Bsimracing Sim Racing Resources and News for the racing enthousiast.
Most people will know the American Turtle Beach brand as a developer and manufacturer of quality audio products for the gaming market. The company was founded in 1995 by Peter J. Katz, and is still a competitive brand after all these years.
Now Turtle Beach ventured into the world of racing games with the new VelocityOne Race Universal Wheel and Pedal System for the Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One & Windows 10 & 11 PCs.
The first few seconds I looked at the product, it looked like a budget toyish plastic wheel and Perdal set. However, that was just an impression. Under the hood, this piece of kit features some pretty impressive hardware, including a Direct Drive wheelbase, wheel, Load Cell pedals, and a button box. Taking the price into account, this should be interesting for many aspiring sim racers out there.
The wheel is powered by a (K-Drive?) Direct Drive force feedback motor that looks somewhat like a Simucube unit. At the time of writing no detailed specifications were shared.
From what we can see in the video, the 30cm diameter D-Shaped wheel rim features a hand-stitched leather look padding, and houses 6 push buttons, 4 rotary encoders, a d-pad, and dedicated X-Box buttons.
What is not clear in the product video, is the way the wheel is connected to the wheelbase. Having a dedicated Quick Release (QR) System would make the wheelbase more versatiles, and open to be used with third-party wheel rims. However it is noware mentioned or visible at this time.
The VelocityOne also comes with a detachable “VelocityOne Control Unit (VCU)” which is marketing slang for a Button box. Besides being used for the regular button functions, it is also used to manipulate the wheel’s settings. The unit features 6 push buttons, 4 knitter switches, 3 rotary encoders, and a safety switch.
The box can be placed either left or right of teh base, and is connected to the wheelbase via USB-c controls. Versatile in its placement to the left or right of the wheel, it connects via USB-C to the Wheelbase. It is not clear if the button box can be connected straight to a PC.
Not often seen in combined products of this price range is the integrated digital dashboard for real-time race telemetry, full customization, and integration with popular racing titles.
The rear of the wheel houses two Magnetic contact paddle shifters and two additional analog clutch paddles. Furthermore, the back of the wheel base houses the power input, A USB-C connection to the Xbox /PC, and two USB-C expansion ports.
Furthermore, the set comes with an aluminum pedal set including a fully adjustable throttle pedal, load-cell brake, and an adjustable clutch pedal.
Turtle Beach – VelocityOne Race Wheel And Pedal System are up for pre-order at €699.99 / $649.99/ £629.99 + Shipping. The wheel is reported to become available on February 19, 2024.
Official Webpage – www.turtlebeach.com
