If you were anything like me struggling to play Project CARS with the default controller settings you probably have found that all of the preset options are so twitchy it's a struggle to straighten the car up even when simply trying to go straight. Let alone any ideas of making adjustments to hit the perfect racing line apex.

Thankfully Project CARS is amazing with its amount of customisability when it comes to everything in the game, which includes pretty much everything you would want when it comes to the controller.

After about 8 hours of solely trying to find a set up that is actually drivable this is what I have ended up with and I can finally be competitive, hopefully you will too. This set up works on all platforms, PS4, PC and XBOXONE.

This is by no means the final settings, I will change things as I see fit and I encourage that you do the same to get the feeling you are after, this should at least provide a reasonable starting point at the very least.

These settings were made for controllers/gamepads, I have no idea if this works or not for wheels.

Steering dead zone: 0
Steering Sensitivity: 30

Throttle dead zone: 0
Throttle Sensitivity: 50

Brake dead zone: 0
Brake Sensitivity: 30

Clutch dead zone: 0
Clutch Sensitivity: 45

Speed Sensitivity: 75
Controller Filtering: 50

Force Feedback: 100
Advanced: Off

This section is what each of the settings relating to the controller do, or at least my understanding from playing around trying to find the best set up.

The dead zones control how big an area that your controller won't register any input for, the higher the number the more you will have to move the joystick or trigger before the game registers your action. I personally haven't noticed a huge difference between 0 and 100, but if you have an older controller which is a bit more worn you may want to increase these if your springs are holding the trigger or joystick out all the way anymore.

Sensitivities are all in the name, how sensitive the game will be to your actions, except for speed sensitivity which has been horribly named.

Controller filtering sensitivity is a filter on the input coming from your controller, so a higher value means will result in a smoother experience because the minute tiny adjustments get averaged out to become smooth. A lower value means that there is no filtering so the game uses your raw input, any little change in your controller the game will register.

Speed sensitivity I had wrong initially as pointed out by rzezol (Thanks!). Speed sensitivity changes the sensitivity and what turning angle you can turn at relative to the speed you're travelling. So if you're driving slowly you can turn sharper relative to when you're going fast even if you push the joystick all the way it's not going to turn very sharply. The higher you set this option the less wheel turn you can make at higher speeds.

I think you are wrong in explanation of speed sensitivity option. IMO it's working like this:
-driving slow - wheel movement are fast and you can turn wheel very far from center position;
-driving fast - wheel movement are slower and you can turn wheel not that far from center position even if you push gamepad stick all the way left or right.
Conclusion: the higher you set speed sensitivity - the less wheel turn you can make at higher speed.

Force feedback controls the vibration of your controller I personally haven't noticed it making any differences between 5-100, with 0 turning off vibration all together.

Controller input mode just cycles through some appalling default configurations.

According to some guides around on the internet to getting the "I am the 5% trophy" the only way to actually have pro settings is to delete your save game and select pro from the very start, this is only what I have read however..

I'm still working this section out 100%, but currently these are the settings which are default when you pick the pro handling option and I can't see any other settings that would affect the pro rating for handling.

When you first start Project CARS you should be given a dialogue box to choose which type of handling you wanted, all this initial choice did was set some of the many options available. If after making that decision you want to change to pro handling or you want to try and get the "I am the 5%" achievement (currently untested) then these are the settings that should let you do that.

GAMEPLAY - Authenticity settings
Steering assistance: No
Braking assistance: No
Driving assists allowed: All
Anti-lock brakes: No
Stability control: No
Traction control: No

Damage: Full damage
Mechanical failures: Yes
Tire wear: Real
Fuel usage: Real
Auto start engine: Yes

Flags & penalties: On

GAMEPLAY - Onscreen guides and display settings
HUD Level: Full (Mirror Off)
Guiding line: No
Turn Indicator: No
Track map: On
Cycle lap info: Off

CONTROLS - Control scheme
Gearing - Manual

Thanks for reading, hopefully you find this guide useful and it makes Project CARS an enjoyable experience with a controller.

I welcome any and all feedback.