Just What You Needed: A Leather-Wrapped Racing Wheel For Gaming

You have a leather-covered steering wheel in your car, why not in your house?

That would appear to be the thinking behind Logitech's new G27 Racing Wheel. It is "designed to deliver the definitive sim racing experience." Just like a luxury car, this $299.99 (MSRP) gadget is designed to eliminate virtually all noise and "unwanted" vibration.

It's compatible with PCs running Windows XP or Vista, so long as you have 20 MB of available hard disk space, and Sony's Playstation 2 and 3, on any games that support Logitech's force feedback racing wheel. So, yes, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue.

It has LEDs to show you the RPM/shift indicator to let you know exactly when to up- or down-shift on the six-speed gated shifter.

Here's the deets:

• Dual-motor force feedback mechanism with helical gearing: That means it will seem as if you can feel the traction loss, shifting weight and feel of the road. But it's quiet.
• RPM/shift indicator LEDs: Mentioned above, they tell you when to shift for "maximum torque" and only work in supported games.
• 16 programmable buttons plus D-pad: You can map up to 16 game functions to locations that make the most sense to you - on the wheel or on the shift module.
• 900-degree wheel rotation: For the math-impaired, that's 2.5 times around (just like on many real-life cars).
• Ultra-precise optical encoding: Basically, a sensor insures that any movement you make is immediately reflected in the game. Don't sneeze.
• Carpet grip system: The underneath of the pedals pad has retractable teeth to keep them from sliding around on carpeting or from gouging your hardwood floors. And the pedals themselves? They're steel, so sturdy and realistic.
  
• An 11-inch (28 cm) leather-wrapped wheel
• Six-speed shifter with push-down reverse gear
• Two sets of solid steel ball bearings support the wheel shaft for durability
• All three components can be bolted onto a table or other surface so they don't slide around.
  

On your marks!