bmaniac's FFB settings are pretty good. That would be my highest suggestion to help you get started in pCARS, as the FFB is the most difficult setup. If you don't like 100% of his settings, at least it would get you something decent instead of spending dozens (at a min) of hours figuring it our yourself.
I think some of the fact that people don't like this as much is because they find it hard to get the FFB correct. Now that I have it pretty close to what I'd want, I've found that this game does have some unique physics characteristics which are realistic, that others don't have. Overall, the FFB and physics in AC feel more realistic and less forgiving (physics doesn't care if you die, IRL). But, pCARS does have some nuances to their physics that even AC doesn't have. Feeling the rotation and twist of the cars through the wheels and tires, is how I would describe it.