Thrustmaster is one of the manufacturers of sim-racing peripherals with over 20 years’ experience in the game. It has to be said that the history of French gaming peripherals in general began a long time ago, and in aviation. Back then, Thrusmaster designed peripherals for flight simulation, and since then the French company has come a long way. At least, its simulation peripherals division has.

Thrustmaster is on the mind of every racer looking for products that offer excellent value for money for the most part, without jumping on the latest technology bandwagon. And this has more or less hurt the brand. You see, in sim-racing, the companies that endure and attract the most customers are those that innovate with new technologies. Except that Thrustmaster, and Logitech too, stayed in its corner, making what it knew how to make: little bases that weren’t overly powerful, but for the most part quite communicative.

But it was time to update, and it took Thrustmaster a long time, and in 2022 the French manufacturer of sim-racing peripherals finally offered us a Direct Drive base. the T818. In what follows, I’m going to introduce you to this device and give my opinion on it.

Main and technical characteristics of the base

• Direct Drive motor delivering 10 nm of constant torque
• Compatible with the PC platform
• Aluminium and composite construction
• A brand-new QR that lets you swap wheels quickly, without tools
• Small dimensions for a base with 10 nm of torque, weighing just 5 kg

T818 design

As I often say, the design of a sim-racing peripheral is subjective, because what I like isn’t necessarily what you like. As far as I’m concerned, the T818 is a beautiful base, with a rather unique design. The hexagonal shape of the base allows it to have a small footprint, not taking up much space, as is the case with other manufacturer’s bases, except for Logitech and its G Pro Racing Wheel ; this beast is just enormous.

The T818 is available in a range of decorator plate colors, which at least gives it a dose of customization, something not found with the competition. The “strapping” where the drive shaft is located is perforated, which optimizes the T818’s cooling, without the need for a dedicated system. All in all, it looks good and will go perfectly with many sim-racing setups.

Customized assembly

For the T818, you have 1 mounting option: from below. However, you have 2 possibilities for mounting this base on your setup: a clamp for tables and desks, and a bracket for chassis and cockpits.

Underneath, there are slots for 4 screws to attach the clamp or bracket, and these are sold separately from the base, as is the case with more or less all other products at this price.

Assembling the T818 is easy and won’t take up much of your time, given that the base is fairly light at just 5 kg on the scale.

Manufacturing and finishing

Although Thrustmaster doesn’t really go for premium products, at least for its basic models, it has to be said that for the T818, the manufacturer has pulled out all the stops. We’re treated to metal and plastic, but the latter is really well done.

The finish is very good, with careful assembly. Build quality is also top-notch, and I didn’t notice any defects or parts that didn’t fit together properly. Honestly, for a first step into the “premium” world, I have to admit that the T818 is a well-made base, with a certain attention to detail. It’s not on the same level as a Fanatec or a Simagic, but it’s an improvement all the same, compared with its peripheral range of course.

However, the T818 uses a little too much composite for my taste, especially on certain parts, as is the case with the driveshaft. There’s a metal crown, but the rest of the shaft is made of composite, which isn’t exactly known for being durable, or stable for that matter.

Getting to know the base

The T818 is a small, lightweight base. On the scales, Thrustmaster’s base weighs just 5 kg, which is frankly not much compared to the competition at the same level of power and torque.

In terms of dimensions, it’s small, like its competitors. It’s not as big as a Podium DD2, for example, but it shouldn’t clutter up your desk too much if you opt for clamp mounting.

Incidentally, Thrustmaster’s clamp is still just as good for attaching the base to furniture, but you’ll need to turn down the power the motor develops, or risk damage to your wooden supplies.

Sensations during play

Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of sim-racing with the T818. So, to start with, you’ll need an adapter to attach one of Thrustmaster’s steering wheels, because in its immense wisdom, the French manufacturer has developed a new QR, without wheels to go with it. Well, for now.

Once you’ve settled into your setup, you’ll need to adjust the base as well, because by default, the sensations aren’t the best. You have 4 settings, from comfort to extreme, and you can tune the power to these 4 settings.

Once you’ve found your sweet spot, the base is pretty good on the track, with good force feedback and not too filtered a feel, if you know what I mean. Force is pretty well dosed, as is feedback in general.

However, there’s a bit of play with the QR, since part of its construction is plastic and you’ll need the plastic adapter to drive your car. On a racetrack, it’s okay, and I didn’t really feel the game. But on a rally stage, it moves too much and quickly becomes irritating after a few minutes.

T818 compatibility

The T818 is PC-only compatible for the time being, which puts it more or less up against Moza R9 and Simagic Alpha Mini. As far as sim-racing peripherals are concerned, all the wheels in Thrustmaster’s catalog are supported, provided you have the QR adapter of course.

And when it comes to titles, you don’t have to think too hard, because Thrustmaster is a major player in the industry.

Value for money

So, the T818 sells for €650 on the Thrustmaster website, which is a little more expensive than the competition at the same power level (Simagic Alpha Mini, for example). Well, to be honest, the price is more or less in line with the performance offered by this peripheral, as virtually all other bases in the same segment are on 9 or 10 nm max, whereas the T818 is on constant 10 nm.

The build quality is pretty good, but the new QR can only be used with an adapter on older Thrustmaster steering wheels. In my opinion, it offers decent value for money, but nothing more.

My verdict on the Thrustmaster T818 base

I’ve been waiting for this Thrustmaster base for a long time, I’d even say too long. On paper, it’s still a good Direct Drive base, even on track, but only if you spend some time fine-tuning the software settings.

On the track, it’s still a good peripheral, but not on the same level as the competition, even Logitech. The partly plastic QR doesn’t help matters, especially when it comes to bending the drive shaft and its adapter.

So, my opinion: this base is good with the right software settings. The price is a little high for my taste, especially as the construction uses a lot of plastic. The motor is powerful, and above all its torque is a constant 10 nm. I can recommend it, especially to those who already own all Thrustmaster sim-racing peripherals. Otherwise, you’ll have to try it first before making a decision.