Best Project CARS 2 Settings for Thrustmaster TMX / T150

Project CARS 2 plays great with a wheel, but the default force feedback isn't as good as it can be on the Thrustmaster TMX and T150. Unlike many other games, you can actually play the game using the default force feedback, it's certainly not terrible. Though, I felt like a lot of road details were getting lost and it just didn't feel quite right.

It turns out there is an easy fix that makes the force feedback feel much better. Project CARS 2 lets you completely rewrite the force feedback calculations. The community around this game has created several different custom force feedback solutions now, all of which improve upon the base game. I found the one that works best for the TMX and T150. With this custom force feedback, you can feel what the car is doing and the details of the road much better.

In this guide, I will show you how to download and install it, as well as the in-game settings that I found work best with it.

Custom Force Feedback

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.

• Download Ultimate Custom FFB 5.0

This is a very nice custom force feedback file that drastically improves the experience.

Installation is simple. Extract the zip file and find the file named "ffb_custom_settings - Pure Feel V5 (NEW).txt". Rename this file to "ffb_custom_settings.txt" and copy it into your "Documents\Project CARS 2" folder.

You will notice that there are a couple of other options to choose from, but I found this one to be the best. Use the same procedure as above to try them out if you like.

Remove Engine Vibration

There is one thing in this file that I don't like. There is a constant vibration from the engine that I find annoying. It's not too strong, but you will notice it as some small bumps on otherwise smooth sections of the track. Thankfully, this is easy to remove if you don't like it either.

Open the ffb_custom_settings.txt file, scroll close to the end and modify these lines:

# Engine ---------------------------------------------
(engine_vibration 50)
(engine_vibration_while_driving 15)

to this instead:

# Engine ---------------------------------------------
(engine_vibration 0.00001)
(engine_vibration_while_driving 0.00001)

That will remove the engine vibration completely.

Thrustmaster Control Panel Settings

Project CARS 2 automatically sets the proper steering angle for each car, so it is best to leave the rotation set to the maximum in the Thrustmaster Control Panel and calibrate the wheel in-game.

Spring and Damper are not used by Project CARS 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.

Project CARS 2 Settings

In Options > Controls > Control Scheme:

Make sure to Calibrate the wheel and pedals. If you don't do this, the game won't set the steering angle automatically for each car.

In Options > Controls > Configuration:

In Options > Controls > Edit Assignments > Assistance:

It's a good idea to bind buttons on your wheel or keyboard for Increase FFB Vol, Decrease FFB Vol, Increase FFB Tone and Decrease FFB Tone, since they need to be adjusted on a per-car basis.

In Options > Controls > Force Feedback:

Gain is the overall strength of the wheel. I found it is best to leave this at 100 and adjust the Volume if you want to change the strength of the wheel.

Volume controls the strength of the forces towards the middle of the wheel, effectively amplifying forces when the wheel is centered. You will want to adjust this depending on the car you are driving and according to your personal preference. Rough tracks can be difficult to drive with this set too high.

Tone controls the feeling of the road surface vs tire grip. Lower Tone to give more road surface detail. Raise Tone to give more feeling of the tire grip. At 50, there is an even balance between the two.

FX controls the rumbling effect of kerbs and road surface details.

Conclusion

I found that using this custom force feedback file brought a lot of clarity to what I was feeling through the wheel. I don't have to fight the wheel and it gives plenty of information about the road and what the car is doing. Driving feels natural and it is easy to push the car harder as I have more confidence in the information I'm getting through the wheel.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments.