MOZA Racing R3 Racing Bundle Review

Manufacturer: MOZA Racing
Where to Buy: MOZA Racing
RRP: £399.99 (or region equivalent)

I’m always one who enjoys the the over the top peripheral experience when it comes to gaming; from light guns to motion controls, the Kinect, and VR – if it offers up a different way to play, I’m all in. This goes too for using a steering wheel. I’m not a huge racing fan on when on controller, but stick a wheel and some pedals in front of me and I’ll have a much better time (though sadly, my skills remain just as lacking). So when MOZA Racing reached out with a chance to check out their first ever console steering wheel and pedal set, I couldn’t say no.

I’ve used a fair few wheels in my time, from arcade to various home iterations, and it took all of about 10 seconds in a round of Wreckfest for the R3 to win me over. The feel of the wheel itself, the incredible force feedback, and ease of use have been nothing short of excellent. There’s all sorts of bells and whistles that can be done should you have a serious racing set- up need, but for more casual players like myself this is as simple to get going with as plugging and playing.

Well, once we’ve put the various bits together, which took me a little longer than I’d care to admit – mainly because I can’t follow instructions it seems, but also because putting the spring in the brake pedal was a little bit hairy at times thanks a combination of strong springs and tight gaps for fingers to get into. For those who put an ounce of attention in, the parts should go together in about 15 minutes. The wheel and motor come seperate in the box, and are attached by a rather nifty quick release latch that uses ball bearings to lock it in place. It’s a sturdy connection, and one that has seen some abuse as myself and my more…enthusiastic…family members have put through its paces. I don’t have a racing chair to attach it to, so used my fairly lightweight desk. My eldest was getting particularly carried away in some Daytona USA and lifted the whole thing up by the wheel – and yet impressively it held.

The pedals attach via an ethernet-style cable, while connection to the console is USB to a bespoke connector on the back of the motor. Finally – at least for me – the mains plug (once more a bespoke design) goes into bring it to life. The bespoke nature of these connections meant they can maximise the potential out of the R3, though it does give me a slight pause for any future breakages that may occur and how easy it’ll be to replace them should the need arise. Though to be fair, each connection is very sturdy indeed, so you’d have to go some to do much damage. There’s also all sorts of extra ports for gear sticks, hand brakes etc should you want to go the whole hog.

The wheel base can be mounted onto a rig (all fixings are included) or attached as I did to a table with the mountable grip. There is a large range of movement on the tightening bolts, so unless you’re rocking some abnormally large tables this should clamp to just about anything you want to use.

Rounding out the package are the solid steel pedals which, for my money, are the sturdiest ones I’ve yet used. Sets I’ve tried in the past have had plastic pedals which – when not fixed down – are too easy to lift up in the heat of the moment. While these would still be better off being fixed, thanks to the weight, build, and surprisingly grippy pads underneath I had hardly any issues with movement while playing even some of the more intense races in DiRT Rally 2.0. I’ve been continually impressed with the pedals especially, and they’ve been a big reason I’ve enjoyed playing with the R3 as much as I have.

The other big reason is the wheel itself, of course. And it’s a beastly contraption. As mentioned, there’s all sorts of inputs on it that can be used and customised in the MOZA Pit House app on PC (this wheel can be used on PC and console, which is very cool indeed) but the simple act of using it has been nothing short of awesome. I’ve played a variety of games over the last week or two with it, from expeditioning in Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game, to more sim-type stuff in Forza Motorsport, to the aforementioned DiRT Rally 2.0, Daytona USA, and Wreckfest. This last one especially sold me, as Bugbear are clearly masters of the racing genre and the amount of true to life-feel in the racing action was, for me, by far the best across the games played.

The R3 uses a ‘powerful 3.9 Nm DD Servo Motor’ – I’m not even going to pretend to know what that means exactly, but in real terms it meant the force feedback and sense of control as I was flinging the cars about in all games, but especially Wreckfest, was unparalleled. I could really feel when the wheels wanted to fight me, or the car was about to spin out, or when cars were crashing into and often on top of me, and there were even a few moments in Wreckfest where I was able to actually drive well and so some drifting because of this. It’s easy to get carried away when using a wheel and oversteer like crazy, but once I started paying attention to the actual cues it was giving me, I started doing much, much better.

It’s been an absolute blast to get to grips with the R3 Racing Bundle over the last week or so, and it’s really impressed me with it’s feature set and feel in use – which is good, as this is not a cheap pick up, at all. I can see where every penny of the £399.99 has gone though, both in form factor, feel, sturdiness, and overall quality. This is clearly aimed at the more hardcore of racing players, and for them there’s no doubt this is worth the money, though there are plenty of cheaper (and less impressive) wheels out there for those looking for a more casual experience.

Should you have the money to spend and the need for an impressive wheel to play with, the R3 Racing Bundle is nothing short of excellent. It’s easy to set up, has options for customisation and feels simply brilliant no matter what game you’re looking to put through its paces.

Conclusion

The R3 Racing Bundle from MOZA is a worthy entry into the Xbox-peripheral eco-system. It’s not cheap, but those looking for a high-end wheel to go with their set-up will without doubt be happy with their purchase here. It’s easy to use and feels great in action, with some excellent tech offering supreme feedback and game control.

Hardware provided by the manufacturer for review purposes.