Both the MOZA FSR Formula Wheel and the Thrustmaster SF1000 offer Formula style steering wheels with large in-built screens, however, both sim racing wheels offer different experiences. Here is our ultimate comparison.
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From a technical and build quality standpoint, the MOZA FSR wheel is better than the Thrustmaster SF1000. But that isn’t the entire picture. Both sim racing wheels offer fantastic features and perform rather differently. Deciding which is better for you is the better question. Read on further to view our complete comparison guide.
MOZA Racing has released its first wheel with a fully integrated large HD screen. And it’s pretty cool. It adds a lot of functionality and immersion to the already great MOZA Formula wheel design.
It’s been pretty well received by customers and critics and took our crown as one of the best formula-style sim racing wheels in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Check out this in-depth review of the MOZA FSR wheel to find out why.
But, with all of the excitement around the MOZA FSR, we can’t forget that Thrustmaster has a steering wheel that is very similar to the FSR, comes in at around half the price and has been available for well over a year.
In this comparison guide, I’m going to take a look at both the MOZA FSR wheel and the Thrustmaster SF1000 steering wheel to find out which is the better F1 steering wheel. And which formula-style wheel with a screen you should look at buying.
So, jumping straight in, I’m going to take a quick look at both sim racing wheels to see where each one sits in the marketplace. Then I’ll go on to compare them in more detail a little further on.
The MOZA FSR Formula wheel is one of the nicest sim racing steering wheels from the relatively new brand MOZA Racing. It launched as their premium steering wheel and is the only MOZA steering wheel that features a large built-in screen, just like real-world Formula 1 cars have.
This steering wheel sits just above the mid-range category, with its toe more firmly dipped into the premium category. The large in-built screen isn’t the only first that MOZA has introduced here.
For the first time, the FSR wheel also features a USB data port on the rear. This will open up compatibility, allowing this wheel to be used with other branded wheel bases.
The SF1000 steering wheel from Thrustmaster is just over one year old at the time of this writing. Much like the MOZA offering, it features a large HD display that can show live data while you race.
It is also a pretty close replica of the official Ferrari steering wheel used by Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc in the 2020 Formula 1 season. If you’re a Formula 1 or Ferrari fan, that is pretty darn cool!
This officially Ferrari-licensed sim racing wheel features decent build quality and compatibility, giving many sim racers the opportunity to race with it.
So now we have a little context to how both of these steering wheels entered the market and what they offer. Let’s take a look at what is similar on both the MOZA FSR and the SF1000.
I’m going to start with the obvious and talk about the large in-built displays. Not many sim racing wheels feature built-in screens, and those that do are normally mega-expensive. Well, both of these wheels shake off the super-expensive label.
The screen on both wheels measures 4.3″ from corner to corner, giving each wheel a generous amount of space to show information. The screen quality is very comparable on both wheels, with both wheels including multiple pages and layouts for the screen.
The SF1000 does a slightly better job of replicating a Formula 1 screen readout and is almost identical to the screen layout found in the F1 games such as F1 24. That’s not to say the MOZA design isn’t as good, as it offers very similar layouts.
Much like the screens, there are also very similar inputs on both wheels, giving you a lot of control in-game. Both wheels feature a range of push buttons, rotary encoders, four paddles on the rear and directional inputs.
The quality does differ across both wheels, which I’ll look at in a little bit. In terms of the number of mappable buttons, Thrustmaster has a few more inputs in total, but both wheels offer more than enough inputs to give you a lot of control in-game.
Despite looking quite similar on the outside, there are actually quite a few differences between the two wheels. These differences will dictate which wheel better fits your sim racing setup.
The first and most noticeable difference when you have both steering wheels next to each other is the size difference. Most formula-style sim racing steering wheels have dimensions of around 280-300mm across. And this is exactly the size of the MOZA FSR.
The FSR is just 280mm across which really is the sweet spot for these smaller formula-style wheels.
In comparison, the Thrustmaster measures in at a whopping 366mm from side to side. And this is because it is designed as a 1:1 replica of the real-world wheel found in the Ferrari F1 car.
While this does increase the authenticity of the wheel, it also makes it a little on the porky side. After using the SF1000 for a while, the size didn’t really pose an issue. But jumping from the SF1000 to the FSR highlighted how large the SF1000 felt.
This really is personal preference, but the FSR really is a better fit for a sim rig and felt much more comfortable to race with.
That leads to another area where MOZA has Thrustmaster beat. And that is in the overall build quality.
The build quality of the MOZA FSR is really very good for the most part. It uses a lot of carbon fibre combined with high-quality metal and very nice perforated leather. And that quality continues through the mechanical areas of the wheel.
