Moza’s R12 – Enough Torque for a Long Term Relationship

Featured Image: Moza R12 with Vision GS wheel attached

Moza continues its expansion in the sim racing space, covering all corners of the market with its line-up of wheelbases. Moza has R3, R5, R9, R12, R16 and the R21 wheelbases to choose from, offering torque levels ranging from 3 Nm (R3) up to 21 Nm (R21) – there’s something for everyone.

I think the R12, at $499/£499 offers more bang for the buck over and above the R3 and R5 I’ve already tested, without wanting to spoil the article for you already; it’s my favourite of the Moza wheelbase line up. A setup with the R12, a decent cockpit, wheel and the CRP2 pedal set would make for a lasting build on a reasonable budget. So, let’s have a look!

The R12 I have here for review isn’t strictly ‘new’ (it first came out in 2023) but Moza has re-worked its innards and firmware recently, installing what they call its “NexGen 3.0 FFB Algorithm”.

In Moza’s words this ‘eliminates swaying during straight-line driving and refines the natural inertia of the vehicle, creating a smoother and more realistic racing experience.’

The ‘new’ R12 also comes with Moza’s ‘Hands-off Protection Mode 2,’ which should stop you from injuring yourself when the wheel makes a sudden, powerful movement (for example, when crashing!).

Moza R12: Build Quality, Features and Installation

The R12’s chassis is made from aviation-grade aluminium alloy, much like the rest of the Moza wheelbase line-up. It has a black anodised finish and looks and feels solid as a rock. The R12 uses a servo motor-based system that delivers a peak torque figure of 12 Nm (the clue’s in the name!).

The R12 can accept quick-release Moza wheel rims and, if fitted with the ESX Steering Wheel will work on Xbox consoles too (the R12 is not compatible with PlayStation consoles).

You can also add Moza’s Quick Release Adapter to use wheelrims from other manufacturers.

The internals are typically good quality, with Moza using carbon fibre to cover the wheelbase’s rotor, a rotor that features 16 poles compared to many rivals’ 12 pole setups.

More poles = weaker magnetic fields, which creates a more consistent composite magnetic field in the direct drive motor’s air gap. The result is better heat dissipation, and, it seems to work well as I never encountered a single issue in this regard (like most direct drive wheelbases these days, the R12 uses external passive cooling fins).

‘Speed-Dependent Force Feedback Dampening’ is built-in from the get-go too. This automatically increases resistance at the centre of your wheel as your car goes faster, copying the feel of hydraulic power steering systems you might experience in your road car (but are now dying out, sadly).

Moza’s packaging of the R12 was excellent as usual, with the correct mounting bolts, a small tool kit, and Moza stickers included in the box. Fixing it to my rig was therefore a breeze, although the R12 is not a lightweight at 7.5 Kg.

The R12 connects to your PC via a type-B USB cable and you can plug in various Moza pedals, shifters, and their handbrake into the back of the wheelbase too.

Moza R12: How Does it Feel?

Once set up the R12 feels natural to use. Using the default settings, the wheelbase offered detailed feedback across a variety of sims (iRacing, Assetto Corsa and rFactor 2 were the main titles I used for this review).

The main steering shaft is secure and confidence-inspiring with 12 Nm feeling like more than enough power to cover almost every sim racing discipline. Virtual drifters are also covered thanks to Moza’s unlimited wheel rotation feature.

Effects like kerb strikes, bumps and oversteer are communicated without interference – the R12 gives you a clean signal straight from the wheelbase to your hands. However, understeer isn’t always communicated as clearly from my testing on AC, which leaves you to rely more on visual and audio cues (setting AC’s slip value setting to 50 or above seems to help this).

When operating at the top end of its 12 Nm the R12 doesn’t clatter or feel like it’s going to shake itself to bits, so the overall impression is of a product that’s well-built and well-sorted in terms of the firmware.

Moza R12 FFB Settings in Moza Pit House

To adjust the R12’s settings you need to use Moza’s Pit House software. As we’ve seen before it works incredibly well, being both clear and concise in its presentation You can also set up and edit the rev lights on your chosen steering wheel here.

Handily, you can also set up specific sim profiles in Pit House, so your AC and iRacing profiles will be quite different (AC for example requires a little less gain to stop the wheel from oscillating too much).

As a starting point for your Moza R12 try the following settings in Pit House:

Basic Settings:

● Maximum Limit / Steering Angle: 900

● Synchronous: On

● Road Sensitivity: 10

● Game Force Feedback Intensity: 100%

● Maximum Wheel Speed: 20%

● Wheel Spring Strength: 0%

● Wheel Damper: 25%

Advanced Settings:

● Force Feedback Reversal: Off

● Maximum Output Torque Limit: 100%

● Hands-Off Protection: On

● Steering Wheel Inertia: 1500

● Natural Inertia: 100%

● Wheel Friction: 50%

● Speed-dependent Damping: 0%

● Start Point of Speed-dependent Damping: 0km/h

FFB Effect Equalizer:

● 10Hz – 100%

● 15Hz – 100%

● 25Hz – 150%

● 40Hz – 100%

● 50Hz – 50%

● 100 Hz – 50%

Base FFB Curve

● Linear

Miscellaneous

● Base Status Indicator: On

● Soft limit stiffness: 1

● Soft limit strength: Middle

● Soft limit game strength: Off

● Temperature Control Strategy: Radical

Moza R12 Technical Specifications

Check out the Moza R12’s technical specifications below:

Dimensions and Weight:

● Weight – 7.5Kg

● Dimensions – 225.87mm x 156.68mm x 123.99mm

Connectivity:

● USB

Compatibility:

● PC and Xbox (with Xbox-compatible wheel rim)

Features:

● 12 Nm of Torque from a Direct Drive Servo Motor

● Lightweight Design

● New Generation FFB Filtering Algorithm

● Aviation-grade Aluminum

● Industrial Conductive Slip Ring

● Ultra-low FFB Latency & Steering Response

● Intelligent Temperature Control System

● Hand-off Protection

● MOZA Pit House Control Software

● Cloud-based Mobile App Control

Conclusion

For €549 / £499 / AUD 899 / $499 the Moza R12 represents great value for money. Who’d have thought three years ago you could pick up a 12 Nm direct drive wheelbase for less than £500?

The R12 compares favourably to similarly powerful wheelbases from its rivals, going head to head with Fanatec’s ClubSport DD in terms of performance but undercutting it massively on price (the ClubSport DD is currently €799.95 excluding shipping and taxes).

The new ‘Hands-off Protection Mode 2’ appeared to work well as I never encountered a single scary oscillation incident in my testing, while the ‘NexGen 3.0 FFB Algorithm’ provides excellent feedback.

But the ‘old’ R12 was already an extremely capable direct drive wheelbase so it’s difficult to say whether the ‘new’ version is a huge improvement. If you already have an R12, it’s not worth upgrading.

Moza’s huge (and growing) range of wheelrims, pedals and other add-ons means once you’re part of the Moza ecosystem there’s probably little reason to leave, unless you’re aiming for some really high-end stuff costing four figures.

12 Nm of torque is a great step up on entry-level wheelbases too, giving enough room to prevent clipping but plenty of power to provide clean FFB. It could even be enough power to never want for anything else.

It seems like the R12 is yet another success story for Moza – I think the R12 combined with the Vision GS steering wheel is an excellent setup to own and, with the right sim racing rig, you can build to a budget of around $1500 in total (providing you have a gaming PC or XBOX already!

Original Blog Post by Richard Baxter