Thrustmaster T300RS and T3PA Pro - Problems, Solutions, Modifications and Upgrades!

Discussion in 'Sim Racing Systems & Troubleshooting' started by Mike--ekiM, Mar 5, 2021.

  1. Mike--ekiM

    Mike--ekiM Rookie

    Posts:
    40
    Likes:
    90
    PSN ID
    Mike--ekiM
    As problems arise with my wheel and pedals, I've modded a few things to keep them running. I am well out of warranty.
    Keep in mind that these problems have come up after 5 or so years of the wheel working well as it was designed, and this system has seen a lot of use.
    A few of these things have turned out to be good upgrades, even if you aren't having problems, so I thought I'd share for anyone else running a T300RS wheel or T3PA Pro pedals.

    DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY HARM OR DAMAGES YOU MAY INCUR TO YOURSELF, OTHERS OR YOUR PROPERTY.
    FOLLOWING ANY INSTRUCTIONS IN THIS GUIDE WOULD BE AT YOUR OWN RISK.
    Taking your wheel or pedals apart will VOID YOUR WARRANTY, and you may unintentionally cause DAMAGE TO COMPONENTS or HARM TO YOURSELF OR OTHERS.

    Remember to UNPLUG THE WHEEL FROM THE POWER SOCKET before commencing to take it apart.

    If your wheel is under warranty I would suggest contacting Thrustmaster Technical Support.

    With all that having been said, if you are like me and are reasonably comfortable taking stuff apart (despite lack of technical expertise) and/or have nothing to lose, here's a mod guide based on my experience :)

    I'd recommend the 'low wheel-friction mod', the 'magnetic paddle-shifters mod' and the 'squash ball brake mod' to anyone who likes to tinker and is looking to improve the performance of their T300RS or T3PA Pros. The 'low wheel-friction mod' in particular is quite an upgrade, wheel rotation speed is noticeably improved from stock.
    Taking the wheel apart requires only a Phillips head screwdriver, and the pedals can be taken apart with the supplied Allen key.

    The Problems:
    • Increasing wheel friction over time (the friction of the wheel when FFB motor is not active).
    • The right paddle shifter not fully returning to original position, and intermittently doesn't register a shift.
    • The stock 'spring and pad' brake mod disintegrating over time.
    • The wheel 'binding up' at the limits of its rotation:
    • The left paddle shifter's hinge snapping.
    • Vague FFB around the wheel's centre position.
    • The wheel calibrating off-centre.

    The Solutions and the Mods:


    Increasing base wheel friction over time (the friction of the wheel when FFB motor is not active):
    The 'Low Wheel-Friction Mod'

    The wheel has slowly been increasing in friction, to the point where it was becoming difficult to counter-steer quickly.
    I took the cover off of the wheel base and saw that the belt tensioners were simply plastic rollers on metal shafts:
    [​IMG]


    I replaced the plastic rollers with bearings, 2 bearings replace each plastic roller (I was going to use 3 but it wouldn't fit easily and the third one didn't have contact with the belt anyway):
    https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Aussie-...723903?hash=item234dc6b6bf:g:ErgAAOSwPmVcHfu9
    [​IMG]

    For the two tensioners on the motor belt I used 3x8x4 693 bearings (Ebay link above).
    I used tiny rubber o-rings (bought a pack of all different sizes from Bunnings, you may be able to find just small ones at a hobby shop) on either side of the bearings and then washers to make up the rest of the space to the circlip:
    [​IMG]
    Then I adjusted the tension of the belt by undoing the 4 screw that hold the motor in place and moving it up in it's slot and tightening the 4 screws back down (if the belt is set too tight it will slow down the rotation of the wheel, set it just tight enough so there's no slack).

    For the two tensioners on the wheel shaft belt I used 5x10x4 105 bearings (same Ebay link).
    I just used rubber o-rings on either side of these, no washers. The little metal shafts they are on just press out and press back in. I did have to sand down one of the shafts a small amount to be able to slide on the bearings, as it was very slightly bigger than the other (I used a jeweller's drill with a sanding attachment, but I could have gotten away with hand-sanding it down with 240 grit):
    [​IMG]

    Usually that plastic cradle that holds the tensioners screws onto the gear shaft to hold the gear in place, causing friction, so I cut a clearance hole in the cradle and screwed a bearing on the gear shaft instead using the original screw (the cradle is screwed on in 3 other points, the centre screw is just to hold the gear in place):
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    I adjusted the tension of the belt by undoing the two screws that hold in the tensioners (they will have red wax on them from factory) and moving the tensioners until they are just touching the belt (again, don't set the belt too tight). I've adjust mine out fully and they were still touching the belt enough so there was no slack.

