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Recommended Assetto Corsa Competizione Controller Settings
The default controller settings for ACC aren't great. Discover our recommended controller settings for Assetto Corsa Competizione on Xbox, PS5 or PC & how to perfectly set up your controller.
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Assetto Corsa Competizione is one of the most popular sim racing titles, and most who race the GT2, GT3 or GT4 cars in ACC will do so with a racing wheel. However, a large majority of sim racers race this sim with a controller such as a DualShock or Xbox pad.
It’s fair to say that ACC’s default controller settings aren’t ideal out of the box. To fix this, I’m going to share our recommended controller settings for Assetto Corsa Competizione.
The controller settings that we can change
When you load up the controls menu in ACC, you’ll be given the option of choosing either a wheel, a controller or a keyboard. Switching between the three will change the settings that you can change, with the controller settings being very different to the racing wheel settings.
Below are both the racing wheel and controller settings side-by-side to see the difference.
The settings that we can change when racing ACC with a controller are;
- Rumble Intensity: The rumble intensity setting will adjust how strong the vibrations and rumbles through the controller are. Increasing this will make the vibrations stronger, while decreasing them will dampen them.
- Effects Type: You can choose between “Enhanced” or “Legacy” for the effects type. This determines how ACC handles the vibrations and effects. I would always recommend setting this to “Enhanced”.
- Deadzone: Increasing the deadzone setting will add a delay or deadzone to the start of your steering input. The more of a deadzone you set, the more you will have to move the steering thumb stick before any input is registered. Setting this low at just 1% will remove any stick drift that your controller may have.
- Speed Sensitivity: The steering sensitivity setting in ACC will affect how sensitive your steering is at higher speeds. Increasing this will reduce the amount of steering input that can be quickly applied at high speed, making it easier to control your car while travelling fast. Lowering this close to zero will mean you can rotate your steering incredibly fast at high speed which can cause instability. I would recommend setting this between 40-80%.
- Steer Filter: The steer filter setting will adjust how fast the in-game steering turns. At 0%, your steering will mimic how much steering input you apply. The higher you set the steer filter, the slower your in-game steering will be able to turn complete lock in either direction.
- Steer Speed: The steer speed is very similar to the filter setting in that it affects the speed at which your steering responds to your inputs. Increasing this away from 0% will increase the speed at which the steering wheel turns.
- Steer Gamma: The gamma will affect the input curve of your steering. Higher values will make your initial steering inputs much more precise.
- Steer Assist: The steer assist setting can help stabilise your car in the event that it starts to lose control.
Recommended controller settings for ACC
Below are the controller settings that I use and that I’d recommend for Assetto Corsa Competizione. These settings make it easier to control the car with a controller, especially at high speed. These settings can prevent you from suddenly losing control at high speed by applying too much input and will give you good precision through slower and medium-speed segments.
| Setting | Value | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Rumble Intensity | 90% | Slightly higher than default to increase vibrations |
| Effects Type | Enhanced | Always choose enhanced for better effects |
| Deadzone | 1% | 1% deadzone to eliminate stick drift |
| Speed Sensitivity | 70% | Reduces sensitivity at high speed |
| Steer Filter | 10% | Adds a small dampening to steering inputs |
| Steer Speed | 40% | Sets the speed just right and not too fast |
| Steer Gamma | 3.5 | Adds more precision with initial inputs |
| Steer Assist | Disabled | Disables any third-party intervention |
How to play Assetto Corsa Competizione with controller
Choosing to race with a controller in ACC shouldn’t put you at too much of a disadvantage when using the right settings. After you get used to just how much steering input you can apply at different speeds, you can quickly start to put in very fast lap times.
Starting to play Assetto Corsa Competizione with a controller is as easy as following these steps on how to setup a controller for ACC;
- Connecting your controller of choice, for example, an Xbox gamepad or PlayStation Dualsense.
- Changing the controller settings, I’d recommend using our settings above.
- Configuring your control bindings to adjust what each button does.
- Save your controller layout to a preset so you can easily reload it at a later date.
- Putting in some practice laps on a track that you know well to get a feel for how a car handles with a controller.
The best controllers for sim racing
You can use almost all controllers with Assetto Corsa Competizione. On an Xbox, the standard gamepad works very well (in fact, I often use an Xbox gamepad when racing ACC on my PC). The Dualsense controller is arguably better than the Xbox gamepad due to the much better haptic triggers.
If you regularly sim race with a controller, you can also consider upgrading your gamepad. Both Thrustmaster and SCUF offer great controllers with hot-swappable elements.
The Thrustmaster ESWAP X2
Thrustmaster are known for producing some great racing wheels, but they also have a range of flight sticks and controllers. The newly released ESWAP X2 is the latest ESWAP controller and offers hot-swap technology to allow complete customisation over how you race.
The important part of sim racing with a controller is your stick sensitivity and precision. The ESWAP X2 features S5 NXG mini-sticks which give much greater levels of precision when gaming and sim racing.
The SCUF Instinct Pro
The Instinct Pro was designed to be a better Xbox controller than the base controller and the Elite controller. It features switchable triggers and interchangeable thumbstick to allow you to customise every part of the controller.
You can opt for short performance thumbstick, or taller sticks, both aimed at giving you more precise control.
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Article written by Rich
Rich is the founder, F1 car setup creator and content writer for SimRacingSetups. With over a decade of experience as a graphic designer, marketing director, competitive sim racer and avid motorsport fan, Rich founded SimRacingSetup.com to share his passion and knowledge of sim racing and Formula 1 with other sim racers. Regularly writes for sim racing website SimRaceReviews.com
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