Fanatec Porsche 911 Turbo wheel: Test
- Thread starter cdcdude
- 436 comments
- 85,831 views
Okay, speaking of switching between the M$ and the PC/PS3 wheel on the Playseat Evolution, does anyone have any bright ideas? I currently have my M$ wheel bolted to the Evo which makes it nice and solid (got the idea from This thread.
See underside of wheel holder pic- basically in my case what I did was remove the bottom trim/lap piece of the M$ wheel, drill hoes to match the Playseats G25 mounting points, run four bolts through it coming out the bottom, and run those through the Playseat mount and secure w/ nuts and washers.
Works great, but two problems: changing back and forth easilly, and the 911 wheel uses a different mounting pattern- it does take four bolts but they are spaced differently. So I thought I'd make an adapter plate out of wood or metal to bolt to the wheel on one side and then attach at the G25 points on the chair. However it would be nice to make it a two-piece unit and somehow easily lock the wheel plate to the chair holder, then remove, switch for the other (M$ sized plate) I make with also attaches to the seat holder plate.
Anyone know of some quick change hardware or other ideas to to this right?
- 286
I'll pose my question from several pages ago, again:
Is the shifter mountable on the left-hand side?
Is the shifter mountable on the left-hand side?
peeweegary
(Banned)
- 1,030
- GTP_peeweegary, peeweegary
was that really REALLY necessary...?
And great review of the two wheels... very informative...i've been deciding if i should buy the G25 or not thinking its the best wheel..but after that...i may need to rethink some stuff...
P.S...wow you must be loaded as hell
Yes seeing as i had also replied to his same question as before....
There is nothing wrong with being in PC Land. In fact, I am slowly moving away from consoles and getting more and more into PC sims.
I mean seriously, why continue to support consoles at this stage, especially the 360, when they have shown they don't give a **** about true hardcore racing fans?
The PC offers soooooooo much flexability over consoles it's not even funny! You can map ANY function in ANY game you want to ANY function on your steering wheel, plus you can only get the very best steering wheels and pedals on the PC.
I used to get depressed about the idea of not being able to use state of the art racing controllers on the 360 and PS3, such as VPP's wheel, A1's shifter, or ECCI's pedals....but I am seriously starting to not give a flying **** anymore. Yeah the 360 and PS3 have games exclusively for their respective systems such as GT5, Forza 2, Burnout: P, PGR4, etc, but so what? The PC also has a ****load of great titles you can't get on the consoles....GPL, rFactor, GTR2, LFS, Trackmania United, and Race '07. Plus the ones that are multiplatform are way superior on the PC: OutRun2:C2C, Sega Rally Revo, Need For Speed(all versions), RBR, and Forza 2.
Last but not least I will soon be able to play one of my FAVORITE racing games of all time, EXCLUSIVELY on the PC.... Daytona USA!!! That's right folks, because of emulation, we will soon have an arcade perfect port of this classic arcade racer from Sega! Something NO home console offers!!!!!!!
Anyway my point is that PC_Land is the greatest land to be in right now. Until we can use the steering wheels and pedals that were made for REAL men(Frex, ECCI, A1) on our 360s and PS3s, it simply isn't worth it IMHO.
I am at least glad Fanatec is taking a step in the right direction however.
![[HR]Niels](/forum/data/avatars/m/102/102843.jpg?1282471998){kind=avatar}
- 16
Hiya Guys here at GTP.
Good to see Thomas is actually interested in forums and cheking them out.
Anyway as Gabkicks has said I am 1 of the beta testers. Overall speaking very pleasantly suprised by the overall look of the wheel.
Certainly it has it flaws, but its testing and it doesnt mean the wheel is crap. Every product has his flaws even the G25 for that matter. You cant compare it with a FREX bcus that a different atrget of wheels in a very different price range. But coming back to the Fanatec Porsche Wheel, here are mine first thoughts :
Currently I have trouble getting the drivers to work and currently with T. Jackermeijer to get them to work. The driver for some reason will interrupt during installation and doesnt finish the actual driver install. However some of the software is installed and I had a go at it. Not a big issue will be resolved. Thomas is on the case.
It gives a clean layout where you setup the wheel. From 0-900 in steps of 1 degree. Also prefix degree settings on wheel throughout the LED display for a quick change possible in game. The FFB blew my mind. Its so unbelievable strong. I couldnt hold the wheel properly when tested the max settings. The vibration motors are a nice extra bonus to the FFB. When you press the accelarator the wheel starts to vibrate. It gives a extra feeling of driving the car.
