Intro
If you have a Moza ES wheel, then you now have the option of a couple of fairly affordable wheel mods made by Moza themselves to alter its profile, in the form of a Formula style mod that converts the ES to a cut-down wheel, or a 12-inch round mod that gives the ES an extra inch of width that brings it a bit closer to what I would say is normal size. I’ve tested both and I’ll tell you what I think.
Note
Thanks to Moza for providing the wheel mods seen within this article for review. If you do shimmy on to buy anything from them then use the links in the description if you’d like to help support me at no added cost to you, and thanks to everyone that does so. These links are affiliate links that may earn me a commission when visiting the parent site.
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Formula Mod
First up we have the Formula mod, and out of the two this is the one that interests me the most because I love cut-down wheels. The first thing I notice about the formula mod is the lower weight compared to the stock rim - it’s made of steel and rubber, but according to my kitchen scales it amounts to a mere 498g, that’s almost half of the standard ES rim’s 913g. This is promising, because less wheel weight usually means more agility and clarity on lower power motors, and as my test mule is the mini but quite muscly Moza R5, I’m sure this mod will make a real difference to what is felt through the wheel.
Fitting is straight forward - the 6 allen bolts on the face of the ES wheel come out, as do a few small screws on the back, and the stock rim lifts away to make room for the new one. It takes about 10 minutes to swap over.
The new mod slots on top of the module neatly, with the button cutouts being of close tolerance, it’s a nice snug fit that just looks like it belongs, as you’d expect from the original manufacturer.
The rubber handles of the formula mod are in stark contrast to the leather wrapped ES wheel, and whilst they are made from rubber, they are rock solid with zero squidginess to them, it would be nice if there was a bit more squish there but the actual texture of them is still nice to the touch. At 280mm, the formula mod is pretty much the same width as the standard ES rim.
In testing, I get precisely the results I hoped for. There feels like a noticeable increase in the agility and responsiveness the R5 is able to give me, or to be more accurate there’s less wheel weight slowing the motor down. This mod combines with the ES hub to make the lightest wheel possible on the Moza ecosystem so far, giving a performance boost to the lower end bases by way of having less weight for the motor to turn, which always translates to being able to feel more fine details on the road. Rumbling across the concrete of Sebring Raceway now feels distinctly crispier than it did before.
There are bad points - the grips could be a touch more comfortable - they are rock hard and a little bit hostile in some places. For me, the bit I notice most is the areas where my thumbs hang from. There the corners of the mould are somewhat sharply edged - I would notice them less if they were smoother and more rounded.
Otherwise, it’s a cheap and very cheerful way to turn the ES into a formula wheel.
12 Inch Round Mod
Onto the 12 inch round wheel mod. The ES 12 incher weighs 827g, about 100g lighter in terms of static weight than the 913g stock 11 inch ES rim despite being bigger. Besides the diameter, there is some variation in materials and finish between the two, the bright yellow centre stripe at the top is much more neatly finished than the stock grey one, but the centre plate and leather wrapping on the 12 incher are in my eyes a little bit of a step down in terms of the final finish as you can see a little overlap in the leather near where the thumbs go.
They’ve used a separate strip of leather to wrap this section, and the matt black finish of the stock ES rim is lost in place of a more off-the-shelf ordinary sheen you can find on any run-of-the-mill rim. Hardly deal breakers, but I do wonder if these seams in the leather around the thumb area will get worn out and lift up at the corners as they are subjected to wear, tear and time. Best hope they’re glued down good. The grip material is identical to the stock ES rim, as is the stitching, so no real upgrade to speak of there, either.
The main difference, not to be overlooked, is the roundness of it. By that I mean there’s no flat edge on the bottom of the wheel like there is with the stock rim - that’s important to a lot of people, many people specifically want fully round wheels, and if so this is the accessory to solve it.
With the ES 12 Inch mod, you get shifter paddle extensions which screw onto the paddles very easily, super quick to do and you’ll likely need them as the increased wheel size puts your hands further away from the stock paddles, but they’re not mandatory. All in all it takes 10 minutes to swap over to this mod.
In testing, I don’t notice any loss of feedback or agility compared to the stock ES rim, despite the larger size, thanks surely to the lower overall weight. This is basically mission accomplished for this mod because all it has to do is be a bit bigger and rounder, without adding lots more weight and taking any of the shine off the force feedback as a result.
Sticker packs
The sticker packs included with both wheel mods offer a variety of colours, and though they are pre-printed with many different options, you might still come up short of exactly what you want. For example, there’s no sticker for 'Pit Limiter' but there is a sticker for 'SLOD' and 'KEPS' whatever they are - if you know then do tell me. So, I just use the stickers to provide a bit of theming to the wheel, to add a dash of colour. In fact, I used the boost sticker on every location as a sort of inspiration while driving.
Conclusion
They’re simple things of which there’s only so much that can be said, but they do the job they say they do fairly well so it’s just down to whether you want what they can give. The formula mod in particular is my favourite. Very affordable and a simple way to create a formula style wheel by just converting the ES wheel you already have. Certainly, if you’re using an R5 wheelbase, the lower wheel weight will be something you’ll appreciate and you should be able to unlock a bit more agility and texture out of your force feedback, giving the R5 the ability to punch above its weight.
The 12 inch round mod is more expensive, less of a difference and therefore not quite as much of an easy choice - you already get an 11 inch wheel with the ES and you can’t opt out of that to save money, it’s not like you’re choosing one or the other at the point of sale and there’s only an inch between them. However, if you’re a diehard drift or rally fan and the stock ES rim is just too small or you hate the flat spot, this is a fairly priced rim that doesn’t weigh a ton and gets the job done.
Links to buy: