Force Feedback

What is Force Feedback (FFB)?

Force Feedback (FFB) refers to the forces generated in peripherals like steering wheels, flight yokes, pedals, etc. that are often used by video games to present simulated forces that approximate the feeling you might experience in real life doing the same activity. You would, for example, feel similar forces from a steering wheel in a car that you would with a force feedback wheel in sim racing.

Tuning Wheel Force Feedback

Tune In:

• Strength
• Friction
• Damper

Tune Out:

• Oscillation

Tips:

• Give filters a try (even if you heard otherwise):
  • Do not blindly fear filters. Try them and accept or reject them based on your experience.
  • Some unwanted behaviour, such as post-oversteer oscillation, can be reduced or eliminated and more natural steering behaviour achieved by tuning filters such as friction, damper, and inertia.
• Min-Max Technique:
  • The Min-Max technique follows the process of trying extreme values, first min, then max, then try the middle of those two, then go up or down from there, always in the middle of the last two values, and keep repeating that process until you find what feels right to you.

Gotchas:

• Minimal filters:
  • Just enough to tune in what you want and tune out what you don’t.
  • Too much filter can potentially numb feedback and may introduce input delay.
  • But this doesn't mean you shouldn't try wildly high values, it just means when you do and you don't like it then try a middle value and adjust up or down from there, and repeat that process, until you find what's right for you. This process is called 'min-maxxing' or more technically a form of 'bisection search'.

Resources:

• Force Feedback Myth we Need to Talk About [Video] - Race Beyond Matter (2025) - Another chill video focusing on inertia for reducing oscillation after oversteer. Thought provoking points about trying high inertia values.
• Simucube3 Pro First Proper Drive on My Sim Rig [Video] - Race Beyond Matter (2025) - Chill ffb talk and drive for the new SimuCube 3, valuable FFB knowledge about friction, damper, and oscillations, among other stuff, useful info even if you don't have a SimuCube.

Tips

FFB Wheels:

• Grip != Wheel Weight
  • Past slip angle, grip can still increase while wheel weight decreases
  • It not just about tarmac-rubber grip, it has to do with how steering suspension geometry translates forces into your wheel as well as self-aligning torque which is itself emergent out of other forces, geometry, and steering variables
  • (Race) Car Steering Forces EXPLAINED! (Theory ~ 14m00s, Practice ~ 17m45s, Demonstration ~ 20m00s) - Niels Heusinkveld (2019)
  • How Tire Slip turns into Tire GRIP! - Combined Slip and Grip Explained! (somewhat, possibly) - Niels Heusinkveld (2020)