Buttons on the wheel are more then enough. It feels solid no button that could be weared out in a year. But then again time will tell. Overall look. Wheel is covered with a high quality leather and is nicely stitched. The wheel itself is 300 mm and is big. Its just like sitting behind your steer of your car. The place where normally is your airbag looks on the picture very plastic. However its not !!!!!!. Its soft to touch, not shiny at all. Feels like a dashboard of newer cars. Soft and very touchable.
The noise of the wheel when turning is a bit weird. You expect to hear some noise but I never heard a quiter wheel as this. All due to the band wich gives the FFB off course. Which to me is a big plus. I have my setup in the living room and the misses hates my other wheel bcus of the noise while turning.
Pedals are looking a bit plastic however nothing like what you have seen on pictures. All pedals comes with prearranged pressure. The clutch feels very real due to the pressure. The break is like a real break and you must be getting used to it. My other wheel doesnt have the resistant in it and was just pressed down. This gives it way more feeling but needs to be getting used to. The accelator is also like a normal road car with a nice build in resistance.
The connection to your PC is wireless. The connection wire between the wheel and pedals is just for power. I had no latency or lag issue so far. Even on a filled server i didnt experienced any lag. I was a bit affraid of that with a full starting grid with a FPS drop at start. But it didnt loose any connection what so ever.
Despite the driver issue I must admite to be pleasantly suprised. I really think it can give the G25 some good competion. I dont have a G25 so sadly I cant compare it with it. I do compare it to the Logitech MOMO, Thrustmaster Ferrarie wheel and the Logitech EX.
No wheel of the above have gave me that amount of FFB. Its mind blowing.
Havent tested the gearbox yet. I will do offcourse. What I can say about it, it really clicks into gears like a real gearbox. You need pressure to get into gear, unlike the G25 where people say it hasnt got any resistance.
I will make some pics of the wheel, Keep an a eye on the thread for a full review.
Good to see Thomas is actually interested in forums and cheking them out.
Anyway as Gabkicks has said I am 1 of the beta testers. Overall speaking very pleasantly suprised by the overall look of the wheel.
Certainly it has it flaws, but its testing and it doesnt mean the wheel is crap. Every product has his flaws even the G25 for that matter. You cant compare it with a FREX bcus that a different atrget of wheels in a very different price range. But coming back to the Fanatec Porsche Wheel, here are mine first thoughts :
Currently I have trouble getting the drivers to work and currently with T. Jackermeijer to get them to work. The driver for some reason will interrupt during installation and doesnt finish the actual driver install. However some of the software is installed and I had a go at it. Not a big issue will be resolved. Thomas is on the case.
It gives a clean layout where you setup the wheel. From 0-900 in steps of 1 degree. Also prefix degree settings on wheel throughout the LED display for a quick change possible in game. The FFB blew my mind. Its so unbelievable strong. I couldnt hold the wheel properly when tested the max settings. The vibration motors are a nice extra bonus to the FFB. When you press the accelarator the wheel starts to vibrate. It gives a extra feeling of driving the car.
Buttons on the wheel are more then enough. It feels solid no button that could be weared out in a year. But then again time will tell. Overall look. Wheel is covered with a high quality leather and is nicely stitched. The wheel itself is 300 mm and is big. Its just like sitting behind your steer of your car. The place where normally is your airbag looks on the picture very plastic. However its not !!!!!!. Its soft to touch, not shiny at all. Feels like a dashboard of newer cars. Soft and very touchable.
The noise of the wheel when turning is a bit weird. You expect to hear some noise but I never heard a quiter wheel as this. All due to the band wich gives the FFB off course. Which to me is a big plus. I have my setup in the living room and the misses hates my other wheel bcus of the noise while turning.
Pedals are looking a bit plastic however nothing like what you have seen on pictures. All pedals comes with prearranged pressure. The clutch feels very real due to the pressure. The break is like a real break and you must be getting used to it. My other wheel doesnt have the resistant in it and was just pressed down. This gives it way more feeling but needs to be getting used to. The accelator is also like a normal road car with a nice build in resistance.
The connection to your PC is wireless. The connection wire between the wheel and pedals is just for power. I had no latency or lag issue so far. Even on a filled server i didnt experienced any lag. I was a bit affraid of that with a full starting grid with a FPS drop at start. But it didnt loose any connection what so ever.
Despite the driver issue I must admite to be pleasantly suprised. I really think it can give the G25 some good competion. I dont have a G25 so sadly I cant compare it with it. I do compare it to the Logitech MOMO, Thrustmaster Ferrarie wheel and the Logitech EX.
