Fanatec Announcements: CSW V2 Reviews Out

[paskowitz]

Well it looks like my CSS magically disappeared in the mail. Fanatec's invoice stated they sent two packages (CSS SQ and CS TC), FedEx only shipped 1 (CS TC), and I only received 1 (CS TC).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=wZDq747q4_s#t=10

 

[FatnSlo]

It sure seems with the warranty changes and recent comments on trying to buy replacement parts, that current owners need to really question how much this wheel will be supported after the warranty expires. Despite what Thomas stated on this site. Not really sure what to think at the moment, but none of its positive at this time.

This is the reply I got today from Fanatec when asking if I could buy just the raw motors and not the whole motor block:

"I’m really sorry, but we also can’t provide the raw motor. Therefore we would have to dissemble an existing motorblock.

In case, there would be a defect after the warranty, we also provide a service. When we make such a service, we usually charge a service fee and the used spare parts also will be charged.

Thank you for your understanding"



As far as I am aware there is no after warranty service plan offered to customer's in the USA although I have not specifically asked if there is though.

 

[fatkrakr]

We actually plan a service pack for CSW users so that you can send in the CSW and we make a complete overhaul and replace critical parts. In any case it will be possible to buy all major spare parts like motors and belts in the future.

Would sure be nice to know if this statement still applies or not.

 

[eKretz]

It sounds to me like they will fix your wheel if it breaks after warranty but you will have to send it in and pay a repair charge plus pay for any necessary parts. Lame. Pretty damned shady that Thomas said they would be making spare parts available for purchase and now it's only if you send in your whole wheel for "service." Seems like the true service is more or less lightening customers' wallets. They'll next probably just say the original statement was all a misunderstanding and that parts were never going to be sold separately.

 

[AGP5000]

It sounds to me like they will fix your wheel if it breaks after warranty but you will have to send it in and pay a repair charge plus pay for any necessary parts. Lame. Pretty damned shady that Thomas said they would be making spare parts available for purchase and now it's only if you send in your whole wheel for "service." Seems like the true service is more or less lightening customers' wallets. They'll next probably just say the original statement was all a misunderstanding and that parts were never going to be sold separately.

And people are just now starting to realize this? Not you in specific Eric, but I put that together several moons ago.....

Now, I will say this; In terms of longevity in regards to the CSW, my Beta base has been a beast outside an initial motor issue during testing. I have swapped rims easily 500+ times since I received the wheel (May 2012), and have NO issue with wiggle, or needing to put the locking screw in I will get the Nascar/Momo style rim, whenever it may decide to come to fruition, when it comes out.

That said; It would be nice to have the ability in a few years when I need to replace something, to do it myself. We, the customer, even some of thomas' own support staff have echoed this. It is in Thomas' hands, and we see how he decides to handle it. He reaps only what he sows....

 

[Carson79]

All the parts are included in the service.
Guys this was spoke about in depth at the time it came out in this thread.
I don't understand what the issue is about the service pack. It is for when your warranty expires and you want a service within a 15 month period or so. You don't have to buy it, but its there as peace of mind that you will get support if needed.

 

[eKretz]

Yeah I haven't been following the parts issue because I don't intend to even try to get any stock parts again. The motors suck in my opinion and anything else I'd need I can make, fix or buy elsewhere if out of warranty .

 

[eKretz]

All the parts are included in the service.
Guys this was spoke about in depth at the time it came out in this thread.
I don't understand what the issue is about the service pack. It is for when your warranty expires and you want a service within a 15 month period or so. You don't have to buy it, but its there as peace of mind that you will get support if needed.

The issue for most of us is we'd rather avoid the labor charge and do the work ourselves, paying a reasonable charge for parts rather than out the nose for shipping and labor also. One should have more choice than to buy a service plan or not get their wheel fixed, IMO, and that is looking like the choice they're offering.

 

[mrbasher]

I know I don't post in here much but I wanted to mention one thing regarding the motors...

I think some of you may be on to something regarding them "running out" of motors. We can't know, like usual, but we can go on what we have. I will add something to that for you to ponder.

