Wheel Stand Pro - Speed Racer

What Do I Need in a Wheel Stand?

2012-01-18T18:34:00.008-06:00

What to Look for in a Wheel Stand? (A totally biased article from your friends at Wheel Stand Pro!).

Ok, so we’re biased, we want you to buy our wheel stand solution. For those still reading along here are our top reasons to get a stand. The top two are game killers if you don’t achieve them: you have to have a stable platform and a system you can quickly be ready to play.

1) Stable Platform: The reason you purchased the game and wheel was to enjoy a close-to-real-life driving experience. You need the your relationship to wheel and pedals to remain a constant during your driving experience. When I say “relationship staying constant” I mean that when you’re driving the car you can expect to feel some movement as the entire care moves, but you might feel less than confident if your pedals starting slipping farther and farther away! For those that are in a heated race and your wheel starts slipping sideways…you will no doubt feel quite saddened by the negative turn of events in the race. Quite saddened.

2) Quick Start-up: Are you old enough to remember the Indian on the side of the road crying at the site of litter on the side of the road? Well, that’s me (not the Indian part, just the crying part), when I think of all the very nice wheels gathering dust in the closet because it’s just too big of a hassle to pull out the wheel, plug everything in, then mount everything….dang anybody would be tired by then! All set up time, no race time. You want quick-quick-quick. What you want is a system that by the time the software loads you’re sitting in the driving seat ready to go! So if you can find a stand where you hard mount both your wheel and pedals and just pull it out and plug it into the power outlet and the USB (if it's not wireless)....then you are in the honey! Gee, I wonder if Wheel Stand Pro has any of these.....

So let’s take a moment to reflect over the first two requirements. If you ain’t got those then there ain’t no go! Yup could have been a poet. Ok, done with reflecting...boring...!

3) Adjustable: Not a game killer, sure you can play with the wheel not quite in the right spot (or even a wrong spot!), maybe you can rig a seat so that it can be adjusted to make up for the shortcomings of your wheel and pedal mounting. But I want the quitting to be because I can’t manage to get to the next level on GT5, not because my leg is cramping up! Get yourself a solution that is fully adjustable, height, pedal location, wheel mount angle, can move back and forth….live a little! So keep a keen out for a stand solution that is fully articulating (fancy word for adjustable)....if you need help then you could do worse than http://www.wheelstandpro.us/.

4) Protect your equipment: Not usually given a lot of ink, but we think it’s important. The weakest link in your wheel and pedal gear is the wire connections running between the pedals and wheels. The more you are messing with setting up and taking down your wheel and pedals the more chance you have to damage it. So getting your wheel mounted on a platform where you don’t ever have to remove the wheel and pedals is a big plus in keeping your equipment safe and race ready! Set it up, tie wrap the wires snuggly up…and let your worries fall away like cars trailing you in your rearview mirror (see, more poetry… ). Look, I didn't even tell you where you might be able to find a stand.

5) Quick Adjustments – nice to have: Not a must, but something that will wear on you if it takes a long time to make adjustments to your rig. Do you have a quick release solution like… oh I don’t know, Wheel Stand Pro? Or does it take an act of congress to make adjustments for your friend who wants to race that Bugatti Veyron around the track?

6) Light and compact – Boy this really is biased toward Wheel Stand Pro. Again if you have a game room and your racing gear only moves once every five years, not a problem. But what if you need to move the gear out of the living room to make room for the occasional non-racing use of the television….then let’s just say it would be nice not to have to call three of your friends to move your driving sled out of sight! And let’s say you have to move it every day…for the rest of your life, like Sisyphus and the boulder…then I'd bet you would be wishing for a smaller boulder!

7) Low Cost – Well doesn’t it always ruin the fun when you have to actually pay for a solution? Well if you’re one of those wheels-in-the-lap drivers then you are laughing all the way to the bank! Or if you happen to be Thurston Howell the Third you can put on your flame retardant jump suit, tied yourself down with your sixty four point harness and slide into your full scale Nascar approved driving simulation cockpit….and wonder how the little people put up with what they have to put up with. Or….you can get the perfectly priced Wheel Stand Pro stand solution.