No wheel of the above have gave me that amount of FFB. Its mind blowing.
Havent tested the gearbox yet. I will do offcourse. What I can say about it, it really clicks into gears like a real gearbox. You need pressure to get into gear, unlike the G25 where people say it hasnt got any resistance.
I will make some pics of the wheel, Keep an a eye on the thread for a full review.
i love PC games as well, my rig is fairly powerful and i have ******** load of games for it. more then my PS3 or Xbox360...
but i would target Xbox360 for more casual gamers then PS3.. PS2 offered many games for not so casual gamers and PS3 is starting to do the same.
but yeh your post deserves a new thread...
but i would target Xbox360 for more casual gamers then PS3.. PS2 offered many games for not so casual gamers and PS3 is starting to do the same.
but yeh your post deserves a new thread...
First impressions after checking it all up and installing it. Very little racing done yet so won´t comment to much on that.
The wheel I agree doesn´t look cheap or plastic... Compairing it with my G25 hard to choose the G25 is more of a racing wheel it feels like whereas the 911 is more of a sport cars wheel obviously. Depends on what you drive the 911 wheel feels more at home with TDU, Forza, GT 5 and other console titles whereas G25 more at home with GTR 2, Race 07, Formula racing and all... All this really doesn´t matter while you race so I am not saying any wheel is better suited for such yet.
As for the grip I am so used to the G25 now but I think I will preferr the Fanatec wheel after some use. Very thick grip even thicker then from what I remember on the MOMO Force Red wheel. As for paddles well here the G25 is a lot better. Though the paddle buttons on the 911 wheel does look to be of better quality then the DFP:s. One problem is with such a thick grip if you have small hand and fingers you may have to reach for the paddle button each time to shift and they are easier to miss during a turn then the G25 paddles. Here the 911 branding is clearly a disadvantage.
Pedals doesn´t feel as sturdy as the G25 pedals... They are extremely light weight and even though the brake is not that stiff it requires permanent mounting or they tip over. As for feel not much difference to the G25. The brake does have a bit of a progressive feel but it´s not the same as nixim modded G25 pedals. Understandably since that requires a cockpit more stable then the playseat even. However with so little stiffness they are about as hard to feel as the G25 pedals... If you instead try to move them by hand you see that there is a big difference between them. Good idea but works better on pedals more aimed for people with cockpits. The Fanatec 911 pedals plastic does quirk and such which is a bit unnerving but again something you will get used to...
Time will tell how they hold up however they don´t match the quality feel of the wheel.
As for the shifter... The design here has really suffered to cater to the FFB wheel in your lap console racers... You just can´t connect it firm enough it wobbels forward and backward during shifting... Requires modding. Using the sequential shifter it´s a very minor issue but as use as a 6-shifter it´s not optimum especially since if the G25 shifter has absolutely no resistance this has even more then my SST Lightning shifter. Even more reason to allow you to mount it in more ergonomical positions then just beside the wheel. I hope Fanatec decides to sell some adapter for cockpit owners or those that just want to attach it to a desk.
It´s design has more in with the SST lightning shifter then with theG25 but it´s not at all as precise or have the same solid feeling when you engage a gear. Not that you should expect that in such a wheel. I would really recommend if you buy this wheel and want to use H-shifter to invest in such as well. One thing that feels weird is that the resistance is not even within gears... That you have to use all your force to input reverse gear is nice. You will not do that by misstake but for some reason going for 4th to 5th require excessive force. Many times I stayed in 4th or input 3rd gear because I didn´t pull enough pressure on it. G25 is much easier to work with and find the gears so it depends on what is more important for you.
As for sequential well I could never use the G25 sequential... Again no feel and I tended to push down on it and engage reverse gear... Fanatec 911 feels more like the DFP sequential shifter... Does it´s job perfectly. On this I really like the resistance feels solid.
As for FFB I would have hoped I could have used the same test forces on both is there an application on that? I had issues myself installing the update get just the basic support. Tried a little Race 07 and for sure feels quite different. But to early to tell what I preferr the vibration engines I do like but may make it harder to feel the forces too... Would hope you would get to disable them with updated drivers to see how it performs
The wheel I agree doesn´t look cheap or plastic... Compairing it with my G25 hard to choose the G25 is more of a racing wheel it feels like whereas the 911 is more of a sport cars wheel obviously. Depends on what you drive the 911 wheel feels more at home with TDU, Forza, GT 5 and other console titles whereas G25 more at home with GTR 2, Race 07, Formula racing and all... All this really doesn´t matter while you race so I am not saying any wheel is better suited for such yet.
