Thrustmaster T598 force feedback wheel review: a quiet revolution
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Thrustmaster T598: One Minute Comment
In the last era, the lines on the beach Racing wheels It is drawn between people with strength feedback and people without strength feedback. Today, it’s about direct drive with belt drive power feedback, and with the advent of this innovative new T598, it’s an affordable way to enjoy direct drive benefits.
Specifically, it offers a super smooth gearless steering experience, powered by an axial DD motor that doesn’t respond or feel grainy when it emits resistance through your hands like a belt-driven wheel.
In fact, Thrustmaster said the new axial design makes even more detailed, more detailed feedback than the existing direct drive base, and it took months to use it as my daily driver, which I tend to agree.
There are concessions to reach competitive prices, most notably a fully plastic wheel with very basic inputs and a rotating dial, but importantly, the wheels themselves can be exchanged for other Thrustmasters or third-party units. This makes this an excellent starting platform in the long run, especially if you consider the high-quality pedals you bundled with.
Thrustmaster T598: Price and Availability
- Price: $499.99 / £449.99 (approximately $899.99)
- Similar pricing with Fanatec’s CSL 5NM Ready2Race bundle ($399.95/£400)
- Also against Moza’s R5 bundle: $599/£460
What a living time – multiple direct drive bundles for under $500/£500. Fanatec and Moza have the most popular products in the series, and the T598 is available directly at the price. It’s also much cheaper than Thrustmaster’s own belt-powered T-GT II wheel, and while the latter may be excellent, it makes sense to spend less on newer technology to provide a better driving feel.
While the Fanatec CSL 5NM bundle looks cheaper on paper, the online price does not include VAT for UK customers, and you may need to buy extra features like Desk Mount, depending on your setup. Supply is also an ongoing problem for Fanatec stock.
Thrustmaster T598: Specifications
| price | $499.99 / £449.99 (approximately $899.99) |
| weight | 14.1 lb / 6,400 g |
| Peak torque | 5nm |
| feature | Axial direct drive, quick release wheel, two-type hosting base |
| Connection type | USB-A |
| compatibility | PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC |
| software | None (set controlled settings) |
Thrustmaster T598: Design and Features
- Basic but functional rims
- Odd wheelbase
- The pedal looks professional
Let’s start with direct axial drive. What does this mean? It’s all about the design and positioning of the internal components, which creates torque resistance within the wheelbase. While traditional motor designs can produce a bad “gear” feel that makes the wheel feel grainy or Jadry, the T598’s axial flux motor is designed to eliminate it and provide smoother steering and feedback.
That’s why one doubts that the wheelbase itself is so strange. Although Fanatec and Moza offer box motors, the T598’s hexagonal base is much higher. Its style is some jet engine-like lines, but the fact remains that this thing looks obvious. Fortunately, I was able to mount it on the wheelbase rack of the Playeat Sensation Pro without much drama, and the tall base didn’t affect visibility.
The wheel rim itself is attached by a quick release mechanism, although only in name – it is better to install or remove the steering wheel from the base LogitechSG Pro Wheel or Fanatec’s QR2 system. Like the wheelbase, the main plastic of the rim, textured rubber handles and carbon fiber effects in the center panel, frankly, it doesn’t fool anyone.
Place a series of nice input buttons around the wheels in an ergonomic wise way. In the lower left and lower right corners, you have two four-way D-Pads with three console controller-style buttons in the middle. Four face buttons and two shoulder buttons are translated into two three-button clusters for your thumb. Then, at the back, of course, you have two nice large aluminum magnetic shifters with satisfactory mechanical properties on the move.
The pedal product here is especially powerful for the bundle and has two load battery pedal units on an all-metal base. This is a modular design so you can add pedals and transfer the device placement to your taste and swap out springs with varying stiffness to make you feel the brakes and accelerators you need.
Personally, even the stiffest spring kit, I’m looking for a high resistance, GT-like car stamp I want, but I don’t want to be able to dial such precise preferences from the bundle at this price. The main thing is that I can swap parts later for fine-tuning.
