The G29 gets a lot of hate, but really, it's fine. I used one (well, G920, but its the same) for years. It's reliable, has enough torque for feedback to be useful, if underwhelming. It's reliable, and it's supported by damn near everything out there, and works on the Playstation, if that's any consideration for you.
If you really want/need to upgrade to a direct drive based system, and really, you don't need to, the R3 or the PXN VD4 are the least expensive options out there.
To make things even less clear, the R3 is actually 3.9Nm and the R5 is 5.5Nm. I've never used the R5, but for me personally, the small jump from essentially 4Nm to 5.5 wasn't worth the $125 price difference. But everyone is different. If you have any doubts on if it's worth it, go for the R3 bundle, play on it for a year and decide if you want to upgrade, and if you do, the R9 is an easy upgrade.
I'd guess the vast majority of people will tell you to go higher, but really, it's not as bad as people make it out to be. It's not going to rip your arms off or break your wrists, but it's got decent torque. Almost double the G29/920 (2.3Nm vs 3.9Nm). Its a significant step up over that level of wheel. You'll probably crank the FFB, to get the most power out of it, and that will lead to some FFB signal clipping, but coming from a gear based wheel, it's not anything you are used to, so you won't notice it. And even with the signal clipping, it's still much smoother and a huge improvement over gear/belt driven wheels.
If you play on PC and also have a console, go with which ever console variant you are more comfortable with the buttons (ABXY or Square/Triangle/Circle/X).
The button layouts between the two are different. The 29 has a rotary dial on it that the 920 is missing, also, the 29 has an LED rpm gauge on it. Not sure how it works on PS, but on PC requires additional software for it to work.
Finally, if you are planning on buying a G29 or G920 new, unless you are getting an amazing deal, there are better options out there for the money. Besides button layout, they are essentially identical mechanically, and are belt driven units, with ~2Nm of torque. The Moza R3 is direct drive, the same price or less, and has almost double the torque (2.3 vs 3.9). It also far more up-gradable than the 29/920.
The big caveat is, I'm basing all that off US prices. I'm aware that not all countries have the same pricing, and that changes the value proposition dramatically. I personally have used the G25, then the G27, then the G920 before upgrading to the Moza ecosystem last year. I put about 5 years on each of them, and had a lot of good times with them. The G29/920 wheels aren't bad, just in 2026, in many locations, they have some serious competition that should also be considered.
The G29 gets a lot of hate, but really, it's fine. I used one (well, G920, but its the same) for years. It's reliable, has enough torque for feedback to be useful, if underwhelming. It's reliable, and it's supported by damn near everything out there, and works on the Playstation, if that's any consideration for you.
If you really want/need to upgrade to a direct drive based system, and really, you don't need to, the R3 or the PXN VD4 are the least expensive options out there.
If you have a 3d printer, this is what I used.
https://makerworld.com/en/models/1044697-desk-chair-brake?from=search#profileId-1030275
If you don't have a 3d printer, can probably find something similar on amazon or at your local big box office supply store (Staples, Office Max, etc)
To make things even less clear, the R3 is actually 3.9Nm and the R5 is 5.5Nm. I've never used the R5, but for me personally, the small jump from essentially 4Nm to 5.5 wasn't worth the $125 price difference. But everyone is different. If you have any doubts on if it's worth it, go for the R3 bundle, play on it for a year and decide if you want to upgrade, and if you do, the R9 is an easy upgrade.
I'd guess the vast majority of people will tell you to go higher, but really, it's not as bad as people make it out to be. It's not going to rip your arms off or break your wrists, but it's got decent torque. Almost double the G29/920 (2.3Nm vs 3.9Nm). Its a significant step up over that level of wheel. You'll probably crank the FFB, to get the most power out of it, and that will lead to some FFB signal clipping, but coming from a gear based wheel, it's not anything you are used to, so you won't notice it. And even with the signal clipping, it's still much smoother and a huge improvement over gear/belt driven wheels.
G29 for PS/PC
G920 for Xbox/PC
If you play on PC and also have a console, go with which ever console variant you are more comfortable with the buttons (ABXY or Square/Triangle/Circle/X).
The button layouts between the two are different. The 29 has a rotary dial on it that the 920 is missing, also, the 29 has an LED rpm gauge on it. Not sure how it works on PS, but on PC requires additional software for it to work.
Finally, if you are planning on buying a G29 or G920 new, unless you are getting an amazing deal, there are better options out there for the money. Besides button layout, they are essentially identical mechanically, and are belt driven units, with ~2Nm of torque. The Moza R3 is direct drive, the same price or less, and has almost double the torque (2.3 vs 3.9). It also far more up-gradable than the 29/920.
The big caveat is, I'm basing all that off US prices. I'm aware that not all countries have the same pricing, and that changes the value proposition dramatically. I personally have used the G25, then the G27, then the G920 before upgrading to the Moza ecosystem last year. I put about 5 years on each of them, and had a lot of good times with them. The G29/920 wheels aren't bad, just in 2026, in many locations, they have some serious competition that should also be considered.