

Logitech’s G Pro runs about £1,000 for the wheelbase alone. It features their Trueforce technology integrated throughout, which provides more detailed road surface feedback than standard force feedback systems. The construction quality is brilliant – precision bearings, zero play in the steering column, professional-grade electronics.

Here’s the practical consideration: at this price point, you’re committed to sim racing as a serious hobby. If you’re uncertain, start with the GT DD Pro. The high-end wheelbases provide incrementally better force feedback, but the jump from belt-driven to direct drive (£200 to £700) is more dramatic than direct drive to premium direct drive (£700 to £1,000+).

What I’ve consistently read from serious Gran Turismo racers: the GT DD Pro provides 90% of the experience for 60% of the cost. The Clubsport DD Plus is worth it if you’re running endurance races and need that extra feedback fidelity. The Logitech G Pro appeals to people already invested in Logitech’s ecosystem.

Complete Setup Recommendations by Budget

Let’s talk complete setups, because buying a wheelbase alone leaves you with an expensive paperweight.

Budget Setup: £300-500 Total

• Wheel: Logitech G29 (£200 new, £100 used)
• Mounting: Desk clamp (included) or Playseat Challenge (£200)
• Display: Your existing TV or monitor

This gets you racing immediately. The G29’s desk clamps work surprisingly well on sturdy desks. The Playseat Challenge folds away when not in use, which matters if you’re in a smaller space. Total investment: £300-400.

Mid-Range Setup: £800-1,200

• Wheelbase: Fanatec GT DD Pro (£700)
• Wheel: Included in Ready2Race bundle
• Pedals: Fanatec CSL Pedals with Load Cell Kit (£180)
• Cockpit: OpenWheeler GEN3 (£350) or sim-lab rig (£500+)

The critical upgrade here is the load cell brake pedal. Braking by pressure rather than distance dramatically improves your consistency in Gran Turismo 7. The OpenWheeler provides adjustable mounting for the direct drive forces without requiring a dedicated room. Total: £1,230-1,380.

Premium Setup: £2,000+

• Wheelbase: Fanatec Clubsport DD Plus (£1,000)
• Wheel: Fanatec wheel of choice (£300-600)
• Pedals: Heusinkveld Sprint (£600) or Fanatec ClubSport V3 (£350)
• Cockpit: Next Level Racing GTtrack (£1,000) or Sim-Lab GT1 Evo (£650)
• Display: Triple 27″ monitors (£600-900) or single 49″ ultrawide (£800+)

This is endgame territory for PlayStation sim racing. The Clubsport DD Plus provides feedback fidelity that reveals every kerb strike and tyre slip. Heusinkveld pedals use hydraulic load cells that genuinely feel like real brake pedals. The sturdy cockpit prevents any flex during hard braking. Total investment: £2,500-3,500.

Frankly, most PlayStation racers would be better served investing that money in wheel time and setup practice rather than chasing the last 5% of hardware fidelity.

The Ecosystem Lock-In Reality

Here’s the uncomfortable truth about PlayStation sim racing: once you buy into a brand’s wheelbase, you’re committed to that ecosystem for all future upgrades. Fancy better pedals? They need to be the same brand. Want a different steering wheel? Same brand only.

This is why the GT DD Pro makes strategic sense. Fanatec’s ecosystem offers the widest range of upgrade paths – load cell pedals, hydraulic pedals, GT-style wheels, Formula-style wheels, shifters, handbrakes. You can start with the £700 bundle and progressively upgrade components as your skills and budget allow.

Logitech’s ecosystem is more limited. The G29/G923 works brilliantly at entry level, but there’s no meaningful upgrade path except jumping to the G Pro at £1,000. You can add the Logitech shifter for £55, but that’s where the ecosystem ends.

Thrustmaster sits somewhere between. They offer various wheel rims and the TH8A shifter, but the pedal upgrade options are limited compared to Fanatec.

My recommendation: if you’re spending under £300 and unsure about the hobby, buy Logitech. If you’re committed to sim racing and can stretch to £700, buy Fanatec. The ecosystem lock-in feels less restrictive when you’re in the ecosystem with the most upgrade options.