Enough Pontificating let’s just see what where the chickens finally roost in our clearly biased rating of Driving Solutions:

Wheel in your lap, pedals on the carpet. Just free wheeling baby, hanging loose and feeling the wind on your face! Are you kidding, this is horrible. First, don’t let your friends drive drunk and second.... just behind drunk driving in moral equivalency…don’t let your friends lap-drive (ok that just sounds wrong). This one doesn’t pass the lowest hurdle, “ is this game usable this way”?
“F+” or One Stick Shifter out of Four

Wheel mounted on a table, pedals on the carpet. Much better, and maybe even drivable. Unless you’re using a card table or an ironing board, you’ve managed to clamp your wheel with the plastic clamps to a solid table…but now your pedals are slipping away….oh no Mr. Bill! Find something to stop that, brace the pedals against an immovable object….for instance lay a 2 by 4 board down behind your pedals that’s braced against the wall. Not adjustable, no protection for your equipment… hey but the price is right!
“D” or Two Stick Shifters out of Four

Wheel Mounted on a Wheel Stand Pro wheel stand (imagine angels singing and a warm glow surrounding the “Wheel Stand Pro” name: (hmmm wonder how this one is going to turn out?....he says to himself in quiet contemplation).

Stable – check
Quick Start Up – check (did you see our video?)
Adjustable – check
Protect your equipment – check
Quick Adjustments – check (fastest in the west!)
Light and Compact – check, check
Low cost – check (yes, really…where else can you get all this for this low low price?)

“A” or Four Stick Shifters out of Four

Well you made it through this lengthy clearly biased blogtification (or maybe you just jumped to the end). Please go check our product out at http://www.wheelstandpro.us/. Do yourself a favor and start racing in style!

See you on the track!

Speed Racer

Wheels Wheels and More Wheels How to Choose?

2012-01-09T17:39:00.006-06:00

Hi fellow racing enthusiasts. We at Wheel Stand Pro have been busy developing custom stands for all the hottest wheels available! In the past several months we've added stands for Thrustmaster, Porsche and Mad Catz Wheels. Based on sales of our stands I would guess that Logitech still has the lion share of the wheel market with a nice wheel with the Driving Force GT and the higher end Logitech G27. But what wheel should you buy?

Decide on what games you want to play and then what system you want to play on. This is a little bit of a leap of faith, because it can be costly to make the wrong choice here! If you already have a system then find what games you think you may like the most and do some quick research on what wheels are compatible with your games and system. Most wheels you look at that are compatible with your system will be fully compatible with your games, but some games may not fully support all the bells and whistles that come with the wheels you are looking at. I would have rather have too much wheel then not enough, so every game I play may not fully utilize my wheel's capabilities, but when the a new game comes out that does...I'll be glad that I choose a wheel that was ready!

PS3, Xbox or PC; I have all three (well four if you count my Wii, but we don't race on that one!). Not all wheels work for all systems and all games are not available on all systems. I do most of my racing on the PS3, but do enjoy Forza on the Xbox and Iracing on the PC. That, you may be thinking, is too much racing! If you race on multiple systems you may need multiple wheels, this is common and we carry Wheel Stands that work for more than one system.

IMO you want to pick a wheel that is within your budget and still gives you that realistic feeling of driving. Personally I want to use a clutch and have a manual shifter. This dates back to one of my first cars, a 1976 cherry red Triumph Spitfire! I could see where most people would want the fastest track times and be the most competitive, probably shifting and clutching is not the way to do this and having a clutch and a shifter would not be extras you need.

We hope that when you pick your wheel that you come to Wheel Stand Pro to pick your wheel stand, but in any case... see you on the track!

Speed Racer

Glad to See That GT5 Now Lists Logitech Wheels G27 and G25

2011-10-31T19:15:00.004-05:00

It's a beautiful thing to fire up GT5 and see your wheel on the selection list, in my case the Logitech G27! When the much anticipated GT5 game out last year I was dismayed when I didn't see my wheel (Logitech G27) on the hardware selection list. The latest software release (what almost a year later?!) finally includes my beloved wheel! I didn't understand why the GT5 had Thrustmaster T500RS wheels and not the Logitech G25 or the G27.... as a retailer of stands , we at Wheel Stand Pro can tell you that after the Logitech Driving Force Wheel Stand, our second best selling wheel stand are for the Logitech G25 and G27 Wheels! The Thrustmaster T500RS Wheel at it's price point narrows down the population of eager buyers! After perhaps suffering through less than optimal performance last year on the GT5, I'm finally racing in high cotton (so to speak!). Now I can configure all the pretty red buttons on my wheel for looking right, looking right... and my two favorites...wait for it.... horn and windshield wipers! The gearing seems smoother and less "finicky" or maybe that's my imagination. So this year as your looking at buying that next great wheel, whether it's a high end Thrustmaster or Porsche (see pic with Porsche wheel on our stand) GT2, GT3 or CRS wheel with Club Sport pedals, or you're racing Forza with your new Mad Catz Wheel.... make sure to check out our site to give you the Wheel Stand Support you are going to need! See you on the track!

Speed Racer

It's all about the game!

