Logitech Drive

[Kanisha Marchant]

Ourlatest innovation in force feedback technology connects directly to in-game simulation engines and physics to produce higher fidelity, real-time responses. The feedback frequency range is also increased for dramatically improved detail and realism compared to previous generations.*

*TRUEFORCE and advanced features require game integration. Visit logitechg.com/support/g923-xb1 for a complete list of supported games.

You've just acquired a working Logitech Driving Force for the PS2, and upon use, you discovered the wheel doesn't work, doesn't feel right, or gets hung up. This is a problem, since you probably spent a good deal of money on it.

A: A #1 Phillips screwdriver, a 7/64 allen wrench, fu manchu fingernails, a 1/8 in flathead screwdriver, and a glass to hold your soda or beer. A combination or reversible screwdriver will NOT work--you need the real deal.

To open the Driving Force, first unhook it from the USB connection, and unhook the power and RJ-45 cable at the back. With it still mounted to the table, use your Fu Manchu fingernails or the flat screwdriver to pry loose the plate that has the vents and says "Logitech" on it. Two screws reside deep under the cover. Remove them. Now remove the two allen screws near the back of the unit.

Inside, you see the shaft (no dirty jokes, please), a small encoder, a plastic carrier bearing, some large gears, and the steering wheel itself. Two screws hold the carrier bearing together. Remove them, then gently pull the top of the bearing off. You'll need to support the wheel while you do this, as it will tend to fall out and tug on the encoder's wires.

There are four plastic connectors that you'll see. Ensure these are connected tightly. Look at the encoder and make sure that the round tab sticking out of it is not damaged. That tab fits between two plastic leaves that are attatched to the bottom half of the case. If any of those are damaged, cement them back in place. Alternately, you might attatch the encoder to what's left of it with double sided tape.

The carrier bearing itself probably won't need repair, so ignore it. Inspect the gears for loose or missing teeth. Also, check the wires that are going to the motor. Once that's done, carefully remove the wheel and shaft from the case. On the case you will see a plastic part that protrudes into an opening on the back of the wheel. That opening has a channel that the plastic stop mechanism on the case rests in. If the channel or the stop device is not smooth, it'll produce a bump. Smooth them down if need be.

When you re assemble the unit, you need to make sure that the encoder is properly seated before you assemble the carrier bearing. Once all that's done, check the wiring one more time and re assemble the wheel just the opposite way of taking it apart.

I've noticed extreme braking problems in GT4 with this wheel. You must adjust the car's brakes to get around this problem. That means buying a $10,500 brake controller. Typical set up on most cars is 70% front and 30% back braking. Pay attention to which brake set yu are acutally adjusting.

Do note that much of this post applies to the Driving Force Pro as well. It was first on the list at Google when I looked the repairs up. Logitech's website is suxing in the repair and trouble shooting department--evidently they want you to spend $130 on a new wheel.

I found out why the wheel won't boot up sometimes. One of the green lights would turn on when the PS2 booted up, and then the wheel would fail to register with GT3 and GT4 both. The lights are supposed to stay dark at bootup until the software initializes the wheel.

The trouble is caused by ring cracks on the board. During a race, the wheel's internals twist and flex just as much as a simulated Miata does after smacking the wall in Noveau Chicane at Monaco. Obviously, that's bad. The solution to this is easy, but getting the board out is not.

Caerfully replace the board once it has cooled and re attatch all the wires firmly. It won't work for even a test unless they're firm. Boot up the PS2 and watch the lights. If they are all dark, wait for the wheel to move during its calibration phase. Run a couple of laps of Grand Valley if it works. If all goes well on Grand Valley, then the wheel is fixed. If not, then perhaps you need to hone your driving skills. Run through the menus a bit to check the d pad and the rest of the controls. This would be a good time for GT4 players to b spec so that they can finish the race they started.

I found out the hard way that the Driving Force is fragile as an egg inside. I cracked one of the board mounts when I was tightening it down. Be aware of this as you work on the wheel. Sure the outer shell is tough, but inside is a totally different story.

