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[vsfit]

Ok so curiosity got the cat now.......I am in a position where I am in need of replacing my good ol' reliable G27, due to the "popping into neutral" issue I'm dealing with every time I use it! I want to know why people are considering a Fanatec wheel, pedals, etc. Does this wheel make you any faster/better, or is this simply a matter of the more realistic feel of the wheel, over the Logitechs, Thrustmasters, etc? Either reason absolute makes sense from a personal preference perspective, but unless shelling out the cash for one of those wheel/pedal setups is going to make me feared by the "snailiens" in D1, it's not an option for me. If I want to feel a realistic wheel and pedal set up, I'll go jump in my real life car and find my favorite winding road to test it's limits on. I have no problem paying the extra money for a quality wheel, but it has to be quite noticeable from an on-track performance side of things, if you know what I mean?
If anyone that has gone from a regular wheel to a Fanatec could chime in on why you chose that wheel, and what's it's done for you in your sim racing experiences, that would be greatly appreciated, like I said I have to replace mine, sooner rather than later!

- I switched to the CSL Elite after the bearing housing snapped off my G29 (started as a little wobble in the wheel). In terms of build and quality, there really is no comparison to the G29 (not sure of Thrustmaster), it's definitely one of the "you get what you pay for" products.

- Has it made me faster.....Yes, without a doubt. How? It's made me slow down and reduce the amount of self-induced dumb**s incidents caused from overdriving everything.
I personally feel the force feedback combined with the brake force reduction gives me a better feel for weight transfer and loading/unloading both under braking and acceleration. I can't really explain the feeling, but I've always struggled with front wheel drive cars and out of 4 sport mode races last night I ended the night with a first, a couple of second place finishes and closed it out with a third place in my last race with the VW Scirocco. I'm strictly talking about GT Sport and comparing my experiences with the cars and wheels in this game.

 

[JLBowler]

I've gone from a DF Pro to a DFGT to a G27 and now to a Thrustmaster T300. There was a clear upgrade when I went from the gear drive of the G27 to the belt drive of the Thrustmaster. Feedback was much smoother and a lot more subtle inputs came through.

The pedals were a huge upgrade from the DFGT to the G27. I kept my G27 pedals to use with the Thrustmaster and a ricometch adapter. The adapter with the Thrustmaster increased the fidelity of the G27 pedals and I noticed a small improvement there.

I can't speak for any of the Fanatec products as I've never owned any of them. I can say that I have had zero issues with my Thrustmaster wheel while I had multiple warranty replacements of my G27.

As far as upgraded equipment making you faster. I would say that the pedal upgrade helped a little bit, just because I was able to better modulate the gas and brake pedal as they were stiffer than what I had with the DFGT. Pedal modulation is still a learned skill, it was just easier to learn and execute with the G27 pedals. When it comes to the wheel, I don't know that there is any improvement in lap times or car control but the immersion, overall experience, and comfort level is much better with the Thrustmaster than any of the logitech products. This may lead to playing more which defaults to more practice time which should make your lap times come down. I wouldn't attribute that directly to an upgraded wheel as you could choose to spend more time practicing with your current equipment.

 

[Rob Brown]

Ok so curiosity got the cat now.......I am in a position where I am in need of replacing my good ol' reliable G27, due to the "popping into neutral" issue I'm dealing with every time I use it! I want to know why people are considering a Fanatec wheel, pedals, etc. Does this wheel make you any faster/better, or is this simply a matter of the more realistic feel of the wheel, over the Logitechs, Thrustmasters, etc? Either reason absolute makes sense from a personal preference perspective, but unless shelling out the cash for one of those wheel/pedal setups is going to make me feared by the "snailiens" in D1, it's not an option for me. If I want to feel a realistic wheel and pedal set up, I'll go jump in my real life car and find my favorite winding road to test it's limits on. I have no problem paying the extra money for a quality wheel, but it has to be quite noticeable from an on-track performance side of things, if you know what I mean?
If anyone that has gone from a regular wheel to a Fanatec could chime in on why you chose that wheel, and what's it's done for you in your sim racing experiences, that would be greatly appreciated, like I said I have to replace mine, sooner rather than later!