As for the grip I am so used to the G25 now but I think I will preferr the Fanatec wheel after some use. Very thick grip even thicker then from what I remember on the MOMO Force Red wheel. As for paddles well here the G25 is a lot better. Though the paddle buttons on the 911 wheel does look to be of better quality then the DFP:s. One problem is with such a thick grip if you have small hand and fingers you may have to reach for the paddle button each time to shift and they are easier to miss during a turn then the G25 paddles. Here the 911 branding is clearly a disadvantage.
Pedals doesn´t feel as sturdy as the G25 pedals... They are extremely light weight and even though the brake is not that stiff it requires permanent mounting or they tip over. As for feel not much difference to the G25. The brake does have a bit of a progressive feel but it´s not the same as nixim modded G25 pedals. Understandably since that requires a cockpit more stable then the playseat even. However with so little stiffness they are about as hard to feel as the G25 pedals... If you instead try to move them by hand you see that there is a big difference between them. Good idea but works better on pedals more aimed for people with cockpits. The Fanatec 911 pedals plastic does quirk and such which is a bit unnerving but again something you will get used to...
Time will tell how they hold up however they don´t match the quality feel of the wheel.
As for the shifter... The design here has really suffered to cater to the FFB wheel in your lap console racers... You just can´t connect it firm enough it wobbels forward and backward during shifting... Requires modding. Using the sequential shifter it´s a very minor issue but as use as a 6-shifter it´s not optimum especially since if the G25 shifter has absolutely no resistance this has even more then my SST Lightning shifter. Even more reason to allow you to mount it in more ergonomical positions then just beside the wheel. I hope Fanatec decides to sell some adapter for cockpit owners or those that just want to attach it to a desk.
It´s design has more in with the SST lightning shifter then with theG25 but it´s not at all as precise or have the same solid feeling when you engage a gear. Not that you should expect that in such a wheel. I would really recommend if you buy this wheel and want to use H-shifter to invest in such as well. One thing that feels weird is that the resistance is not even within gears... That you have to use all your force to input reverse gear is nice. You will not do that by misstake but for some reason going for 4th to 5th require excessive force. Many times I stayed in 4th or input 3rd gear because I didn´t pull enough pressure on it. G25 is much easier to work with and find the gears so it depends on what is more important for you.
As for sequential well I could never use the G25 sequential... Again no feel and I tended to push down on it and engage reverse gear... Fanatec 911 feels more like the DFP sequential shifter... Does it´s job perfectly. On this I really like the resistance feels solid.
As for FFB I would have hoped I could have used the same test forces on both is there an application on that? I had issues myself installing the update get just the basic support. Tried a little Race 07 and for sure feels quite different. But to early to tell what I preferr the vibration engines I do like but may make it harder to feel the forces too... Would hope you would get to disable them with updated drivers to see how it performs
I found a new menu after an attempt to reinstall the driver... Heard you where working on that Thomas. Maybe was there earlier too but didn´t find it... Did a bit more Race 07 and yes I felt it helped disabling them. The more I drive the more I am understanding how this wheels FFB works. It´s quite different in feel to the G25 in Race 07. For sure the wheel feels very solid no flex in the driving shaft at all and the FFB gets better the more I get used to it.
I did play around a bit using the S 1 to S 5. I didn´t see this mentioned in the manual what do this setting do? Custom FFB effects? Was quite a clear difference between them. S 5 seemed to activate the throttle based vibration engine effects I noticed.
Also wonder if you Thomas or someone else have tried this wheel in Race 07 or can recommend a title that works good with it... The big difference in force feedback with this is that with the G25 it gets super light if you loose grip on your front wheels... Also vibrations when going over the curbs is stronger then on the Fanatec. The effect on the Fanatec is much more subtle across the board. Have always resistance on the wheels when turning...
Man will be some busy weeks trying out Richard Burns Rally, GTR 2, a lot of rFactor, TDU and what not.
I did play around a bit using the S 1 to S 5. I didn´t see this mentioned in the manual what do this setting do? Custom FFB effects? Was quite a clear difference between them. S 5 seemed to activate the throttle based vibration engine effects I noticed.
Also wonder if you Thomas or someone else have tried this wheel in Race 07 or can recommend a title that works good with it... The big difference in force feedback with this is that with the G25 it gets super light if you loose grip on your front wheels... Also vibrations when going over the curbs is stronger then on the Fanatec. The effect on the Fanatec is much more subtle across the board. Have always resistance on the wheels when turning...
Man will be some busy weeks trying out Richard Burns Rally, GTR 2, a lot of rFactor, TDU and what not.
