The last time I had any joy from using a racing wheel was when I was cheating in a NASCAR tournament sponsored by Interact at one of my many Electronic Entertainment Expos. Back in those days, it was more about grip and pedal feel with a racing hardware design, and making it compatible with everything. Precision and prestige in bringing a real-world racing experience need not apply. By the way, I did almost win that tournament. Could have gone back to Kentucky with a Jet Ski. Man, that would have been oh-so ‘useful’ in one of the most land-locked Midwest states.
Anyway, that was my last experience with a wheel and pedal, not counting my brief run-in with the G-series from Logitech a decade or so ago. But from afar, I have respected the video game wheel/pedal game. Doubly so when COVID hit the world and NASCAR found an inventive way to keep its drivers fresh without an actual track and its fans entertained via iRacing. That terrible time renewed my interest in the driving wheel/pedal video game industry, and I must tell you, after reviewing the VelocityOne™ Race KD3 Racing Wheel & Pedals from Turtle Beach over the last three weeks, I don’t see this interest waning anytime soon.
Let’s get right into it.
Design
The design for Turtle Beach’s VelocityOne™ Race KD3 Racing Wheel & Pedals is fascinating. It takes the concept of a complicated racing feel and somehow meshes it together with simplicity in design. What comes out of that is an HCI-friendly setup that takes about 10-20 minutes to get going, and then players will be off to the races. That’s incredibly impressive considering how the duo functions.
Right out of the box, the VelocityOne™ Race KD3 Racing Wheel & Pedals comes in 3-4 pieces, if you consider the vice grip a piece, and gives simple instructions on how to get the sucker together. The vice grip might be the worst part of the bunch, as you must find a sturdy, small-lipped table to hook that to that won’t anger your roommates or partner. Once you attach that piece to the table of your choice, that won’t anger your roommates or partner, the fun parts come into play.
The rest of the device comes in three pieces: a solid wheel that has a nice grip and weight to it, a sturdy pedal set featuring giant springs for resistance that sports a simple USB-C output, and the motor that talks to each of the first two pieces and brings the noise, as well as customization to the table. The last piece is super weighty, and it slides right into the vice grip plate securely to ensure consistent sturdiness in times of driving crisis.
What you get with the VelocityOne™ Race KD3 Racing Wheel & Pedals design is comfortable, stylish, and it feels like you’re using an actual racing wheel from a supercar. You’ll realize this when you attach that wheel onto the motor the first time and you hear a definitive and secure ‘click’. Feeling that wheel, gripping it like a real race car driver, and going out onto the track for the first time with this sucker is like no other racing experience. It’s pure, it’s nice, and it will get you in the mood to race the hell out of whatever car game you choose. Well, sort of choose. We’ll come back to that.
Once the wheel is secure, using a USB-C input from the pedals to connect directly to the motor is simple. It’s a straightforward 1-to-1 connection with the ability to attach additional parts and pieces to make the build as complex as you see fit. VelocityOne has a bevy of different parts you can add to this, so the USB-C expansion gives a hint at how complicated that can get. Anyway, once connected, the trio of important pieces is ready to go, and racing can begin.
Now, before we get to the functionality part of the VelocityOne™ Race KD3 Racing Wheel & Pedals, let’s chat about the first of my two issues with this release. The first is a minor issue, as you will likely want to add some extra grip to the pedals to ensure they are securely in place during racing. Without that grip, the pedals do tend to slide a bit depending on the surface players put them on. For my review time, I used a wooden floor, and that required a bit ‘extra’ to get them to stop moving. While the pads on the bottom of the pedals did help prevent a terrible slide, their grip wasn’t as secure as I had hoped, and I found myself being far more gingerly with them to avoid movement. There was some slippage, which was rectified by some gluey, clear peel I put on the feet. That clear peel helped with gripping the floor more securely, though truth be told, my wife was not happy about something extra sticky on our floor. This wasn’t a huge deal, but before the new clear peel, there was some unnecessary movement in intense racing moments.
