By Chris Pate // Global Product Marketing Manager on August 17, 2009
148 Comments
+ 44 Replies
Today marks the announcement of the new Logitech G27 Racing Wheel, which will be replacing the venerable G25 Racing Wheel. Though I’ve been seeing unofficial reports about a Logitech G27 Racing Wheel floating around the Internet since January, I’m now able to officially confirm the existence of this new racing wheel for PC and PS3. In designing it, our primary goal was to improve upon the already-great G25, focusing particularly on the number of buttons on the wheel, the feeling of the shifter module, and the sound and feel of the force feedback transmission.
The most significant improvement is the introduction of a helical gear system to the force feedback transmission. As with the G25, the G27 features a dual-motor, single-reduction force feedback transmission supported by two sets of steel ball bearings. Instead of straight-cut (or “spur”) gears, however, we’ve developed the first force-feedback transmission for racing wheels featuring diagonal-cut (“helical”) gears. As most racing fans know, spur gears produce significantly more noise than helical gears. This is due to vibration that is created as the teeth engage and disengage quickly. Helical gears mesh much more gradually, reducing the amount of vibration experienced by each tooth and significantly reducing the noise generated. This requires that the gear and pinion system be engineered to significantly higher tolerances than a standard spur gear setup, and it results in a wheel that produces the same amount of force feedback torque as the G25 with a significant reduction in noise and improvement in turning smoothness as well.
The wheel of the G27 is 11” in diameter and is wrapped in real leather. Its spokes are made of brushed stainless steel, and it features six buttons and two stainless steel shifter paddles. The wheel also features ten LEDs just above the center hub (two red, four yellow, and four green). These LEDs can be programmed by games to act as an RPM gauge or as shift indicators. The LED SDK has been provided to several developers already, and a few titles (including the trial version of rFactor that ships with the wheel) will support the LED panel as soon as the wheel is installed.
As with the G25, the G27’s shifter features eight buttons and an eight-way D-pad. It also has two clamps with knobs that can be pushed down and recessed after the clamps are tight, and an anti-tip screw. Additionally, its internals have been redesigned to have a greater centering force and a more positive feeling for each of the gear engagement positions, so shifting by feel is significantly improved.
The pedals remain largely unchanged, with steel arms and frames and brushed stainless-steel faces, but do feature two important improvements:
1. The brake and clutch pedal standoffs have been increased in height by approximately 13 mm, so that their faces are closer to the user than that of the throttle pedal.
2. The pedal arms have had four extra holes drilled in them so that the pedal faces can adjust to the left or the right with the help of a 2.5 mm hex wrench.
Together, these two features make heel-and-toe braking significantly easier than on the G25, and give serious racers much more control over how the wheel fits their setup and racing needs.
Overall I’m pretty excited about this new wheel, as it directly addresses a number of the concerns that people have expressed to me about the G25 over the years. And, now that I can finally talk about it with the public, I’m also very interested in hearing what you think. Post a comment and let me know!
Quick Overview of differences from G25:
- Buttons on wheel face: G25 has two, G27 has six
- Force feedback transmission: G25 features straight-cut (spur) gears, G27 features diagonal-cut (helical) gears
- Pedals: G27 features taller standoffs for clutch and brake pedals, as well as horizontal adjustability, making customizability and heel-toe downshifting easier
- Shifter: G27 features stiffer centering spring and more positive gear engagement feeling, improving the overall feel of the shifter.
- RPM/Shift Indicator LEDs: G27 features 10 LEDs that can be used by game developers to indicate RPM, redline, or to indicate the user should shift gears.
(Average: 4.14 out of 5)
148 Comments + 44 Replies Add your own comment >>
Psycho | October 19th, 2009 at 9:39 am
Thanks for the infom that store is very close from home, I might save the shipping there. I checked the only place I found it listed is : http://www.swiftgamers.com/ for 293$ (CAD).
As for the stock. I was checking bestbuy stock in the US. It seem to be in stock in most store I looked at. Not sure about that shortage.
Not much to do than wait for the canadian shipment (except building my pvc cockpit in the meantime
Gee | October 19th, 2009 at 11:41 am
Thanx for the Info STU but i did not see the Logitech G27 on the Cendirect.com web site.
