At first I would like to thank SteelSeries for offering the Simraceway S1 Steering Wheel for testing and reviewing.

 

About SteelSeries:

"From day one, SteelSeries has been focused on making high performance gaming gear used by the most demanding, top professional gamers worldwide and peripherals that provide superior quality and a competitive edge to gamers of all skill levels. We believe, as most gamers do, in winning, not trying!

 

What originally began with two people who recognized the need for superior, high-quality/performance gaming gear that would give gamers a competitive edge, has grown into a global leader in gaming and entertainment gear sought after for their high performance capabilities.

 

Fast-forward to today, and we’ve come a long way since our first glass mousepad. We have global offices in North America, Europe, and Asia, providing an integrated portfolio of products designed specifically for gaming. Fueling our growth is you, the gamer!

 

While we are proud of our technology and product innovation, we are even more excited about how these products are developed to meet the needs of gamers. Many companies may claim to develop superior gaming products but few actually do. Instead, they spend countless hours with lab engineers trying to force fit a new technology with bells and whistles and mediocre functionality for the end-user.

 

At SteelSeries, we develop our products with a small internal team and a vast network of technology partners, channel partners, game publishers, and gaming communities around the globe. We aren’t afraid of being challenged and implementing new ideas. Our main goal is to always to listen to the collective feedback of our professional gaming community.

 

We won’t bore you with cheeky slogans, trying to underline our authenticity as gamers. We fully acknowledge that the best professional gamers in the world know more about what they want and what will make them better, than we do. We are proud to be working with our partners, but we can’t take credit for their invaluable input and feedback. Instead we tell it like it is: they help us. We want to know what works and what doesn’t. For this reason, SteelSeries creates innovative solutions that provide a competitive advantage for all gamers.

 

Critical to our company’s success is also our reinvestment in the gaming communities and the individuals who support them. As a result, our corporate philosophy is to take a substantial portion of our revenue and put it back into the gaming community to help spur industry growth. We support our community in numerous ways, ranging from co-hosting tournaments like Iron Lady and King of the Hill, and supporting gaming competitions of all sizes, to promoting the top and up-and-coming gaming teams/organizations.

 

Put simply, SteelSeries does not claim to invent or reinvent the gaming industry. Nor do we focus on one specific product, copy other companies or follow the crowd.

 

Instead we leave it to you, the gamer, our customer/partner/inspiration, to decide if we are deserving of such declarations and accolades. What we do promise, however, is to remain committed to you. We will continue to work with you and the gaming community to make the best products possible and give you that competitive edge. We will continue to do our best to support the growth of the professional gaming industry and give back to the gaming communities. By doing so, we don’t just talk a good game, we win!"

Ready. Set. Race.

 

The Simraceway® S1 Steering Wheel is a high-performance, handheld PC racing wheel co-designed by SteelSeries and Ignite Technologies. The portable, motion-sensor wheel features a patented throttle and brake lever system that offers a fully simulated racing experience within hands reach. We’ve collaborated with and tested the SRW-S1 Wheel with top ranked Indy 500 race car drivers and Simracing World Champions.

 

Stay in control

 

Everything you need, from brake balance controls to assist setting dials, are always in reach. No other wheel on the market combines this level of customization and functionality.

 

In your hands

 

The wheel’s unique design means you can take it everywhere and use it anywhere. There are no pedal sets or bulky seats. The Simraceway S1 is a handheld joypad and wheel combined that brings a true-to-life race set-up to your laptop or desktop computer.

 

Full Range

 

You can experience full-range acceleration and braking on the back of the S1 Wheel. The right paddle – for acceleration/throttle – allows you the ability to vary the amount of throttle input, from feathering to fully depressing it for maximum acceleration. The paddle on the left – for braking/stopping – allows you the ability to vary the amount of braking input from, feathering to fully depressing for full braking force.

 

Brake Balance Control

 

Brake balance control (aka “brake bias”) allows you to change the brake balance to the front or rear of the vehicle. If a driver were to hit the brakes with a rear brake bias, he is more likely to spin out of control. However, if a driver were to hit the brakes with a front brake bias, his is more likely losing his ability to steer into a corner. A balance must be found. We have a button for that.

 

Plug-and-race

 

Plug it in. Choose your game. Play. Sure, you can customize every button, but only if you want to. There is no complicated configuration required when used with Simraceway™ and most PC racing games.

 

What’s your style?

 

The SRW-S1 wheel adapts to your driving style based on the way you steer. You’re going to do it in 1 of 3 ways: Over-steer, under-steer and neutral.

 

OVER-STEER

Drivers who prefer over-steer like to have the rear of the car loose and the front dialed in. This allows drivers to use the throttle to correct their driving line or to use it to aid in steering. It also means there is more risk of losing control.

 

UNDER-STEER

Drivers who prefer under-steer like to have the rear of the car dialed in and the front loose. While it becomes harder to make a turn at higher speeds, it does provide stability and reduces the chances of losing control.

 

NEUTRAL

Drivers who prefer a neutral setup like to have both the rear and the front of the vehicle dialed in. This allows drivers to compromise between over-steer and under-steer.