- 154
Just received my test wheel today. I've made plenty of pictures and videos (to be posted sometime later tonight), however I'm having trouble installing the drivers. It says "Some files failed to install properly." Any ideas where to get the latest ones?
Fanatec?
Fanatec?
- 154
Here are some pictures. I have some videos as well, but need to edit/add some text/explanations to them before posting.
First Impressions:
The Wheel
1. Smells like leather, so it must be leather. It feels very good when you hold it and has a very realistic feel. In fact, the feel of the wheel itself is outstanding! It's even better than the wheel of my benz.
2. Although it is slightly larger than the G25 I don't feel the difference in size when driving. It's very solid, and it does feel like you're driving a real car.
3. The force feedback is pretty smooth, as others have pointed out. I personally think its more like a real road car, but a little less communicative when racing. That's not necessarily a bad thing, just different approach on implementing FF I guess.
4. The quality of the buttons is not bad. Some kind of super clear coated plastic. They also light up in white with numbers when connected to a PC, and red with O, X, [], /\ when connected to PS3.
The D-pad, start/select buttons on the bottom do feel kind of mushy, and you can see the electronics underneath them as you press them, but overall they're pretty ok. They're buttons, and you can press them. Not much else there.
5. The many buttons are convenient, but not as user friendly as the DFP. When holding the wheel at the 3 and 9 o'clock its very easy to hit the 1 and 7 buttons with the edge of your palm.
6. The paddle shifters on the back are pretty solid, made of grippy rubber, and feel pretty good, however they don't line up very well with your fingers.
(I have a video to show what I mean about points 5 & 6, so I'll leave it at that.)
7. The vibration from depressing the gas pedal is actually pretty nice. It's not rumbling or anything, and its much finer than what the G25 and DFP can do. It is vibration, its not rumble, so its pretty subtle and adds a nice effect.
(I also have a video of this, so stay tuned.)
8. The LCD is pretty neat. Being able to set the degrees from there is very convenient, and takes immediate effect, although the actual degree settings could use some tweaking. 180 & 360 are not very realistic pre-sets.
One thing I noticed is that when the wheel is set to 180 or 360, when turning the wheel to those limits, it vibrates. Should it be doing that?
(Not to worry, I also have a video to show that.)
9. The way the wheel is mounted is pretty crap. As far as I can remember all wheels sold on the market were mounted in the same exact way. Two hooks on the side, tightened by a screw that went through the weel. Fanatec, why did you decide to reinvent the wheel here (hmm... pun intended I guess)? I have plenty of issues with the mount, and some videos showing how the wheel never gets a tight mount and comes loose.
More to come...
The Pedals
1. The idea is right, the execution is ...well i dunno. The gas pedal on a real car is normally pretty light, except here its a little too light, and you feel like you're stepping on a piece of flimsy plastic when you press it. I guess its ok, but coming from the G25 it feels flimsy in comparison.
2. Brake pedal also has the right idea, but I don't think its executed correctly. On a real car, after about half an inch or so of travel, the brake does get stiffer, but you can still press it pretty damn far, and that's during the hard press is when your brakes are really working.
Here the brakes begin to work immediately and are about fully depressed when you hit the hard spot. So the brake pedal has actually a really short travel and its not pressure sensitive at all.
The right idea, but not done correctly. As a result it takes a little getting used to, and you have to brake pretty lightly since you don't have much travel or else you'll lock up pretty quick.
On the upside though, it does let you heel-toe pretty nicely.
3. The clutch also has the right idea, acts like a clutch should, except there isn't enough resistance. A real clutch is about as stiff as your brake, and has a pretty long travel. If the clutch was twice as stiff, it wouldn't be bad at all. I imagine getting the travel part right wouldn't be easy since it would need more room in the case, but the stiffness is probably not that hard to fix if stronger springs are added.
Overall pedals are not bad, much better than the DFP pedals, but not as solid feeling as the G25's. With a bit of tweaking they could be pretty good.
The Shifters
1. They're pretty simple, pretty light, and pretty plastic, but they work pretty nice. I was actually curious how they worked, so I unscrewed the 3/4 screws that hold them together and it was nice to see how simple they were, because simple lasts.
Hey Fanatec, in the first picture here, you might want to take a look how that metal tooth sticks out and is pinched by the plastic cover. Doesn't seem to fit right, may be some QC issue you might find interesting.
