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Does the EVO Racing 32R Wheel Kickstart Thrustmaster’s New Generation?
Discover the new Thrustmaster EVO Racing 32R Leather steering wheel. This new wheel brings new features and design to the Thrustmaster lineup. Here are all the details.
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Thrustmaster has been one of the most popular sim racing brands over the past decade. However, in recent years, it has seemed that Thrustmaster has struggled to keep up with other sim racing brands. New brands such as MOZA and Asetek have infused the sim racing community with new products, and smaller direct-drive wheel bases have become the norm.
During this time, Thrustmaster has released a few budget racing wheels, such as the T128 and T248. But only relatively recently has Thrustmaster entered the direct drive space. The direct drive T818 wheel base was launched in mid-2023, but currently, it is only PC compatible, with no console support yet.
Thrustmaster released their first new steering wheel in quite some time, the EVO Racing 32R Leather wheel. I will look at this new Thrustmaster wheel to see if it is the start of a new generation of Thrustmaster sim racing wheels.
What is the EVO Racing 32R wheel?
The Thrustmaster EVO Racing 32R Leather wheel is actually two products combined. This new approach from Thrustmaster seems to embrace modular design. The two components here are the EVO Racing wheel hub and the 32R Leather wheel rim.
Thrustmaster has designed the EVO Racing wheel hub to be a standalone product capable of fitting a range of different wheel rims. In the future, I can foresee Thrustmaster releasing multiple rims that all fit this platform, making for a good amount of customisation when buying a new steering wheel.
The 32R part of this steering wheel refers to the wheel rim. This circular wheel rim is designed to be versatile while keeping an emphasis on rally driving. The circular design combined with the large paddle shifters on the wheel hub makes for a great platform to use while throwing your car through a rally stage in EA Sports WRC.
Read this Thrustmaster EVO Racing 32R review to find out whether this new steering wheel is worth buying.
When is it available to buy?
The EVO Racing 32R Leather wheel is available for order to be released on the 2nd May 2024. This is when orders will start to be shipped.
Currently, you cannot buy the EVO Racing wheel hub individually, only as part of the 32R steering wheel. I’m sure that over time, Thrustmaster will release this wheel hub individually. I’d imagine more wheel rims will also become available, much like how Asetek has released a centralised wheel hub and multiple rims.
How much does it cost?
With this new steering wheel, Thrustmaster has been looking directly at its competition. It is priced very competitively and beats out Fanatec and MOZA Racing with its price tag.
The Thrustmaster EVO Racing 32R Leather steering wheel costs €299.99 / $299.99 / £269.99.
| Pedals | Price |
|---|---|
| EVO Racing 32R wheel | €299.99 / $299.99 / £269.99 |
| EVO Racing wheel hub | Not available individually |
| 32R Leather wheel rim | Not available individually |
This price point matches the cost of the MOZA Racing CS V2 steering wheel, which is very similar and beats the more premium RS V2 wheel. It is also cheaper than any equivalent Fanatec steering wheel with this much functionality.
How does the EVO Racing 32R handle itself on track?
This new wheel hub design that Thrustmaster has embraced brings a lot of functionality. There are a good number of inputs, and the steering wheel rim is built to a good quality. All of this seems pretty positive for Thrustmaster.
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The inputs included on the wheel hub include a range of push buttons, encoders, rev and flag lights and a pair of adjustable shifter paddles. All of these elements are built to a good, if not outstanding quality. The majority of the wheel hub is constructed using plastic, making it very lightweight. However, the paddle shifters themselves are constructed from aluminium.
The EVO Racing platform does not offer many premium features. None of the buttons or inputs have LED lighting. Instead, Thrustmaster has opted for coloured stickers. The rev lights are positioned on the top of the wheel mount to ensure compatibility with the wheel rim, although they look relatively cheap. There aren’t as many individual lights as I would have liked to see.
The 32R leather wheel rim is a much more premium product. It features real leather-wrapped handgrips, which feel soft enough while racing without gloves. The black leather is contrasted nicely with yellow stitching on the inside.
The faceplate is made of brushed aluminium, with the Thrustmaster logo in the center. Overall, the quality at this price point is good, especially considering the number of inputs on the wheel hub.
With this product sitting right in the middle of Thrustmaster’s transition between old and new wheel bases, it is nice to see two quick release adapters included. You get both the old and new Thrustmaster adapters included, making this wheel compatible with older Thrustmaster wheels as well as the newer T818.
Read this more in-depth Thrustmaster EVO Racing 32R review, to see if this new generation of wheel is moving in the right direction.
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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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