Thrustmaster T818 [REVIEW/TEARDOWN] 🤔 IT'S GOOD! But I can't recommend it! WATCH TO FIND OUT WHY?

*RELATED CONTENT:*

00:00 Intro
00:58 General features
02:34 The quick release
03:59 Table clamp
05:23 Teardown
07:12 Game compatibility
08:48 TM control panel features
10:34 Motor power
11:43 Using third-party wheels
12:02 The force feedback
15:24 Build quality
17:44 Verdict and summary

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#Simracing #ThrustmasterT818 #simracinghardware

[simracingspark]

Thank you. I watched all the available reviews for T818 so far including in languages other than English and I came to the conclusion I will be going for Moza R9 or Simagic Alpha with a GT wheel. I will only keep the Sparco R383 wheel (and get the sim racing coach adapter because I love this wheel for rally). I will also keep the T-LCM and Sparco handbrake. Main reason - I want a proper metal quick release.

[Starmastrmusic]

Awesome review! Incredibly detailed in both explanation and as a visual showcase. Nice to know the wheelbase is good, although it sounds like it's what we kind of expected it to be: a direct drive wheelbase for people who already have a bunch of Thrustmaster rims.

Thanks for the hard work 👍

[stuartgibson]

My T818 is a game changer. It is superb, and much better value than the Logitech G Pro (which is HUGE), and you still have to buy the pedals. Yes I do already have the Sparco R383 rally wheel & the F1000 formula wheel as well as my trusty T300RS for emergencies. I came from a Logitech G27, tried the G29, which just refused to work on my gaming laptop, so moved to Thrustmaster. All good so far.

[Dzul]

Thorough review, thank you! I've been using the T818 for a month now (mostly Multiclass races in AC at RD servers) and I am positively impressed (coming from a TS-PC) with what this DD wheelbase can do from the get go. I do think however that it's unfortunate Thrustmaster does not include either a desk or rig mount WITH the T818 out of the box (but hey, peripheral$). I can definitely recommend the rig-mounting kit, it provides a broader contact area and more screws (8 instead of 4) to share the FFB load (better than just drilling holes to attach the wheelbase straight on the rig) and has no flex whatsoever. The bottom of the rig-mounting kit is made of VERY sticky silicon so it feels as if my T818 is now "glued" to the rig itself. I had to re-tighten all other screws on the rig plate to ensure rigidity because wheelspin shakes the whole thing (currently running it in Performance mode at 70% power and 30% damper). In my experience the T818 is a proper, solid DD wheel. Definitely worth the upgrade if you are already in the TM ecosystem.

[Numbah]

I have been debated about getting a Thrustmaster T818. I mostly race on iRacing in GT cars and some prototypes. Most of my time I am racing against top split competition and I have previously raced in the iRacing World Championship Grand Prix Series years back. I went from a G27 to T500RS F1 Integral and it was a nice step up for me at the time in 2013. As years passed on, my T500RS F1 Integral that served me well was wearing down and not as strong as it used to be before. I took a trip down to Ricmotech to try out the TS PC Racer. The feedback it gave me was astonishing, I felt connected with what I was doing. I came back to iRacing last year in 2022 after my TS PC Racers power core died. Ive been crippling its potential with the T500RS power core. Im looking for the next upgrade that will serve me well in top split competition.

[kevin_m]

Someone with more than 2 TM wheels for a previous gen base might be the best target for this. There are better DD options if not already in TM ecosystem. Great review!😺

[Pownrend]

I have it since a few days, quite happy with it since it's my first DD. At 16:09, I push this piece even further because otherwise it was making a little noise. Now I just have to upgrade my cockpit (the DD is a bit too strong for the Oplite GT3 Superfast) but it's nice to feel everything on a track. Thank you for the review, a bit too much plastic for the price, we can all agree about that

[MrNeilRoberts]

Mate … I love you’re reviews … to the point, fair and accurate… is it ok to say much better than Karl’s because seriously you are on another level 😊👍

[ianknight]

Thank you. I wasn’t too impressed with the look or the construction of the Thrustmaster so went with a Simagic Alpha Mini and FX formula style wheel and I’m very happy that I did. The Simagic products are incredibly well engineered.