2. The H-Shifter is a bit weird feeling. It has a lot of resistance going from left to right, but not that much when switching from 3-4. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Given how its designed I guess its ok. Putting it in reverse and going to 5 or 6 th requires much more force than going from 1-2 and 3-4. It seems that the there are some sort of rubber pads on the side that add extra friction or control the resistance. Although it doesn't feel realistic, its not bad when playing. It feels solid, and gives you confidence that you're locked into gear.
Although I could write a term paper on the subtleties of the G25 shifter, (because I've done almost all possible mods on it to improve it, and have taken it apart and studied it more than a dozen times), its actually kind of hard to compare it to the 911 shifter!
The two H-shifter seem to be complements of each other. Whatever the G25 lacks, the 911 has, but whatever the 911 lacks, the G25 one has.
I'll have to figure out exactly what I want to say here, so I'll leave it for later.
3. The sequential shifter is light, simple, and works! Feels somewhat better than the DFP one, but not sure by how much. The G25 sequential shifter seems to have a more solid feel to it than this one.
4. I find the way the two sifters are mounted to the wheel creative and convenient, but absolutely horrible and impractical! There is so much flex when shifting, it makes the wheel, the shifters, and your desk feel flimsy.
Why the two shifter don't have their own separate mounts, I don't know, but really wish they had. The force you add when shifting, converts to side torque on the way the wheel is mounted causing it to come loose from the desk. Especially when shifting in 5th gear!
I feel like the H-shifter would feel so much better if it could be mounted by your side, not by the wheel's side. The wheel's side is great for the sequential shifter, but don't find it practical and immersive for the H-shifter (is immersive a word?)
Others
1. Had some issues with installing the drivers, but not worried there as all of this is beta. Fanatec, just please make sure there are no compatibility problems with other applications, such as the G25 profiler. I don't know if the driver installation is competing for the same resources as the logitech software, but things seems to install fine only when closing the logitech profiler. The issue could not be related, but please test.
2. The gas pedal seemed to go on/off when I was running it wirelessly. I switched to wire, and removed the batteries, and it seems to be occurring less frequently or not at all. Not sure if this is the RF issue you guys were talking about, but I imagine something like this should definitely be worked out before launching the product.
3. The box branding is neat and creative, just make that Made In China a little smaller... make that very small. For a German product it just looks like some kind of a joke, and although it may not mean much to the European customers, for the American market "Made In China" is usually associated with the 99 cent stores, flee markets, and $2 flip flops.
I'll give some more feedback the more I use it. I would be happy to answer any questions any one may have and clarify any of the points above.
First Impressions:
The Wheel
1. Smells like leather, so it must be leather. It feels very good when you hold it and has a very realistic feel. In fact, the feel of the wheel itself is outstanding! It's even better than the wheel of my benz.
2. Although it is slightly larger than the G25 I don't feel the difference in size when driving. It's very solid, and it does feel like you're driving a real car.
3. The force feedback is pretty smooth, as others have pointed out. I personally think its more like a real road car, but a little less communicative when racing. That's not necessarily a bad thing, just different approach on implementing FF I guess.
4. The quality of the buttons is not bad. Some kind of super clear coated plastic. They also light up in white with numbers when connected to a PC, and red with O, X, [], /\ when connected to PS3.
The D-pad, start/select buttons on the bottom do feel kind of mushy, and you can see the electronics underneath them as you press them, but overall they're pretty ok. They're buttons, and you can press them. Not much else there.
5. The many buttons are convenient, but not as user friendly as the DFP. When holding the wheel at the 3 and 9 o'clock its very easy to hit the 1 and 7 buttons with the edge of your palm.
6. The paddle shifters on the back are pretty solid, made of grippy rubber, and feel pretty good, however they don't line up very well with your fingers.
(I have a video to show what I mean about points 5 & 6, so I'll leave it at that.)
7. The vibration from depressing the gas pedal is actually pretty nice. It's not rumbling or anything, and its much finer than what the G25 and DFP can do. It is vibration, its not rumble, so its pretty subtle and adds a nice effect.
(I also have a video of this, so stay tuned.)
8. The LCD is pretty neat. Being able to set the degrees from there is very convenient, and takes immediate effect, although the actual degree settings could use some tweaking. 180 & 360 are not very realistic pre-sets.
One thing I noticed is that when the wheel is set to 180 or 360, when turning the wheel to those limits, it vibrates. Should it be doing that?
(Not to worry, I also have a video to show that.)
9. The way the wheel is mounted is pretty crap. As far as I can remember all wheels sold on the market were mounted in the same exact way. Two hooks on the side, tightened by a screw that went through the weel. Fanatec, why did you decide to reinvent the wheel here (hmm... pun intended I guess)? I have plenty of issues with the mount, and some videos showing how the wheel never gets a tight mount and comes loose.
