Fanatec Equipment: Worth The Money?

[VRTSmith]

Image Courtesy of Fanatec.com
I currently run a Logitech G29 + Shifter and it's fine to use at the moment as I have been using it for around a year and a half, but I have overheard people talking about Fanatec equipment and how "superior" it is.

I had a look online at some Fanatec gear, and I was pleasantly surprised. I had always known of Fanatec as a company, but always thought that they were the Apple of the sim-racing community. The wheels themselves look brilliant and the pedals, with the load cell technology, also look equally as good.

The image above is the bundle that I am looking to save up for. Question is, is it worth the $1.3k price tag? Let me know below.

 

[raptor1958]

The wheel I don't know, got the 918 RSR & formula wheel. Went with th8a sifter, have the rest
Yes, worth it.( In the price range)
Is their better (yes.) Do your research This is just my opinion.

 

[Tim Meuris]

There is better idd but the pricetag also goes up
I have Heusinkveld propedals and an accuforce after coming from a csw v1
Is it worth it to me? hell yeah!
to you? dunno
That's for you to find out

 

[Emery]

It's the lowest cost gear made with metal rather than plastic. It's been planned for interchangeability and integration. There is better stuff out there, but it will lack the extra integration and typically cost more. There are people who have bad experiences with Fanatec, particularly when being an early adopter of a particular model.

 

[Ferenczy36]

I love my Fanatec gear. I didn't go their top end, but went with CSL Elite base, elite pedals with added load cell pedal, their shifter, and the BMW clubsport wheel. It cost me about the same as what you are looking at.

Is it better than Logitech stuff? Yes it is in pretty much every way. Will it make you faster? That is debatable. The load cell brake is about the biggest improvement that may get you quicker lap times, but then again there are those people out there running older Logitech G27s clamped on a desk in an old rickety chair and they are faster than guys with top end cockpits and DD wheels. For me it was about immersion and stronger FFB. I wanted a full size, real steering wheel in my hands and a load cell brake. The Fanatec stuff delivers in this department.

 

[Deleted member 387850]

I have a G29 and recently ordered (and am awaiting delivery of) the CSL Elite LC pedals to replace the Logitech ones. I wasn’t unhappy with the Logitech pedals, but I’m getting to the stage were I want to invest a bit more in my rig and a decent set of pedals seemed a sensible place to start. They didn’t seem like an excessive expense and hopefully they’ll be the step up in quality I’m hoping for!

 

[DND]

Having used various other brands over the many years of PC racing and as of the past 4 years I have had Fanatec. Initial entry into Fanatec was the Forza wheel and pedals and that I thought was a significant upgrade from my previous setup.
Since then I have upgraded to the CSW v2.5, Formula Black and v3 Pedal and that with the LC has put Sim Racing in a whole new light for me. I would recommend Fanatec as I believe it is a very good product and value, for me it was worth it.

 

[Hiro Abe]

I went from a Thrustmaster T300 and T3PA Pro w/load cell mod set up to Fanatec 2.5 CSW and CSL pedals with load cell. The increase in fidelity and feel with the Fanatec equipment was remarkable and made the expense worth it for me. I've had my kit for a little over a year now without a lick of trouble and truly enjoy it every time I drive. Is it the end all be all? No. Someday I will step up to a DD wheel and HPPs but, for now, color me thoroughly satisfied.

 

[anton_Chez]

I can agree that Fanatec gear is pretty good for what you pay for. Like others have said, it's about the best you're going to get before you need to really invest some serious cash. Also, you tend to need a better chassis for anything higher end, but the Fanatec stuff also requires a good base to mount to. If coming from Logitech gear you will be amazed at the difference. I did, and I was

 

[ragafoo]

Fanatec is about the best your gonna get, for plug and play before things get eye-poppingly expensive. Went from G27 --> CSL Elite --> OSW DD wheel

 

[Turk]

I started out with a thrustmaster F430 wheel (pretty crappy wheel, only had 180 degrees of rotation), that died and I upgraded to the Fanatec Forza wheel and elite pedals. They were a huge leap up from the Thrustmaster wheel and I used that one till it also died. I then went all out and got the Fanatec CSW 2.5, clubsport v3 pedals, and the clubsport shifter.

As you can see the two previous wheels aren't exactly great wheels to be comparing too but the clubsport stuff form Fanatec was better than I expected. I was toying with the idea of getting a DD wheel and I wasn't disappointed that I wimped out and went Fanatec.

The FFB is plenty strong enough for most people and without having the reference of a DD wheel it's impressive. It felt so smooth, there was no feeling of gears of cogs when moving the wheel, it moves very freely when there's no force. The forces felt weird at first because there was no mechanical feel or sound (with the old wheels I could hear and feel the mechanics of the wheel even just moving the wheel) it was almost like holding a fish, it felt muscular or organic in the way the wheel fought back. It was such an improvement on what I had that I lost all interest in DD wheels, for now at least.

