DRIFT SIM SETUP
DON’T KNOW WHICH SIM WHEEL WILL HELP YOU DRIFT BETTER? Let’s find out which seat, wheel, and drifting game are the best.
DRIFT SIM RACING SEAT
The first thing you’re going to need for a legit drift sim setup is a good seat. A regular PC chair with wheels or a couch just won’t cut it. You’ll need a nice firm seat that will help you properly reach your wheel, pedals, shifter, and ebrake.
One of the easiest setups is this GT Player seat with included steering and shifter brackets. The seat is reclinable and there’s an adjuster to slide the seat back and forth for optimal pedal positioning.
Option 2 is to build your own drift SIM setup. We built our drift SIM setup with a real BMW seat. You can make the seat frame out of wooden 2x4 or even 8020 extruded aluminum.
DRIFTING SIM WHEEL SETUPS
We don’t recommend gear-driven SIM racing wheels like the Logitech G29, G920, G923 or Thrustmaster TMX due to their limited 2 Nm force feedback, which makes counter steering for drifting much more difficult. Instead, you'll want to choose a direct drive wheel with 4 Nm or more for a more realistic drifting experience.
MOZA R5 BUNDLE
The Moza R5 bundle for PC is usually under $600 and includes two pedals. It offers a direct drive base with 5.5Nm of force feedback. While you can drift without the Moza shifter or clutch pedal, adding them along with the Moza ebrake is highly recommended.
FULL BASE SPECS:
Platform Compatibility: PC Only
Force Feedback Drive System: Direct Drive
Wheel Base Peak Torque: 5.5 Nm
Quick Release: Yes
Base Dimensions (L x W x H): 174mm x 157mm x 124mm
FANATEC CSL DD QR2
FANATEC's CSL DD QR2 Ready2Race Bundle for PC is an excellent beginner direct-drive SIM wheel for drifting. Priced around $500, it offers 5Nm of force feedback and includes two pedals. You'll also have to add a FANATEC shifter, clutch pedal, and e-brake. It can also be upgraded to 8 Nm.
FULL BASE SPECS:
Platform Compatibility: Base is PC/XBOX compatible
Note: CSL Steering Wheel is PC and limited PS4 compatible only.
Force Feedback Drive System: Direct Drive
Wheel Base Peak Torque: 5 Nm
Note: Optional Fanatec Boost Kit 180 increases torque to 8 Nm.
Quick Release: Yes
Base Dimension (L x W x H): 138mm x 129mm x 125mm
MOZA R9
The Moza R9 direct drive comes in at 9 Nm of force feedback. There’s also Moza R9 bundle options that start at a little over $600, but they only include the wheel and base. You’ll have to pick up the Moza shifter, clutch pedal, ebrake, and pedals separately.
FULL BASE SPECS:
Platform Compatibility: PC Only
Force Feedback Drive System: Direct Drive
Wheel Base Peak Torque: 9 Nm
Quick Release: Yes
Base Dimension (L x W x H): 240mm x 157mm x 124mm
LOGITECH PRO (PC/XBOX/PS4/PS5)
The Logitech G Pro Racing Wheel features 11 Nm of force feedback and is available in PC/XBOX, PC, or PC/PS4/PS5 compatible bundles. It's pricier but includes the wheel base, wheel, three pedals, and a combined sequential shifter/e-brake. For a separate e-brake, consider purchasing a secondary sequential shifter/e-brake.
FULL BASE SPECS:
Platform Compatibility: PC/Console Options
Force Feedback Drive System: Direct Drive
Wheel Base Peak Torque: 11 Nm
Quick Release: Yes
Base Dimension (L x W x H): 290 mm x 305 mm x 200 mm
REALISTIC SIM DRIFTING GAMES
ASSETTO CORSA
Assetto Corsa is our top choice for simulation drifting. It has a variety of tracks, cars, mods, and highly realistic drifting physics. The PC version works with almost all wheelbases, and it's also available for Playstation and XBOX.
FORZA MOTORSPORT
Forza Motorsport is supported on PC and XBOX. In the past Forza Motorsport drifting lost some traction. However, with all the recent drifting hype Forza released update 13 which added drifting mode and a few new Formula Drift cars. It has decent drift physics and comes in just behind Assetto Corsa.
WATCH DRIFT FORCE FEEDBACK WHEEL COMPARISON
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