I Tried To Use a PS4 Controller for iRacing

While I was waiting for my racing wheel to arrive, I wanted to try and run a few test laps on iRacing. I had read that the PS4 controller was a supported option, however, the reviews were generally not good. Most people said that if you are serious about competing and don’t want to wreck every other lap, buy a racing wheel.

Setting Up The Controller

The PS4 controller uses Bluetooth for wireless or you can use a USB Micro-B connector. This connector is commonly found on many Android phones and other non-Apple devices that have a USB adapter. Since my desktop at the time did not have a Bluetooth adapter, I went for using the USB cable.

PS4 Software

In theory, you should only need to connect your PS4 controller to your Windows 10 PC and it should work, however many users have complained of compatibility problems with certain games. From my research, I did find that there is a free software package that you can download and install called DS4Windows, which makes the PS4 internally behave like an Xbox controller (hello Microsoft connection) and perform better. Note that I did not attempt to use iRacing without DS4, so I cannot comment if it would work or not.

The installation was very straightforward and ran without issue. I was ready to start up iRacing.

Setting Up The PS4 Controller in iRacing

There are a variety of ways to configure your PS4 controller for iRacing. First, the left Dual-Shock button was used as the steering wheel. Next, the “R2” button was used for the throttle and “L2” as the brake. Finally, for shifting, “Triangle” was “shift up”, and the “X” was “shift down”. I knew this was not going to be my permanent setup, so I didn’t worry about the radio, the look buttons, or anything else. If you can accelerate, brake, turn and shift that should be good enough for now.

I ran through the controller calibration settings in iRacing and as a result, I thought I was ready to race. At least I thought I was ready to race.

The Problems

For starters, the Dual Shock button for steering was awful. Obviously, the dual shock controller does not turn and behave like a normal steering wheel. The first time I tried to leave the pits I lost total control of the car and went into a spin. The sensitivity of the button was a huge problem.

The final step was to go to YouTube to see if anyone published a tutorial and the below video definitely helped. That being said, it still was not a solution I intend to use regularly. Shoutout to Bigrons for the tutorial, though.

Conclusions

In conclusion, just don’t waste your time with the PS4 or Xbox controller. Spend the money on a racing wheel. While the tutorials were extremely helpful, it was just a very frustrating process. There is someone out there who got this to work for them, I am sure. It wasn’t me.

P.S. – The F-R Racing Merchandise Store is open

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D.J. Fluck

D.J. is the co-founder of F-R Racing. In addition, he is the co-founder of StadiumScene.TV and is a rising star in the world of interviewing. He lives with his wife and twin daughters just outside of Phoenix, AZ.