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Moza R5 : Test & Review

Sim Racer

E-sport driver & Sim Racing enthusiast, I decided to share my passion on this website.

Moza R5

Benefits

  • Direct Drive base developing 5.5 nm
  • All-aluminum housing
  • Compact size
  • Very good driving sensation

Disadvantages

  • A little blur on factory settings
  • Rather limited ecosystem, especially at the QR level of this base

Our rating: 9.6/10

It’s only been a few years since Chinese sim-racing peripherals manufacturer Moza Racing is active in the segment we love so much. As you know, the sim-racing scene is highly competitive, with many brands active for several years, sometimes more than 20 years for names like Logitech , Thrustmaster or Fanatec .

Of course, to thrive in a market, you need to have experience in the field, or offer products that are innovative and well-priced. For Moza Racing, its experience in the field comes more from its parent company, which develops and markets stabilizers for cameras. But Moza Racing’s strength lies in its innovation and aggressive pricing.

Among the Chinese manufacturer’s catalog, which isn’t quite as extensive as the competition’s, we find a base that clearly targets Fanatec’s most popular product. This is the Moza R5 with 5.5 nm of torque, is determined to wrest market share from the CSL DD. In what follows, I’ll introduce you to the R5, give you its strengths and weaknesses, and tell you what I think of it.

 

Main and technical characteristics of the base

  • DD base develops 5.5 nm of maximum torque
  • Compatible only with PC and its sim-racing titles
  • Aluminium construction from the aeronautics industry
  • Infinite rotation angle
  • Compact size of only 15.7 x 12.4 x 17.4 cm
  • QR from motor racing with wireless steering wheel connection

 

Design

As with Fanatec and its CSL DD (available in 2 power levels), Moza Racing’s R5 base is compact, lightweight and shares the same design as the R12, R9 and R3. The general shape of this base, or rather of these bases, resembles that of the letter “. X “with a drive shaft exiting from the front.

The R5’s color scheme is entirely black, with white brand logos on the sides and front. I have to admit that the R5 and the other “small” Moza Racing bases are inspired by the Fanatec CSL DD, at least for their housing. Overall, it’s beautiful, discreet and will go perfectly with many sim-racing setups.

GT DD PRO

Customized assembly

Given that the Moza R5 only develops 5.5 nm of maximum torque, you can easily mount this base on furniture, such as a desk, thanks to the clamp sold by the Chinese manufacturer. This clamp, or “Table Clamp”, is in the form of a plate to which the base is attached from below, and two large screws which are positioned on the furniture. Stability-wise, it won’t budge as long as you secure the clamp properly to a table or desk.

Of course, the R5 can also be mounted on a cockpit, chassis or stand via a front plate. Moza has quickly made a name for itself in the sim-racing industry, and virtually all its products are compatible with numerous sim-racing chassis.

For the brand’s steering wheels, we have a QR taken from the competition and which is more or less the same used by Simagic . However, I quickly noticed that this QR was specific to the R5, and that if you already have an old Moza steering wheel, it won’t be able to be used on the manufacturer’s small base. Honestly, I don’t understand this segmentation of one’s own range, especially when it comes to a QR that will inevitably limit riders’ choices, not to mention drive some of them away. Fanatec, for example, offers just one QR, or at least 2 interchangeable ones, for all its products, from the cheapest basic CSL DD to the Podium DD2, which costs an arm and a leg.

 

Manufacturing and finishing

Given the tough competition facing the R5, the Chinese manufacturer had to use premium materials for its small base. We use aluminum from the aerospace industry for the housing, with excellent build quality and a flawless finish.

Matte black dominates this base, with a hint of gloss on the driveshaft section to match the QR. Once again, the paintwork is beautifully finished, with no burrs or defects.

 

Getting to know the base

I don’t have much to say about how to handle the R5, given that it’s a base unit and you’ll only be touching it to install it and switch it on. However, the use of aluminum not only optimizes passive cooling of the motor and electronics, but also makes the base very light. On the scales, the R5 weighs just 3.5 kg, which makes a big difference compared with the 5.5 kg of a CSL DD, for example.

As far as installing a steering wheel is concerned, the QR is very efficient and easy to use, which is to be expected given that it’s inspired by those used in motor racing and is virtually identical to Simagic’s. Pull on the ring, align the flywheel and snap it into place. It’s fast and the connection is undeniably one of the strongest I’ve tested.

GT DD PRO

Sensations during play

I’ll now move on to how this little Moza Racing base feels. First and foremost, the Chinese manufacturer provides us with a comprehensive software package (Pit House) that allows us to adjust and parameterize more or less all the behavior of the DD base. I’m telling you this because, by default, you’re going to feel some blurring from time to time when driving with the R5, particularly in terms of loss of grip.

Once you’ve got your settings right, the R5 is highly communicative, with force feedback that’s both fine and quite powerful. Well, I have to admit that the 5.5 nm of torque is no match for an R9 or a CSL DD with boost kit, but it holds its own against T-GT IIs and a 5 nm CSL DD.

Feedback is precise when you have your settings, with communication of virtually everything the car in front of you is doing, be it bumps, collisions, curves, mass transfers and the whole shebang. Frankly, the R5 is an excellent competitor to the best in the segment, namely the CSL DD.

 

Compatibility

The R5 is exclusively compatible with the PC platform and its sim-racing titles. So you won’t have to worry about ACC, AC, iRacing or even Forza Motorsport. However, you’ll notice some rather odd behavior with Forza Horizon 4 and 5, and that’s perfectly normal given that the physics of these two titles don’t communicate superbly with Moza Racing’s basics. But don’t worry, as a trip to the Pit House and the in-game controls will solve this problem in no time.

As for the Moza ecosystem, it’s a completely different story, as there’s clearly a compartmentalization of products, especially when it comes to steering wheels and their QRs. As a result, the R5 won’t be able to accommodate older GS or CS steering wheels, for example, and that’s a real shame in my opinion.

GT DD PRO

Value for money

Depending on your preferred online store, the Moza R5 will retail for around €350, exactly the same as the 5 nm CSL DD. Considering this benchmark price, the R5’s feel and build quality, its value for money is pretty good when you’re setting up a sim-racing setup.

 

My verdict

Moza Racing’s R5 proved to be a very good base to use in sim-racing, especially for racers coming from a belt- or gear-driven setup. The 5.5 nm of torque are more than enough to offer a good level of immersion on virtually all current sim-racing titles.

However, this base has its limits, especially when it comes to upgrading. If the 5.5 nm of torque isn’t enough for you, all you can do is switch to the R9, which is a real shame, especially as Fanatec allows you to upgrade your CSL DD with the boost kit.

But hey, if you think the R5 is going to be enough, then you can go for it without thinking too hard.

gt dd pro

Moza R5

A very good 5.5nm base

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