Stu | October 19th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Gee … On the cendirect.com home page, go to search and type in nothing but G27, you’ll get a list of 6 items, it’s the last one. If you type in Logitech G27, you’ll get 0 results. Strange.
G. de Fronsac | October 20th, 2009 at 6:16 am
Dear Chris Pate:
People is having a problem playing GT5 Prologue for PS3 with G27: with GT5 the sequential paddles works only when you turn the shifter to sequential mode, but this is not possible with G27.
When G25/27 aren´t wheels officially supported by GT5 Prologue, has this a solution?. This could success with future titles also.
Thanks.
Chris Pate | October 20th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Hi G. de Fronsac,
GT5:Prologue was released before we finished developing the G27, so it does not know how to handle the G27. It thinks the G27 is a G25 when you plug it in. This means the G27’s paddle shifters behave the same way in GT5:Prologue that the G25’s do when the G25 is in sequential shift mode. We anticipate that the final version of GT5 will work correctly with the G27’s paddle shifters.
BroKen LiZard | October 20th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Is this wheel compatible with Xbox 360?
Chris Pate | October 20th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Hi BroKen LiZard,
Logitech is not licensed by Microsoft to make a force feedback wheel for Xbox 360, so the G27 cannot work on that platform.
Gee | October 20th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Thanx STU,
it is funny because, when you go to the french site, it does not find the g27 when you enter “G27″ in the search, but in the english site it works.
Stu | October 20th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
GEE … Let us know when you finally get one in your hands, same with the other Canadians who read this blog. Something’s not right with having to wait a month or more for something that’s available right now right across the border. I’ll bet the situation would be a lot worse if GT5 was still going to be released in ‘09 as we had expected. And speaking of GT5 … if the paddle shifters don’t happen to work with it when it’s released (as in Prologue), what are the chances of Polyphony Digital patching the game so that they do? There’s nothing that Logitech can do about it if they don’t, guess we’ll just have to wait and see. And speaking of waiting …
Aroosa | October 20th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Can you use this on a Mac? I dont really know that much about these things Thanks!
Chris Pate | October 21st, 2009 at 11:17 am
Hi Aroosa,
There are no Mac OS drivers available for the G27.
Andy Rossi | October 21st, 2009 at 12:01 am
Hi Chris,
can two or more players race against each other using different wheels connected to the same platform base? (only 1 base & no broadband connection)
Example of set-up:
- Game : rfactor, Gran Turismo, Formula 1 championship…
- wheels: one G25 & one G27 connected to a single PC or PS3
Could this work?
If yes, would it also work for 5 players assuming game supports it?
Would there be a hardware limit to the number of players who could race against each other in such a setup?
Many thanks and all the best
Andy Rossi | October 21st, 2009 at 12:26 am
dough! … I just realized each player would need their own screen and perspective lol
k, scratch that (guess LAN is the way to go for multiplaying)
or maybe a single console can be configured to assign each screen their own perspective?
I reckon that option is not yet available right?
Kudos galore for your great wheels
hobbs | October 21st, 2009 at 9:55 am
I just bought a G27. New to racing.
Does one need to step on the clutch when changing gears?
It doesn’t seem necessary when i am playing need for speed:shift or GT5P. Is there a prob?
Chris Pate | October 21st, 2009 at 11:21 am
Hi hobbs,
The clutch and shifter on the G27 only send input data to the system. There is no physical lockout mechanism tying the clutch to gear shifting on the shifter module. Unless the game you are playing models forced clutch use, you will not really have to use the clutch to shift gears in that game.
Stu | October 21st, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Do you know if GT5 will have forced clutch use?
Chris Pate | October 21st, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Hi Stu,
Until GT5 ships it is not really possible to know what its final feature set will be. Since GT5:Prologue does not require it, however, it’s a safe guess that GT5 will likely not require the user to use the clutch for shifting either.
Andy Rossi | October 22nd, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Hi Chris,
assuming a dual-screen PC setup powerful enough to allocate each racer his own monitor, would it be possible to connect two G27 simultaneously to it so that two players could race against each other without the need for a second PC?
