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Secrets of the Simucube 2 Pro: Tips, tricks, resources, and other helpful information.

I upgraded in 2021 from a SimXperience AccuForce Pro V1, which I had since 2015, and before that a Logitech G27, which I had for 4-5 years. You can read my experience with the AccuForce in my post Secrets of the SimXperience AccuForce Pro.

Secrets is a series of blog posts I started with Secrets of iRacing and which has grown to include Secrets of GTR2, Secrets of Race 07, Secrets of GT Legends, Secrets of Automobilista, Secrets of rFactor 2, Secrets of the SimXperience AccuForce Pro, and Secrets of Project Cars 2. The “secrets” part is a little dramatic but there are quite a few tips and tricks I think new users will find very valuable and interesting.

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Update 2022-10-25: Updated Rim Hard to Remove from Quick Release (new Super Lube recommendation), Games > Rfuktor 5.0.1K / 4.4 (indicated 5.0.1K works as well), Use Low FFB Effects Level in Old SimBin Games (new beta firmware with fixes available).

Update 2021-10-15: Updated FFB settings for Automobilista for Custom Rfuktor 4.4 profiles.

Update 2021-07-31: Added new FFB settings for Automobilista for Default and Custom Rfuktor 4.4 profiles.

Older updates are archived at the bottom under the Updates section.

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What is the Simucube 2 Pro?

The Simucube 2 Pro is a force feedback steering wheel system used mainly for sim racing on PC.

From the Simucube 2 Pro product page,

Are you ready to be known from jaw-dropping maneuvers in Sim Racing eSports scene? If so, don’t let mediocre simulator equipment tame you down. Unleash your predator like driver skills with Simucube 2 Pro Direct Drive wheelbase.

25 Nm of torque is enough to give you deep immersion with any track, car, and condition. With Pro, one might easily forget they’re in a simulation. High torque reserve enables the driver to receive all the detail simulator and car has to give.

Combined with exceptionally high torque response rate Pro motor, the sharpest kinks will be delivered at a clarity not seen in the Direct Drive scene before. The torque response rate is adjustable to the driver’s preferences.

Simucube 2 Pro is destined to set the new golden standard for high-end class Direct Drive wheels.

And here’s a promotional video to show it a little bit,

Getting Started

In Secrets, I try to focus on the non-obvious or unintuitive so I won’t be covering basics like acquiring or installing, unless there is is something of note to comment on. You’re probably beyond that yourself so I’ll focus on the more obscure and non-obvious things.

Resources

• Simucube Homepage
• Granite Devices Wiki
  • Simucube 2 Documentation Wiki
  • Simucube 2 User Guide (PDF)

Community

• Granite Devices Community Forums
• BoxThisLap – Simucube Settings and Tuning Guide

Notes

Slew Rate: What It Actually Feels Like

This effect limits how fast the torque is being changed. “Off” (default setting) means, that the rate of change is unlimited and the rate will be as fast as the Simucube 2 servo drive and motor will be able to accomplish. Limiting the slew rate can be useful to soften the driving feel. If the Driver has experience of other DD wheel systems, limiting the slew rate can be useful to make Simucube 2 feel less active.
-Simucube 2 User Guide (See Resources)

In my own words, slew rate is how fast the wheel can ramp up force, that is how many Nm per millisecond it can increase. For example, the stock iRacing profile uses 3.25 Nm/ms. In AMS2, I use 2 Nm/ms.

What It Actually Feels Like

At lower values, the forces are less jolty, and a rubbery tire feeling starts to emerge more (which I prefer). At higher values, forces are more jolty, they are supposed to come in more quickly, but for me you start to lose the rubber tire feeling.

I’m sure there’s some kind of trade off here with latency but it’s hard to detect and it doesn’t seem to affect me.

Tips and Tricks

Rim Hard to Remove from Quick Release

The best solution I’ve found so far is Super Lube 21010 Synthetic Multi-Purpose Grease with PTFE 1/2.

I had previously been using WD40 Teflon Dry Spray on a recommendation but it evaporates within days.

There are also recommendations to turn the wheel upside-down and pound the QR but that’s more force than I’d like to use.

Issues

Use Low FFB Effects Level in Old SimBin Games

Update 2022-10-25: There is a new beta firmware being developed on the Simucube forums that fixes DirectInput Effects support. Try asking on the forums to get access to it.

As of 5/13/21, the only way I’ve discovered to eliminate the wheel center bias problem (see “DirectInput Friction” issue below) is to set the FFB Effects Level to Low (Steering Forces + Grip Forces).

Here’s the cheatsheat for FFB Effects Level:

Low: Steering+Grip
Medium: Adds Friction+Damper+Rumble strips
High: Adds Brake vibration
Full: Adds Throttle vibration+Steering vibration

Most might not even care but I like to tune as much in-game as possible and I also like the option to tune the extra vibration effects, too, that help give some tactile feel to the driving experience.

DirectInput Friction Biases Wheel Center On Some Games

Related: See FFB Effects Level issue above.

Over on the Granite Devices Community Forums, I’ve posted a thread about an issue I experience in GTR2 where wheel center becomes biased to the left or right by a few degrees after going through sharp corners and when DirectInput Effect Fine Tuning for Friction is set to anything other than 0%.

At this time, I haven’t experienced problems with the other effects.

The Simucube guys say they are trying some workarounds for what they think is bad effect delivery by the games.

Games

Automobilista 2

Rfuktor 5.0.1K / 4.4

Updates

Credit: Feature Image