Moza R16 Wheel Base

Moza Racing R16 Direct drive Wheel Base

With 16Nm of peak torque, this wheel base sits at what might be an optimal price-torque ratio within the sim racing industry.
If you are a newbie to sim racing, maximum torque mean the greatest power the wheel base can exercise to simulate steering forces and other in-game effects. Imagine for instance hitting another car, going off-road or feeling the imperfections of the asphalt (dumps, etc).

Together with its 3 brothers R5,R9 and R21, this direct drive wheel base produced by Moza has been one of the most interesting launches of the last couple of years.
Moza, a company headquartered in China and known for other hardware product, got into sim racing and right away launched some really interesting products and a complete line-up of hardware that can suit both beginners and professional e-racers.

 

Design wise the R16 is exactly the same as the stronger R21: the hypercard-styled wheel base has a solid look thanks the the all aluminium alloy build. The base can be mounted at the bottom with 4 holes that can be attached to your cockpit plate directly or via an optional side mount bracked (55€)

 

Moza suggest you could optionally also use a table clamp but we’re not sure you would be able to really experience it to the fullest by using a regular table: 16Nm is quite a lot and you would probably experience some flex.
Technically, you could probably use the R5 and R9 table clamp as it has the same 4 holes mechanism. We cannot see any table clamp specifically made for the R16 on sale right now.

The main difference with the R21 main difference being on the power, having 120W less (360W vs 480W). Clearly, to operate with a lower maximum torque the R16 requires less power and all the equipment is tuned for that.

Contrary then with Fanatec wheel bases, there is no option to boost the R16 and bring it to 21Nm just by the means of the power adapter.

In terms of specs, you’ll have an encoder with 262k pulses per revolution (18 bits). Without going too much into technical details, this is a good value but sits below the premium products in the industry (Simucube, Asetek). An higher ppr means the wheelbase can detect smaller increments of rotation, resulting in a more precise steering input and better overall control for the driver. Basically, more precision and control : the big question is, would the average sim racer would feel much difference in going from 18 to 22 bit? We’re not sure, we would need to conduct a test on it.

For clarity the (PPR) of an encoder in a sim racing wheelbase is calculated by raising 2 to the power of the encoder’s bit resolution (e.g., for a 18-bit encoder like the one from Moza, PPR = 2^18 = 262144 unique positions.

As per the more powerful Moza R21, also the Moza R16 has a feature called “Hands off protection” that makes sure you are safer when racing. Should you remove your hands from the steering wheel, the software will stop its power to limit the risk of injury. These bases are quite stong, so always pay attention when using them, and don’t let your child unattended with it!

If you want to combine the Moza R16, you will be able to buy the RM High-Definition Digital Dashboard, the premium Dash by the company. It won’t be compatible with cheaper models.

Compatibility

The wheelbase is compatible with PC only. You will be able to use the Moza Racing native software to edit settings and fit the base to your need.

In terms of steering wheels, all Moza Racing wheels will work. Should you want to use a wheel from another brand, you will have to use a quick release that meets the D1 SPEC specification

PRICE to Nm RATIO – COMPARISON WITH OTHER MOZA WHEEL BASES

If we were to over-simplify the decision making process for the best price-benefit ratio for a Moza wheel, we think a good idea is to create the new metric “Price per Nm”: basically, how many Euro or dollars you would spend for each Nm of maximum torque for a Moza product. Of course, this is fun but has some limitations

• Difference between products is not just for Nm, but other specs and design
• Increased “simulation” and game benefit is not linear and grows less the higher Nm of maximum torque you already have. For instance, you would feel a much smaller improvement going for instance from 19 to 20 Nm than from 4 to 5.

In any case, here is the result at current prices (end of April 2023)

	Price in EUR	Price in USD	Price per Nm – EUR	Price per Nm – USD
Moza R5	349€	319$	69,8€	63,8$
Moza R9	469€	439$	52,1€	48,8$
Moza R16	999€	899$	62,4€	56,2$
Moza R21	1199€	1099$	57,1€	52,3$

Looking at this, the R16 seems slightly better than the R21, so if you’d be to choose between one of the “high-torque” models, this approach would suggest the R16 is the right choice for you.

Our verdict

Drawing conclusions regarding any sim racing product is not easy: each has its pros and cons, and each brand has its devoted fan base that only like the unique feeling, design and experience brought by their favorite.

Having said that, we think sim racers should make their own choice based on budget, preferences and what kind of simulation and car they plan to use mostly.
We believe Moza R16 is a good base that brings you “at the entrance” of the high torque tier: if your budget is tight this base could be the perfect way to maximise your spent while being able to get as much power as you would probably need.

Do you need more than that? Than a Fanatec DD2 could be a great option, or a more expensive one from Simucube and Asetek as well

Peers Comparison

 

Wheel Base	Nm	Price
Moza R16	16Nm	899$/999€
Moza R21	21Nm	1099$/1199€
Fanatec DD2	25Nm	1499$/1499€
Fanatec DD1	20Nm	1199$/1199€
Asetek Invicta	18Nm	1049$/1067€
Simucube 2 Sport	17Nm	1199$/1243€