The pedals have been more of a problem, they are so adjustable I just couldn't get them right, I was always fiddling, I bought the damper kit but I think I should have gotten the performance kit instead, the damper just slows down the pedal and it's too soft. I have a niggling feeling there may be something wrong with them but I haven't tried everything to rule that out.

The problem is now I had to pack it all away as I'm in between houses and have no where to set it up.

As long as you don't try a DD wheel the Fanatec will be very impressive. Compared to just about everything else on the consumer market it's great.

 

[anton_Chez]

The performance kit was definitely worth the money to me. I didn't have dampers as I read that the performance kit negated the need for them and basically was a better upgrade and even less cost. I sold it as a package and I think eventually that's the way the pedals should be sold in the first place. Or, at least have the option to buy the performance kit at half price at the time of purchasing the pedals. Like a bundle.

 

[raptor1958]

The performance kit was definitely worth the money to me. I didn't have dampers as I read that the performance kit negated the need for them and basically was a better upgrade and even less cost. I sold it as a package and I think eventually that's the way the pedals should be sold in the first place. Or, at least have the option to buy the performance kit at half price at the time of purchasing the pedals. Like a bundle.

+ 1

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Dampers on CSP v3 were pretty bad, I went through 2 sets and both had some grainy feeling in them. Not sure they did anything to the actual pedals feel. Replaced with HE Pro and never looked back, best decision ever.

 

[Turk]

I sold it as a package and I think eventually that's the way the pedals should be sold in the first place. Or, at least have the option to buy the performance kit at half price at the time of purchasing the pedals. Like a bundle.

They certainly shouldn't sell the damper kit without the performance kit from what I can tell. The problem with the damper is it feels like the resistance is being made by forcing air or fluid through a small hole. So the resistance stays the same throughout the travel of the piston, rather than increasing like you'd expect on a hydraulic brake system. So when you turn up the damper you completely overpower the resistance of the rubber things inside the brake and are getting all the resistance from the damper, and it doesn't feel anything like a brake on it's own.

I actually think that the standard soft rubbers that come with the Fanatec stuff may be behind why they had a lot of RMAs with previous pedal sets and I hope they've added hard stops since. The soft rubber has a weird spongy feel under full compression, it's like there's an extra bit of movement at full compression and I sometimes get the feeling that I can push harder but when I do nothing happens, I've been worried that I'm pushing past the rubber and on the load cell and it's mounting which could be damaging the mounting.

 

[anton_Chez]

The PU foam they use in the standard setup feels like it binds after a bit of use, giving a notch-y or stepping feel. Certainly not smooth and very noticeable depending on how much preload you have set. The brake performance kit cures this and as much as I know Fanatec will say that it's an extra accessory, I reckon that they should replace that trash foam with the rubber in the performance kit as standard. A flawed system needing an upgrade to feel good is not a good product. I liked their pedals but the stock feel of the HE pro's are MILES ahead of where the Fanatec pedal is. That being said, the included performance kit would do wonders in making the set that much better.

But they won't.

 

[pabletux]

I tested the better from both " Worlds ", TM and Fanatec. And I ended with a TS-XW Sparco and Clubsport pedals V3 with brake performance kit. I found the TS-XW Sparco way better than the CSL Elite I tested, so for me this combo is amazing.

What I miss from TM is the range of rims, really limited, and they dont sell separated the new F1 rim and the Ferrari 488 rim, sadly.

 

[Terry Rock]

My own experience with Fanatec has been a mixture of good to frustrating.
I had a good year of use on a set of V1 Clubsports.
After that time, I've needed to replace the throttle sensor once per year...the exception being last year.
I went as far as to replace the main control board...thinking that was contributing to the issue.
To this day, the throttle pedal output will still occasionally not make full range...and it's only throttle.
I will then simply disconnect and replug them and everything will be fine, with full range restored.
All set screws were checked for tightness and are fine.
I've had two completely different computer, which rules out a possible USB issue.
It's 'hit or miss' and has personally kept me from buying any more Fanatec equipment.

 

[JamieG]

When I was looking to replace my g27 wheel I ended up choosing the Fanatec CSL elite + load cell. Compared with the new TM the price gap was not that much (at least that was my way of justify it ;-) ). I’m totally happy with the choice. It’s solid, reliable and with a reasonable price tag when compared to other wheels and pedals.
I feel that if I have to step up then it must be to the maximum extent (DD and hydraulic brake) = $$$.

 

[daceaki]

If I'm to spend that sum of money in my hobby, I'll add a little more budget to get a SimuCUBE. In fact I have already got one, but I don't have any fancy wheel rim attached to the motor, just a bare bone Momo road car steering wheel without any buttons or peddle shifters.
BTW, the customer support from Granite Devices is very good. I burnt the SimuCUBE motherboard on my own, totally my fault. And they still offered me a new board with 40% off. I don't think I'll get this kind of discount from a "large" company.