CONSPIT 300GT Sim Racing Steering Wheel – Review

CONSPIT 300GT Sim Racing Steering Wheel – Review

With the 300GT steering wheel, Chinese manufacturer CONSIPIT is once again expanding its portfolio with a model that offers an astonishing array of features at a price of around 450 euros and features a carbon fibre housing. We have tested the steering wheel extensively.

Ordering and shipping

As with the manufacturer’s latest product releases, CONSPIT is once again relying on its now even larger distributor network. The steering wheel can be ordered from the release date of this review at the following recommended retail price, excluding taxes and shipping:

377€ / $399 / £308

In addition, there is the corresponding quick release. The in-house QR with integrated data and power transmission is available for around €100.

5% Sim-Motion Gutscheincode / Coupon code: simracingpc-5

The product tested here was provided by the manufacturer. No influence was exerted on this review at any time.

Specs

Below you will find the technical data of the 300GT Wheel provided by CONSPIT. The weight is stated without the QR adapter included in the scope of delivery.

Scope of delivery

As with the latest steering wheels from CONSPIT, the 300 GT also comes with a very generous scope of delivery. This sets it apart from most of its competitors thanks to various extras, such as a stylish sheet with design drawings and additional stickers. Other positive features include the included adapter for the standard 70 mm hole pattern and the many different sticker sheets.

• Steering wheel
• Warranty card
• Manual
• Tool kit
• Bolt package
• 50mm to 70mm adapter
• USB cable
• Stickers
• Magnets (4x)

Compatibility / QR

When it comes to compatibility, CONSPIT once again takes a dual approach. On the one hand, the steering wheel can be used with the manufacturer’s compatible wheel base (ARES/ARES Platinum) without any additional cables thanks to the optionally available Quick Release CDP.

In addition, the 70 mm adapter included in the scope of delivery allows you to use common QRs such as the NRG-QR in combination with the USB spiral cable, which is also included. In our test, this worked without any problems with both the Alpha EVO Pro from SImagic and the Forte Base from Asetek.

Like the manufacturer’s other products, the 300GT Wheel is intended exclusively for use with a PC.

Features

When it comes to features, the steering wheel is undoubtedly impressive. Despite its comparatively low price of around €400, it offers premium features such as a dual clutch, a carbon housing, a 3-inch display and, above all, configurable, illuminated encoders and buttons on the back. In this respect, the steering wheel is clearly in a league above its advertised price.

Inputs

CONSPIT has a whole range of inputs, with configuration options allowing a total of over 100 functions to be assigned.

• 8 + 2 Buttons: It starts with eight illuminated buttons on the front with a trigger force of around 500 grams, according to the manufacturer. This makes them very precise to use and gives rich feedback in the form of a loud click. There are also two additional, significantly softer buttons on the back, which are particularly practical for frequently used functions such as DRS or push-to-talk.
• 3 Rotary-Switches: Three rotary switches are located centrally on the frontof the device. The two outer rotary switches can be configured either as encoders (+/-) or as rotary switches with twelve positions. The middle rotary switch offers significantly more options. It can also be configured as a modifier for the two lower thumb encoders. This allows separate functions to be assigned to each position of the switch.
• 4 Thumb-Encoder: In addition to the two thumb encoders already mentioned, there are two additional thumb encoders within the direct range of the thumbs. All four encoders are equipped with silver aluminium rotary wheels. In combination with the encoders use, they provide a very good feel when operated. A good compromise has been achieved here between clearly noticeable detent and smooth operation.
• 2 Funky-Switches: The wheel is rounded off by two funky switches, which have become indispensable in sim racing, each with seven functions (up, down, left, right, turn right and left, and click).

Overall, the steering wheel offers more functions than you could ever use or remember, especially when using the encoder remap function. Another positive feature is that there are four buttons, two thumb encoders and the Funky Switch on each side within easy reach. This means you don’t have to take your hands off the wheel as often while driving.

Paddles

The two shift paddles and analogue paddles are located on the back of the wheel. Their housings are made entirely of aluminium and combined with carbon grip surfaces. Hall sensors are used to ensure flawless operation and can be calibrated via the software.

Conspit includes four optional additional magnets for the two magnetic shifters, allowing the strength to be adjusted individually. CONSPIT specifies a required force of 550 gf, 660 gf or 900 gf, depending on the number of magnets used. During the test period, the hardest configuration with three magnets was used throughout. In this setting, the shifters are very reminiscent of the excellent shifters from Ascher Racing. Due to the slight damping, the shift paddles are in the middle of the pack in terms of volume among all the wheels tested. The carbon paddles can be moved outwards within a very small range of about half a centimetre.

The two analogue paddles generate their resistance via a spring on the axle, making them very smooth and precise to operate.

