I used the money to hack away half of the massive $150 required to buy this baby: Microsoft's Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel. I actually snapped off the right paddle one day while playing TDU, and eventually returned it to Best Buy. Eventually I did buy the Joytech Nitro wheel ( info here, ~$80) around the time Test Drive Unlimited was released, but was very disappointed by its sensitivity, cheap pedals, and poor construction. I wanted to drift through Project Gotham Racing 3 with force feedback but settled for a rumbling gamepad.
When I first bought my Xbox 360, I was dying for a decent wheel. I really anticipated a follow-up for the Xbox and Xbox 360. Many wheels were too gimmicky (such as Act-Labs Force RS) which led to poor support, or too cheaply built (such as Joytech's Nitro) which led to broken parts, but Microsoft's wheel was a solid pick, other than its lightweight plastic construction and gameport connection. As a writer on hardware and gaming, it was easy to acquire many steering wheels over this period and I'd estimate I've owned at least twelve in that time, including Microsoft's original force feedback wheel.
Some of my favorites in the past were Sports Car GT, Viper Racing, Gran Turismo (1-3) and Forza Motorsport. Naturally I began playing racing games as well, and have been hooked since. I've owned several performance cars and driven all of them to their limits. I've been a racing fan since I first sat in the backseat of a friend's modified 5.0 Mustang in high school and since then I've done a lot of racing myself.