Simucube is known for their high-quality sim racing hardware and the Simucube Valo GT-23 is no exception. The Simucube Valo GT-23 has only been on the market for a few months, so it is high time to test this steering wheel from the Finnish manufacturer in detail! Simucube was kind enough to send me a sample to test it objectively and without obligation for a few weeks.

In this comprehensive Simucube Valo GT-23 Review I share my extensive experience and completely objective opinion of this advanced steering wheel. The Simucube Valo GT-23 is built from high-quality materials with attention to both detail and functionality. So this promises to be an interesting review! Just how good this steering wheel really is and whether it is worth the price you will read in this comprehensive review!

Introduction of Simucube Valo GT-23

Simucube needs no further introduction. The Finnish manufacturer has long proven itself with exceptionally high-quality and robust products that the community is lyrically enthusiastic about. Whereas the company initially focused mainly on direct drive wheelbases, Simucube is constantly preparing its eco-system with steering wheels and pedals, among others. Also check out the video on YouTube telling the story and development behind the steering wheel. Nice!

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The Valo GT-23 is their second steering wheel in the Simucube eco-system. With a price tag of €928.88 excluding or €1,087.79 including Simucube Link Hub the Valo GT-23 is also their most expensive and advanced steering wheel.

Unboxing & First Impressions

The Simucube Valo GT-23 comes in a nice and well-packaged box. In fact, you get the GT-23 in two boxes. The first white box provides extra protection, which I personally find very valuable for a handlebar in this price range. Once the protection box comes off, you find the nicely designed and colourful box that contains the steering wheel.

Opening the box, your gaze immediately falls on the fantastically nice-looking steering wheel wrapped in plastic. The plastic wrap looks a little less attractive. A durable paper cover would have been better in my opinion. Although this does not detract from the overall experience. Next to the steering wheel, you will find a short manual and some Simucube stickers. The Simucube Link is delivered separately if you ordered it. That's it! In summary, you will find the following:

• Simucube Valo GT-23 Wireless Wheel
• Official quick start guide
• Simucube stickers
• USB-C charging cable

You can always only make a first impression once and Simucube does that very well. Especially considering this is my first experience with Simucube, I can't help but be positively surprised. On the one hand, about the unboxing experience of the Simucube Valo GT-23, but also about how the brand presents itself and exudes quality.

Simucube Valo GT-23: A striking appearance

The Simucube Valo GT-23 is a standout packed with functionalities and interesting features. Let's take a closer look at the most important aspects of this steering wheel.

Wireless Steering Wheel With RGB LEDs

The Simucube Valo GT-23 is the first wireless Simucube wheel to offer RGB LED support. The 18 programmable LEDs can be set completely to your liking in the Simucube Tuner software. This feature focuses on visual cues such as RPM, flags and pit limiter. Handy! A valuable addition to this wheel and something that was missing from the Simucube Tahko GT-21. The RGB LEDs are nicely and subtly incorporated into the design.

Design and build quality

What immediately stands out about this steering wheel is its tough and black stealth look. The steering wheel features an almost completely black appearance with a large black anodised aluminium centre console. The steering wheel is equipped with 10 buttons, two rotary knobs and two thumbscrews at the front and two shift and clutch pedals at the rear.

High-quality Alcantara

The steering wheel features high-quality black alcantara leather. No savings were made on the quality of the alcantara leather, among other things, as the finish and stitching are fantastic. Weighing 2.1 kg, the Simucube Valo GT-23 is on the heavy side, but I do not find this disturbing. The Valo GT-23 looks and feels incredibly minimalist, robust and tough and features durable and high-quality industrial materials.

Ergonomics and grip

In terms of ergonomics, I cannot help but notice that the 320mm-wide Valo GT-23 is very comfortable in the hand and that the steering wheel has an enormous amount of grip. All buttons and encoders are easily accessible without taking your hands off the wheel too much.

With alcantara steering wheels, I do always recommend good sim racing gloves to wear so that the leather is less likely to be weathered by dirty and sweaty hands.

Premium and Stylish Appearance

The steering wheel features black. A lot of black, with a small subtle orange trim under the buttons. This gives the Valo GT-23 a premium and stylish look. You can immediately see that attention has been paid to the design, with no detail overlooked. Good, of course, that is also something you should expect from a steering wheel in this price range.

