Thrustmaster T598 Review

I’ve had the Thrustmaster T598 set up on the rig for a while now, running alongside my Simucube 2 Pro, and it’s a fascinating thing. It’s the wheel that finally put proper direct drive on a PlayStation for under £450, and it did it with a motor nobody else in sim racing is using. Here’s the conclusion up front, because I know it’s what you came for: for a PS5 racer stepping up from a belt wheel, it’s the easiest recommendation on the market right now. For a PC purist, the picture’s more complicated – and the pedals are the catch. Let me explain why.

What is Direct Axial Drive, and why does it matter?

Every other direct drive wheel I’ve used – my Simucube, the Fanatecs, the Mozas – runs a radial-flux motor. Copper coils sit around an iron core and the magnetic field pushes outwards. It works brilliantly, but it has a side effect called cogging: a faint magnetic notchiness you can feel if you turn the wheel slowly with the power off, and which the good bases spend real software effort smoothing out.

The T598 does it differently. Its Direct Axial Drive motor lays the magnets along the same axis as the wheel shaft, so the field runs flat rather than outwards, and cogging is designed out in the hardware instead of filtered out in software. You can feel it the moment you spin the rim with the power off – it’s glassy, no stepping, no notches. With the power on and a car loaded, that translates into low-speed smoothness that surprised me: easing into a long corner, the build of resistance is clean and linear in a way some cheap bases never quite manage.

The numbers look modest. 5Nm of constant torque is entry-level, the same figure as a Fanatec CSL DD in its base form, and after years on a 25Nm Simucube it’s obviously a big step down in outright strength. But there’s a trick: a +100% overshoot. On a transient – a kerb, a snap of oversteer, a crash – the motor spikes to around 10Nm for a moment before settling back. That gives it a dynamic range a flat 5Nm base doesn’t have, and it’s why the feedback feels punchier than the headline number suggests. On top of the force feedback sits HARMONY, Thrustmaster’s high-frequency haptic layer – the same idea as Logitech’s TrueForce, sending engine revs, road texture and rumble strips up through the rim as vibration. It’s very good, and it adds a layer of detail my Simucube doesn’t reproduce the same way.

Technical specifications

Specification	Value
Motor	Direct Axial Drive (axial-flux, ECM PCB stator)
Torque	5 Nm constant, ~10 Nm peak (100% overshoot)
Haptics	HARMONY high-frequency telemetry layer
Display	Integrated front “Race Dash” LCD
Included rim	Sportcar round rim (~30 cm), magnetic paddle shifters
Included pedals	Raceline LTE, 2-pedal, magnetic H.E.A.R.T. sensors (no load cell)
Platforms	PS5, PS4, PC (Xbox via the separate T598X)
In the box	Base, rim, pedals, desk clamp
Price	~£449 / $499 bundle; base around £350 standalone

The spec doing the heavy lifting is the motor type, not the torque number. Read the 5Nm figure the way you’d read the CSL DD’s – it undersells how the wheel feels once the overshoot and the axial smoothness are in play. The one to keep your eye on is the pedal line: the bundled Raceline LTE set has no load cell, and that shapes who this wheel is really for. More on that below, because it’s the single most important thing to understand before you buy.

Compatibility and ecosystem

This is where the T598 earns its keep. It’s native on PS5, PS4 and PC out of the box – no separate platform hub, no licensing dance. That’s the whole pitch: a real direct drive wheel a PlayStation owner can plug in and use, at a price that used to buy you a belt wheel. Xbox is the one exception – for that you need the separate T598X variant, so check which box you’re buying if Xbox is your platform. I ran mine on PC, and it was plug-and-play.

The quick release is Thrustmaster’s newer design, a real step up from the old plastic collar, and it stays backward-compatible with the existing Thrustmaster rim range – so if you’re coming from a T300 or a TS-XW, your old wheels still fit. The flip side is the usual ecosystem question: you’re buying into Thrustmaster’s rims and pedals, not an open standard. That’s fine for most people, but it’s worth knowing before you commit, because it shapes where your next upgrade money goes.

Build quality and the bundle

Here’s where the price shows. The base shell is largely plastic, and the shape is a bit odd – a wedge, not the neat cube of a CSL DD. Next to my Simucube it looks and feels like what it is: a keenly-priced wheel, not a premium one. But here’s the thing – it doesn’t much matter, because the important part, the motor and the feedback, punches well above the shell wrapped around it. You stop noticing the plastic about thirty seconds after you start driving.

The included Sportcar rim is the weakest bit of the bundle. It’s light, round, and perfectly fine to learn on, but the rubberised grip got tiring on my hands over a long stint and it feels closer to a starter rim than something you’ll keep. The good news is the QR means you can swap it later without touching the base. The Race Dash screen on the front is a nice touch – I found it most useful for tweaking force feedback on the fly, less so as a live telemetry display, since on console the data it can pull is limited.

The Raceline LTE pedals are the real compromise, and I want to be straight about it. They’re a two-pedal metal set with magnetic sensors, which is a sensible durable choice, but they’re soft and linear with no load cell – so your brake is measured by how far you push, not how hard. If you’ve only ever driven on a potentiometer brake you’ll be fine, but a load cell is the single biggest upgrade a new sim racer can make to their braking consistency, and its absence here is the bundle’s main asterisk. Worse, the load-cell upgrade path for these pedals has been slow to arrive, so don’t buy the wheel on the promise of one – budget for better pedals separately if brake feel matters to you.