LEDs

Compared to the last Wheels, CONSPIT has gone one better with the 300GT: in addition to the adjustable RBB LEDs, there are also excellent and very evenly illuminated RPM LEDs and, of course, lighting for the eight buttons on the front. What is new, however, is the type of lighting used for the three central rotary switches. These are each divided into twelve segments that can be controlled separately. For example, the current TC or ABS level can be displayed via telemetry by illuminating the corresponding field in a different colour. Similarly, the middle modifier switch can indicate which setting is currently active.

The LEDs can be set either directly via the in-house software or alternatively via the SimHub software.

Display

As with the H.A0 hub, CONSPIT has taken a very unusual approach to the display. A three-inch display with a resolution of 800 x 268 pixels and an aspect ratio of approximately 3:1 is used here. CONSPIT offers five different pre-designed dashboard designs at launch, but these do not match the information density of the most popular SimHub designs. To counteract this, Conspit wants to work with the community and offers users the opportunity to suggest their own designs via the Discord server, which will then be implemented gradually.

One feature that is already very well implemented is the display of the current modifier functions. It becomes active as soon as you adjust the corresponding rotary switch, which is responsible for modifying the thumb encoders.

Grips

CONSPIT has used the same design for the grips as for the 290GP Formula Wheel, but this time they are positioned slightly further apart. This results in a steering wheel diameter of 300 millimetres, which shifts the wheel slightly towards the GT range. The grips are ergonomically shaped, but could be a little softer, especially for a GT wheel. Nevertheless, the steering wheel performed well even without gloves during double stints.

Materials

The 300GT steering wheel from CONSPIT clearly plays in a higher league in terms of material selection than its price would suggest. Genuine carbon fibre was used for the front.

3D True CarbonfiberFront Cover

• The front housing is crafted from T-300 carbon fiber prepreg, weighing just 43 grams and offering tensile strength up to 16 times that of carbon fiber composite injection molding.
• 12-layer prepreg lamination structure, utilizing the same Compression Molding Carbon Fiber Process proven in Le Mans-level racing.

CONSPIT Racing

Together with the housing and other aluminium components, you get the best value for money in the €400 price range. Competitors such as the SIMAGIC GT NEO or the MOZA KS Wheel definitely cannot compete.

Software

CONSPIT relies on its in-house solution CONSPIT Link for its software. However, in response to numerous requests from the community, it is now possible to control the RGB LEDs via the popular SimHub software.

CONSPIT Link 2.0

CONSPIT has made great strides forward in terms of software and now offers a seamless overall experience. The steering wheel can be customised to suit your needs without SimHub and, above all, without any prior knowledge.

• Brightness: The brightness can be adjusted separately for all areas: buttons, RPM LEDs, rotary LEDs, dashboard.
• Button-LEDs: Here, you can select both the colour and a telemetry function. In this case, the button lights up in the selected colour. You can choose between the following telemetry effects, although not every effect is available in every simulation: DRS Available, DRS Activated, ABS, TC, Wheel Slip, Wheel Lock.
• RPM-LEDs: They can be configured either manually or automatically (via maximum RPM detection) and customised in terms of colour.
• Encoder-LEDs: Here, telemetry settings (TC, ABS, TCC, MAP, ERS) can be assigned to the encoders, which are then displayed in colour according to your own specifications.
• Rotary Mode: As already mentioned in the Inputs chapter, the functionality of the three rotary switches can be changed here.
• Dash Switchting Hotkey: Here you can change the button used to switch dashboards. You can choose between the two buttons on the back of the wheel and the two outer thumb encoders.
• Paddles: Here, the four paddles can be calibrated and the mode of the analogue axes (Dual Axis, Manual, Bite Point) can be changed.

In addition, custom profiles can be saved and loaded in the software. Unfortunately, it is not possible to automatically load sim- or vehicle-specific profiles. This must be done manually.

SimHub

If you want to control the LEDs even more precisely, you can do so using the popular but rather complex SimHub software. CONSPIT provides ready-made profiles that already have features such as a spotter integrated and are a very good starting point for further changes.

However, during testing, no changes were necessary, so the standard profile was used.

Driving impressions

Conclusion

The 300GT Steering Wheel from CONSPIT offers a very good overall package and impresses above all with its outstanding choice of materials for this price range. In addition, the steering wheel offers a variety of features that are otherwise mainly found in high-end steering wheels. These include the double clutch, the additional buttons on the back and the rotary encoders with telemetry-based RGB lighting and remapping function for the thumb encoders.

Overall, the 300GT Steering Wheel is currently one of the steering wheels with the best price-performance ratio on the sim racing market. If you can do without a large display, this is an excellent steering wheel that is particularly suitable for use in GT racing.

5% Sim-Motion Gutscheincode / Coupon code: simracingpc-5