Fanatec Announcements: CSW V2 Reviews Out

  • Thread starter Crispy
  • 13,388 comments
  • 1,322,119 views
I was fortunate to get my CSW base, V2 peddles, BMW rim and F1 rim at launch here in Southern California. While the BMW rim was DOA on arrival they’re customer service tech support staff in Germany were very quick to respond politely and professionally about the issue the very same day (within hours actually) of my first email to them. I followed their detailed procedural instructions per their website and I had a fully functional rim the next business day. I can’t speak for anyone else’s experiences, but my first time experience with the brand has been positive. I hope it continues :)

I’m thoroughly enjoying driving with this new gear. The feel and immersion factor is just amazing and fun. It takes my previous G25 fun filled experiences to a whole different level. I don’t think I could ever go back to non-load cell pedals again (someone I know told me the very same thing on this thread :) ) nor a gear drive wheel again. My driving on all my games and sims is more consistent by far.

Right now I’m only waiting for the RMA/UPS to come pick up the DOA wheel rim sitting here in my office. I’m sure the Fanatec team would like to have it back for their inspection.
 
Mahnegold
History tells that they haven't learned from the past...
Click to expand...

Can you be more specific?

I know that the customer support was pretty bad a couple of years past. I was planning on buying a Fanatec wheel in late 2010 and after following the posts on poor CS I held off until now.

It seems to me that Fanatec learned from that mistake. At least I do not hear any complaints on CS.
:)
 
The Fanatec CS is one of the best there is in simracing hardware.

I had my fare share of issues with my CSR Elite(s) and i have received a replacement everytime and i could allways send my defect wheel back after i had received a new one.

Within two days after i send the receipts of the shippingcost, the cost were transfered to my paypal account. Having received several replacements i can confirm that the lastest batch CSR Elite is the best yet.

I bought the CSPv2 but ,like many others, i will wait for the 3th or 4th batch of the CSW hoping that most issues will be resolved
 
Patrocles
Can you be more specific?

I know that the customer support was pretty bad a couple of years past. I was planning on buying a Fanatec wheel in late 2010 and after following the posts on poor CS I held off until now.

It seems to me that Fanatec learned from that mistake. At least I do not hear any complaints on CS.
:)
Click to expand...

Yes I can. :)

I referred only to product launches with this statement, as you were referring to the CSW launch with your statement. When you look in this forum for the launch of Turbo S wheel, you get a better understanding of what I meant.


Edit: Sorry short of time at the moment. I can be more specific later if you like.
 
Last edited:
Mahnegold
Yes I can. :)

I referred only to product launches with this statement, as you were referring to the CSW launch with your statement. When you look in this forum for the launch of Turbo S wheel, you get a better understanding of what I meant.


Edit: Sorry short of time at the moment. I can be more specific later if you like.
Click to expand...

copy that!

ah, true, after hearing so much of the poor customer service I did not follow Fanatec for about a year and it was ignorant of me to assume they have not had a similar launch fiasco in the past. I stand corrected, sir!
:)
 
Patrocles
Wow! From your posts I can only believe that you are a bitter person.
Click to expand...

Bitter?

...oh while you are at it, take a closer look at my stats for posts here and other threads' posts at GTP, you will see how much positive information I have provided to help people experiencing difficulties/questions with products from the brand in discussion.

...and all the thanks I have received from them for providing that information, including from you a couple of pages back in this thread!

Patrocles
I will no longer be conversing with you, sir.:)
Click to expand...

👍
 
Last edited:
Wow, Thomas has say one thing and all of you guys are at each others throats after a few opinions. Amazing.

Mind if I grab the popcorn? (lots of popcorn moments atm. SMS vs Automaniax is another for example)


But honestly guys, keep it nice and clean like on the track. ;)
 
HoiHman
The Fanatec CS is one of the best there is in simracing hardware.
Click to expand...

I agree with this statement wholeheartedly.

