Hori Truck Control System Review
This is an honest review of the Hori Truck Control System made for ETS and ATS. I have not received any money or other form of commission from Hori, however the product link does contain an affiliate link. Check it out and let's get trucking!
Intro
First and foremost. This wheel kit costs 599.99 normal retail and I was able to snag it for 550 on sale. (Best Buy). Also comes with game codes for a free copy of ATS and ETS.
The Hori Truck Control System is a very wordy product name that describes a steering wheel built and made for truck simulators. There is a large and vibrant community that is dedicated to having the most realistic experience from the comfort of their desks or gaming chairs. From twitch streams to youtube there is some pretty amazing set ups and content centered around the truck sim community.
For this review I figure its best to get a few disclaimers out of the way. First and foremost, I hate racing games. I am not the guy who has tried 3 dozen wheels, or even the most knowledgeable about the different types of wheels and all of their functions. However, I am avid lover of American Truck Simulator and have sunk an embarrassing amount of time into the game.
Once I discovered the magic of the steering wheel I was hooked! After a few years with my trusty Logitech G20 I decided it was time to go nuts and eventually decided on the Hori Truck Control System.
I picked up the Hori for one reason. This is the only 1 touch out of the box way to enjoy ATS with full support. I've done button boxes, weird configurations, and even reversed my pedals once for my custom built truck sim machine. My wife wasn't a fan of my sim machine at all so I'm back at my desk. Moza has some options as well but for the price of 599.99 USD this was the best option.
Moza does sell a trucking bundle that starts at 549.99 but it doesn't include clutch pedal, shifter, or nearly as many buttons. To add on a clutch pedal, shifter, and the turn signal stalks you would be paying right around 1000 dollars.
So the question is, did Hori take advantage of being the only real trucking sim entry into the linup, or did they build us the wheel combo we have always dreamed of. The system itself comes with a shifter/button box combo, Wheel and pedals. In this review I plan to split it up into its separate parts and talk about each. Then at the end ill wrap it up for you.
Pedals
Okay so they are kinda just pedals. They work really well, which is good, but they are kinda cheap and basic at this price point. You can defiantly tell Hori was focused on other things when they made this kit. The clutch is good and feels about right, the brakes have a built in grommet style push so its soft then hard just like real brakes. The gas is fine with a bit of tension that makes it feel okay. The real shining light for the pedals is they use hall effect sensors. Those have been proven to last a long time and offer consistent use and reliability.
The issue is there is absolutely zero grip at all. The bottom of the pedals feature 4 small rubber pads and they slide on carpet and floor. They do however, feature the ability to mount them to a racing rig or other rig so in that use case they would be great. I really find myself missing the awesome grip of the Logitech's pedals.
I might try the old stick em to the floor with velcro trick, but I am loathe to deal with the annoyance of trying to get a strip of velcro off my floor later when I move my desk or something.
I guess in summary the pedals are just kinda the pedals. They aren't great, but they aren't bad. Having good sensors means that they should last a long time, just stop em' from sliding everywhere!
Steering Wheel
Holy Crap this steering wheel is amazing. Constructed of mainly plastic and wrapped in soft synthetic leather, its 15.8 inch diameter, and 1800 deg rotation gives you a feeling of actually driving a truck. It mounts to your desk at a pretty steep angle which further gives it that trucking feel.
The buttons on this thing are nuts. They managed to cram in two control stalks, ui buttons, nav buttons, cruise control buttons, two joysticks, radio controls, and even camera controls, all in this one area. There are 43 buttons on this wheel alone. Oh, and the right stalk works as an automatic shifter if you aren't keen on grinding a few gears the old fashioned way.
The coolest part? They auto map to ATS and ETS out of the box. You do not even have to touch it. Plug it in, toss some drivers on the machine, jump in game and start trucking. I'll add the default button mapping below so you can see how much it actually does.
Default Button Map
Now if I had anything bad to say about the wheel there is a concerning amount of flex. It's not the end of the world by any means, but if a wayward cat crosses your path and you fall on it, I can see how it might be an issue. Its got a bit of wobble side to side and flexes to the front. I still feel like you would have to try pretty darn hard to break it However, I would say its just enough to remind you this isn't a real truck,
The other issue, albeit minor, is the sheer number of buttons makes it difficult to really spin this bad boy without hitting one on accident. Over time I have adjusted to it naturally and I find myself hitting things on accident far less than I used to.
The Force Feedback
Attached to our massive steering wheel is two force feedback motors. These sit on the sides of a large gear and help move that wheel and give it that oomph feeling. I cranked it as high as it would go, just like my Logitech. The Logitech version feels stiffer but when driving I found the hori wheel to have better resonance and be more responsive overall. Its obviously not a moza direct drive motor by any means, but at this price point its pretty good and gets the job done.
Overall I would rate the force feedback mid range. On par with Logitech and thrust master entry level wheels. But the buttons and larger wheel make up for it 100 percent.
My favorites
Personally i love the airbag center style horn. Its great, it gives it an authentic feel and its just so much fun to mash that thing when your buddy is being a goober in the convoy. Cough cough Chris. The stalks are awesome and really let you forget you are sitting at a desk on those long hauls. My favorite feature is probably the analog sticks. No more reaching for the mouse to adjust your camera after you hit the mother of all bumps and you vibrated your camera out of whack. You just push a little, center it up, and keep on trucking. This has made an incredible difference.
Shifter
The creme-e-la-creme of this package is the shifter. This thing is loaded with buttons, and ready for action. Its a very versitile and easy to use piece of hardware that is truly the icing on the cake. I don't even care how loose my pedals are when I slam through 18 gears seamlessly on this bad boy.
The Buttons
Behind the shift lever you will find a very nice set of 30 buttons. In ATS these are pre-mapped to their various functions and really change the whole game. It was a struggle to reach over my wheel to my keyboard to raise or lower windows, suspension, trailer etc, so I purchased a button box. The button box cost me around 150 dollars and came with 16 buttons. This thing is loaded with 30 and they look damn good too. Except for the husky hair, you might think this came out of a truck. Easy to use and after some memorization most of the options come naturally.
My only complaint is the shift knob can hide some of these buttons so its a bit weird at first. Once you figure it out though this thing is a game changer.
Shift Lever
The shift lever appears to be a regular ole h- pattern shifter but its hiding a truck up its sleeve. On the back is two selector swtiches for changing from 1-4 to 5-8 and High to Low. There is two more buttons on each side of the of the shifter. The one on the left is set to toggle engine break and the one on the right? No idea.
When you are ripping through gears there is a nice feel to it and a good click as you return to middle and then engage a gear. It feels sturdy and the base includes options to change it to a sequential shifter, or increase or decrease the amount of force required to shift. Very nice. I find myself cranking up the tension for new trucks, and lowering it for older trucks to give you that sloppy worn transmission feel.
Overall
I think the most important questions that this review should answer is, is this thing worth 600 dollars. Yes. The only comparable system that you can buy is 1000 and only beats it in force feedback. To me fluidly being able to control the truck is way more important and this kit gives you that 100 percent.
Its a solid choice for trucking sim enthusiasts and you can tell that Hori put a lot of effort into making this product.
However, its not perfect, and if you are into other types of wheel and racing games the moza may be a better option, if only for the reason that using the hori kit in f1 or something might be a bit klunky. With moza you have modularity.
TLDR
Expensive but great wheel if you are into truck sims. Not modular or changeable and very truck sim specific. A little expensive, but you get a lot of bang for your money. Totally worth it in the end.