Some time ago I decided to see what I could find for motors. I found one company that I actually purchased some motors from to test, they were made for me to my spec. The motor size is a 565 (instead of 555, so it's a slightly longer motor). They have slightly better specs than the original motors, same amp rating. They also fit all of Fanatec's wheels including the single motor ones. However, getting to the point, the minimum order from them is 5000 pieces! At $1.80, not including shipping, that's $9,000. I sort of dumped the idea after working out the ROI on it all, especially since the motors would likely not necessarily have better longevity. (and I don't want to deal with that support headache)

So, this leaves me wondering, where is Fanatec headed? It sounds as though they are possibly not purchasing more motors. What this means is of course left to interpretation.

 

[fatkrakr]

All the parts are included in the service.
Guys this was spoke about in depth at the time it came out in this thread.
I don't understand what the issue is about the service pack. It is for when your warranty expires and you want a service within a 15 month period or so. You don't have to buy it, but its there as peace of mind that you will get support if needed.

No if you read the email sent to FatnSlo he can pay a service fee and for any additional parts needed, and Im sure shipping as well for there and back.
Still doesn't change the fact Thomas stated parts would be available and as it appears that's not true. Perhaps his stance on that changed when his warranty changed. Im not sure as he only comments on these changes as the community find out about them.

 

[Carson79]

No if you read the email sent to FatnSlo he can pay a service fee and for any additional parts needed, and Im sure shipping as well for there and back.
Still doesn't change the fact Thomas stated parts would be available and as it appears that's not true. Perhaps his stance on that changed when his warranty changed. Im not sure as he only comments on these changes as the community find out about them.

The service pack is only for the CSW not the Elite
This would be why his warranty has run out and if he wants it repaired he has to pay for it parts and shipping

 

[fatkrakr]

Oh I feel like a , but not because of that statement. The service pack You speak of doesn't exist in the USA.

 

[Mayaman]

I still can't believe they have the clutch issue in GT. It got to the point I thought there was a problem with my equipment the last game but the equipment worked fine in every other game.

 

[museumsteve]

Finally got to order a CSS Seq today...hope it arrives before Christmas

 

[LeMansAid]

So, this leaves me wondering, where is Fanatec headed? It sounds as though they are possibly not purchasing more motors. What this means is of course left to interpretation.

Maybe not purchasing more of the same motors.

If we run with the hypothetical being true, it leads to a couple of possible conclusions: a) New or altered product, b) Preparing to jump ship while the jumping's still good.

 

[Raitziger]

I think Fanatec will change to brushless as improvement to next version of CSW.

 

[HoiHman]

If they do, i would love to upgrade mine.

Just wondering about the service pack for the CSW. Will buying this service pack give you another two years of warranty??
If you send the wheel in to Fanatec to have the motorpack changed by them, will they give you another two year warranty on the motorpack??

 

[eKretz]

I hope they change to brushless too, that'd be a great move since that's the number one problem with their wheel - the brush/commutator interface of these cheap motors they've been using. As far as switching existing wheels, you'd almost certainly need to switch the PCB for that to be practical, and that might mean that the wheel will no longer work with the older consoles. (But also might mean it would work with the newer consoles!) However, I would be surprised if they gave us such an easy way to update our wheels. Pleasantly, I might add, but very very surprised.

Regarding the warranty question above: I would guess that there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that they will extend your warranty by 2 years on the motor packs every time they fail. I base this on the fact that I have never heard of a company doing that, ever.

 

[HoiHman]

I hope they change to brushless too, that'd be a great move since that's the number one problem with their wheel - the brush/commutator interface of these cheap motors they've been using. As far as switching existing wheels, you'd almost certainly need to switch the PCB for that to be practical, and that might mean that the wheel will no longer work with the older consoles. (But also might mean it would work with the newer consoles!) However, I would be surprised if they gave us such an easy way to update our wheels. Pleasantly, I might add, but very very surprised.