Many thanks
Ken Ji | October 22nd, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Dear Chris,
Saw your comment on the G27 being detected as a G25 in GT5 Prologue. At the moment, the paddle shifters don’t work at all for me in GT5P, whilst the G25 method of pressing the ‘triangle’ button (i.e. top black button on the gearshifter) to activate the clutch pedal also does not work. Any hints on getting the G27 working like the G25 did in GT5P? I’d be most grateful if you could help, thanks in advance!
PS> the G27 is awesome. works beautifully in NFS Shift. Keep up the good work !
Chris Pate | October 23rd, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Hi Ken,
What you are describing is due to the way GT5:P handles the G25 in six-speed mode. There is no way to modify the way that GT5:P interacts with the G27 without an update to GT5:P.
Andy Rossi | October 24th, 2009 at 4:48 am
Hi Chris,
could two G27 be connected and operated simultaneously on a Dual-Display PC setup running a multi-player game?
Cheers
Ken | October 24th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
I saw the G27 specs stating it uses two sets of solid steel ball bearings, the G25 wheel doesn’t use solid steel ball bearings?
Chris Pate | October 25th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
Hi Ken,
Both the G27 and the G25 use two sets of steel ball bearings to support the shaft of the wheel.
Ken Ji | October 25th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Hi Chris,
Thanks for your reply. I actually managed to get the clutch working now – i just need to remember to leave the shifter in-gear when the game starts and the system is initialising/calibrating the steering wheel – after that, pressing the triangle button will enable the clutch as with the G25. oh well, hope Polyphony Digital staff are buying G27’s too – maybe you guys can send them a free sample. haha!
cheers
Andy Rossi | October 26th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Hi Chris,
is it possible to use two G27 on a single PC with dual-display (1 monitor per racer) or does each G27 require a dedicated PC?
Thanks for your time
Carlos V | October 27th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Hi.
I’m a very happy G25 owner from Portugal and looking forward for the upgrade to the G27 when it arrives.
Only sorry for the lack of sequential shifter…
1. is it possible to use the G25 shifter with G27 wheel + pedals ?
2. Do you know when it will be available in Portugal?
Thanks,
Carlos!
Chris Pate | October 28th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Hi Carlos V,
The G25’s shifter will not function when attached to the G27. I don’t really have a way to say if or when the G27 will be available at retail in Portugal. It is available for distributors to order from our European warehouse, so if and when they order it you should be able to get it at retail. You may also be able to order it online, but again I cannot say for certain.
Gee | October 27th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
I May Give Up about buying the G27 Wheel, because It’s been release for a while in the U.S. and we can’t find a single unit in Canada because it is still not available.
Just bored to be waiting…
Stu | October 28th, 2009 at 4:20 am
Wait 1 more week …
Etienne | October 28th, 2009 at 7:20 am
Hi Chris, any news on a release date in canada… was supposed to be october 28, now we’ve heard november 5 or 11 …. I want to play and stop waiting !!!
Chris Pate | October 28th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Hi Etienne,
It’s pretty difficult to arrive at a specific date for availability in a particular country. Availability depends on many factors, including when we receive them in our warehouse, when the distributor orders them from us, and when the retailer orders them from the distributor. Transit times and customs delays can vary as well, making determining an exact availability date a very inexact science. From what I know right now, early to mid November seems like a reasonable timeframe for G27 wheels to be available for sale in Canada. My recommendation is to check with Best Buy or Future Shop, as they are likely to have the most up-to-date information on when they will be receiving wheels from their distributor.
M.K.E. | October 29th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Can you explain why Mac drivers for the G25 and G27 aren’t available? I love playing ToCA Race Driver 3 on my Mac and I want the best possible wheel. Will Mac ever be supported?
Many thanks in advance.
Chris Pate | October 29th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Hi M.K.E.,
Because we have a finite amount of resources to put into any project, and because we haven’t really seen much in the way of customer demand or racing game developer support for the Mac, we haven’t made the choice at this point to support Macintosh for our force feedback wheels. The landscape is constantly changing, however, and we are always monitoring it. We’ll take your request into consideration when we work on our future plans.
GinoR | October 30th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Is there any way to hack the clutch to work?
