First Impressions on the Thrustmaster T248
This is the Thrustmaster T248 - Thrustmaster's brand new entry-level wheel, designed for next-gen Playstation consoles (and PC) and set to compete directly against the Logitech G923. Today I’ll be unboxing and giving my first impressions on this wheel and make sure to stay tuned for the review which will be coming out in the next few weeks.
The Thrustmaster T248 is set to be released later this year on October 21st, 2021, and will retail for $400. Thrustmaster was kind enough to provide me with this unit for content creation purposes, which is why I have it ahead of time. Find out more information on Thrustmaster’s official website. Anyway, let's get started.
Unboxing
Taking a look around the box, it looks as you would expect. Some graphics showcase the wheel and pedal set, and a few of the wheel's features are emphasized. Opening it up, everything comes tightly packed together. The first thing I noticed was a triangular package with a bunch of stuff inside which we’ll be taking a look at in a few seconds. Next, the wheel itself which immediately surprised me since it was a whole lot lighter than I was expecting. It certainly looks heavier than it is. Finally, the pedal set is hidden at the bottom, and it too was a little lighter than I thought it was going to be. But now, let's take a more in-depth look at everything.
A video unboxing can be found at the bottom of this blog!
Let's start with the triangular package. The first thing that comes inside it is Thrustmaster's good ol’ table clamp which is the same one they’ve been using for what seems like decades now. I’ve used this table clamp with a few other of their products in the past and it does a fine job maintaining the wheel in place so I’m not too worried about it. Next up we have the USB-C to USB cable. This is what will connect the wheel to your Playstation or PC. An optional spring to increase the resistance of the brake pedal is also included. This will allow you to fine-tune the feel of the brake pedal to your liking. A 2.5mm allen key is included. With this, you’ll be able to adjust the position of the pedals face plate side to side. Of course, the user manual which I am totally making sure to read, and finally a little white box which contains the small power supply and its corresponding cables. Now let's move to what y’all really came here to see.
First Impressions
My honest first impressions are that the pedals have a lot more plastic than I thought they would. Based on the fact that they look very similar to the T-LCM's, I was expecting them to feature a lot of the same components with the exception of the load cell of course. However, other than their appearance, they're not that similar. The pedal's body is mainly composed of stiff black plastic with some texture on the footrest and a hexagonal pattern on the pedal arm. Pushing them down with my hand, they felt as I would expect. Like I said earlier, I’ll be releasing a far more in-depth review on this product in a few days where I’ll be talking a lot more about these pedals and their in-game performance. However, the brake pedal seemed to have a good amount of resistance, the throttle had none, and the clutch felt like it had a small amount which was nice to see. Underneath the pedal set, you can see the cable which connects directly to the wheelbase itself and a few holes for hard mounting this pedal set onto a cockpit or wheel stand. Unfortunately, this T3PM pedal set has no carpet spikes which was surprising since many will probably be using it on a carpeted floor.
Now, of course, it's time for the main event, the T248 wheel itself. Upon its original announcement, I did not like how this wheel looked. But in person, it looks surprisingly good. In terms of its diameter, it's exactly the same as the Logitech wheels for reference. Something that I’m not a big fan of is how they went about creating the rim of the wheel. The outside portion of the wheel rim, the part that your palm rests on, is covered in soft leather. However, the inside of the wheel rim, the part where your fingers rest, is made from hard plastic. So not only does this take away from the look of the wheel, but it also makes it feel a lot cheaper for seemingly no reason other than to maybe save a few bucks in material cost. The ergonomics of the wheel however are great. My hands rest in a comfortable position and I can reach all the buttons with ease. 25 action buttons are included on this wheel including 2 dual-position encoders. They don’t feel necessarily special to press down, but having this amount of buttons will give you near-infinite adjustability and control of your car in-game. Now I recognize that this kind of turning more into a review than a first-impressions video, so I’ll refrain from talking about the paddle shifters, in-game performance, feel, and other things here.
To wrap up my first impressions, I’ll say this:
The T248 and included T3PM pedals have pleasantly surprised me in many aspects that I was not expecting, but also slightly let me down in others where I was expecting the opposite.
And I’ll be talking a lot more about this in my review coming soon. Now the absolute biggest aspect of this wheel and pedal set, its force feedback, and in-game performance, are still things I have not tested out as of the writing of this and that's what will ultimately make or break this product. So stay tuned, for what will probably be the most anticipated review I’ve made thus far.
