Turn Racing R320 Steering Wheel and BP2 Button Plate
We’ve had a good relationship with our American friend Zach Hodgson of Turn Racing for over 2 years. Earlier we have already reviewed the R20 Evo steering wheel for Turn Racing. This time, however, it’s the turn of a newer family member from the Turn Racing line-up, the R320 steering wheel. Last time we tested the R20 Evo steering wheel with a Fanatec Universal Hub, but with the R320 steering wheel we received Turn Racing’s own BP2 Sim Racing Button Plate for a full Turn Racing experience.
At the time of writing, this separate R320 steering wheel is available for a price of €141.95. The BP2 Turn Racing Button Plate that we are going to mount on the steering wheel has a price tag of € 344.95. However, if you already have shifters yourself (for example a Magnetic Paddle Module or an Advanced Paddle Module on your Fanatec Podium hub), you can also choose to order this button box without the shift modules. In this case, the price will drop to €238.95. To use a Fanatec Podium Hub, which we will also use in this review, you will need an extra 10mm spacer. This 10mm spacer is available for an additional €17.11.
Packaging & Contents
The package was delivered to us by DHL in a large brown box, in which we found the 3 small boxes from Turn Racing. One seperate box for the steering wheel, a box for the button plate and a small box for the 10mm spacer. These are black glossy boxes with a chic minimalist look. Of course, much more important are the contents, which we are really looking forward to. Because Turn Racing is located in the United States, we had to pay some extra import costs. This came down to approximately €28. This is of course not quite a disaster in itself, but we do like to mention it so that you are not faced with unexpected costs.
In the box of the R320 we naturally find the steering wheel as expected. It ‘s neatly wrapped in protective film to prevent any damage. The contents of the box that is more interesting is that of the BP2 Sim Racing Button Plate, because it is quite full. To start with, the button plate itself is included in this box. This is accompanied by the necessary mounting materials to attach it to the steering wheel and a QR system. For the connection to the PC we find a sturdy coiled RJ45 to USB-A cable and a USB extension cable. What is special is that there is also a small housing in which you can connect the USB cables AND attach them to an aluminum t-slot profile. Finally, we find an extra set of paddles and a sheet with stickers to decorate the button box completely to your own taste.
The Steering Wheel
As the name suggests, the R320 Steering Wheel is a steering wheel with a diameter of 320mm. The base of the handlebar consists of a black anodized aluminum plate with the yellow Turn logo lightly milled out in the middle. This logo is surrounded by a hole pattern with a diameter of 70mm which can be used to attach the steering wheel to a button box or directly to a quick release system. This time, instead of suede, a sturdy type of rubber has been used for the hand grip, which should last for years without any form of maintenance.
The first thing we notice as soon as we take the R320 steering wheel out of the box is that it immediately feels very comfortable in the hand. The thick rubber grips feel sturdy but are not overly hard, making the wheel feel very solid. This in combination with the large diameter of the steering wheel gives you the sensation that you can easily tame any machine on the track. The advantage of choosing rubber is that you don’t have to be super careful with it. Meanwhile with suede and leather it is best to drive with gloves to keep it nice and durable, however with rubber that is not an issue.
The Button Plate
The BP2 Sim Racing Button Plate is a standalone button box with a 70mm hole pattern, just like the steering wheel. This allows it to be mounted on various barebone steering wheels. A full list of compatible steering wheels can be found on the Turn website. The BP2 has a plastic housing and is equipped with a large number of functionalities. In addition to a sturdy pair of magnetic shifters, the button box contains 6 push buttons, 2 rotary encoders that can also be used as push buttons and no less than two 7-in-1 funky switches. All these inputs are passed on to your computer via the sturdy coil cable (and included extension cable if needed) with an RJ45 plug to USB-A.
The BP2 feels nice and light in our hands. The plastic housing makes the button plate seem relatively fragile, but nothing could be further from the truth. The button plate is provided with aluminum parts at the locations where it is needed. For example, there are metal sleeves in the hole pattern to ensure that the contact from your steering wheel to your quick-release system is completely made of metal. As a result, the contact is firm and the flex is nil.
As mentioned before, the BP2 button plate has a nice arsenal of input options. For example, it is equipped with 6 push buttons, which feel very solid on first impression. The buttons have a good size and are also at a pleasant distance from each other so that you will not accidentally press 2 buttons at the same time in “the heat of the moment”. Accidentally pressing a button is almost impossible, because you have to nicely apply some pressure before you actually engage the buttons. Despite the fact that the travel of the button is relatively short, it does give a very nice tactile click when pressed. Fortunately, the high-quality feeling doesn’t just stay with the buttons, the 2 rotary encoders also feel very solid. Turning them is almost effortless, nevertheless you feel every step you turn clearly passing by, so that you never dial too little or too far. However, it doesn’t stop there, these rotary encoders can also be used as a regular button by pressing them. The last thing we find on the front are 2 funky switches. These little joysticks can click in 4 directions but can also be used as a rotary encoder, if that wasn’t enough they can also be pressed as a regular button as a 7th option.
