High End Products for Simracer

 

FAQ

The writing on this page did not go under professional revision.
Please apologize for spelling and grammar mistakes.

 

Does the wheel works with the latest Logitech drivers?
Yes, the wheel works with the same drivers like the original Logitech wheel.

On which operating systems does the JL-G25 work?
In general the JL-G25 works with the same operating systems like the genuine Logitech G25 does.
However there is a limitation with the PS3 system. The PS3 does not recognize external USB controllers like the BU0386A and the SLI-M, used by the JL-G25. This means that you cannot use the buttons and paddle shifters on the PS3. But the genuine Logitech shifter and its buttons still work with the PS3.

Guarantee of the steering wheel?
Guarantee is 2 years on all parts made by JL Virtual Racing Hardware.
Parts taken out from the original Logitech G25 are not under guarantee from JL Virtual Racing Hardware. This are the two motors and the circuit board.
In case of a self innocent demage of Logitech parts you should try a warranty claim against Logitech for replacement. Usually they accept a claim when sending a part from the G25 wheel to them.

Are there spare parts available in case of breakage?
Each part made by JL Virtual Racing Hardware is available as spare part without delay.
The original parts from Logitech must be taken out from a Logitech G25 wheel, because Logitech does not provide a spare part service.

Is the JL-G25 compatible with all the driving games?
The JL-G25 wheel is compatible with the same games like the Logitech G25.

Does the steering wheel needs maintenance?
Generally not. May be after a long term of usage you have to retighten the gear belts.

I live in Italy, when I buy I have to pay customs?
Italy is member of the EU, so you don't have to pay customs, but I have to include the German VAT of 19% into the bill. Prices shown on my homepage are including VAT. 

Delivery charge to Italy will be in a range of 80,- Euros.

Shipping charge to NL
According to the UPS calculator (reference destination Amsterdam) it is about 60,- Euro. Including two parcels, the JL-G25 plus the genuine G25 with the pedals, the rest of the wheel and the accessories.

Delivery charge to Belgium According to the UPS calculator it is about 56,- Euros

Is there a dealer in Italy?
No, the JL-G25 is sold only direct from the manufacturer, that's me ;-).

Shippment costs USA:
So far I did not do any shipment to the US because the freight charge is according to the UPS calculator in a range of 230,- to 280,- Euro, depending on the city of destination.
The reason why I do not offer the JL-G25 to the overseas market is the at present bad exchange rate from US$ to Euro which makes the price almost unacceptable for those regions.

Can you advise which mounting type would suit best for our setups?
The JL-G25 has three mounting holes at the bottom and it can be easy fitted to a MDF plate or direct on the genuine multi holes plate of the e.g. VPP racing rig.

The wheel will come with a drilling template for the mounting holes. Further measurement details you will find here: http://www.jlvrh.de/Sketch_Wheel_UK.htm

You may have to do some adjustments for the mounting angle. The wheel itself also can be set to different angles. A description how to do that you can find here: http://www.jlvrh.de/design/JL-G25%20Montage%20und%20Bedanl_UK.pdf

Delivery time:
It is not my main profession to manufacture the JL-G25 wheel. I am a sim racer for many years and and for me as an engineer it was an interesting challenge to design a FFB wheel for the high end market. I have a good supplier chain for the components, but for assembling I am running a one man show in my free time. So my capacity is limited to one wheel in about 2-3 weeks, depending on how much business trips I have to do in my main profession and how many extra features a customer want to have on his wheel.
When I introduced the JL-G25 to the simracing community, it got more attention than I had expected. However I believe the market for this kind of wheel is very limited and it does not make sense in a long term, to start a serial production for such a product. As a result my order book is pretty full already. However it can happen that somebody is cancelling his advanced order. In that case you will get a note about your new delivery date.

Cancellation of order
There is no problem if you want to cancel your advanced order, but please drop me a note when you decide to do so. This will help me to update  the delivery schedule and prevents delays for customers after you on the waiting list.

When you make the purchase of the base G25 how much would the additional cost be?
When I purchase a G25 I search the I-net with a best price robot and order the G25 from the shop with lowest price and best reliability rating.

You change the steering wheel rotation from 900 to 576 degree by adjusting the internal setup of the wheel. iRacing is however designed to run optimal with 900 degree rotation, do you have experiences and insights on this?
There is no problem with iRacing. When calibrating the JL-G25 under iRacing, the software is detecting the 576° after you have turned the wheel by 90° to the left. As you get the same number of pulses for 576° steering angle as you get for 900° with the G25 you have a much better resolution.

Rotating speed of the wheel
The rotating speed is a bit slower than on the original G25 because of it's higher ratio. This does not have any effect as long as you always drive with your hands on the wheel, because the FFB forces are transmitted without any mechanical delay.
However if you prefer ralley simulations with drifting and expect a wheel fast turning to neutral as soon as you take off your hands from the wheel, you should look for another wheel.

question: can we connect the VPP pedals to the JL-G25?
For the two pedal version it is no problem, I only have to rewire the original G25 pedal input on the JL-G25 to the Bodnar BU0836A controller. That makes an additional charge of 20,- Euro net.
Unfortunate VPP did not link the clutch to the 9-pol Sub-D output terminal. So if you have the VPP with clutch I have to make an entire new internal wiring of the VPP's to link the clutch to the 9-pole Sub-D output as well. In that case you have to send the pedals to me. The additional charge for that is 80,- Euro net, so it comes up to a total of 100,- Euro net.

Shiftlight BU0710
Yes it is possible to assemble a shift light to your excisting wheel as an additional accessory. The only problem, I have to do the wiring of the entire steering wheel again because the cable on your wheel has 14 wires only but I would need a total of 16 wires for the display.
New JL-G25 wheels all will come with a 16 wire cable already.
The additional cost for the display is 142,- Euro net price and for making the new wiring on your wheel I am sorry to charge you with 50,- Euro net.
The display does not work on an USB hub, you have to use a direct USB input.

Quick release
The quick release is a custom design for a professional simulator company which provides their simulators on rental base. As you can see, this solution has two wheel buttons only which is enough for public users.
For private sim racers a good quick release is a very expensive solution and needs special design. E.g. the cost for the quick release is already about 215,- Euros and you easy can add another 300 to 400 Euros for the custom design. For this reason I do not offer the quick release on my homepage.

The ground wire
The JL-G25 has a high share of metallic parts, which makes the wheel sensitive against electrostatic discharge.
When you walk e.g. over a synthetic carpet and the humidity in the air is low, it can happen that you have a charge up to 15.000 volts on your body. When you now touch your wheel it can happen that the discharge over the wheel can destroy IC's on it's circuit board when you did not connect the ground wire like described above. That means you would have to buy a new Logitech G25 for repair.
I have met people already, who even destroyed their normal Logitech G25 this way.

I strongly recommend to connenct this wire for example to a screw of your computer housing that has a metallic, this means an electrically conducting connection to the chassis of your PC.

Can I buy the wheel as a kit for self assembling?
I decided not to sell the wheel as a kit. Almost 300 parts would have to be counted and packed, and a detailed manual must be written. Furthermore some professional equipment is necessary for assembling and I don't want to think about the trouble I would have with people who finally fail to assemble the wheel in a proper way.

Will there be an update available with the new Logitech G27?
Yes, my investigation of the G27 has confirmed, that the JL-wheel can be made as well with the G27 parts.

Latest update of this page: 21.10.2009