I encourage you to check out simpit videos on Fanatec equipment. (Read on, even though these videos will probably tell you what you want to know.) I don’t hear anybody claiming that the Fanatec equipment makes them faster. I think it makes the experience more enjoyable. As much time as I spend sim racing, it’s a no-brainer to make this kind of investment for high-end equipment. (I currently have a Playseat + G29, no stick shift). I think the larger wheel has more to do with higher force feedback capability. I have a friend who says it’s the v3 pedals with damper that make all the difference to him not the CSL elite [steering] although it’s good. Goes back to making a great experience. And keep in mind that the V3 pedals can operate independently of the wheel (meaning keep your thrustmaster or logitech wheel. Sorry yours is shot). Personally, I don’t want to buy the CSL elite. I wish the V2.5 wheel was available for the PS4. BTW, I hate the Fanatec website. Absolutely sucks. Unequivocally confusing. Stack on top that direct drive wheel is on the way (but who knows when). I realize you need a wheel immediately, but maybe what I wrote can be pieced into something useful.

 

[SAMHAIN85]

I can say that I have had zero issues with my Thrustmaster wheel

Lucky you - I've had my wheel crap out on me twice on Sunday nights which I already posted about (one time on the final lap after leading the whole race ). Not to mention the random button presses (the options menu being brought up mid-race without actually pushing the button).

Happy to report that since I've updated to the latest firmware and since the latest GT patch, I have had zero issues. I know @Oshawa-Joe was having the same problems. Have they gone away for you?

I also keep my force feedback settings turned way down to 2/2 after users reporting that their wheels give out over time if the ffb is cranked up too high.

 

[Kgeldersma]

If you are playing racing sims not named gran turismo, I would get the fanatec without a doubt. If you are solely using it for gran turismo, I'd seriously consider a g29 or TM tc-gt. I have a fanatec csl with clubsport pedals. The pedals (even csl elites) are leaps and bounds over anything at logitech or thrustmaster offer that works on the console, however GT sport does not have the software right for the fanatec wheel. A bunch of problems and glitches are happening and the wheel isn't even 100% interfaced with the game yet. It's been very frustrating on my end. Especially when I can load up assetto corsa and its pretty much flawless. PD has some work to do to get this wheel right with the game. Who knows if and when PD will get this right, it's been a waiting game.

Some problems are, when the car understeers, the wheel shakes which is not very accurate. If anything the steering should lighten up.
Also experienced during a race when it glitches and the wheel shakes violently left to right. 2 options of either rebooting the wheel mid race or just trying to hang on to it to see if it quits. Also the turning radius isn't always accurate from car to car. Shift lights are not currently working.

On a further note, keep the corvette gt 3. I love that car! And the GT junior formula car is a blast, dont know about sport mediums on that car IMO, I understand snail has its tire formula. I just feel a race car should be on race tires.

 

[Hanable]

Hmm this wheel debate is getting interesting.

 

[vsfit]

If you are playing racing sims not named gran turismo, I would get the fanatec without a doubt. If you are solely using it for gran turismo, I'd seriously consider a g29 or TM tc-gt. I have a fanatec csl with clubsport pedals. The pedals (even csl elites) are leaps and bounds over anything at logitech or thrustmaster offer that works on the console, however GT sport does not have the software right for the fanatec wheel. A bunch of problems and glitches are happening and the wheel isn't even 100% interfaced with the game yet. It's been very frustrating on my end. Especially when I can load up assetto corsa and its pretty much flawless. PD has some work to do to get this wheel right with the game.

Some problems are, when the car understeers, the wheel shakes which is not very accurate. If anything the steering should lighten up.
Also experienced during a race when it glitches and the wheel shakes violently left to right. 2 options of either rebooting the wheel mid race or just trying to hang on to it to see if it quits. Also the turning radius isn't always accurate from car to car. Shift lights are not currently working.

On a further note, keep the corvette gt 3. I love that car! And the GT junior formula car is a blast, dont know about sport mediums on that car IMO, I understand snail has its tire formula.

I agree with Kg. The wheel in Assetto Corsa is absolutely flawless. It really does make that game come alive!
I'm really close to eliminating the clipping you get with the understeer. I'm getting the pitch and yaw feel now that I get in AC. What are your drift settings?
And I agree with everyone on the useless website.