[franneeh]

so its probably either simagic alpha mini vs moza r9 for my next upgrade then
great review btw <3

[LisakRacing]

Can’t wait console version! I ordered psvr2 with my t300 and t-lcm. But t818 is just another level

[TarzanGTI]

Most detailed I’ve seen so far.

I’m definitely part of the target audience for this product as I have the T300RS base with T-LCM pedals and the TH8-A shifter and Sparco R383 wheel. Also have the original GT wheel and the T3P-GT pedals the T300RS GT bundle came with.

I’ve been debating upgrading to the T818 selling the T300RS GT with the original wheel and pedals while retaining my other Thrustmaster gear, but given the several cons with build quality, I feel I should just buy once, cry once and upgrade to an endgame Simagic, Simucube or Asetek base with Simagic, Heusinkveld, or Asetek pedals as Active Pedals are too rich for my blood.

[SirDazzyB]

Fabulous review thank you! One of the few reviewers that actually talk about how the wheel *feels* as well as the technical details. You are right on the money here. The T818 is a decent offering and a great upgrade path for existing TM users but is hard to justify as a first time DD purchase or migrating from another eco system. Keep up the great work!

[Sithhy]

Great review; the T818 will totally be my next wheelbase whenever I will need to upgrade from my T300

[mdesc]

i cancelled my preorder exactly for that reason, too much plastic for the price AND i was a thrustmaster owner. i just sold everything.

Even if it's "made in France" (my country) i really do not appreciate paying that much when i see so much better quality everywhere else, for cheaper.

And what about software part ??? it looks like win95 software, developped by a young student with no talent. have you ever seen TLCM pedals software ? its a real joke !
Every here and there we can see lack of quality in thrustmaster, selling toys for a very high price...
Each thrustmaster thing i owned had problems :

-t500 became hot, i had to unmount external shell and add a new fan system
all spring of my t3pa pro broke, and after trying SAV, which was good, i finally decided to add my own springs, and i finally had a decent frankenstein-like t3pa-pro

-t300 had the same problem, i sold it.

Steering wheels are too soft, and move as you mentionned in your video, plus we can ear the plastic creaking each turn

-joysticks t16000 (i owned 2 of them) are well knowed for the Z axis potentiometer fail, and it happened on my both.
'airbus' joystick still have this problem.

Tlcm pedals can not be setup on clutch and gaz pedals, which are really weak and soft. (i can barely not feel the gaz pedal at all !!! )
Brake pedal need mods to be efficient, because only springs on a load cell cancel the load cell effect !!!
i mean there is absolutely no feeling in brake pedal because of the spring, and finally, conical brake mod on my t3pa pro was better !!!

and that's all for MY expérience with thrustmaster,
but its really enough for me,
I have no more thrust in thrustmaster...

[Maltinis]

I definitely agree that is way to expensive. And btw would be quite interesting to hear your opinion on simagic alpha mini.

[MrKrampyHands]

I thought about going thrustmaster but went with Moza honestly glad i did the Moza stuff is nicer especially comparing H pattern shifters the hgp destroys the th8a i had for a few weeks

[SMOKEY-Junior]

Another indepth review, appreciate it, may i ask, one day you gives us some tips / tricks for ffb within the pithouse software. Im currently using Race beyond matter's settings and Im Just curious of your settings for comparison

[dragonknight]

Gret review! I like the indepth price comparisons, no one else is doing that well enough at the moment. I'm too poor for these so called mid range DD wheels anyway, but at least I know the real value of them in case I hit lotto, lol.

[jonasparren]

I commented here of my problems with the t818.
i also said i was gonna update.
so, my comment said that after a month my t818 did not recognize any steering wheels anymore. so also no buttons reacted to imput..
i tried different wheels and qr's nothing worked.
(i deleted the comment to avoid problems with thrustmaster)
i am now about 1.5 weeks later and just recieved my t818 prior shipped in the mail.
thrustmaster has bin nothing but helpfull in restoring the issue.
and 1.5 weeks is damn fast.
altough it sucked to have problems this early on.
it could have bin expected with buying in preorder. and everything was fixed super fast.
no complaints here.