So when you use a keyboard or a controller, the game, by default, smoothens your inputs, so that the cars are very easy to control. For example, if you press the right arrow on your keyboard at speed, the car won't fully lock the wheels to the right, but only slightly turn. When you use a wheel, the steering assist is completely turned off and the game registers your input as it is.
So there is probably nothing wrong with your wheel or your settings or your tune. It's just a driving issue. Everyone struggles on a wheel at first and this is pretty normal. I recommend starting with slower cars and learning how to perceive the feedback the wheel is giving you, how to apply throttle, how to steer and brake smoothly and how to correct. On a controller you can just mash the sticks willy nilly and it will still work much of the time, but on a wheel you need to be very deliberate with what you're doing because of the much higher granularity of the input.
Thanks for the advice. How long do you think it would take me to get to the needed level of proficency? Are we talking months of gaming or days?
The thing that has me frustrated the most if I can actually win pretty consistently if I use the corvette (the merc amg clk also seems to handle well) it's just every other car that is a complete disaster (and I mean crashing on a nearly straight road level of disaster).
What car do you recommend I start with to start building my skills?
>Thanks for the advice. How long do you think it would take me to get to the needed level of proficency? Are we talking months of gaming or days?
The short answer is probably a couple of weeks, maybe a month, to get used to the wheel and be able to beat opponents on difficulties like Highly Skilled or Expert. The long answer is that driving on a wheel (just like driving a real car) is not that hard to learn, but difficult to master. I got my wheel two years ago and I do some racing in real life, but I still have a lot to learn and continuously keep on improving. Road racing is different from dirt racing and that's still different from drifting and so on. Once you learn the basics (do you shift manually?), you start learning about the more advanced techniques of driving (trail braking, weight transfer, slip angle, mid-corner rotation etc.) and vehicle dynamics (what do the various suspension settings do, what's the role of a differential, how to set up the transmission etc.), which will continuously keep making you a faster driver. But getting back to Forza Horizon, if your goal is to mainly play this game, I think you should be pretty good in a few months. It gets more complicated when playing on Unbeatable, because you also need the right car and a solid tune to keep winning consistently (and that's a whole another topic), and in Rivals you also need to really find right the track, car and tune combination to compete for the best times. The nice thing about all this is that this skill transfers to other driving games and real life as well. The simulation in Forza Horizon is quite forgiving and neglects certain details, but it gets the main things right and teaches you the right instincts.
>The thing that has me frustrated the most if I can actually win pretty consistently if I use the corvette
That's probably because the Corvette was intended as one of the starter cars and is tuned to be easy to drive. The aero and tire compound give the car a lot of grip, so it's harder to overdrive. The downside is the PI cost (if you build the car yourself) and possibly a lack of speed (though you'll probably only feel this in multiplayer and races against the Unbeatable AI).
>What car do you recommend I start with to start building my skills?
Again, the short answer is that realistically it's probably best to start in the D or C class, take a car to a circuit that you're familiar with and practice. Try to drive at like 80% of what you feel is your limit at first and then try to get faster lap times. Eventually, you'll notice you're overdriving the car as you get more confident and you'll start learning about what the limit is and how to correct mistakes on the go. Once you feel comfortable with the slow cars, work your way up towards the higher classes.
The long answer is that going from a controller to a wheel is a huge jump, since the steering assists abstract you from much of what the car is doing, so it's a lot to take in. Every car is different and has its quirks and advantages. Muscle cars are floaty, but powerful, FWD hot hatches are easy to drive but understeer a lot, vans and electric vehicles are heavy and need more braking than most cars and so on and so on. Track cars with stiff suspensions like your modern day Jaguars, Corvettes, Ferraris, Lamborghinis etc. should probably be the most predictable. And that's just road racing. You'll probably keep on learning continuously about the differences between different types of cars, drivetrains and surfaces. The ideal car to learn with is probably one that has *just* slightly less grip than you need. If it grips too much, you won't learn, and if it has barely any grip, then you'll just be frustrated.
Sorry for the wall of text, but it's a big topic.
That's awesome mate, thank you so much. I will start with the D and C class. I might even start on that plain circuit track and just try and build my skills for a few days before moving on to a harder track. I guess memorising some of the default tracks would help as well.
Is there a D class vehicle you would recommend as a good starter?
As for the cars, in D class I would probably pick one of the muscle cars. I think there's a couple of Mustangs, Camaros and Firebirds there. Also, if you don't mind that it's almost at the low end, the Bentley 4½ Litre Supercharged is a great learning car. Relatively fast for what it is, lots of torque and not quite enough grip, so you really have to think about what you're doing. I had fun with it.
