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Aspiring sim racers that aren’t ready to spend big bucks on a hardcore rig, but want a more convincing first taste of digital driving than they’d get from the most basic wheels and pedals have a new starting point. Danish virtual motorsport maestro Asetek has just introduced its new Initium range, and having tried it all out at this year’s Gamescom show, there’s very little about it that feels at all ‘entry-level’.
Rather than starting at the bottom and working up, as Logitech has done with its RS series wheels and hub, Asetek has gone the other way: the Intium range dilutes down the tech seen in its existing Forte and La Prima setups. The $599/€679 bundle includes a direct drive Wheelbase, steering wheel and pedal set, with each showing a clear lineage to the rest of the line-up. That price isn’t a whole lot higher than some belt-drive wheel and pedal sets, so looks like fantastic value.
You might not get any fancy LCD screens on the steering wheel that mimic your onscreen car’s dashboard here, but the Initium wheel still has a row of rev-light LEDs indicating when to change up using its snappy paddle shifters, and four backlit buttons that can be programmed for useful functions like activating your pit limiter or team radio. It has the same quick release mechanism as Asetek’s other wheels, with no cables to worry about, and the 300mm wheel is wrapped in grippy rubber.
With any sense of racing skill having failed me during my demo, I was grateful for the start/stop button’s ability to deactivate the wheelbase’s torque. It’s found right in the middle of the wheel, so you can always hit it even when you’re spinning out onscreen.
With 5.5Nm of torque, the Initium Wheelbase is more than capable of wrenching the wheel from your hands in a crash. It’s double what you’ll get from a Logitech G923. Having tried the much higher-end Forte system first, I could definitely feel the difference in power – but with 16,384 degrees of responsiveness here, you’re not losing any of the steering precision you’d get from a pricier base.
It comes with a desk mount in the box, so you don’t need to have a full racing seat setup to get started, and the base plays host to your other peripherals – like the Initium pedal set – to cut down on cable clutter. Asetek also offers an upgrade kit to 8Nm of power, if you want to get a bit more serious later down the line.
The pedal set is just as flexible, with a grippy rubber base designed to stay firm on the floor, but a mounting mechanism that lets it bolt onto a permanent rig for the most authentic experience. I really like the naked carbon fibre styling, and how much force it demands from your foot to fully depress the brake pedal. Again, there’s a difference between it and the Forte setup, but I was still able to modulate the brake and throttle effectively.
It comes as a two pedal arrangement as standard, but you can add a clutch pedal later if you like. The spring kits can also be upgraded, or swapped for hydraulic ones for ultimate immersion.
If you want a cockpit and a racing seat to bolt it all too, Asetek has you covered. The $299/€339 2-in-1 Cockpit can be set up in GT or Formula-style seating positions, is made from strong steel that had zero flex or creaking during my demo, and has front caster wheels to make moving it around that bit easier. It’s compatible with the fabric-wrapped $159/€179 Initium Seat, as well as the $259/€299 Forte Seat, which has a more sculpted bucket shape and is covered in faux leather.
The Initium hardware is PC-only for now, but Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One compatibility is apparently on the way via an Xbox-specific steering wheel.
Everything is available to buy separately right now, direct from Asetek. A Racing Bundle II, which adds the cockpit and race seat, will set you back $1,049/€1,179, but won’t start shipping for a little while longer.
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