Servo Base Choice ( Competitive Drifting)

JMeister · Apr 25, 2022

Whatsup, my Sim Rig is fully set up and I feel almost comfortable. I just need not get answered one question, if possible by VDC-participants or Pro Drifters!

How much does the servo base matter? The TS-XW by Thrustmaster felt pretty good, was drifting at 100% FFB (around 6nm, if my research was right). My question is, if a base with more nm would give me any benefits? I know that the response time is faster, but the thing is, I watched VDC live last weekend and some of these guys, use a TX base by thrustmaster, which is...I don't wanna say worse, but it is. Shall I stick to my Ts-xw or get a CSL DD 8nm by Fanatec, like a lot of upcoming good drifters on YT do?

Thanks for your time!

Michael Krone · Apr 26, 2022

If I were in your position I would worry more about getting a bigger wheel. 6nm is plenty, for me at least. I use my CSW at 45% for the VDC cars. I use a 320mm wheel whereas most people use a 350mm for drifting. 6nm should be plenty to spin either fast enough to effectively drift those cars. ..Or any other drift cars.

ykap1 · Apr 27, 2022

i'm using a sim-plicity 10nm compact, which seems to be discontinued. they sell other 8nm, 13nm etc models that seem cheaper than when i got mine a few years ago. they're pretty quiet though, do your own research before you consider buying. for example i haven't seen any firmware updates in a couple of years for my model.

but it works perfectly, and for drifting a DD servo motor is super handy cos they're bulletproof for speed, strength and don't overheat (although they do operate at a very high temp).

JMeister · Apr 27, 2022

Michael Krone said:
If I were in your position I would worry more about getting a bigger wheel. 6nm is plenty, for me at least. I use my CSW at 45% for the VDC cars. I use a 320mm wheel whereas most people use a 350mm for drifting. 6nm should be plenty to spin either fast enough to effectively drift those cars. ..Or any other drift cars.

I'm going for a nrg wheel, seems like almost anyone is using it. Thank you for your reply. Also is the CSW a Direct Drive? Idk if the belt system or DD is going to make a big difference for that purpose. Friends told me, if I don't wanna go for Wrc/F1 and stuff like that, that I shouldn't get a DD.

ykap1 said:
i'm using a sim-plicity 10nm compact, which seems to be discontinued. they sell other 8nm, 13nm etc models that seem cheaper than when i got mine a few years ago. they're pretty quiet though, do your own research before you consider buying. for example i haven't seen any firmware updates in a couple of years for my model.

but it works perfectly, and for drifting a DD servo motor is super handy cos they're bulletproof for speed, strength and don't overheat (although they do operate at a very high temp).

seems like nice stuff, although this is going to be too much torque for me I guess, thats why I was asking for the 8nm one. still thanks for your reply tho!

Michael Krone · Apr 27, 2022

The CSW2.5 is a belt driven base but its power and speed are very similar to the CSL DD. So much so that I sold my CSL DD the day I got it and just stuck with my CSW. Ill say this very disappointedly, the DD seemed a little weaker than my CSW and that ended up being the deciding factor for selling it. The smoothness and details are not even comparable, the DD felt NICE.

I would disagree about "shouldnt get a DD". (Lol didnt know how to word that.) The speed of the DD is higher than the TX-SW. Youll quickly realize how helpful that extra speed is coupled with the added torque. I thought I was doing good with my g29 a couple years ago but after switching to the CSW I came to that realization that my competitive skills wouldnt have improved without it.

JMeister · Apr 27, 2022

Michael Krone said:
The CSW2.5 is a belt driven base but its power and speed are very similar to the CSL DD. So much so that I sold my CSL DD the day I got it and just stuck with my CSW. Ill say this very disappointedly, the DD seemed a little weaker than my CSW and that ended up being the deciding factor for selling it. The smoothness and details are not even comparable, the DD felt NICE.

I would disagree about "shouldnt get a DD". (Lol didnt know how to word that.) The speed of the DD is higher than the TX-SW. Youll quickly realize how helpful that extra speed is coupled with the added torque. I thought I was doing good with my g29 a couple years ago but after switching to the CSW I came to that realization that my competitive skills wouldnt have improved without it.

"This product is discontinued! There are no units left and there will be no pre-order for this product!"
U made me weak man

Michael Krone · Apr 27, 2022

I believe the DD was the replacement for the CSW.

JMeister · Apr 28, 2022

Michael Krone said:
I believe the DD was the replacement for the CSW.

I guess I made my choice, thanks! Can you also suggest a Handbrake, is there something I should know? I'm thinking about the Fanatec one since the Thrustmaster doesn't seem worth it. And the royal sim tech handbrake is sold out

Michael Krone · Apr 28, 2022

I like the cheap ebay handbrakes. You can bolt a master to them which is what I used to have. Ive since switched out the hydro for some silicone tubing and it feels the same.