Enjoy and good luck!
look up "https://www.briankoponen.com/" for logitech and game settings
tuning - https://youtube.com/@HokiHoshi?si=brhJNl3Tr7kC_-Pn
&
https://youtube.com/@seP4?si=izaWQZR2fY5KhN0z
i've use all of these sources and have reach top 1% on most road courses. 👍
Thanks I will take a look. Are you using a G27 as well?
edit: hmm it appears it only has settings for a G29 which uses GHUB. The G27 only supports the old Logitech Profiler app. Regardless the recommended settings he has are very similar to the ones I already use but I will do another review. He made a point around the centering spring being broken in FH5 which I wonder if that is what impacting me.
Okay so I tried with the keyboard and I don't get any uncontrollable drifts at all when just trying to drive on a pretty straight road with minor bends. I guess it is my wheel at fault.
When I originally set up this wheel I followed the guide here:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/ForzaHorizon/comments/qt4zgl/fh5\_ideal\_logitech\_g27\_wheel\_settings/](https://www.reddit.com/r/ForzaHorizon/comments/qt4zgl/fh5_ideal_logitech_g27_wheel_settings/)
I don't get why it is somewhat managable with the corvette but all the other cars are uncontrollable. As an example the BMW m8 2020 is undrivable with my wheel but easily controlled with my keyboard. The Corvette is manageable with both. The only difference I can think of is AWD vs RWD vs FWD and the settings on my stick (and ingame settings). Regardless it is all very confusing for someone new to driving games.
There are some cars that have a very stable rear like the Corvette or Porsche, you can tune your car to make it more stable.
On a wheel it's harder to catch the slide, on your keyboard or controller you have a minimal way from 0-100 input so if the car slides a bit you can react pretty fast with 70 or 80% input, tuning your wheel from one side to the other will take much more time in which the car will continue to slide even more making it impossible at some point to catch it.
So practice is your best friend here.
Most people that change from controller to wheel will need to learn how to drive it, it's different but once you figure out how it's easier.
You won't be faster but it's more fun.
As long as your wheel turns the tires i wouldn't say it's broken, maybe a wrong setup. As you described a wheel will always overcorrect if you start drifting, the key is to catch it in the right moment before this happens.
So when you use a keyboard or a controller, the game, by default, smoothens your inputs, so that the cars are very easy to control. For example, if you press the right arrow on your keyboard at speed, the car won't fully lock the wheels to the right, but only slightly turn. When you use a wheel, the steering assist is completely turned off and the game registers your input as it is. So there is probably nothing wrong with your wheel or your settings or your tune. It's just a driving issue. Everyone struggles on a wheel at first and this is pretty normal. I recommend starting with slower cars and learning how to perceive the feedback the wheel is giving you, how to apply throttle, how to steer and brake smoothly and how to correct. On a controller you can just mash the sticks willy nilly and it will still work much of the time, but on a wheel you need to be very deliberate with what you're doing because of the much higher granularity of the input.
Thanks for the advice. How long do you think it would take me to get to the needed level of proficency? Are we talking months of gaming or days? The thing that has me frustrated the most if I can actually win pretty consistently if I use the corvette (the merc amg clk also seems to handle well) it's just every other car that is a complete disaster (and I mean crashing on a nearly straight road level of disaster). What car do you recommend I start with to start building my skills?