Each click of the LED-backlit buttons feels incredibly positive. The rotary encoders turn with an intentional click. And the magnetic shifters feel incredible, albeit a little on the noisy side.
And then there is the SF1000. While it does feature a nice carbon fibre faceplate, it is about where the positives end. The buttons are a little stiff, and there is a lot more plastic on the Thrustmaster wheel.
Also, the shifters, while still magnetic, do feel a little clunky to use. They’re much thicker and don’t pose the same poise and refinement level found in the FSR wheel carbon shifters. And finally, the rubber hand grips don’t quite look or feel as good as the perforated hand grips on the FSR.
As I mentioned, the input quality on the SF1000 isn’t quite on the same level as the MOZA FSR. They do certainly feel good, especially remembering the price difference between the two wheels. But the buttons and encoders on the FSR are a little nicer to use.
Also, a quick touch on the quality of the encoders. The rotary dials found on the Thrustmaster SF1000 are all plastic, and this detracts ever so slightly from the overall look of the wheel. The MOZA encoders on the other hand are constructed from metal and feel a little more tactile.
Both wheels use magnetic shifters. The MOZA FSR utilises two individual shifters with two additional analogue paddles just underneath. These shifters are constructed from carbon fibre, and they feel great to use.
There is enough resistance to stop any accidental shifts, but this magnet strength does increase the volume of each shift. They’re a little on the noisy side straight out of the box. Although there are silencing pads included.
The shifters on the SF1000 differ by being a single piece of machined aluminium. This gives you a push/pull rocker, allowing you to shift with either hand, much like you can with the Fanatec McLaren GT3 V2 wheel.
The shifter itself feels good to use, but the thickness of the paddle itself makes them feel a little less refined than the carbon shifters on the FSR. There is also a little bit of rattle to the shifters when you pull each one which isn’t found on the MOZA wheel.
The rev bars are also different in design. And this is one area where Thrustmaster easily beats out MOZA. Being a replica of the real-world Ferrari F1 wheel, the SF1000 features individually lit LED lights. These all light up individually and are more than bright enough to give you a good indicator of when to shift.
The Best F1 24 Racing WheelsThe rev bar on the MOZA wheel, in comparison, uses individual LEDs that are hidden behind a diffused plastic bar. This makes each light blend into each other. I’ve never been a fan of this style of rev bar as it makes the LEDs appear blurry and not well defined.
The compatibility of both wheels is one of the bigger factors when deciding which to purchase. Each wheel is compatible with its own product ecosystem, but they offer extended compatibility.
The MOZA FSR Formula wheel is compatible with all MOZA wheel bases to date. And the real positive here is that all MOZA wheel bases are direct drive. In comparison, Thrustmaster doesn’t offer any direct drive wheels currently.
This means you’ll get much stronger and more detailed force feedback from MOZA wheel bases compared to Thrustmaster bases. If you aren’t currently invested in either ecosystem, you should strongly weigh up direct drive vs non-direct drive wheel bases.
The FSR wheel is only PC-compatible, but it features a USB data port on the rear. This allows the FSR to be used with other brands’ wheel bases for the first time.
In comparison, the SF1000 works with a wide range of Thrustmaster wheel bases, and is compatible with both Xbox and PlayStation consoles. Much like every Xbox racing wheel, it does suffer from limited functionality when racing on Xbox consoles.
One of the biggest differences between both the MOZA Racing FSR wheel and the Thrustmaster SF1000 is the price. The gulf in price difference is pretty large. In fact, you could almost buy two SF1000 wheels for the price of a single FSR wheel. Well, almost but not quite.
The MOZA FSR Formula wheel costs from £579/$650 upwards depending on where you buy it.
The Thrustmaster SF1000 wheel costs just £350/$400, and this can be a little cheaper if you buy from some resellers.
So the next question after looking at the price of both steering wheels is, is the FSR wheel worth over £200/$250 more than the SF1000? And to answer that question, you really have to look at your requirements from a sim racing wheel.
The MOZA FSR Formula wheel offers a high-quality product, compatible with a range of direct drive wheel bases giving you a high-performance and versatile formula-style sim racing experience.
The Thrustmaster SF1000 instead offers an immersive formula-style experience at a much-reduced budget. The build quality and execution aren’t quite as good as MOZA’s in many ways, but the wheel is almost half the price.
If you are already in the Thrustmaster ecosystem, then the SF1000 is the obvious choice. The decision is much harder if you don’t own any Thrustmaster or MOZA wheel bases.
For me, the quality and performance of MOZA wheel bases and the high-quality finish on the FSR make the MOZA FSR my preferred choice. Let me know in the comments below which wheel you prefer the look of, or which you have chosen!
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Rich is the co-founder, and one of the main F1 setup creators and content writers 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.
View all articles written by Rich
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