xbox 360 controller options? What are you guys using?

[Greg Veres]

Ok, I am finally getting an xbox 360 for the kids for christmas. (Ok, everybody I talk to sees right through that line and knows exactly who I am getting the xbox for. )

I am going to get forza 3. I have an xbox right now and forza 1 and it was fun enough with the game pad but everybody knows you need a wheel to really enjoy racing. So, what are you guys doing? Are you doing any racing on the xbox? If so, are you using a wheel? Are you using a seat?

I was going to put the xbox upstairs in the living room, but if forza 3 is really that good, then I might put it downstairs and look at getting a seat. It think it is going to be hard to put it in the attic and justify a dedicated TV.

I am really interested in hearing what you guys are doing.

1) are you racing on the xbox?
2) are you using a wheel or just the gamepad? If a wheel, which one?
3) if you are using a wheel, how is it mounted and on to what?
4) do you share a wheel with your pc? Is it worth the aggravation of moving it between the two systems? I have ECCI pedals with a logitech G25 wheel and I like the setup.

Any other info you guys can think of would be good too.

Greg

[davidan]

Greg

I have all of the Forza's 1-3 and they are really cool. Forza 3 is awesome, I really want to build a simpod/chair and wheel setup for it -- but havent been able to pull the trigger on it -- and I have to continually ask myself if I would really spend the same amount of time racing on it as I do the PC -- so -- thusfar I havent bought anything for it. But I have done some research and when I do get ready I am going with the Fanatec Wheel ... Go here to access their store from the CMS site

CMS Fanatec Racing Wheels - Affiliate Program (Links)

The 911 Turbo S is the model you want because it works with XBOX and your PC ... and I think the playstation 3 as well. It's been getting great reviews. I believe a couple of guys here at CMS own them.

I would then add the GameRacer Elite setup
http://www.gameracer.co.uk/


I think that would be a kick ass setup for sure.

David

[john basara]

I think the biggest question to ask yourself is how much time would you spend offline with a racing game? Personally, when I'm offline I end up practicing for online races. There are a few instances in which I'll fire up GPL and go for a few laps around Monza10k, Sachsenring, or such but for the most part I'm dialing in setups for the next rF race scheduled

Personally, I think the PS3 would be a better option for racing. I mostly get third person, fighting, and such games for my XBox. But with the PS3 one can hook up a G25/G27, no problem. With the XBox there's the Fanatec, MS wheel, and that's about it. Neither of those I really liked. So any racing I do on the XBox is pretty casual and just with a gamepad.

If the PS3 were $300, like it is now, when I got my XBox, I probably would have went that route because of the controller options for racing.

John

[Devin]

I've been seriously considering Xbox just for Forza 3. That game sounds fantastic. I mean, the AI racing is said to be pretty good (Sim Racing Tonight review) and Darren and Shaun said the tuning and tweaking were so good that Shaun could tune a drag racer (Camaro) that could beat Darren's Camaro with twice the budget.

I run into the problem however that I own a G25 and really don't want to have to buy a Fantec just for 1 game. Also, can you plug an Xbox 360 into a computer monitor? (I don't think my monitor accepts RCA cables (red, yellow, white type)).

Some further guidance would be appreciated. Or perhaps PS3's flagship racer will match Forza 3 in the next iteration.

[john basara]

Also, can you plug an Xbox 360 into a computer monitor? (I don't think my monitor accepts RCA cables (red, yellow, white type)).

My XBox came with the component video cables (3 RCA) and left/right RCA for audio. Alternatively, you can get an HDMI cable and use that. If you don't have a widescreen monitor then I guess it would just be a standard RCA but I have a 24" widescreen with both HDMI and component video inputs.

Some further guidance would be appreciated. Or perhaps PS3's flagship racer will match Forza 3 in the next iteration.

The next Gran Turismo is supposed to come out in Feb/Mar or so. I'm sure either game will be equally as good as the other.

John