Asetek Forte Formula Button Box review: $479 bare, $568 before it steers
Researched overview Manufacturer listings and owner reports, with no hands-on testing.
The Asetek Forte Formula Button Box is $479.00 and the arithmetic is the review. It is the same published set of controls as the $529.00 Forte Formula Steering Wheel with the grips left off, and Asetek’s cheapest formula handle set is $89.00. So the cheapest version of this product that a person can hold is $568.00, which is $39.00 more than the finished wheel sitting beside it in the same category.
| Type | Formula button box. Controls, faceplate, paddles, and the quick release; no grips. "Note: Handles are sold separately" |
|---|---|
| Shape and size | Formula. Diameter priced by grip: 290 mm on Regular or LMP handles, 294 mm on suede or XL |
| Controls | "12 Push buttons", "2 two-way Toggle switches", "2 seven-way Kinky switches (Both orange and black sets are included)", "3 twelve-position Rotary encoders", "6 Thumb encoders", "2 Contactless Magnetic shifter Paddles" |
| Lights | "49 total programmable aRGB LEDs": 15 rev, 6 flag, 12 button, 12 backlighting the rotary switches |
| Screen | None. The $649.00 Pro is the only Forte Formula with one |
| Face | "2 mm woven carbon fiber front face" over an "Injection molded carbon fiber-reinforced composite chassis with a laser-etched forged carbon structure" |
| Rims it takes | None. "It is designed for use with wheel handles only and is not compatible with traditional wheel rims." |
| Quick release | Asetek's own, fitted. "Easy-to-use, no-play Quick Release, ensuring stable data and power transmission without the use of cables, batteries, or wireless signals" |
| Platforms | PC. "designed for PC and supports Windows 10 and Windows 11". No console named anywhere on the page |
| Finish | Black and aluminum. The $529.00 wheel is the orange one |
| Price | $479.00 excluding sales tax, no discount running on 4 August 2026. $568.00 with the cheapest grips |
| Best for | Buyers who want the black-and-aluminum finish, or who want LMP, suede, or XL grips from day one |
Who it’s for
Section titled “Who it’s for”Somebody who wants a Forte Formula in a finish or a grip the finished wheel does not come in, and who has done the arithmetic and is fine with it.
Buy it if:
- You want the black-and-aluminum finish. Asetek sells this SKU in that finish and sells the $529.00 wheel in orange, and neither listing offers the other’s look as an option.
- Your grip is not Regular. LMP, suede, and XL are $89.00, $89.00, and $109.00, and starting here means you never pay for a Regular set to take it straight off.
- You already own Asetek formula handles. If a set is sitting on another Asetek formula box, this is $479.00 and you are done, which is the one case where the cheaper sticker is also the cheaper purchase.
Not the one if you just want a Forte Formula for the least money, because the finished wheel is $39.00 cheaper once you can hold it. Not the one if you want a round rim, because Asetek says outright that this box takes handles only. And not the one if you are not on an Asetek base, because unlike the Pro, this listing publishes no cross-brand path.
The $39.00 problem
Section titled “The $39.00 problem”Every figure below is the regular US price off that product’s own Asetek listing, read 4 August 2026, exclusive of sales tax.
| Route | Box | Grips | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forte® Formula Steering Wheel | $529.00 | Regular set fitted | $529.00 |
| This Button Box + Formula Regular Handles | $479.00 | $89.00 | $568.00 |
| This Button Box + Formula Regular Handles w. suede | $479.00 | $89.00 | $568.00 |
| This Button Box + Formula LMP Handles | $479.00 | $89.00 | $568.00 |
| This Button Box + Formula XL Handles | $479.00 | $109.00 | $588.00 |
What is identical between the two boxes, read row by row off both specification blocks: 49 total programmable aRGB LEDs, 15 rev, 6 flag, 12 button, and 12 backlighting the rotary switches; 12 push buttons, 2 two-way toggle switches, 2 seven-way kinky switches, 3 twelve-position rotary encoders, 6 thumb encoders, and 2 contactless magnetic shifter paddles; an injection-molded carbon-fiber-reinforced composite chassis with a laser-etched forged carbon structure and a 2 mm woven carbon fiber front face; and all 13 rows of the Inputs & Controls table, including the four rocker-switch LEDs and the zero D-pads.