In my opinion, this is a piece of hardware that Sony should have built themselves instead of letting a third party do the job. I prefer first party controls over third any day of the week, with only a couple of exceptions.

Oh, almost forgot: I've read some complaints about the Driving Force "losing power from the USB bus". This is characterized by the wheel suddenly going "soft" and unresponsive, then setting the center position to something totally weird. I suspect this is also caused by ring cracks. The ring crack opens, the wheel shuts down, and the player steers in futility. As the wheel is turned, it eventually closes the ring crack and the player unknowingly fights the calibration routine, thinking the force feedback is also going haywire. This results in the center position being set precisely where the wheel is at the end of the calibration.

I guess this is turning into a mini blog. $#!@ing Logitech. ALthough there were some ring cracks in my Driving Force, I had to cut the stupid molex plug off the biggest connection on the board and solder it direct.

Is there a fix in the works for adding this? Cause in all honesty Criterion dropped the ball when it came to wheel support with Hot Pursuit and if this is the ''good wheel support'' they were talking about in interviews then it just doesn't work cause it's currently unplayable regardless of wether you can actually drive a car with it.

Well if I use my Logitech Driving Force GT, there is some force feedback when you go really really fast and steer through a corner. Although it is very very little, the worst force feedback I have seen in a racing game! It's like driving little toy cars around, the game is a real anit-commercial for all the racing car brands like, Porsche, Maserati, BMW, Nissan, Ford, Jaguar... and so on. If it handles like this in real life, well I would come near a car like that!

And with Burnout Paradise, Criterion did set the expectation for good force feedback. That game is fantastic with the Logitech DF-GT! So why the frag EA / Criterion didn't implement the good things, like Force Feedback, that just worked in the old Burnout Paradise into this new racing game, just beats me!

At least, when switching off the force feedback in the game but switch it on in the Logitech profiler one can fell some resistence from the wheel and its automatically rotating back to zero postition.

The Logitech Driving Force GT is a racing wheel peripheral designed for racing games on the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Microsoft Windows and Linux PCs.[1] It is manufactured and distributed by Logitech International S.A of Romanel-sur-Morges, Switzerland. The wheel 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 and is the official steering wheel of the Gran Turismo game franchise.

Features include 900 steering with force feedback via a full-size wheel, full-size throttle and brake pedals, standard PlayStation face buttons, a D-pad, L3 and R3 buttons, both sets of shoulder buttons, Start and Select buttons, and a PS button.

It features controls for real-time adjustment of both brake bias and traction control settings when playing Gran Turismo 5. Users may select gears either via a pair of button-shifters located on the back of the steering wheel (in place of Formula One-style paddle shifters) or sequentially on the "dashboard" to the right of the wheel. The force feedback is driven by the game's physics engine and simulates real-time "road feel".

Being a practical kind of guy, the first thing that strikes me whenever I'm faced with a console steering wheel is, "how the hell will this work in the lounge?" But we're in hardcore driving gamer territory here, so practicality be damned. Logistics and living arrangements temporarily go out of the window and absolute commitment to sexy gadgetry takes over. You've got lap times to improve. What do you mean I can't put the table there? No you can't watch Relocation Relocation.

Yes, this is serious business, albeit on a budget. Some of you might reason that spending GBP 90 on a gaming peripheral to shave 0.1 second off your best lap time is going a bit far, and you'd be right. As much as I love these things, experience suggests it'll spend most of its life hogging cupboard space and the rest of it annoying your housemates. But for the time you spend playing the average driving game, your inner geek wins the argument, because you're worth it. In the case of the recently released Driving Force GT, this is Logitech's attempt at budget luxury, in that it's roughly half the price of the flagship G25 but retains most of its features. Win.

As you'd expect, the construction isn't as lavish as The Daddy. Instead of a lavish leather wheel, we have to be content with high-quality moulded plastic 11-incher with a slightly rubbery feel. Instead of a three-pedal unit with a clutch, you get the usual two pedals. Instead of a proper, realistic press-down-and-pull separate gearshift unit, it's integrated. Compromises, yes, but fortunately not too many to detract from what is an excellent unit. For the price difference, you won't mind - and if you do, save up and get the full banana.

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