With this one tweak, the Turtle Beach Velocityone Race KD3 wheel becomes the best in the budget market

Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Turtle Beach Velocityone Race KD3: One-minute review

Previously a headset specialist, Turtle Beach has expanded into the more distant shores of sim peripherals lately and has had some especially
impressive first forays into flight sim gear. The original VelocityOne direct drive bundle didnt stick the landing quite as well over in the sim racing space, but this revised KD3 version addresses a lot of user feedback, and the result is simply our favourite budget-end direct drive bundle.

Both the wheelbase and pedals are equally at home on a desktop setup or installed on a racing seat, which is a smart move at this price point since
the split of users who race one way or the other is far more even than at a higher price. Although theres some plastic present on both the base of the pedals and the framework of the wheel, this doesnt detract from whats a solid and detailed driving sensation.

Torque weenies will be quick to point out the low 3.2Nm output from Turtle Beachs direct drive motor, but in reality, it doesnt feel weak to drive.
Theres enough muscle here to make a car feel weighty, and to articulate a rear-end slip well enough for you to react to it.

Conversely, the wheel is the weak point of the whole bundle. The buttons are uninspiring and feel cheap to press, and while the magnetic shifters feel great, the visual design isnt going to turn many heads.

But Turtle Beach has a plan: a rather excellent FR-X formula-style wheel
unit, sold separately for $225 / 189. If you buy that wheel plus the base bundle, youre still in competitive pricing territory with the Thrustmaster
T598 , Moza R3, and Nacon Revosim , and youll have arguably the best wheel
out of the lot.

One question mark to consider before purchasing is that, since Turtle Beach
is just getting started in the sim racing space, the product ecosystem is limited at present. Theres nothing to upgrade to higher up the pricing
ladder, so if you wanted to swap in a better set of pedals one day, or affix that FR-X wheel to a motor with a higher torque output, youre banking on
Turtle Beach continuing to expand its range of gear. With that said, at this price, its well worth the gamble.

Turtle Beach Velocityone Race KD3: Price and availability
List price: $449.99 / 329.99 (around AU$690)
Cheaper than both the Nacon Revosim and Thrustmaster T598
Worth factoring in the $225 / 189 FR-X wheel upgrade

Truthfully, the price is what makes this bundle as exciting as it is. Theres been a lot of activity in and around the $500 / 500 direct drive bundle mark
in 2025, but the build quality, sensation, and design of this one make it the best value of all. Turtle Beach has undercut Nacons Revosim, and the Thrustmaster T598 - two bundles that offer extraordinary value in their own right.

The tradeoffs to hit this pricing arent obvious or troublesome, either - a basic wheel with a mostly plastic construction, and a plastic pedal base.
Most value-conscious sim racers can live with that in order to enjoy the considerable benefits.

The FR-X wheel is the jewel in Turtle Beachs nascent ecosystem, and its a borderline-mandatory upgrade to this bundle, which unlocks mechanical
switches, a great input layout, and a much more premium look and feel. Its priced at $224.99 / 189.99, and you should add that amount to the price of
this bundle unless $399.99 / 329.99 is the hard limit of your budget.

Turtle Beach Velocityone Race KD3: Specs

Weight 14.4lbs / 6.5kg

Peak torque 3.2Nm

Features Magnetic shifters, adjustable angle, killswitch, rev display

Connection type USB-A

Compatibility Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC

Software VelocityOne Tuner

Turtle Beach Velocityone Race KD3: Design and features

Solid, adjustable pedals A lot of detail from just 3.2Nm Well-designed for desktop use, suitable for sim rigs too

Turtle Beach has clearly been paying attention to the feedback it garnered
when it brought the first VelocityOne bundle to the sim racing market. This newest iteration looks more sophisticated and takes more of its design cues from the world of motorsport than gaming, allowing it to sit flush against
the likes of Fanatec and Mozas grown-up, serious-looking wheel bundles.

Im a particular fan of the compact, no-nonsense motor design. Its
surprisingly small and neat, with a killswitch at the top and some additional buttons on the right-hand side, which add inputs for the three central
buttons on an Xbox Wireless Controller .

