Simagic FX Pro

Our rating : 9.2/10

In the premium sim-racing segment, there are a few brands offering truly high-end products in their catalogs. These include Fanatecthe German sim-racing giant, which has been active in the industry for over 20 years and offers a wide selection of peripherals, both entry-level and premium. Then there are luxury players like Simucube, whose products are often used by racing teams in their simulators.

Other names can also be mentioned, such as Moza Racing and Simagicboth Chinese players and rather young, but offering a very competitive catalog compared to what you’ll find in the segment.

Speaking of Simagic, the brand’s catalog is more than adequate, I must say, covering virtually all sim-racing disciplines, and all budgets too. Among this manufacturer’s wheels, we have the FX Pro, which represents the very best in terms of single-seater wheels. And today, we’re testing it to see how it performs on a sim-racing rig.

Main and technical features of the steering wheel

• Single-seat carbon-fiber steering wheel
• Full carbon fiber structure
• 6 magnetic FC rear paddles
• 4.3″ LCD screen for telemetry display
• 12 backlit buttons on front panel, 5 encoders and 4 rotary switches
• Racing-derived QR50mm at the rear
• USB-C socket on rear also for use with non-Simagic bases
• PC-compatible
• 29 cm diameter, with custom silicone handles to prevent heat build-up and perspiration
• A RevLED on the top of the breastplate

Design

As we’ve come to expect from Simagic, the FX Pro is a superb single-seater wheel. Its design is simple, minimalist, but at the same time eye-catching if you like, with custom RGB on all buttons.

The carbon fiber is simple, not forged, but that’s understandable, since the FX Pro sails in a segment that isn’t elitist. Apart from the red rotary switches that are within reach of your thumbs, all the rest of the controls are sober, with a host of stickers in the box for customizing the wheel.

And of course, a distinctive feature of the FX Pro: its central display. It covers I’d say 1/3 of the faceplate and displays information about the vehicle’s telemetry. All in all, this Simagic steering wheel is very handsome, without being overly extravagant.

Customized assembly

At the rear, we find Simagic’s QR50mm, which offers a rather standard pattern, and which I find quite similar to that of Moza Racing. This QR will enable you to use the FX Pro with any Simagic base, provided you have the QR Base Side of the same size, as the Chinese brand offers a QR50mm and a QR70mm.

Installing the FX Pro on a Direct Drive base is very simple: you pull on the red ring, align and push in the QR, and release the ring to secure everything in place. Unlike Fanatec QRs, the connection pins are few, short and horizontal, and there’s virtually no risk of damaging them.

Manufacturing and finishing

The FX Pro features an all-carbon fiber structure, which is quite rare for the segment. Usually, you’d find an aluminum backplate and a carbon-fiber faceplate for Simagic’s asking price.

When it comes to build quality, you’d think it’d be premium, and it is. Everything is perfect, from the buttons and encoders to the screen and even the silicone grips, specially developed to prevent heat build-up and perspiration. And it works!

As for the FX Pro’s finish, it’s beyond reproach. The buttons don’t catch on use, all the steering wheel parts fit together perfectly, leaving virtually no gaps between them, and the grips are superb to use, even on long racing sessions without gloves. And at the rear, the carbon-fiber paddles are also very well made.

Handling the steering wheel

The FX Pro is 29 cm in diameter, with a discipline-specific rectangular shape. The riding position is between 09H15 and 10H10, which means your hands will be a hair above the center. The silicone grips are quite large, which is quite a change from what you’ll find with some competing brands and their all-gringy solution that still removes a good dose of immersion.

As for the controls, apart from the encoders and a few buttons at the bottom of the faceplate, everything else is easily accessible on the fly by your fingers, without your hands leaving the handles. The same applies to the 6 paddles (4 of them magnetic) on the rear of the FX Pro. These are adjustable in terms of spacing, allowing them to be adapted to each individual pilot.

As for the screen, it’s large (4.3”), clear and bright, displaying telemetry data essential for racing. You can customize views via SimPro Manager, the brand’s software.

Sensations during play

Let’s take a look at Simagic’s FX Pro steering wheel on an Alpha with 15 nm of torque. The steering wheel is already super-intuitive to use, whether it’s for the display, which shows really useful data in the middle of a race, while being highly configurable via SimPro Manager, or for the buttons, which are configurable galore.

The FX Pro is very easy to handle, thanks in particular to its rectangular shape and its riding position, or rather the position of your hands. The silicone grips don’t bother you at all if you don’t have gloves, which is excellent for riders who do fairly long sim-racing sessions, but don’t want to invest in a pair to protect their hands.

Even though the FX Pro weighs in at 1.7 kg on the scales, you won’t feel so much as a heavy wheel in your hands. But then, that’s largely due to the Alpha I tested it on; with 15 nm of torque, any wheel will feel pretty light, even when you’re pushing the base to its limits, which is pretty hard to do in real life.

And finally, the rear paddles. There are 6 in all, 4 of them magnetic. Of course, they’re all adjustable, but only in terms of spacing, which is a bit of a shame given that the FX Pro is Simagic’s top-of-the-range model. But then, at this price, it’s understandable, and we don’t expect to have all the options available either. Also, the paddles aren’t in Push-Pull configuration like on some Fanatec steering wheels, and that’s also a bit of a shame, as it would have been very handy in the middle of a race.

Compatibility

The Simagic range is compatible only with the PC and Windows platform, and the FX Pro is no exception. And of course, this steering wheel will work wonderfully with Simagic’s DD bases (the Alpha), and even those of other brands, provided you have the right QR Base Side and also a USB-C socket on your PC.

And when it comes to sim-racing titles, FX Pro will be recognized by more or less everything on the market, from rFactor, to Assetto Corsa, to the F1 saga.

Value for money

In France, the FX Pro retails for €899 inc. VAT, which is quite a competitive price compared to other F1-type wheels with screens and carbon fiber on the market. Of course, there’s the FSR from Moza Racing, but in terms of build quality and materials, it falls short of the FX Pro, even though the two wheels look very similar.

My verdict

If you’ve got the budget, there’s no question about it: buy the FX Pro, because it’s an excellent F1 wheel. In terms of finish, build quality, features and materials, this Simagic wheel ticks all the boxes for an excellent sim-racing wheel.

And if you’re on a budget, you can always fall back on Moza’s FSR, which is… how can I put this… a more affordable copy, but not as good overall as the FX Pro.