I assume that some of you saw my recent 60 vs 165 Hz comparison that I did, so you got a pretty good insight what’s one of my favorite hobbies to do, racing, I like racing, which directly ties into what I’m going to take a look today – brand spanking new Logitech G923 steering wheel.
Since I got the G29 with me also, I’ve decided to do a direct comparison between these two models, so all of you who are maybe thinking of upgrading from it, or even older models, can see what you’ll be getting for your hard-earned money.
From the get-go… Well, there’s not that much difference between them at all, at least not physically, it seems that Logitech went down that if it’s not broken, don’t fix it road. Everything is the same, the design and look of the steering wheel is identical, the only thing that’s changed is the color scheme of the controller part around the center rig of the wheel hub, it reminds a bit of the G920, the Xbox version of the G29 wheel. Speaking of the controller, you’ve probably noticed we have that well recognizable shapes and layout of the 14 additional buttons, together with the 24-point selection dial and + and – d-pad, so yes, this is the version that supports the PlayStation and PC, and in terms of the PC version, all of them are programmable using the Logitech G Hub utility software, from appointing a macro function to drag and drop customization of different sings.
Oh yeah, we now have a G logo on the center steering wheel cap instead of the Playstation one.
There will also be an Xbox supported version of the G923 model, and the button layout will be basically the same compared to the Playstation and PC model, as oppose to how different was the G920 to G29 in that regard, on the bottom steering wheel arm you’ll now get that + and – d-pad and extra turning wheel and enter button.
Logitech G923 – subtle design changes
This time you don’t have a dedicated switch to jump between these two platforms, now you just plugin it in – and it works, just like that it knows where did you plug it in, although we do still have that LED indicator light. Talking about lights, Right below that we still shift lights, but now in a bit of a different color scheme, where Logitech added a blue color, maybe to build up some brand awareness, although it’s not like they need it. Kidding aside, some cars do use the green red blue build-up for the shifter light, so maybe that’s the reason.
The metal flappy paddles are now completely covered in a black finish, the click mechanics looks and feels the same, very subtle, but affirmative, although it sounds a bit lower-pitched. The design of the housing hasn’t changed at all, we still have this almost like a car looking back and, imitating a front grill intake with lights, while we still have the same old table latching mechanics with two L profile hooks on the bottom and round and this pointy thing this that you twist and turn to tighten them up. I wish they made this whole latching mechanism out of metal because the legs are prone to break due to ware of material as time passes, but as an alternative to that, we still do have mounting wholes for racing rigs. Other than that, the build quality is still really good, the whole wheel feels sturdy, it’s the frame is completely made out of metal, while the rest of the housing is still put together using sturdy plastic.
Turning it onto it’s back you can see that nothing has changed, being it from these routing canals to connection points, everything is where it was on the G29, it’s still wired, as opposed to their just-released G Pro X wireless headset. You still have a connection for the manual H-sifter, and yes, the one that was for the G29, also work on this, I’ve tried it myself, so you can reuse it or buy yourself one if you don’t have it, although it doesn’t show up in G Hub with the G923, I assume they will fix that with an update. The same goes for the pedals, I’ve tried them just for the fun of, it works like a charm, while the new G923 paddles themselves are completely the same design and construction-wise compared to ones on the G29, on the back you still have some rubber pads, mounting wh and this posting looking section that can pop out if you you’re going to put it on a carpet. The only thing that’s different is the logo or the lack of the Logitech’s naming to be more precise. The same can be seen on the back of the steering wheel housing.
So, everything seeing all of this, you’re probably wondering, and I was when I first saw it, what’s actual G923 vs G29 difference? You know, where’s the catch? Why would that they release a new model with looks basically the same?
No direct-drive for Logitech G923
Secretly I was hoping for a direct drive system for the G923, but that would be asking too much, especially for this price point. But, they did make some technical changes and implement something that adds to the whole feedback experience with the feature called TrueForce. As far as I understood by looking at this picture on the box, since I couldn’t disassemble this particular sample as I have to send it back so others to test it out, so better be safe than sorry, the two motors setup which they were using before, and also now, is translating the force and taking in your input over a big gear attached to the back-end of the wheel, probably with the addition of same rack and pinion gear system as a stabilizer.
