The world of gaming peripherals is expansive, with a lot of noise to cut through to discover the good items worth purchasing. It’s hard to gauge what is worth plunking your hard-earned money into these days, with so many fake and paid reviews. And that’s why I’ve been cautious about stepping into this world of gaming accessories.
And so, when I asked Logitech if I could cover their racing equipment, they were happy to oblige and let me know what I needed to get the best experience. So I’ve been sitting with the Logitech G RS50 System and RS Pedals for the last few weeks, playing through games like Forza Horizon 6, Gran Turismo 7, and The Crew Motorfest, and I’m happy to report that I’m a believer now.
I’ve seen many people on YouTube post their racing setups, but never really got ‘it’ until I was able to settle down and experience it myself. I’ve been using the Logitech G RS50, RS pedals, and RS H-Shifter and can safely say they’re great.
Logitech’s RS50 Racing Wheel
Let’s start with the most important piece of this setup: the RS50 Racing Wheel. Without a wheel, the rest doesn’t work. There are options for Xbox and PlayStation, and both are compatible with PC. The RS50 is a Direct Drive wheelbase, delivering 8Nm of peak torque, creating a realistic steering experience when driving. Again, as someone unfamiliar with these setups, I wasn’t sure how realistic it would be using a wheel, but I’m happy to say it does feel like I’m driving a real vehicle.
You can especially feel it if you head off-road or bump into things that make your car react negatively. Hitting curbs or going over unnecessary gravel makes the wheel shift in your hands as it tries to find a sweet spot to grab hold.
The TRUEFORCE technology powering the RS50 uses in-game physics and audio to create lifelike haptics. So you’ll feel every bump, every corner, and every win. It’s surprisingly great and is an impressive feeling every move I make through the wheel.
There are four connection ports on the back, so you can attach other peripherals—like RS Pedals or the RS H-Shifter—directly to the base instead of routing multiple cables all the way to your PC. Overall, I’m pretty happy that I don’t need to reroute a bunch of cables through my desktop. It’s pretty standard plug-and-play, and once everything’s connected, it works out of the box.
The Software
The RS50 includes an OLED screen capable of allowing you to choose between profiles (also includes G Hub on PC), the strength of force feedback, TrueForce audio levels, which is basically how loud the wheel replicates in-game sounds like the tire grip, Force Feedback Filter adjusts how much of the in-game mechanics you feel, Dampener lets you adjust the wheel to make it feel more realistic by sending signals from the game to the whel to react less to in-game movements, Angle changes the operating angle of the RS50, Brake Force is how much force is needed to brake in-game (requires a set of pedals), and L/R Paddle Modes lets you adjust what these paddles do and control.
You can change the colour of the LEDs on the wheel hub if you like that little bit of extra, the RS50 provides, the Clutch bite, and reset settings to default.
The RS50 includes a desk clamp to make it easy to find the perfect place to sit down and race. For those with limited space, the clamp is a godsend, and I’m mighty impressed by how sturdy the wheel feels when connected to my desk at home. All you need to do is tighten the included screws that slot into the wheel, then tighten the wheel for your desk. It’s quick and easy to set up.
The RS Pedals are also pretty impressive, as they offer a 165.34-lb load-cell brake, making them feel the closest to the real thing. It obviously won’t feel like driving an actual car, but as far as brakes go, the RS Pedals add a completely new layer of immersion I’m new to, and overall, I find it makes driving a digital car feel as close to real as imaginable. As you depress the brake pedal, you can feel how hard it is pressed. The included Hall-effect accelerator is a nice touch, too, and helps predict throttle when you’re driving in any game. Logitech’s ability to offer a complete experience without breaking the bank is fully laid out when you look at the RS50 and RS Pedals combo – the buy-in price is not cheap, but it’s also not as expensive as other companies are offering.
Again, I’m speaking as a casual newcomer, and I’m always interested in trying new experiences, so long as I don’t need a big investment upfront to make it clear I’m curious about something like owning a wheel and pedals.
At the end of the day, these peripherals are for a niche group of racing fanatics. They’re costly out of the gate, but the build quality is impressive, and you can feel it in your hands. You can purchase the RS50 and RS Pedals separately, but to be honest, these two devices belong together. The RS50 retails for $799 CAD and the RS Pedals for $229 CAD, so yes, the investment might be off-putting at first, but for someone looking for their first racing wheel, there’s nothing better at this price point.
Verdict
The Logitech G RS50 is my first foray into the world of peripherals in quite some time, and I’m impressed by a few things, like how well-priced it is and how many built-in features it has. It plays and handles well on PlayStation 5 with very little (if any) tweaks required to have fun. If you’re new to the scene, I believe the RS50 and the RS Pedals are the way to go; they won’t have you combing through menus often, and the TrueForce technology is impressive for what it adds to most games.
[Logitech provided a launch retail unit for this review.]
You probably need a chair without wheels or that otherwise features wheel lock of sorts. Otherwise the moment you break your body will shift backwards.