Shifting gears with Thrustmaster’s wheel add-ons

We’re on record as saying that if you’re going to play a game like Forza Motorsport 5 or Forza Horizon 2 (or Gran Turismo 6 , for that matter), then you really need a steering wheel. In the same way that a HOTAS set-up is the best way to enjoy Elite: Dangerous , using a controller to lap the Nordschleife or Spa-Francorchamps leaves a good deal of the immersivity on the table. Having tried the different wheels on the market for the Xbox One right now, we’re also of the opinion that Thrustmaster’s TX Racing Wheel is currently the best option, although the included pedals don’t really light up our tires. Out of the box, driving with the TX means using flappy paddles to shift gear, and mapping a button on the wheel to the clutch for shifting. For the more hardcore digital racing drivers this just won’t cut it. For those virtual race-heads, Thrustmaster is selling the TH8A gearbox shifter and the T3PA pedals, which we've recently tested out.

Let’s start with the TH8A gear shifter, which gives off a high-quality first impression. The internals of the shifter are encased in a substantial metal case, topped with an H-pattern open gate (like a stick-shift Ferrari, back when Ferrari still made cars with stick shifts) that has seven forward gears and reverse. If you’d prefer to use a sequential shift (i.e. back to shift up, forward to shift down), a replacement gate is provided—the patterns don’t overlap (i.e the positions for sequential shifts are blocked by the H-pattern gate and vice versa). Underneath the gate is a fabric gaiter that keeps dust out of the internals.

Jonathan Gitlin

The TH8A unit. The iPhone 6 box it sits on should give you an idea of scale.

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The gearstick is also a substantial piece of metal, topped with a rounded metal and plastic gear knob that is sized to feel similar in the hand to a real gear know, with just the right size and weight. Jutting out from the front of the unit (gears 1, 3, 5, and 7) is a metal clamp system for attaching it to something solid like a desk or cockpit. The cable that you plug into the TX wheel base is of a similar quality, with what appears to be a milspec connector two-thirds of the way down its length. There’s no further setup needed once the shifter is plugged into the TX wheel; clamp it to something, plug it in, and it’s ready to go.

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