Ist it possible to do good drifting with a Fanatec Podium Wheel on a CSL DD/DD Pro?

agent2 · Apr 10, 2022

Hello everybody,

First proper thread on this forum, but my question is this:

I am looking to buy a GT DD Pro Wheelbase with a round rim, as I want to use it for general purpose racing, be it ACC or GT7 as well as drifting in e. g. AC. I was looking at buying a Wheel with a Universal Hub, as I thought it would be customizable as well as being lighter than the Podium Wheels, but upon comparing the weight of the ClubSport 320 XBOX Wheel vs the GT World Challenge Podium Wheel I noticed that the Podium Wheel is only 200g more than the CS wheel, which would make my choice for the CS 320 pretty useless.

As I would like to do a lot of drifting with my wheel as well, I was wondering if I could use the Podium Wheel for it too, as it might be a lot of weight on a DD Pro to turn around properly for a drift.

Because otherwise I would realistically have to go with the WRC or BMW CSL Rims to do that properly, which I also don’t want to buy as I would like something more high-quality.

So yeah I would appreciate it a ton if you could help me out if the Podium GTWC Wheel would be a good drifter on the CSL DD/DD Pro.

Many thanks!!

DomB_Fanatec · Apr 11, 2022

Hi agent2, I would say the GTWC wheel is absolutely fine for drifting as a secondary use case, but the Podium Button Module Endurance and Podium Advanced Paddle Module are not essential for this, and are both adding weight. Depending on the way you like to grab the wheel, you might also find that they are getting in the way a bit. You could buy this combination and try drifting with and without these two components installed - this could be the best way to decide if you need a dedicated drift wheel.

agent2 · Apr 11, 2022

DomB_Fanatec said:
Hi agent2, I would say the GTWC wheel is absolutely fine for drifting as a secondary use case, but the Podium Button Module Endurance and Podium Advanced Paddle Module are not essential for this, and are both adding weight. Depending on the way you like to grab the wheel, you might also find that they are getting in the way a bit. You could buy this combination and try drifting with and without these two components installed - this could be the best way to decide if you need a dedicated drift wheel.

Thanks for the answer. The thing is that I don't plan on purchasing a dedicated drift wheel anytime soon, hence why I would like to use this one as a potential general purpose wheel, as the PBME is useful for any other racing, and the round rim is perfect for drifting. Because of the potential weight difference between this wheel and the CSL wheels I was thinking if the Podium Wheels weight is enough for 8Nm to properly drift, as I've seen people with CSWs and CSL P1s/WRC wheels already being on the limit for drifting.
I would consider a stronger wheelbase if the Podium WBs didn't cost that much or if Fanatec released a PS-compatible DD ClubSport Wheelbase which was around the 700€/$ mark and had at least 10-13Nm torque.
So yeah the WB and wheel should be able to last me for a long time across many use cases, be it ACC or drifting. That's why my question is so important to me.
Thanks!

Michael Krone · Apr 12, 2022

It will work just fine. If people can compete with VDC cars with a g29 and 350mm wheel, youll be just fine.

The fanatec will surely be sufficient in speed and power enough that youll probably have to reduce the speed with DRI settings.

agent2 · Apr 12, 2022

Michael Krone said:
It will work just fine. If people can compete with VDC cars with a g29 and 350mm wheel, youll be just fine.

The fanatec will surely be sufficient in speed and power enough that youll probably have to reduce the speed with DRI settings.

Thanks for your reply.
I've just been so persistent with my question because I literally haven't found anything on the internet until now where people have been drifting really heavy 2KG+ wheels with the CSL DD so I just wanted to be 200% sure before I pulled the trigger and found out myself that 8Nm is too weak and drifting would be a very lackluster experience. So thank you for bearing with me.

PS: I know that YouTuber Danny Lee uses the PBME on a CSL DD but he uses it mainly for iRacing and more competitive titles, so he wouldn't be a very representative perspective of drifting.

DomB_Fanatec · Apr 13, 2022

agent2 said:
Thanks for your reply.
I've just been so persistent with my question because I literally haven't found anything on the internet until now where people have been drifting really heavy 2KG+ wheels with the CSL DD so I just wanted to be 200% sure before I pulled the trigger and found out myself that 8Nm is too weak and drifting would be a very lackluster experience. So thank you for bearing with me.

PS: I know that YouTuber Danny Lee uses the PBME on a CSL DD but he uses it mainly for iRacing and more competitive titles, so he wouldn't be a very representative perspective of drifting.

I just made a quick test for you: