There’s a niche subset of racing games on PlayStation 5 that make use of a unique feature – gyroscopic control. The first time I ever made use of this option was back in the days of Gran Turismo Sport and I must admit it felt darn good. Offering a more precise method of control than using the standard stick, it allowed for a level of accuracy that I’d not experienced before. I’m sure that many of us had come across this before playing Mario Kart on Wii, the Wii Wheel being a genius accessory in its time, but the DualSense offered a far superior level of detail in its motion. It just never felt like a proper wheel though and that’s where the Gioteck FR5 Racing Wheel finds its niche.
Offering three methods of mounting, this wheel encapsulates your DualSense and is more immersive than just holding the controller in hand ever will be. The first is more like the previously mentioned Wii Wheel. Extremely simple to set up, untightening a screw on the reverse of the wheel allows for easy access to place your DualSense in the centre before securing in place. Held out in front of you, it’s as easy as just turning the wheel in mid-air. It’s a neat idea and a very quick and easy way to enhance the experience of driving with gyroscopic control. Simple yet surprisingly effective.
Second comes the lap mount. This involves screwing the already DualSense laden wheel onto a rather hefty base unit before placing it between your knees for a slightly cramped, fiddly way to make use of the wheel itself. I found this to be a much more awkward experience than just making use of the What it does do however, is make use of the auto-centering mechanic that will help to return the wheel to a central position if you let go mid-turn. Whilst this may sound great, I’ve found that in practice, it’s not all that useful as it requires letting go of the wheel slightly to allow the weighting to pull the controller back to a central position. Whilst this is something that I would make use of when driving in real-life, this felt slightly unnatural whilst racing in-game and I never really found myself getting any more comfortable with its function, especially whilst balancing the whole thing awkwardly on my knees.
The third and final mounting option is by far the best. With the DualSense filled wheel mounted to the base, an adjustable clamp underneath the main body allows for the entire thing to be attached to a table or desk. This offered the best experience by a huge margin. With a more secure footing, the wheel feels much more stable and natural to use. With 220 degree steering, I had to have a bit of a tinker with the in-game gyro sensitivity but after a tweak or three, it all came together. My lap times started to tumble down to the kind of level I was used to and with a little practice, I even started to improve on some previous license test results in Gran Turismo 7. Movement feels more smooth and natural, making it easier to hit the apex of a corner and as such, get the best that you can out of each car. It doesn’t provide any of the feedback that a good direct drive wheel will but this is available at a mere fraction of the price. This is certainly the way that I would recommend the wheel is used.
Build quality is generally good, with everything being made of durable black plastic. I can imagine that the unit will take a few knocks and tumbles throughout its life and in my experience
so far, it’ll certainly stand the test of time. There’s even a little bit of texture on the wheel itself to help ensure that you won’t lose your grip mid turn. Ergonomically however, I did struggle with the shape of the wheel itself during longer play sessions. Now feeling bulkier than a standard DualSense controller, it’s more awkward to press any of the buttons, especially on the face of the controller and my average size hands struggled to change gears or make menu selections, much more than if I were to hold the controller in a more conventional manner.
There are two cut-outs toward the top edge of the wheel and I was never quite sure how best to rest my fingers in these, as they seem to encourage the use of middle fingers for use on each trigger for acceleration and braking, whereas I prefer to use my index fingers, making for a slightly awkward use case. A slight oversight is that the wheel actually blocks the headphone jack on the controller, meaning that making use of a wired headset is impossible. I’m not sure that the introduction of a wire to a turning peripheral is a good idea in itself but it means that those who prefer to listen to the roar of the engine via headphones will have to go with a wireless option.
The Gioteck FR5 Racing Wheel finds itself in a slightly odd market position. It’s not been designed to compete with the simulation style racing wheel and pedal combos and it’s not quite budget enough to be an impulse purchase. What it does offer is a very niche solution for those gamers wanting to dip a toe into more realistic racing without spending the kind of money that a full racing setup would require. It does require you to own a racing game that supports gyro controls, which limits its usage. But if you own Gran Turismo Sport or GT7, the two games that Gioteck are mainly aiming this peripheral for use with, this will add more immersion to your racing experience and, with practice, may even improve your lap times.