MOZA Racing KS Pro Steering Wheel – Review

MOZA Racing KS Pro Steering Wheel – Review

The KS Pro Steering Wheel is the latest Formula steering wheel in MOZA Racing’s range and is an improved version of its predecessor in every respect. As with the CS Pro Wheel, which was unveiled at the same time, it features a screen measuring just under three inches in combination with a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic housing.

Ordering and shipping

Like its sister model, the CS Pro, the KS Pro can currently be ordered directly from the MOZA Racing web shop. As before, depending on the country of shipment, it is important to note that additional taxes or customs duties may apply.

USD $ 329.00 / EUR € 349.00 / GBP £ 319.00 / AUD  589.00 / JPY 52,900.00

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

Specs

Here you will find the specifications for the KS Pro Wheel provided by MOZA:

Scope of delivery

As usual, MOZA is rather modest with the scope of delivery and only includes two sticker sheets in the package in addition to the steering wheel with pre-installed quick release.

Compatibility and QR

When it comes to compatibility, MOZA continues to rely on the proven NRG-style quick release. This enables wireless data transfer and power supply. If you want to use the wheel on a non-MOZA base, you will need the appropriate hub (approx. €50) from MOZA. This comes with a spiral cable that plugs into the corresponding port on the back. The Quick Release offers the usual play-free connection to the base and allows the steering wheel to be changed in a matter of seconds.

Features

Like the CS Pro, the KS Pro Steering Wheel tested here is packed with features. The 300-millimetre steering wheel stands out significantly from the regular KS Wheel. In addition to an extra screen, it also offers more rotary switches, thumb encoders and buttons, as well as significantly more adjustable RGB LEDs.

Inputs

Here you will find an overview of the inputs of the KS Pro Wheel.

• 8+2 Buttons: MOZA has installed a total of eight buttons with RGB lighting on the front. These feature a particularly short stroke and offer significantly crisper feedback than many other wheels from the same manufacturer. The layout is complemented by two unlit buttons on the back.
• 4 Thumb Encoders: Two gold aluminum thumb encoders are used on each side, which are very comfortable to use. The upper encoders are very easy to operate, while the lower encoders are a little too close to the buttons below them.
• 5 Rotary Switches: MOZA has installed a total of four rotary switches, each with twelve positions, and another rotary switch with eight positions. They can be configured as switches or encoders (+/-) and have a medium actuation force. During testing (beta software), there was no option to use the middle rotary switch as a modifier to implement the labels (ABS, TC1, TC2, Diff, etc.) functionally.
• 2 Funky Switches: The KS Pro Wheel has two funky switches, each with seven functions (press, turn left/right, up, down, left, right), which are arranged so that they can be operated directly on the wheel without having to change hands. They are particularly practical for in-game menus.

Paddles

There are four paddles on the back of the wheel, each in a high-quality aluminum housing. They are equipped with forged carbon grip surfaces.

• Shifters: The two magnetic shift paddles are equipped with Hall sensors and can be operated with precision. The trigger travel is comparatively long, but the shifters are relatively quiet thanks to built-in pads for damping.
• Analog axes: Below the shifter, there is a paddle with an analog axis on each side. These can be configured either as a dual clutch, as separate axes (for example, for throttle and brake), or as buttons. The paddles have a pleasant resistance and a comparatively short maximum actuation travel.

LEDs

When it comes to the layout of the RGB LEDs, MOZA has adopted the same concept as for the CS Pro Wheels, which were unveiled at the same time.

• Button-RGB-LEDs: 8
• RPM-LEDs: 12
• Indicator-RGB-LEDs 3+3
• Rotary-Switches-RGB-LEDs: 4 x 12 + 1 x 8

The following telemetry effects can be applied to the individual LEDs:

• RPM Standard/Gradient Color
• Fuel
• Pit Limiter
• ABS On/Active
• TC On/Active
• DRS On/Available
• Wheel Spin/Lock
• Turn Indicator Left/Right
• Flags ( Yellow/Blue/Green/White/Black)

MOZA already offers many configuration options that are also very easy to access. Other manufacturers offer more options through SimHub support, but the configuration is also significantly more complex.

Screen

Unlike the standard version of the KS Wheel, the KS Pro Steering Wheel features a 2.99-inch display with a usable resolution of 780 x 248 pixels. It has a relatively high maximum brightness, is neatly embedded in the transparent cover, and has good viewing angle dependency. MOZA currently offers ten different pre-designed dashboard layouts to choose from, some with multiple screens per dashboard.

Grips and materials

The KS Pro Steering Wheel has a diameter of 300 millimeters and weighs around 1,500 grams. The grips are made of rubber (TPE) and are between the steering wheels from Ascher Racing and CONSPIT in terms of hardness. In our test, we measured a hardness of approximately 75–80 Shore A. The handles fit very comfortably in the hand and always offer sufficient grip, even during long sessions. Even after very intensive testing, there are no visible signs of wear and tear.

Inside the steering wheel, there is an aluminum reinforcement into which the rear QR is securely screwed. In combination with the carbon fiber-reinforced plastic housing, this results in a very solid steering wheel that can also be used on a high-end base such as the R21 or R25 without any problems.

Software

MOZA relies on its own software called MOZA Pit House as its software solution. As already mentioned in relation to LEDs and rotary switches, there is still some room for improvement in some areas (a beta version of the software was used during testing). However, the software already offers a wide range of options and customization possibilities for users. It is clearly structured and therefore relatively easy to use, even for new users. Here you will also find a dashboard for the KS Pro Wheel that has been specially created for the new Simracing-PC dashboard format, which you can download free of charge:

Driving impression

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Conclusion

The MOZA KS Pro Steering Wheel is a significant advancement. Thanks to its extremely torsion-resistant construction made of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, it performs exceptionally well even on the more powerful MOZA wheel bases. Particularly noteworthy are the newly added, almost three-inch display and the versatility of the input options. Thanks to the non-slip TPE rubber coating and the well-designed paddles, the steering wheel offers an all-round excellent overall package for demanding fans of Formula or GT racing at a very good price-performance ratio.