Ok, my 2 Cents.
I‘ve had the G29 when I started simracing in July 2018. Never raced before, so unbiased opinions here. The G29 was fine, I had fun with it. Yet I felt it was somehow insufficient, too plasticy, not customizable (wheel turn...) and the FFB felt odd.
Did research, talked to experienced drivers, decided to go Fanatec rather than T-GT. Late November 2018 I started on Fanatec, PS4 base, inverted V3 pedals and Elite P1 rim.
Yeah, it all felt better from the get-go, much better FFB and the finetuning you can do on the pedals is insane, but I must say the REAL value lies in the setup!! An example: I recently drove FIA Nations, Gr.2 in Barcelona. Somehow I didn’t hit the corners as precisely as I wanted to. It was like the game and my brain weren’t 100% compatible. The solution was to set the wheel turn (Sen) from 540 degrees, where I have it for the Gr.3 cars to 630 degrees. Perfect, every single apex. Went on to finish 2,3,3,4,4,9 (fuel mistake on the 9, so extra pit stop here...) in 6 races on 3 accounts in 3 regions. (Yeah, I know, no wins, there’s still work to do...). Couldn’t have done it without that precise driving I was able to deliver.
The ability to adjust a car to „my way“, rather than adjust to different cars‘ behaviour is huge! I would probably take much longer than the few days between the FIA races to adapt to the different cars and classes. That way, I‘m kinda taking a short cut: I still have to get in tune, but it feels good right from the start. And feeling good and trusting your „car“ and your abilities is extremely important in racing. Any wheel that will help me achieve that is the right wheel for me. The same is true for the way I can adjust how the FFB feels on the wheel and the way the brake pedal takes my input. It‘s just another world compared to, say, a G29. Purists may say „That’s cheating!“. Well, when Bertha Benz drove to Pforzheim in an Automobile in 1888 for the first long distance drive in history, owners of horse carriage enterprises said the same thing
It‘s called technological progress, that’s how I see it. If it’s available and not banned, I‘ll use it.
Also, my grandchildren could still play with the Fanatec in 30 years, looking at the quality, pretty sure the vast majority of the competitors will have gone the way of all earthly things till then. And if I someday tire of simracing and sell it all, Fanatec has the best resale value of them all. Because it’s used as good as new, because owners cherish it and take good care of it.
No, I‘m not getting paid or sponsored by Fanatec. It‘s just what I feel like. Today, after having stepped into simracing just 8 months ago, I achieved the A rating in Gran Turismo Sport. From zero to hero, if you will
The hardware I use plays a good part in it.
My current setup for Gr.3 (!), on my Formula V2, maybe it helps someone:
Ingame:
FFB Max torque: 6 or 7, depending on the individual car
FFB sensitivity: 10
Wheel:
SEN 540 (I NEVER have this on AUTO!)
FF 85
SHO 90
ABS OFF
DRI OFF
FOR 80
SPR 90
DPR 80
BRF 20 (to get kind of a mixture of a longer pedal way and load cell)
FEI 30 (had it on 60 for a while, but then my wrists hurt driving...)
MPS AUTO
