Type – Racing Wheel Manufacturer – Pelican MSRP - $34.99 Platform – Xbox
Third party peripherals can be hit or miss. As mentioned dozens of times in these GWX Gaming Gear features, the word “unlicensed” is generally synonymous with “rubbish”. We’ve seen poorly calibrated controllers with horrible ergonomic esthetics and cheap plastic garbage that feels as though it’ll crack in your hands. On the other hand, from time to time we get quality, well-made products that rival their first-party counterparts. Pelican’s Cobra TT Racing Wheel falls somewhere in the middle, having a handful of strengths, but enough weaknesses to make us hesitant to recommend.
The good news is that the unit comes with both steering wheel, foot pedals, and lap adapter for a very reasonable price. The wheel itself is sturdy and durable, and thankfully Pelican coated the wheel with a rubber substance, ensuring that your hands won’t slip off on those tight corners. The button placement is a bit suspect, however. While we understand the missing analog sticks (most steering wheels cut them out), the black and white buttons are missing, having been replaced by an additional R and L button, and the D-pad, which has been split up into four separate buttons, feels more like the PSone than the Xbox. Granted, you won’t be using the D-pad too often while playing a racing game, but the solution they’ve come up with here feels cheap. Also, the aforementioned R and L buttons feel “clicky” instead of the springiness of the Xbox Controllers. Again, these features are almost inconsequential for the wheel’s intended purpose, but they are differences that must be noted.
What is of consequence is how the wheel operates. Unfortunately, it’s hit or miss. The sensitivity that racing wheels generally require, especially for the games we tested it on (Project Gotham Racing 2, Toca, and Rallisport 2), generally wasn’t there. The dead zone was just too large for the tight responsiveness we were looking for.
Adding to this was the low-quality feel of the foot pedals. While the responsiveness was adequate, the pedal slipped around too much and almost requires a mat to be placed underneath it. Rubber suctions like the ones under the wheel would have worked wonders.
Also included in the package is a lap adapter, which instead of resting over your legs like the Logitech wheel, wraps around your legs. Again, this portion of the product felt a bit cheap and flimsy; not to mention that it could be uncomfortable for larger gamers or ones that want to spread out a bit while they play.
Again, the quality of the wheel itself feels quite durable and feels as though it could last a long time. Despite the ugliness of the obligatory “Xbox” neon green coating, we really appreciated the rubber coating. Unfortunately, the performance and the flimsiness of the rest of the package make it hard for us to recommend the Pelican Cobra TT Racing Wheel.
