I've had the same message land three times this month: "I updated my T598 and there's a pedal curve tool I've never seen — what is it?" That's My Thrustmaster Panel, and depending on when you bought your base, you may genuinely never have needed to open it before.

Two apps with almost the same name

Thrustmaster runs two different programs with confusingly similar names. The My Thrustmaster mobile app is the phone companion — iOS and Android, force feedback and rotation angle on the move. My Thrustmaster Panel is the PC desktop software, Windows 10/11 only, and it's distributed as a Microsoft Store app rather than a standalone installer. It's where the actual pedal adjustments live, and it's a completely different piece of software from the app.

What the Panel covers, and what it doesn't

The current build is version 1.3.244.0 as of today, and Thrustmaster lists its supported devices plainly: T248R, T598X, T598P, T818, and Raceline LC — both T598 variants, the T818, the T248R, and the Raceline LC load-cell pedal on its own. If you're running an older force-feedback base — T128, T150, TMX, T248 (non-R), T300, TX, T-GT/T-GT II, TS-XW, or TS-PC — Thrustmaster says directly not to use this app; those go through a separate legacy process instead.

The Panel handles three things: firmware checks and updates, device testing, and settings. Some features need an internet connection. For Direct Drive bases — T818 and T598 — a firmware update means Boot Mode first: power off, hold the boot-mode buttons on the back, power back on while still holding them, then let the Panel run. No lights, no screen during that part — that's normal, not a fault.

Where pedal tuning actually lives

Dead zones, per-pedal travel, and the response-curve tool Thrustmaster brands the EQUALIZER aren't Panel-exclusive. Thrustmaster's own Raceline Pedals III LC page states these are "accessible directly via the T598 racing wheel's Race Dash screen or the My Thrustmaster Panel software on PC." Same adjustments, two doors. PC gives you a mouse and a bigger screen; console owners get Race Dash as the only door, and — more on this below — that's not a dead end.

The firmware trail that got you here

The version history on Thrustmaster's own support page dates each piece of this, which matters if your base hasn't been updated in a while:

  • Firmware 2.52 added basic dead-zone management for Raceline pedals, settable from the T598's own Race Dash screen.
  • Firmware 2.53 is the minimum Thrustmaster states for the Raceline LC pedal to work with the T598 at all — check you're past this before touching a single slider.
  • Firmware 3.08, current on the T598 PlayStation/PC page as of today, is what added the EQUALIZER-style tool to the Race Dash UI itself. Thrustmaster's release note calls it "RACELINE LC curve configuration for more precise pedal tuning and improved responsiveness," published alongside full Raceline LC support and a new Engine Roar haptic effect (four levels, in the FFB menu).

One caveat: that 3.08 figure is Thrustmaster's own number for the PlayStation/PC base specifically. The Xbox/PC base gets separately-versioned firmware images, so don't assume your T598X is on the identical build — check what your own Panel or Race Dash reports.

The Panel's own version history tells a similar story. Early builds (1.0.227.0, 1.0.326.0) listed "T598 Settings are not yet adjustable in My Thrustmaster Panel" as a known issue. That changed at version 1.0.514.0, which added a dedicated T598 settings page. Raceline LC support inside the Panel arrived later still, at version 1.3.230.0.

Resolving the Xbox Race Dash question

I flagged this as open in both the T598 review and the Raceline LC Upgrade guide: Thrustmaster's Xbox page marks Race Dash "(PC only)" while the PlayStation page carries no such marker, and I couldn't tell how much of the feature that restriction covered.

Going back to the full product page rather than the short key-points summary, the footnote sits in a specific place. The sentence is: "Adjust settings and save your profiles directly via the Race Dash screen. More than 10 settings are configurable, including the innovative GEAR JOLT to feel gear shifting in the wheel rim. In games, Race Dash displays more than 10 items of race information such as speed, best time, position or race flags." The asterisk — "*PC only. List of compatible games on the Thrustmaster website" — sits directly under GEAR JOLT and the in-game race-info display, not under the settings-adjustment sentence in front of it.

That reading makes sense: GEAR JOLT and the live race-info overlay need the game itself to hand telemetry to the wheel, which is a per-title limit, not a platform one — the same reason SimHub-style dashboards only work with titles that expose their data. Dead zones, travel, and the EQUALIZER curve are settings stored on the device, adjusted through the same on-screen menu no matter which console is plugged in. Thrustmaster never spells that distinction out in so many words, so treat this as my best reading of their own page rather than a direct quote — but it's a sharper answer than a flat "PC only," and it shouldn't be the thing that stops a console buyer choosing the T598X.

What I'd actually set

Dead zones first, on either surface, before anything else — a five-minute job that fixes a genuinely cheap-feeling pedal. Save the EQUALIZER curve for the Raceline LC specifically; a potentiometer pedal measuring travel doesn't reward the same pressure-curve thinking a load cell does, where you're mapping force rather than distance. I ended up closer to linear than I expected — a brake that ramps too hard near lock-up makes trail braking harder to feel, not easier, whether the sensor behind it cost £180 or ten times that.

If you've got a PC, tune there even if you race on console. Bigger screen, easier precision, no cycling a tiny menu with a d-pad. Save the profile, then carry it back to whatever you actually race on. And whichever Thrustmaster base you're running it on, the settings are only worth as much as the rest of your setup around them — check that against the wider wheel and pedal market before you assume a software tweak fixes a hardware complaint.

FAQ

Is My Thrustmaster Panel the same as the My Thrustmaster mobile app? No. The mobile app is a phone companion for force feedback and rotation angle. The Panel is Windows-only desktop software from the Microsoft Store, and it's the one that handles firmware and Raceline LC pedal tuning.

Do I need the Panel if I play on console? No. Everything it adjusts for pedals — dead zones, travel, the EQUALIZER curve — is also on the T598's own Race Dash screen. The Panel needs a Windows 10/11 PC, and firmware updates specifically can't be done from a console at all.

Does the Panel work with my older Thrustmaster wheel? Not if it's a T128, T150, TMX, T248 (non-R), T300, TX, T-GT/T-GT II, TS-XW, or TS-PC. Thrustmaster says plainly not to use My Thrustmaster Panel with those — they use a separate legacy update process.

What firmware do I need for the Raceline LC pedal to work? T598 firmware 2.53 as the minimum, per Thrustmaster. The EQUALIZER curve tool on Race Dash itself didn't arrive until firmware 3.08.

Can I tune pedals from an Xbox T598 without a PC? As far as the evidence supports, yes. The "(PC only)" footnote on Thrustmaster's Xbox page sits specifically under GEAR JOLT and the race-info overlay, not the settings-adjustment sentence ahead of it. Dead zones and the EQUALIZER curve are on-device settings reachable from Race Dash on any platform.

Is the EQUALIZER the same as a force feedback curve? No. The EQUALIZER reshapes how pedal travel or pressure maps to in-game input. A wheelbase force feedback curve — MOZA's version is the clearest published example — reshapes the force sent back to your hands. Different input, different output.