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Gran Turismo official steering wheel

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Gran Turismo official steering wheel

The Gran Turismo official steering wheels (such as the GT FORCE or Driving Force, see the trademark symbols difference) are a series of steering wheels designed by Logitech (a.k.a. Logicool in Japan) in collaboration with Polyphony Digital. These racing games controllers are designed to be used with the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 systems but later models can be used on PC as well due to their USB connection. The GT Force is the central part of a driving simulation cockpit installation. Official kits are co-designed and released in Japan by Logicool and Sparco (distributed by import tuner Endless in North America), while compatible kits are designed and released worldwide by European manufacturers such as Playseat® and MoveTech.

Contents

Model comparison

Features common to all models include:

  • Force feedback
  • Brake / gas pedals
  • Paddle shifters
  • Clamp base
  • Lap attachment
  • USB connector
  • Features that vary between models are:

    History

    The original GT Force first came out in Japan and South East Asia in 2001. It was later released in North America and Europe. The brand soon evolved to "Driving Force" in these Logitech distributed territories. Code product is "LPRC" for Logicool PlayStation Racing Controller.

    In 2007, the GT Force line-up was made of three wheels, the entry-level GT Force RX replacing the discontinued Driving Force type (79.99 USD/EUR), the medium-level GT Force Pro (129.98 USD/EUR) and the G25 Racing Wheel which replaced the first as the top level (299.99 USD/EUR).

    Both are compatible with PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Windows PC systems and are supported by Gran Turismo 5 Prologue.

    GT Force

    The GT Force (LPRC-10000) is a rebranded Logitech Wingman Formula GP, with a blue rather than a yellow rubber grip. It was released on April 28, 2001 as the Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec official wheel

    GT Force for Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec (LPRC-10001)

    A "GT Force for Gran Turismo 2000" (Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, LPRC-10001) was scheduled for 2001, however due to a game title change it was replaced by the "GT Force Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec" custom version released on April 28, 2001.

    GT Force Initial D version (LPRC-10002)

    On June 26, 2003, Logicool released an Initial D Special Stage custom version of the GT Force (LPRC-10000).

    Driving Force

    The Driving Force is the first evolution of the GT Force announced at the London Games Convention in early September 2001. This model is discontinued since it was replaced by the Driving Force Pro in 2003.

    Driving Force EX

    The Driving Force EX (also known as the GT Force RX (LPRC-12000) or Driving Force RX (Retail Version)) is the PlayStation 3 official wheel released on the console's launch date, November 11, 2006. It features force feedback and was succeeded by Driving Force GT. The wheel came bundled with Formula One Championship Edition.

    Driving Force Pro

    The Driving Force Pro (also known as the GT Force Pro (LPRC-11000)) is the Gran Turismo 4 Prologue official wheel released in December 2003.

    GT Force Pro for Sega Rally (LPRC-11000S)

    A Sega Rally 2006 custom version named was released on January 12, 2006.

    GT Force Pro (LPRC-11500)

    It is a specialized game controller manufactured by Logitech for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system. It also works with the PC using drivers available from the Logitech website. It is designed to function like the controls in an automobile and includes a steering wheel with force feedback, analog accelerator and brake pedals, and sequential stick and paddle gear shifters in addition to the standard PlayStation 2 buttons. The controller was jointly designed by Logitech and Polyphony Digital to be used with Gran Turismo 4, however it will work with other games and automatically switches to a 200 degree compatibility mode for games not compatible with the 900 degree mode. It works with most driving games on the PlayStation 2 and has a list price of £99.99 (around 200 American dollars) at most stores, but can be as low as half that.

    It is viewed by many that when used with Gran Turismo 4 it provides an experience very comparable to actual racing. This is mostly due to the force feedback feature which causes the steering wheel to pull back on the individual turning it, if the user attempts to turn the wheel in a way a real car "wouldn't want to go;" a counter-resistance — "pushing back" against drivers' initial attempts to turn it, based on the speed, inertia, energy, and geometry of the car, and what surface you are driving on. It will provide sharp, smooth and clean resistance effects on dry pavement, less resistance on wet pavement, and almost none on snow and ice. On a dirt or gravel track, it will vibrate erratically to give the sensation of actually driving on these surfaces. A minor feature, like the DualShock 2 controller, is vibrating when clipping the side of the road or some other object. The wheel generates a sudden jerk when hitting any object. If the driver goes over a bump, the wheel will jolt like in a real car. The close collaboration between the wheel and game development teams ensured that maximum use was made of the hardware's capabilities.

    The Logitech website lists PlayStation3 under System Requirements, indicating it is supported. 900° support will be software dependent.

    Driving Force GT

    The Driving Force GT was released on December 13, 2007.

    Developed in conjunction with Polyphony Digital, first introduced at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show and intended for use with Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Gran Turismo 5 and all PlayStation 3 auto racing games, the Driving Force GT is the fifth entry in the company's Driving Force series of game controllers.

    G25 Racing Wheel

    The G25 Racing Wheel (LPRC-13000) was unveiled on October 25, 2007 and released on December 13, 2007. It currently has no matching official racing cockpit available. It's not an official GT steering wheel but is fully compatible and after some updates, officially supported in GT5 and GT6.

    G27 Racing Wheel

    The G27 Racing Wheel is based upon the previous G25, with some new features. Like the G25, the G27 is also not an official GT steering wheel but is fully compatible and after some updates, officially supported in GT5 and GT6.

    G29 Driving Force Racing Wheel

    The G29 Driving Force Racing Wheel is based upon the G27 and the Driving Force GT and it is compatible with the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PC. It was scheduled to be released later in 2015.

    References

    Gran Turismo official steering wheel Wikipedia