Conspit 310 Apex

Our rating : 9.2/10

If you’re looking for a steering wheel for your sim-racing setup, there are literally hundreds on the market. Whether your preferred motorsport discipline is rallying, GT or endurance racing, Formula racing, or you’re simply a fan of vintage steering wheels, brands like Fanatec, Simagic, Simucube or Moza Racing offer their catalogs for your enjoyment.

Of course, there are other manufacturers of sim-racing peripherals on the world market. Logitech, Thrustmaster, Ascher and Conspit are just some of the names we can mention when it comes to steering wheels.

Speaking of Conspit, the brand’s catalog of wheels is quite nice, I must say. The manufacturer mainly covers Formula-type wheels, but its catalog also includes the 310 Apex, a wheel that tends to satisfy the needs of a wide range of virtual pilots. In what follows, we take a closer look at this wheel.

Main and technical features of the steering wheel

• Entire structure in aluminum alloy
• Round wheel with a diameter of 310 mm
• 3D printed breastplate
• Magnetic and carbon fiber pallets
• 2.99″ diagonal central screen with color display
• 16 front-mounted controls, and RevLED above the screen
• Headband with imitation leather material
• Purple headband at the top of the headband, with stitching over much of the inner part
• 8 RGB buttons
• Compatible only with PCs
• Weighs 1.52 kg on the scale

Design

The design of the 310 Apex is halfway between a simple steering wheel and that of a racing car. The simple part concerns the shape of the wheel: it’s entirely round, with a large hoop and moldings like on everyday cars.

The racing car part touches the faceplate: there’s an almost 3″ diagonal horizontal screen, RGB buttons and switches. It looks very racing, especially when the RGB is on.

Personally, I like the 310 Apex steering wheel, even if I’m not really a fan of flashy wheels.

Customized assembly

When you take the wheel in your hands and turn it over, it’s not too surprising to find a standard 6x70mm mounting pattern. There’s no Quick Release supplied as standard, as you’ll have to choose one to suit your base. Conspit’s 310 Apex is a steering wheel that can be used with virtually any Direct Drive base on the market, provided you have the right hub for it.

As for assembly, it doesn’t really differ from one base to another, as the 6x70mm pattern is standard. So you take the hub of your QR, attach it to the steering wheel and you’re done. It’s a simple, effective and proven design.

Manufacturing and finishing

The 310 Apex’s structure is made of aluminum alloy, with a 3D-printed faceplate. What’s more, the hoop is made of steel, which is a guarantee of solidity for a steering wheel that claims to be premium (this is reflected in the price, which we’ll see below).

The headband is covered with textured imitation leather for a good level of grip. On the front, the finish is very meticulous, with a very high level of attention to detail. I didn’t notice a single flaw when I inspected the 310 Apex on the front. This applies to all the steering wheel components, with the possible exception of the rear section of the roll bar.

There’s one area, more precisely where you put your thumbs – the horizontal part of the wheel – that isn’t exactly superbly finished. Visually, it’s as if Conspit had trouble integrating the imitation leather on the moldings in question, and this lowers the overall quality of the wheel. That’s not a problem in itself, especially as we don’t really have that part in front of us, but it does look a bit cheap as far as I’m concerned.

Handling the steering wheel

The 310 Apex is 31 cm in diameter, with a completely round shape. As a result, it has a very good grip for a wide range of motorsport competitions. What’s more, this steering wheel is aimed at fans of GT racing in a sense, or much more touring, so the placement of the controls is just right for this kind of discipline.

All buttons and controls are close to your hands, so you don’t have to do any gymnastics in the middle of a race. The display at the top center of the faceplate offers several telemetry readouts (7 in all), such as gear engaged, speed, tire pressure, and so on.

Let’s move on to the rear and talk about the paddles. Conspit has put 4 on the 310 Apex, with the gears being magnetic, and the other two for dual clutch with Hall sensors. I think they’re a good size, especially those used for shifting gears. Unfortunately, you can’t adjust their spacing or height.

Sensations during play

What is the 310 Apex from Conspit worth on the track? Let’s not forget that this is an entirely round steering wheel, with a diameter of 31 cm. This gives it a natural ease of use in a number of motorsport disciplines, including GT, touring and even endurance racing, since the faceplate incorporates a number of configurable controls (the brand claims over 100 different combinations).

The wheel is not designed as a single unit, with the hoop bolted to a central structure. In practice, this has no impact on strength, even on powerful Direct Drive underpinnings, such as those developing over 15 nm of torque, like the Clubsport DD+.

As previously mentioned, the 310 Apex feels great in the hand, across a wide range of motorsport disciplines. It’s precise, your hands are well positioned with a 9H15-type stance, and the faceplate moldings are just perfect for long sim-racing sessions.

The controls on the faceplate are responsive to running, and I’d go so far as to say very well positioned. What’s more, the screen offers 7 different telemetry displays, which is really nice.

However, not everything is perfect on this steering wheel, and I find its biggest flaw to be the dual clutch paddles. They’re positioned far too low for my liking, especially as you can clearly see that there’s a gap of about 2 cm between them and the gearshift paddles.

Compatibility

Obviously, such a steering wheel can only be used on a PC with a USB connection. As far as Direct Drive bases are concerned, as long as you have one with a 6x70mm hub, the 310 Apex can be used with it. What’s more, the steering wheel is compatible with SimHub for dashboard telemetry and RGB LEDs.

Value for money

Depending on the store where you shop, the Conspit 310 Apex costs an average of €350 – €360, which is a bit steep in the range of sim-racing steering wheels for GT, touring, etc., especially for a wheel that isn’t all that exotic. Let’s not forget that the rollbar is covered in imitation leather, not leather or alcantara.

So yes, it’s well made in absolute terms, but I think it’s a bit expensive for what it is.

My verdict

If you’re a fan of the Conspit brand, then I really don’t need to paint you a picture, as you’ll most likely be considering this wheel. More broadly, the 310 Apex is also for those looking for a versatile wheel capable of covering many disciplines, provided you find it at the right price.