Technical Specifications and Features

The Simucube Valo GT-23 is an advanced high-end racing wheel designed to provide the ultimate simulation experience for the discerning gamer and sim racing professional. Let's list the technical specifications of this robust steering wheel:

The Front of the Simucube Valo GT-23

On the front of the wheel you will find the 10 buttons, 2 thumb encoders, 2 rotary knobs and the two funky switches. As mentioned earlier, all buttons and encoders are well positioned and therefore easy to reach and operate. The RGB lights - unfortunately - do not work with SimHub, although this is of course no problem to configure in the proprietary Simucube Tuner software. For this, however, you do need the Simucube Link.

The Rear of the Simucube Valo GT-23

At the back of the steering wheel we find the two shift paddles and the dual clutch. You can use this clutch for other purposes, by the way. For example, don't have a sim racing handbrake, then you can use this one for that too. You will also find the Power On/Off button, the USB-C connector and the housing that holds the rechargeable battery.

Aluminium Shifters

The shifters and clutch paddles are made of aluminium and feel immensely smooth and pleasant. In fact, I think the shifters of the Valo GT-23 are one of the better shifters I have tried on a steering wheel. You can completely adjust the spacing of all paddles to your liking by means of the screws. In my case, the default configuration is good enough. By the way, it is only possible to adjust the paddles horizontally and not vertically. A pity? No, I personally don't think so.

A Satisfactory and Silent Click

You notice that a lot of time and energy has been put into the sound of the right 'click' and feel. Whereas with the GSI Hyper P1 (check out our review!) for example, hear a fairly loud click, the Valo GT-23's shifters are surprisingly quiet, subtle and smooth. And, frankly, I quite like that!

Simucube Quick Release

In the middle, we can still see Simucube's typical and intuitive quick release. You can tell that the Finnish manufacturer has given this a lot of thought and clearly applied the principle of 'less is more'.

To avoid flex in the steering wheel, the connection to the steering wheel and wheelbase is as direct as possible. As a result, there are little to no weartage-sensitive parts in it. This is my first time using Simucube's quick release system and I am already a huge fan of it! You easily slide the Valo GT-23 onto your Simucube Wheelbase, lock in the quick release pin and done. Really super intuitive and simple.

Once I was a bit shocked when the quick release pin was stuck wall and wall. Fortunately, with some WD40 and a gentle tap with a screwdriver on the end of the pin, I was able to loosen it. Being new, there is probably still too much resistance on the pin and the quick release. Something to keep in mind. Should this happen to you too, don't be alarmed.

Installation and Setup

Mounting the handlebar is a breeze thanks to the intuitive quick release. Time to configure the Valo GT-23! And here is where the ambiguity started for me. Now it was clear to me, for example, to use the Simucube True Drive software to download, but not to also download the Simucube Tuner download. In fact, the website states that this software is only for the Active Pedals.

Unclear Software and Instructions

I found the manual provided very limited in its information. That is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as it is clearly described on the website what steps to take, but unfortunately this was not the case. In all honesty, I find the onboarding somewhat disappointing and this is really something Simucube can and should improve in.

The manual, the website and the many instructional videos that Simucube offers all still show outdated software. For example, I was looking for multiple tabs, as seen everywhere, but in the latest version, this is not the case. For example, I just couldn't find where to open the force feedback of the Simucube 2 Pro could set. Apparently, this is 'hidden' in an offline profile. Not where I would look for it and expect it, but okay. I've been Fanatec and the Fanalab software used that I think is more manageable.

Unfortunately, it also took me quite some effort to get the RGB LEDs on and configured. Then again, you have to do this in the Simucube Tuner software. Incredibly confusing! Why not one application? This is unnecessary and only creates confusion and possible complications between the applications. Partly because of this, I couldn't get the RGB LEDs to work. Fortunately, the helpdesk helped me well, first removing the wireless wheel in the True Drive software and then adding it back in the Tuner software. Now it works it works, but this was definitely an (unnecessary) frustration point in my process 😉

User experience

I have been using the Simucube Valo GT-23 for several weeks now and have tested it extensively in brutal and powerful GT3 cars in Assetto Corsa Competizione, iRacing and Automobilista 2. The wheel feels incredibly comfortable and looks beautiful and cool with its stealth look with orange accents. The Simucube Valo GT-23 is without a doubt one of the nicer GT handlebars.

