Updated 27th Feb 2023 - New suggested values.
If you've been trying to play Race 07 but the Force Feedback for your wheel just never seems to feel good in comparison to newer simulators, I have some news for you: the in-game Race 07 FFB adjustments aren't the only changes you can make.
As with most older sims, going into the INI files of the game is required to really personalize your experience with R07. It's taken me a few days since purchasing Race 07 on Steam to get the steering wheel feedback right where I'd like it to be, but in doing so I've acquired a sort of Forbidden Knowledge that takes time, patience and past experience to understand.
This Cohost post is here to help me give that Knowledge to you.
SOME QUICK TIPS, FIRST:
Let's start with some quick tips to immediately improve your experience without making any deeper adjustments outside the in-game menus.
First, bind all your inputs and save the bindings as a new preset. This will create the file we need to edit.
Next, a 360° wheel rotation set at the driver level for your wheel is highly recommended. Some wheels allow you to just the rotation limit on the wheel itself, which makes this process as easy as a couple button presses. After you've changed your wheel lock, you'll also need to change Steering Lock for the vehicle you're driving. That can be done when you've launched an event and are sitting in the car before leaving the pits. Entering the Setup Menu opens up a pretty complex screen of values to adjust, but the one we're looking for is Steer Lock on the bottom left of the Overall sub-menu. 19 to 22 is recommended here. More steering lock means your front wheels will be able to turn more at the expense of precise wheel inputs, while less lock means the front wheels turn less but allow for more precision. My setting is usually around 21 degrees, which gets the car around any tight corner without turning the steering wheel too much more than 90 degrees.
THE MAIN COURSE
Head to this file directory:
*Documents > SimBin > RACE 07 > UserData > ControlSet
Open the bindings preset you made when you mapped the axis on buttons on your wheel in Notepad++ or any other text editor. This is where our playground resides. Our focus is on the FFB section near the bottom. If you CTRL+F and look for "FFB Device" you'll be taken directly to those entries.
FFB Rumble Pad="0"
The dev notes speak for themselves. Keep this at 0 if you're using a wheel.
FFB Effects Level="2"
This setting can be adjusted in-game with the FFB Effects setting, from None to Full. In this case, more isn't always better; beyond effects level 2, R07 starts adding vibration effects for throttle and brake applications. This ends up making the FFB feel imprecise and blurry, so just keep this at 2.
FFB Gain="0.60000"
You don't need to worry about this one too much right now since you can just change the setting in the game if you feel your force feedback is starting to clip. Clipping is when the forces being sent to the wheel are stronger than the wheel can accurately generate. If you find that the wheel is turning "numb" or lacking in detail while turning the car, there is a high probability you're clipping. Clipping can also be caused by smaller feedback details overwhelming the overall signal of the forces sent to the wheel though, which is what we're here to fix. When we're finished with the edits we're making now, we can go back to the FFB Gain setting and raise it by three or four percent until our wheel is sending good, strong feedback without clipping/turning numb.
FFB Throttle/Brake FX="0"
Keep this at 0. Changing to 1 adds vibrations to our wheel while we press the throttle or brake pedal, and we don't want that. It makes steering wheel FFB too noisy and cluttered. We want precise information about the car we don't already have, and we don't need to know we're pressing the throttle pedal when we can feel our foot squashing the pedal to the floor.
FFB steer vibe freq mult="0.0000"
Put this to 0. Vibration effects make the FFB too noisy. Same goes for "steer vibe zero magnitude, steer vibe slope and steer vibe wave type.
FFB steer force average weight="0.99000"
Now we're getting more interesting. Every new frame Race 07 displays also sends new force feedback data to the wheel. Making this number lower will blend the data more from one frame to the next, but it also adds latency to the FFB. Making this number higher means there is less blending from frame to frame. It's generally a good idea to keep this pretty high on computers that can run this game at consistently high frame rates, but if your PC struggles to maintain a consistent frame rate the FFB may feel choppy. In that case, you may need to bring this number lower. 0.96 is a good setting for my PC, and could probably go a smidge higher to 0.97 or 0.98.
