Thrustmaster T818 upgrade from TS-PC Racer - Was it worth it?

I recently upgraded to the Thrustmaster T818 Direct Drive wheel base and wanted to provide my thoughts and feedback on how it compares to the belt drive Thrustmaster TS-PC Racer. Is it worth the upgrade? Does it improve my lap times? Is Direct Drive really as good as all the hype?

I use iRacing & irFFB for all my sim racing experiences.

Hope this helps you make some decisions and feel free to leave a comment on your thoughts and experience with these wheel bases or any others.

Time Stamps:
00:00 Intro
01:53 Rig Install
02:30 Software
07:48 On Track
08:20 Final Thoughts

Link to irFFB 2022:

Thrustmaster T818:

[derodge]

Thanks for your review.!! You helped me make the decision to go ahead and upgrade from the TS PC-Racer. I love people who do reviews and spent their own money. You get true unbias opinoins .

[BadWallaby]

Awesome to hear how Direct Drive has changed your experience! Great video!

[realtrisk]

I'm really, really glad to hear you say this. I was worried when I heard TM and Logi were doing DD wheels, that they would 'skimp' on them and lower the quality, making people disappointed with direct drive and not understand why it is great. Hearing you talk about the fine details coming out of the wheel means they did this baby up right, and I couldn't be happier.

[jorn-jorenjorenson]

Great video! I have upgraded from T300 to T818 about 4 months ago. I immediately liked the way smoother feeling and the absolute silence.
I definitely catch the cars way more often than before, when the rear steps out. That surely is a result of the more precise, faster and stronger reaction of the wheel to the sliding. I can also confirm, that my throttle control feels a lot better now than some time ago. I hadn't connected this to the new wheel so far, but after hearing your thoughts about that, it sounds very plausible to me. So, I totally agree with you, it was worth it.
Btw, I really love the TM open wheel rim for it's clean and simple design and look without any unnecessary features. I am really happy I can still use it with the T818.

[daifuco]

Your impressions are so much more welcome that those "professional reviews" that are on YouTube.
I will definitely be upgrading my TX(T300) when I can afford it.

[nossy]

Good to hear you like it. I'm going to upgrade too from a T300rs. But I am waiting for the T818 Ferrari SF1000 Simulator bundle since I think it looks so good! Already got the T-LCM Pedals.

[MrEDET]

Nice video, we had the same experience.. I upgraded from the TS-PC to the T818 and my first impression was a bit underwhelming too. After reading so much positive things about DD in general i just kind of expected more. When I upgraded from a G29 to the TS-PC I was immediately absolutely blown away, didn't really have that when I first tried the T818. Until I dialed it in correctly (and yes, irFFB makes the ffb so much better for Iracing). I lost the rear of my car and even without thinking I caught it again - that was the moment I realized how much better the ffb was.

I had some back luck with my T818, it broke down after some months, apparently a fault with a small batch of units. I had to use my TS-PC again and THEN I really realized how much I missed all the subtle ffb details and the stronger ffb.Thankfully my T818 was repaired quickly and will arrive within a couple of hours :)

[billynolanjr]

I just upgraded to the T818 also from the TS -XW....The difference is quite amazing, once I dialed in the T818 I was blown away, its a fantastic base !

[FRFM]

Leave it to a OG to give the honest real thoughts. I got into sim racing 1 1/2 yr ago, started w TS PC, I am very good and race at a high level and have fun in leagues for ACC, I did do iRacing for a bit. anyway, ts pc is great and im rready for DD, but I haven't heard a review that satisfied me, and this is great comparison. when you related the throttle w the steering feel, that sold me. i was thinking more about just the steering, but how you said you can exit faster because youve caught the slippage earlier is awesome

[lesyoung]

thanks for this, I'll do dd when my TGT blows up

[coolreal]

I upgraded from a TS-PC also, and I feel the same way. My lap times improved, and I feel more connected to the car. Great video explanation!

[tanguy_endenmann]

Thank you for your video and your help. I'm about to buy an other steering wheel because I lack information on cornering grip to be fast, with my current equipment.
Your observation about the possibility of improving acceleration thanks to direct drive helps me a lot.

THANKS !

[robwilleford]

great vid, thanks! I am saving at this moment to purchase the T818 I also have a few TM rims... Oh have a T300 right now.

[akozlowski]

Great rewiev;) Actually it's the last one I've watched, that convinced me to buy T818. And stepping up from TS-PC to T818, felt exactly as you described i was really happy with it, very smooth and really strong, but... My unit after a month of use start to have micro slack in connection between QR and motor shaft, when I was looking for solution before RMA I was amazed how much plastic they used. For my sense too much plastic for such strong 10Nm base, and i don't see it will last more than couple of years used to full potential.
Luckily my reseller gave me refund, and I go with new Simagic Alpha base with used Simagic GT4 wheel. This is real DD, materials used are all either metal, aluminium or carbon fibre, only plastic parts in whole bundle are buttons on the wheel. FFB is even more detailed, wheel is faster, and I get rid of crazy oscilations which I had on T818 with same settings due to low slew rate of T818. If i would buy cheaper Aplha Mini after selling my three TM wheels i would be basically at the same cost as upgrade T818. I go with Alpha just to have little bit more headroom.
TL DR: Anybody who wonder if buying T818 is worth, in my opinion it's not, and even people who are heavy invested in TM ecosystem should consider sell all and go with other DD option(Simagic, Asetek), as T818 has too much plastic for it's power.
Also hope you enjoy flawlessly you unit, all best!

[jugnot]

Finally !! Thank you for this video. Very usefull.

[stickybuds]

Very nice breakdown, to see your dialing-in process, something to try myself (though I mostly play ACC/AC/dirt rally). Coming from a TX/T300, I had an opposite reaction, found it OVERwhelming with all the info coming in and how dynamic the wheel was, from very subtle, almost non-existent FFB to nearly tearing my fingers off from little nudges or slides. So yea, setting it up according to realism and desired feedback is certainly more important with DD than anything belt/gear driven, would give the same advice to anyone else making the jump. Found I actually use very little in game gain with the TM software maxed out and on Performance mode

[GregoryShtevensh]

Awesome video! Thanks for your time, money and effort mate

[brianstoneley]

I upgraded from a g920 to Thrustmaster wheel base and pedals, belt drive. It is far better than the g920 . I would love to get the direct drive wheel base that you have in this video but will have to wait until prices drop or a used one comes available in the future. Thanks for the informative video. Best wishes Brian.

[pietmanmauer]

Thanks for the Video. I have the TS-PC and love the wheel base. I am not anywhere close to my limit but will rather get better pedals something with a load cell break before upgrading the wheel with your advice at 12:33 to 13:02.

[SSRacer_UK]

Currently using a T300RS and looking at the 818 as my next upgrade. Good informative video the only other thing I would like to have seen is your lap times with old wheel compared to the new one to give an idea of the gains. But you really explain thing well 👍