Cube Controls F-PRO Sim Racing Steering Wheel – Review

Cube Controls F-PRO Sim Racing Steering Wheel – Review

The Cube Controls F-PRO steering wheel is a premium Formula wheel with many features and full Simhub compatibility. We have extensively tested and closely scrutinised the high-end wheel.

Ordering and shipping

The F-PRO Wheel can be purchased either directly from Cube Controls in Italy or from a number of third-party suppliers. The prices are generally comparable and usually only differ in terms of shipping costs:

• F-PRO (black): 1.104€
• F-PRO (blue): 1.140€

Specs

Cube Controls provides the following table with technical data:

Scope of delivery

Cube Controls includes a wide range of accessories with the steering wheel, including not only the steering wheel with hub itself, but also tools, screws, stickers with tweezers and the company’s own Q-CONN USB cable:

• F-PRO Steering Wheel
• Q-CONN USB Cable
• 1x Stickers 3.0 Sheet
• Declaration of Conformity Booklet
• Tool Bag containing:
• Torx Screwdriver (red)
• Philips Screwdriver (black)
• TX10 Allen key
• TX25 Allen key
• Nylon Tweezers
• 3x M5x10 hex bolts
• 3x M5x16 hex bolts
• 3x M5x10 button TORX
• 3x M5 nut

Note: The F-PRO Wheel tested here was purchased second-hand for this test. The scope of delivery shown may therefore not be complete.

Compatibility

The F-Pro Steering Wheel is designed exclusively for use with a PC. It can be connected in three different ways:

• Q-CONN USB Cable: Cube Controls relies on its own design with a magnetic connection instead of the frequently used spiral screw cable. This sits firmly and offers a real gain in comfort when frequently changing the steering wheel. Unfortunately, the connection is used exclusively by Cube Controls and the advantage is reduced if you also use steering wheels from other manufacturers.
• Bluetooth: The wheel is one of the few steering wheels that can be operated wirelessly via the built-in Bluetooth antenna. This worked well during the approx. 10 hours of testing, although there were occasional brief dropouts. With a typical simracing rig with a whole armada of connected devices, this is probably unavoidable. However, anyone taking part in competitive races with the steering wheel should probably use the cable to be on the safe side. For the hobby sector, however, the very small number of dropouts should not really be a problem.
• Interner USB-Anschluss: In addition to the two options mentioned above, there is an internal 4-pin USB connection. This can be used either with a DIY solution or, for example, with the Invicta-QR offered directly by Cube Controls for an Asetek Wheel Base.

This makes the F-Pro-Wheel probably one of the most versatile steering wheels currently available when it comes to PC compatibility.

On the hardware side of compatibility, the spacer on the rear opens up a wide range of possibilities. This has the classic bolt circle of 70 mm (50.8 mm is also possible), whereby three of the holes are threaded and three are unthreaded. This means that the QRs can be screwed in from both sides if required.

Features

The wheel offers the following features:

Buttons

• 12 Buttons: There are 6 illuminated buttons with a crisp pressure point on both sides of the steering wheel. They can be controlled either statically via the Cube Controls software or dynamically via Simhub.
• 2 Funky-Switches: The two funky switches (left, right, down, up, press, turn left, turn right) are very well positioned, as they are within direct reach (without having to take your hand off) offering a wide range of options and can be used for in-game menus, for example.
• 4 Encoders: Four normal encoders with high-quality aluminium caps are mounted in the middle of the front. In terms of triggering force, they are in the midfield of all the wheels tested.
• 4 Thumb-Encoder: In addition to the four normal encoders, there are two thumb encoders on each side. While the thumb encoder above the grip is easy to reach, the thumb encoder on the side is integrated so far into the housing that it is very difficult to operate. Functions that need to be adjusted frequently should therefore not be set using this method.
• 2 On/off toggle switches with status led: Typical for Cube Controls are the two toggle switches with integrated green status LED, which lights up in the upper position. Unfortunately, these send out the same signal when the position is switched up or down. They can theoretically be used for the ignition in ACC, for example. Here, however, the position must be manually set to ‘Off’ before each start, as otherwise they work inverted. With more configuration options and separate outputs, significantly more applications would be possible here.

