Asetek Racing Initium Bundle 1 Review - A Solid Entry-Level Direct Drive Package

TweakTown Rating: 91%

Our Verdict

Asetek joins the entry-level direct drive market with its new Initium line up. If you can get past the looks of the wheel rim, Asetek offer a well rounded package with plenty of upgrade options, and the best entry-level pedals available.

Pros

• Competitive pricing
• Upgrade paths
• New standard of entry-level pedals

Cons

• Steering wheel aesthetic is a little questionable
• Magnetic shifters are slightly below par
• Lower range encoder compared to some rivals

Should you buy it?

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Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing

Asetek Sim Sports are known in the sim racing world for their high-quality hardware, such as their Invicta, Forte, and La Prima product lines. The issue with these is that they are not really aimed at beginners, especially with the wallet. However, Asetek is set to combat this with a new product line and branding that has recently launched, the Asetek Racing Initium Series.

This new component range includes a wheel, wheel base, pedals, accessories, and even a new cockpit. For today, though, we are looking at the Asetek Racing Initium Racing Bundle 1, which includes the Initium Steering Wheel, Initium Direct Drive Wheelbase, and Initium Pedal Set.

Launching at $599, this bundle is aiming for a range of competitors, including the MOZA R5 Bundle, the Fanatec CSL DD Bundle, the Thrustmaster T598-P Bundle, and finally, the Simagic Alpha Mini Pack. In this lineup, notably, both Thrustmaster and Simagic offer PlayStation compatibility, while the others, including the Asetek model, are purely PC compatible. However, Asetek is launching the wheel rim with an Xbox-compatible version also available.

Asetek is trying to broaden its horizons and compete with other manufacturers at the entry point of the market. Given the competition listed above, the Asetek Initium has 5.5Nm of torque available. Only the Simagic Mini Pack offers more, 10Nm to be exact, but this comes in at $1530 according to the product marketing I received from Asetek. All the others, apart from a $9 reduction on the Fanatec bundle, sit at the same price and offer the same amount of power, at 5.5Nm. So, does the Asetek provide more features and performance overall than the others at the same price?

Packaging

My test sample arrived in a giant cardboard box. Once opened, Asetek packages everything separately, with the rim, base, and pedals all presented individually.

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Let's start today's coverage with the wheel base. The front of the packaging gives a brief overview of the product.

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At the rear, the packaging highlights some of the key features of the Initium Wheel Base.

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One side of the box displays the included components, including the wheel base, table clamp, power brick, mains cable, and a USB-C connection for our PC. Note that the UK version plug arrived as a separate addition.

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The other side of the packaging is simply an image of the included wheel base.

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The wheel rim packaging carries on the Initium branding, and the front includes a key point that magnetic shifters are included in this bundle, with an image of the rim.

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As with the wheel base, the rear provides more detailed information about the wheel construction and features, with nothing of note on the packaging sides.

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To complete the set, the pedals are packaged in a box that accommodates the pedal set's shape, rather than a rectangular box. Again, familiar details in comparison with the rim and wheel base.

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There are details of the included accessories on the side, with an overview of the pedals on the front of the box.

Unboxing the Asetek Initium Racing Bundle 1

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Opening up the wheel base, we are greeted with the instruction manual, cables, and power brick on the top layer. The power brick is pretty compact, so it will be easy enough to tuck away.

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Below is the wheel base itself, and the table clamp in a plain brown box. This clamp offers up to around 45mm total table top depth and an overall full extension of around 132mm.

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Moving on to the base itself, it feels really well built and slightly larger than the MOZA equivalent. This Direct Drive unit measures in at 133x132x235mm and weighs in at 5.7Kg.

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To the side, the symmetrical design features inbuilt cooling fins that dissipate heat from the base.

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Around the back is where the magic happens, with power and PC connection, and up to five accessories can be attached via USB-C. Below is a power button, and again, like MOZA, I would prefer this to be located somewhere more convenient.

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Finally, on the base, to the bottom, there are four M6 threated, not threaded, T-Nuts, no, that's not a typo, that's what Asetek lists on the product packaging information. Okay, I am picking a slight fault here. Does it have an impact on the product? Absolutely not. These mounts can be varied in length, from 30mm to 100mm, with a fixed width of 87mm.

The base features a wheel-side quick release, with a protective cover within the mechanism to protect the pogo pins. The Initium wheel base has a 14-bit encoder, featuring 16,384 points for accurate reading of input, and 0.022 degrees per turn input point.

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Shall we unbox the wheel rim next? Yes, let's.

The Asetek Initium wheel is packaged well, like all the other components. First, a quick start guide greets us, and then below the foam, the wheel itself.

