Is the Thrustmaster TH8A still worth it in 2025? If you ask me, probably not. The TH8A is one of the most recognizable sim racing shifters ever made, but it was released way back in 2012 and has remained completely unchanged for over a decade. Even today, it still retails for around $200, which puts it in a very awkward position in the modern sim hardware market.
TH8A SHIFTER ADD-ON
A 2012 design that has not changed in over a decade: still metal-built, adjustable and tough as nails, but at around $200 it makes very little sense as a full-price purchase in 2025 next to cheaper modern shifters.
Best for Existing owners who want to keep using theirs, or anyone who
Price tracked since 21 Dec 2025 — 82 readings.
A 2012 design that has not changed in over a decade: still metal built, adjustable and tough as nails, but at around $200 it makes very little sense as a full price purchase in 2025 next to cheaper modern shifters.
Existing owners or anyone finding one discounted
New buyers paying full price in 2025
✓ Hands-on tested by OC Racing
To be clear, the Thrustmaster TH8A is not a bad product. For its time, it was genuinely impressive. It offers adjustable resistance, it is built out of metal, and its shifting feel is still pretty decent for a non-active, non-force-feedback shifter. It gives you a traditional gated manual driving experience and does so with enough consistency that many sim racers have been happy with it for years. From a longevity standpoint, it has proven to be tough as nails.
The problem is simply that the rest of the industry has moved on. In 2025, there are multiple shifters that offer the same or better feel, more configuration options, and more modern design choices at noticeably lower price points. Take the Turtle Beach VelocityOne Multi-Shift, for example. It gives you a configurable H pattern and sequential mode along with strong tactile feedback, and it is priced significantly lower than the Thrustmaster TH8A.
Then you have the Moza HGP, which brings better build refinement, smoother engagement, and a design that feels far more up to date while still undercutting the TH8A in price. Even Thrustmaster themselves have made the Thrustmaster TH8A harder to justify by releasing the TH8S, an $80 shifter that offers similar performance for less than half the cost.
The takeaway: the industry has moved on. Cheaper shifters now offer the same or better feel with more modern design choices.
$149.99 at Thrustmaster US
82 readings so far — not daily. · Sale prices predate daily tracking.
The cheapest retailer changed over this window, so we are not stating a price movement: its two ends are different shops.
Lowest Current Prices:
That puts the Thrustmaster TH8A in a strange spot. You are paying a premium for a product that simply has not evolved. There is no modern tech, no quality-of-life improvements, no sensor upgrades, and no real reason for someone entering the sim racing world in 2025 to pick this unit over the newer alternatives. The only people I can genuinely recommend the TH8A to are existing owners who already have it and want to keep using it, or someone who finds it heavily discounted on the used market.
Worth knowing: the only clear recommendation here is for existing owners, or anyone who finds one heavily discounted on the used market.
As a full-price purchase in 2025, it makes very little sense. The newer offerings give you more flexibility, more features, and better value… and they do so while pushing the Thrustmaster TH8A further into relic territory. For a product that once defined the hobby, it’s honestly surprising that it has not been updated even once in twelve years.
So is the Thrustmaster TH8A still worth it today? Not really. Unless you are nostalgic or committed to the Thrustmaster ecosystem, your money is better spent on the modern shifters that actually reflect where sim racing hardware is in 2025.
Not worth it at full price in 2025.
Ideal buyer: existing owners who want to keep using theirs, or anyone who finds one heavily discounted on the used market.
Major drawback: a 2012 design with no updates at around $200, while cheaper modern shifters offer more.
Bottom Line: unless you are nostalgic or committed to the Thrustmaster ecosystem, your money is better spent on modern shifters.
Sim racing hardware reviewer and creator. Every review on this site is hands-on tested across direct-drive wheelbases, pedals, cockpits, motion systems and accessories before a word is published.
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