I have bought a GT2 wheel, CSR wheel, CSR Elite wheel, a Rennsport wheel stand, two sets of Clubsports, two sets of CSR shifters, a Clubsport tuning kit and a Clubsport load cell from Fanatec since December 2010. Their customer service, overall, has been excellent. My original CSR Elite, which I got in December, just before Christmas, failed in March 2012. Within two weeks of emailing Fanatec customer support and working with Armin and Johannes, I had a new wheel in hand. They quickly refunded the shipping charge for the defective wheel I had to send back. My replacement Elite failed in June. Within three weeks of my emailing customer support, I again had a new wheel in hand, and the refund of my shipping charge was again refunded very quickly. And again, Johannes and Armin were on the ball, even though Fanatec was doing the CSW launch and dealing with their website issues at the same time.

To be candid, I do have concerns about the long term reliability of my CSR Elite (my other stuff has worked fine, overall), but I cannot fault Fanatec's customer service. These guys rock and should not be maligned.

Its only a matter of time before I make another order from Fanatec, possibly those beautiful Clubsport V2 pedals????
 
There really is not much doubt that Fanatec customer service has gotten better, but the quality of what they are selling has not. I know some here dont have an issue buying something that isnt the quality it should be, but most people when shelling out this kind of money require that what they buy is in perfect condition. For some of you to come on here and tell them the issues arent that big a deal is a joke. If you can live with a not perfect product fine, but dont tell others they shouldnt worry about it, its not your money. Thomas wants to come on here and tell people not to bash his product, but give no info on what he is doing to solve the obvious quality control issues he has.
 
Popcorn indeed. First of all, people need to realise Thomas is the CEO of Fanatec. You cannot expect him to monitor every forum 24/7. I think he has bigger fish to fry.

Second the internet makes 10 complaints seem like 1000. That being said I think the quality control complaints are legitimate (just not as bad as people think).
 
Well then he should probably use the little time he has for fourm response on addressing the quality issues not telling people to quit talking bad about his products.
 
FMW
I was fortunate to get my CSW base, V2 peddles, BMW rim and F1 rim at launch here in Southern California. While the BMW rim was DOA on arrival they’re customer service tech support staff in Germany were very quick to respond politely and professionally about the issue the very same day (within hours actually) of my first email to them. I followed their detailed procedural instructions per their website and I had a fully functional rim the next business day. I can’t speak for anyone else’s experiences, but my first time experience with the brand has been positive. I hope it continues :)

I’m thoroughly enjoying driving with this new gear. The feel and immersion factor is just amazing and fun. It takes my previous G25 fun filled experiences to a whole different level. I don’t think I could ever go back to non-load cell pedals again (someone I know told me the very same thing on this thread :) ) nor a gear drive wheel again. My driving on all my games and sims is more consistent by far.

Right now I’m only waiting for the RMA/UPS to come pick up the DOA wheel rim sitting here in my office. I’m sure the Fanatec team would like to have it back for their inspection.
Click to expand...

The G25 hardly exemplifies the best of gear driven wheel. So I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the benefit of direct-drive/gear-drive. Take for example what most people consider the best FF motor available today- Leo Bodnar's use of Servo Motor for FF setup:

ffbmotor.jpg


And inside a servo motor:

SLG90%20Cutaway.jpg


Once you combine a high precision motor with higher than average output and combine that with more the adequate power supply, the result usually exceeds the best belt driven system.

Even Thomas seems to agree by his comment on VirtualR.net:

"Looks like it is time for us to start develop a direct drive base which is compatible to all ClubSport rims so that people can upgrade the base. Making something better, if people are willing to spend the money, is not that difficult. Making high qulity affordable was a much bigger challenge."
 
Well, one thing I can deduct from this and this is that it is not words but deeds that make change. However, there are the vigilent, the sceptics, the fanboys, the critics and all other sorts of people here. I think it is save to say that we can not expect Thomas or Fanatec as a whole to please these people directly on a single just introduced product. Making improvements takes time and also communication with the Chinese might be a barrier in getting the right instructions across properly.
On the other side, it is also save to note that when Thomas responds to bad comments in an irritated tone it will not show the community that they are listened to. Hell, it is the other way around as they will feel royally ignored and think they are not being seen as a (potential) customer but just a walking talking money tree.
At this point it might be better to take a step back and do something else then hastily reply. Actually it would be better in some cases to not involve yourself at all with a reply and just take a silent note, as a CEO you should know not all types of people will be convinced directly of your product. Even Logitech, Thrustmaster, Sony, Microsoft, Google and so on have lovers and haters plus all things in between.
Also next to taking note of the bad, also take note of the good comments. It would make one less irritated to know that the good points of one's newly marketed product. There is good out there too you know. ;)
 