Because the steering wheel is a bit heavier, I find the force feedback of the Simucube 2 Pro really comes into its own and the wheel offers a lot of grip. In any case, I did not find it a disadvantage that this steering wheel is a bit heavier. The finish of the steering wheel is very nice and the alcantara is also of good quality and looks fantastically well finished. The many buttons, encoders and funky switches are well positioned and easy to reach.

Despite the design being beautiful and cool, I miss stickers or button caps to give the steering wheel a personal twist. Too bad! I would like button stickers, but also sticker labels for around the rotary buttons as is the case, for example, on Cube Controls and the recently tested Simagic GT Neo do have. This gives the wheel a more realistic look-and-feel.

Another, practical, disadvantage of a GT wheel is that it obstructs a lot of views of the screen, such as the game's user interface and that of Windows 10/11. Especially if you use this wheel in combination with a DDU, this does not work nicely and evokes some frustration. As does the software.

Even though I am hugely positive about the quality, design and functionalities of the Valo GT-23, I must honestly admit that I am not a huge fan of this type of GT and D-shaped steering wheel. The size of the steering wheel sometimes makes me feel more like a truck driver than feeling like I am behind the wheel of a brutal and modern GT3 car. Today's GT cars also have more formulaic steering wheels, which is still my personal preference, like a 300 mm steering wheel instead of the 320 mm of the Valo GT-23. In my opinion, this steering wheel comes into its own in the more classic GT cars, which I almost never race. Too bad! Because the Valo GT-23 is genuinely a great wheel, but partly due to its high price it is not a wheel that suits me, as I won't use it much. If you are a fan of this type of wheel and can afford the premium price, the Simucube Valo GT-23 is definitely a great wheel that you won't regret and will enjoy.

Advantages and disadvantages

Time to list the pros and cons of the Simucube Valo GT-23.

Final assessment Simucube Valo GT-23

The Simucube Valo GT-23 is the first Simucube product I have had the pleasure of testing and I cannot help but be very excited. The build quality, construction and finish are exceptionally good with everything exuding durability and quality. You can tell that a lot of thought and time has gone into the details and finishing. For instance, all buttons deliver a satisfying click and the shifters are surprisingly quiet.

It is also a great choice to integrate RGB LEDs into the design, giving you all the necessary information about the situation on the track. With the Simucube Tuner software, you can load different profiles, from F1 to GT and Generic Smooth. Programming yourself is unfortunately not possible, nor is SimHub supported (yet) which I personally regret. Nevertheless, the software does what is needed. And no more than that. I find it annoying and irritating that you need two software applications (Simucube Tuner and True Drive) to configure this steering wheel. Why? Absolutely unnecessary and definitely something I would like to see integrated in the future.

The Simucube Link which you need for this steering wheel to communicate wirelessly is intuitive and convenient and allows you to eliminate a lot of cables. This is obviously fantastic and very cleverly done.

Do you like (classic) GT racing? Then the Simucube Valo GT-23 steering wheel is a great choice where the Valo GT-23 excels in build quality, design and user experience. With its cool black design, the Simucube Valo GT-23 is a true standout in any cockpit. I find it a pity that no stickers are included to personalise the steering wheel and give it its own unique look. And the software also occasionally leaves something to be desired with two applications being unnecessary and confusing as far as I am concerned.

Other than this critical note, the Simucube GT-23 is a fantastic steering wheel that, with a price between €982 and €1,088 excluding shipping, you will have to dig deep into your pocket. Whether it's worth this price? Only you can decide that. But with a score of 4.3, the Valo GT-23 scores high in many areas, which means that - should you like this type of GT steering wheel - you are definitely making a good choice for a premium steering wheel with superior quality and finish.

Good Choice

Simucube Valo GT-23

Superior Quality and Finish

The Simucube Valo GT-23 is a premium and high-end sim racing steering wheel designed to provide the ultimate racing experience. Manufactured with precision engineering, this wheel offers superior quality and has a cool black look.

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