JMeister · May 2, 2022

ykap1 said:
i'm using a sim-plicity 10nm compact, which seems to be discontinued. they sell other 8nm, 13nm etc models that seem cheaper than when i got mine a few years ago. they're pretty quiet though, do your own research before you consider buying. for example i haven't seen any firmware updates in a couple of years for my model.

but it works perfectly, and for drifting a DD servo motor is super handy cos they're bulletproof for speed, strength and don't overheat (although they do operate at a very high temp).

Are there any good reviews on youtube about these? I see there is a sw10 and an sw10 esports option, don't where the differences are from only reading the descirption except price. I also think this is also a better option than the Csl DD, not only because of more nm, just because of the fact that I can save the podium hub adapter for 200 bucks more. Also comes already with a clamp, would be the best choice actually in price/quality if it really does a good job.

blekenbleu · May 3, 2022

Sim-Pli.City "simplified" their offerings,
with SW10/15/20 all using the small MiGE motor, with torque limited by controller.
Esport vs non-Esport are distinguished by rotary encoder resolution.
Arguably, SW20 reviews apply to SW10 and 15 except for torque limit,
with differences between Esport and (higher resolution) non seemingly not having been reviewed.

JMeister · May 4, 2022

blekenbleu said:
Sim-Pli.City "simplified" their offerings,
with SW10/15/20 all using the small MiGE motor, with torque limited by controller.
Esport vs non-Esport are distinguished by rotary encoder resolution.
Arguably, SW20 reviews apply to SW10 and 15 except for torque limit,
with differences between Esport and (higher resolution) non seemingly not having been reviewed.

I've seen some reviews on rd that they have some problems, but they reviewed the older models, not sure if I should risk it

ykap1 · May 12, 2022

JMeister said:
Are there any good reviews on youtube about these? I see there is a sw10 and an sw10 esports option, don't where the differences are from only reading the descirption except price. I also think this is also a better option than the Csl DD, not only because of more nm, just because of the fact that I can save the podium hub adapter for 200 bucks more. Also comes already with a clamp, would be the best choice actually in price/quality if it really does a good job.

i don't know about youtube reviews, i don't think they've gotten into the hands of any reputable or hardcore reviewers from memory but you can have another look. i have the compact plus model with the better encoder and it works seemingly as well as other high end DD offerings, for example if you've seen other youtube reviews where they place a finger on the wheel and the software shows input thats imperceptible to the human eye just from a light touch, this does the same thing. unnecessary for drifting obviously but you know you are getting high quality hardware.

i've been very happy with mine, although not having any firmware updates in a while is a bit of a concern. if it's not broke then don't fix it, but at the same time development of the firmware/software was slow and now seems to have halted so not very confidence inspiring. remains to be seen how support for future titles will be handled. i will say when i did have issues they were dealt with quickly via email, and i actually had to have a control box replaced which they did so very quickly at no cost to me. since then it's been a set and forget thing when i want to fire it up and go for some hotlaps it just works, both software and hardware.

i'd recommend them having been happy with my own, my only disclaimer would be they seem quiet and firmware updates are slow and far between but maybe thats just my older model.

this is a clip of my 10nm for your reference. super fast speed, completely smooth ffb, and 10nm is plenty strong (on AC and ACC i keep it at 10nm but some other games need to be turned down a bit)

ykap1 · May 12, 2022

JMeister said:
I guess I made my choice, thanks! Can you also suggest a Handbrake, is there something I should know? I'm thinking about the Fanatec one since the Thrustmaster doesn't seem worth it. And the royal sim tech handbrake is sold out

i have the fanatec handbrake, and it worked perfectly until it didn't lol
there is a plastic washer on the internals, and it fails over time cos there is so much tension on the spring. it's fixable by replacing with a metal washer if/when it fails but it's a very difficult job cos the whole thing is under tension. i know from experience.

having said that, i fixed it and it continues to serve me well. it's a nice quality unit, strong tension which i think is adjustable, has a bit of wobble built in but doesn't affect the operation. but it's just a potentiometer, so any old ebay usb handbrake will do the same thing for less cost.

i don't think theres any benefit to going to a load cell handbrake, the cost is high and it seems like the type of input that won't benefit from being pressure sensitive since most of the time you just want to yank it to lock like a hydro.

JMeister · May 14, 2022

ykap1 said:
i have the fanatec handbrake, and it worked perfectly until it didn't lol
there is a plastic washer on the internals, and it fails over time cos there is so much tension on the spring. it's fixable by replacing with a metal washer if/when it fails but it's a very difficult job cos the whole thing is under tension. i know from experience.

having said that, i fixed it and it continues to serve me well. it's a nice quality unit, strong tension which i think is adjustable, has a bit of wobble built in but doesn't affect the operation. but it's just a potentiometer, so any old ebay usb handbrake will do the same thing for less cost.

i don't think theres any benefit to going to a load cell handbrake, the cost is high and it seems like the type of input that won't benefit from being pressure sensitive since most of the time you just want to yank it to lock like a hydro.

thats what I thought, thanks a lot. And also thanks for the wheel review, I'd go for it if they get better support & firmware updates, so I wouldn't be concerned about future issues. Also whats the track there?