Fanatec Reveals New $400 CSL Cockpit

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Interemptor
Thanks for the info.

I think I will try the cheaper seat for the start. It's still a lot of cash (wheel 800€, cockpit 400€ and seat 100€) just for the base setup but I really think that I will enjoy this 😅
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I've played this game since its inception (casually with a controller) and always enjoyed it very much but this takes it to a level you wouldn't understand until you did it. If you have kids and a wife please warn them... 😂😂😂
 
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330_D
I've played this game since its inception (casually with a controller) and always enjoyed it very much but this takes it to a level you wouldn't understand until you did it. If you have kids and a wife please warn them... 😂😂😂
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Only 4 months on GT7 and I really love it, even with Pad.

Nope, no wife and no kids. Just 2 annoying cats 😂
 
Interemptor
Never used a wheel and cockpit for racing but want to get one soon. I think this would be a great start. Don't have much space to spare so a smaller cockpit would be better for me.

@330_D Would like to know how the seat feels after a longer session. So if you do some longer stints let me know. 🙂
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Regarding small spaces here is a new example including comments:
 
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ren69mar
Regarding small spaces here is a new example including comments:
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One person in this thread is asking about the rigidity of the pedal deck, here is a test with CSL pedals modified to require 85kg of pressure on the pedal face to reach 100% input at MAX BRF setting.
Most people use significantly less pressure than 85kg on the pedal face which is shown in the video and their flex will be negligible.
The CSL seat also withstands this 85kg pressure without a problem.


Fanatec CSL Load Cell Kit Increased MAX Pressure Mod​

 
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This thing is legit. It's super stiff and translates the signal well. Honestly my 8nm DD Pro isn't enough anymore. I've got everything turned up all the way. It doesn't clip but I'm not struggling. I changed a bunch of settings to what @Kriptical uses and wow. Holy. It's a completely different experience. The consistency with which I can brake and control the throttle is unimaginable in my last rig. Do not believe the naysayers. This thing is awesome. Very nice quality for the money. Comfortable. I'm 6'2 and 205 lbs with long arms and very long legs and have no issues fitting and there is room for more.

If you run Fanatec gear, do not hesitate to buy this thing if you think it might work for you no matter what base you run. It will be fine.
 
Added a seat slider. Do recommend. Makes it completely sizeable for most anybody. My wife is very short and I just had her in it lapping the current time trial. She enjoyed it! I can set it back far enough that I cannot reach the pedals without skitching my rear up in the seat. It also raises it just a little and man it makes a difference as well. This thing continues to be awesome at this point. Definitely recommend if you like the idea of this ecosystem. I believe this will change the game for Fanatec. Selling packages ready to go for 1500 bucks is amazing and they at their current pricing can do it. That's the next step.
 
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super_gt
One person in this thread is asking about the rigidity of the pedal deck, here is a test with CSL pedals modified to require 85kg of pressure on the pedal face to reach 100% input at MAX BRF setting.
Most people use significantly less pressure than 85kg on the pedal face which is shown in the video and their flex will be negligible.
The CSL seat also withstands this 85kg pressure without a problem.


Fanatec CSL Load Cell Kit Increased MAX Pressure Mod​

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Thank you for the video.

Please, when you find some free time, could you please make a new video with the same camera position and the same focus but now in real driving as the first video about rigidity (of course you don't need to set FF to 100% because it was brutal 😉).
 
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ren69mar
Thank you for the video.

Please, when you find some free time, could you please make a new video with the same camera position and the same focus but now in real driving as the first video about rigidity (of course you don't need to set FF to 100% because it was brutal 😉).
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Same race, BRF MAX= 85kg of pressure on the pedal face, ABS Off

 
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super_gt
Same race, BRF MAX= 85kg of pressure on the pedal face, ABS Off

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Hi super_gt!

Thank you for the new video.

Please, start to analyze this video in t=8s.
When you sit in the seat (t=8s), the pedal plate go up (t=9s).

When you push the break in driving, the pedal plate go down (t=20s).
(just follows the leg of the cockpit on the brake side - go down)

The reason for this is your uneven floor and the fact that the cockpit has 6 legs + rubber on the legs to protect the parquet (compression property depending on the thickness) + carpet (compression property depending on the thickness).

Therefore, with strong brake pressure, the rubber and the carpet are compressed as well as the spring or rubber in the brake pedal (the reason is the rigidity of the cockpit itself).