Last edited:
fatkrakr
There really is not much doubt that Fanatec customer service has gotten better, but the quality of what they are selling has not. I know some here dont have an issue buying something that isnt the quality it should be, but most people when shelling out this kind of money require that what they buy is in perfect condition. For some of you to come on here and tell them the issues arent that big a deal is a joke. If you can live with a not perfect product fine, but dont tell others they shouldnt worry about it, its not your money. Thomas wants to come on here and tell people not to bash his product, but give no info on what he is doing to solve the obvious quality control issues he has.
Click to expand...

You know, we heard all this same stuff when the CSR-Elite came out. If you believed the forums than you would think every single person who bought one at launch pretty much got a broken wheel that doesn't center, loses calibration, has loose screws, a wobbling wheel, and Alcantara that falls apart on contact.

Yet of the three people I personally know with the CSR-Elite from launch, myself included, none of us have had any problems. I've had my hands on all three of these wheels and not one of them has had any of the "common" problems we hear about on the forums (I use the word common very loosely).

My CSW has been delivered to my third party shipper, and is en-route to me, might be here today. I don't have to have the CSW in my hands to know that once again, people are taking scattered problems and applying them as blanket statements to "quality issues" with Fanatec.

People keep saying that since these are low production volume that problems should not occur, but it doesn't work that way, it works exactly the opposite way. Think about a low production car like the Koenigsegg CCX, there is a higher failure rate than a mass produced car like a Toyota Camry. It doesn't mean that the Koenigsegg has "quality issues" it's just typical of low production, handbuilt items. There is an accepted failure rate in all electronics, and low production handbuilt electronics have a higher accepted failure rate.

I accept this fact, but it seems many of you see a couple problems posted on the internet and then start running around waving your arms in the air screaming:

the_sky_is_falling.jpg


When in reality most people aren't experiencing problems. I'm in personal contact (through things like Skype and telephone, not just forums) with a few of the community testers as well as new CSW owners on the iRacing forums and none of them have experienced any problems either.

I have no problem with criticism, but unfounded criticism is different. People seem to be expecting everything to be perfect all the time, and that's not the world we live in. So when a minor problem occurs, people start claiming "quality issues" when in fact there are very few (or no) actual issues to be concerned about.
 
Thats great the 3 people you know havent had isues, but whats that got to do with the rest of the people who have? I know your stance on defective products, you stated it here already. Youll take a defective product as long as your one of the first to get it. Some people want more than bragging rights though and expect a product to be in good working order with no defects. They dont need you telling them the defects arent that big of a deal, because to them a defective product is a big deal.
 
Did you read anything I said at all?

I'm not supporting defective products. I'm supporting common freaking sense.

Defects in a product are bad, but I accept the fact that especially with brand new low production products there will be a higher rate of failure.

Not every CSW or CSR-E sent out has defects, not even a majority of them do. A fairly small percentage are experiencing problems and it is an accepted norm. Those who experience problems will get them fixed. But the majority of us won't experience any defects whatsoever.

Is this concept really that difficult to understand? This is why most major electronics companies have RMA programs.
 
I read what you posted. You say its a small amount if thats what you believe fine. What Im saying is dont tell people the issues there having is no big deal. Like I said if you can accept them fine just dont expect others to accept them. Most people spending that much money wont accept them. Whats so hard to understand about that? Thats what this is about you and others telling people there issues are no big deal.
 
Most of the issues are "no big deal" in the grand scheme of things.

The paddle shifter broke? Ok, Fanatec will send out a new wheel (or a new shifter mechanism) and you'll be back up and running in no time.

It would be a big deal if Fanatec was denying that problems existed and refusing to offer replacements/repairs.

