Tearing across Mexico in Forza Horizon 5 with a DualSense controller feels great, but getting it running smoothly on PC takes a bit of setup. Forza Horizon 5 is a Microsoft Store and Xbox ecosystem title, and it expects XInput signals specifically. Without an emulation layer like DS5Windows (DSX), a DualSense connected over Bluetooth or USB may fail to register at all, show inverted trigger axes, or cause double inputs that make menus unusable.
Setting up a dedicated Forza profile in DSX gets you custom steering curves, proper trigger tuning for progressive braking and throttle, and layouts suited to whichever style of racing you’re into.
Why Use DSX for Forza Horizon 5
Steam Input can handle basic translation, but a tuned DSX profile gives you a few real advantages specific to racing:
- Linear throttle response: remove the “spongy” feel some trigger deadzones introduce, so throttle input tracks more directly with how far you’re actually pressing
- Custom steering curves: tune stick response for high-speed stability without sacrificing quick turn-in when you need it
- Clean input via HidHide: pairing DSX with HidHide stops Forza from reading both your physical controller and the virtual one at once
Setting Up Your Profile
- Open DSX, go to the Profiles tab, and create a new profile named something like “FH5 Racing.”
- Set the emulated controller to Xbox 360.
- This matters more than usual here: Forza’s PC engine is built natively around XInput, and selecting DualShock 4 emulation instead can cause the game to ignore inputs entirely or drop steering axes. Xbox 360 is the one to use.
Tuning Your Steering Stick
How your left stick is configured has a real effect on how planted or twitchy your car feels through sweepers and hairpins.
Keep the deadzone small enough that steering feels instantaneous, but not so tight that you get unwanted drift on straightaways from a stick that isn’t perfectly centered. Leave any anti-deadzone setting at its default unless you notice a specific issue, and allow full steering lock at the stick’s physical edge rather than capping it early. A linear output curve is the standard choice for grip racing, since it keeps your input and the car’s response tracking directly, though some players prefer a slightly smoothed curve to reduce minor thumb jitter at high speed, it’s worth trying both.
Tuning Throttle and Brake Triggers
Slamming the throttle or brake instantly in Forza, especially in faster rear-wheel-drive cars, tends to break traction. Tuning your triggers for more gradual power delivery helps.
Throttle (R2)
Lower the deadzone so throttle response starts close to the beginning of the trigger pull, and set the max threshold so you reach full throttle slightly before the trigger physically bottoms out, this avoids needing to jam the trigger all the way to get full power. If your profile supports trigger resistance effects, a light constant resistance can help simulate the feel of a real gas pedal, though this is a personal preference setting rather than something with one correct value.
Brake (L2)
Similarly, a low deadzone gives you quick brake response. Some players like setting a firmer resistance effect partway through the trigger’s pull, creating a physical reference point that helps you modulate braking force consistently instead of guessing how hard you’re pressing.
There’s no universal correct number for any of this, tune it by feel over a few laps rather than copying exact values, controller units and personal preference both vary enough that what works for one setup won’t necessarily feel right on another.
Layout Ideas by Driving Style
Manual Shifting with Clutch (Road Racing)
For faster corner exits, manual shifting with clutch control tends to outperform automatic. A common layout maps shift up and shift down to the bumpers, with clutch on a face button, sometimes combined with the shift buttons as a macro for quicker shifts.
Drift Setup
Drifting asks for quick, precise angle corrections and fast handbrake taps. A tighter steering deadzone helps with instant counter-steering, handbrake works well mapped to a face button that’s easy to reach with your thumb mid-flick, and some players prefer boosting steering sensitivity slightly for faster turn-in, along with disabling trigger resistance on the brake for unrestricted feathering while drifting.
Preventing Double Input Issues
Forza polls for controller input aggressively in the background, so an unhidden physical controller commonly causes double menu inputs or unresponsive steering.
- Open the HidHide Configuration Client, from its official GitHub release page if you need to install it.
- Under Devices, check the box to hide your DualSense.
- Under Applications, whitelist DSX.
- Enable hiding and confirm it’s active.
You’ll also need ViGEmBus installed for emulation to work, our Drivers page covers setting up both.
Matching Forza’s In-Game Controller Settings
To keep DSX and Forza from fighting over deadzone handling, it helps to adjust Forza’s own Advanced Controls to defer to DSX:
- Set the in-game steering deadzone as close to zero as the game allows, since DSX is already handling deadzone filtering
- Allow the full outer range for steering so you’re not capping input twice
- Keep steering linearity at its default unless you’ve specifically tuned your DSX curve to expect otherwise
- Set acceleration and deceleration deadzones to their minimum in-game values for the most direct response
- Try both the Normal and Simulation steering filter options, Normal smooths out minor twitchiness, Simulation gives more raw, direct input if you prefer that
Bringing It Together
Getting a racing setup like this feeling right takes some trial and error, tune your triggers and stick response first, get HidHide working so input stays clean, then match your in-game settings so nothing’s fighting over deadzone handling twice. If you’re still seeing input issues after all this, our Troubleshooting guide and FAQ page cover broader DSX problems worth ruling out. And if you’re setting up DSX for the first time, grab it from its official Steam page and check our Get Started guide for the full installation walkthrough.