Our Verdict
Pros
- Huge number of inputs
- Great build quality
- Good ergonomics during use
- Outstanding quick release
Cons
- Too much plastic throughout
- Large quick release handle
- Poor clutch paddle positioning
What is the MOZA KS steering wheel?
If you’ve read our review of the MOZA FSR steering wheel, you would know that I was a huge fan of it. With such praise, you may think it’s strange that MOZA Racing has chosen to release another formula-style steering wheel so soon, the MOZA KS wheel.
Despite this steering wheel doing away with the built-in screen that made the FSR so good, there are serious improvements here. In this review, I’m going to check out the design of this wheel and how it functions during the heat of a race.
But before I go any further, I want to disclose that the guys at MOZA sent me this steering wheel for review. As with all of our reviews, this does not impact the outcome of this review in any way.
Price
So, let’s start with the price to see where this wheel sits compared to the two other formula-style wheels that MOZA currently has in its lineup. I’m going to be referencing the GS GT wheel and the FSR wheel a lot during this review.
The GS GT wheel is the current lowest-cost option at £469/$583, while the FSR, which is essentially a GS GT wheel with an added screen, is priced at £579/$720. This new KS steering wheel is priced at €299/$259, firmly establishing it as the cheapest wheel of the three.
This is a great price range for this wheel, as its design offers both improvements and compromises compared to the other two formula wheels.
- MOZA KS Steering Wheel – €299/$259
- MOZA GS Steering Wheel – £469/$583
- MOZA FSR Steering Wheel – £579/$720
The design of the MOZA KS steering wheel
Looking at the design of this KS wheel, there is a lot to like. There are a few small things that aren’t as great, but I’ll get onto those in a bit.
First, if you compare this wheel directly to the GS GT and the FSR wheels, you’ll notice that it is the largest of the three in terms of diameter—well, it is tied for the largest with the GS GT at 300mm. I really like this choice of diameter.
Increasing the size from the normal 280mm formula wheel diameter many companies use, makes this steering wheel feel a little more realistic.
The downside of this increased size is that you will cover more of your screen while rotating this steering wheel, making some on-screen HUD elements a little trickier to see. But, in reality, you probably won’t spend much time mid-corner looking at your in-game dashboard or HUD, so this impact should be minimal.
While the diameter of this wheel is on the larger side, the weight isn’t. This is the lightest wheel of the three. And that is in part due to the materials that have been used.
Materials and quality
Gone is the real carbon fibre faceplate that is used on the GS GT and FSR wheel; instead, the entirety of this wheel is constructed from a plastic composite. The front and rear both feature a carbon fiber effect pattern, which looks quite nice. But upon touching it, you’ll feel it is much more plasticky and lightweight.
There are also plastic elements across the rest of the wheel. The button housing and the plate that sits directly behind the front encoders are also plastic, just without a carbon weave effect. All inputs, including the buttons, thumb encoders and front encoders, are plastic, with the front encoders looking exactly the same as on the GS GT and FSR wheels.
The only non-plastic parts of this wheel are the magnetic shifters, which are constructed from aluminium, and the hand grips, which are injection-molded TPE rubber.
This heavy use of plastic isn’t too much of an issue from afar, but when up close and in your hands, it does cheapen this wheel. On first inspection, both the GS GT and FSR wheels appear more premium.
Push buttons
Now, I want to discuss some improvements this wheel has made compared to the existing MOZA formula wheels, and these improvements start with the push buttons.
The push buttons on this KS wheel have been completely reworked, introducing a much shorter throw. This is nice as it makes each button press more definitive.
The shorter throw is accompanied by a much firmer resistance, which means you won’t be able to press a button by mistake. However, this extra resistance does mean that each button click is louder than on previous wheels. If you’re not a fan of “clicky” buttons, you may get annoyed by just how loud these buttons are over time.
The final improvement to these buttons is that each one features a clear plastic design. This clear plastic doesn’t feature any pre-defined labelling, meaning sim racers can customise their own button layout with the included stickers.
This is a really nice move, as one of my big annoyances is having to look at button labels that don’t correspond with the input that I’ve actually assigned.