Likewise, you can use a wheelbase with multiple different wheel rims, including part of the Throustmaster range that has passed the adapter, or use the new HyperCAR wheel. The adapter sometimes destroys the immediateness of feedback or smoothness, so I have to keep a judgement on how it works with this particular wheelbase until I test it with some different wheels.
The last note of the design – Currently adjusted via physical controls and a small LED screen on the wheelbase itself, not handled by Throustmaster’s proprietary software. This is far from ideal, but I was able to dial a few different profiles this way without getting furious.
Thrustmaster T598: Performance
- Butter smooth actuation
- For most racers, enough torque
- Compatible game library is growing
If the T598 is designed to make a small tradeoff to maintain price competitiveness, then its performance and driving experience are where this new competitor really shines.
The axial drive system really takes itself out of its competitors. You do feel a different smoothness compared to belt-driven force feedback wheels like Logitech’s G923, and it’s Direct Driew Wheels from Moza and Fanatec’s, which are similarly priced CSL 5NM and R5 bundles, respectively. It wasn’t a night, but it was impressive to feel the benefits of breakthrough technology in this package, considering the competitive price.
Since it hit the market, SIM racers have had some discussions about whether the 6nm torque is sufficient. Can it really drive those serious traction loss events and drastically shifting weight when steering under brakes? Yes. Yes, it can.
Indeed, using some configuration file thrustmaster makes me with Racing and racing assetsI found that in a huge effort against this torque, my hands were actually sore after 10-15 laps. There is a lot of resistance here.
Actually, when you dig into the specification sheet, you will find that the T598 has 100% torque overstamping. So, in theory, it can start signals up to 10nm, and the axial arrangement means that when this happens, the delay is maintained well and low – torque drop or overshoot is usually the result of motor inertia lagging behind to meet new torque demands, which is exactly the design of this new internal motor arrangement that can be minimized. In short: when torque does occur, it does not generate gears.
But let’s figure out the nose from the theory book and then return to the driving experience. While it is absolutely inconvenient to have to adjust the universal wheel settings through a display on the wheelbase instead of using software, here are some cool features that can add to the experience, such as the shift vibration effect. As you keep spinning it, you feel a surge in power, causing you to move backwards to simulate the interruption of instantaneous acceleration when you move, and then feel the power being dropped.
Like many SIM racers, I prefer to dial some resistance for easier and more consistent, especially in longer endurance races. Here, in Settings, I particularly appreciate the way feedback is delivered and the rock solid phase of the connection between the rim and wheelbase, even if it is not connected through the Fancy Motorsport style quick release mechanism.
Given that such a great direct drive feel is tied to a solid pedal base that looks and feels much more expensive than it is now, we have a real winner on this bundle.
Should I buy Thrustmaster T598?
If…buy it
if…
Consider also…
If the Thrustmaster T598 won’t grind your gear, consider using these competitors.
| Line 0 – Unit 0 | Thrustmaster T598 | Thatmaster T-GT II | Logitech G923 |
| price | $499.99 / £449.99 (approximately $899.99) | $799.99 / £699.99 / au $1211.99 (approximately) | $299.99 / £349.99 / au $549.95 |
| weight | 14.1 lb / 6,400 g | 29 lb / 13,150 g | 10.7 lb / 4,885 g |
| Peak torque | 5nm | About 6nm | 2.3nm |
| feature | Modular pedal base with removable edges, 100% torque overstamping | Removable wheels, tripod | Force feedback, LED speed display, clutch pedal, 900 degree rotation |
| Connection type | USB-A | USB-A | USB-A |
| compatibility | PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC | Playstation 5, PC | PC&XBOX or PC&PS5 |
How do I test Thrustmaster T598
- There are two months of regular use during the test
- Work with PC and PS5
- Test racing Sims and Arcade Title
As Racing and racing assets Obsessed with the fact that I spent most of the time on the T598 in the M4 and ranking enduro race. Kunos’ new Sevo Racing Assets I also saw some serious time Crew members On the arcade side of the spectrum, F1 24. I tested T598 PC racing,one PS5 racing car Overall, it is thorough and thorough on both platforms.
First reviewed February 2025