 

Where to?

 

Everywhere. The Simraceway® S1 Steering Wheel can be used with all PC racing games including:

• iRacing

• F1 2011

• Simraceway®

• GTR

• Live for Speed

• DiRT

• DiRT 2

• GTR 2

• Test Drive Unlimited

• Need for Speed Shift

• Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit

• Need For Speed Underground

• Midnight Club 3 Dub Edition

• Blur

• + Any other PC racing game on the market.

Some features, including the Assists dials and the shift indicator LEDs, may not be compatible with certain titles.

 

Get a grip

 

The rubberized wheel grips have an ergonomic shape that allows you to keep a comfortable grasp to steer as you move around the controller to brake, accelerate, shift, look back, request a pit stop and everything else in order to drive and win.

 

Total Flexibility

 

While the wheel comes preconfigured to operate seamlessly with Simraceway®, many of its controls can be customized*, so you can program them to match your driving – and gaming – preferences. Find out more about the simulated racing experience at www.simraceway.com.

 

Used by the pros

 

The SRW-S1 Steering Wheel has been tested and approved by professional racing drivers including four-time IndyCar Series winner, Dario Franchitti and double Indy 500 Champion, the late, great and much missed, Dan Wheldon as well as SimRacing stars, David Greco and Bruno Marques.

 

The SteelSeries SRW-S1 wheel is packed inside a medium-sized cardboard box with a transparent plastic window in the middle, which allows us to see all the product details even before unsealing it. Some of the features are also explained on the front:

 

 

 

Additional product information is to be found on the side:

 

 

 

This wheel was built with the Simraceway game in mind, tested with the team at Simraceway Performance Driving Center, Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, CA and on the back side of the packaging we will learn some of the details about the driving simulator along with the offered in-game currency:

 

 

 

What we can find inside the box? Well, not a lot besides the wheel and a small sealed plastic bag:

 

 

 

The previously mentioned bag comes with the SRW-CURRENCY card and a leaflet with more details about the wheel:

 

 

 

On the back of the card we will find a scratchable area for revealing a code which will give us $10 of in-game currency; the code also has an expiry date, so be careful not to insert it when it will be too late:

 

 

 

The small guide teaches us how to install the Simraceway game and how use the SRW-S1 steering wheel; here we will also learn that no software is supplied inside the box and that all should work without a hitch from the start:

 

 

 

SRW-S1 offers plenty of configurable buttons on the sides, easy to access while driving; some dials are also present on the bottom area, for other customizations like assists inside the racing game:

 

 

 

The default buttom mappings are written on its body; the top left side has the Pit Request, F. Brake, R. Brake, Look Back, Look Left and Lights buttons:

 

 

 

Going further down we’ll find the D-Pad, Back button and the Steering Sensitivity dial:

 

 

 

We can access the assist type we want to configure by accessing the middle dial:

 

 

 

On the left, we can adjust the assist values (low, medium, high, OFF) and also set the camera view:

 

 

 

The top right side holds the Speed Limiter, Launch Control, HUD, Horn, Boost, Look Right and Select buttons:

 

 

 

The wheel has a rubberized surface for optimal grip during races and is designed in such a way so we can access the paddles from the back really easy:

 

 

 

Here is a look on the back of the wheel which shows the paddles, the product sticker along with the USB cable:

 

 

 

On a closer inspection we can also see a central hole for using a wheel stand which is currently not available:

 

 

 

In Simraceway, the bottom, larger paddles are used for throttle/brake:

 

 

 

The top paddles are somehow smaller and will be used for shifting:

 

 

 

For additional durability, the cable is fully braided:

 

 

 

The wire ends up with a regular USB connector:

 

 

 

Regarding the supplied software, there is not a lot to say; from the SteelSeries website we can download only a small utility that enables RPM LED indication. Of course, the games we play also need to support this feature, otherwise the LEDs won’t light up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wheel installation is simply described by “plug-and-play” and after entering each game, we have mapped the controls with the buttons on the wheel; left and right controls can be mapped easy by simply moving the wheel in the right direction.

 

The Simraceway game is free to play, but for acquiring extra cars, we will have to pay extra. The supplied $10 currency comes in handy at first, but if we want to buy some of the better cars, we will discover that they are quite expensive. The game is a nice simulator and functions perfectly with the wheel since the controls are already mapped inside the control panel.

 

Well, since we left Simraceway with a good impression, we wanted to see how the wheel handles other racing games, which were not necessary optimized for it. We have tried Dirt 3, Dirt Showdown and Gas Guzzlers Combat Carnage which worked with no issues after customizing the controls. One pleasant surprise was F1 2011 where we have seen that the RPM indicator was also working like in Simraceway.

 

Obviously, without a wheel stand we cannot use the wheel for long gaming sessions; to minimize the effort, we will have to assume a comfortable position and granted we’ll have lots of fun. An element that is missing is vibration feedback, which would have enhanced the experience even more.

 

The SteelSeries S1 is available online for prices between 100 and 110 Euros.

SteelSeries Simraceway S1 Steering Wheel Recommended For:

 

 

I would like to thank again to SteelSeries for making this review possible!