Gran Turismo 7 Specific Considerations

The GT DD Pro was literally co-developed with Polyphony Digital for Gran Turismo 7. The force feedback profile is optimised for GT7’s physics engine. The steering wheel encoders are mapped to GT7’s quick-access controls – traction control, brake balance, and fuel mapping.

Does this mean other wheels don’t work well? Not at all. The Logitech G923’s Trueforce technology enhances GT7 beautifully, providing more detailed road surface feedback than standard force feedback. The Thrustmaster T-GT II is also officially licensed for Gran Turismo.

But the GT DD Pro’s integration goes deeper. The force feedback doesn’t just simulate steering forces – it communicates weight transfer, tyre slip angles, suspension compression. You feel when the rear tyres are about to break loose before it happens. That’s enormously useful for avoiding costly mistakes in daily race lobbies.

Here’s what matters in practice: any decent wheelbase improves your GT7 laptimes compared to a controller. The jump from controller to G29 is massive. The jump from G29 to GT DD Pro is noticeable but smaller. The jump from GT DD Pro to Clubsport DD Plus is incrementally beneficial but not a huge leap.

Spend money on the wheelbase and pedals first. When I got started I spent time learning proper racing lines and brake points second. The display and cockpit can wait.

My Recommended Starting Point

For most PlayStation owners getting into sim racing, I’d recommend starting with the Logitech G29. It’s proven kit, widely available, and you can sell it easily if sim racing doesn’t stick. The current Amazon pricing sits at £200 with frequent sales bringing it down to £170-180.

The G29 includes everything needed to start racing properly. The 900-degree rotation means you’re turning the wheel hand-over-hand on wide corners, exactly like a real car. The dual-motor force feedback communicates kerb strikes and tyre slip reasonably well for an entry-level system.

What you’re not getting compared to direct drive systems: the force feedback has more latency, less detail in subtle weight transfers, and a noticeable center “notch” where the gears mesh. But for £200, it’s exceptional value.

I’m pretty sure I’d recommend buying this used for £100-120 if you can find one in good condition. Facebook Marketplace and eBay always have multiple listings. The G29 has been sold in huge numbers since 2015, so availability is excellent.

Final Thoughts

PlayStation sim racing requires more careful planning than PC sim racing due to ecosystem lock-in. You can’t mix brands, can’t easily upgrade individual components, and you’re restricted to officially licensed equipment.

But here’s the positive perspective: this constraint forces you to choose quality equipment from established manufacturers. You’re not chasing boutique brands with questionable support. Logitech, Thrustmaster, and Fanatec all provide excellent customer service and long product lifecycles.

My view on the progression: start with a used G29 for £100 to learn if sim racing appeals. If you’re hooked after three months, sell it for £90 (minimal loss) and upgrade to the GT DD Pro bundle at £700. The direct drive experience is a revelation, and Fanatec’s ecosystem provides genuine upgrade paths for pedals and wheels as your skills develop.

Skip the T300/TMX entirely unless you find them used at £150-200. The 10-year-old belt-driven technology doesn’t justify current £500 pricing. The money saved by buying used entry kit or stretched to direct drive provides better value.

For Gran Turismo 7 specifically, any of these wheelbases dramatically improve your consistency and laptimes compared to a controller. The GT DD Pro’s integration is brilliant but not essential. A well-setup G29 in the hands of a skilled driver beats a Clubsport DD Plus wielded by someone who hasn’t learned proper racing lines.

Whatever you do, always write down your force feedback settings for each car in Gran Turismo 7. The default settings rarely work optimally for specific vehicle types. My Gr.4 cars use completely different force feedback strength compared to road cars.

Now get racing. See you on track.

Advanced Options: Compatibility Adapters

Now here’s where things get interesting for people who already own non-PlayStation wheels. There’s a small industry of compatibility adapters that promise to let you use any wheelbase on PlayStation. The reality is more complicated.

