High-end wheelbases: Simucube, VRS, Asetek (15Nm+)

A real GT3 or prototype tops out around 10-12Nm of steering torque at the wheel on a flying lap (iRacing’s own per-car peak forces land in this range). VRS at 15Nm, Asetek Forte at 18Nm, and the Simucube 3 Ultimate at 35Nm all already exceed that. So the high-end question is not whether you need more force. The extra motor buys detail and response speed, not raw strength.

Every price here was read off its own manufacturer’s US store on 31 July 2026, and every one excludes the sales tax that store adds at checkout. The amounts are US dollars. Every figure in the Price column is for the base alone, so a hub, a wheel, and pedals are on top of it; where a total includes more than the base, the sentence around it names what it adds up from. Prices that have been checked, with their region and the month, are in the MSRP, component-only, and enough-to-steer columns on direct drive wheelbases. The last of those adds up what a base costs with a wheel on it, which is the figure every total on this page leaves out.

What “high end” actually buys you

Past about 10-12Nm you stop buying steering torque you’ll ever use and start buying motor quality. A 20-30Nm motor isn’t the sweet spot because you need 30Nm. It’s the sweet spot because a bigger motor has a higher slew rate: it changes force faster and accelerates the rim faster, so kerb strikes, the front tires loading under braking, and the texture of a sliding rear arrive crisper and with less smoothing. That’s the upgrade you feel at this tier. Raw Nm is mostly headroom.

The three (four) brands

Simucube

Simucube is the long-standing reference. Every Simucube 3 sells at two prices, one with a Link Hub and one without. On Simucube’s US store the Sport is 15Nm at $1,399 or $1,499, the Pro is 25Nm at $1,599 or $1,699, and the Ultimate is 35Nm at $3,299 or $3,399. SC3 orders opened in October 2025 and Sport and Pro shipped that November. The Ultimate is on sale too: both of its options reported in stock on Simucube’s US store on 1 August 2026, on a page whose own FAQ accordion still answers “When will the Simucube 3 Ultimate be ready for purchase and shipping?” with “Simucube 3 Ultimate will be released in 2026.” The stock and the price are what this page reads; the accordion is boilerplate Simucube has not retired.

One purchase stands between the lower figure and a base that will switch on, and each SC3 product page states it. Each says “One Simucube Link Hub is required to operate,” and each lists the Link Quick Release and the Link Hub under “Does NOT include.” The hub option costs $100 more than the option without it on all three models, against $159 for the hub bought on its own, so take the bundled option unless you already have one. You need only one hub for the whole rig, which an ActivePedal or Valo GT-23 owner already has.

The Link Quick Release is $169 and it is not that second purchase, because Simucube’s FAQ says “all steering wheels sold in the Simucube store include Quick Release for Simucube 2 or Link Quick Release for Simucube 3.” What the $169 buys is a mount for a rim you already own, on nearly any 70mm pattern rather than locking you into one ecosystem; a $99 adapter brings older Simucube 2 wheels across, and a $99 spacer takes a 50.8mm formula rim.

So the hub option puts a Sport at $1,499, a Pro at $1,699, and an Ultimate at $3,399, and the wheel is the number that moves after that. Simucube’s own Valo GT-23 bundles are the cleanest read on it: the same base with the hub and its $949 all-rounder wheel is $2,448, $2,648, and $4,348 at regular bundle prices, all read 31 July 2026. Pedals are still on top of that. The older Simucube 2 is still sold, and the wheelbase collection served “Showing all 5 results” on 1 August 2026: the three Simucube 3 bases plus a Simucube 2 Sport at $999 with “Max Torque: 17 Nm” on its own spec table and a Simucube 2 Pro at $1,299 at 25 Nm. There is no Simucube 2 Ultimate on that store, though Simucube’s FAQ still warrants one for 5 years, so a used one is the only one to buy. The Sport and Pro product pages carry no Link Hub requirement, though both list the wheel-side quick release parts as not included.

VRS DirectForce Pro

VRS is the value pick at this tier. On VRS’s US store the DFP15 is 15Nm at $699, the DFP20 is 20Nm at $799, and the uDFP20 sells at four torque rungs from $449 for 6Nm to $749 for 15Nm, with ten separately priced upgrade steps between them and up to 20Nm, $99 to $396. All re-read 1 August 2026.

The uDFP20 is the same core hardware as the DFP20 by VRS’s own account, sold with the torque behind a code. Its features page answers “Is the uDFP20 as capable as the DFP20?” with “It is built on the foundation of the industry-leading DFP20 and shares the same core: the popular MiGE 130ST-M10010 motor, a custom compact steel enclosure with a 400W fanless PSU and brake resistor, and a 22-bit encoder for precise, direct and immersive feedback.” Reaching 20Nm on it costs $845 from the $449 rung, $46 above the DFP20’s $799, so the ladder is the cheaper entry and the dearer ceiling.

