MOZA Racing is a fresh brand name in the sim racing space as it dove into the genre in September 2021. The company originated in the automotive industry as it focused on chassis technology, and in particular, full active suspension system. The enthusiasm towards automobiles and a dedication to superior quality is shown in its sim racing products. The company is growing in this market as it continues to gain support for games out of the box. Currently, MOZA wheels aresupported well on PCand it does have an officially-licensed XBOX wheel with the R3 Direct Drive, alhough PlayStation compatibility isn’t a thing as of 2024.
Quality Design
There are a growing number of popular streamers out there that have transitioned over to MOZA wheel setups. A majority of these streamers do race on PC with iRacing, F1, Assetto Corsa, EA WRC and more. The wheel that MOZA provided for review is the MOZA R5 and it was immediately clear there are a lot more dedicated buttons on this steering wheel than on other setups we have tested. The MOZA R5 Bundle provides an ES Steering Wheel, a 5.5Nm torque DD R5 wheel base and the SR-P Lite Pedals. The wheel is a direct drive wheel that supports quick release with no hassle. Simply line it up and insert or simply remove. It does not come loose during usage.
MOZA also included the Performance Brake Kit ($29.00) and the SR-P Lite Clutch Pedal ($42.90) even though a stick shifter wasn’t included. This is available separately for $149.99, along with other accessories including more steering wheels, a hand brake and even a digital dashboard that mounts to the top. There are good bit of accessories here to expand with, all with excellent quality. The steering wheel is microfiber leather wrapped and offers an aluminum alloy frame and front plate. This does not feel like a toy as its size in diameter is 11 inches and offers 22 buttons for usage. It does feature a LED rev light that does sometimes need to be configured into certain games. There are no dials, however, but having dedicated buttons for starting the engine, pitting and more is a huge bonus.
The SR-P Pedals and the base are superior quality and extremely responsive. The brake pedal without the Performance Kit offers no resistance, so it’s recommended to spend the extra $29 and slip that in. This does require a good bit of pressure, but it’s much more immersive. The length of the pedals allow the player put their entire foot on the accelerator, but the plate that hosts the ball of the foot is wide and provides confidence for placement. Cables run underneath the base with one coming out of the side to help keep things clean and structured. The additional clutch pedal is attached with four screws on the top of the base. This is built to take abuse.
The direct driver motor is heavy for its small size. Power button is on the rear along with the connectors. The bundle includes desktop mounting clips if the player doesn’t have a cockpit, otherwise it mounts with four bolts on the bottom. The motor clocks in at 5.5Nm of torque which puts it in the lower echelon of recent wheels that have released. To compare, the Fanatec GT DD clocks in at around the same but offers the booster up to 8Nm, but torque isn’t everything. MOZA also offers the R3 with Xbox Compatibility that clocks in at 3.9NM, which is still ahead of Logitech entry level wheels in that are close to the price range. Sim racing is evolving and it’s starting to prove that a higher amount of torque doesn’t guarantee more success.
How Does It Feel?
As mentioned, the pedals and pedal base are supremely sturdy, but don’t offer any type of cushioning or support. It strictly feels like a well-oiled machine. The leather-wrapped wheel is smooth with interior stitching, but more grip would have been a bonus. It’s almost worth recommending to use the MOZA R5 with racing gloves just to ensure grip. The driving experience is the shining moment, but this depends on the game. Force feedback tends to focus on providing resistance, but counter-steering is immediate and snappy. Even at 5.5Nm, this will break a wrist. Certain games provide every single aspect of possible vibration ranging from road surface to engine revs. The paddle shifter are also premium quality and provide a satisfying click. 22 buttons are also included and are solid enough, but having labeled CAM, Engine Start, Reverse, Pit, Wipers and more is nice. When the wheel is setup for success, the potential is peak immersion.
What Are The Caveats?
The noticeable issue is the compatibility across the board. This is highly recommended for advanced users in this state that like to tweak and adjust setups as a good bit of this will need to be done for the games. MOZA does not have any PlayStation compatibility, so Gran Turismo is out the window. The R3 is Xbox Compatible if looking to grow compatibility options, but the R5 is strictly for PC usage. MOZA offers its Pit House software for adjusting settings for the wheel bundle, but it does more. There’s also a phone app that allows adjustment on-the-fly. The Pit House software allows players to launch games directly hoping to load the proper configuration and this is hit and miss. Different FFB profiles can be selected for different games in this software as well. It’s highly advised to launch games when using a MOZA wheel through Pit House, which also allows for firmware updates directly.
