The Danish brand Asetek has a great deal of experience in the field of PC watercooling, and the reason is quite simple: this is the company that owns practically all the patents concerning pumps, tubes, radiators and everything in between for developing and creating a watercooling system.

If you’re a fan of computer customization, especially in the world of liquid cooling and hard tubing, you’ve certainly heard of Asetek. Brands such as Corsair, Cooler Master and even Be Quiet all use Asetek patents and blueprints. From a business management point of view, it’s financially more attractive to use a patent and pay dividends than to develop a pump, hose or radiator. All you have to do is implement the technologies and pay a share of the profits to the company owning the patents.

But if you’re reading this, you’re probably interested in sim-racing. And what’s that got to do with a company in the watercooling business? Well, Asetek offers sim-racing peripherals through its SimSports division. This division was launched not only to diversify the company’s customer portfolio, but also to satisfy the passion of the company’s CEO and his son, a racing driver. In what follows, we’ll take a look at its steering wheels and see which one is right for you.

Asetek SimSports shuttlecocks

Asetek SimSports is a division of Asetek that offers sim-racing peripherals in 3 ranges. We have La Prima , which represents the least expensive entry ticket, Forte, for products better equipped in terms of functionality, and Invicta for top-of-the-range products.

For chainstays and cranksets, you have specific equipment for each range. However, this is not yet the case for steering wheels, as Asetek only offers 2 wheels in its catalog: a La Prima and a Forte. There are rumors that the Danish brand is working on an Invicta steering wheel, and I hope to see it soon enough.

La Prima steering wheel

Design

Let’s start with the least expensive steering wheel of the lot, from the La Prima range. Its design is relatively sober, with a brushed aluminum faceplate and a composite structure (carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic).

The La Prima wheel is 29 cm in diameter, with an open downward form. This means the grips don’t meet the faceplate, improving wheel ergonomics. The gun metal color of the aluminum is interrupted in a few places by bright orange accents. It’s a bit flashy, but it gives the wheel a racing look.

At the top of the faceplate is a RevLED with 3 colors (orange, green and blue), which comes in handy on the track. What’s more, the three main encoders are backlit in the same colors. As I said earlier, this steering wheel is sober, and I think it’s a success.

Customized assembly

Even though this wheel is part of the La Prima range, it still uses a QR very similar to Simucube‘s, where the steering wheel slides along a rail into place. Asetek has signed collaboration contracts with the company that owns Simucube, and an exchange of technologies has taken place between the two entities, greatly facilitating Asetek’s insertion into the world of sim-racing.

As I said earlier, this flywheel is not specific to the La Prima range, and you can use it on all Asetek bases, as well as Fanatec, Simucube, Simagic and virtually all other manufacturers of sim-racing peripherals.

Asetek’s QR offers a very solid attachment to the base’s drive shaft. Unlike Simucube’s version, which uses a pin to secure the QR in place, Asetek’s QR has thrown out the window this method of securing the parts together, in favor of a much simpler mechanism. By the way, to swap Asetek’s steering wheels, you have a push-button on the back that disengages the fastening mechanism, and the latter allows you to change wheels much more quickly.

Manufacturing and finishing

The La Prima steering wheel uses composite for its structure and aluminum for the faceplate, in addition to having silicone on the grips. Composite is just a fancy word for plastic, but reinforced with carbon fiber. And you can see it on the rear to confirm this.

The build quality is truly premium, worthy of the competition Asetek faces in this segment. All parts of the steering wheel are well made, and I didn’t notice a single burr on it.

Handling the steering wheel

The La Prima wheel is a typical F1 design, with a rectangular shape typical of the steering wheels used in the sport’s premier competition. The grip is excellent, and this is further enhanced by the downward-opening steering wheel.

In terms of ergonomics, all buttons on the faceplate are easily accessible in full stroke, as are switches, encoders and paddles. Speaking of paddles, the La Prima steering wheel has only 2 at the rear, which is not very many as far as I’m concerned.

La Prima steering wheel price

This steering wheel retails for just under €420 on the Asetek website, which is pretty decent if you ask me. Granted, the frame is made of plastic composite and the grips aren’t leather, but the build quality is spot on.