Chris Pate | October 30th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Hi GinoR,
If a game does not support the clutch feature at all, there is no way for an end-user or Logitech to force it to do so. Similarly, if the game does support a clutch but does not force the user to press the clutch in order to shift, there is also no way for the end-user or Logitech to force it to do so. In both of these cases, this functionality would require an update to the game from the game’s developer.
GinoR | October 31st, 2009 at 6:45 am
I’m still satisfied with the wheel regardless. Thanks, Chris.
Chris Pate | November 2nd, 2009 at 1:47 pm
Sure thing.
Richard Chartrand | November 3rd, 2009 at 2:52 pm
I am in a whellchair .I cannot use my feet. Is it possible to shift gears and break with the steering .
thanks
Chris Pate | November 3rd, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Hi Richard,
The G27’s paddle shifters are buttons, not analog axes. They can be mapped to throttle and brake functions in some games, but you will only get full throttle or full brake if that is the case – not a very good racing experience. If you are a PS2 or PS3 racing fan, the Driving Force Wireless wheel has analog paddles that can be used for throttle and brake. If you are a PC racing fan, there is not currently a Logitech racing wheel available with analog paddles.
Psycho77 | November 4th, 2009 at 10:33 am
Canada update, it seem (if you trust cendirect web site) that they date moved from the 5 nov to the 9 december 2009 for canada shipments.
(One source still say 12 november).
Chris 007 | November 4th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Can you list the latest games where you need to use the clutch to shift? Playing GT5 to much might make me forget to use the clutch in my real car.
Chris Pate | November 5th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Hi Chris,
If you enable the clutch feature in GT5:Prologue by pressing the Triangle button before the race starts, it should force you to use the clutch to shift. Otherwise, the only games I know of that has the option to force clutch use (or incur damage to the transmission) are Need for Speed Shift (with damage on) and the PC game Live for Speed.
stu | November 4th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
… or Dec. 2 … or when hell freezes over … this is beyond ridiculous, I’ve had my order in for over a month and it’s been delay after delay. At this rate I’ll get GT5 before I get a G27!
stu | November 5th, 2009 at 6:11 am
Just received this from cendirect … “Logitech pre-announced this product (As they usually do to stimulate year-end sales) and now just keep moving the ETA date backward – It is probably because their production cannot meet demand – Typically they give first priority to their domestic (USA) market.” They didn’t give me a shipping date, but it looks like we’ve got ANOTHER month to wait. Another source told me they could ship Dec. 2, not sure if that’s 2009 or 2010. I give up.
Etienne | November 5th, 2009 at 10:31 am
That s**** I to have preorder it, and have some “gaming reunion” plan during november with my friends coming down to see me, Still don’t have a wheel to play with ! Someone should know the real shipping date for this wheel to Canada. It’s a shame that no one is willing to let us know when it will be available. I’m sure they know the real date. It really is annoying that it can be bought in the US but not here in Canada, I will soon go with the Fanatec wheel if I can’t have this one… I just can’t believe that they continu to push the release date… i’m really mad rigth now !
stu | November 6th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
My latest email from cendirect:
“PRODUCT: Logitech G27 Racing Wheel
The requested product is in constrained supply. Virtually all incoming stock has already been committed to customers that have placed orders in our system. There are only a handful of units still not sold.
If you have any reasonable expectation of receiving this product we strongly suggest placing an order ASAP.”
I predicted earlier there was going to be a shortage for Canada, looks like that is going to be the case. I’m hoping my order will be filled Nov. 18th, if not I’m giving up on video games and will be spending the rest of my days in a monastery.
Etienne | November 7th, 2009 at 8:31 am
aarrrrggghhhhhh !!!!!
Chris J | November 7th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Hey, im looking forward to getting the G27 for Christmas. But the only racing games i have are Midnight Club LA, GRiD, and NFS Shift (i have a PS3). Are all these games compatable with the G27? If not then what about the G25? Thanks!
Chris Pate | November 16th, 2009 at 10:26 am
Hi Chris,
All of those games will work, though because they were released before the G27 was available it may be that not all features (including RPM LEDs) will function correctly. Additionally, in Midnight Club LA the paddle shifters do not appear to work correctly for the G27 though they do work on the G25. The G27’s steering, pedals, shifter, and force feedback all work in all of these games, though.
