Fanatec CSL Load Cell Modification

[Shaun]

Hi all, just thought I'd share my thoughts and a modification to the Fanatec CSL load cell pedal.

I've had the pedals for a few months now and as far as bang for your buck goes I think they are quite good.
I know many people dislike the solid feel with little movement and to be honest I quite like it in that regard. It took a couple of hours max to get the muscle memory to apply the brake well enough to my liking after a long run of using Logitech pedals.

The force required to apply the brake didn't bother me nor did the limited movement as much though in a perfect world my preference would be slightly more movement but not much.

However I did feel I was having issues modulating coming off the brake and fine adjustment between max an minimal brake effort especially when coming off the brake.

After a bit of searching around the web and looking at other pedals I thought a spring would be the way to go. Now I'm lucky enough to have access to lots of different mechanical parts and machinery at work so I kept the peepers open to see what was lying around unused.

Who would have thought a couple of valve retainers from an old Ford tractor engine and a spring from a decommissioned Melbourne tram would be a match made in heaven.

A couple of pics.

A quick test on ACC using the Porsche GT3 around Bathurst and after three laps I was quicker than my best time by 0.5 of a second with great feel and modulation over the top of the mountain between Skyline and the Dipper where most the time was made up.

The spring is stiff enough that it still takes some effort to apply the brake with ever so slightly more travel than the original bushes but the feel coming off the brake feels vastly better to me.

It's early days but the promise is there and if it works out I have a few ideas of improvement in mind already.

 

[0x15e]

I have these and had the same experience as you. It was good with just the elastomers but so stiff I had to turn the sensitivity down to like 30%, which made them hard to manage sometimes.

I did something much like you did with a spring except I only replaced two of the elastomers. I found some springs that fit the plastic seats perfectly and give just enough more travel that everything feels just right with the sensitivity set around 65%.

The springs also seem to transfer force to the load cell better than the elastomers for some reason. It’s just an all around better setup.

I got them from Misumi and they have three strengths. The weakest (yellow) is very squishy and plays well but I found that it was hard to judge pressure with it that weak.

The middle one (red) is just right. It feels like the force I put on it lines up well with how it applies in the game. I’m sticking with this one.

The hard one (blue) is extremely stiff, to the extent that you may as well stick with the elastomers.

Links:

Light: https://us.misumi-ec.com/vona2/detail/221004970779/?HissuCode=TF20X25

Medium: https://us.misumi-ec.com/vona2/detail/221004970803/?HissuCode=TM20X25

Hard: https://us.misumi-ec.com/vona2/detail/221004970780/?HissuCode=TH20X25

 

[Shaun]

I have these and had the same experience as you. It was good with just the elastomers but so stiff I had to turn the sensitivity down to like 30%, which made them hard to manage sometimes.

I did something much like you did with a spring except I only replaced two of the elastomers. I found some springs that fit the plastic seats perfectly and give just enough more travel that everything feels just right with the sensitivity set around 65%.

The springs also seem to transfer force to the load cell better than the elastomers for some reason. It’s just an all around better setup.

I got them from Misumi and they have three strengths. The weakest (yellow) is very squishy and plays well but I found that it was hard to judge pressure with it that weak.

The middle one (red) is just right. It feels like the force I put on it lines up well with how it applies in the game. I’m sticking with this one.

The hard one (blue) is extremely stiff, to the extent that you may as well stick with the elastomers.

Links:

Light: https://us.misumi-ec.com/vona2/detail/221004970779/?HissuCode=TF20X25

Medium: https://us.misumi-ec.com/vona2/detail/221004970803/?HissuCode=TM20X25

Hard: https://us.misumi-ec.com/vona2/detail/221004970780/?HissuCode=TH20X25

Amazing timing, in my constant quest for a better set-up I've just ordered the yellow and red springs and they should arrive in a few days.

It pretty much mimics this setup which going by your description is exactly what you have done.

I'm super keen to try it out but if it isn't to my liking I will still be happy with what I had already come up with. For the sake of a few dollars it's definitely worth a go.