The wheel mounts to the motor via a sturdy quick-release design, which doesnt require any screwdrivers. Just pull the quick-release mechanism back towards you, then pull the wheel off. It feels secure and tight when the wheels affixed, and allows you to swap between two different wheel models easily
more on that below.

The supplied wheel is the weakest element of the bundle, but by no means is
it unfit for purpose. Its simply that theres a plasticky feel to the upper
and lower portions of the wheel, north and south of the texturized grips, and
a rather basic finish quality. There are 20 total inputs to assign, the majority being simple face buttons, but there are two scroll wheels,
reachable with the thumb while driving, for mapping to functions like
traction control or engine mappings.

Is it a thing of beauty? Not particularly. But it deserves credit for a sensible ergonomic button layout, and for its size. Not many wheels at this
end of the price bracket are full-size, and when youre driving in titles that really benefit from a round wheel like EA Sports WRC , its a real benefit to have that full-size maneuverability.

Theres a two-pedal base supplied with this bundle, and although the brake doesnt feature a load cell design with different elastomers that can be
swapped in and out manually, you can still adjust the tension by twisting the spring housing.

Turtle Beach FR-X wheel - Available for $224.99 / 189.99, Turtle Beachs formula-style FR-X wheel expands the companys
nascent racing ecosystem and well, its just fantastic. Everything about it, from the full-scale size, rubberized grips, to the mechanical buttons and aluminum dials, feels incredibly premium. Its such a step up from the rather basic round wheel thats bundled with the KD3 that Id personally just add on this wheels price to the bundle and consider it mandatory. That still keeps
it in the realm of the Thrustmaster T598 and the Nacon Revosim, but offers
you the additional value of having two wheel shapes to swap between when you play, say, a track racing sim and a rally title. If the point needed
labouring any more, its worth mentioning that the construction quality and layout are certainly on par with Fanatec wheels that sell for double the
price. Well done, Turtle Beach.

Typically, you find that budget-end direct drive bundles offer less stamping resistance, since its the more experienced and serious sim racers who want
the all-out leg workout of a GT cars brake pedal resistance, and so it proves here. For my personal driving style, I found I was able to dial in enough tension in order to apply plenty of braking and find the sweet spot just
before locking up. Thats the most important aspect. If you want your sim
racing setup to feel exactly like a GT car, youll need a stiffer brake. If
you just care about lapping quickly and consistently, Turtle Beachs design works very well.

The plastic base that houses the pedals is another concession to this bundle hitting an affordable price point, and when compared to Thrustmasters very sturdy, all-metal pedal base construction for the T598, it does look and feel cheaper and offers less customization. However, it stays put admirably well
on a variety of floor surfaces, making it pretty ideal if you prefer to race
at your desktop rather than in a sim rig.

In fact, while both the pedals and wheelbase can be easily mounted to a
racing seat, its during desktop use where their practical and sensible design really shines through. Take the desktop mounting clamp, for example: this is often an aspect of affordable direct drive bundles that feels like an afterthought, but here, one simple but sturdy part slots into the underside
of the motor and lets you screw it into place, with minimal chances of your legs knocking into it. Simple as that.

Its definitely worth noting here that while the supplied wheel feels quite basic, for $224.99 / 189.99, the FR-X wheel is an absurdly well-put-together formula-style wheel with loads of luxurious touches, and it really elevates
the whole experience. See our boxout for more details on it. Turtle Beach Velocityone Race KD3: Performance More torque than youd expect A sturdy and detailed driving experience Comfortable layout

Sim racers love to talk well, torque. The Nm output of a direct drive
wheelbase is often cited as a crucial spec when someones weighing up their options, and on those terms, the 3.2Nm on offer from this model seems meager.

However, using torque output as a measure of how detailed or immersive a wheelbase can be is simply too reductive. The Thrustmaster T598, for example, has 5Nm on paper, but its capable of 100% torque overshoot and, in real
terms, feels as powerful and resistant as any wheel Ive tested.

Its a similar story with this wheelbase. While it isnt so powerful that I feared for my thumbs when I crashed, its got more than enough torque to articulate subtle weight transfer, traction loss, road rumble, and brake lockups. And yes, when you crash, it feels like youre crashing.