Mecano03 | November 7th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Hi every one i just want to say i just buy one today at Best Buy in Hull,Quebec $379,99
John | November 7th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
will you ever surport the xbox 360 ? that is what is stopping me from buying the G25 or G27
Chris Pate | November 9th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Hi John,
Due to the way the Xbox 360 works, it is extremely unlikely that the G25 or G27 will ever work on that platform. The way the console is designed from a controller perspective is very different from the way that the PC, PS2, or PS3 are designed, and it is not possible to modify unlicensed controllers to make them compatible without Microsoft making a significant change to the Xbox 360’s operating system.
Simon Winters | November 8th, 2009 at 2:00 am
Happy with my G25 shifter and pedals. Pretty happy with the G25 wheel for that matter. Would consider upgrading to the G27 wheel if the wheel was available separately. Will it be?
Cheers,
Simon
Chris Pate | November 9th, 2009 at 11:51 am
Hi Simon,
There are currently no plans to sell the G27 wheel separate from the pedals and shifter, and it is highly unlikely that there will be. Additionally, the G25’s shifter will not function if plugged into a G27.
Andy Rossi | November 10th, 2009 at 2:18 am
I have no idea why you keep ignoring my question…
It’s a genuine question and I believe I’ve kept a respectful in all of my inquiries.
I tried googling for an answer but to no avail.
Anyways, cheers and all the best.
Chris Pate | November 16th, 2009 at 10:24 am
Hi Andy,
Multiple G27’s can be plugged into the PC at the same time, but I do not know of any games that allow for split-screen racing on the PC.
Psycho77 | November 10th, 2009 at 10:06 am
379,99$ at bestbuy, they just got them in stock, whats wrong with them ? How come its not 300$ like online store and the us ?
stu | November 10th, 2009 at 11:04 am
What bestbuy has them in stock? I’ll pay the extra $’s, tired of waiting.
Jamie | November 10th, 2009 at 11:16 am
dell.ca
$329.99 CDN
free shipping
Etienne | November 11th, 2009 at 8:01 am
Cancel my order with buy.com and went to BEstBuy pointe-claire in montreal, price matched buy.com so in all with taxes.. cost me 322$ yeah baby!!! that was the only one in stock there. regards
Mecano03 | November 13th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Etienne can you send me a copie of your invorse (facture) so best buy in hull will credit me if you paye lest in montreal thanks I paye $379 in Hull,Que
Etienne | November 14th, 2009 at 7:56 am
Mecano03, give me your email please
Mecano03 | November 14th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
my email is cocomecano35@hotmail.com thanks Etienne
Mecano03 | November 14th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Etienne my addresse is (cocomecano35 hotmail,com)
Rick | November 19th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Hi Chris
Why didn’t you modified the pedals “upsidedown” so they’ll feel like real pedals… Keep that in mind for future updates.
Chris Pate | November 19th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Hi Rick,
Thanks for the suggestion! This is something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while, but there are significant engineering and size challenges associated with doing so. The structure required to make a “hanging” system stable is pretty large and costly, so for now we’ve opted to go with the traditional push-down type of pedal.
Kevin | November 20th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Chris, I am looking at buying my father the G27 for Christmas. He and I have been racing sim for about three years now with the Logitech DFP wheels. Have been very impressed with that wheel for the money. We have recently made the acquisition to rFactor on Pc, from Toca 3 on ps2, and we love it. Now my question is that we are very used to driving with the sequential shifter on the DFP and I am concerned that if I get him the G27 he might have some difficulty getting used to the clutch, and six speed shifter. What would you recommend as I am finding difficulty locating any G25’s. In addition do you know if there is force clutch options with rFactor?
Please advise with any suggestions and have you had anyone else concerned regarding the removal of the sequential shifter.
Thanks and all the best!
Kevin
Chris Pate | November 20th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
Hi Kevin,
RFactor will automatically engage the clutch when you switch gears with the G27’s shifter. To my knowledge there is not a way to completely disable this. If your father prefers shifting without the H-pattern and clutch, or if he wants to drive cars that use a seven-speed gearbox, the paddles behind the wheel can be assigned for use as shifters within the game.