Driving games are one of the few genres with dedicated peripherals for use by some of the more enthusiastic members of the community. Fighting, flight sims, and driving/racing have all seen an influx of top-tier accessories to complete one’s setup, and Logitech is now expanding its catalogue with the RS-H Shifter. Logitech was kind enough to send one over so I could put it through the paces and see how it performs.
The first thing I did when I got the RS-H Shifter was figure out where to mount it, since my current racing setup doesn’t offer a convenient mounting position. I quickly found the spare Ikea side table we have around the house and mounted it there using the included C-pattern mount, which screws into the bottom of the device’s body. 4 screws down and I was off to the races (pun very much intended).
Before I get too carried away, I want to go over what you get in the box. It’s a pretty barebones package, but that’s to be expected. In the box, you get the base unit itself, the shifter knob to attach it, the mounting bolts and a hex key to secure them to the base, and the mounting bracket (for which usage is optional).
The RS-H Shifter itself is very well-built. Its housing is made from the same material as the RS-50 and G-Pro wheel bases and looks just as good. The shift arm (to which the knob is mounted) is made from durable low-carbon aluminum to keep physical weight low and ease of use high.
“The RS-H Shifter itself is very well-built.”
One of the absolute best things about the RS-H Shifter is its compatibility. Given that you are using a compatible RS50/G-Pro wheel base, you can use the RS-H Shifter on PC, Xbox, and PS5. This was plug-and-play at its finest, with only one cord to speak of, which plugs directly into the back of your wheel base into the appropriate USB-A slot. I do wish that Logitech would go with USB-C connections, but that’s a conversation for another day, as it doesn’t really affect my usage.
Once plugged in and powered on (I didn’t even have to update the firmware on my PC), I booted up Gran Turismo 7 on my PS5 and got familiar with things. The RS-H Shifter uses a traditional H-pattern (It’s right there in the name, after all) to go from 1st gear all the way to 7th gear, and uses a push-through lockout system (where it makes going to 7th and Reverse a bit harder, meaning your action has to be more deliberate to prevent accidental shifts) to go to 7th and Reverse gears, all the way on the right side of the unit.
The push-through lockout system is something I didn’t really have too much trouble with, as most of my cars only go to 6th gear, but I did manage to break out my GT3 VW Beetle, which uses 7 gears, and it was a lot of fun to have to go that far to the right to get the correct gear for the few moments I was using it.
“If you’re the type who likes to customize their setup, the RS-H Shifter is a viable option for you as well, as the shift knob and shaft are both changeable via their universal M8 x 1.25mm thread size.”
I hopped into my beloved Honda S2000, selected a simpler track, Tsukuba Circuit, and got to work figuring out the logistics of using a traditional manual transmission. After about an hour of frustrating trial and error (a lot of error on my part) I was able to fly through the gears with relative ease as I learned where the gears were in space without having to look down at them, as early on in my session I was finding myself going from 3rd to 4th and then back to 3rd instead of 5th, and then the opposite happened: I was trying to shift from 5th to 6th and went to 4th instead.
During this learning curve, I noticed that the unit never really felt flimsy or like a toy. This is in large part thanks to the hall-effect sensors that govern gear shifting. For those unfamiliar with hall effect sensors, they sense gear position through magnetic field changes and provide the user with reliable, precise feedback, even during longer sessions.
Now, in no way was I ready to take on the Nürburgring Nordschleife and its 154 corners, but I was quite comfortable with Tsukuba’s 8 corners. I came to realize that the RS-H Shifter may not be perfectly suited for racing in this regard, as paddle shifting has become much more prevalent, but rally and drift racers will be right at home with the RS-H Shifter.
If you’re the type who likes to customize their setup, the RS-H Shifter is a viable option for you as well, as the shift knob and shaft are both changeable via their universal M8 x 1.25mm thread size.
Overall, the RS-H Shifter is a fantastic addition to the Logitech RS driving/racing family of peripherals. The price is a bit higher than I would have expected, and that’s about the only thing I can say that’s close to negative about the product itself. Coming in at $229 CAD ($159.99 USD), it’s steep, but not exactly out of the ordinary for the sim racing environment. If you can justify the cost, you won’t be disappointed as the RS-H Shifter makes the overall driving experience a lot more fun and engaging.