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Asetek includes in the bottom of the box some stickers for the buttons and a set of tweezers to apply them. Both black and clear options are available for the backlit buttons on the rim. It is a nice touch, and something I would prefer other manufacturers to do too. Instead of printing buttons at the factory, leaving them blank, and then adding stickers, I'd like the end user to decide what they want to map and where. For the review, we will not be adding these to the rim.

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The Initium wheel rim features a texturized rubber grip and polymer construction. It feels friendly and robust, and at 300mm, it is slightly larger than I prefer but will cover a wide range of race scenarios. There are two versions available: PC and PC/Xbox.

The wheel features a total of 21 inputs, with four being backlit, one in each corner, with the Start/Stop button also illuminated. The rim also includes two rotary encoders, a D-Pad, magnetic paddle shifters, and a 9 LED rev light. The overall aesthetic, though, I'm not too sure about; maybe it will grow on me.

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The photos above provide additional reference to the wheel's construction and shape, including the rear and gear paddles.

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Here is a closer look at the quick-release, including its magnetic paddles and connection pads.

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The final part of the unboxing features our most intriguing part, the pedals. A manual accompanies the product, with some accessories contained at the top of the box.

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Upon examining this pedal set, it becomes clear that there is room for a clutch pedal, which Asetek will offer as an accessory. The included brake and throttle are both equipped with a hall sensor and can be mounted in two positions: cockpit and floor. They weigh just 2.9Kg.

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Asetek uses ultra-strong and durable glassfibre reinforced composite materials in the construction of these pedals, able to withstand up to 140KG of force. Asetek offers a range of upgrade options, allowing you to start small and build your system as your needs and wishes evolve. From a load cell brake option to a hydraulic version on the brake to throttle upgrades and the addition of a clutch, it's a canvas on which you can build.

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Offering a two-stage spring-loaded, Hall Effect sensor, the brake pedal can also be customised using the included accessory spring.

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With a tool-less disassembly, the brake pedal chamber can be removed, the spring swapped out, and reinstalled in just a minute or so, offering a firmer pedal feel. Although the unit's construction and materials seem somewhat simplistic, I had no concerns with the brake during testing, as the rated force application Asetek quote was more than satisfactory.

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The whole pedal kit can be mounted on the floor or in cockpit mode, enabled by removing the bottom cover plates, flipping around the internal panel, and reinstalling. There are embossed images visible through the metal bottom cover to indicate the modes the pedals are in.

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With this process complete, which didn't take more than five minutes, slide the orange block under the throttle to provide the new pedal stop location.

With the pedals reworked, you can see the new rest position angle is more vertical for cockpit use. Finally, the pedal faces are moulded as part of the pedal arm, so no adjustment or replacement of them is possible.

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With all the Asetek pedals ready to race, the last thing to show is the USB-C connection. This is located next to the throttle, on the face of the pedal set, rather than underneath. Although it is recessed, I think placing it underneath would have been a better solution. I'm concerned about accidentally catching the cable with my foot and pulling it out, which could potentially damage something. With that said, if you cable tie and route this properly when installed, it should be just fine.

Installation & Testing

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Time to get the all-new Asetek Initium bundle mounted to our Trak Racer TR120S V2 test rig, set up, and ready to race, so that I can conclude this setup.

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Mounting once again was very simple, using the pre-installed T-Nuts on the bottom of the wheel base. Installation on the Trak Racer TR120S V2 was plain sailing, as was installing the pedals. With everything hooked up, let's jump into the Asetek software.

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Once downloaded, the Asetek RaceHub software is intuitive and straightforward to configure. After detecting and updating the Initium components, I could then play around in the software.

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All the options you will need are available within the software. I initially drove the included Asetek GT3 preset, but it needed a bit more adjustment, so I made a few quick tweaks to my liking and then headed back to the track. I would typically run on the included preset to ensure a level playing field for comparison, but I found it a bit weak in terms of FFB and a few other settings, so I made the necessary adjustments. As I mentioned in the MOZA R5 review, FFB settings are tailored to each individual, so if you decide to purchase the Asetek Initium, you'll have a wide range of settings to experiment with and find your preferred setup.

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From pedal curves to flag notifications on the wheel rim, everything here can be adjusted. You can import and export presets, so if you know someone has a good setup and configuration, you can always copy it over and try it out for yourself.

Final Thoughts

I ran the Asetek Racing Initium Racing Bundle on Asetto Corsa Competizione and Le Mans Ultimate to put it through its paces. After editing the initial settings, I have to say I'm pretty impressed overall.

While the 300mm wheel rim felt a little on the larger side, it was a comfortable experience throughout. The button layout felt fairly intuitive, and having two rotary encoders was a nice inclusion, especially for on-the-fly TC and ABS adjustment.

