Saitek R4 Force Wheel

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Review: Saitek R4 Force Wheel

A sleeked-out casing sporting the "Powered by Microsoft Force Feedback Technology" logo is what you'll find on Saitek's R4 Force Wheel. Actually, underneath all the curves and pinnings is the MS wheel. Saitek took the MS product, outfitted it with a new case, and called it their own. Not that it was a bad move, because with all the tweaks it definitely ranked in the upper tier in this roundup.

Sticking to the "adjustability" theme in Saitek's products, the platform on the bottom of the wheel can be raised or lowered to your preference (to adjust for table height), and the pedals can be adjusted to yield just the right amount of tension and resistance with the Allen wrench hidden in the unit's compartment. Stapling the unit onto a desk was a simple task with the excellent one-piece clamping system; once that's done, that wheel's not going anywhere. Saitek used the good plastic on this wheel, with the exception of the pedals and the shifters (think model-airplane plastic). They put a comfortable non-slip grip on the sides and the bottom of the steering wheel and also added paddle-shifters (like the side-shifter, cheap-ish plastic) on the underside of the wheel. The entire unit feels very solid and well-constructed. What it lacked, however, was more -button's-there are only two.

Performance-wise, the FF was acceptable. Perhaps we were spoiled by the strong motor of the AVB wheel, but we felt that the motor on the R4 could be more powerful. The paddle-shifters and buttons worked well (and the paddles were actually pretty convenient), but the shifter on the side felt a bit flimsy. The pedals were a good size, but the base was very small. Due to the plastic grips on the bottom it didn't slide around too much, but that caused another problem: the base was about 5 inches high, so instead of sliding all over the place, flooring the gas/brake pedals would at times tip the base a little. A larger, heavier base might have solved this problem. Other than that, the R4 worked well in our gaming tests and seemed a solid unit. Curiously, the R4 didn't suffer the same rattling problem that plagued the MS wheel.

We know that the R4 is just a clone of the MS wheel, but somehow the Saitek people were able to turn the package into a more solid product. Though the price is on the higher end, overall the wheel is a good one and you'll get what you pay for. If you want a solid, out-of-this-world-looking FF wheel, this Saitek's for you.-- Danny W. Lam / GamePro