2011-10-03T17:43:00.007-05:00

Hey fellow racing/sim enthusiasts!

When enjoying my favorite racing game, it was GT5 for the longest time....lately that's been Dirt 3, I know that it's all about the game. Yes, I've got my Logitech G27 Wheel, and I have of course it's mounted on our Deluxe Wheel Stand Pro racing stand (compatible with the Logitech G27 or G25). But the wheel and the stand are simply enablers that let us get the most out of our games. These games are technological marvels that take dozens of genius designers and cost umpteen millions of dollars, and we love every second of it!

Or do you? Is the experience less than full filling? Do you find yourself not being able to control the car, or keep up with the fellow racers in an online match? If so, then yea...that's no fun. But I suggest it might not be the game that is the problem, maybe it's your set-up.

I understand we have our limits to what goes into our "hobby", but I cringe when I think of someone on GT5 or Need for Speed and using a wheel mounted on a shaky table, or sitting in their laps or the pedals sliding away as they try to brake! Umpteen million dollars was put into this game, why are you not enjoying the game? In this authors humble opinion, if you're going to get into this, do it right, get the gear you need to maximize your enjoyment of the game.

Find a wheel that best suits your gaming platforms. Do some research, some wheels are only compatible with PC, some with PS3, etc. If you game on multiple platforms then you need to find a wheel that you can use on them. Then find a gaming stand from our site (of course) that matches your wheel.

Why spend the money on the Wheel and the Stand? To me, the immersion in the game is the point. If I can physically shift, steer, clutch and brake then I am closer to the game then if I am using my PS3 controller. The stand is necessary for three reasons:

1) Stable mounting for the wheel and the pedals. You have to have a rigid racing frame, there can be some movement (just like a real car will move) but the relative position of the wheel and the pedals have to remain fixed during the race. Nothing is worse then to be the heat of a race and you start to feel your pedals slip away! The Wheel Stand Pro stand is a great solution!
2) Once you set up your Wheel and Pedals on a racing stand, anytime you want to race just plug it in and you're racing! Since your Wheel and Pedals are already set up you don't have any downtime clamping the wheel and attaching the pedals.... you are good to go.
3) The stand portability allows you to easily move the stand out of the way, just fold it up and store it! But you know that when you need it, you're only seconds away from the games you love!

Happy racing!

Speed Racer

Why I Bought My First Wheel

2011-09-18T09:37:00.004-05:00

I've loved games my whole life. When I was younger and the Internet was just a sparkle in Al Gore's eye I played Monopoly, Cards, Scrabble whatever I could get my hands on. I'm proud to say I joined the computer game frenzy at the beginning, playing Pong on my neighbors TV in the 70's!

Later when Mario Brothers came out I bought it so my young son John could play it, but my gaming DNA came out in force and I'm sure I played more then he did!

My next big thrill was when I started playing PC games, the one that I became addicted to was the first person shooter, Ghost Recon... I spent many many hours loving the heck of out of that game. But playing games on the PC has some downfalls, the biggest for me was that I was constantly adjusting the computer capabilities with memory, graphic cards etc, and I was always fighting off the latest computer virus...sometimes not so successfully! This caused a love-hate relationship with my PC (and my family's perception of my playing!), finally I abandoned playing games on the PC so that it could still function as a PC for the family.

Wait Speed Racer, what about getting your first wheel, I thought this blog article was about that...see the title? OK, OK, I'm close.... hold on.

So finally I decided to buy a Gaming Console, to separate my gaming from the family computer, I when out and bought a PS3. The first games I purchased were first person shooters... I soon found out that I struggled with the PS3 controller, I could not seem to get the hang of it (It's not a mouse, did you know that?)... and I was at a stage in my life that I didn't have hours each day to get competent at it. So talking to a good friend, telling him my struggle... he recommended getting a racing game and a wheel (and a stand for the wheel).

This sounded perfect, it was clear at once... I didn't need a learning curve to get used to a Steering Wheel, there is one in all my vehicles....I think I can handle it! I immediately went out and bought a Logitech G25 Wheel, a stack of games (Need for Speed, Dirt, GT5 Prologue), and a wheel stand from Wheel Stand Pro. It was love after my first run around the track! Yes it took some time to get better, but at least I wasn't struggling with controller!

Anytime I have the need to play a game, I bring out my wheel already mounted on my stand. Plug it in to my PS3 and off I go! I'm at that stage in my life where I can't play everyday, but with this set up I'm enjoying every minute of it!

Hope to see you on the track!

Speed Racer

Beginners and Their New Wheels...How to keep it Fun?

