Fanatec CSR or CSR Elite Pedals?

[RacingPanda]

Hey everyone!

So after the tenth (or so) attempt of (temporarely) fixing my G27 pedals (yes, I use a used set of G27 pedals with my Fanatec wheel), I completely gave up on it due to a lack of equipment, time and nerves. Therefore I am looking at buying a new set, but the prices are incredibly high, even for a used one. Since I still go to school and don't earn a lot of money with my job (and I have other things to pay for, such as my driver's licence which sets one back around 1.5k-2k€ here in GER), I can't spend a lot of money. This is why I was looking at the Fanatec CSR pedals - not the Elite ones, btw. I haven't found all too much on the Internet, but basically everybody says the CSR Elite offer the better bang for the buck - but they're 200€ and that's almost as much as I earn in a month. I'm also not sure as to how much time I've got next year for gaming, since I'll be done with school and then begin an integrated degree program (apparently that's what it's called, according to my online dictionary )
This is why I am asking: Is it really worth saving up for, especially with Fanatec's increased prices? I don't want anything fancy, I just want something that works, but I don't mind a few really useful features.

(and yes, I have also considered pedal sets by "smaller" companies, but they're all aimed at richer, more professional users - there's nothing to be found in my price region of choice)

 

[m00ndancer]

The Elite is in a different league compared to the CSR.
Base is mostly plastic, but lots of the internals are metal and the best feature of all a load cell, makes wonders for you braking.

 

[Dopplegagger]

If you were to get the basic CSR pedals, you will run into pentometer noise problems. I got a Basherboards PF1 bare bones circuit board, and that alleviated all the problems with the pedals.

Securing the pedals to a deck of some sort and setting the brake pedal on the shorter throw and tightening up the spring gives real consistent braking, but it's not as good as a load cell setup. They aren't bad though, but the braking isn't as intuitive as the brakes on the CSR Elite.

The Elites offer more adjustment with the pedal faces, but the rest of the adjustments can be found on the basic CSR pedals.

I really like my CSR's. It's difficult to justify getting the new wheel offerings from Thrustmaster, Madcatz or Logitech because I don't see their pedals as being much better than the CSRs.

 

[VBR]

@RacingPanda - Buy a pre-owned G25 or G27 off of ebay, look around for the cheapest deal possible. Then sell the wheel, shifter, & power adapter separately for top dollar. This will offset the cost of the new pedal set, & you might end up getting them for nothing or even making small profit. Afterwards, sell your old pedal set as faulty to make even more money.

That's sim racing on a budget, VBR style!






EDIT: Another way to do it is to buy a faulty G25 or G27 (usually it's the wheel that's dead). Then sell the shifter for top dollar in your local classified ads, & auction the wheel on ebay as faulty. Sell your existing pedals as faulty, & keep your new set. I've seen faulty G25/G27's sell for as little as £50 on Gumtree.