How to Clean and Maintain Your Sim Racing Wheel and Pedals
By GSI - Gomez Sim Industries | High-End eSports Racing | Published: 2026-09-15
Category: Tips & Care
A practical, step-by-step routine to clean your sim racing wheel and pedals, protect direct drive electronics, and keep every input feeling crisp for years.
Quick answer
Clean your sim racing wheel and pedals with a dry microfiber cloth after every session, a lightly damp cloth for grips and pedal faces weekly, and a deeper check of fasteners, cables, and mounting points monthly. Never spray liquid directly on a wheel, never use solvents on rubber or alcantara, and always power down the wheelbase before you touch electronics. This routine is what direct drive wheel care really means in practice.
Sim racing gear takes a beating that normal electronics never see: sweat, skin oils, dust, and constant vibration through every input. A wheel that feels perfect on day one can develop sticky paddles, gritty buttons, or a squeaky pedal within a season if you ignore it. The good news is that a realistic cleaning and maintenance routine takes about ten minutes a week.
This guide walks through the order that works best: dry cleaning first, damp cleaning second, then checks on fasteners, cables, and mounting. It applies whether you run a GSI X-29 as your first wheel or an Artemis flagship, and whether your pedals are entry-level or load cell.
What you need before you start
Keep the kit simple: two microfiber cloths, a soft detailing brush, a can of compressed air, isopropyl alcohol for metal and plastic only, and a mild soap solution for grips if the manufacturer allows it. Add a small torque driver or hex key set so you can check fasteners while everything is already clean and accessible.
Skip paper towels, abrasive pads, and household glass cleaner. Paper towels leave lint in button gaps, and ammonia-based cleaners can cloud polycarbonate screens and dry out rubber over time. If you are unsure what a grip material tolerates, test any liquid on a hidden area first.
- Dedicate one cloth to dry dust and one to damp wiping so you never spread grit
- Power everything down and unplug the wheelbase before any damp step
Why the order of steps matters
Most damage during cleaning comes from pushing abrasive dust into gaps rather than lifting it out. If you wipe a dusty wheel with a damp cloth first, you create a paste that works into button seams and paddle pivots. Dry removal first, then damp wiping, keeps debris out of the places you cannot reach.
The same logic applies to pedals. Dust and rubber debris collect around pivot points and load cell mounts. Blowing that out before you wipe the pedal faces prevents grit from migrating into the mechanism when you press the pedal during your next session.
- Do the dry pass everywhere before any cloth gets wet
- Finish with electronics and cable checks once surfaces are clean and dry
How often should you actually do this
After every session: a fifteen-second dry wipe of grips, paddle faces, and the rim surface. Weekly: a damp wipe of grips and pedal faces plus a brush-out of button gaps. Monthly: fastener, cable, and mount checks. Seasonally: a deeper inspection of quick releases, pedal pivots, and any fabric or alcantara surfaces.
If you race in a hot room or without gloves, move the weekly step to twice a week. Sweat is the single biggest factor in how fast grips and coatings wear, so frequency should follow how much you sweat, not the calendar.
- Gloves dramatically reduce how often grips need a damp wipe
- Log your monthly check so it does not quietly disappear from the routine
Your cleaning and maintenance sequence, step by step
- Step 1: Power down and unplug: Shut off the PC and the wheelbase, then unplug the base from power before any damp cloth touches the rig. Give the base a few minutes if it has been running hard. Checkpoint: nothing should be lit, spinning, or warm before you start.
- Step 2: Dry dust the whole wheel: Use a dry microfiber cloth and a soft brush to lift dust from the rim, grips, button gaps, and paddle edges. Follow with short bursts of compressed air into seams, holding the can upright. Common mistake: wiping with a damp cloth first, which pushes dust into button and paddle pivots.
- Step 3: Damp wipe grips and paddle faces: Lightly dampen a separate microfiber cloth with water or a mild soap solution approved for your grip material, wring it out well, and wipe grips and paddle faces. Dry immediately with the dry cloth. Common mistake: spraying liquid directly onto the wheel or leaving grips damp.
- Step 4: Clean the screens and buttons: Wipe display surfaces and button caps with a dry microfiber cloth only. If a button feels sticky, work the button through its travel several times rather than adding liquid. Checkpoint: screens should be streak-free and every button should return crisply.
- Step 5: Service the pedals: Blow dust out of pedal pivot points and around the load cell area, wipe pedal faces and heel rests with a damp cloth, then dry. Check that the pedal arms move smoothly through full travel. Common mistake: ignoring the pivot points, which is where grit actually causes squeaks and binding.
- Step 6: Check fasteners, cables, and mounts: With everything clean, check quick-release hardware, wheel-side bolts, pedal mounting bolts, and cable routing. Look for fraying, sharp bends, or connectors that have worked loose from vibration. Checkpoint: nothing should move when you gently push and pull on the rim, pedals, or cables.
- Step 7: Reconnect and verify inputs: Plug the base back in, power up, and run through every input in your sim's calibration screen: rotation, paddles, buttons, clutch, and each pedal's full range. Common mistake: skipping the input check, which is how a partially seated connector goes unnoticed until race night.
How GSI hardware shapes your maintenance routine
- Simucube 2: Simucube 2 wheelbases are built to stand the test of time using high-grade hardware in all aspects of manufacturing, so you don't need to worry about them breaking or shutting down mid-race. Because the wheelbase is designed for long service life, your maintenance effort belongs on the wear items you touch: grips, paddles, buttons, and pedal pivots. Keep the base itself clean and ventilated rather than over-handling it.
- Artemis: Artemis is GSI's latest flagship wheel built without compromise, with every component selected and engineered around performance, from materials and controls to electronics and construction. A flagship wheel with carefully chosen materials rewards gentle cleaning. Use dry microfiber and compressed air first, and avoid aggressive solvents that could dull finishes or degrade grip surfaces.
- X-29: The GSI X-29 is an entry-level sim racing wheel that offers exceptional price to performance, combining quality materials, intuitive controls, and precision construction. An entry-level wheel is often a first rig's most-used component, so the weekly damp wipe and button brush-out matter just as much here as on a flagship. Consistency protects precision construction over time.
Ten minutes a week of dry wiping, damp wiping, and a quick hardware check is the difference between a rig that feels new after two years and one that develops nagging issues. Clean in the right order, keep liquids away from electronics, and your wheel and pedals will keep giving you clean, consistent inputs.
