Most sim racers will know about the venerable TH8A shifter which has been a solid recommendation for many years. But now there’s a cost-effective alternative from the same manufacturer, as the new Thrustmaster TH8S shifter launches for pre-orders, with availability set for July 27th, 2023.
The current TH8A will set you back around £169.99, but the new TH8S is just £59.99, which is a massive price difference. It’ll worth with all racing wheels for PC sim rigs, and for consoles (PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S) with Thrustmaster racing wheels.
It’s a H-pattern shifter with seven gears plus reverse, which should cover everything you might want to drive with a manual gearbox in sim racing. And you can double the gears up to 14 for trucks, which is handy, by using a keyboard shortcut. Allowing you to jump from iRacing to Euro Truck Simulator 2.
The short lever is 1.6″/4cm, fitted with an ergonomic knob, and the same frictionless H.E.A.R.T technology used in the TH8A is utilised to offer good precision when you’re shifting through the gears. So it should be nice and responsive.
A clamping system is built into the TH8S which doesn’t require any tools, and will work with tables and desks between 01-4cm thick (0.04-1.6″). Without looking underneath, we can’t tell if it can be hardmounted to a cockpit or rig, but if not, someone is bound to be 3D printing an adaptor within minutes of getting their hands on the new shifter.
Compared to the pricier older brother, you don’t get the metal construction or the ability to switch between H-pattern and sequential layouts. And the shift knob probably isn’t detachable and replaceable with any standard option from a car parts shop. There’s also no mention of any attempt to include realistic resistance. But that’s reasonable, considering the massive price difference, otherwise Thrustmaster would seriously undermine one of their most widely used and respected products.
It’s also a fair bit cheaper than the somewhat comparable Moza HGP shifter, which also features seven gears and reverse in a h-pattern, but does have full metal construction and a downshift throttle blip system, and competes directly with the Logitech Driving Force. But unlike the Logitech, it’ll work with any wheel on a PC, without a third party solution.
Without looking inside the new Thrustmaster TH8S shifter, it’s difficult to spot where metal construction has been used internally, and when the plastic exterior takes over. But any drop in durability will probably impact the look of the outside, rather than the functionality, so unless you’re particularly heavy-handed, it could be the perfect solution for anyone on a tight budget, or who only switches from paddle shifting on an occasional basis.
If you’re a professional eSports-level sim racer or spend all day hammering classic cars around virtual tracks, there are still reasons to invest in the Thrustmaster TH8A, but if you fancy using manual gear shifts for the first time, then the new Thrustmaster TH8S seems like a no-brainer.
You can check out more on the Thrustmaster sim racing range here, or all of our sim racing wheel and pedals news, here. And if you’re just starting out, take a look at our guide to the best sim racing wheels for beginners, here.
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