This stuff would be a big deal if it was happening to the majority of the people who bought it, but it's not. This has happened with every electronics product launch in history I think. When I bought one of the first 1080p projectors on the market meant for home use, it failed completely with in a week, was I upset? Yeah, it was $7000. Did I start ranting on the internet and fabricate rumors of quality control issues? No. Were there a few other people out there having issues? Yeah, and some over reacted just like you are on here. But in the end, everyone either got their money back or got their problems fixed. I was on a waiting list since late 2001 in the US for the very first Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution coming to our shores. Three months after I bought it, it required about $5000 worth of driveline repairs (nothing I did to cause it) and it was in the shop for a month while they repaired and researched it. Did I go crying on the internet about how Mitsubishi is a terrible company and their quality control is horrible? Nope.

You "sky is falling" type of people will always be around, because so many people want to be a martyr, they want to have problems so they can get sympathy from other people. But in the world of electronics, you have to accept the fact that there is going to be a certain failure rate. Hopefully you won't be unlucky enough to experience this problem, most of us won't with any given product, but some will. It's your job to keep a cool head about it and know that your problem will be fixed. Or you can pass up what is an amazing product because a handful of people had issues compared to the hundreds who aren't having issues.

Up to you. I won't let a great thing go because of irrational fear.
 
mykem
"Looks like it is time for us to start develop a direct drive base which is compatible to all ClubSport rims so that people can upgrade the base. Making something better, if people are willing to spend the money, is not that difficult. Making high quality affordable was a much bigger challenge."
Click to expand...

There is nothing wrong with the base. It just needs light weight round rim and it would be perfect.(at least for me) And same of course goes to CSR-E.
 
@deloodrm
Not sure what you are talking about. Please send me a PM to explain or write to our service department. I am aware that some bottles leaked during transport but not the damper itself. In case you find a different problem, please report to us and we will investigate.

@all
In general we are satisfied with the quality of the CSW so far. Aside from the shifter paddle issue of the Formula rim the defective rate is well below 3% and this is not a bad start.

Of course the expectations are high and you can be sure that almost everybody who has a problem will post it on the web and several others will pick it up and repeat it while hundreds of people without issues remain silent.

The exception then becomes "normal" and anybody stating that he has no issues will be considered to be a fanboy or simply might had luck.

There is no way to change that as it is in the genes of humans to watch out for danger and focus on the little noise you heard behind the bushes because it could be a sabre-tooth tiger. Negativity always gets the full attention.
This is why trolls like the internet so much because this is the place they finally get all the attention they miss in real life.

I enjoy all the great feedback we get about the products and we will sort out the remaining issues so the group of satisfied customers gets bigger and bigger.
 
Tut tut Thomas.

You use the Internet and forums as a free advertisement. Great, good job, savvy marketing skills there addressing your consumer base directly.

Unfortunately for some maybe, the medium you use so well also has its own negatives.

Just suck it up.

I have had issues with Fanatec and have posted them.

I don't appreciate being called a troll.

Have a nice day.

Terry/Carl.
 
superbike81
OH GIVE ME A BREAK!

He in no way called you or anyone else who is complaining a troll. He said trolls like the internet.

Some people.........
Click to expand...

Oh he simply strayed off topic then lol.

Your funny. A BARRAGE perhaps.
 
Are you upset that I used a word not seen on the internet much? Did it confuse you? You seem to be using it incorrectly, so I'm guessing you don't understand it. As long as we are on that subject, it's "you're" not "your."
 

Similar threads

K
Most realistic street/sports car Sim Rig
Replies
11
Views
6K
Kittens2000
K
B
Clubsport pedals V2 + GT DD Pro - adjusting BRF?
Replies
2
Views
2K
BURN_BABY_BUR
B
PzR Slim
Fanatec Black Friday/Cyber Monday Deals
2
Replies
30
Views
9K
K1LLD0z3R
K1LLD0z3R
W
Thrustmaster T300 wheelbase with Fanatec Clubsport V3 pedals?
Replies
22
Views
3K
Oshawa-Joe
Oshawa-Joe
Roots57
Rig progression over the last 3 years...and the demise of my wallet
Replies
0
Views
1K
Roots57
Roots57

Latest Posts

Back