Button-Sounds

Shifter and clutch

The two magnetic shifters and the double clutch are located on the back of the wheel. These are of very high quality and have no lateral play.

• Shifter: Both shifters have a very short actuation travel and can be operated very crisply. In this respect, they are at a high level and can keep up with the best shifters tested to date. With the help of the supplied tool, both the angle (of the entire shifter) and the position of the paddles can be adjusted. However, a clear disadvantage for users who do not live alone is the very loud noise of the shifters, which is caused by the metal-to-metal contact of the end stops.
• Analoge Paddles: The two analogue axles, which can be used to adjust the position of the end stop and the paddles, have the same design as the shifters. A screw can also be used to change the spring stiffness and therefore the required release force. The axles can be used as a double clutch (with adjustable bite point) or as separate axles. A little goodie: any encoder can be defined, which can then be used to set the bite point.

Apart from the high volume, the paddles are excellent overall and definitely one of the wheel’s strengths.

LEDs

In addition to the 12 illuminated buttons, the F-PRO steering wheel also offers illumination for the labelling of the middle encoder and the thumb encoder integrated in the housing. Unfortunately, the lighting is very uneven, especially without stickers, and the LEDs used are clearly visible. Other manufacturers work much more cleanly in this price range, whether by using several LEDs per button and light field or a better diffusion layer. This is particularly noticeable at low brightness levels.

Grips

For the grips, Cube Controls has opted for a very bulky version with a maximum thickness of 45 millimetres according to the manufacturer. Together with the choice of material (rubber), this results in a very comfortable grip that is easy to use even without gloves. Of course, this aspect must always be considered individually.

Battery and battery life

To enable wireless operation via Bluetooth, Cube Controls relies on a battery with a capacity of 2000 mAh, which can be charged within 2 to 4 hours depending on the USB connection. According to the manufacturer, this enables operation for up to 50 hours without lighting or 10 hours with high brightness. This information was confirmed during the test period.

Materials

With a diameter of only around 28 centimetres, the F-PRO wheel from Cube Controls can clearly be described as a Formula wheel, whereby its low weight of around 1100 grams without QR is particularly striking. The materials used are carbon (front plate, shifter holder and paddles), aluminium (housing, shifter, spacers) and plastic (grip parts, button guards), whereby the workmanship of the materials is of a high standard.

Software

Cube Controls Software

Theoretically, the steering wheel can only be operated with the Cube Controls software, with which the lighting can be changed statically and settings can be made for the analogue paddles (see pictures):

Simhub

As is so often the case, the popular Simhub software is used to utilise the full potential of the lighting. Here, the entire lighting can be customised individually and dynamically in response to telemetry data using its own profiles. It is somewhat difficult to understand why Cube Controls does not provide a corresponding profile with predefined sequences. The user is required to create these themselves. To counteract this, the Simhub profile created for the test is presented below.

LED profile

Here you can download the profile created by Simracing-PC for the F-PRO steering wheel from Cube Controls. It contains the following functions

• Spotter left and right-> WHEN GAME IS RUNNING -> Telemetry based effects -> Spotter (LEDs 1,3,17,5 bzw. 2,4,18,6)
• Flags (white, green, yellow, blue) -> WHEN GAME IS RUNNING -> Telemetry based effects -> Flags (LEDs 13-16
• TC active -> WHEN GAME IS RUNNING -> Telemetry based effects -> TC (LEDs 9-12)
• ABS active -> WHEN GAME IS RUNNING -> Telemetry based effects -> ABS (LEDs 9-12)
• Turn Indicators -> WHEN GAME IS RUNNING -> Telemetry based effects -> Turn Indicators (LEDs 7 / 8)
• Is in Pit + Pit Speed limiter -> WHEN GAME IS RUNNING Telemetry based effects (All LEDs)

Driving impression

Conclusion

The F-PRO Sterring Wheel from Cube Controls is currently the Italian manufacturer’s flagship Formula wheel without a display. Accordingly, we can expect a steering wheel with a whole range of features, whereby in addition to the magnetic USB cable and Bluetooth functionality, the very good shifter and the equally good dual clutch are particularly worth emphasising. Apart from weaknesses in the illumination of the LEDs, Cube Controls delivers a very well-made steering wheel with comfortable grips and a very low weight of only approx. 1100 grams.