From a racing games point of view and newcomers to the genre it is often difficult to find satisfactory information when it comes down to chosing a good controller.

Despite the ever growing popularity of the console and the increase of quality (and quantity) in the racing games genre, for one reason or another it still remains a bit of a mistery as to why the observed recent diversity in the production of Xbox 360 Steering Wheel controllers has not solved the need for high compatibility and reliability. Whatever the answer it is obvious that the one who suffers in the end is the regular gamer.

I see the lack of well presented information in one place on the Internet in relation to the choice available to racing games fans as one of the main reasons people keep spending a lot of money, nerves and time looking for a solution until by luck or a good advice they learn enough as to come up with the best choice of steering wheel and pedals set that works for them.

And the choice is bigger than ever these days. With the majority of Xbox 360 Steering Wheel controllers being incompatible with one game or another, or the player having it difficult to configure and use them up to their full potential spending as effort as possible, the combinations grow by the minute. It is especially tough or perhaps even impossible to find a controller that works properly with most games and is consistent in its performance from title to a title.

Having said that, it's a good thing that many people are working towards providing good service with an ever improving quality of product line and upgrades, but until we reach some sort of unification of standards throughout the racing games niche, Xbox 360 Steering Wheel controllers manifacturers and operation system drivers departments, we'd be in need of information as to what works with what.

So for what should you be looking at when chosing to buy or ugprade to a new Xbox 360 steering wheel? Well from my experience there are some important factors that matter and also some questions you have to ask and answer yourself. First of all, are you more of an arcade or a simulation fan? Maybe both? The way this influences your choice is the general driving style differs between the two sub-genres and sometimes by a lot.

Most arcade racing games deliver very high grip levels and therefore require mostly good reactions and the ability to quickly change the direction in which you're going, without applying much braking effort or none at all. Along with that some have the additional gameplay of shooting, using items and so on. So generally you'd prefer a low range of rotation, light weight wheel, with little resistance and well placed buttons in a way that you can access them easily even if you've turned the wheel up to some extent. The pedals should be with short travel and not much resistance so they wouldn't not detract from your focus.

Simulations on the other hand come with physics engines that represent vehicle behaviour in a realistic manner as possible. Here pedals are a very important part of the who package, because cars at high speed, especially lighter racing cars, are controlled by the throttle and brake just as much as through the steering. Regardless if you want to have Force Feedback or not, which is really more down to personal preference and habbits, you need to have at least 180 degrees (preferably 270 or more) of steering range left to right. The throttle should have a reasonable amount of travel and the brake pedal should provide high enough resistance. Usually both pedals have the same specifications so you should look for both those things to be well balanced.

Of course it is more tricky if you're looking for a generally good Xbox 360 steering wheel to play with both types of games, so if that's the case you would end up making some sacrifices or you'd spend a lot of time tweaking the options for each different title. One more important thing that shouldn't be ignored is the wheel's positioning options. Can you attach it to your table/desk via a clamp or do you have to hold it in your lap? Do the pedals have a solid base or do you have to make/find your own? Is it wireless or not? Make sure you go through all of those things and any more you can think of so you don't regret it later.

Of course there are a lot more details that one could mention, but those are the basic guidelines you should follow. Hope you learned something from this basic introductory and I'd see you soon on the track. Until then - drive fast but safe and respect your fellow competitors!