Have you been looking for the optimal wheelbases for your sim racing needs, and want to know more about the new Asetek Wheel Bases?
The haptic expression of racing makes a massive difference in terms of overall gaming experience – and with this thought in mind, the feedback provided by the sim racing wheelbase can drastically impact your enjoyment of the race and your ability to perform overall. It provides feedback to the drivers based on the specific type of mechanisms at play.
There are three different types of wheelbase for sim racers: direct drive, belt-driven, and gear-driven. Each type of wheelbase offers unique pros and cons, with direct drive systems generally considered the optimal design for professional, authentic racing experiences.
At the top end of wheel bases, you have direct drive ones. What was super exclusive just a couple of years ago became now a must for any advanced wheel base in the market.
Asetek – a new sim racing hardware company
Asetek is a professional sim racing brand that primarily focuses on premium sim racing equipment, and as part of this, they offer a choice of unique designs focused on providing the optimal sim racing experience. This includes direct drive wheelbases as well as wheelbase bundles.
In addition to its sim sports range, Asetek also offers a range of liquid cooling products, for which it is perhaps the most well-known; in fact, the brand is the world’s largest liquid cooling technology supplier.
But, this might change soon as the new launch of wheel bases might make the company a market leader in sim racing hardware as well.
Asetek has purchased Intellectual Property from Simucube and had its engineers at work for thousands of hours to create the best possible sim racing products they could be. This was clearly reflected in the sim racing community expectations that are really high for any Asetek new product.
Asetek Wheel Bases
If you’ve been looking to upgrade you current sim racing setup, and perhaps if you have been looking for a way to improve the authenticity of your current games, moving to a one of the best direct drive wheelbases is undeniably important.
As part of this, Asetek’s wheel bases range might be a good match for your needs. The wheelbases are designed to deliver super-smooth steering and maneuverability, irrespective of the choice of model.
All of Asetek’s wheelbases and bundles are compatible with PC only (Windows 10 and 11). They can be run on all games utilising direct input devices. Console support is hopefully planned for future updates, but this is not currently available.
The wheelbases provide the main central hub of the entire racing system. Each unit has up to 5 USB-C ports, allowing for any features you might need to be added. What’s more, some of Asetek’s designs – namely the Forte and Invicta wheelbases – also allow greater customisation through RGB LED lighting.
A nice feature of most Asetek products is the upgradability. The company allows to upgrade its products by purchasing ad-hoc kits that give you the missing hardware pieces to achieve higher performance (in this case, for istance, move to a higher Nm torque base).
All products were released in November 2022. Let’s look at the product line:
Asetek Forte
Asetek’s main choice of direct drive wheelbase is its Forte design, which is priced at just shy of €900. Developed through the brand’s partnership with Mige, a highly-rated sim racing supplier, the Forte design offers everything you might need to begin focusing on performance and precision driving overall.
Featuring a minimalistic – but no less powerful – Danish design, the Forte wheelbase continuously has a peak torque of 18NM for up to two-thirds of a minute. The model also has a peak slew rate of 6.7 Nm/ms and features several key Asetek-specific features, such as programmable RGB LEDs that are directly controlled through the Asetek SimSports RaceHub and Asetek’s Quick Release systems.
The design also boasts several key features that help make it a popular model for those wanting to optimise their racing experiences, such as profile presets and adjustable steering ranges, bumpstop range/hardness metrics, damping, smoothing, and overall force. This helps provide additional control over the user’s driving experience and the race’s specific conditions.
Asetek Invicta
The Asetek Invicta is its premium direct-drive wheelbase model, priced at just over €1,300. As far as raw detailing and authenticity go, it’s incredibly hard to beat – although the price can understandably make it somewhat more specialised and less affordable for the general sim racing market. This model is one for gamers who want to push their performance on the track to the extreme.
The model is incredibly unique for its numerous features, undoubtedly allowing drivers more control over their experience overall. This includes the same programmable RGB LED lights as in the Forte model and the Asetek SimSports Quick Release system.