The DFP20 runs a MiGE motor and the DFP15 does not. VRS’s DFP20 spec table reads “Motor Type: 4-pole MIGE motor”; the DFP15’s reads “Motor Type: 5-Pole Motor” and names no brand. The DFP15 also puts its controller inside the aluminum housing, where the DFP20’s listing sells “The separate controller design.” VRS’s current force-feedback engine is NextGen FFB, which its DFP15 features page describes as “A ground-up redesign of our FFB engine, engineered to eliminate the compromise between responsiveness and smoothness,” with filters that “apply up to 100% of a cycle sooner” than one working on the sim’s output after each update. Spec for spec, the DFP15 lists at half the $1,399 Simucube 3 Sport for the same 15Nm, its quick release is built in, and a $349 R295 puts a wheel on it for $1,048.

Asetek

Asetek runs three bases on a shared 22-bit encoder and a shared anodized extruded aluminum housing: La Prima 12Nm at $679, Forte 18Nm at $949, Invicta 27Nm at $1,349, all read on Asetek’s US store on 31 July 2026. What separates them is torque and slew rate, which Asetek gives as 4, 6.7, and 9.4 Nm/ms. Buying in low and upgrading the motor later is not a purchase Asetek currently offers: its Upgrade Kits category counted itself at “9 out of 9 products” that day and none of the nine upgrades a Forte, as the Forte review works through. Asetek discounts heavily (the summer sale runs up to 20% off), and its wheel and pedal ecosystem is strong, with Invicta as the flagship.

VNM

VNM is the enthusiast’s quiet favorite. Its telemetry-driven, iRacing-direct FFB plugin is widely considered ahead of the pack on fidelity, and the motors sit at or above Simucube on raw performance. On a community hardware ranking: Simucube, Asetek, and VNM are roughly equal on motor performance, a hair above VRS, then Conspit and Simagic below.

Diminishing returns past 12Nm

The jump from a Logitech G29 to an 8Nm CSL DD is enormous. The jump from 8Nm to 20Nm is far smaller, and the data backs that up. The most-upvoted version of this debate is blunt: a racer went from 3k to 7k iRating after buying VRS pedals, then bought a Simucube Pro and gained exactly zero iRating. With real GT and prototype steering loads topping out around 10-12Nm, that range is the genuine sweet spot for feel, and everything above it is diminishing returns on lap time. Brake consistency from a proper load cell pedal set moves your results far more than another 10Nm at the rim.

Don’t forget the hidden costs

The base price is the start, not the total. An SC3 needs a Link Hub, $100 as an option on the base or $159 on its own, which is the gap between a $1,399 Sport and the $1,499 one that will switch on. Then every base needs a wheel, and at this tier the wheel is the bigger line: Simucube’s ten-wheel collection starts at $859, and the cheapest that fits a Simucube 3 with no adapter is the $949 Valo GT-23. Most important, a 20-35Nm motor will flex a flimsy desk mount or a soft rig until you can feel the wobble. A solid cockpit and stiff mounting are not optional at this tier.

Who should buy what

• Most serious racers: a 15-20Nm base. The VRS DFP15 at $699 and DFP20 at $799 already clear the 10-12Nm a real GT or prototype puts through the wheel, for half the money. Put the savings into pedals.
• Want the reference and the ecosystem: Simucube 3 Sport (15Nm) or Pro (25Nm), which reach $1,499 and $1,699 once the hub option goes on them, and $2,448 and $2,648 with Simucube’s cheapest wheel. You’re paying for build quality, support, and the Link QR rim system.
• Want one encoder across a price range: Asetek. The La Prima, Forte, and Invicta share the 22-bit encoder, so the rung you pick decides torque and response speed rather than resolution. Pick the torque you want on the day, because Asetek sells no kit that moves a Forte up the range.
• Want the best FFB detail and don’t mind tinkering: VNM, especially if you race iRacing and value the telemetry plugin.

Quick spec and price table

The Price column is the base alone on every row. For the three Simucube 3 rows the Notes column carries what the base plus the Link Hub option comes to, which is a base that runs and does not yet steer. The three Asetek figures are Asetek’s own US prices excluding sales tax, checked 31 July 2026, and the two VRS figures are VRS’s own US prices excluding sales tax, re-read 1 August 2026.

Base	Torque	Price	Notes
VRS DFP15	15Nm	$699	Controller in the housing, all-aluminum, $1,048 with a wheel
VRS DFP20	20Nm	$799	4-pole MiGE motor, separate controller box, $1,247 with a wheel and the adapter it needs
Asetek La Prima	12Nm	$679	Entry of the range, 22-bit encoder, 4 Nm/ms
Asetek Forte	18Nm	$949	Same encoder, 6.7 Nm/ms, no upgrade kit sold for it
Asetek Invicta	27Nm	$1,349	Flagship, same encoder, 9.4 Nm/ms
Simucube 3 Sport	15Nm	$1,399	Hub +$100: $1,499 running, $2,448 with a wheel
Simucube 3 Pro	25Nm	$1,599	Hub +$100: $1,699 running, $2,648 with a wheel
Simucube 3 Ultimate	35Nm	$3,299	Hub +$100: $3,399 running, $4,348 with a wheel

If you’re cross-shopping the mid-range first, see direct drive wheelbases for the 8-12Nm bases where most racers should start.