Miguel V., one of our colleagues and talk show hosts, offers this in-depth review of the current development of Racing Components; RCW Sport.
If, a few months ago, we offered you the RCW analysis, it is time to evolve or perish. The RCW Sport is one wheel from Racing Components. An progression toward simplicity and pragmatism, proving that less is often more.
Packaging
Racing Components is dedicated to the solidity of a decent product devoid of unnecessary frills that divert the user’s attention. They make it plain from the start, and the simple package draws our attention to what we’ve purchased: the wheel. Along with the wheel, however, we discover everything we need to make it work and personalize it; all the screws and tools needed to attach a QR code are provided, as well as a package of stickers for the buttons to assign different tasks and, of course, the USB cable to link it to our PC.
Along with all of this, we got a small thank you card for our order and for trusting Racing Components with one of the most crucial peripherals of our simulator, as well as a bag of gummy bears for the sweetest of the house.
Features
Let us now go over the technical specifications of the RCW Sport. We found a formula type wheel with a diameter of 28.5cm, which has almost become a standard for all manufacturers. The front panel is 5mm thick carbon fiber, while the back box is 6061 aluminum alloy with injected rubber grips.
We have two mechanical buttons with LED illumination located in the upper left and right areas of the buttons section, which we shall discuss later. 7 metal buttons with a solid touch, three on the left and four on the right. 1 Funky switch on the left side with seven various functions, which, as those of you who follow us already know, is extremely necessary in any wheel nowadays. Two rotary encoders with pulsation and two 3mm carbon fiber paddles are located in the lower middle section.
Buttons
Without a sure, the collection of buttons and arrangement presented by Racing Components is a success; we don’t miss a single button. All of the key functions that are commonly employed in our simulator can be allocated, and I venture to suggest that several buttons will remain unassigned.
With the funky switch, we may browse through the track’s many menus or screens, switch between one value and another, raise or decrease, and, due to the keystroke, pick or deselect these values. The rotary encoders allow us to make changes to things like brake distribution and traction control.
When we look at the two mechanical push buttons with LED lights, we can see that Racing Components didn’t simply want to manufacture another wheel, but they also wanted to give this RCW Sport its own individuality. We had never experienced buttons with this odd touch that reminded us of a mechanical keyboard before from Simracer.es. You push and instantly know when you have reached the point when the keystroke is effective; there is no room for error or ambiguity about whether we have pressed the button sufficiently.
This feature, along with the provision in the top region farther away, is planned and created so that these buttons are given tasks that you do not want to activate by accident in order to confuse the button with any of the others, such as the speed limiter or return to pit lane. Furthermore, we must include LED illumination, which for the time being just provides a decorative role, but we may consider various concepts such as witness warnings or alerts of low fuel levels.
Paddle Shifters
A special note should be made of the paddles that Racing Components has chosen to install in its RCW Sport. To be honest, the rigid and sonorous paddles found in high-end wheels are not appropriate for all types of audiences. The RCW Sport paddles are great for people who wish to commit hours and hours to simracing without their partners growing tired of the normal clack, clack, clack that occurs while manipulating each cam.
Because the magnets used to drive the paddles are less powerful than those used in other wheels, the return force after pushing is smaller, and so the impact between the magnets is less intense, resulting in less noise.
We may argue that this would have a detrimental impact on the sensations provided by these paddles, but after hours and hours of usage, we can promise you that the difference between these paddles with softer magnets and those with a firmer touch is entirely undetectable. Even with gloves, we have more than enough travel and just enough firmness to recognize when we are operating the paddles. Two little screws allow us to change the distance between the paddles and our fingertips. They are shipped from the factory at the closest feasible position to our fingers, which we may alter by moving them away millimeter by millimeter.
Final Product
Fortunately, we’ve previously jumped through a few wheels from various manufacturers and price ranges, and we can tell the difference between a quality product with decent finishing and one that isn’t. This RCW Sport is unquestionably a product that has been meticulously designed, made, and constructed by hand one by one, with the understanding that numerous illusions of both the consumer and the producer are embedded in each of them. The construction between the carbon fiber front panel and the aluminum rear box is flawless, and the injected rubber grips are crimped to the steering wheel body as if the entire assembly were a single piece.
There are just two minor drawbacks to this wheel. The first is that its touch is too light to discriminate between one step and the next, which can lead to misunderstanding and incorrect assignment of user functions. Also, instead of being encoders (rotating, not distinguishing between positions), this type of rotary encoder located in the center of the wheel would be more useful if they were positional rotary encoders in which each position of the knob is distinguishable from another and thus capable of assigning different values, such as engine maps or battery deployment in hybrid cars.
The second simple solution is that the offered USB cable appears to be a bit short to connect it to our PC without having to use an extension with potential communication problems between these extensions and our computer. However, the threaded connection to the wheel is ideal, minimizing any pulls following hard flips that may lead to wiring damage.
Summary
To summarize, Racing Components has done an excellent job with their RCW Sport, leveraging their knowledge gained with the RCW One and honing it to near perfection in this RCW Sport. Eliminating the less important to focus on what matters most, the user experience. For 459€ plus shipping and handling, this is a very intriguing product for its good value for money, since it has nothing to envy to wheels twice its price.
Congratulations for this product Racing Components!
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