Button presses felt friendly and positive, but the paddle shifters felt a little less so. Gear changes were competent, but I didn't really feel like these were magnetic shifters; they just felt a little on the weak side of things. They feel dampened to reduce the noise from them, which is a good thing in some home setups, but I think they need a bit more resistance or snappiness to make me feel more included in the gear change process. If you flick your fingers off them when changing gear, there is some resonance as they land back in their home state, but for an entry-level wheel, they serve their purpose.

LED lighting throughout was informative on the rev counter, and having everything backlit at this price point is excellent. While I don't overly love the visual aesthetic, it's well-built and will be a good starting point for sim racers to get to grips with.

Moving onto the wheel base, the 5.5Nm provided is well translated from the track to my hands. There was no slop or play through the wheel quick-release connection system during testing. Input was transferred well on surfaces, with the feedback giving a good range of detail, and I am sure that with some fine-tuning, I could get more out of it, but out of the box, its 14-bit encoder sits lower in the range than the likes of the MOZA R5, so not as much detail can be transferred.

While this is the case, anyone coming to direct drive for the first time from a Logitech G29, Thrustmaster T300, or similar belt or gear-driven wheel will undoubtedly find it a massive upgrade in terms of the experience. There is no detectable cogging with smooth rotation, and it will serve its use case well for years to come with the included 24-month warranty.

Covering the Initium pedal set, I was initially not too keen on them, but they might just be setting a new standard for entry-level pedals. The Hall Sensors were smooth, and during my testing, I didn't detect any ghost readings that I had previously experienced on some Thrustmaster pedals. Obviously, time will tell what the longevity of the product is, but in my own experience with them so far, they have been a great addition.

The two-stage brake pedal, which I inspected during unboxing, seemed a little fragile, but after testing, I had no reservations about applying full pressure to the pedal. Then there's the feeling of them, and this is a real positive. The initial give in the pedal reaches the threshold, and is then transferred smoothly to the second stage. It removes some of the guesswork of positioning with the Hall Sensor reading well throughout. I tried both the hard and soft spring options. Again, you will have your own preference, but I prefer the harder variant.

The throttle was also a positive experience, quick, snappy, and predictable, ensuring consistency throughout my race sessions. Given the expandability of the pedal set, they truly will give other manufacturers something to think about going forward.

When drawing up my conclusion to the Asetek Initium bundle, there are a few things to consider. Let's break down some of the components individually and discuss the available upgrades.

Standalone Asetek Initium 5.5Nm Wheel Base $349

Asetek is releasing an 8Nm upgrade kit for this, priced at $89. This may be a tempting offer for many users, similar to Fanatec's approach, which involves simply upgrading the power supply unit.

The upgrades for the pedals are a bit more in-depth, including the following;

Standalone Asetek Initium Pedal Set $119

The Clutch Pedal add-on comes in at $39, with a separate upgrade kit that adds $119 to the pricing. A throttle upgrade is set at $119, while a load cell brake upgrade will also set you back $119. Finally, a hydraulic brake upgrade kit is available, priced at $329.

So the upgrades will start eating away at your bank balance, but would I even consider these as a new racer? Well, some options are more attractive than others, and a lot will depend on how far down the rabbit hole you want to go.

Asetek is giving you the option to go as far as you wish, but out of the box, despite a couple of minor points, the Asetek Initium is a well-rounded starter package. From the feedback, to the RaceHub software, the standard pedals with the great two-stage brake, the clear upgrade paths, and overall competitive bundle pricing make it a great option.

On the downside, the magnetic paddles aren't great, but coming from a basic wheel, they will still feel like an upgrade. The wheel rim looks a bit toy-like and won't appeal to everyone. I would argue that MOZA and other manufacturers offer better aesthetics but similar input options. Finally, the wheel rim ecosystem remains somewhat unclear, particularly with the abundance of Fanatec and MOZA offerings.

As a bundle, the Initium range will no doubt expand more, and as an entry-level set, it offers excellent value. The build quality is good despite my earlier concerns, and you know everything is backed up by the knowledge and experience Asetek has put into this new product line.

It doesn't offer the maximum feedback detail, and if you were coming down from something higher up the direct drive food chain, you would undoubtedly find its shortcomings quite quickly. But this isn't intended as the next step, or side step, but as the first step on the direct drive ladder, with enough scope to climb it a few rounds with the upgrades on offer.

Would I pick this over the MOZA or Fanatec equivalent? That would depend on several factors, including the aesthetics of the wheel rim and magnetic shifters. However, in terms of function and scope, I have no issues recommending the Asetek Racing Initium Racing Bundle 1.