The slew rate for the Invicta is around 9.4 Nm/ms, making it roughly half higher than the Forte. It also offers a massive beak torque of 27Nm, which is far higher than the maximum torque of the much-loved Moza R21 and not far from the Fanatec DD2. Nevertheless, the Invicta is marginally more expensive than the Moza R21; this may also be due to the premium anodized extruded aluminum housing used in the system, compared to the former, which is made from 100% aluminum alloy.
Design wise, there is basically no difference externally between the Invicta and the Forte, it’s inside that you have the stronger motor and some better components: It’s then not just a different power as for many competitors that “limit” the performance via the software and power supply.
The stronger torque of the Invicta is reflected in the heavier weight of 11kg vs 8kg.
There is currently no way to upgrade from the Forte to the Invicta wheel base via an official kit.
Asetek Bundles
In addition to the aforementioned models, Asetek also offers a cheaper wheel base called La Prima with 12Nm that can be bought only with a dedicated bundles. This can help those looking to get into sim racing or upgrade their equipment save a little money by buying the different parts together, but it’s clearly a bummer if you are just looking to buy a wheel base. Asetek’s two main bundles are as follows:
- La Prima Wheel and Wheelbase Bundle (€882.34): As the cheaper of the two bundles, the La Prima Wheel and Wheelbase bundle specifically focuses on enhancing the quality of the system, without compromising on price. As such,it’s considered an entry-level bundle; it offers a direct drive wheelbase (12Nm) and the brand’s rated formula steering wheel, and upgrading down the line once you’ve mastered the basics of sim racing is absolutely possible.
- La Prima Bundle (€1134.45): As the premium bundle option, the La Prima bundle includes everything you’ll need to get started with the basics of sim racing, including the La Prima sim racing pedals, brake, and throttle set; the La Prima direct drive wheelbase with 12Nm, and the La Prima formula steering wheel.
However, it is worth remembering that the La Prima wheelbases included in the bundles have less torque than the Invicta and Forte models.
Also in this case, the La Prima wheel base is upgradable by purchasing an upgrade kit so you will be able to progress in the Asetek ecosystem without any need to replace the whole hardware.
Asetek Forte vs. Invicta vs. La Prima
| Asetek Forte | Asetek Invicta | Asetek La Prima | |
| Maximum Torque | 18 Nm | 27 Nm | 12 Nm |
| Peak Slew Rate | 6.7 Nm/ms | 9.4 Nm/ms | N/A |
| PSU | 400w | 400w | 180w |
| Rotations | 200,000,000+ | 200,000,000+ | 200,000,000+ |
| Programmable RGB LEDs | 4×21 | 6×25 | 0 |
| Encoder Resolution | 22bit | 22bit | 22bit |
| Weight | 8.5kg | 11.3kg | 8.5kg |
| Price | €882.34 | €1302.51 | €882.34 – €1134.35 |
Where to buy
The best way to purchase an Asetek wheel base is via their website. Asetek clearly states that they made this choice to keep prices as low as possible.
Most of the products are still on pre-order on the Asetek website except the Prima bundles.
Accessories are sometimes instead available only via the global resellers network.
Upgrade kits
As said, you will be able to upgrade from the 12Nm La Prima up to the 18Nm Invicta by purchasing upgrades to the motherboard and a power supply that enables the 400W needed to give you a higher torque.
La Prima™ Wheelbase to Forte® Wheelbase Upgrade Kit: Includes 4x ARGB LEDs, wheelbase motherboard and a new power supply. Enables sim racers to upgrade to the more powerful 18 Nm Forte® wheelbase
Kits will be sold via resellers only: we currently cannot find any store that has them available, it’s possible that they will be available in the upcoming months. Let us know if you need any help with the search or you know any place where to buy them already.
Overall Summary
If you have been looking for a professional wheelbase, there are numerous great options you could consider – and Asetek’s direct-drive models might just be ideal. Its Invicta model is definitely the best design in terms of raw power and potential; however, for those wanting a more affordable option, the Asetek Forte is still an undoubtedly powerful, high-end model.
Asetek’s unique designs offer many similarities to some of the other big names in the wheelbase field, such as the Fanatec Podium DD2 and its cheaper twin Fanatec DD1. However, their excellent quality and the availability of pre-made bundles make them popular choices for many people looking to optimise their sim racing experience.
