PS5 racing wheel: how to choose one in 2026 without getting it wrong

Only wheels with a PlayStation licence work on PS5, meaning the ones the manufacturer declares compatible with the console. That’s the first thing to check, before torque, materials or reviews: plenty of wheels designed for PC, some of them excellent, simply aren’t recognised by a PS5. Once you’ve passed that filter, the choice comes down to three questions. What drive type you want, where you’ll mount it, and what you play.

Rule one: the right version

Several models come in two versions with the same name or nearly, one PlayStation/PC and one Xbox/PC. It happens with Logitech’s G923 and Thrustmaster’s T248. You tell them apart by the buttons on the rim and the wording on the box, and the Xbox version won’t work on a PS5. If you’re buying second-hand, ask for a photo of the box.

The Logitech G29, launched in the PS4 days, also works on PS5. That isn’t true of every PS4 wheel, though: always check that the manufacturer declares compatibility with the newer console.

PC-born brands are a different story. Moza showed its first PS5 products at Tokyo Game Show 2026, but they’re waiting for Sony’s approval and have no release date; the Moza and Simagic bases on sale today don’t work on PS5.

Gear, belt or direct drive

Inside every wheel there’s a motor that sends back what’s happening at the tyres: that’s force feedback. What changes is how the motor reaches the wheel, and that changes almost everything else.

Gear drive

The motor turns the steering shaft through a pair of gears. It’s the solution used by entry-level wheels such as the Logitech G29 and G923: tough, affordable, with feedback you can feel clearly but in steps, because the gear teeth come through in small corrections. It’s a great way to start, and it clamps to a desk with no trouble.

Belt drive (or hybrid)

Between motor and shaft there’s a belt, which smooths the movement and removes the notches. The Thrustmaster T248 uses a hybrid system, belt plus gears; the T300 RS GT and the T-GT II are belt-driven. It’s the step where you notice the biggest difference if you’re coming from a gear-driven wheel.

Direct drive

The wheel sits directly on the motor shaft, with nothing in between. You get the most detailed and fastest feedback, but also the strongest, and it needs a rigid mount. On PS5 there are Fanatec bases (for example CSL DD and GT DD Pro), the Thrustmaster T598 with its axial motor (5 Nm continuous, with peaks up to double according to Thrustmaster) and the Logitech RS50 in its PlayStation version, rated at 8 Nm. With Fanatec, console compatibility depends on the rim: you need a PlayStation-licensed wheel on the base.

Where you mount it changes the choice

A gear or belt-driven wheel clamps to the table with its own clamps and stays there. A direct drive doesn’t: the force it produces goes into the surface, and if the surface flexes you lose exactly the detail you paid for. Before moving to direct drive, look at where it will go: a solid desk can be enough for the less powerful models, the others need a proper rig. How to set one up, and where to fit the shifter and handbrake, is in our sim racing cockpit guide.

The screen matters too. The closer and bigger it is, the more believable distances on track become; in games that let you adjust the field of view, our FOV calculator gives you the right value for your screen.

What you play

On PS5, the game that sells a wheel, for most people, is Gran Turismo 7. Then there’s F1, EA SPORTS WRC, Assetto Corsa Competizione and PS4 games running through backwards compatibility, such as DiRT Rally 2.0. If rally is your thing, we’ve lined them up in an article on the best rally games.

Your choice of game also affects accessories. If you want a handbrake for Gran Turismo 7, for example, the wheel brand makes a difference: more on that below.

Pedals: where the difference shows

Pedals are the part people most often underestimate. The stock pedals of entry-level wheels measure how far you press the pedal; those with a load cell on the brake measure how much force you put in, the way a real car does. That’s why many people change pedals before they change wheels: braking becomes repeatable lap after lap.

A shifter, on the other hand, often isn’t included. The G29 and G923 don’t have one in the box; you add it later.

What to add next

When someone writes to us after buying a wheel and pedals, our first question is always the same: what do you play? For rally and drifting the missing piece is the handbrake, and almost always a sequential shifter with it. On PS5 they plug into the wheel, without using any port on the console:

• Logitech (G29, G923): the combo for Logitech goes into the shifter port, and you assign the controls in games that allow it, meaning rally games such as EA SPORTS WRC and DiRT Rally 2.0, and the CarX games. The G PRO needs Logitech’s G Racing Adapter.
• Thrustmaster (T128, T248, T300, T-GT II, T598 and others): the combo for Thrustmaster comes with two control units, “Rally only” and “All games”. The second works wherever Thrustmaster’s own add-ons work, Gran Turismo included.
• Fanatec: the combo for Fanatec connects to the base with two cables and is seen as Fanatec’s own add-ons, in the same games.

Our advice, by profile

• First wheel, on a desk: Logitech G29 or G923 with gear drive, or the hybrid Thrustmaster T248. All three work on PS5, PS4 and PC.
• You play a lot and want cleaner feedback: a belt-driven wheel such as the T300 RS GT or the T-GT II.
• You have, or will have, a rigid rig: a PlayStation direct drive, from Fanatec with a PlayStation rim, Thrustmaster T598 or Logitech RS50 in the PS version.

At every level, before adding power, sort out pedals and mounting. A modest wheel mounted properly drives better than an expensive one that wobbles.

Cover photo: Logitech G29 for PlayStation, official Logitech image.