Steering wheels for Podium wheel base
Andrew Nagy
Member
I know this is an incredibly stupid question, but is the Podium Hub required to use one of the Clubsport wheels (like the BMW GT2) with on a Podium DD1 wheel base? I just now noticed some wheels are labeled "Podium", and others are labeled "Clubsport". So, am I correct in assuming that Clubsport wheels are a direct fit to Clubsport wheel based, and Podium wheels fit directly onto Podium wheel bases, with no adapter needed? As obvious as this seems, it isn't spelled out in the descriptions of the wheel bases, wheels, or the Podium Hub. Thanks.
Andy N
Comments
Its not very obvious at all. But I think the answer is this:
Podium wheels include the podium hub and have higher quality materials.
Clubsport wheels include the universal Xbox hub, or a built in comparable hub (the formula wheels, and the two BMW and Porsche wheels with buttons built in) and include somewhat lower quality materials.
Both wheels and hubs work with both bases, but its the level of product quality those names signify.
Look at the "What's included" section of each wheel's page to see that each is really just a bundle of parts.
Thanks for the response - I see that the BMW wheel is in fact compatible with the Podium wheel base. So here's another dumb question - what exactly does the podium hub do? For $200, I would assume something fairly significant. I was originally going to go with the Clubsport base, but between the fact that it's on backorder, and that I'm going for maximum realism, I've all but decide to opt for the Podium DD1, which I've confirmed is available for immediate delivery. But the wheel I was going to get, the BMW GT2, is backordered way back to August 28, while the Podium R300 is immediately available. My goal is to use the SIM for practice between races and track sessions - participating in iRacing is secondary - so I'm going after maximum feedback and realism. As you can probably tell, this is my first foray into the world of simulators, so I'm at the very base of what I'm sure will be a very steep learning curve. I prefer the BMW wheel's slightly larger diameter, and of course it's $200 less than the R300, but it's a month-and-a-half out, if there aren't further delays. Is the price difference between the two wheels completely due to the type of hub? What would you recommend if you were me? Thanks again.
I would say that DD1 is overkill for someone just starting out if you have any concern for money.
I may be wrong, but I believe both hubs lets you attach button modules and other input sources. The podium version is more modern and has more available inputs for thing like the APM, BME, and potential future devices.
The BMW GT2 and Porsche 918 RSR wheels don't have a hub. They act as one unit and cannot add additional inputs.
I don't disagree that a DD1 might be overkill, but remember that my goal is driver training, specifically practice between track events and races, and the opportunities to try different lines, brake points, throttle application points, practice recovering from slides, etc., in a safe environment - I don't have much interest at this time in iRacing, although that may change over time. From the videos I've watched, the thing I hear over and over is that the feedback from a direct drive wheel is in a different league from anything else. With the absence of kinematic feedback in any sim, it seems that someone with my goals would want to maximize feedback for any available sources, and the wheel represents the best opportunity for that. I'm sure the Clubsport is a great wheel base, but I suspect that if I got one, I would want to move up to a direct drive wheel sooner rather than later, so why not just go that route from the start? Money is no issue. Plus, the DD1 is available today, while the Clubsport is on backorder.
Having said all that, I'm still not clear on the actual role of the hub (sorry again for my complete ignorance). And specifically, what does the podium hub provide? I have no clue what APM and BME are, by the way - please explain. And am I correct in assuming that adding a Podium hub to a BMW GT2 wheel will make it equivalent feature-wise to the R300? If so, are those features important to someone with my goals? Thanks very much.
Hi Andrew,
As per Jefffrey's post the BMW wheel is a solid wheel and cannot be updated to the Podium hub hence no future add-ons can go on the wheel (such button modules).
So the podium hub compatible steering wheels are the prefered way to go (such as the R300 or the R330 or the Porsche podium with BME) or else you can buy all the stuff separately except the actual Rim and buy a sparco/OMP or whatever you prefer based on the template of the center holes template (to be sure it will fit)
By the way, any relation with Norbert Nagy or Daniel Nagy that were racing in WTCC and WTCR
Hi Alexandros,
Thanks for the reply. No, I'm not related to either Norbert Nagy, or Daniel Nagy (or to Matt Nagy, the coach of the Chicago Bears :)). Nagy is a very common Hungarian name, but there aren't many Hungarian-Americans around, so it isn't a common name in the US. My parents emigrated from Hungary to the US three years before I was born, and I actually learned to speak Hungarian before I learned English, but I don't remember much Hungarian.
I very much appreciate your guidance, but I'm still a little confused. What exactly is the role of the hub in a sim wheel base/steering wheel assumbly? I assume it does a lot more than connect the wheel to the base. How does the Podium hub differ in its functionality from the hub that comes on the Clubsport base? And to repeat my question from above, would whatever functionality the Podium hub adds be useful in a sim with my goals of using it as driver practice/training, as opposed to playing iRacing and other online racing games?
Finally, I don't see the R330 wheel in the Podium model - it shows as being Clubsport. It's a nice looking wheel, but I would prefer a larger diameter rim. And I still don't understand what BME is - I googled it, and nothing relevant came up.