Finally, there are the shifting modules on the back. Because these are equipped with neodymium magnets, the shifter gives a clear feeling when pressed, which feels nice and direct in contrast to shift modules using a spring. The shifters are equipped with a physical switch in the housing and not with a hall sensor, but this does not affect the functionality and the paddles feel very nice when shifting.
The Use
Since we’re dealing with a separate steering wheel and a separate button module, you will have to put it on a hub yourself to be able to use it. We ourselves have mounted this Turn Racing combination on the Podium hub of Fanatec. Because this hub is relatively thick, we cannot directly attach it due to the somewhat awkward placement of the RJ45 port. With the Podium hub, you just miss 1 to 2 mm of space, causing it to make contact. Fortunately, they immediately supplied the solution in the box in the form of a metal ring. By placing the ring in between, the hub no longer makes contact and it is a job of less than 2 minutes to attach the steering wheel together with the button module. Then it’s a matter of clicking the steering wheel on the wheelbase, plugging in the signal cable and you’re ready to get into your sim.
Because a bit of cable management never hurts, we were very enthusiastic about the supplied connector for the USB cable. Of course, nothing is nicer if you can run that long cable to your PC tightly along your aluminum profiles to hide it out of sight. Unfortunately, we were unable to neatly mount the signal cable to our Avanzata with the supplied materials. However, this can still be achieved with an extra set of t-slot nuts and longer bolts. Because a USB extension cable was included, we were still able to neatly hide the cable before we tested the steering wheel extensively.
Connecting is literally as easy as plugging in the USB cable. The computer immediately recognizes the BP2 as a controller, so you can get started right away. Just assign the buttons in your favorite sims and off you go! The steering wheel feels very nice in use. It has a nice diameter and a good grip. A nice side effect is, of course, that the steering wheel can be used without gloves and that it remains neat and gives a good grip even with sweaty hands. The buttons do need a good push to be pressed, in itself this is very nice since the buttons stick out of the steering wheel and are not embedded in it. This way the buttons cannot be accidentally pressed. However, for our taste, the top few buttons are actually just a bit too far from the steering wheel itself. We don’t have very small hands, but for the button closest to the edge we still have to stretch our thumb quite a bit to be able to press it. This certainly also applies to the 2nd button, here we had to open our hand to be able to operate it, which is a bit at the expense of comfort. What’s very comfortable on this Turn Racing combination, however, are the funky switches and the rotary encoders. These are easy to find while driving and the operation is nothing less than sublime. The feel of the materials and the feedback from turning and pressing leave nothing to be desired. Last but not least, the most commonly used buttons on any steering wheel; the shifter paddles. These feel very good and give a nice click when shifting. Also the paddles themselves (the carbon and the metal ones) both feel solid while driving. After about an hour of driving, however, we did experience some discomfort in our forearm. This is because the distance between the carbon shifter and the steering wheel was quite large. As a result, we had to hold the steering wheel a bit strangely to be able to change gears regularly. Fortunately, an extra set of metal paddles is included that are a lot closer to the steering wheel. With a simple torx screwdriver it is a quick job to exchange both sides. With the help of the markings on the paddles you can set them to the correct distance and you are ready to race again.
With the steering wheel completely adjusted to taste, we were able to put in some real hours with the steering wheel. We have covered most of our kilometers with this steering wheel in Assetto Corsa and its successor Assetto Corsa Competizione. This is because we could use many of the different buttons here and test everything extensively. Even after long use, the steering wheel still feels nice and thanks to the rubber material it still looks neat and clean. Still, using the push buttons on the top of the button plate felt a bit intensive because we had to keep opening our hand to be able to reach it.
Conclusion
We are very enthusiastic about how complete the contents are of the products supplied by Turn Racing. The extra aluminum paddles and the supplied connection piece to neatly hide the USB cable are certainly a plus. Both the R320 Handlebar and the BP2 Button Plate are of excellent quality. In our opinion, the choice of material for the steering wheel is the perfect decision, as the steering wheel holds well and has an excellent grip. In addition, the steering wheel also requires little maintenance to stay tidy. The BP2 Button Plate itself also leaves little to be desired. This is full of functionalities of which every button feels good and gives clear feedback.
Still, all in all we have a bit of mixed feelings about the Turn Racing R320 in combination with the BP2 Button Plate. The reason for this is purely ergonomic. As soon as these 2 components come together, a little bit of synergy is missing and 1+1 does not seem to be 2 completely. Fortunately, the shifter paddles can be adjusted to your own preference. However, we do regret that the placement of the top row of buttons is a bit too far from the edge of the steering wheel, meaning that for the most repeated action you want on the nearest button, you have to release your hand from the steering wheel to be able to press it. However, we must nuance this by mentioning that such a large distance to the nearest buttons is quite common when you choose a steering wheel with a larger diameter, regardless of the brand.
In terms of price, the combination reviewed by us is certainly not inferior to most common steering wheels in the sim racing world. You definitely get value for money and it is certainly a good duo that we will continue to use with pleasure in the future.
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