 

[Kgeldersma]

I agree with Kg. The wheel in Assetto Corsa is absolutely flawless. It really does make that game come alive!
I'm really close to eliminating the clipping you get with the understeer. I'm getting the pitch and yaw feel now that I get in AC. What are your drift settings?
And I agree with everyone on the useless website.

I tinkered a little bit based on others feedback and played with their settings. But in most cases it fixed some problems and created or exploited other issues. Currently I'm just reset and am running stock settings. I have to play with it more yet. Was having so many issues, I re downloaded the latest firmware last week to reset it and haven't bothered with it since.

 

[Kgeldersma]

Vsfit, I see you're from michigan.... grand Rapids area here.

 

[Kgeldersma]

And keep in mind that the V3 pedals can operate independently of the wheel (meaning keep your thrustmaster or logitech wheel. Sorry yours is shot).

I might be wrong, but I dont think you can just plug and play other wheel brands into fanatec pedal set. I believe it's possible but you have to run an adapter with software or something to fool the wheel base that you are using brand "X" pedal set and not fanatec's. Like a back door piggyback system. Atleast for console use.

 

[vsfit]

Vsfit, I see you're from michigan.... grand Rapids area here.

I'm in the Oakland Township/Rochester Hills area. I do visit GR on occasion, I actually considered moving there and opening a business in the downtown business market.

 

[SAMHAIN85]

Vsfit, I see you're from michigan.... grand Rapids area here.

@Gr8_Lakes is in MI but has left us for the darkside (pcars)

 

[Gr8_Lakes]

But still lurking eerily close by...

(Funny how I was looking at the thread just as you posted.)

 

[aLmk]

Ok so curiosity got the cat now.......I am in a position where I am in need of replacing my good ol' reliable G27, due to the "popping into neutral" issue I'm dealing with every time I use it! I want to know why people are considering a Fanatec wheel, pedals, etc. Does this wheel make you any faster/better, or is this simply a matter of the more realistic feel of the wheel, over the Logitechs, Thrustmasters, etc? Either reason absolute makes sense from a personal preference perspective, but unless shelling out the cash for one of those wheel/pedal setups is going to make me feared by the "snailiens" in D1, it's not an option for me. If I want to feel a realistic wheel and pedal set up, I'll go jump in my real life car and find my favorite winding road to test it's limits on. I have no problem paying the extra money for a quality wheel, but it has to be quite noticeable from an on-track performance side of things, if you know what I mean?
If anyone that has gone from a regular wheel to a Fanatec could chime in on why you chose that wheel, and what's it's done for you in your sim racing experiences, that would be greatly appreciated, like I said I have to replace mine, sooner rather than later!

I can’t speak for the Fanatec wheels, but I can say that my pace has improved since switching from the G27 to the T300. The feedback from the T300 is much more detailed, allowing me to more easily feel the limit and catch mistakes. I would think with higher-end wheels, like the Fanatec offerings, the improvement in feedback would be even more.

Depending on your budget and timeline, you may want to consider the direct drive wheel that Feel VR is soon to release. You can read more about that here: https://www.gtplanet.net/feel-vr-af...wheel-kickstarter-raises-288000-in-first-day/.

Lucky you - I've had my wheel crap out on me twice on Sunday nights which I already posted about (one time on the final lap after leading the whole race ). Not to mention the random button presses (the options menu being brought up mid-race without actually pushing the button).

Happy to report that since I've updated to the latest firmware and since the latest GT patch, I have had zero issues. I know @Oshawa-Joe was having the same problems. Have they gone away for you?

I also keep my force feedback settings turned way down to 2/2 after users reporting that their wheels give out over time if the ffb is cranked up too high.

I used to have random button presses as well, but since updating the firmware, this has not happened once.

 

[Oshawa-Joe]

Lucky you - I've had my wheel crap out on me twice on Sunday nights which I already posted about (one time on the final lap after leading the whole race ). Not to mention the random button presses (the options menu being brought up mid-race without actually pushing the button).

Happy to report that since I've updated to the latest firmware and since the latest GT patch, I have had zero issues. I know @Oshawa-Joe was having the same problems. Have they gone away for you?

I also keep my force feedback settings turned way down to 2/2 after users reporting that their wheels give out over time if the ffb is cranked up too high.

I've had no issues with the wheel in over a month since updating the firmware and increasing the keyboard delay under ps4 menu. Not sure which one helped because I made the changes the same day. Prior to that I was having the random button issue several times every day.

