Building my first rig - Fanatec GT3RS Wheel/CSL Elite pedals... need help!

[alexb9971]

Hi all,

Thanks for letting me join. I am a newbie to sim racing, while have some track day experience with my Prosche 997. Bought a set of Fanatec GT3 RS Wheels plus CSL Elite pedals (and shifter), over 8yr ago... but then life changed and moved to a condo with no room to set them up.

Kept them all these years, and now that I have my own office, would like to set them up. Need some help. While I have my own office, it's also not huge, I have a bike for workout and weights also in here taking up room. What's min setup?

1. I have both Desktop and Xbox One X, would either work or the wheel is only PC?
2. Are these wheels/pedals compatible with latest PC/Xbox games? or they're obsolete?
3. I have a large desk that can accommodate 2-3 monitors (only have 1 now), but mounting the steering wheel maybe difficult as it's glass top, plus it has a drawer underneath... so not sure how tight I could mount the steering wheel to the desk?!
4. I have a regular desk chair, it won't work for sim racing, but is there's a way to make it stop moving during driving?
5. Do I need a sim rig with seat/stand, or just a stand? It needs to be compact, or fold for storage... or should I first try my desk setup?
6. For high quality sim racing (iRacing, etc...) what GPU is recommended? I have a GTX 1070 now, and eventually might wanna get 2-3 monitors.

Any other pointers would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!

PS. Located in Canada, but can order/pickup stuff in US.

 

[IfAndOr]

Hi @alexb9971.

1. I think you'd have more success on the PC than the console. They require "security chips" these days to make peripherals compatible. PCs usually have a way of making things work.
2. Same as above really.
3. The glass is usually toughened tempered stuff, but even so I'd be cautious of clamping a wheelbase to it. It might work, but then again it might not. And the might not could be a bit dangerous.
4. If you don't require it to move around you can swap the castors out for feet. If you still need it to move you can get Caster cups. You sit the wheels in them.
5. A rig would be nice, but a stand might just suit you instead of clamping to your desk. Many of them fold up. Smaller than a full rig too.
6. No idea. I'm a console guy these days. What I can say, what you'll need is probably expensive. 😉

 

[RJ83]

Hi all,

Thanks for letting me join. I am a newbie to sim racing, while have some track day experience with my Prosche 997. Bought a set of Fanatec GT3 RS Wheels plus CSL Elite pedals (and shifter), over 8yr ago... but then life changed and moved to a condo with no room to set them up.

Kept them all these years, and now that I have my own office, would like to set them up. Need some help. While I have my own office, it's also not huge, I have a bike for workout and weights also in here taking up room. What's min setup?

1. I have both Desktop and Xbox One X, would either work or the wheel is only PC?
2. Are these wheels/pedals compatible with latest PC/Xbox games? or they're obsolete?
3. I have a large desk that can accommodate 2-3 monitors (only have 1 now), but mounting the steering wheel maybe difficult as it's glass top, plus it has a drawer underneath... so not sure how tight I could mount the steering wheel to the desk?!
4. I have a regular desk chair, it won't work for sim racing, but is there's a way to make it stop moving during driving?
5. Do I need a sim rig with seat/stand, or just a stand? It needs to be compact, or fold for storage... or should I first try my desk setup?
6. For high quality sim racing (iRacing, etc...) what GPU is recommended? I have a GTX 1070 now, and eventually might wanna get 2-3 monitors.

Any other pointers would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!

PS. Located in Canada, but can order/pickup stuff in US.

I used to have the same wheel. If i were you i would start saving for a direct drive wheel though. My Logitech Pro is from another world compared to my old wheel.
1.+2. PC only. Although you could look into Drivehub if you really want to continue using that wheel with consoles.
3. The GT3 RS originally came with a desk mount. If you have it you could try it out. But i don't think it can accomodate a drawer. The GT3 RS is not so powerful so it should not have to be extremely tight mounted
4. I have everything on wheels so i can easily move everything into and out of place. My room allows me to put a table behind my chair, and the table presses against two recliners.
5. I have my direct drive wheel on a wheelstand. It works fine as long as i hold the wheel with two hands. When i do the manual h pattern shifting, then the wheel starts to move the frame up and down (2/3 force feedback strength). So a rig is better if you will be upgrading your wheel and you have the space.
6. I'm only playing Assetto Corsa (pc) and am saving up for an RTX 4080 pc. That would allow me to play it in 4k with 120fps. Newer games obviously will be more demanding. But with all the awesome graphics-, track- and car mods, i don't really have an interest in other sim racing games. (Currently i'm using a gaming laptop with an RTX 3050 graphics card, hooked up to a projector, and this runs Assetto Corsa just fine in 1080p / 60fps. But then again, it's a 10 year old game.)

 

[alexb9971]

Thanks guys... I did a trial, I mounted the wheel to my desk, it wouldn't fit, but luckily I could remove the drawer underneath, and clamped the wheel directly to the glass. It was very hard to make it tight as then it's quite narrow without the drawer but I managed. Then connected the pedals, joined iRacing and did some laps.

It actually works quite OK, no need for wheelstand, etc... only issue was my chair at times moved (on carpet), so 100% need to secure the chair somehow. What caster cups work?!

In terms of GPU, my 1070 handled one 1080P monitor, in iRacing, but I have no idea what sort of graphics setting it was using, iRacing doesn't give you too many options. I tried Forza 3 (from my Xbox) installed on PC, but I coudn't at all make it recognize the wheels or pedals, no idea how to make it work.

So, for now, I need to remove drawer, mount the wheel and pedals... play, then remove all when I wanna go back to using PC normally. It's annoying BUT it's also not as cumbersome as a separate stand, seat, etc... I think for the time being until I am better this would be my setup. I however might invest in a GPU and add more monitors. The visibility in iRacing with one monitor isn't great, I can't see the apex very well, I am sure in time I could get used to it, but it sure doesn't feel like real car driving.

Would having 3 1080P monitors (24") increase the experience that much?! Or it is better to get a direct drive/wheel/stands instead?

 

[IfAndOr]

What caster cups work?!

Actually I suppose what I meant was caster stoppers. Try typing that in Amazon and see what you get. You could also replace the current ones with locking casters.

I'm glad it works on your desk. Saves a bit of money.

 

[alexb9971]

Actually I suppose what I meant was caster stoppers. Try typing that in Amazon and see what you get. You could also replace the current ones with locking casters.

I'm glad it works on your desk. Saves a bit of money.

For sure, also wife wouldn't mind as much, and she may not even know! She thinks the steering wheel is decoration!