Product Details
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
For the price of a new racing game, you can get a complete racing wheel with pedals that will add enjoyment to the games you already have. The ThrustMaster NASCAR Charger is a low-cost device that surprised us with its accuracy and relatively solid design.
The wheel unit connects to a PC via a game port, meaning it'll work with every racing game on the market--including older titles that run under MS-DOS. We unpacked the wheel and quickly had it secured to our desktop; the quick-release clamps made it easy to remove the device when we needed our PC for more mundane tasks. The wheel is hard plastic all over, with four buttons on the front and two paddle shifters in the back, all of which are programmable. It doesn't support fancy features like force-feedback, so no bulky external power supply is necessary.
When we first pulled the included pedal unit out of the box, we couldn't help but laugh. The Lilliputian brake and gas pedals sit on a tiny base and are spaced only about an inch from one another. To make matters worse, the gas pedal can be compressed only a few inches and the brake pedal hardly moves. This definitely is not an ideal setup for success in realistic racing simulations like NASCAR Racing 3 or Grand Prix Legends. As we soon found out, however, the pedals were just fine for arcade-type driving games like Need for Speed: High Stakes.
The software for the NASCAR Charger is as basic as the hardware. After the installation process was completed, a simple configuration program let us calibrate the device and make sure all the buttons were working, but that was about it. We were glad to see that Guillemot didn't bog the software down with a bunch of useless features, as many manufacturers do.
We weren't expecting much from the wheel in actual operation, considering the price of the unit and the ridiculously small pedals. But the NASCAR Charger never failed to impress, especially in arcade games. The fact that the brake pedal had little travel made it ideal for the split-second brake-slamming tricks most arcade racing games require and made Need for Speed: High Stakes a blast. The real star of the setup is the wheel, which had a perfect amount of resistance for racing--strong enough to allow for curve-carving precision, yet light enough to let us quickly reverse our turns. It was the kind of precision we would have expected from products costing two to three times as much. This little wheel really delivers.
We had two minor problems with the device. Foremost is the narrow base for the pedals, which tended to tip to the right when we pressed hard on the gas. A few strips of duct tape solved that little dilemma, but a wider pedal base would greatly enhance this product. Our other gripe was with the wheel, as the fit and finish wasn't up to Guillemot's typical standards. The back and inside edge of the wheel had a semisharp seam and some other bits of plastic that made driving uncomfortable at times. Again, the solution is simple--give it a rub with some sandpaper--but customers shouldn't have to do things like that. If you can put up with the product's few faults, you can have an incredibly fun, precise wheel that delivers more hours of fun than the low price would indicate. --T. Byrl Baker
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Amazon.com Product Description
Guillemot offers the Thrustmaster Nascar Charger racing wheel for all your racecar needs. Achieve on-the-floor action with the pedals for genuine acceleration and braking. Accelerator and brake levers are also mounted behind the wheel for variable control. Quick-release clamps anchor the wheel to any desk to get you up and racing fast.
Thrustmaster backs the Nascar Charger with a one-year warranty.
Customer Reviews
For the low price, it's a great accessory (with one caveat)
The most obvious comment to make is on the price. It's so inexpensive that I would recommend it to anyone who has even a casual interest in racing games. It really does make a world of difference when playing these games (and you become a much better driver too!)
The software was easy to install and it plugs into a serial port (usually with the sound card.) The calibration worked fine so I haven't run into problems with the cars drifting in one direction or another. I have to warn people that this was made back in the Win95/98 days and I'm not sure if it'll work properly with Win2000 or XP. You may want to pop an email to Thrustmaster just to make sure before buying.
Because of the low price, you may think Thrustmaster cut corners. As far as the wheel is concerned this is not the case. It has a nice grip and just enough resistance to make you feel like you're leaning into the turns. Let go of the wheel and it snaps back into place. It's designed to "clamp" on to a desk and the grip is nice and solid. Two buttons and a rudder pedal are on each side of the wheel. These can be programmed for additional functions such as gear shifting, looking behind, horn, etc...
The one area Thrustmaster where really skimped out is on the flimsy pedals included with the set. First off they're so small a small child can't fit their foot on them. Plus they're too close together to be considered realistic. Finally, the base is so lightweight that your attempts at stepping on the gas may send them flying across the floor. I have to hold the base down with one foot while depressing the gas pedal with the other. Annoying. I'm considering disconnecting them and just using the rudder pedals for acceleration (or super-gluing the pedals to the floor.)
I originally bought this back when Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed was still popular but never hooked it up for some reason. I guess it's because I was able to get by using the keyboard. EA's latest release, Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit II has such bad driving physics that it's virtually unplayable using a keyboard. Hooking this wheel up, however made a world of difference (it's actually playable now), so I'd recommend it to anyone who plays these or other racing games for fun. If you're a real racing enthusiast, you may want to bypass this for a wheel with quality pedals.
Hope the review helped!
Nice Accessory
I bought one of these a year ago for my 2 year old son (who is now 3). He loves it. It allowed him to play on the computer before he was was adept with the mouse or keyboard. I am certain he would give this 5 stars. His favourite automobile games are Sierra Viper and Need for Speed Porche. He enjoys it still.
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