So, by the looks of it, not a lot has changed when comes to the wheel gearing system as this type of solution proved to deliver more precise feedback and overall feel, while the TrueForce, the TrueForce feature is something completely new. To be honest, I don’t know how to feel about it. In some ways it’s interesting it does give you that feel of sorts like mechanical vibration and feedback that you would get when the whole chassis is vibrating from the engine and tires, all of it translates thought the steering wheel. It does that by using games physics and audio engine to interpret and provide additional information in real-time. The weirdest thing about it is that it feels like someone is tickling me on my palms, it’s a really subtle feeling, almost like you’re palms are going numb, in some cases, it can be borderline unpleasant, it’s really hard to explain. I’m not sure how they achieved this from a technical aspect if they included something like an additional ERM device or something else.
At the moment this feature is not supported by a lot of games, for the PC that’s only Assetto Corsa Competizione, so not the regular Assetto Corsa, which I actually drive in a lot, so bear that in mind, and the iRacing. For the consoles that would again be Assetto Corsa and Gran Turismo Sports, but more games are soon to be supported, like Dirt and F1, and I’m sure that every other racing game like that will eventually be supported, be it on PC or consoles. In Assetto Crossa Compettize the TrueForce feature can be picked up as micro-vibrations, while in the iRacing it’s a little bit more pronounced, it’s almost like you have a piezoelectric speaker imitating the in-game sounds. The setup is still not officially available thought the iRacing menu, you have to configure a .ini file, while with the Assetto Corsa Competizione you can do that under the “Controls” settings, where you have a gain bar. There’s not that much difference between 1 and 100%, it just waters down a bit.
All in all, It’s not that I don’t like it, I can see it being really useful, I’m just not sure if I need it or not, it doesn’t give me any additional useable information on top of what I already had, but it does kick the immersiveness up a notch.
But, other than that, this is a very recognizable successor of the G29. It still does its calibration dance once you plug the USB and power brick, and, as I just mentioned, since it remained a gear-driven wheel, you do have more pronounced force feedback. Expectedly, It’s not as smooth as some of the belt based wheels out there, plus we still have a little bit of dead zone in the middle, while when you start to get really precise, you can feel the steps of the gear teeth.
Should you upgrade to G923?
The force that it provides feels the same in terms of the torque, so around 2 Nm, although I could be wrong on that as they don’t specify this, there’s a chance that it’s higher, or lower since they changed the gearing system. As for the pedals, everything looks to be the same or at least feels the same. Linear throttle, aggressive two-step brake, and a bit firmer clutch pedal, all of them working using a potentiometer. They seem to be ever so slightly less firm, although this could be a placebo effect. On the other hand, the brake pedal lost that distinct two-step feel, which is something that they worked on to improve, now it feels a bit more natural when you really step on it and get to that end locking point,
As I mentioned earlier, their physical design is completely the same, so if you’re going over from it or G27 or G25, you won’t have to adjust heal and toe technique, and overall there’s really nothing else to say, as the difference is nonexistent.
Speaking of those, I think this is where this new G923 wheel makes the most sense, for all users who were maybe planning to upgrade from G25 or G27, I can see this being a decent jump in features for them. On the other hand, with everything shown here, I don’t think that majority of users will have a need to upgrade from their G29 models, except maybe just to get their hands on something newer, or if theirs didn’t stand the test of time in case they were using it constantly during those 5 years of its release.
Everything considered, next to the belt-driven Thrumstaer T300RS, which I’m hoping to put in my reviews section soon, I still do think that the G29, and now the G923, is one of the best set of wheels and pedals you can get in terms value for your money if you’re serious about racing, and that’s of course before you go and take the next step of getting one of the direct-drive systems like ones from Fanatec and Simucube, which cost can add up waaaay above the 1000$.
That’s it for this time, thanks for checking out my Logitech G923 review, if you have any question feel free to hit me in the comments section of my YouTube video listed above, you can contact me via my social media channels! If you interested and having a dilemma in what to get, be sure to check out my G923 vs T300RS GT comparison, I’ve just finished that one!