Test Configuration
A mixed bag of games were tested with a mixed bag of results. Potential issues aren’t really due to MOZA, but rather the game. Starting withForza Motorsport 8, this was a nightmare that required a lot of work to get the game “functional” with the wheel. It does show as compatible, but the steering and force feedback never felt right. In fact, the force feedback had to be set as inverted to feel somewhat normal. Turning the car never felt correct with its behavior.
Since this version of Forza was purchased from the Microsoft Store, it won’t launch in Pit House and can’t be custom mapped for some reason. Steering never received any feedback until turning a good bit of degree in rotation. This isn’t an issue with the actual wheel, but rather the implementation into the game. No buttons can be mapped either for menu navigation. It also appears thatHorizon 4andHorizon 5require a good bit of configuring to get to work.
The MOZA R5 is seemingly designed forAssetto Corsa: Competizioneas the development team made sure this was plug and play out of the box. While a few buttons needed mapping, using the R5 with this game is the best way to experience it. The wheel picks up everything and when the car is under higher duress, the motor will test the durability of the cockpit. Engine revving, surface contact and bumping into other cars are immersive. Turning is realistic as the resistance of the direct drive motor is fantastic. Hitting peak speed on the backstraight at Silverstone unleashed a new noise and physical effect that made the driver knew they were truly pushing. This experience was fantastic and is a reason to consider the R5.
Review: Fanatec Gran Turismo DD Pro Racing Wheel
The Fanatec Gran Turismo DD Pro Racing Wheel offers everything you need out of the box and should be perfect for Gran Turismo 7.
Going away from a simulation,Wreckfestis listed as compatible, but it worked in a strange way. The way the game is designed, it feels like the R5 was constantly forced to center the wheel back at the top. Turning wouldn’t provide proper counter-steering as it always just wanted to reset the wheel to the center. While the resistance was heavy, the game just seemed to play different with the R5 in comparison to other wheel and a controller. Again, this comes down to the developers and while this is an older game, it is functional but not recommended forWreckfest.
The one game that the R5 truly reignited my interest wasEA WRC. After a rough launch on PC, the game is finally stable and runs fantastic. What wasn’t known is just how well a wheel could provide immersion over a separate, more expensive wheel. The counter-steering feedback when playingEA WRCis on another level. The force feedback is perfect, but this wheel provides a workout on longer stages. The one big issue is while it shows as compatible, forced feedback didn’t work. After scouring reddit, the only way the force feedback worked was turning the wheel on and off inside the game. No buttons were mapped either, so these had to be mapped and the force feedback set to the device driver of the wheel despite the name of the wheel popping up in the menu. The amount of improvement that came from using the R5 is on another level as the precise steering inputs and counter-steering made the R5 shine the most withEA WRC.
Closing Comments:
The MOZA R5 Direct Drive Wheel isn’t a wheel for everyone. The only game that was tested where it worked out of the box wasAssetto Corsa Competizione,so if that’s the dedicated game the players plays, then this wheel is highly recommended. The lack of compatibility will most likely be alleviated over time, as the amount of growth since the company’s inception is going up. MOZA offers three other wheel bundles with varying degrees of torque, but this 5.5Nm is more than enough. The Fanatec GT DD retails for $699 and while it offers more compatibility, if a player is only playing one game that is on the list on PC, this would be preferred. The Logitech G29 retails for $299 and doesn’t offer the immersion of this wheel, but it is more competitively priced and offers more compatibility. The MOZA R5 bundle launched at $599, but is currently $459 at theMOZA website. It really depends on what usage the player is going to have, but if experiencing one of the most dedicated sim racing games on PC, the R5 would be the preferred choice.
MOZA R5 Direct Drive Racing Wheel Bundle
The MOZA R5 Direct Drive wheel offers 5.5Nm of torque and is compatible with the PC platform. MOZA offers other accessories that are sold separately to expand the capabilities of the setup.
