VPG Sim Stealth Steering Wheel
VPG Sim originated from passion and love for motorsport and sim racing. Based in the UK, the company is run by Mike and Manny, a small team passionate about high quality technology and innovation. After successfully designing and creating custom steering wheels for their esports team, they decided the time was right to ‘shift up a gear’ and thus created their first steering wheel of their own; the elemento. VPG Sim is now known for a range of high-end steering wheels for us sim racers. There is the Elemento Pro, the V-PF1, the V-RSPG and now their latest development; the Stealth! We’ve had a good relationship with VPG Sim for a while and because of that we were asked to review the new Stealth steering wheel. Of course we are very happy to do that!
The VPG Sim Stealth steering wheel is a high-end steering wheel which at the time of writing is available through the VPG Sim web store for £1199.00 (approximately €1370.00), excluding shipping costs and excluding VAT if purchased outside the UK. Through the order page of the VPG Sim Stealth steering wheel, custom options are also available for the 6 push buttons on the steering wheel. There is also a distributor available for the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the United States, although at the time of writing the Stealth steering wheel is not yet available from these distributors.
Packaging & Contents
Our package was sent to us via UPS and was neatly delivered within 3 working days. A high-end steering wheel should be packaged high-end as well, according to VPG Sim. Well, we can confirm that after opening the brown cardboard shipping box which we received from the UPS delivery person. In this brown outer box we find a beautiful black plastic case with black picking foam containing the VPG Sim Stealth steering wheel and accessories. We have already seen quite a lot of packaging, but we think this case is a huge plus. Incidentally, VPG Sim not only believes that a high-end steering wheel deserves a high-end packaging, it is also an extremely good protection and because of this they are almost certain that the steering wheel will arrive at the customer in pristine condition.
VPG Sim Stealth Steering Wheel
The VPG Sim Stealth steering wheel is, with the correct quick-release or adapter, suitable for the available wheelbases from Simucube, Fanatec, VRS, Simagic, Accuforce et cetera. The steering wheel has a diameter of 290mm, the basis of which consists of an aluminum housing at the front and back with a CNC-milled 5mm thick forged carbon plate in between. Inside the housing are custom electronics that are specially made for this steering wheel. These electronics control the stealth lighting system, consisting of 37 individually controlled RGB LEDs and the illuminated buttons. The steering wheel is therefore fully SimHub compatible. The grips on the steering wheel are made of injected rubber and are approximately 33mm thick.
At the back of the steering wheel you will find a carbon hub with aluminum spacers, these are suitable for a quick-release with a 50mm or 70mm bolt pattern. Beneath the hub is an industrial grade M12 connector for a reliable connection between the steering wheel and PC. We also find the switch units consisting of two parts at the back. The lower unit consists of the shift paddles and a switchless double-clutch system, the upper units are so-called third paddles which are suitable for various purposes. Both shift units are fully aluminum and equipped with forged carbon paddles. The bite point of the double-clutch system can be adjusted without any third-party software and can even be adjusted while already in your favorite racing game.
At the front of the steering wheel you will find three rotary encoders from the brand Elma in the middle. These encoders each contain four individually controlled RGD LEDs. Above the encoders are nine rpm LEDs which are covered by a tempered glass plate. Below the encoders is a multi-switch that functions as a joystick and as a push button. On either side are three red illuminated APEM buttons with two sets (twelve in total) of UV printed caps with the most common functions. In addition to these buttons, there are two slots in the housing with the Stealth lighting system by means of RGB LEDs. Both the buttons and the LEDs are telemetry controlled. There are also two red-illuminated APEM buttons and two Elma rotary encoders on both sides at the height of your thumb.
Assembly & Use
We are going to use the steering wheel on our Fanatec wheelbase and for this we mount a Fanatec Podium Hub on the VPG Sim Stealth steering wheel. To do this, you must first remove the carbon hub from the steering wheel, which you can then mount on the Podium Hub (or other quick-release), with the supplied nylon gasket in between, and then screw the whole thing back onto the steering wheel. Unfortunately, no mounting hardware was supplied with the steering wheel and we had to look for M5 bolts ourselves. Because the mounting holes in the hub are 6mm, there are plastic bushings that came with the steering wheel so that you can use 5mm bolts.
To make optimal use of the steering wheel, VPG Sim recommends using a powered 2.0 or 3.0 USB hub. We have already mounted this hub on our TREQ One simrig near our wheelbase. It is helpful to first wrap the USB cable from the steering wheel around the quick-release of the Podium Hub and then connect the cable to the USB hub, this will prevent loose cables from getting in your way while driving. However, the supplied cable is a bit on the stiff side, this complicates the method mentioned above and you have to shape the cable around the quick-release a bit.
