Best CarX Drift Racing Online Settings for Thrustmaster TMX / T150
Updated for version 2.15.
CarX Drift Racing Online is a game solely focused on drifting cars. Drifting is not my main interest and I'm not very good at it, so take everything on this page with a grain of salt if you already know what you're doing. On the other hand, if you're just starting out and having a terrible time controlling the cars like I was, then hopefully this information will be a good starting point for improvement.
As I see it, the problem with lower end wheels like the Thrustmaster TMX and T150 is that they don't have enough power to spin fast enough to drift properly. That is assuming we are trying to use the full 900° of rotation. The solution is to lower the steering angle to a point where it can spin fast enough. The wheel is going to be more sensitive, but it's the only way to get the wheel to turn fast enough for the large corrections necessary when drifting.
With version 2.15, the force feedback has greatly improved, with many more options to customize it. As before, it is a physics based system, so it gives you real information about the car. You will notice that as you change the car's setup, the forces you feel will change as well.
In this guide, we will first look at the settings you need to set in the Thrustmaster Control Panel, if playing on a PC. Then we will look at the in-game settings needed to make drifting easier and to improve the force feedback.
Thrustmaster Control Panel Settings
CarX Drift Racing Online lets you set the steering angle directly in the game, so you don't have to do anything special in the Thrustmaster Control Panel.
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Rotation | 900° (TMX) 1080° (T150) |
| Overall Strength of all forces | 100% |
| Constant | 100% |
| Periodic | 100% |
| Spring | 100% |
| Damper | 100% |
| BOOST | Off |
| Auto-Center | by the game |
Spring and Damper are not used by CarX Drift Racing Online, so can be set to any value without issue. As a general rule, I leave these at 100% since there are some games that require them.
BOOST should always be turned off. For an in-depth look as to why, see my BOOST Force Feedback Analysis.
CarX Drift Racing Online Settings
In Garage > Dynostand:
This game requires you to tune the car to be able to drift well. I followed this guide and had very good results. I'm sure there are plenty of other ways to do this that are even better, but this seems like a good starting point. The only change I made is bringing the Ackerman Angle down to 0%.
In Settings > Controls > Advanced Settings:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Gearbox Type | Manual |
| Clutch | Automatic (personal preference) |
| Ignition Type | Simplified (personal preference) |
| Game Controller Settings | Steering Wheel |
| Steering Wheel Angle | 360° / 540° |
| Wheel Force Feedback | 0.70 |
| Auto-centering Force at Standstill | 0.0 |
| Wheel as Controller | Off |
| Preset | Custom |
| Prediction | 0.0 |
| Stabilization | 0.0 |
| Smoothing | 1 |
| Acceleration | 1.0 |
| Inertia | 0.2 |
| Post-processing Feedback | Off |
| Steering Deadzone | 0.0 |
| Steering Linearity | 1.0 |
Gearbox Type is best at Manual so that you have full control over the gears.
Clutch is personal preference. Since I'm not much of a drifter, I don't mind forsaking realism to make some of the driving easier.
Ignition Type is also personal preference. I just leave it at Simplified so I don't have to worry about it.
Game Controller Settings needs to be set to Steering Wheel to see the rest of the steering options.
Steering Wheel Angle sets how far you can turn the wheel. I found this made the biggest difference in being able to drift. If this is set too high, the wheel just can't spin fast enough to change direction easily. 360° works well for me. 540° might be doable, but I found it more difficult.
Wheel Force Feedback is the strength of the force feedback and vibrations. I have this set to the value I use with the above tuning applied, but there isn't a single correct setting for this. It depends entirely on the tuning you have set on the car. With some, you can raise this very high without an issue. With others, you have to set it very low or else the wheel will shake like crazy.
Auto-centering Force at Standstill will center the wheel whenever the car is stopped. This feels weird to me, so I turn it off.
Wheel as Controller is what used to be called the "Steering Wheel Assist". I don't like using these assists with an actual wheel.
Prediction compensates for input lag between the controller and monitor. This will depend entirely on your equipment. If you notice any lag, try playing with this.
Stabilization is an assist to help stabilize the car. I don't like using these types of assists.
Smoothing reduces the vibrations, which can be quite harsh on these wheels.
Acceleration helps the wheel rotate faster. These wheels need this help, so I raise this as high as it can go.
Inertia effectively controls another vibration you will feel, based on the wheel and tires. Keeping this low feels better on these wheels.
Post-processing Feedback lets you change the force feedback curve. I didn't find this necessary, so I leave this off, which creates a linear response.
Steering Deadzone ignores the input in the center of the wheel. This is never needed on these wheels.
Steering Linearity makes the wheel less sensitive when centered. I find non-linear steering very unnatural and don't ever recommend it.
Conclusion
As I said before, I am just a beginner when it comes to drifting. With the default settings, I could barely drift at all, let alone chain them together. After applying the tuning in the linked guide and lowering the steering angle, I can finally play the game just well enough to have fun with it.
Let me know if you have any questions or comments.