What differs, on Asetek’s own published words: this one’s kinky-switch line ends “(Both orange and black sets are included)” and the $529.00 one’s does not, so the $29.00 Orange buttons kit Asetek cross-sells on both pages is already in this box. This one’s box list holds “Black handle cushions (x1)” where the finished wheel’s holds “Gray Handle Cushions”. And the finished wheel carries a line this one has no need for, “Possibility to change to XL handles at a later time”.
What Asetek never says is that the two share a circuit board. Every control figure matching is evidence and not a statement, and no sentence on either listing calls one the other with or without grips. This page states the match and stops there.
What Asetek sells you afterwards
Section titled “What Asetek sells you afterwards”Two cross-sell blocks sit on this listing, “COMPLETE YOUR SETUP” under the Add to cart button and “Pairs Well With” below the FAQ. Nine parts appear across them and the handle sets.
| Part | Regular | On 4 Aug 2026 | What it changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formula Regular Handles | $89.00 | $89.00 | 290 mm. Required, not optional |
| Formula Regular Handles w. suede | $89.00 | $89.00 | 294 mm, suede |
| Formula LMP Handles | $89.00 | $89.00 | 290 mm, and the one set that closes the outline into a circle |
| Formula XL Handles | $109.00 | $109.00 | 294 mm, bigger grips |
| Paddle Bundle | $78.00 | $64.99 | The dual-clutch and extra magnetic input paddles |
| Aluminum button color kit | $89.00 | $89.00 | Cosmetic |
| Steering Wheel Button Color Kit | $39.00 | $39.00 | Cosmetic |
| Orange buttons (Encoder + 7-way) | $29.00 | $29.00 | Cosmetic, and this box already ships both switch color sets |
| Orange Sticker Sheet | $19.00 | $19.00 | Cosmetic. The one cross-sell neither sibling offers |
The Orange Sticker Sheet is a small joke on the pricing: this box ships in black and aluminum, and Asetek sells the orange trim of the $529.00 wheel back for $19.00.
On paddles, Asetek’s FAQ says “The button box comes with two contactless magnetic shifter paddles and can be upgraded with optional dual-clutch paddles and additional mappable magnetic input paddles.” The Paddle Bundle is that upgrade, and it was the one discounted item on either block on the check date.
What it costs to steer with
Section titled “What it costs to steer with”| Purchase | Regular | Running total |
|---|---|---|
| Forte® Formula Button Box (Black, Aluminum) | $479.00 | $479.00 |
| Formula Regular Handles | $89.00 | $568.00 |
| Cheapest Asetek base: Initium Direct Drive Wheelbase | $349.00 | $917.00 |
| Or the base it shares a name with: Forte 18 Nm | $949.00 | $1,517.00 |
Pedals are on top of both. Asetek names no base model on this listing, only “all Asetek Racing™ wheelbases”, and its US catalog carried four on 4 August 2026. See wheelbases for what goes under it.
Watch-outs
Section titled “Watch-outs”- The sticker price is not the price. $479.00 buys controls you cannot hold. Budget $568.00 minimum, and compare that number against finished wheels rather than comparing $479.00.
- The URL calls it a steering wheel.
/product/forte-formula-steering-wheel-black-aluminum/, which contains the finished wheel’s own slug as a prefix. This is the worst case of a pattern Asetek repeats on the La Prima and Invicta button boxes, and it is a live trap for anyone matching products by address. - No rim will ever fit. “It is designed for use with wheel handles only and is not compatible with traditional wheel rims.” That rules out Asetek’s own seven rims, which belong to its GT button boxes.
- The user guide is a YouTube playlist, and it is the same playlist the $529.00 wheel’s manual line points at, for two products sold under two names at two prices.
- PC only, as far as Asetek will say. One machine named, no console mentioned in either direction.
