I just bought an Xbox 360 controller last night. I'm running Windows 2003, so i couldn't use the 'official' Microsoft driver, which is apparently rubbish anyway. What i did was use the old Xbox controller driver by redcl0ud (XBCD), with a patch to let it work with the 360 controller.

Here's what you need :-

Download XBCD version 1.07 from HERE.

Download the latest drivers for your verison of Windows (2k/XP/2k3) from HERE.

Download the default Xbox 360 Config File with L and R triggers on seperate axises from HERE.

Once you've got all that, here's what to do...

First, install XBCD. Then, unzip the driver you downloaded and run install.bat. This will update XBCD to recognise the 360 pad. You can now plug the pad in. Windows should detect it as "XBCD 360 Control Pad" or something similar. When windows has sorted itself out, go to START -> PROGRAMS -> XBCD -> SETUP UTILITY. This brings up the settings for XBCD. Click open in the bottom left corner of the window, and open the config file with seperate L and R triggers you downloaded. You'll find that the controller doesn't work properly in the setup utility, don't worry about that, just click apply then exit. You can now go into the game controller section of your control panel. You should see XBCD Xbox Controller listed in there. Highlight it and press properties. The XBCD setup utility will pop up again, just press exit and the windows properties will pop up. You can now calibrate and use the controller as normal, with seperate axis for the L and R triggers, and working rumble for the force feedback.

That's how i did it on Windows 2003 anyway. 2k or XP may be slightly different, but there's a 'how to' guide on the last site i linked to that should be able to point you in the right direction.

I've set my pad for steering on the left stick, brakes on L trigger, throttle on R trigger, looking around on the right stick, and gears on the A and B buttons. Seems to work quite well, although the gear change is taking a little getting used to.