If you have ever gone into Assetto Corsa Rally and your wheel has spoken to you in a strange language, you know, that dialect between timid vibration, unexpected jolt and awkward silence, this guide is for you.

I want to tell you what I have been learning while I fight, make peace and fight again with the game’s Force Feedback. Not as a technical bible, but as a conversation between simracers who, like you and me, are looking for that perfect mix of sensations that makes the wheel come to life.

Yes, that magical feeling when you think: “Now this really feels like driving”.

Let’s go.

FFB in AC Rally: a diamond in the rough (a very rough one)

Assetto Corsa Rally is still in early access, and you can tell. The Force Feedback is really good in its physical base, but it is also a wild animal that needs to be taught how to behave.

Imagine a huge, affectionate dog: it knows how to do incredible things… but sometimes it eats the sofa. That is AC Rally at this stage.

That is why, before your wheel decides to take off or fall asleep, it is a good idea to bring order to three pillars that affect absolutely everything:

• Gain – how hard the wheel pushes.
• Minimum Force – the “whispers” at the center.
• Damper – the weight, the resistance, the stability.

And do not worry: we are not here to memorize numbers, but to understand what we feel when we turn the wheel.

General Game Settings: the sensible starting point

Think of it as the “factory configuration” you would like the game to have, but more human:

• Gain 75–85%
  • Enough to feel the terrain without the wheel disowning you.
• Minimum Force 3–5%
  • To avoid that “dead zone” that makes you feel as if your car were floating on melted ice.
• Damper 20–30%
  • Here many people say: “But shouldn’t I put it at zero?”.
  • You can do it, but then get ready for a hyperactive wheel that seems to have had a triple espresso.
• Steering Lock 540°–720°
  • This is the eternal question: more degrees or fewer degrees?
  • It depends on your patience for turning the wheel. More degrees = more realism; fewer degrees = more survival in tight corners.

And a crucial tip: disable any external software interference that wants to play the hero and “help you” with the wheel. Believe me, it does not help.

The great wheel duel: Logitech, Thrustmaster, Fanatec and MOZA

Or in other words: who suffers, who shines and who is surprisingly in the middle.

Logitech

The Logitech G29/G920 are the same old warriors. Reliable, noisy, gear-driven, and with a center that sometimes feels emptier than the fridge on a Sunday.

For them, the story is simple: the FFB in AC Rally is not yet their best friend.

But we can give it some vitamins:

• High Gain (sometimes very high): 115%… even 150% if necessary.
• Generous Minimum Force: 5–10% to wake up the center.
• Damper 20–30% so they do not feel like a desk spinner.

The result will not be perfect, but it will be playable. And while more friendly updates arrive, this saves lives… of gears.

Thrustmaster

If Logitech needs coffee, Thrustmaster simply needs to be woken up.

The T150, T300, TX and friends have more finesse, less friction and better range.

Here the sensations improve, but they need a little push:

• On the wheel: everything at 100%, without fear.
• In the game:
  • Gain between 85% and 150% (yes, it sounds like a lot, but they need it).
  • Min Force 2–5%.
  • Damper between 0–50% according to your personal taste.

A T300 can feel spectacular on gravel, but weak on tarmac.

The key is to tune it like a musical instrument: little by little, stage by stage.

Fanatec (CSL DD / DD1 / DD2)

Fanatec DD are like a virtuoso pianist: they can give you a perfect concert, or sound flat if you cover the keys.

Their worst enemy: too many filters. Their best friend: a linear configuration.

Try this:

• Gain 90–120%
• Minimum Force 0% (they do not need it)
• Damper in-game 0%
• Base settings:
  • low NDP (10–20%)
  • very low INT (1–2)
  • FEI 100%

I have seen cases where slightly increasing the natural friction gives a more “real car” feeling, but that is already a matter of personal taste.

MOZA (R5, R9, R12…)

MOZA has been one of the brands that gets along best with AC Rally from day one.

There are people who simply copy the profile they use in normal Assetto Corsa, tweak a few things… and boom, they feel the road as if they were on a Monte Carlo stage.

What works best:

• In Pit House:
  • Strength 100%
  • Mechanical Damper 0%
  • Low Road Sensitivity (5–10)
  • Wheel Speed at maximum
• In the game:
  • Gain 80–100%
  • Minimum Force 0–2%
  • Damper 0–20%

The R5 (5 Nm) may need more force; the R9 is more than enough in most cases.

Surfaces: where the wheel tells you stories

Talking about FFB without talking about surfaces is like talking about coffee without mentioning caffeine.

On tarmac

• The wheel is heavier, it vibrates less.
• If you feel it too “dead”, raise Minimum Force a little.

On gravel

• The wheel sings. It vibrates, growls, gets excited.
• This is where AC Rally shines.
• Adjust Gain according to how much “rock and roll” you want.

On snow

• Not fully available yet, but we anticipate absolute softness.
• If the wheel feels too light, do not be scared: that is how it should be.

My personal conclusion

Adjusting the FFB in AC Rally is like going out to look for truffles: you can spend time, get dirty and get frustrated, but when you find the good one, you really notice it.

When the wheel speaks clearly to you, without shouting and without hiding, when you feel the bump, the slide, the compression and the release, that is when you understand why there is so much fuss about Force Feedback.

And believe me: AC Rally has that potential.

You can buy it by clicking here:

• Assetto Corsa Rally

You just have to bring it to light.