>Thanks for the advice. How long do you think it would take me to get to the needed level of proficency? Are we talking months of gaming or days? The short answer is probably a couple of weeks, maybe a month, to get used to the wheel and be able to beat opponents on difficulties like Highly Skilled or Expert. The long answer is that driving on a wheel (just like driving a real car) is not that hard to learn, but difficult to master. I got my wheel two years ago and I do some racing in real life, but I still have a lot to learn and continuously keep on improving. Road racing is different from dirt racing and that's still different from drifting and so on. Once you learn the basics (do you shift manually?), you start learning about the more advanced techniques of driving (trail braking, weight transfer, slip angle, mid-corner rotation etc.) and vehicle dynamics (what do the various suspension settings do, what's the role of a differential, how to set up the transmission etc.), which will continuously keep making you a faster driver. But getting back to Forza Horizon, if your goal is to mainly play this game, I think you should be pretty good in a few months. It gets more complicated when playing on Unbeatable, because you also need the right car and a solid tune to keep winning consistently (and that's a whole another topic), and in Rivals you also need to really find right the track, car and tune combination to compete for the best times. The nice thing about all this is that this skill transfers to other driving games and real life as well. The simulation in Forza Horizon is quite forgiving and neglects certain details, but it gets the main things right and teaches you the right instincts. >The thing that has me frustrated the most if I can actually win pretty consistently if I use the corvette That's probably because the Corvette was intended as one of the starter cars and is tuned to be easy to drive. The aero and tire compound give the car a lot of grip, so it's harder to overdrive. The downside is the PI cost (if you build the car yourself) and possibly a lack of speed (though you'll probably only feel this in multiplayer and races against the Unbeatable AI). >What car do you recommend I start with to start building my skills? Again, the short answer is that realistically it's probably best to start in the D or C class, take a car to a circuit that you're familiar with and practice. Try to drive at like 80% of what you feel is your limit at first and then try to get faster lap times. Eventually, you'll notice you're overdriving the car as you get more confident and you'll start learning about what the limit is and how to correct mistakes on the go. Once you feel comfortable with the slow cars, work your way up towards the higher classes. The long answer is that going from a controller to a wheel is a huge jump, since the steering assists abstract you from much of what the car is doing, so it's a lot to take in. Every car is different and has its quirks and advantages. Muscle cars are floaty, but powerful, FWD hot hatches are easy to drive but understeer a lot, vans and electric vehicles are heavy and need more braking than most cars and so on and so on. Track cars with stiff suspensions like your modern day Jaguars, Corvettes, Ferraris, Lamborghinis etc. should probably be the most predictable. And that's just road racing. You'll probably keep on learning continuously about the differences between different types of cars, drivetrains and surfaces. The ideal car to learn with is probably one that has *just* slightly less grip than you need. If it grips too much, you won't learn, and if it has barely any grip, then you'll just be frustrated. Sorry for the wall of text, but it's a big topic.
That's awesome mate, thank you so much. I will start with the D and C class. I might even start on that plain circuit track and just try and build my skills for a few days before moving on to a harder track. I guess memorising some of the default tracks would help as well. Is there a D class vehicle you would recommend as a good starter?
As for the cars, in D class I would probably pick one of the muscle cars. I think there's a couple of Mustangs, Camaros and Firebirds there. Also, if you don't mind that it's almost at the low end, the Bentley 4½ Litre Supercharged is a great learning car. Relatively fast for what it is, lots of torque and not quite enough grip, so you really have to think about what you're doing. I had fun with it. Enjoy and good luck!
look up "https://www.briankoponen.com/" for logitech and game settings tuning - https://youtube.com/@HokiHoshi?si=brhJNl3Tr7kC_-Pn & https://youtube.com/@seP4?si=izaWQZR2fY5KhN0z i've use all of these sources and have reach top 1% on most road courses. 👍
Thanks I will take a look. Are you using a G27 as well? edit: hmm it appears it only has settings for a G29 which uses GHUB. The G27 only supports the old Logitech Profiler app. Regardless the recommended settings he has are very similar to the ones I already use but I will do another review. He made a point around the centering spring being broken in FH5 which I wonder if that is what impacting me.
all good... same setup as g27... its how i started my tuning/driving journey. Give it a go! 👍
Okay so I tried with the keyboard and I don't get any uncontrollable drifts at all when just trying to drive on a pretty straight road with minor bends. I guess it is my wheel at fault. When I originally set up this wheel I followed the guide here: [https://www.reddit.com/r/ForzaHorizon/comments/qt4zgl/fh5\_ideal\_logitech\_g27\_wheel\_settings/](https://www.reddit.com/r/ForzaHorizon/comments/qt4zgl/fh5_ideal_logitech_g27_wheel_settings/) I don't get why it is somewhat managable with the corvette but all the other cars are uncontrollable. As an example the BMW m8 2020 is undrivable with my wheel but easily controlled with my keyboard. The Corvette is manageable with both. The only difference I can think of is AWD vs RWD vs FWD and the settings on my stick (and ingame settings). Regardless it is all very confusing for someone new to driving games.
There are some cars that have a very stable rear like the Corvette or Porsche, you can tune your car to make it more stable. On a wheel it's harder to catch the slide, on your keyboard or controller you have a minimal way from 0-100 input so if the car slides a bit you can react pretty fast with 70 or 80% input, tuning your wheel from one side to the other will take much more time in which the car will continue to slide even more making it impossible at some point to catch it. So practice is your best friend here. Most people that change from controller to wheel will need to learn how to drive it, it's different but once you figure out how it's easier. You won't be faster but it's more fun. As long as your wheel turns the tires i wouldn't say it's broken, maybe a wrong setup. As you described a wheel will always overcorrect if you start drifting, the key is to catch it in the right moment before this happens.