There are a ton of customizable settings in iRacing, but sometimes it can be difficult to find and understand some of them. One of the more common questions is how you can hide the steering wheel while in the game.
In this article, we’ll answer the question right off the bat in the next section. But we will also take a little deeper dive into the steering wheel visibility settings so that you understand all the details. Finally, we’ll recommend which settings you should choose, and explain the different circumstances that would require different settings.
Table of Contents
How To Hide The Steering Wheel
In iRacing, you can hide the steering wheel in just a few easy steps:
- Launch a session in iRacing
- Once loaded up, click on Options
- Select the Graphics tab
- Change to Hide Steering Wheel
- Click Done to save your changes
That’s it! Now the steering wheel should be hidden when you are in the car. You only need to do this once and it will apply to every car. You won’t need to change this again unless you want to show the steering wheel.
If you need to hide the steering wheel in the replay, the steps are slightly different. We will cover that below. But first, let’s take a look at what each steering wheel setting does in iRacing.
What Each Setting Means
Now let’s take a look at a description for what each steering wheel setting means in the iRacing settings.
Hide Steering Wheel
Steering wheel and driver arms are hidden. Recommended for people with accurate FOV settings and single/triple/ultrawide monitors
Static Steering Wheel
Steering wheel shows, but does not rotate with steering inputs. Recommended for wanting to look at steering wheel displays without steering wheel motion
Show Steering Wheel
Steering wheel shows, no driver arms
Show Only If Has Display
Vehicles with displays built into the steering wheel will show the steering wheel, while the steering wheel will be hidden for vehicles without displays
Show Driver Arms
Shows the steering wheel and driver arms. This is the recommended setting for VR
Why Would You Hide The Steering Wheel?
Whether or not to show the steering wheel in the car is a personal preference. There isn’t any advantage one way or the other. The setting that you enjoy the most is the best setting. That being said, there is a reason you may want to play around with showing or not showing the steering wheel.
If you have your monitor right up next to your racing wheel, it’s recommended to hide the steering wheel in the game. Since your physical wheel is right up next to the screen, there is no point in having a graphical steering wheel generated in the game. The most common reason that people hide the steering wheel in iRacing is because it’s just unnecessary for many people who have their monitor up close and personal. You’ll see more of the dash if you hide the in-game wheel.
This applies to people with traditional monitors, and not VR sim racers. Those with single monitors, triples, or ultrawides will get a more immersive racing experience by hiding the steering wheel.
Settings for Monitor
If you play iRacing on a single monitor, or perhaps even triple screens, our recommendation is to have the steering wheel hidden.
In an ideal world, your display would be mounted as close as possible to your racing wheel. You’ll gain more field of view (FOV) this way, and it makes racing a more immersive experience. If you are able to move your monitor close, hide the in-game steering wheel so that you can see more of the dash.
Think about your physical racing wheel and arms as an extension of the game world. Rather than having iRacing graphically generate the driver wheel, arms, and hands, you simply position your physical gear and self into a similar position. Then, hide the steering wheel in the graphics settings for maximum immersion!
Settings for VR
Drivers using VR to race have a different situation. When you play on 2D monitors, you can still see the physical environment around you. When you are in VR, you are transported into the game, and can no longer see the real world around you.
That’s why we recommend that VR users use the setting that shows the steering wheel and driver arms. We find that it makes VR racing more comfortable. You’ll be less likely to become motion sick if you have the steering wheel and driver arms enabled in the settings.
Game Vs Replay Settings
The settings that you see in the game and in the replay afterwards are different. If you want to see the steering wheel in the replay, but not in the game, that is possible with iRacing.
To change the steering wheel settings for replay’s, follow these steps:
- Launch a session
- Once loaded up, click on Options
- Select the Replay tab
- Change to Hide Steering Wheel
- Click Done to save your changes
Now the steering wheel will be hidden in the replay. The in-game setting, if you remember from above, is found under the Graphics tab.
We recommend showing the steering wheel and driver arms in the replay. In a replay you aren’t after the immersion factor, you just want to see what happened in the race. Showing the driver arms and steering wheel allows you to see your steering inputs.
Conclusion
One of the most useful settings for creating immersion in iRacing is the ability to hide or show the in-game steering wheel. There are multiple reasons why someone would want to hide it. If your racing wheel is close to your monitor, there is no need to show the in-game wheel. You can create a more realistic and immersive experience by hiding the steering wheel.
If you race in VR, we recommend that you show the steering wheel and driver arms. Since you are transported into a 3D world in VR, you need to be able to see a graphical representation of your arms and steering wheel. It can help with immersion and motion sickness.
Follow the steps above to show or hide the steering wheel. And remember, the options are in different places for in-game and replay.