Best Automobilista Settings for Thrustmaster TMX / T150
Automobilista is an older simulator by modern standards, but it still holds up just fine. The physics and force feedback feel great and the focus on Brazilian motorsports gives it a unique set of content compared to many other games.
Even though there are no built-in button bindings for the Thrustmaster TMX and T150, these wheels still work great with Automobilista. You have to manually bind the buttons and pedals. While it's a minor inconvenience, it's only a one-time setup. The actual force feedback feels great. There are only a few options to adjust, so getting the force feedback working its best is very easy.
In this guide, I will show you the settings I use to get the best experience with the game.
Thrustmaster Control Panel Settings
Automobilista will automatically set the correct steering angle for each car in the game, so leave the rotation in the Thrustmaster Control Panel at the maximum.
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Rotation | 900° (TMX) 1080° (T150) |
| Overall Strength of all forces | 100% |
| Constant | 100% |
| Periodic | 100% |
| Spring | 100% |
| Damper | 100% |
| BOOST | Off |
| Auto-Center | by the game |
Spring and Damper are not used by Automobilista, so can be set to any value without issue. As a general rule, I leave these at 100% since there are some games that require them.
BOOST should always be turned off. For an in-depth look as to why, see my BOOST Force Feedback Analysis.
Automobilista Settings
In Game Settings > Controls > Inputs:
These wheels don't have presets available, so you will need to manually bind all the pedals and buttons. By default, it will load the Digital Gamepad preset, which isn't correct for a wheel. Make sure to rebind all the pedals and any buttons you want to use.
In Game Settings > Controls > Settings:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Controller Type | Wheel |
| Auto Steering Rotation | On |
| Force Feedback Effects | Pure 360Hz |
| Force Feedback Strength | 75% |
| FFB Low Force Boost | 60% |
| Damping Preset | None |
Controller Type needs to be set to Wheel when using a steering wheel.
Auto Steering Rotation lets the game set the wheel rotation to the real world value of the car you are driving. This includes a Soft Lock, so you can't turn the wheel past the car's actual steering rotation.
Force Feedback Effects is best left on Pure 360Hz. This updates the force feedback 360 times per second. The other options all update at 180Hz, which gives less detail. The options with Effects add canned effects for things like driving over kerbs. I don't recommend these, as you will feel the real effects directly through the physics when using Pure 360Hz.
Force Feedback Strength controls the overall strength of the forces you feel. With Thrustmaster wheels, this needs to be set to a positive value. Setting it to a negative value will invert the force feedback.
FFB Low Force Boost raises the lighter forces especially around the center point of the wheel. Setting this too high will make bumps in the road overly strong. If you lower this too much, you won't feel any bumps at all.
Damping Preset needs to be set to None when using a steering wheel. The other options are only used when playing with a gamepad.
Conclusion
The original Automobilista is still great even today. While it has largely been replaced by its own sequel, it is still useful if you have an older computer that can't run the newer simulators with much higher system requirements.
Let me know if you have any questions or comments.