The most common adapter is the Brook RAS1UTION2. It costs around £80 and claims to make Moza, Cammus, Fanatec, Thrustmaster, and Logitech wheels work on PS5, PS4, and Switch. Technically, it does work. But here’s the catch I wish someone had told me before I started reading user experiences.

The adapter emulates a Logitech G29 to trick the PlayStation into accepting your wheel. This introduces a fundamental problem: your direct drive wheelbase is now pretending to be a £200 belt-driven wheel. The force feedback is processed through G29’s limitations, which means you lose roughly 50% of the FFB strength and most of the detail.

What I’ve read on Reddit and various sim racing forums confirms this consistently. People report that their Moza R12 or Simagic Alpha Mini feels noticeably weaker and “notchy” on PS5 through the adapter compared to native PC use. That’s engineering reality – you can’t translate high-fidelity force feedback through a device emulating lower-tier equipment without losing something.

The DriveHub Alternative

DriveHub is another adapter that supports multiple consoles. It has one peculiar requirement that caught me by surprise: for wheels that aren’t natively PS4/PS5 compatible, you need to plug in a licensed PS4 controller (like a HORI Mini-Pad) to authenticate the wheel.

So your setup becomes: DriveHub connected to PS5, your wheelbase connected to DriveHub, and a PS4 controller also connected to DriveHub. It works, but it’s inelegant. And there are reports of input lag, though users can’t agree on whether it’s noticeable or not.

The claimed response time is under 2 milliseconds, which should be imperceptible. But real-world experience varies wildly depending on firmware versions, specific wheel models, and even which Gran Turismo 7 update you’re running.

When Adapters Make Sense (Rarely)

I’ll be honest about this. Adapters make sense in exactly one scenario: you already own a high-end PC wheelbase worth over £1,000 and you want occasional PS5 access without buying a second wheelbase.

If you own a Fanatec Podium DD1 or Simucube 2 Pro for your PC rig, spending £80 on a Brook adapter to run Gran Turismo 7 occasionally is reasonable. You accept the compromised force feedback because your primary platform remains PC with full fidelity.

But if PlayStation is your primary or only sim racing platform, adapters are false economy. You’re paying £80 for the adapter, plus dealing with firmware update maintenance, plus accepting degraded force feedback, plus risking that a console update breaks everything.

For that £80 adapter cost plus the frustration, you could put that money toward a used Logitech G29 (£100) and have native PlayStation compatibility with zero compromises. Or save toward a GT DD Pro that provides proper direct drive feedback designed specifically for PlayStation.

The Warranty and Terms of Service Question

None of these adapters are officially sanctioned by Sony. They exist in a grey area where Sony doesn’t explicitly prohibit them but also provides zero support. More importantly, using an adapter could potentially void your console or wheel warranty.

I’d check your specific warranty terms before connecting adapters. Sony could theoretically detect adapter use and restrict account features, though I’ve not seen evidence of this happening in practice. The bigger risk is firmware updates breaking adapter compatibility, leaving you unable to race until the adapter manufacturer releases an update.

What concerns me more is the firmware update treadmill. Console updates can break adapters. Game patches can stop wheels working. Adapter manufacturers then scramble to release firmware fixes. You’re perpetually one update away from non-functional equipment.

“Not perfect” does not sound ideal.

My Honest Assessment

Adapters solve a problem Sony created with their restrictive licensing. But they solve it imperfectly. The force feedback degradation isn’t trivial – losing 50% of your direct drive wheel’s power and detail fundamentally changes the driving experience.

I’ve read too many forum posts from people who bought adapters expecting their high-end PC wheel to work brilliantly on PS5, only to discover it feels worse than a native Logitech G29. That’s the uncomfortable reality of signal translation through emulation.

For someone starting sim racing on PlayStation, I cannot recommend buying a non-compatible wheel with the plan to use an adapter. The smart move is buying native PlayStation equipment from the start. The resale value is better, the experience is better, and you avoid the constant firmware management.

If you already own expensive PC equipment and want occasional PlayStation access, fine. Try a Brook adapter for £80. Keep expectations realistic. But for anyone building a PlayStation-primary setup, spend money on proper native equipment rather than workarounds.

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Topic: Console Sim Racing