Before we can start racing, we first need to add the steering wheel in SimHub so that all functionalities on the steering wheel will work. We already have the latest version SimHub installed, so we just need to add the VPG Sim Stealth steering wheel in SimHub and we are ready to go. You also do not have to create (telemetry controlled) LED profiles in SimHub, these are fully supported. Nice and easy!
We like to drive virtual GT3 cars in Assetto Corsa Competizione, the Stealth steering wheel is ideal for this. We will therefore only use Assetto Corsa Competizione for this review. The use in other software such as iRacing, Assetto Corsa and rFactor 2 is no different. After starting up Assetto Corsa Competizione, we need to assign the buttons and encoders on the steering wheel to the correct in-game functionalities and we’re ready to race!
Our first impression is the comfort that this steering wheel offers, but we also add that the comfort is optimal especially without gloves on. The steering wheel feels wonderful and has a good grip. Even during long sessions, the handles do not become sticky and remain comfortable to the touch. If you drive with gloves on, the steering wheel will slide more through your hands, even when using gloves with a good grip. The APEM pushbuttons are always a good choice, this time as well. They have a nice click and respond well without having to press the button hard. The Elma rotary encoders are well placed, easily accessible and have a clear tactile click when rotating. The color of the LEDs of the rotary encoders can be adjusted in SimHub, the buttons are not adjustable and have a fixed red LED color.
Now not having a display is not necessarily a loss, certainly not with a Sim Dash or Porsche Display mounted on your rig, but nowadays it is more standard than luxury in this price category. We would therefore have liked to see the steering wheel equipped with a display, especially since the price difference with the other VPG Sim steering wheels is so small and many other cheaper steering wheels do have it. It is nice that there is a choice for steering wheels without a screen, but the price difference compared to the Elemento Pro or the V-RSPG from VPG Sim is, in our opinion, too small for that.
The shift modules, extra paddles and double-clutch are very solidly built and of very good quality. The shift modules and extra paddles have very good feedback and you feel and hear a pleasant click when shifting. The travel and reach of these paddles is common and fine for us, however they are not adjustable. You can only adjust these paddles in width, which is more than sufficient for us, but for a high-end steering wheel it could certainly have been a bit more extensive. The double-clutch system is equipped with an adjustment screw, with which you can adjust the travel of both clutch paddles. These paddles are also adjustable in width. Setting the bite point or (re)calibrating the double-clutch system can in most cases be done in-game, depending on which sim you use. If you drive in a sim where this is not possible in-game, you can do this visually via the LEDs on the steering wheel. This is explained exactly in the supplied manual. By pressing the multi-switch for 5 seconds you enter configuration mode and you can adjust the settings mentioned. This is very easy to do both in-game and visually via the LEDs.
We tested the VPG Sim Stealth on our Fanatec DD Pro wheelbase (8Nm) and on the Fanatec DD2. Despite the fact that the steering wheel is quite heavy, it comes into its own quite well on the Fanatec DD Pro wheelbase. Both the power, the feedback and the details come through reasonably well. However, more feedback and details are noticeable on the Fanatec DD2, which is why a heavier wheelbase is recommended for this steering wheel.
Conclusion
The VPG Sim Stealth is a steering wheel with a daring design, which is very successful in our opinion. The steering wheel is comfortable to hold and both the buttons and the encoders are easy to operate and of high quality. The LEDs of the rotary encoders are customizable in SimHub. The LEDs in the buttons cannot be adjusted in color, but that is not necessarily a loss. The Stealth lighting system is nicely done, very atmospheric and fully telemetry controlled while driving. You can configure various telemetry data in SimHub that the Stealth lighting system can display, such as the colors of the flags, your spotter and pit limiter. When driving with gloves, the grips are a bit slippery and slip through your hands more than when you’re riding without gloves. The switching modules and double-clutch are of very good quality and give very good feedback.
The lack of a display is not necessarily a loss on the Stealth, but more of a standard than a luxury in this price category these days. We think the elephant in the room is the price tag of the steering wheel. With a price of £ 1199.00 (approximately € 1370.00) excluding VAT and shipping costs, it is not a cheap one. You do get a high-end steering wheel of very good quality in return, but we find it very difficult to justify this price. For a very small increase in price you can already purchase an Elemento Pro or the V-RSPG in the VPG Sim web shop, which do have a display on the steering wheel.
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