First of all, I can't even imagine a serious race-car game driver playing without one. The mouse or keyboard simply lacks the feeling of sitting at a real wheel, pushing on real pedals. It is also not nearly as accurate or as intuitive. Also, the force-feedback is important for gamers who want the feel of the game. Sure, you can watch the road-signs fly across your screen, or you can feel as you hit each one, and know that that sidewalk you're driving on isn't so good for your car.
Installation Installing the wheel is simple.
Simply run the program, restart, and plug in your wheel. You don't even need to have the wheel plugged in when you start your computer, so you can switch right away after using a joystick or other gaming device. I don't know how they could make it any easier. Well, it doesn't force you, but it's designed for that hand positioning. The buttons on the back of the wheel, as well as on the front, assume your hands are in that position, so if you're not much of a button-pusher, you should be well off.