2011-05-22T15:28:00.003-05:00

Ok you've decided to jump in with both feet and get a new racing game, a racing wheel and a wheel stand to hold it. It's going to be great, right? It better be, you're about to shell out a ton of money for all of this...

But you put it all together and start up the game and.... it's no fun. You can't keep the car on the road, you keep spinning out. You can't compete successfully with others on the on-line games...what gives!

We at Wheel Stand Pro have talked with many first time racing gamers, heck we've all been first time gamers. I have some advice. First time games should start with the easier racing games, and set all the options to as much help as you can get. What are good games to start off with? I'd recommend the Dirt and Need for Speed series, these are a lot of fun and you can excel in no time at all. I know you want to start with GT5 or Formula Series, which are awesome but set your expectations so that you understand you will have some learning curve.

We hope you buy your stand from us, you can check our stands out at www.wheelstandpro.us or you can call our customer service line at 214-558-1919.

Happy racing!

Speed Racer

Does the Logitech G27 Wheel work with GT5? Yes!!

2011-02-21T18:33:00.006-06:00

Hi fellow racing enthusiasts! Been using my Logitech G27 Wheel attached to a Wheelstandpro Deluxe playing toooo much GT5, check me out I play as wise1895! I've seen some discussion about whether the the G27 Wheel works with the GT5. I just plugged in the G27 and presto it works! Yes, the clutch, the gearing....all of it works. But I think I know what the issue is, why people are having some problems. I think GT5 made an improvement in the clutch/gear mechanism from the Prologue to the full version... this improvement made a problem. When I played GT5 Prologue you could shift without using the clutch... this made for some sloppy habits. If you don't need to shift cleanly...and it still shifts...you pick up bad habits. Oops.

Now enters GT5, those rascals made it so that you have to have the clutch in before you shift (and I mean not almost all the way in)...if you don't then it throws you in to neutral, I consider this the equivelant of grinding my gears on my old 1963 Austin Healey 3000. If you are going to use the manual shifter...you need to coordinate the clutch precisely. I know this because it happened to me, when I first starting playing GT5... I thought "damn...the G27 wheel is not working right!" After trial and error I noticed it was definitely...my error! Now after I understood what was going on.... I'm in my racing glory, shifting/clutching... without a problem.

See you on the track!

wise1895

New 2 Min Video Showing Stability of Wheel Stand Pro

2010-08-16T16:57:00.002-05:00

Hi, we put this video together to show the stability of the Wheel Stand Pro racing stand and how easy it is to set up and use.

Happy racing!

Speed Racer

Logitech Driving Force GT Assembly to our Wheel Stand Video

2010-08-11T11:21:00.004-05:00

We've developed an assembly video for our Wheel Stand, you can find our wheel stands at www.wheelstandpro.us.

Happy racing!

Speed Racer

Our New XBox Wireless Wheel Assembly and Use Video

2010-08-07T19:25:00.003-05:00

We put together a new video showing the assembly of a XBox Wireless Wheel on our XBox Wheel Stand Pro. Enjoy!

New G27 G25 Installation and Use Video

2010-08-06T18:28:00.003-05:00

We just finished making a video showing the Installation and use of the Wheel Stand Pro Deluxe as I show the installation steps to install the wheel and pedal assembly. Enjoy!

E3 SIMHQ Checks Us Out on Day 3

2010-07-19T18:32:00.005-05:00

On Day three we had the great SIMHQ guys drop by and give our Wheel Stand Pro gaming stand the once or maybe twice over! Check out their quick review here.

Happy racing,

Wheel Stand Pro - Speed Racer

http://www.wheelstandpro.us/

E3 Set Up & Gilles Marini

2010-07-19T18:05:00.005-05:00

We had a 10' x 10' booth at E3 this year. We set up a Deluxe Stand with a Logitech G27 wheel. We brought several games, but ended up using the GT5 Prologue. The stand performed great, with non-stop play all day! We brought a low slung gaming chair to use, but probably a bit too low for many of our players, next time I'm bringing and easy chair!

All adults except Gilles Marini's (Sex in the City and Dancing with the Stars) son who came by our booth to check out the racing action! It was cool to have a bilt of Hollywood show up for our stay in LA!

Stay racing!

Speed Racer

www.wheelstandpro.us

Hello Racing Enthusiasts

2010-07-19T13:32:00.000-05:00

We've been back from E3 a few weeks now. Those three days of peddling Wheel Stand Pro were hectic and fun... but exhausting. Everything is back, unpacked, and back to racing. Hope to see some of you online, I've been playing lately on GT5 Prologue, as "Wise1895".

See you on the track,

Wheel Stand Pro - Speed Racer
www.wheelstandpro.us