Gladiator NXT - Sticky Twist - Help!

[Killa]

Glad you got it going your way bro. And good to hear they are still under warranty in case something happens down the road. Really a shame people are suffering with new sticks being sent out without enough lube. If I bought a new vehicle I wouldn't expect that I'd have to grease the front end right away to keep it from road walking. It is what it is. At least the sticks are greaseable unlike some of the new ball joints and tie rod ends lol.

-Killa

[60mm]

Yeah, one certainly wouldn't expect the dealer/manufacturer to send you off to the shop where they slander you as a snob for expecting the car to function properly when new, and that you can't return it if you try to fix it.

I'm fine with production issues, nbd really, but responses like this are what make me blacklist companies. I know who I will not be going to for my pedals and throttle.

[ender03]

@60mm - glad this worked out for you. I am having the same issue with stiction. In fact, if I twist and return it to center lightly, it doesn't even center all the way, and needs a bit of motivation to get to center, usually with a bit of a clack sound. I've had the stick for a month now and not improvement. This is annoying in MSFS as I'm feathering the twist to get down the runway straight, but often take off with rudder applied unknowingly because it doesn't return home all the way.

Thinking about regreasing... what grease did you use? Can't easily get my hands on Nyogel here in Japan.

[Der_KHAN]

... because if it was a general problem with the joysticks, reported at how many thousands have been sold, you'd see more people complaining on this forum.

Well then I think I should also comment on this. I ordered my NXT Premium on Novermber 27th 2020 and received it a week ago and I struggle with the sticky twist action very much! I was hoping it would change over time, but so far it didn't. The X and Y axes are fine though. Smooth as butter, just as I hoped they would be.

When I use VKBDevCFG-c.exe to test the Sticks' sensitivity, I can move the X and Y axes from the center position of 32767 to as little a deflection as 32848. When I try to twist the RotZ-axis as little as possible to the right, I can modulate the Position to as high as 32832 with just pressure. But as soon as I overcome the pressure of the initial friction and the twist axis starts actually moving, It jumps to a position like 38000 or 41000. That is with all deadzones set to DzLo=0,0, of course. And it doesnt help to put my arm in a different position to reduce the vertical pressure on the grip.

I mostly play space sims like EA's Squadrons or Star Citizen with aviator style controls, so I'm using the twist action for yaw. I need this axis to be very precise and sadly the controls are so sticky that it is not possible to aim as precisely as with the old Microsoft Sidewinder FFB2, which I have been using before. It is a night and day difference , really.

I have bought the Kosmosima specifically because of the good reviews of the twist axis (and because the hotas warthog has no twist action). You definitely have a quality issue here that should be addressed with the factory in china!


I have bought a new throttle and a new stick, so that I would be free of the hassles with my aging equipment. And now I have a Thrustmaster TWCS Throttle and a Gladiator NXT which both have exactly the same issue with insufficient greasing.

[Ron61]

I hope the axes are all calibrated? The Profile-Axes screenshot will not be superfluous.

[Der_KHAN]

Of course. The readout is not the issue. It is the static friction that is the problem. Once I get it moving the sliding friction is lower and i can modulate it to all the values.

But once I let it rest in the center position it sticks. In fact I can let it rest in any position and it will stick there. I just realised that I can let it rest really far twisted to the right, and it wont even recenter by itself! I have it sitting at position 55917 right now

[Der_KHAN]

here is a photo of the stick centered (left picture) and stuck at position 55917 (right picture)

[Ron61]

Yeah, so he gets stuck in this position?
You can disassemble the grip and unscrew the stem with a twist, take a closer look at it. The twist module may need to be disassembled. There is nothing complicated there. After removing the magnet (the groove is for this) and unscrewing the screw, further disassembly is very simple. Perhaps something got into the twist mechanism and slows down.

[Der_KHAN]

Well, I followed the instructions (here: https://youtu.be/d2oj8M0E-yY) and put a thin layer of Nyogel 767a on it. The first few twists were still occassionally sticky at the center position, but after a short dogfighting session in star citizen it has become very smooth. The difference is quite dramatic really. So problem solved, I guess. I just hope it stays that way.

I have to say though, I did quite a bit of cursing while doing the fix. I am not the handyman type and I still think this should be addressed in the factory!


p.s. For anyone interested in a european reseller for Nyogel... I got mine from the ebay store of a dutch company called "SpecLub":

https://ebay.us/In956f

Specialty Lubricants V.IT.S
MMH Hogguer
Postbus 5119
6130 PC Sittard
Netherlands

[Ron61]

I understand that any hand protection gloves were not used with this procedure?
Did you have any problems with disassembly and assembly?

[Der_KHAN]

No I was using nitrile gloves. I just meant to say that I usually don't enjoy this kind of work. I don't even wan't to buy a new cpu, because I don't want to have to take apart the watercooling setup