How it drives

On the road, the T598 feels like a very smooth 5Nm direct drive base with a bit more punch than the number implies, and a couple of quirks. Coming off a belt wheel like a T300 or a G29, the jump in fidelity is the thing you notice first – it’s more detailed, quieter, and the road texture comes through cleanly where a belt wheel muffles it. That axial motor’s low-speed smoothness is the real party trick. Because there’s no cogging to fight, slow precise inputs – trailing into a long corner, catching a gentle slide – come through without the faint stepping some cheaper bases have.

One thing to know, and it caught me out at first: let go of the wheel with the power on and the car moving, and it can wander and oscillate a fair bit before it settles. That’s normal direct-drive behaviour rather than a fault – all DD wheels do it to some degree – but the T598’s damping is light out of the box, so it’s more noticeable than on a heavier, more damped base like my Simucube. A touch of damping in the settings calms it right down. Worth knowing so it doesn’t alarm you on day one.

Put the HARMONY haptics on top and you get a layer of engine and road detail that a pure force feedback base doesn’t give you. It’s not going to out-muscle a 20Nm Simucube on outright strength, and it isn’t trying to. What it does, brilliantly, is make real direct drive feel accessible, quiet and detailed at a price that undercuts everything with a PlayStation badge on it. On that specific brief, I can’t think of anything I’d take over it.

Issues and things to know

Two things beyond the pedals are worth going in with your eyes open about. The first is a hardware niggle that hit some early units: the power connector on the back could work loose under rig vibration and briefly cut out, rebooting the wheel mid-session. Thrustmaster handled affected units through replacement, and it isn’t universal, but if you’re buying used or an early one, that’s the thing to test for. The second is the software – the My Thrustmaster control panel on PC is fiddly during firmware updates, and the base can drop out in the middle of a flash. The fix that worked for me was to unplug the rim and pedals first and use a rear USB port. Annoying, but recoverable.

Beyond those, the caveats are the ones already covered: pedals without a load cell, a rim you’ll probably want to upgrade, and a plastic base that looks its price. None is a dealbreaker at £449. All are worth knowing before you hand over the money.

How it compares

Against the rest of the entry direct drive field, the T598’s case is specific. The Fanatec CSL DD is the obvious rival on feel and shares the 5Nm base figure, but a PlayStation-ready Fanatec bundle costs meaningfully more once you’ve added the parts, and the T598 undercuts it. The Logitech RS50 is the closer modern competitor – 8Nm and truly tri-platform, working on PS, Xbox and PC from one box – but it sits in a higher price bracket, so it’s the pick if you want more torque and platform flexibility rather than the lowest price of entry.

On PC specifically, the picture shifts against it. A Moza R5 or R9, or a Simagic Alpha EVO Sport, gives you a metal build, a stronger software ecosystem and a proper upgrade ladder for similar money – but none of them work on a PlayStation. That’s the whole decision in one line: if you’re on PS5, the T598 has almost no direct competition at the price; if you’re PC-only, it has plenty.

Who should buy the T598?

Buy it if you’re on PS5 (or PS4) and you want to jump from a Logitech G29 or a Thrustmaster T300 to real direct drive without spending Fanatec or Logitech RS50 money. That’s the buyer this wheel was built for, and it serves them better than anything else on the shelf. It’s also a strong pick if you value the fine, high-frequency detail the axial motor and HARMONY deliver – the road texture and kerb feel come through beautifully.

Look elsewhere if you’re a PC-only racer chasing the best build and software for the money – Moza and Simagic will serve you better – or if you need a load-cell brake from day one. If trail-braking consistency matters to you, budget for better pedals on top, and factor that into the total before you decide. Our pedals buyer’s guide covers the upgrade options.

Pros

• Axial-flux motor delivers cogging-free, low-speed-smooth force feedback
• 10Nm peak overshoot makes 5Nm feel punchier than the number suggests
• Native PS5 / PS4 / PC support with no separate hub – the cheapest real DD on PlayStation
• HARMONY high-frequency haptics add engine and road detail most bases miss

Cons

• Bundled Raceline LTE pedals have no load cell, and the upgrade path is thin
• Plastic base shell and a starter-grade Sportcar rim you’ll likely want to replace
• Light default damping means it wanders hands-off; fiddly firmware updates; a power-connector niggle on some early units

Pricing and where to buy

The full T598 bundle – base, Sportcar rim, Raceline LTE pedals and desk clamp – lands around £449 / $499, and the base is available on its own for a little under £350 if you want to bring your own rim and pedals. That bundle price is the number that makes the wheel: a complete, PlayStation-ready direct drive setup for less than the base alone costs from some rivals. Prices move, so check the live table below before you buy.

For where the T598 sits against the rest of the entry direct drive market, my direct drive wheels buyer’s guide ranks it alongside the Fanatec CSL DD, the Logitech RS50 and the Moza range. And if you’re setting one up on a console, the PS5 sim racing buyer’s guide covers the rest of the rig. Enjoy it – and I’ll see you out on track.