Once installed, the button stickers feature clear text that allows them to be illuminated by the RGB LEDs behind each button. The colour of each LED can also be fully customized, making this the most customisable MOZA wheel to date. Good stuff.
Rotary encoders
The housing for the front encoders is also an improvement over previous MOZA wheels. There have been some quality control issues where the encoder stickers didn’t fully align with the encoder itself.
It’s worth saying this was more prominent in the early days and is something MOZA has addressed. But the rotary encoder labelling on this KS wheel has been printed directly onto the plastic, meaning zero alignment issues.
While I’m talking about encoders, there has been a change to the thumb encoders, which is another area of improvement. The two thumb encoders on the KS wheel have been mounted into the handles rather than protruding into the gap between the hand grip and chassis.
This makes them much easier to operate, with quick adjustments available within a split second. You don’t need to remove your hand from the wheel or adjust your grip to use either thumb encoder, which is really nice.
Rev lights
One of my absolute favourite improvements to this wheel compared to other MOZA wheels is the rev light array. Gone is the diffused light bar, which I really did not like on previous wheels.
On this wheel, there are individually lit LED lights, which are much more realistic and appealing to look at. The Pit House software allows you to fully customize these by adjusting the colour, shift pattern, and timing.
I hated that diffused lightbar on older MOZA wheels because it looked blurry and a little bit cheap. So I am so happy to see this change. I hope this is the new standard moving forward.
Shifters
The shifters also feature a revised design, using aluminium instead of carbon fibre. But the bigger change here is the introduction of a few built-in silencing pads. Everybody who has used a MOZA wheel in the past knows just how loud the original shifters were, so I’m glad to report that the sound has been reduced a lot.
The downside of these shifters for me is that I think they are mounted just a little too close to the wheel’s body. When I pull a shift, I will occasionally hit my thumb. This is a big oversight and requires me to reposition the grip that I’ve used for years while sim racing.
It’s a problem many people have, but MOZA did need another inch here. Looking at the design, I can’t even see a way of swapping out the shifter paddles, so this may be an ongoing problem with this KS wheel.
Read our review of the MOZA SGP Sequential shifter which pairs perfectly with this KS wheel.
Hand grips
Talking of hand grips, MOZA has tried something a little different here. Gone are the nicely rounded Alcantara or leather grips. In their place are a set of precision moulded rubber grips. These are designed for the contour of your hand to wrap around the grip.
In practice, it works quite well, and the fitment is relatively nice. They aren’t quite as comfy as, say, the Asetek Forte grips, which I recently reviewed, and a lot of this comes down to the thickness of each grip. These hand grips are definitely on the skinnier side, which I’m not a huge fan of.
If the grips were a little thicker, the shifter hitting the thumb issue might not be as prevalent, and there would be less overlap of my thumb and fingers at the rear of the wheel.
Quick release design & compatibility
I have touched on the MOZA quick release a lot in previous reviews, but I need to mention it again here. The same NRG-style quick release has returned, and that’s a good thing. It’s as easy as ever to remove and interchange wheels.
This KS wheel has added internal pins that power it, and it’s compatible with the entire range of MOZA wheel bases, which is a big tick.
Another big tick is the addition of a hard wire port, similar to the one found on the FSR wheel. This allows you to connect a cable from this wheel directly to the MOZA Universal Hub or your PC and use it with wheel bases from other brands.
There are quick-release adapters that help you do just this, and it’s great to see MOZA embrace this open ecosystem, allowing sim racers to mix and match products from their favourite brands.
Should you buy the MOZA KS steering wheel?
Overall, this addition to the ever-expanding MOZA product range is pretty sweet. It offers sim racers an alternative to the GS GT wheel and improves some of the core issues plaguing earlier MOZA wheels.
A few faux pas shouldn’t have made it past quality control, the main one being the shifters being so close to the wheel’s body. And to go with this, some areas of the wheel feel a little cheaper and less premium than on the GS GT and FSR formula wheels.
If you already have a MOZA formula wheel, you probably don’t need to shell out the money and pick this one up. But if you’re looking to buy into the MOZA ecosystem or you like the look of this wheel to go with your existing setup, then this is a great option.
Technical Specifications
Review written by Felix König