More to come...
The Pedals
1. The idea is right, the execution is ...well i dunno. The gas pedal on a real car is normally pretty light, except here its a little too light, and you feel like you're stepping on a piece of flimsy plastic when you press it. I guess its ok, but coming from the G25 it feels flimsy in comparison.
2. Brake pedal also has the right idea, but I don't think its executed correctly. On a real car, after about half an inch or so of travel, the brake does get stiffer, but you can still press it pretty damn far, and that's during the hard press is when your brakes are really working.
Here the brakes begin to work immediately and are about fully depressed when you hit the hard spot. So the brake pedal has actually a really short travel and its not pressure sensitive at all.
The right idea, but not done correctly. As a result it takes a little getting used to, and you have to brake pretty lightly since you don't have much travel or else you'll lock up pretty quick.
On the upside though, it does let you heel-toe pretty nicely.
3. The clutch also has the right idea, acts like a clutch should, except there isn't enough resistance. A real clutch is about as stiff as your brake, and has a pretty long travel. If the clutch was twice as stiff, it wouldn't be bad at all. I imagine getting the travel part right wouldn't be easy since it would need more room in the case, but the stiffness is probably not that hard to fix if stronger springs are added.
Overall pedals are not bad, much better than the DFP pedals, but not as solid feeling as the G25's. With a bit of tweaking they could be pretty good.
The Shifters
1. They're pretty simple, pretty light, and pretty plastic, but they work pretty nice. I was actually curious how they worked, so I unscrewed the 3/4 screws that hold them together and it was nice to see how simple they were, because simple lasts.
Hey Fanatec, in the first picture here, you might want to take a look how that metal tooth sticks out and is pinched by the plastic cover. Doesn't seem to fit right, may be some QC issue you might find interesting.
2. The H-Shifter is a bit weird feeling. It has a lot of resistance going from left to right, but not that much when switching from 3-4. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Given how its designed I guess its ok. Putting it in reverse and going to 5 or 6 th requires much more force than going from 1-2 and 3-4. It seems that the there are some sort of rubber pads on the side that add extra friction or control the resistance. Although it doesn't feel realistic, its not bad when playing. It feels solid, and gives you confidence that you're locked into gear.
Although I could write a term paper on the subtleties of the G25 shifter, (because I've done almost all possible mods on it to improve it, and have taken it apart and studied it more than a dozen times), its actually kind of hard to compare it to the 911 shifter!
The two H-shifter seem to be complements of each other. Whatever the G25 lacks, the 911 has, but whatever the 911 lacks, the G25 one has.
I'll have to figure out exactly what I want to say here, so I'll leave it for later.
3. The sequential shifter is light, simple, and works! Feels somewhat better than the DFP one, but not sure by how much. The G25 sequential shifter seems to have a more solid feel to it than this one.
4. I find the way the two sifters are mounted to the wheel creative and convenient, but absolutely horrible and impractical! There is so much flex when shifting, it makes the wheel, the shifters, and your desk feel flimsy.
Why the two shifter don't have their own separate mounts, I don't know, but really wish they had. The force you add when shifting, converts to side torque on the way the wheel is mounted causing it to come loose from the desk. Especially when shifting in 5th gear!
I feel like the H-shifter would feel so much better if it could be mounted by your side, not by the wheel's side. The wheel's side is great for the sequential shifter, but don't find it practical and immersive for the H-shifter (is immersive a word?)
Others
1. Had some issues with installing the drivers, but not worried there as all of this is beta. Fanatec, just please make sure there are no compatibility problems with other applications, such as the G25 profiler. I don't know if the driver installation is competing for the same resources as the logitech software, but things seems to install fine only when closing the logitech profiler. The issue could not be related, but please test.
2. The gas pedal seemed to go on/off when I was running it wirelessly. I switched to wire, and removed the batteries, and it seems to be occurring less frequently or not at all. Not sure if this is the RF issue you guys were talking about, but I imagine something like this should definitely be worked out before launching the product.
3. The box branding is neat and creative, just make that Made In China a little smaller... make that very small. For a German product it just looks like some kind of a joke, and although it may not mean much to the European customers, for the American market "Made In China" is usually associated with the 99 cent stores, flee markets, and $2 flip flops.
I'll give some more feedback the more I use it. I would be happy to answer any questions any one may have and clarify any of the points above.
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I've managed to get the g25 shifter to feel ok, a little more resistance and less clicking noise, however its internal mechanism and how it switches gears with potentiometers is total crap. It's potentiometers are ultra sensitive and don't work well, unless they're given plenty room to be flimsy (as it comes out of the box).
