Sega did a great conversion from the arcade for the PS2 and I play the game with the original GT Force Wheel. I would say it is arcade perfect.
I have a Japanese PS2 that I play PS2 imports with but if you have a USA Playstation 2 you have to get it mod-chipped or you can also get a fliptop lid which lets you swap a booter disk to play import games. I never tried the fliptop though but maybe someone else can give some information on that.
I got one of the black pads and I like it but Hori should make it in other colors. I want a silver pad to match my Platinum Cube. I'm sure other people would want more colors too.