Learn me racing wheel 2023 edition

With the COVID lockdown that drove everyone indoors to sim racing winding down, Logitech and Thrustmaster both changing up their lineup recently, and supply chain issues continuing to make availability of some of the mid range offerings hit or miss, it seems like time to review the best options for racing wheels at different price points.

With so many options and varied opinions, it's easy to get analysis paralysis.  Further compounding the problem is that every $50 spent seems to offer one more must-have feature and before you know it your virtual shopping cart is hovering around $1k.  

Put simply, I'm lost and overwhelmed.  With a $400 budget, what is the best option to have fun and not be left wanting for more (at least right away)?

Logitech G29 is a really good choice.  It is what I am currently using.  If you can find a used g27 for short money, it could be a good place to start.  The G27 has some compatibility with later Playstation but works just fine on a PC.  Other than the number and location of the buttons on the wheel (The G29 has more) they are otherwise the same.

I have been sim racing for years.  I use my wheels 4-10 hours a week and never had an issue with the Logitech products.  There are some upgrades for them that you can do to improve them (I have never done them) that improve the peddle feel.  The next step up from there is into the $1,000 setups and while they are really nice and every sim racer I have seen that gets one seems to improve, I have not made the jump.  

The g920/g29 is cheaper now, and is pretty good.  The h pattern shifter is nice, and worth the extra money.  I used one for a good while.

We built a nice seat/stand around the g920, then upgraded to the fanatec stuff after that. I am glad I did it that way, as it allowed me to spend a few hundred dollars at a time to build a very nice rig over about two years.

I ended up buying a Thrustmaster T248.  Every review I found ranked it better than the Logitech options in the same price range, and now that it is down to $299, it seemed like the best choice.  I'm very happy with it.  

That is a good deal especially if it came with a shifter. I have never used thrustmaster wheels but 20 plus years ago I put together a flight set up using thrustmaster stuff and it was great!!  They are a time proven option. 

It appears that T248 is back up to $399.  I'm glad I pulled the trigger when I did.  It did not come with a shifter, but I can't complain.