If it lacks anywhere, its in how quickly it delivers those sensations. At times, particularly when racing lightweight vehicles like F1 25 s F1 cars or open wheelers in Automobilista 2 , the front end feeling is slightly dull and imprecise. However, in road cars and GT vehicles that youd find in Assetto Corsa Competizione or Assetto Corsa Evo , I noticed this far less.

In the end, that slightly dull delivery is another concession to price. Just like the stamping force on the brake, it takes you marginally out of the immersion of controlling a real vehicle, but has little to no impact on your lap times.

Elsewhere in performance terms, I love the spacing of the pedals, the size of the round wheel, and the articulation of the large aluminum magnetic
shifters. That lets me compete in longer races without feeling fatigued, and having all the face buttons arranged within easy reach of my thumbs helps a lot, too.

Should I buy the Turtle Beach Velocityone Race KD3? Buy it if

You drive with a desktop setup, but might move to a rig
Desktop mounts seem to be a stumbling block for many bundles, at the budget
end or otherwise, but Turtle Beachs smart design makes it easy to clamp the motor to a desk, while the pedals stay put on any floor. That said, its
equally at home mounted to a Playseat.

Youre feeling thrifty
This really is some incredible value Turtle Beach has crammed into one box,
and if you can live with some high-plastic construction to the wheel and
pedal base, there are few other tradeoffs.

You race rally and road
Spend the extra $225 / 190 for the magnificent FR-X wheel, and youve got a mini-modular setup with both a round wheel and a formula-style option, depending on the driving style you need.

Dont buy it if

You want to buy into a big ecosystem
Turtle Beach is just getting started in this vertical, so as yet, the future upgrade options are limited when compared to Fanatecs range, for example.

Youre a torque snob
Only 3.2Nm? Surely you can barely feel the road? In reality, theres plenty of power here, but if Nm is what counts to you, there are similarly priced
rivals with higher output.

Youre a Gran Turismo fan
Bad news, Autumn Ring Mini aficionados this ones PC and Xbox-compatible, so your PS5 racing activities will need separate hardware consider the Thrustmaster T598 instead.

Turtle Beach Velocityone Race KD3: Also consider

If the Turtle Beach Velocityone Race KD3 doesnt bring you out of your shell, try these similar alternatives.

(comparison table in link below)

Thrustmaster T598
Thrustmaster does things differently than the competition with this industry-disrupting, axial drive wheel. Sure, the motor is massive and a strange shape, but it delivers an incredibly nuanced and powerful drive.
Those who complain that its 5Nm torque output isnt enough clearly havent
driven one with the feedback strength maxed - its more than enough to snap
your thumbs off.

The big consideration here is compatibility - if youre a PC-only sim racer, then both are great options, but the Turtle Beach is Xbox-only on console
while the T598 is PlayStation-only.

Nacon Revosim
Priced higher than the others, Nacons Revosim does its best to justify the extra outlay with bombproof build quality and tons of extras, including a smartphone mount and several load cell configuration options for the brake, bundled in the box. The feeling is robust and detailed, but like the Turtle Beach wheel, the ecosystem is as yet very small, so theres not much long-term upgrade or expansion potential.

How I tested the Turtle Beach Velocityone Race KD3

Tested in F1 24, F1 25, Rennsport, ACC, and AC Evo One week of testing on a desktop Both the bundled KD3 wheel and FR-X wheel tested

Force feedback implementation and input schemes can vary from one title to another, so my testing process when a new bundle shows up at the door always involves a variety of games. And, indeed, a variety of vehicle types within them.

For the past week, Ive been hotlapping in F1 24 and F1 25 , obsessing over
tire temps in Rennsport , whittling down the odd hundredth from my PBs in Assetto Corsa Competizione , and trying to ignore the low frame rates in Assetto Corsa Evo . In all titles, the KD3 feels powerful and just agile
enough to convey the key info about the platform. Button mappings and default axis values all feel sensible, too.

First reviewed October 2025 ======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/gaming/turtle-beach-velocityone-race-kd3-review

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