The Forte steering wheel

Design

The design of the Forte steering wheel is virtually identical to its little brother in the La Prima range. The only notable difference is in the materials used on the front plate: we used brushed aluminum, and now it’s carbon fiber. Other than that, it’s all the same.

Customized assembly

The mounting of this steering wheel on Asetek bases is the same as on the La Prima wheel, with the QR very similar to that of Simucube. It’s fitted by inserting the QR on the Base Side to secure the two parts together. And, of course, you won’t have any flex on the drive shaft, whatever base you use.

Manufacturing and finishing

This steering wheel uses the same structure as its little brother, namely carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic composite. It’s just as solid, and very well finished. The manufacturing process is the same, so you won’t find any defects or anything else.

For the front-plate, we now have rather standard carbon fiber. Personally, I’d have preferred the forged carbon fiber design, as on the back-plate, but hey, it’s beautiful and very well made, as well as superbly finished too. Asetek is a brand operating in the premium segment, and its products reflect this to perfection.

Handling the steering wheel

The grip of this wheel is just like that of the La Prima range. The Forte is also open at the bottom, with silicone grips offering excellent contact with the wheel, even for those with sweaty hands.

Virtually all the controls are now backlit in pale orange, which makes for a rather homogeneous design, I must say. I like it, anyway. However, the Forte steering wheel still has 2 rear-mounted paddles, and that’s a real eyesore on such an expensive device.

Forte steering wheel price

This steering wheel costs around €680 on the Asetek website, and the price increase is still 50% compared with its little brother. Build quality is still the same: excellent, the materials have changed (carbon fiber instead of aluminum for the front plate), but we’re still stuck with the same controls, including 2 rear-mounted paddles. And frankly, it’s not at all suitable for F1/GT racing, and especially not for a steering wheel costing almost €700.

Naked ruffles

Aiming to reach a greater number of riders, Asetek offers naked shuttlecocks, with no faceplate: all you get is the empty wheel, in 3 different shapes and 2 different materials.

Materials include leather and a type of alcantara that Asetek calls Confort+. There’s also a wide range of colors, including black, dark gray and orange.

In terms of shapes, Asetek offers 2 fully round wheels, 2 flat-bottomed wheels and 2 flat-bottomed wheels open at the top, as on the new Tesla Yoke steering wheels. Personally, I’m not a big fan of the latter, as you’ll need a lot of time to get used to it.

Also in Asetek’s catalog, which tends to complement naked steering wheels, we have 2 Button Boxes, which are actually button/plastron modules for the wheels. These Button Boxes feature virtually all the controls of the standard La Prima and Forte steering wheels, with the exception of a few switches and buttons. Prices start at €290 for the Button Box La Prima, and €400 for the Button Box Forte. With a good combination of bare steering wheels and Button Box, you can get a wheel that’s cheaper than Asetek’s standards, especially if you’re not too keen on F1.

Which one to choose?

The choice of a sim-racing steering wheel is often subjective, because my preferences and needs are not necessarily yours. I may, for example, enjoy GT racing, but shun F1. But there are a few things that can help you make your choice:

• The price of the steering wheel. Let’s face it: the price of a product is often the deciding factor when it comes to shopping. If you can’t afford the Forte steering wheel, for example, you’ll fall back on one from the La Prima range. The same can be said for steering wheels that are on special offer, where you can afford to buy a wheel that wasn’t necessarily in your budget. For Asetek, for example, you can afford a Forte wheel instead of a La Prima with the right promotions, although I’m pretty sure the Danish manufacturer won’t lower its prices that much.
• Types of sim-racing titles. Sim-racing games are plentiful, covering virtually all motorsport disciplines. If you want to focus on touring or GT, the best thing to do is to go for a bare-bottom, flat-bottomed steering wheel, with a Botton Box of your choice. If, for example, you’re a rally fan, then fully round steering wheels are much more suited to this discipline. And if you’re more into F1, then standard Forte or La Prima steering wheels are perfect.
• Availability. This may not apply to everyone, as product availability varies. Broadly speaking, you may be obliged to buy a particular wheel because it’s out of stock. At Fanatec, for example, many popular sim-racing products and peripherals are out of stock, and this can last for a long time, forcing racers to switch to other products.