- 161
- mf-dif
- SCTuning
Update 11/02/10:
Initial set-up video review with Playseat Evo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-4dCKNrju4
NEW Firmware 681 gameplay video review with GT5P, Dirt 2 and NFS Shift.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we-1x0ufOlE
Just for some background, the wheels that I have owned most recently include the Logitech G25 and MS Xbox 360 wheels. So I will be offering some comparisons between those. I'm 100% a console guy...so I cannot speak to things PC.
The wheel itself is a little bit larger than the G25 and a lot larger than the MS unit. It has what I believe to be the core of the GT3 RS Fanatec wheel…same shape and face. The grip however is rubber and not anthracite. I’m fine with rubber grips…the MS rubber wheel grip is great but this one I’m not a fan of. Mainly because it feels sticky. I think it’s purely a preference thing, but the rubber grips too well. With gaming wheels and real driving, when I turn right, I like to slowly release my grip and allow the wheel to rotate back to the left and return to a straight line. Can’t really do that with this because it sticks right to your hands.
The button integration is very slickly done. All the silver markings you see are button with multiple touch points. I was a bit worried since I only use this on PS3 since I didn’t see anything that looked like a dpad…but its there on the bottom spoke very natural looking.
The gearshift while it doesn’t look as good as the Logitech offerings, feels a lot better than the G25. It’s tight, has good resistance, and the piston handle is very sturdy. The G25 was very sloppy and hollow feeling. The only thing that catches me up sometimes is a mis-shift into 2nd…since reverse gear is up and to the left.
The pedal gets the job done but is one of the weak points in this package. The gas pedal I really like…feels great. The brake pedal while it has a good amount of resistance…has a very short amount of travel. Essentially pressing what would be considered half way, is the bottom of the pedal travel. The clutch pedal is springy…feels good until about half way…after that it falls right down to the floor with little resistance.
So the important part…how it works. The wheel itself has decent force feedback. If you’ve never had a FF wheel before you will be blown away. If you have…again comparing it to the G25 chain drive (as this model is chain drive as well), it feels a little lazy. It’s not as snappy as the Logitech offerings. The Fanatec can give you a forearm work out for sure…but it acts kind of lazily while doing so. It’s not as “twitchy”…but for some that could be a big plus. The gearshift is awesome feeling, and the pedals respond very well to minor inputs. There are a lot of options to the wheel that you can adjust on the fly that the Logitech wheels simply don’t offer. You can adjust dead zones, FF, abs, and a few more I can’t remember…but it also lets you save multiple setups.
Compatibility wise…it works on GT5P, NFS Shift, Dirt 2….those are the only games I def know it works on that I can speak for. It does not work on Sega Rally Evo…where the G25 did. I dunno what that means…but I suspect older PS3 games this may not work on….although GT5P is really old but I’m sure they designed this wheel with that game on their radar.
Overall for the price, this is not a bad buy. With a FF wheel, 3 pedals, and 6spd gearbox…nothing really offers all that at this price unless you go used market. It is exactly what I believe Fanatec set this wheel out to be…a casual games wheel. It’s not as rewarding as a high-end wheel, but right in the middle ground that gives you a taste of what those 300-400 wheels could be like.
Initial set-up video review with Playseat Evo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-4dCKNrju4
NEW Firmware 681 gameplay video review with GT5P, Dirt 2 and NFS Shift.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we-1x0ufOlE
Just for some background, the wheels that I have owned most recently include the Logitech G25 and MS Xbox 360 wheels. So I will be offering some comparisons between those. I'm 100% a console guy...so I cannot speak to things PC.
The wheel itself is a little bit larger than the G25 and a lot larger than the MS unit. It has what I believe to be the core of the GT3 RS Fanatec wheel…same shape and face. The grip however is rubber and not anthracite. I’m fine with rubber grips…the MS rubber wheel grip is great but this one I’m not a fan of. Mainly because it feels sticky. I think it’s purely a preference thing, but the rubber grips too well. With gaming wheels and real driving, when I turn right, I like to slowly release my grip and allow the wheel to rotate back to the left and return to a straight line. Can’t really do that with this because it sticks right to your hands.
The button integration is very slickly done. All the silver markings you see are button with multiple touch points. I was a bit worried since I only use this on PS3 since I didn’t see anything that looked like a dpad…but its there on the bottom spoke very natural looking.
The gearshift while it doesn’t look as good as the Logitech offerings, feels a lot better than the G25. It’s tight, has good resistance, and the piston handle is very sturdy. The G25 was very sloppy and hollow feeling. The only thing that catches me up sometimes is a mis-shift into 2nd…since reverse gear is up and to the left.
The pedal gets the job done but is one of the weak points in this package. The gas pedal I really like…feels great. The brake pedal while it has a good amount of resistance…has a very short amount of travel. Essentially pressing what would be considered half way, is the bottom of the pedal travel. The clutch pedal is springy…feels good until about half way…after that it falls right down to the floor with little resistance.
So the important part…how it works. The wheel itself has decent force feedback. If you’ve never had a FF wheel before you will be blown away. If you have…again comparing it to the G25 chain drive (as this model is chain drive as well), it feels a little lazy. It’s not as snappy as the Logitech offerings. The Fanatec can give you a forearm work out for sure…but it acts kind of lazily while doing so. It’s not as “twitchy”…but for some that could be a big plus. The gearshift is awesome feeling, and the pedals respond very well to minor inputs. There are a lot of options to the wheel that you can adjust on the fly that the Logitech wheels simply don’t offer. You can adjust dead zones, FF, abs, and a few more I can’t remember…but it also lets you save multiple setups.
Compatibility wise…it works on GT5P, NFS Shift, Dirt 2….those are the only games I def know it works on that I can speak for. It does not work on Sega Rally Evo…where the G25 did. I dunno what that means…but I suspect older PS3 games this may not work on….although GT5P is really old but I’m sure they designed this wheel with that game on their radar.
Overall for the price, this is not a bad buy. With a FF wheel, 3 pedals, and 6spd gearbox…nothing really offers all that at this price unless you go used market. It is exactly what I believe Fanatec set this wheel out to be…a casual games wheel. It’s not as rewarding as a high-end wheel, but right in the middle ground that gives you a taste of what those 300-400 wheels could be like.
Last edited:
Anyone know if f/w update 681 is still available for d/l. I can't get the link at Thomas' site to work, the older 678 will download but not 681?