The 911 shifter is designed much better, seems more robust, and also doesn't play when its in gear (unlike the g25 where it whobbles in 3rd and 4th gear), but the plastic makes it feel so cheap and light, that I feel like im gona break it when I shift gears. The clanking sound it makes also doesn't do much to making it feel solid. I feel the resistance and sensation you get when locking it into gear is enough, but I guess since it works on the same spring loaded ball mechanism, it has to make a clicking noise too.
I imagine the 911 click/clank could easily be toned down or removed via the same method the G25 clicking is removed, by stuffing some foam where its spring is, and its about 1,000,000 times easier to do so since its so easy to take apart and put back together.
If the 911 shifter were made of some sort of aluminum or metal, it would have been perfect. I don't feel like it matches the quality of the wheel at all.👎
Also whats up with the absolutely no side to side play in neutral? How am I supposed to feel im not in gear when I first start the game? On top of that, the resistance to move from side to side is much greater than when shifting into gear.
Fanatec, if you develop a more hardcore shifter and sell it separately for $50-$100 bucks you could get a pretty good market just on that. There are not many good shifters out there that both feel and look right.
Or if the cost of improving the shifter alone drove up the wheel price to $400, it would totally be worth it.
The 911 shifter is designed much better, seems more robust, and also doesn't play when its in gear (unlike the g25 where it whobbles in 3rd and 4th gear), but the plastic makes it feel so cheap and light, that I feel like im gona break it when I shift gears. The clanking sound it makes also doesn't do much to making it feel solid. I feel the resistance and sensation you get when locking it into gear is enough, but I guess since it works on the same spring loaded ball mechanism, it has to make a clicking noise too.
I imagine the 911 click/clank could easily be toned down or removed via the same method the G25 clicking is removed, by stuffing some foam where its spring is, and its about 1,000,000 times easier to do so since its so easy to take apart and put back together.
If the 911 shifter were made of some sort of aluminum or metal, it would have been perfect. I don't feel like it matches the quality of the wheel at all.👎
Also whats up with the absolutely no side to side play in neutral? How am I supposed to feel im not in gear when I first start the game? On top of that, the resistance to move from side to side is much greater than when shifting into gear.
Fanatec, if you develop a more hardcore shifter and sell it separately for $50-$100 bucks you could get a pretty good market just on that. There are not many good shifters out there that both feel and look right.
Or if the cost of improving the shifter alone drove up the wheel price to $400, it would totally be worth it.
I think thats just visible to the camera, but in real time, there is none. I didn't really notice any lag if that is what you ask.
However, a girl from the ps3 forums says its only the car.
Anyway guys sorry i been out for so long, I had a TON of crap to do and it is just starting to lessen the load on me. Stayed up over 24 hours doing paper work gahh
haha anyway back to the 911
download dxtweak 2 and compare to your g25 or whatever wired wheel you have... I tried to look for it and maybe I could feel rather then see the 2,5 ms lag or what it was... To put it in perspective a CRT has an input lagg of around 14 ms and how many here perceive lag on CRTs.
But really what I discovered was that it´s just the heavier resistance on the 911 that make it feel like it´s maybe a fraction slower nothing else. I couldn´t spot any difference in response time.
What you should be worried about is the input lagg on many LCD displays but that´s another story... Mine suffers from that quite a bit. I can even see it while playing fps games with fast mouse movements... Not talking ghosting here the time it takes before the image actually changes.
But really what I discovered was that it´s just the heavier resistance on the 911 that make it feel like it´s maybe a fraction slower nothing else
. I couldn´t spot any difference in response time.What you should be worried about is the input lagg on many LCD displays but that´s another story... Mine suffers from that quite a bit. I can even see it while playing fps games with fast mouse movements... Not talking ghosting here the time it takes before the image actually changes.
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- GTRP_Madforce
hey guys,
i have a few questions. I got the wheel a week ago and i am just testing it. Today i used the sequential shifter for the first time and noticed something strange.
can it be that Fanatec has interchanged the up and downshifting in comparison with Logitechs DFP or G25?
Or can in change it somewhere?
I used it with a PS3 and GTP P
please look at the pictures
greetz Tobi
i have a few questions. I got the wheel a week ago and i am just testing it. Today i used the sequential shifter for the first time and noticed something strange.
can it be that Fanatec has interchanged the up and downshifting in comparison with Logitechs DFP or G25?
Or can in change it somewhere?
I used it with a PS3 and GTP P
please look at the pictures
greetz Tobi
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