- Asetek’s own site is hard to read. www.asetek.com answered a plain fetch with HTTP 403 and a Cloudflare interstitial on 4 August 2026, so every figure here was read through a text proxy. Prices and stock can move behind that wall without this page knowing.
Alternatives to consider
Section titled “Alternatives to consider”- Asetek Forte Formula Steering Wheel: $529.00 with Regular grips fitted and the same published controls. $39.00 cheaper than this box made usable, and the default answer unless the finish or the grip choice is what you came for.
- Asetek Forte Formula Pro: $649.00, a 4.3-inch 800x480 touch panel, 300 mm on Regular grips, and the family’s only published third-party-base route. Also grip-less, so $738.00 usable.
- La Prima™ GT Button Box (Black): $259.00, Asetek’s cheapest button box, and the other side of the split: it takes a rim rather than handles, and the La Prima GT review covers that pairing.
- Fanatec ClubSport Universal Hub V2: ~$370 for a hub that takes almost any round rim on a published bolt pattern, which is the opposite design choice from a box that takes handles only.
- Simagic Neo X Hub: $199.00, the cheap end of the same idea, where the rim and even the paddles are separate purchases.
- Simagic FX: $359.00 regular for a finished 290 mm carbon formula wheel, if the reason you are here is a formula shape rather than the Asetek ecosystem.
Steering wheels sorts the whole category by shape and says which cards are parts rather than wheels, and rims and quick-releases covers what bolts to what.
Sources
Section titled “Sources”www.asetek.com answered curl with HTTP 403 and a Cloudflare “Just a moment…” interstitial on 4 August 2026, so every page below was read through the r.jina.ai text proxy on that date, at HTTP 200. Byte counts are the proxy’s rendering. Every quotation above was verified character for character against those bytes.
- The box: Forte® Formula Button Box (Black, Aluminum), $479.00, 61,663 bytes, carrying the price, the “Note: Handles are sold separately” line, the stock line “In stock and ready to ship”, the Tech Specs and Inputs & Controls blocks, the six-question FAQ, and the seven-line box list.
- The two siblings: Forte® Formula Steering Wheel at $529.00 and 59,612 bytes, and Forte Formula Pro Steering Wheel at $649.00 and 62,201 bytes.
- The grips: Formula Regular Handles, Formula Regular Handles w. suede, and Formula LMP Handles at $89.00 each, and Formula XL Handles at $109.00. Three of the four end their compatibility note “Formula Button Boxes and Formula Wheels.” and the LMP set ends it “Formula Button Boxes and Wheels.”, which is a wording difference rather than a different fit.
- The catalog: Asetek’s Steering Wheels category, 54,333 bytes, and its second page, 54,081 bytes, which serve 22 products between them and print their own counts. The seven button boxes in that 22 are $259.00, $259.00, $289.00, $329.00, $379.00, this one at $479.00, and the Invicta Formula Button Box at $1,249.99.
Which platforms it works on
- PC
- Yes“A: The Forte® Formula Button Box is designed for PC and supports Windows 10 and Windows 11. It works with popular racing titles such as iRacing, Assetto Corsa, Assetto Corsa Competizione, the F1 series, DiRT Rally, DiRT Rally 2.0, Project CARS 2, rFactor 2, and many other games that support direct input devices.” Asetek Racing’s own listing, checked August 2026.
