If you’re looking at this review, you were most likely looking for a cheap wheel. You want a wheel that’ll make racing games more fun, but you aren’t willing to spend too much. Hey, a Nascar wheel must be good, right?
Well, this review is going to be short because the wheel just sucks.
Take my advice and spend a bit more money. Don’t get this wheel. You can get any other wheel. Just don’t get this one. In fact, you will probably be saving money in the long run, and I’ll explain why in this review.
Mad Catz Nascar Racing Wheel: The Design
I don’t mind a full black wheel. For example, the Fanatec GT2 is a full black look done right. As for this wheel, I personally don’t like the look with the cheap coating. It just looks cheap and plastic.
And looks do tell a decent amount of the wheel. It’s small. It’s cheap. The wheel is not durable. It breaks easily. I’m not talking about “starting” to break down after 6 months or so. I mean that if you play racing games even somewhat consistently, this wheel will break within the month. Avoid it at all costs.
Read other complaints about this wheel on Amazon
Mad Catz Nascar Racing Wheel: The Feel
This wheel actually plays well though. By that, I mean that you have a relatively good control over how your car steers. It also doesn’t have a bad force feedback. In that sense, you will be having a decent wheel. This might sound like the wheel is well worth the price, but there are a few drawbacks.
The wheel is small. It feels more like a toy than an actual steering wheel. This may not bother some of you, but it’s a nagging feeling for me.
The pedals don’t have enough space to truly floor it. As a result, you can’t accelerate with that beastly power or brake suddenly to stop all that speed. It still works alright, but other pedals allow you to be able to control the accleratiing and braking much better.
Overall, the feel of this wheel is not bad. It has good steering control and decent force feedback. It just has a few problems. The wheel is small and you can’t truly push your car to its limit with these pedals.
Mad Catz Nascar Racing Wheel: The Shifters
This wheel comes four paddle shifters and a sequential stick shifter. They work like any other standard paddle shifters, and the sequential shifters are okay too. But, they suck! The paddle shifters break within hours of playing. If not, it’ll break within a few days. The sequential shifters last a bit longer, but even that’s fragile. Mad Catz just made these wheels with low quality material so they will not last for a while.
Mad Catz Nascar Racing Wheel: The Stand
This wheel does not come with a clamp, but with “suction cups”. You just stick it onto the table or any other flat surface you may be playing on. The problem with this is that they DO NOT stick. Those suction cups really do not do anything at all. You are better off getting a stand, but that means more money, and I’m assuming anybody getting this wants to be on a budget.
Mad Catz Nascar Racing Wheel: Reliability
The wheel overall is just not reliable. A lot of the materials are made of plastic so they start breaking soon. If not, they start to “bend” soon, which pretty much ruins it. Shifters break. Pedals break. Everything about this wheel is just fragile and unreliable.
Mad Catz Nascar Racing Wheel: Conclusion
Don’t get this wheel. Sure, it might drive nicely, but how long does that last? If Mad Catz actually put more effort into developing a more durable wheel, then this would actually be worth the price. Unfortunately, they didn’t so the wheel is small. Everything feels plastic. Shifters break easily. Pedals start breaking. The suction cups don’t work so the wheel doesn’t even stick onto the table or the intended object.
Save your money. Get something else. If you really want a good wheel, you’ll need to spend money. Any “budget wheel” will come with a lot of drawbacks.
If you still want to purchase the Nascar Racing Wheel, then you’ll have to buy it at Amazon. Even the Mad Catz official site does not have this in stock.