Regarding the warranty question above: I would guess that there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that they will extend your warranty by 2 years on the motor packs every time they fail. I base this on the fact that I have never heard of a company doing that, ever.

I hope you're wrong about the upgrade option. Fanatec did offer this once before with the GTRSv3 believ?

What i meant is that if i pay to get the motorpack replaced by Fantec (after the warranty expires) , they might be obblied by (the german)law to give a two year warranty.

 

[eKretz]

I hope you're wrong about the upgrade option. Fanatec did offer this once before with the GTRSv3 believ?

What i meant is that if i pay to get the motorpack replaced by Fantec (after the warranty expires) , they might be obblied by (the german)law to give a two year warranty.

I hope I'm wrong too! I don't know the specifics of German law, but pretty sure that wouldn't be the way it worked here in the U.S. In most cases here, replacement parts are sold with a specific warranty that applies only to them, (usually on paperwork that comes with them) and it's made clear that's the case (and it's usually a lot shorter than 2 years).

 

[bermudak1d]

I really want to get a CSW but it still seems like the motors are still an issue. Has anything been said about a newer model that is has brushless motors in the works?

Would you buy one now or wait some more?

 

[Raitziger]

I really want to get a CSW but it still seems like the motors are still an issue. Has anything been said about a newer model that is has brushless motors in the works?

Would you buy one now or wait some more?

That was just my guess. Community talked about AC motors(brushless) motors year or two before Thrustmaster made the first wheel with those, the TX. Logical progression is that T500RS will be replaced by brushless version later. If Fanatec wants to be the top of the line product and innovate, they just can not sit this one by.

If Fanatec is willing o have brushless wheel out in Christmas 2014, they could do it(not likely before that). Technology already exists in RC cars in this scale. It is just about getting their wheel hardware to talk with new type motor controller and of course sourcing a deal for the new components.

 

[Gunstar]

From what I hear about burning smell complaints it sounds to me like a HUGE issue might be that these motors never get broken in before they get installed, to clear out debris and seat the brushes. I'm no expert, and I don't own an elite or CSW, so take this with a grain of salt, but I know first hand that cheap RC motors will run better, longer, if you break them in by dunking them in water and running a pack through them.

 

[FatnSlo]

From what I hear about burning smell complaints it sounds to me like a HUGE issue might be that these motors never get broken in before they get installed, to clear out debris and seat the brushes. I'm no expert, and I don't own an elite or CSW, so take this with a grain of salt, but I know first hand that cheap RC motors will run better, longer, if you break them in by dunking them in water and running a pack through them.

People have been doing the water break in on these motors as you can see in this thread: https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/thre...te-modders-thread.274631/page-19#post-8376092

I did it with my last replacement motor block 6 months ago. My CSR-E motors never usually last more than six months so I will see if they last any longer now. It certainly did make the wheel feel better though than if I had not broken them in.

 

[Crispy]

Got a little email today saying "Your order has shipped" with the sent address as Fanatec. Deleted the email as I'd be tempted to look, knowing it's something from my parents for Christmas.

 

[Raitziger]

Deleted the email as I'd be tempted to look, knowing it's something from my parents for Christmas.

That's cute
(When you are a adult in internet you kind of assume everyone is also, if you don't know better. It must be the same for kids/teenagers )

 

[Crispy]

That's cute
(When you are a adult in internet you kind of assume everyone is also, if you don't know better. It must be the same for kids/teenagers )

I tend to assume everyone on the internet is an adult too. At least on GTPlanet where almost everyone is mature enough to give the impression that they're adults!

 

[fatkrakr]

Would sure be nice to know if this statement still applies or not.

Fanatec liked this post, but Im not sure exactly what that means.

 

[Fanatec...]

It means that this statement is still valid. We will make sure that we keep you on the virtual road as long as possible and provide spareparts as long as possible.

 

[CFD3Captain]

It means that this statement is still valid. We will make sure that we keep you on the virtual road as long as possible and provide spareparts as long as possible.

Good to hear! It's helping my decision to pony up and purchase the CSW and rims. Already loving my CSPv2's and have only had them a week