- PlayStation
- Listing does not say
- Xbox
- Listing does not say
- Console license
- Not recorded
- How it connects
- Only through a wheelbase or hub“Easy-to-use, no-play Quick Release, ensuring stable data and power transmission without the use of cables, batteries, or wireless signals” “A: The Forte® Formula Button Box is compatible with all Asetek Racing™ wheelbases. Its no-play Quick Release provides stable power and data transmission without cables, batteries, or wireless connections.”Asetek Racing’s own listing, checked August 2026.Both strings are byte-verbatim against this listing's 61,663 fetched bytes and each occurs once. The first is the last bullet of the "Tech Specs" list and is worth reading beside the same bullet on the $529.00 wheel, which Asetek writes differently: "Easy-to-use, no-play quick-release.Ensuring stable data and power transmission without the use of cables, batteries, or wireless signals." Same claim, different capitalization, different punctuation, and a missing space there that is not here. Each record quotes its own listing rather than the pair. The second is the whole of the FAQ answer to "Which wheelbases can I use with the Forte® Formula Button Box?" and its leading "A: " is kept. `mode` is `through-base` on both strings: the quick release is the mount and the data path, and this box names no port of its own. The string "USB" returns exactly two hits across this listing and neither is product copy; both are the alt text of one navigation thumbnail, "Asetek Invicta QR Quick Release Adapter USB A", which the store's Accessories menu ships on every product page. So this box publishes no cross-brand route, where its Pro sibling publishes two priced ones, and this record states none.
The quoted string is the whole of the FAQ answer to Asetek's own question "Which platforms and racing games are supported?", verified byte-verbatim with `grep -F` against this listing's fetched bytes, where it occurs once. The leading "A: " is on the line and is kept inside the quotation. This is the same claim the $529.00 wheel's FAQ makes in a shorter sentence, and the two are quoted separately on their own records rather than merged, because the two listings say it about two products with different names. Nothing on this page names a games console. The listing's own compatibility badge prints one item, "PC", above the price, and it is described here rather than quoted for the reason `asetek-initium` gives: joining its label to its item would build a sentence the page does not contain.
Optional upgrades
“A: Yes. The button box comes with two contactless magnetic shifter paddles and can be upgraded with optional dual-clutch paddles and additional mappable magnetic input paddles.” “A: The button box is compatible with all Asetek Racing™ Formula Wheel Handles, including Regular, LMP, Suede, and XL handles. It is designed for use with wheel handles only and is not compatible with traditional wheel rims.” Asetek Racing’s own words, naming 9 parts, checked August 2026.
Nine parts across two blocks, and the four quoted strings are byte-verbatim against the bytes of the listing named beside each, with one occurrence each. The two under `says` are FAQ answers, to "Can I upgrade the Forte® Formula Button Box with additional paddles?" and "Which wheel handles are compatible with the Forte® Formula Button Box?", and both leading "A: " prefixes are on the line and kept. What Asetek names nowhere on this listing is a path from this box to either sibling: no upgrade kit, no trade-in, and no sentence naming the $529.00 wheel or the $649.00 Pro.
- Formula Regular Handles
- $89$89.00 and the cheapest way to make this box steer, so it is a required purchase before it is an upgrade. Both facts are recorded, under `requires` above and here, because Asetek's own FAQ names all four sets as compatible products and the same FAQ says the box needs one.
- Formula Regular Handles w. suede
- $89$89.00, and the option this listing's own diameter row calls "294 mm diameter with Suede Handles". Asetek recommends gloves with it on its own listing.
- Formula LMP Handles
- $89“These handles are only compatible with” “Asetek Racing™ Formula Button Boxes and Wheels.”$89.00, the set named in this listing's own COMPLETE YOUR SETUP strip, and the only one of the four that closes the wheel into a circle: "Easily interchangeable from open-bottom handles to a closed steering wheel design". The sentence is quoted in the two contiguous runs the bytes hold rather than as one string, because the fetched line reads `**Note:**These handles are only compatible with[Asetek Racing™ Formula Button Boxes and Wheels.](https://www.asetek.com/simsports/product-category/steering-wheels/formula-wheels/)`, with Asetek's own label in bold and the second half of its own sentence linked to the formula-wheels category. Both runs are byte-verbatim against this handle set's own 50,086 fetched bytes and occur once each. Its second run is the odd one of the four: it ends "Formula Button Boxes and Wheels." where the Regular, Suede, and XL sets all end "Formula Button Boxes and Formula Wheels." That is a wording difference on one listing rather than a different set of compatible products, and it is recorded because site/src/content/docs/hardware/wheels.md quotes the Regular set's wording as the family's.
- Formula XL Handles
- $109$109.00, the dearest of the four, and the one that makes this box 294 mm rather than 290 mm.