FFB in GTS 2/6

 

[Hanable]

Idk about the fanatec yet but everyone i know love thrustmaster stuff over logitech. Build and feel wise. I was leaning towards the wheel designed for gtsport before fanatec had to entice me with there stuff.

 

[JLBowler]

For me, the cost of Fanatec's stuff is a non-starter. If I'm going to spend that kind of money on something hobby related, it's not going to be on sim racing. It's most likely going to get spent on something related to golf, cigars, or whisky.

 

[Rob Brown]

I had the impression from what I was told that you don’t plug the Fanatec pedals into the other brands wheels, rather you would plug it in to the PS4 separately. It was one of the guys in Lobanaro lounge that told me.

 

[TomMang_68]

Just a friendly reminder -

If you raced in D1 this week, you get to make one suggestion from which @SAMHAIN85 will make his selection. Do so in this thread and the deadline is 11:59 PM ET on Tuesday.

@aLmk @src_ej6 @spidermonkey@Nicktune @nmcp1 @Grandpa Money@MikeGrove @Neutty @GTPvw_slc@Kgffy @TomMang_68 @MajorBlixem

I’ll post a combo tonight before the deadline.

 

[TEX36]

@Oshawa-Joe
"since updating the firmware and increasing the keyboard delay under ps4 menu"

Pray tell, what does that mean, and, how do you do it?

 

[aLmk]

@Oshawa-Joe
"since updating the firmware and increasing the keyboard delay under ps4 menu"

Pray tell, what does that mean, and, how do you do it?

To update the firmware you have to plug the wheel into a PC. You can find the firmware update procedure as a document listed here: https://support.thrustmaster.com/en/product/t300rs-en/.

 

[TEX36]

Oh - I thought that applied to all wheels.
Thanks for taking time to educate one from a previous Time.

 

[spidermonkey]

For me, the cost of Fanatec's stuff is a non-starter. If I'm going to spend that kind of money on something hobby related, it's not going to be on sim racing. It's most likely going to get spent on something related to golf, cigars, or whisky.

Yeah, Im a putter guy and spend too much money on ridiculous amount of putters to which I can say none have lowered my handicap

Here's my OH YEAH putter

 

[SAMHAIN85]

To update the firmware you have to plug the wheel into a PC. You can find the firmware update procedure as a document listed here: https://support.thrustmaster.com/en/product/t300rs-en/.

I think Tex was referring to:

keyboard delay under ps4 menu

I'm also curious what this does and if it can have effect on anything

 

[SAMHAIN85]

to which I can say none have lowered my handicap

This might help

 

[Oshawa-Joe]

@Oshawa-Joe
"since updating the firmware and increasing the keyboard delay under ps4 menu"

Pray tell, what does that mean, and, how do you do it?

The T300 wheels have been experiencing issues with random ghost button presses, usually selecting the option button mid corner. I had a T300 for over 2 years and never had it happen even once. Picked up a new T300 and was having this random ghost button couple times a day.

You already know about the T300 firmware updare. I also dug around the ps4 menu and found a way to increase the input delay for a keyboard. Not sure if the T300 buttons are affected by the delay options but I haven't had an issue in over 4 weeks.

 

[aLmk]

@JLBowler @SAMHAIN85
My pick for Prize A is:
Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track 2013 (on SM tires) at Tsukuba Circuit (18:00 Clear). Approximate lap times are 1:07.

 

[JLBowler]

Yeah, Im a putter guy and spend too much money on ridiculous amount of putters to which I can say none have lowered my handicap

Here's my OH YEAH putter
View attachment 730571

I've never been too big on putters. I see it as a flat stick and as long as it feels good, I'm good with it. You should check out the Toulon Garage. You might be able to go broke in that place.

 

[spidermonkey]

@JLBowler @SAMHAIN85 my prize pick:

Car: S-FR racing concept '16 SS tires
Track: Interlagos
Time: Morning 0930
Lap: 1:44.000

 

[Hanable]

@JLBowler @SAMHAIN85 my prize pick:

Car: S-FR racing concept '16 SS tires
Track: Interlagos
Time: Morning 0930
Lap: 1:44.000

The standard s-fr is pretty fun. Sucks the concept is without cockpit view.