I bought this for use on PC with iRacing and Project Cars and I'm very happy with my purchase- granted I got a really good deal thanks to Amazon's mysterious price fluctuations.
The box arrives in a discreet outer carton. It looks like it's provided by Thrustmaster since the only markings, aside from shipping labels and tamper seals, is some small print that reads "T300 GT US". The inner box arrived in good condition with only minor wrinkling around one corner which is inevitable shipping a box at this size and weight.
First use of the steering wheel and pedals reminds you this isn't plug and play. After mounting everything, you connect the pedals to the wheel, the wheel USB to the PC, and plug into power. Next head to support.thrustmaster.com, select your wheel, download and install the driver. Once installed, you'll have a Thrustmaster folder in your start menu where you can update the firmware if needed, and access a control panel and test the functionality.
I had a problem where no matter how many times I calibrated the wheel it was off center by about 20 degrees. The Thrustmaster FAQ section for this model addresses this is the first question and it's easy to fix.
The Wheel.
The wheel mounts to the base via "quick-change" mount. It aligns to the base with a cross shaped lug that's keyed to align the S-Video style connector. There's a collar that you turn to snug the wheel to the base, and then a screw at the 6 o'clock position that you snug to lock everything in place. That screw allows for very little feel so you just lightly snug it up. Any amount of excessive force and I can see it cracking the collar or stripping out at best. There has to be a better way Thrustmaster!
The base has a table clamp that looks interesting but I didn't use it. I hard mounted mine using the two mounting holes on the underside that uses two M6 bolts- which are not included. Thrustmaster warns not to thread your mounting hardware any more than 12mm into the base. Without knowing how thick your mount is, including proper length hardware would impossible. I got two bolts for $0.55 from a hardware store.
The wheel has an outside diameter of 11". It's smaller than I was hoping for but fine. The wheel has a molded hard rubber surface with simulated perforations. It's very grippy but the thing I really dislike is the mold seam that runs around the center of the inner circumference. The mold seam in the upper corner of the horizontal spokes really irritate the inside of your thumb in a longer race. My last minor gripe is the polished blue wheel-center marker at 12 o'clock is very reflective and can be a little annoying. A matte surface ring would be so much nicer.
The button layout is great for use while driving; everything except the L2, R2 requires only a slight shift in grip to reach (for me). The shift paddles are very easily operated without changing your grip. They are 5 1/8" long, made of metal, and curve perfectly with the wheel. The paddles have a kind of hollow, plasticky, audible click but with headphones I never hear it. They bottom out on a thin rubber bumper strip that gives it a nice feeling.
There is a built in cooling fan that activates at some point. I never know when because I have headphones on but after a race, with no ambient noise, you can just barely hear the fan. It's very quiet and something you have to focus on to hear. It's no big deal at all.
The belt drive of this wheel makes it a pleasure to drive with. It’s very smooth and quiet in operation.
The Pedals:
Just like the wheel base, the pedals have two mounting holes that require M6 screws; you'll have to buy these yourself for the same reason as the wheel base. Thrustmaster says not to thread into the pedal base more than 10mm. The base of the pedal set measure 15 1/8" by 13 1/8" and has a height of 8" at the top of the pedals.
I really like the pedal covers on this GT version. If you drive in racing socks, you'll begin to feel the edges of the pedal covers which remind you to get your foot more on top of the pedal. They are not sharp at all- just an observation. I like that the covers are adjustable for position, but I don't like that the brake pedal isn't drilled for repositioning. However the large size of the brake pedal makes up for this. I generally don't use the clutch so I mounted the pedals offset to the left a bit to center the Throttle/Brake pedals for two foot driving.
Each pedal has a block sandwiched under the pedal that you can flip 180 degrees for a more or less inclined pedal angle. There is also one conical rubber stop included. You can use it with any of the three pedals but it's designed to give the brake pedal a little more realistic feeling and it does. With the rubber cone installed, the brake pedal has about 1/2" of linear travel to contact the cone, then another 3/8"+ of progressively heavier travel until it stops. This pedal mod helps give more feeling for those times when you need to do a little panic braking without totally locking everything up.
In conclusion, I think this set is a great value considering the previous T300RS came with only the Throttle/Brake pedal setup at the same price as this GT Version. To me, the star of this package is the wheel base. It’s smooth and quiet operation makes racing games, errr simulations, so much fun. The rubber wheel leaves a lot to be desired but you can swap this wheel with a couple others that Thrustmaster offers. The pedals get the job done and feel nice while driving- brake pedal with the rubber cone installed is very pleasant to use.
Overall I’m happy with this setup out of the box and I would give this is 4.69 out of 5 stars. But I can’t, so 5 stars it is.
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UPDATE: 7/28/2017
After 25~30 hours of use I'm enjoying it more and more.
The seam on the inner circumference of the wheel really bothered me. Two minutes with a small, fine file got rid of the seam and created a nice smooth surface for my thumbs to rest. After wiping down with a multi surface cleaner it looks perfect. A non-issue now.
After around ten hours of use (a few days) a squeaking noise began that sounded like it was coming from the belts. When you move the wheel slowly a few degrees or slowly back and forth the wheel would squeak. I could hear it even with headphones. It wasn't loud, but it's a sound that stands out. After another couple hours of use the squeaking went away and hasn't returned.
The fan noise is still a non issue for me. With the FFB set to prevent clipping the base barely gets warm and while the fan is audible, it's nearly undetectable unless you focus on it in a quiet room.
One thing I dislike about the fan is that it never seems to shut down unless you unplug the power to the base. When I shutdown my PC the red light on the base turns off, but the fan runs continuously at a very quiet, very low rpm. You can only hear it if your ear is near the base. I think it's the fan because of the way is sounds when I unplug the base. It doesn't stop, it sounds more like it winds down. No big deal, I unplug the power now when I'm done.
The horn is not a functional button. More buttons, if placed well, is nice to have so I was disappointed that the horn wasn't available to program.
I'm still enjoying the T300GT. The paddle shifters feel nice, the steering is very smooth and quiet, and I really like the conical brake mod this came with.
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UPDATE: 8/5/2017
The constant fan is because "Forced Cooling Mode" is enabled. It can be disabled but I will leave it. Instructions and an explanation is in the Thrustmaster FAQ for this wheel.
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UPDATE 9/10/2017
Have to drop from 5 to 4 stars. This is still a very nice setup, I really enjoy using it, but that squeak from the belts continuously comes and goes every several days. From what I have found online, I could send it in but the replacement will probably do the same. Also, there is a slight odor that smells like hot electronics that hasn't gone away since new. I don't run it hot, the base barely gets warm, and I'm not a high FFB user.
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UPDATE 4/11/2021
So after almost 4 years of use I have had no long-term issues. There was a squeak after my first 20-ish hours that quickly went away. There was a hot-electronics smell after about 30-40-ish hours that completely went away. During my first year of use I swapped the wheel for the Sparco R383 and the pedals for some Fanatec load cell pedals and haven't looked back. The base system worked great for me but I wanted a larger wheel and load-cell pedals. So, as of sometime in 2018 I had swapped the wheel and pedals but the steering wheel base is going strong after almost 4 years and I have no inclination to replace it. Back to 5 stars!