Slight movement is visible here (not bending and deformation of the structure) but is negligible.

This can be avoided by properly leveling the legs (also with harder rubber and with a thinner and harder carpet), but I don't think you should worry about it at all.
 
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Daz555
Looks ok but I do think it will flex a fair bit for for those of us with three pedals due to the brake being closer to the centre.
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No, it will be better because the pressure will be distributed on both legs.
As you can see, the pedal plate (the steel profiles) itself does not bend, but one leg presses more on the floor.
 
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Daz555
Looks ok but I do think it will flex a fair bit for for those of us with three pedals due to the brake being closer to the centre.
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The pedal plate does not flex. No matter the placement you are not strong enough to flex it with your brake in the center. I totally get that people Believe this thing will be a noodle. It's unequivocally not. It's very strong.

Edit to add. It's a lattice structure. It's like a ladder made of thick hardened steel rods, high grade hardware, heavy wall steel tubing, and thick formed plate steel bracing. It's not a lightweight pos. It's fairly heavy.
 
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My pedal plate doesn't flex like that in any way. I don't think he tightened his bolts enough, or he needs to put it on a less cushy carpet. Mine is nothing like that set at 75 percent with CSL load cell brake.

Also will add that a seat slider really should be included with this thing. It's pretty lame that they don't.
 
I didn't have the smaller m6 for the heel side of the plate when I first installed them and they still flexed less than in the video. I'll see if I can get a video of mine. Yours didn't flex at all in your video either...
 
@330_D " Seat is surprisingly comfortable although I prefer a slightly more reclined position"

CSL Cockpit modification to recline the seat.
Simple, cheap and easy modification to recline the seat.
With an additional spacer and a longer bolt, the seat angle can be adjusted very easily.
The spacer(two M10 nuts) I use in the photo is 16mm thick with a 30mm long bolt. I don't know if this will be enough, but a thicker spacer with a longer bolt could be used.
Before changing the angle of the (g) plates, the bolts at the bottom of the M8 cylindrical nut(P2) must be loosened so that the nut can rotate freely on the (d) rod.

DSC01619.JPG
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super_gt
@330_D " Seat is surprisingly comfortable although I prefer a slightly more reclined position"


Simple, cheap and easy modification to recline the seat.
With an additional spacer and a longer bolt, the seat angle can be adjusted very easily.
The spacer(two M10 nuts) I use in the photo is 16mm thick with a 30mm long bolt. I don't know if this will be enough, but a thicker spacer with a longer bolt could be used.
Before changing the angle of the (g) plates, the bolts at the bottom of the M8 cylindrical nut(P2) must be loosened so that the nut can rotate freely on the (d) rod.

DSC01619.JPG
DSC01620.JPG
DSC01621.JPG
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I've thought about it but it's really not bad. The slider came with risers and everything is all the same thread pitch and grade so I have plenty of hardware to adjust. It's literally the only complaint I can come up with so far. Very very happy with it! I really get a kick out of the Internet and its wisdom. Buncha talkers everywhere. The YouTube video comments are absurd, especially considering there are so few of these out in the wild yet. Everyone's an expert.
 
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At first I kind of dismissed this rig as something that might be nice to have if I had more room. But a co-worker this week showed my some pictures of a similar rig he has bought and that got me to start thinking more about maybe this setup could work.

This is my setup but it's an older picture before I got my CSL DD.



I live in a one bedroom apartment so space is critical and so is maneuverability. I have to be able to move it out of the way when not in use. It would have to be moved into this smaller room off of my living room. It looks like when it's assembled that it would take up all of that space against that wall.

20240419_114906 - Copy.jpg


The reason I'm thinking a little more serious about it is as you can see I feel I'm sitting too high in regards to the television so I'm kind of looking down at it. This rig would lower my seating position and I think allow me to see the screen better. (Unless I could be sitting too low in the rig and can't see the top of the screen properly. Also it would fix my seating position to the wheel. Currently I think the wheel is too low when I sit in the chair but it's at the top of the current stand and my chair is as low as it can go.

The questions I have that maybe @330_D or @super_gt could answer is when assembled, how long and wide is it with the seat attached? How heavy is it once assembled? In a few months I will be 59 and I only weigh about 155lbs so I don't want to consider something that might be too heavy for me to slide around.
 