- Paddle Bundle
- $78The one part on either block that was discounted on the check date, printed "~~$78.00~~ Original price was: $78.00.$64.99 Current price is: $64.99." `msrp` carries the regular $78.00, because a discount is not a price. It is what the FAQ answer quoted above means by dual-clutch paddles and additional magnetic input paddles.
- Aluminum button color kit
- $89Cosmetic. Named in both cross-sell blocks.
- Steering Wheel Button Color Kit
- $39Cosmetic. Named in the "Pairs Well With" block.
- Orange buttons (Encoder + 7-way)
- $29Cosmetic, and the one cross-sell on this listing a buyer arguably already owns: this box's own Tech Specs line reads "2 seven-way Kinky switches (Both orange and black sets are included)" and its box list holds "Black Kinky Switch knobs (x1)". So Asetek ships both switch colors here and sells the orange set as a $29.00 part beside them.
- Orange Sticker Sheet
- $19Cosmetic, and the one part in this listing's blocks that neither sibling offers. This box ships a black-and-aluminum finish and Asetek sells the orange trim of the $529.00 wheel back as a $19.00 sheet.
Frequently asked questions
Is the $479.00 Forte Formula Button Box cheaper than the $529.00 Forte Formula Steering Wheel?
On the sticker, yes. In practice, no. The Button Box carries "Note: Handles are sold separately" and the cheapest Asetek formula handle set is $89.00, so a version you can hold costs $568.00 against $529.00 for the finished wheel. The gripped Button Box is $39.00 dearer. Regular US prices off Asetek's own store, read 4 August 2026.
So what does the extra $39.00 buy?
A black-and-aluminum finish instead of the orange one, both seven-way switch color sets in the box rather than orange caps only, and the freedom to start on LMP, suede, or XL grips rather than buying a Regular set you then replace. Everything Asetek publishes about the controls is identical between the two: 49 aRGB LEDs split 15 rev, 6 flag, 12 button, and 12 rotary backlights, 12 push buttons, 2 two-way toggles, 2 seven-way kinky switches, 3 twelve-position rotaries, 6 thumb encoders, 2 magnetic shifter paddles, the same carbon-composite chassis, and 13 matching rows in the Inputs & Controls table.
Which handles fit the Asetek Forte Formula Button Box?
All four of Asetek's formula sets, and no rim of any kind. Its own FAQ answers this outright: "The button box is compatible with all Asetek Racing™ Formula Wheel Handles, including Regular, LMP, Suede, and XL handles. It is designed for use with wheel handles only and is not compatible with traditional wheel rims." Regular, suede, and LMP are $89.00 each and XL is $109.00. Regular and LMP make it 290 mm; suede and XL make it 294 mm.
Why does the URL say steering wheel?
Because Asetek's slugs disagree with its own product names. This Button Box sits at /product/forte-formula-steering-wheel-black-aluminum/, which contains the $529.00 complete wheel's own address, /product/forte-formula-steering-wheel/, as a prefix. Asetek does the same on the La Prima GT Button Box (/product/la-prima-gt-steering-wheel-black/) and the Invicta Formula Button Box (/product/invicta-formula-steering-wheel/). Read the product name and the "Note:" line, never the address.
Does the Asetek Forte Formula Button Box work on PlayStation or Xbox?
Asetek does not say. Its FAQ reads "The Forte® Formula Button Box is designed for PC and supports Windows 10 and Windows 11.", and PlayStation, PS4, PS5, and Xbox return zero hits across the whole listing, searched case-insensitively on 4 August 2026. That is silence rather than a no, and the compatibility badge above the price shows one item, PC.
Does it work on a non-Asetek wheelbase?
Nothing on its listing says so. Asetek's own answer is "The Forte® Formula Button Box is compatible with all Asetek Racing™ wheelbases. Its no-play Quick Release provides stable power and data transmission without cables, batteries, or wireless connections." The word USB appears twice on the page and both are a navigation thumbnail's alt text. Only the $649.00 Forte Formula Pro publishes a cross-brand route in this family, and it prices two parts for it.