Overall, the design was top-notch beyond this single complaint. I had never felt closer to real racing than I did with the VelocityOne™ Race KD3 Racing Wheel & Pedals. It was simple to put together and felt like a million bucks. I can see this being used in a future, bigger rig in my household or work. Probably the latter (see roommates and partners for details).
Functionality
Once hooked up to the PC, the VelocityOne™ Race KD3 Racing Wheel & Pedals came alive. Led by the motor piece, which weighs roughly 4-5lbs on its own, it brought several options to the table. Those options included creating and saving profiles, as I’m sure racing fans have different racing forms across several racing games, control mapping, and force feedback settings. I cannot say enough about the latter, so let’s jump right into that first.
Outside of the feel and design of the wheel and pedals, you should want this wheel for its amazing force feedback management. I downloaded the latest F1 game on the PC (via EA’s controlling app) and tried this hardware out on it first. What I found with the VelocityOne™ Race KD3 Racing Wheel & Pedals is that it delivers the feel of every single bump on the road that it can detect. For example, when I was gunning it down a straight way and into a curve, I could feel the bumps with every gear change. I could feel the resistance of the car through the wheel, and its calculations between speed and turning the wheel, and I could also feel the rumble of the roadway. Combined, it felt like I was driving, even to the point where my wrists started to become a tiny bit fatigued. But this meant that the device was delivering what it promised, which was an accurate racing experience that didn’t hold back with how difficult the F1 world could be.
It was something to behold.
The entire base package of wheels and pedals was so gorgeously done and delivered that it would be a cold day in hell before I could return to a controller with racing games like F1. That game’s use of the flippers in the back, the multiple profile customizations that I could program into the duo, and how that all translated to a rich gaming experience is truly second to none. It’s the only way to race in the gaming world.
Software and compatibility
The software for VelocityOne™ Race KD3 Racing Wheel & Pedals is probably one of the easiest ones to use in the TB family. Having gone through ups and downs with their software connected to their controllers, I was half-dreading how this experience would go. Thankfully, the software is as easy as the design of the hardware.
Running on the VelocityOne companion App, the software will allow you to adjust the hardware and create profiles to your liking. The software does a great job of testing out the hardware, as well as precisely tuning it to your liking. It’s a clean piece of software that doesn’t take much thought to use, and it leaves most of the brain games with how you want to adjust the VelocityOne™ Race KD3 Racing Wheel & Pedals. In short, I’m incredibly impressed with the simplicity and HCI-friendliness of the companion app. In addition, the software spans mobile, console, and PC devices, which means you have a solution for whatever platform you choose.
Now, about compatibility…
Well, it’s a restricted game compatibility piece of hardware. Restrictive in the sense that you have a finite number of games this works with on a finite number of platforms. Xbox and PC rule the roost with this release, so don’t expect to hook this up to your PlayStation 5 anytime soon and play Gran Turismo. It doesn’t work that way at all. Sad, I know, but I’m sure there were some software agreements, as well as licensing, when this thing was developed. God, it would have been great, though.
Anyway.
The software list is finite, but it does stretch across various driving experiences (GRIP, F1, NASCAR, etc.), so more than likely, you’ll have at the very least one of the games on this list. Please note my incredible disappointment that the Bus Simulator series was not on this list. How could it not be??? Thankfully, the Esports phenomenon in Europe did make it to the list, Farming Simulator 2022, which I didn’t get to review for this wheel, but plan to sit down over the December break and drown in it. Crops will never be harvested so accurately. I cannot wait.
In all seriousness, I do wish this were compatible with more games and more platforms. I feel like the GT7 experience could be amazing on this wheel, especially mixed with the PSVR2. Maybe it will be compatible sometime down the road, but right now it isn’t. Make it happen, Turtle Beach!
Overall, the software is easy to use, but I do wish there were a bit more video game software for it to work with. At least give me some Bus Simulator. Come on!
On that desperate note, let’s wrap up this review.
Conclusion
The VelocityOne™ Race KD3 Racing Wheel & Pedals from Turtle Beach is a racing hardware marvel to behold. It sports phenomenal design, comfortable driving, a deep customizable experience, and makes racing so much better than on a controller. The software is darn good as well, but that video game compatibility list needs to grow some.
