Best GTR 2 Settings for Thrustmaster T248
GTR 2 is the first simulation-style racing game I ever played. Despite its age, I still recommend it for anyone new to simracing. Its Driving School does a great job teaching you all the basics in a way that no other simulator has done since. Even the force feedback holds up well and works perfectly fine with the Thrustmaster T248.
The default force feedback works fine, but with some file editing tricks, we can make it much better. You can't set the steering angle in-game, and it's tuned for using a much smaller angle than we would normally use in a more modern simulator, but the game still feels good.
In this guide, I will show you the files you need to download and the settings you should use in the Thrustmaster Control Panel, on the wheel and in the game to get the best experience possible.
Custom User Profile
In order to improve the force feedback, you need to edit the user profile file. This has a bunch of force feedback settings that can't be changed from within the game itself. You will need to download a custom file with the new force feedback settings that you can use to edit your local profile.
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If you haven't already, run GTR 2 and create a user profile. You can find the saved user profile in: Steam Library\GTR 2 - FIA GT Racing Game\UserData\<User>\<User>.PLR
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Download SHO Competition FFB for GTR2. You need to be logged in with a free account to download files from RaceDepartment. On the Register page, scroll all the way down to the bottom to create a free Basic Account.
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Extract the zip file and open: User - T300 by Paokkerkir.PLR. Even though it was made for the T300, it works great with these wheels as well.
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Scroll down towards the bottom of the file and copy the lines from FFB Device Type="1" through FFB jolt magnitude="1.00000". These are the custom force feedback settings.
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Open your <User>.PLR file from above, select the same lines and paste what you copied from the downloaded file, replacing the original values. Save and close the file.
Thrustmaster Settings
GTR 2 doesn't have a way to set the steering angle in-game. Instead, we will have to set it in the Thrustmaster Control Panel or on the wheel itself. Despite the fact that it isn't realistic, it's pretty clear that the game was designed for a 240° steering angle, since that is the most common type of wheel that existed when the game was made.
You can use larger values just fine, but the force feedback feels worse and the cars don't feel quite right. Try different values to see what you like, but I wouldn't recommend going above 540°. The in-game wheel animation is limited to 240°, so if you use anything else, I recommend turning off the wheel in the graphics options.
The closest on-wheel setting is 270°, which works fine, but if you want the exact 240°, you will need to set it in the Thrustmaster Control Panel.
| On-Wheel Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| ROT | 270°-540° |
| FORCE | 3 |
| FFB | 1 |
FORCE needs to be used to control the strength of the force feedback. Usually I leave this at 4 bars and control the strength in-game, but since that doesn't work in this game, I lower this to 3 bars.
FFB at 1 creates a perfectly linear force feedback response, which is the ideal for any racing game.
| TM Control Panel Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Rotation | 240°-540° |
| Overall Strength of all forces | 65% |
| Constant | 100% |
| Periodic | 100% |
| Spring | 100% |
| Damper | 100% |
| BOOST | Off |
| Auto-Center | by the game |
Rotation and Overall Strength are identical to the ROT and FORCE wheel settings, respectively. Changing it in one place overwrites the other. Usually I recommend changing these on the wheel and ignoring the values in the Thrustmaster Control Panel, but if you want to use 240°, it has to be done in the Control Panel.
Spring and Damper are not used by GTR 2, 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.
GTR 2 Settings
In Controls > Buttons:
You need to manually bind Accelerate, Brake, Clutch, Shift Up and Shift Down from the default values, as well as any additional functions you want.
In Controls > Advanced:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Speed Sensitive Steering | 0% |
| Steering Sensitivity | 50% |
| Steering Deadzone | 0% |
Speed Sensitive Steering needs to be turned off. It's meant for controllers and feels unnatural on a wheel.
In Controls > Force:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Force Feedback Effects | Medium |
| Force Feedback Strength | 100% |
| Reverse Effects | Disabled |
Force Feedback Effects controls how many effects are used in the force feedback. The extra vibration effects are often very annoying and are better turned off. The Throttle and Rumble strip vibrations are disabled in the custom file we are using.
- Low: Steering, Grip
- Medium: Adds Friction, Damper, Rumble strip vibration
- High: Adds Brake vibration
- Full: Adds Throttle vibration, Steering vibration
Force Feedback Strength should control how strong the force feedback is, but it doesn't work on these wheels for some reason. Instead, you have to change the FORCE setting on the wheel itself to control the strength. FORCE at 3 bars works well, 4 bars clips quite a bit.
Reverse Effects needs to be disabled for Thrustmaster wheels.
Troubleshooting
Force Feedback isn't working properly
If the force feedback isn't working, or only the vibrations are working, press Alt-F to reset the force feedback and it should fix it. I usually have to do this once when I first start the game.
Conclusion
GTR 2 is still a great game after all of these years. The Driving School has yet to be replicated, it can run on just about any computer and has a ton of mods available to add all sorts of new cars and tracks to the game. It's really worth checking out if you haven't played it.
Let me know if you have any questions or comments.