Cammus C5 Direct Drive Racing Wheel - Real Force Feedback, Paddle Gear Shifters, Leather Steering Wheel Cover for PC (Include Table & Cockpit Mount) - By Race Sim UK - Sold by SHOP4LESS

UPDATE: The wheel has misbehaved for almost 2 months, constantly disconnecting from USB. Testing on 3 different PCs with different windows versions and different chipsets, the wheel is the same - it is no longer useable. So it lasted about 8 months, which is NOT good. Especially as it is only used on Saturdays so hasn't actually had many hours of run time. If not purchased directly from Cammus, Cammus will not support your product! In fact, support is virtually non existent so I would recommend you stay well away from Cammus unless you can afford to replace products every few months.PROS: good value, small footprint, strong force, clear and sharp feedback detail, quiet, many buttons, comfortable to use, fast response and rotation speed (for drifting)CONS: software - difficult to understand feedback settings, not universally supported, buttons all black, no support.If you are specifically looking for a direct drive wheel then this is worth considering, but the wheel may not perform to your requirements. Generally if you know that you need direct drive, you know what you want and would likely be fully aware of the thousands of pounds that can be spent on high end powerful and feature rich direct drive systems. This budget conscious offering is very good but is no match for the really big guns. It can though hold its own or even better the budget friendly direct drive Moza's and Thrustmaster's etc. despite this Cammus being much cheaper.Cammus has produced what feels like a very high quality bit of kit at a price point normally associated with lower end lower budget belt or teeth driven wheels. I still have Logitech G25 and G29 wheel and pedal sets. They have served well as toys for the kids to play with and have provided me with some fun but the fidelity of feedback is missing, there's very little detail and hardly any force. Just enough to work. They are plasticky, rattley and noisy but have lasted since 2006 in the case of the G25 and still work. Will the Cammus still be working in 2042?The Cammus can be bought by the users that may normally have gone to Logitech, due to their budget. This introduces the sought after quality force feedback provided by direct drive systems to first time users. As a direct comparison, it's a no brainer. From the manufacturing quality and materials used, to the feedback detail provided by the wheel when in use and the general joy of using it in comparative silence, it is leagues ahead of Logitech's budget range.However, Logitech - and other makes - are well established and their devices are supported in most if not all arcade and sim racing games. Cammus is not. The serious simulators eg AC, ACC, IRacing do work with the Cammus wheel but the more arcade type games such as Forza Horizon are a different story. Some games that have their own proprietary control systems (Microsoft is one example of an annoying developer causing control issues) do not support Cammus and won't allow you to map a control scheme to the wheel. Cammus has implemented a handy "in menu" workaround in their driver software for Forza Horizon 5. If you are just a casual gamer not looking for totally accurate competitive simulation racing the Cammus is unlikely to be for you. Apart from anything else it may not even work in the games that you expected to use it in.Using the Cammus C5 is a joy, right from receipt of the wheel. The presentation is a quality experience. The packaging is not a deal maker but wow what a pleasant surprise. It is akin to unboxing the latest Apple or Bang & Olufsen device. Everything you need is included not just assembly screws/bolts nuts whatever, but the tools required as well. This particular package comes with the table clamp, which can be bought separately. Mounting holes etc are designed in such a way that the wheel may very well attach to an existing Fanatech/Thrustmaster setup as a replacement wheel and no clamp is required. The clamp itself is like the wheel, very well made high strength and quality. As the drive motor is contained within the centre of the wheel itself there is no large box (containing drive motor) to clamp onto the table. A small, low profile clamp is all that is required. The cammus' one is adjustable so you should be able to get a comfortable setup in no time. Well, in some time as there is a bit of uncomplicated assembly required! The end result is hardly any space is taken from your desk/table by the wheel mount. This is especially significant if your monitor is on the table behind the wheel. The low profile Cammus will not block your view like the big boxy alternatives.Installing the Cammus drivers and software is straight forward. Comprehensive instructions are clear and easy to follow. Software installs and firmware is updated. Now the headache starts! The biggest problem by far with the Cammus is the software. It would appear that no one understands it. You tube videos, reddit posts etc. show users trying to get settings to suit them but none of them are really sure what does what in the Cammus software. After several weeks I am still trying to understand it and still trying to get the feedback as I want it. I assume in time the software will improve. I'm quite sure it is less buggy than Logitech's software, it's just difficult to know what does what. Having issues getting the perfect settings does not overshadow the overall experience, it's just a little frustrating because you want to plug the wheel in and get going.In game the effect when you first turn the wheel or the feeling the first time you hit a curb is so exciting. The difference between this and say the Logitech G29 is night and day. There is so much detail coming through the wheel. A quick change to the wheel power setting in Cammus software reduces the almost thumb breaking forces. The wheel feels a lot more powerful than the 5nm quoted. The initial feel was like having the power steering fail on your normal real world daily vehicle mid corner, when compared to using the Logitech G29. I personally don't want a Gym workout when playing, so I lowered the power. It's my personal choice of weight to the steering but it's confidence inspiring to know that the wheel is capable of more. In contrast the Logitech had to be set to max wherever it was possible to get any kind of vaguely useful feedback.The wheel has a multitude of buttons and 3 rotating controls that can be set as incremental when turned or a separate button pushes when turned. They are handy for things like brake balance, or TCS adjustment for example. The buttons are all black making them very difficult to see but once used to the layout muscle memory takes over. The buttons, like the wheel itself, feel well made. An issue for other users is the very small paddle shifters behind the wheel. I use H-shifter so I didn't even consider the impact of unusually small paddles. I have tried the mini shifters and they are surprisingly easy to use. I did miss a couple of gear changes but not bad for a first go with unusual paddles.Although the software settings are still not 100% to my liking, the wheel feedback is getting closer to my own perfect feel all the time. Lap times are faster as the feedback detail helps to control and position the vehicle more accurately and online racing becomes more competitive and a good deal less apologetic. Who would have thought that the wheel used to play sims would have such a significant impact? I didn't believe it until trying a direct drive wheel and this Cammus confirmed it to me comprehensively.

This is a great wheel. Compact, powerful and a massive leap up from a cog or belt driven wheel. There have been some issues. I got one of the very first wheels in the U.K. the shifter paddles broke within 20 hours of purchase. Cammus have redesigned them to make them stronger and I got sent replacements. The rotary encoders need to be watched for play when turning. You can tighten a little screw to re secure them.Even with these issues I don’t regret my purchase. Other people are waiting weeks and months for Fanatec and Moza to sort themselves out, but Cammus just deliver.