“How many Nm do I need?” is the single most common question I get asked on league night and in the Discord. It’s also the one where people most often talk themselves into overspending. So here’s my honest answer, built from actually running a low-torque base and then a mid-Nm one on the same rig, in the same sims, racing the same people.
What Nm even means here
Nm is newton-metres — the peak torque the wheelbase motor can put back into your hands. More Nm means the wheel can resist you harder when the car loads up. An entry direct-drive base sits around 5–8 Nm. The mid tier runs roughly 8–12 Nm. The high tier is 18 Nm and up.
The trap is treating that number like a score where bigger is always better. It isn’t. Past a certain point you’re paying for force you can’t use and, in some setups, can’t even mount safely.
My honest progression
I started my direct-drive life on an entry base and ran it for a long time before I moved up to the mid-Nm tier I’m on now. Here’s what I actually noticed.
Going from a gear wheel to entry direct drive was night and day — but that’s a drive-type jump, not a torque jump. The clean, linear, non-clipping feedback is what made the difference, and you get that at 5 Nm just like you get it at 18.
Going from entry to mid-Nm was real but far smaller. The car felt a little more planted, the heavy moments — big braking zones, fast direction changes — had more weight to them, and I could lean on the wheel a touch more confidently. Worth it for me. Not life-changing. If someone had told me the entry base was “holding me back,” they’d have been wrong.
How much you actually need, by discipline
Torque demand tracks the cars you drive more than your skill:
- GT and touring cars (iRacing, ACC): This is where most people live, and it’s where entry-to-mid torque shines. I run mid-Nm for GT3 in ACC and it’s plenty. You do not need 18 Nm to race GT3 well.
- Formula and open-wheel: Higher steering forces in the real cars, so more torque feels more authentic. If formula is your main thing, the upper end of mid or into high makes sense.
- Rally: Big, sudden loadings over rough surfaces. More torque helps, but rough-stage feedback is brutal on your arms — and on a flimsy desk it’s a non-starter.
- Oval: Long, sustained loads. Some people love high torque here; plenty run mid happily.
The thing nobody factors in: what holds the wheel
Here’s the part that gets skipped in every “how many Nm” thread. High torque is only usable if the thing the base is bolted to can take it. Run a 12 Nm base on a flimsy desk with a clamp and the whole desk flexes and shudders — you feel the desk, not the car. Push to 18 Nm on the wrong mount and it’s genuinely unpleasant, sometimes unsafe.
So the real equation isn’t “how much torque can I afford.” It’s “how much torque can my rig actually deliver to my hands cleanly.” A mid-Nm base on a solid aluminium-profile cockpit will out-feel a high-Nm base clamped to a wobbly desk every single time. I’d rather see someone buy a mid base and a real rig than a high base and a clamp.
My actual recommendation
- Most people, GT/touring focus: Entry to mid (5–12 Nm). Start at the bottom of direct drive if budget’s tight — you lose almost nothing.
- Formula-focused, or you know you want headroom: Mid to upper-mid. The extra weight reads as authentic in open-wheelers.
- You already have a rigid cockpit and you race a lot: High torque is there if you want it, but it’s a refinement, not a requirement.
Buy for the cars you drive and the rig you can mount it to — not for the biggest number on the box. If you want my full tier-by-tier breakdown with the bases that fit each band, it’s all in the best sim racing wheelbase guide. The honest headline: most people need less torque than they think, and a steadier rig than they realise.