FFB steer force exponent="1.5000"
This is a critical reason why I think R07's base FFB sucks. Adjusting this number essentially changes the ramp at which FFB will increase when you turn the steering wheel, and the car resists your inputs. Making the number higher will make the FFB ramp like a half-pipe, which makes the wheel feel loose and free near center but gets stronger as the car resists you. Making the number lower will make the FFB feel stiffer at center, while the limit of front tire grip becomes less obvious. 0.95 is a fantastic number to start at; if you want the wheel to feel more free in center, set it higher. When it starts feeling like you're hitting a wall of resistance when reaching the limit of grip while feeling loose otherwise, set it lower. You can put this setting anywhere from 0 to infinity, so if the wheel still doesn't feel loose enough at center you can just keep going higher and higher with the numbers until they feel good to you.
FFB steer force input max="11500.00000"
If you notice that the wheel seems to pull your hands in the direction you're turning, you need to reverse your FFB. This can be done by either setting Reverse FFB on the in-game FFB menu screen, or by adding a dash ("-") to the front of this number. Otherwise, leave this number alone. The Thrustmaster T248 steering wheel I use does not require reversed FFB settings.
FFB steer force output max="0.30000"
This setting can basically change the overall balance of FFB steering force effects. If your output is set too high, your FFB will clip as you reach maximum grip and erase all other FFB effects. If your output is set too low, you'll be feeling every bump and kerb strike but the wheel will effectively feel the same whether you're turning or going straight. Generally, you wanna adjust this setting so you can feel the car resist your inputs, but have it low enough so you can still feel bumps and kerbs as you turn. I feel like my suggestion may be too low, but it's a good starting point. This may take some time to get it feeling just right.
FFB steer force grip weight="0.15000"
This is essentially an understeer effect. If you pull the steering wheel too far for the front tires to maintain grip, the steering wheel will start feeling loose again. This isn't a realistic effect; instead, this effect emulates the "butt in seat" feel you'd get in the car as it understeers or "plows" through the corner. The suggested setting is too high for my tastes, but it's a good starting point to figure out how much understeer effect you want in the wheel. Higher number makes the FFB drop-off more severe as front tires lose grip, while a lower number makes the drop-off less severe. If you want pure steering rack feedback similar to iRacing's FFB, set this to 0.
FFB steer force grip factor="1.00000"
This is another "butt in seat" setting. Real cars will only give you feedback from the front tires, through the front suspension and into the steering rack. Setting this number lower introduces grip information from the rear tires, which isn't realistic but as stated before adds the "butt in seat" feeling from oversteer. 0.80 means 80% of the steering resistance is calculated by front tire grip, while 20% of steering resistance is from the rear tires. Having a little rear tire FFB data means it's easier to predict when the rear tires are losing grip, which makes correcting that issue a bit easier for me, at least. I originally had this setting at 0.6, but that seemed too excessive. Generally, you should maybe keep this above 0.5.
FFB steer update thresh="0.0000"
This adjusts the amount of change in the force feedback required to send more FFB data to the wheel. This was used for older computers that struggled to maintain a consistent frame rate, since this setting was particular hard on processors at the time. If you have a modern system that runs R07 with no issue, just leave it at 0.
VEHICLE DYNAMICS
FFB steer friction coefficient="0.08464"
The steering column inherently wants to stay in a state of least resistance, and that state is with the wheel centered. Turning the wheel away from center makes the wheel want to return to center because of the Caster Effect on the front suspension. Long story short, this adds an overall force from the suspension of the car that wants the steering wheel to stay straight. Centering Force may be how others describe this setting. 0.10 means the caster effect makes the wheel 10% more strong as you turn the wheel.
FFB steer friction saturation="1.0000"
Leave this setting at 1. Changing this setting may induce weird behavior in the FFB where the wheel feels like it's clipping but it's still able to transmit road feel and kerb strikes to the wheel and ultimately, you're better off just changing the coefficient instead.
FFB steer damper coefficient="0.07964"
This setting is similar to Dynamic Damping in ACC. As your car accelerates the wheels on your car spin faster, generating centrifugal force. It basically turns your car's wheels into a gyroscope, making the steering wheel harder to turn as the centrifugal forces resist your attempts to redirect those forces through a corner. 0.08 means the centrifugal forces of the wheels make the steering wheel 8% harder to turn. I tend to prefer an extremely subtle setting here, but i know a few people who'd put this setting around 15-20%. Setting it higher than this is probably overkill.