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The length and width are 65x130cm. It's got holes in the feet you could easily mount caster wheels to to roll it around. But honestly it's not too bad to move as is. You can grab the seat and the brace bar in front of the wheelbase and sort of straddle it. Would be hard to go through a door without casters, though, unless you had another person.
 
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330_D
The length and width are 65x130mm. It's got holes in the feet you could easily mount caster wheels to to roll it around. But honestly it's not too bad to move as is. You can grab the seat and the brace bar in front of the wheelbase and sort of straddle it. Would be hard to go through a door without casters, though, unless you had another person.
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Or do you mean 65cmx130cm? That would be 51 inches long by 25.5 inches wide. Currently I use those round furniture sliders underneath the feet of the stand to slide it from in front of the tv to that room. The opposite wall in that little storage room is wider than where the stand is now so it might fit better there when not in use. I'm going to have to do some thinking on it.
 
Furniture sliders would likely be fine on your carpet, I would imagine. I did not weigh the rig but I assume it to be 60 pounds or so. It's not unmanageably heavy, just sort of awkward. It does have places to grab, though.

Yes. Cm. I messed it up. 👍

I think the height of your television would be good with the lower seating position as well. Casters or sliders and I think you could make it work from the looks of things in your pictures. Obviously measure things to be sure but don't count this out. It's a great little cockpit. I keep on enjoying it more and more as I get used to how to drive with a solid rig 🤯💪
 
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330_D
Furniture sliders would likely be fine on your carpet, I would imagine. I did not weigh the rig but I assume it to be 60 pounds or so. It's not unmanageably heavy, just sort of awkward. It does have places to grab, though.

Yes. Cm. I messed it up. 👍

I think the height of your television would be good with the lower seating position as well. Casters or sliders and I think you could make it work from the looks of things in your pictures. Obviously measure things to be sure but don't count this out. It's a great little cockpit. I keep on enjoying it more and more as I get used to how to drive with a solid rig 🤯💪
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I've ordered it. I hope I haven't made a huge mistake. I'm also not very good at assembling things so I hope that goes well.

All weekend I've been looking at all of the possibilities. I've knelt down in front of the tv to try and estimate what my seating position would be. I almost ruled it out because I thought the wheel would be blocking the screen and you would have to be looking through the wheel especially with the D shaped rim attached. But then I looked at some of the pictures and videos and realized your head is still above the wheel. So it should be good.

@330_D How long did it take to get it after you ordered? Also do you think I need the seat slider if it's only going to be me using it? You can still adjust the seat back and forth without the seat slider right? Just maybe not as quickly?
 
I ordered it on a Saturday late evening and it was at my house the following Friday. You probably won't need a seat slider. I like the extra inch and a half height between it and the spacer it requires. You can try it and see and if it's not great for you, just order one later. Take your time with assembly. Watch the video and follow exactly the steps. After it's assembled and tightened make sure you retighten everything after some time. It'll relax a little once it's in position and bears weight a few times. I put a few turns on a few of the nuts after the third day. Not all of them but some. They have remained right since.

I think you'll probably be extremely happy with this little rig.
 
Jezza819
I've ordered it. I hope I haven't made a huge mistake. I'm also not very good at assembling things so I hope that goes well.

All weekend I've been looking at all of the possibilities. I've knelt down in front of the tv to try and estimate what my seating position would be. I almost ruled it out because I thought the wheel would be blocking the screen and you would have to be looking through the wheel especially with the D shaped rim attached. But then I looked at some of the pictures and videos and realized your head is still above the wheel. So it should be good.

@330_D How long did it take to get it after you ordered? Also do you think I need the seat slider if it's only going to be me using it? You can still adjust the seat back and forth without the seat slider right? Just maybe not as quickly?
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very real view of the cockpit:
 
Well mine has been shipped and is supposed to be delivered tomorrow by FedEx. However, with this requirement that Fanatec has where there must be a physical signature, I'm not sure how it's going to go. When I got my Universal Hub and new rim a few months ago I had to get them diverted to the FedEx store up the street after 3 attempts because I live alone and there's nobody there during the day to physically sign for them. I happen to work right next to where I live and I see the FedEx drivers every day so I've asked both of them if they have those boxes tomorrow can I sign here at work for them and then they drop them off next door at my apartment. I would have them delivered here at work but they're too big to fit in my car.
 

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