Moza Racing has pulled off a masterstroke by unveiling two new products for its Simracing ecosystem. The Moza Racing R9 Direct Drive and the Moza GS Steering Wheel. Admittedly, the brand doesn’t (yet) have the scale or notoriety of a Fanatec , but this new Direct Drive base could make some noise in the simracing community!
Let’s find out the details of this announcement together. Then let’s analyze whether or not the Moza Racing R9 Direct Drive is a credible challenger to the Fanatec CSL DD and Simagic Alpha Mini.
Focus on the Moza GS Steering Wheel
And we’re off to a flying start (sorry for the pun) with the Moza GS Steering Wheel. The latest Formula-type wheel in the Moza ecosystem.
- Base compatibility: Moza Racing bases
- Console compatibility: PC
- Vibration: No
- Wheel diameter: 30cm
- Materials: Carbon fiber, Italian Alcantara
- Paddles: 2 carbon-fiber magnetic paddles with photoelectric sensors, 2 magnetic clutches
- Customizable buttons: 10 backlit buttons, 2 rotary thumb switches (clickable), 2 joysticks, 5 12-position rotary encoders
- Lap counter: 10 central LEDs with 7 color settings
- Display: No
- Connections: D1 Spec Quick Release
- Weight: NC
I particularly appreciate the choice of materials. There’s no unsightly plastic here, just carbon fiber molding and Italian Alcantara grips. For those of you who’ve never had an Alcantara steering wheel before, a word of warning: wear gloves! It’s a must if you don’t want to wear out your grips very quickly.
The design is very successful, and to push the screw you can configure the color of the backlit buttons. An option usually found on top-of-the-range models.
As usual with Moza, the wheel is connected to the base without wires or plugs. Electricity and information pass through the Quick Release and its 3 contact strips.
Naturally, I’ll be rushing to order and test the Moza GS Steering Wheel, so I’ll be able to give you a proper review as soon as possible 😉 In the meantime, you can find this wheel on the Moza Racing website by following this link.
Discover the Moza Racing R9 Direct Drive baseplate
Now for the main course. Moza’s new Direct Drive!
- Compatibility: PC
- Dimensions: 24 x 15.7 x 12.4 cm
- Motor: Direct Drive
- Power: 9Nm
- Turning range: Infinite
- Connections: 1 power supply, 1 data output, 1 Kill switch, 1 USB output to PC, 1 output to dashboard
- Wheel attachment: Quick Release
Sound familiar? We’re right in the brand-new category of consumer Direct Drives. The Moza Racing R9 ranks alongside the Fanatec CSL DD and Simagic Alpha Mini in terms of both power and price.
With its aluminum shell, it doesn ‘t need a fan (so there’s no noise on that side). And there are no wires or connections between the steering wheel and the base. The Moza Racing R9 also features a smartphone app . Thanks to the app, you can adjust your force feedback settings without having to go back into the menus during a game.
| Caractéristique | Fanatec CSL DD | Moza Racing R9 | Simagic Alpha Mini |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compatibilité | PC, Xbox (et PS pour le GT DD Pro) | PC | PC |
| Dimensions | 16 x 16 x 14,5cm | 24 x 15,7 x 12,4cm | 11 x 11 x 16,67cm |
| Moteur | Direct Drive | Direct Drive | Direct Drive |
| Ventilateur | Non | Non | Non |
| Puissance | 5 à 8Nm selon l'option choisie | 9Nm | 10Nm |
| Prix | à partir de 199,95€ avec les Bundles Ready2Race | 459€ | 620€ |
My opinion
As you can see from the comparison table, the Moza Racing R9 Direct Drive is very close to the CSL DD. Compared with the Simagic, it has a slight price advantage. But when it comes to brand ecosystems, Fanatec is the clear winner. Their ecosystem is just incredible, and suits all budgets.
This is perhaps the only thing we can still expect from Moza. Bring out pedalboards and steering wheels for “small” budgets in the near future. This would be a great opportunity for them to make a name for themselves in the cockpits of the general public!
Of course, you know me, I don’t intend to leave it at that with Moza. The order is placed and I’ll be bringing you a full test of the R9 as soon as possible 🙂