    Results: A big improvement in wheel rotation speed, even from when it was new. You could probably also replace the bearings for the actual gears that drive the belts somehow, or replace the gears with ones that have bearings in them for the shafts, but that's a little too involved for me.

    The right paddle shifter not fully returning to original position, and intermittently doesn't register a shift:
    The 'Magnetic Paddle Shifter Mod'

    I took the wheel apart, and removed the fatiguing springs that return the paddles. I then reassembled the wheel and stuck 2 rare earth neodymium magnets to the back of the wheel with some very strong and thin double-sided tape:
    https://www.jaycar.com.au/rare-earth-magnet-50-x-20mm/p/LM1628 (you can probably get them cheaper online, but I know someone who works at Jaycar.)
    [​IMG]

    Results: Paddle return is now stronger than when the wheel was new, and has a more positive feel. You probably wouldn't even have to remove the springs for the magnets to return the paddles, but it does make the paddles feel better.

    The stock 'spring and pad' brake mod disintegrating over time:
    The 'Squash Ball Brake Mod'

    I needed a replacement for my disintegrating stock spring and pad brake mod, and the conical brake mod that comes with the wheel is too firm for my set up, using a desk chair with locking castor wheels:
    [​IMG]

    I'm sure a lot of people have heard of shoving a squash ball behind the brake pedal to replicate a load cell, but I found this to still be too firm for GT Sport, where you cannot manually calibrate the pedals saturation.
    The solution was to cut the squash ball in half (I used a scalpel). I also installed a piece of wire as I found the edge of the ball tends to pop out after a while.
    It doesn't look like it in the photo but I wrapped the wire once around the bolt when it was undone and then screwed it down onto the wire.
    The mod plate that the ball is on is installed in the highest possible position:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    The blue 'Intro" Dunlop ball fitted best for me, the double yellow dot 'Pro' Dunlop ball is probably the best choice if you are putting the whole squash ball in there:
    [​IMG]

    Results: Surprisingly progressive pedal feel with a short travel, adjustable by moving the mod plate up and down and cutting more/less off of the ball. Better than the conical mod in my opinion. A dozen hours put on it with the ball staying firmly in place since I installed the wire.

    The wheel 'binding up' at the limits of its rotation:

    I took the cover off of the wheel base and re-greased the worm gear that the wheel shaft is connected to with Kinchrome multi-purpose grease:
    https://www.bunnings.com.au/kincrome-500g-multipurpose-grease_p6100306
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Results: The wheel now runs more smoothly to the limits of its rotation. You could take apart that whole worm gear section and clean and re-grease, but you had to disassemble a lot of other important looking things to do that. I chose the quick fix.

    The left paddle shifter's hinge snapping:
    I took the wheel apart (again) and simply super-glued the broken pieces of the plastic hinge back together. No problems so far after a few dozen hours of use.

    Vague FFB around the wheel's centre position:
    This was fixed by adjusting the belt tension, which I covered in the 'Low Wheel-Friction Mod' above.
    There was a bit of slack in the motor belt. I over-tightened it the first time which is how I realised that over-tightening slows down wheel rotation. I re-adjusted it to just take out the slack and it's been good for a dozen hours since.

    The wheel calibrating off-centre:
    After adjusting the belt tension the wheel would calibrate a few degrees off-centre, thankfully the fix to this is as simple as holding a few buttons to recalibrate the centre position! It then stores that position in the wheel's internal memory so you don't have to manually recalibrate it every time you turn it on.
    As I run a PS4 rim I held the START, SELECT & MODE buttons simultaneously in the PS system's main menu. The LED will then briefly change colour to let you know it has stored the new centre position. There are instructions on Thrustmaster's support page for the different button combinations required for different rims (a few of them require you to hold a paddle down or use different face buttons etc.)
    I saw a surprising number of people online who did not realise this and were running a wheel off-centre for years.

    There are a couple of ongoing problems that have just come up recently:
    • Very occasional 'options' button and 'up D-pad' button activation without touching the buttons.
    • Very occasional sticky throttle input for ~0.1 of a second, despite the pedal having returned to its neutral position.
    I'm going to have a look at the accelerator potentiometer and try some contact cleaner on that and maybe the wheel buttons too, as I can't see anything physically wrong with either.

    Hope this helps someone out, as it would have helped me!

    Cheers
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2021