I recently bought a Microsoft Sidewinder Precision wheel used for $30 canadian. I realy like this wheel, and I've already started using it in LFS with my custom 3 pedal setup.

I just have one issue with it. The steering has a small amount of slop.
What I mean is that somewhere in the wheel something is loose and when you return the wheel to center, the actual reading is off to one side by about 3/255+-.

I was going to take the wheel apart and check it out, but I want to know something first. And Im sure someone here has taken one of these apart.

Is the steering optical, or is it a pot? I want to know this first so I know if I can fix it or not.

Bump

Nobody here has taken one apart? Not even the DIY guys?

I've taken enough racing sets apart that I can do it easily, I just don't want to do the work without knowing if it's worth it or not.

It is a pot.

The slop might be because of two things. First, the pot might be a bit loose which allows it to move slightly in the "socket". This is easy to fix with some filling.

The 2nd and more probable reason is the spring used in that wheel. The spring "relaxes" a bit as time passes and eventually you will have small amount of slop in the middle. The slop may also be caused but the rubber parts wearing which are held against the spring. Twisting the spring slightly (be careful not to break it) might make the center part more "tight" which would eliminate the slop. Once you see the mehcanism it should be quite obvious how to fix it .

Thank you Hyperactive, I realy didn't want to take apart another wheel unless I was sure I could fix the problem.

I've taken apart/fixed so many controlers now that I'm kind of tired of doing it. But since this is my only wheel at the moment, I'm going to see what I can do. I may even shim the spring if thats possible, to make it tighter at the ends like my thrustmaster used to be.

Hi Dragon!

Did you take the wheel apart? After you remove all the screws is there any trick I should know about? My wheel is a bit loose and I want to tighten it.

Thanks in advance!

Oh man, I took that thing apart so long ago, that post was from 2008. I'm using the pedals as a third pedal and a dead pedal for my current setup.

What I do remember is it came apart pretty easy, and there is a big metal plate at the base of the steering shaft, MS's old hardware division made things really solid.

There where two things wrong, and both where mentioned in this thread. The pot was lose in it's socket, and the spring was relaxed. To fix the first you could use paper to shim the pot's flat side in the hole it sits in, that would make sure it's nice and tight. Just remove the pot, fold up a small bit of paper, and stuff both back in the slot, it should be a somewhat tight fit but not overly so.

The spring can be fixed as mentioned by twisting it in the opposite direction, but it's a strong spring so that is hard. What you could do is shim it in some way, but I can't remember how I did mine so you'll have to figure that out too.