FFB steer damper saturation="1.0000"
Same story as the steer friction saturation. Changing this setting might make the FFB feel weird. Just change the coefficient.
FFB throttle/brake vibe
Ignore these. If anything, change the vibe magnitude and slope settings to 0 to keep throttle and brake positions on your pedals from introducing information into the FFB that you don't need.
RUMBLE STRIPS & IMPACTS
This section is kinda weird. In older sims like Race 07, the kerbs on track are actually flat for the sake of frame rate optimization. The only thing different between kerbs and the asphalt on the racing surface is how much grip the car has on either surface - and naturally your car has a little less grip on kerbs than on the asphalt. To mitigate the lack of detail necessary to accommodate more primitive hardware at the time, rolling over a section of track that was designated as a "kerb" would send a generic "kerb FFB" effect. This can essentially be adjusted to taste.
FFB rumble strip magnitude="0.20000"
This changes how strongly your wheel will shake as you roll over kerbs. Generally you want this to be noticeable, but not overpowering. Lower numbers make the kerb effect weaker, higher numbers make it stronger.
FFB rumble strip freq mult="1.20000"
Changes the frequency of the wheel shake as you roll over a kerb. Higher numbers make the wheel shake faster, lower numbers make the wheel shake slower.
FFB rumble strip wave type="0"
I need to look into this one a little bit. From what I know about real kerbs (without having any real track experience), some kerbs actually have a sort of Upwards Sawtooth design while others are just designed with the same rumble strip pattern you see on the side of highways to warn people when they're driving on the shoulder. Some kerbs even have both! This kind of setting is really only for the obsessive freaks like me, i think, and even I just leave this setting at 0 because futzing around with it just feels like more work than it's worth - especially since the frequency multiplier and magnitude would also need to be adjusted to suit that kerb type. Just leave this setting as is, honestly.
FFB rumble strip pull factor="-0.05000"
This setting changes how hard the kerbs push your steering wheel back onto or pull away from the racing surface. Generally most kerbs barely even have a noticeable presence on the wheel aside from the wheel shake, but some kerbs will sink into the ground below it after years of racing cars running over it and squashing it into the soil. Other kerbs are built more like actual street-side curbs and rise above the racing surface. That creates an imbalance in elevation between the right side of your car and the left, making your car inherently pull itself towards the lower point on the car. It's generally a good idea to keep this pretty close to 0, with a really subtle lean towards making the kerbs pull your steering wheel towards them. Whether a negative or positive value for this setting is pulling or pushing your car depends on whether or not your FFB had to be reversed; if your FFB is reversed, a positive number will pull your wheel toward the kerb while a negative number will push your wheel away from the kerb. if your FFB is not reversed, a positive number will push your wheel away from the kerb while a negative number will pull your wheel toward the kerb.
FFB rumble strip update thresh="0.00000"
Another optimization used for primitive hardware to increase frame rates. Set it to 0 unless your frame rate is inconsistent.
FFB jolt magnitude="1.0000"
This adjusts how strong impacts with walls or other cars will be. You can make this pretty strong if you want to - up to 2.0! - but keep in mind this also affects the frequent door-to-door contact found in most touring car racing. Setting this too high can make a simple door tap feel like an impact with the wall of a sheer cliff face. 1.0 is kinda high for my current settings, but I sorta like it that way. It makes bumps feel a little more dramatic in a way that disincentivizes me from hitting other cars.
YOU'RE FINISHED!
Holy cow, you just fixed the Race 07 force feedback settings, kind of! Your steering wheel is likely very different from my own; I'm currently using a Thrustmaster T248 with a hybrid belt-and-gear driven force feedback system, so your mileage may vary on other wheels even with the same feedback system configuration. Your FFB probably feels pretty good as it is right now, but you can tune it even more to make the FFB feel exactly the way you want it to. There are even a couple settings in this whole write-up that let you make the decision between purist realism or adding information you'd feel on your body but not the steering wheel in a real car. Don't be afraid to spend a lot of time futzing with the settings in this RCS file; getting the feedback to feel just the way you want it will reward you with a brand new sim racing obsession!
Enjoy!
