Questions

How to use a Thrustmaster wheel on a Mac

Yes, in PC mode. Set the switch on the wheel base to PC and plug it in: a Thrustmaster wheel is then a standard USB device, and the Mac reads the wheel, the pedals and the buttons with no driver. What you do not get on a Mac is Thrustmaster's own software, which sets the rotation, the force feedback strength and the firmware and is made for Windows.

Few Mac games read a Thrustmaster wheel themselves, and for the rest InputConfig, the free app I make, turns it into keys and mouse movement. InputConfig's Thrustmaster support has not been checked on a real wheel, so treat what follows as how the app reads one, and check yours with the steps below.

On this page: 10 sections
  1. Steps
  2. Set the base to PC
  3. Know what InputConfig reads
  4. Handle pedals that rest at one end
  5. Drive a keyboard game with it
    1. Step 1: Find the axes
    2. Step 2: Point One-Stick Driving at them
    3. Step 3: Set the pedal option and the deadzone
  6. Choose between the game and InputConfig
  7. If the wheel is not read
  8. What it cannot do
  9. The short version
  10. Questions

Steps

  1. Unplug the wheel and set the base switch to PC.
  2. Connect the power supply and the USB cable.
  3. Check System Information, USB, for the wheel.
  4. Find each axis in InputConfig's Live Visualizer.
  5. Set up One-Stick Driving with Throttle axis is a trigger on.

Set the base to PC

Many Thrustmaster bases have a switch for the console they were sold with and one for PC. On a T300 RS in the PS4 or PS5 position, the wheel and the pedals are not declared to the computer at all, so nothing on a Mac can read them.

  • You: Unplug the wheel, set the switch to PC, then connect the power supply and the USB cable, with a USB-C adapter on a MacBook.
  • macOS: Reads it as a USB device and lists it in System Information.
  • Check: Hold Option, open the Apple menu, choose System Information, and look under USB.

Many Thrustmaster wheels first appear under one shared name, Thrustmaster FFB Wheel, and stay that way on a Mac: on Windows, Thrustmaster's driver then switches each wheel to its own model, and on a Mac nothing does. That generic wheel is still readable. It does not appear under Game Controllers in System Settings, which only lists gamepads. Thrustmaster FFB Wheel in System Information means it is working.

Know what InputConfig reads

InputConfig reads the wheel as a raw HID device, the way it reads any joystick:

  • Read. Every button, every axis at full resolution, and every hat switch, including the D-pad on the hub.
  • Not sent. Force feedback, and the model switch, so a T300 stays in its generic mode.

The T300 RS has its own drawing in the Live Visualizer, with the stock 28 cm rim, the T3PA pedals, both paddles and Thrustmaster's button names. Because the wheel stays generic on a Mac, the app cannot tell a T300 from another Thrustmaster wheel by its ID, so pick it yourself.

  • You: Open the menu on the visualizer panel, choose Controllers, and pick Thrustmaster T300 RS under Arcade, flight and racing.
  • InputConfig: Draws the T300 RS with its button names.
  • Check: Press each button and watch it light before you trust a label. That layout comes from Thrustmaster's manual and the Linux driver and is not checked on a real wheel.

Other Thrustmaster wheels are drawn as a generic device, and every control is still readable.

Download InputConfig on the Mac App StoreInputConfig is free on the Mac App Store. macOS 14 or later, no account, no tracking, open source.

Handle pedals that rest at one end

Thrustmaster pedals usually read from -1 with your foot off to 1 on the floor, unlike Logitech pedals, which InputConfig reads from 0 to 1. That changes two things:

  • In One-Stick Driving. Turn on Throttle axis is a trigger (rests at one end). InputConfig sees the pedal rest at -1 and spreads the whole travel from 0 to full throttle. If the bar runs the wrong way, turn on Invert throttle.
  • On an ordinary row. A pedal fires once it passes the row's deadzone, which is measured from the middle of the axis. On a pedal that rests at -1, that is a little past halfway down. Lowering the row's deadzone with Adjust live brings it to about halfway.

