Moza Racing R3 Bundle

Moza Racing has really gone from absolute clarity to absolute clarity in recent years and this after a shaky start where the flawed virgin product R16 initially felt like perhaps the worst direct drive steering wheel I have ever tested. Today the situation is reversed. The R16 is as good as the R12 and R9 where good build quality, nice force feedback, sensible software and really good price pictures make them a brilliant alternative in an ever-growing sim racing world.

Their latest product is the R3 Bundle, which is a new entry-level steering wheel base that houses only a 3.9 Nm direct drive motor, their simplest pedals SR-P Lite and the pretzel ES, which of course cannot compete with some of the manufacturer's more expensive products. Let me start by saying that 3.9 Nm of power is way, way, way, way, way too little for my taste no matter what sim racing game I'm playing. In fact, 9 Nm is too little for me who today uses a steering wheel base with 20 Nm strength and has it set at about 52%. I like strong FFB. I like to really feel the power in the front of the car when I turn in, I like to have to struggle a bit when I rub one of the front fenders into an opponent's car when overtaking and I like when it feels like a car, not like a video game or a toy.

R3 does not feel like a car. Not in Assetto Corsa, Automobilista 2, Iracing, EA Sports WRC, Le Mans Ultimate, Raceroom, Dirt Rally 2.0 or Assetto Corsa Competizione. 3.9 Nm makes it more like a belt-driven Logitech steering wheel than anything else (although the detail in the FFB is of course better thanks to the servo motor and a better telemetry protocol) and I would never want to live with this steering wheel base. That said, there are plenty of casual racers who don't want to spend the incredibly high price of entry for steering wheels, bases, pedals, and more. Of course, there are plenty of gamers who don't need 12-13Nm of torque in their steering wheel base, who don't want to risk damaging their thumbs and wrists if they dust into the wall at Bathurst, and who also don't intend to mount their gadgets in a full-sized 80/40 aluminium rig. For these players, the R3 is surely a brilliant compromise.

Because you get a complete package here. Ready 2 Race, as it is called in the sim racing world. The R3 steering wheel base, the EA pretzel, the pedals and a smooth and solidly built desk mount are included and considering that this is also Moza's first Xbox-compatible steering wheel, you can also hose the cord into your Series X and roar around in Forza Horizon 5, with this price-pressed set. Although the torque in the steering wheel motor is too low for me, I must say that I like the level of detail here. Feeling the car's centre of gravity and the way the curbs make the tyres vibrate when I drive over them in Assetto Corsa Competizione is a nice feeling that no belt/chain driven steering wheel base with roughly the same strength can compete with. That has to be said. I also like the form factor of the base which is super easy to fit and mount thanks to its minimal physical size.

The pedals are not quite as capable, unfortunately. The SR-P, like Fanatec's entry-level pedals (CSL), are really flimsy and feel more like pressed foil wrapped up to "just" make the car roll rather than giving any kind of feeling of a real racing car. The throttle is too soft. The brakes are too weak, which I knew would be the case beforehand. You really can't expect much more from a package whose base price is £399, for everything, but these pedals are nothing to shout about, at all.

What about the crank? Just fine. The ES Wheel is just fine, as is the Fanatec entry-level WRC Wheel. It's made of plastic, it feels a bit plasticy, and the 22 buttons feel a bit plasticy, but given that the whole package costs £399 and not twice that, there's not much to complain about here, either. Moza's fantastic (NRG-style) quick release is of course included and it is, as I said, brilliant. As always. This also applies to the software, which Moza has really polished into a real little gem over the past year. Connecting the Moza gadgets, calibrating and setting them up is a breeze and the software is clean and stylish in the right way.

If I had only intended to spend about £500 on a complete package (steering wheel base, steering wheel, pedals), I would have bought the Fanatec CSL DD ready 2 Race Bundle instead of the Moza R3, primarily because I then get a 5 Nm strong steering wheel base that with an Aliexpress-AC adapter can squeeze out 8 Nm for a couple of extra hundred bucks. That's my choice. That said, that bundle is not compatible with Xbox (PC only) which means that I naturally recommend the Moza R3 Bundle for those who intend to run Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon 5 rather than the titles I tested with this steering wheel bundle. In the end, the R3 bundle is a little too weak for its own good but for the price it's certainly not a bad deal.