The pedals page goes further, including pedals for jobs other than driving. Turn on the trigger option for every Thrustmaster pedal you drive with.

Drive a keyboard game with it

Step 1: Find the axes

  • You: Open the wheel in the Live Visualizer, turn it, then press each pedal.
  • InputConfig: Moves one bar for each axis.
  • Check: Note which bar moves for each. On a T300 in its generic mode the steering is usually axis 0; check the pedals rather than assume.

Step 2: Point One-Stick Driving at them

  • You: In a preset, under Accessibility Tools Suite, turn on One-Stick Driving, choose Custom, set the controller slot to the wheel's, and step Steer axis and Throttle axis.
  • InputConfig: Shows a live bar for each.
  • Check: The bars follow the wheel and the gas pedal.

Step 3: Set the pedal option and the deadzone

  • You: Turn on Throttle axis is a trigger (rests at one end), and lower the Deadzone to a few percent.
  • InputConfig: Spreads the gas pedal's whole travel over the throttle.
  • Check: The car steers early. A T300 turns up to 1,080 degrees, so the default 12 percent is a long way before anything happens.

Then add rows for the brake pedal, the paddles and the buttons with Scan. Find the axes in the Live Visualizer first, and the rest is a few settings.

Choose between the game and InputConfig

Most of the sims a Thrustmaster wheel is bought for have no Mac version. The racing wheel page covers which games run on a Mac and how they reach it. A native Mac game that reads the wheel itself should be set up in its own controls screen, with no InputConfig preset running for it.

If the wheel is not read

Climb this ladder, smallest step first:

  1. Check the switch. PC, changed with the wheel unplugged.
  2. Check System Information. If nothing Thrustmaster is listed under USB, the cable, the adapter or the power is the problem.
  3. Check the pedal option. A pedal that seems to do nothing until halfway is resting at -1. Turn on Throttle axis is a trigger, or lower the row's deadzone.
  4. Follow the full checklist. Racing wheel not working on a Mac has the rest.

Check the console switch before anything else, since in a console position nothing on a Mac can read the wheel.

What it cannot do

  • Force feedback. InputConfig does not drive it.
  • Thrustmaster's settings. The control panel, which sets rotation and force feedback strength, is for Windows.
  • Firmware updates. Use a Windows PC, since Thrustmaster's updater is made for Windows.
  • A checked layout. The T300 RS drawing has not been checked on a real wheel.

The wheel works on a Mac; the maker's software does not.

The short version

  • PC mode. Set it with the wheel unplugged.
  • Check. Thrustmaster FFB Wheel under USB in System Information is normal.
  • Drive. One-Stick Driving, Custom axes, the trigger option on, a low deadzone.

Press every button in the Live Visualizer before you trust a label, since none of this was checked on a real wheel.

Questions

Does a Thrustmaster wheel work on a Mac?

In PC mode the Mac reads it as a USB device with no driver. Few Mac games use it directly, and InputConfig maps the wheel and pedals to keys for the rest. Force feedback and Thrustmaster's settings app are the parts you lose.

Why does my T300 show up as Thrustmaster FFB Wheel?

That is its generic mode. On Windows the driver switches it to the T300 model; on a Mac nothing does. It is still readable, and InputConfig can draw it as a T300 if you pick that model in the Live Visualizer.

Should my Thrustmaster base be on PS4 or PC for a Mac?

PC. On a T300 in the PS4 or PS5 position, the wheel and pedals are not declared to the computer, so a Mac cannot read them.

Is there a Thrustmaster driver for macOS?

Not that the Mac needs: PC mode is standard HID. Thrustmaster's control panel and firmware updater are for Windows.

Download InputConfig on the Mac App StoreFree. macOS 14 or later. No account, nothing leaves your Mac. Open source on GitHub.