Fanatec CSW/CSR Elite Modders Thread *UPDATE February 2014*

[eKretz]

He isn't looking to increase torque so much as prevent heat fade. No need to mess with the ballscrew or anti-backlash mechanism unless it is not up to the task of working with the stock motor.

 

[eKretz]

Any new news on the motors?

Was also wondering if people have tried to get out of warranty CSW/CSRE replacement motors or motor block from Fanatec and what their experiences have been regarding this.

I have a meeting with the new guy this week. I'll post up afterwards. I've not tried getting motors outside warranty yet, so no help there. I did find a printer that had the exact same motor though (scrapped it and stripped it for parts). I forget which one it was though! I had about 8 of them to strip.

 

[posimosh]

He isn't looking to increase torque so much as prevent heat fade. No need to mess with the ballscrew or anti-backlash mechanism unless it is not up to the task of working with the stock motor.

My bad, I just know a guy that had and loved this wheel. However, he had major issues with it binding up, and eventually it became inoperable. He seemed to blame the strength of the ballscrew more than the anti backlash mechanism. Anyway, he likes him some gnarly force feedback, stronger than I care for. But the immediacy and accuracy of the wheel was excellent when I had the chance to use it.
I may be mistaken but doesn't frex sell a water-cooling solution for one of its wheels? Surely this is nothing more than some lightly modified pc cooling component. Perhaps this is worth a shot... Anyway, apologies for not reading far enough back in the thread.

 

[posimosh]

I have a meeting with the new guy this week. I'll post up afterwards. I've not tried getting motors outside warranty yet, so no help there. I did find a printer that had the exact same motor though (scrapped it and stripped it for parts). I forget which one it was though! I had about 8 of them to strip.

Re-he-heheally? That is very interesting. I'm looking to beef up the ffb on my wheel, I hadn't thought of making it in to a frankenprinter-wheel-base-thingamabob. Good to know....
💡

 

[FatnSlo]

I emailed Fanatec to ask about the availability of buying the CSW/CSRE motor block and here is their reply:

I’m sorry, but we unfortunately can’t provide motor blocks for sale.

These motors need to be used for customer wheel’s that needs to be repaired.


Thank you for your understanding

So basically once your warranty runs out on your $550+ Fanatec wheel then I guess they just expect you to throw the wheel away and buy a new one. Just ridiculous. Since these motors are so unreliable they should at least offer to sell them once your warranty runs out.

I inquired about buying just the raw motors then and not the whole block and they have yet to reply and I don't expect they will reply.

 

[eKretz]

Well, that sucks for stock motor guys. There is always the possibility of the Buhlers, which seem to be fairly readily available, but require some mods to work. I had to change my meeting with the new mod motor guy last week, so I still don't have any good news in that respect yet.

 

[LogiForce]

Keep at it. The importance of it just has increased. Especially in the USA with I believe 1 year warranty.

 

[fatkrakr]

Yeah there is no way Id buy one of these wheels now with the 1 year warranty. As much as I like the wheel its just to big a risk for that much money.

 

[bumer]

So basically once your warranty runs out on your $550+ Fanatec wheel then I guess they just expect you to throw the wheel away and buy a new one. Just ridiculous.

That's why they offer 150€ maintenance and repair service if you are out of warranty. They inspect your wheel and probably replace all the parts that seem to be worn out or not working.

 

[FatnSlo]

That's why they offer 150€ maintenance and repair service if you are out of warranty. They inspect your wheel and probably replace all the parts that seem to be worn out or not working.

This is not available to customers in the USA.

 

[bumer]

This is not available to customers in the USA.

Oh yes, it seems so. Tough luck in that case. For some, it might definitely be a problem, although Americans should be used to that because probably most of the products have only 1-year warranty that even cost a lot more and there doesn't seem to be a problem buying those (hint Apple ).

 

[fatkrakr]

I think the real problem is that Fanatec didn't decide to change their warranty in the US until after they started getting warranty claims on the motors. I know for me it sucked all the faith I had in the wheel right away. When they designed the wheel they had enough confidence in their product to give a 2 year warranty. After release even Fanatec lost faith in their product and reduced the warranty to 1 year. Don't see how Im suppose to have faith in their product when they don't have faith in it. Just my opinion on the whole warranty thing.

 

[eKretz]

Oh yes, it seems so. Tough luck in that case. For some, it might definitely be a problem, although Americans should be used to that because probably most of the products have only 1-year warranty that even cost a lot more and there doesn't seem to be a problem buying those (hint Apple ).

There isn't a problem with those other products because even though they have only a 1 year warranty, failures are nearly unheard of in the percentage that seem to be occurring with Fanabuchi motors. I have had 3 iPhones and the 2 older ones I had have both been regifted and are still going strong. The oldest is a 3G. That's many years of trouble-free service, with no need for the warranty at all.

 

[eKretz]

I guess one thing to keep in mind also about this warranty issue is USE YOUR CREDIT CARD! when you buy. A lot of credit card companies have the perk now where they will double your factory warranty period.

 

[Blue028]

hi, i have been whatcing this thread for quite a while now, i have a fanatec CSR elite wheel that i have have done a few basic mods on (quick release whith a real wheel) have attempted some different motors (aftr the original ones burned out) but not had much luck finding appropriate motors. first ones drew WAY too much amps and stalled the wheel and eventually did damage to the PCB. i bought my wheel second hand off ebay so i wasnt sure if would be able to get replacement parts or not, but with persistent emails the eventually sold me a new PCB and motor assembly (i live in australia so im not sure if that has anything to do with it) but if people are looking to buy the motors to fix there wheel i suggest doing the same, be persitent and tell them you dont mind paying fo the parts so you can fix THEIR poduct.

i am still looking out for some bhuler motors for my wheel but not having much luck, im still looking foreward to the news on the mod motors eKretz

 

[Carson79]

I can't be sure exactly but if I made an estimate of failures I've had in motors I'd say around one a month so roughly 12.
It seems I no longer have the wheel back and get a few days use out of it until I smell and feel the tell tale signs of crappy dying motors.
And it doesn't seem to matter how much or how little FFB the game is set to. With the T500 I ran in game FFB at 10 in GT5, I tried this with the CSW for a while and thought maybe dial it down a bit to try and go easy on the motors.
Nah that doesn't work either, roughly a couple of days to a couple weeks max before the smell comes and the feeling goes.
I really hope you are able to find a supplier Eric as after a year of this I'm starting to get really annoyed.

 

[eKretz]

Wow that is awful. Blue028, what did you do with the old PCB? It may have been repairable. I blew mine when my son cranked the voltage knob on my power supply (while it was off) and I turned it on before checking and accidentally started it at 52VDC. I also ordered a replacement board but was able to repair my old one by finding and replacing a burnt-out transistor.

I am currently in estimating some other motor ideas also, including brushless. In the meantime, workable Bühler motors are currently available used on eBay if you can do the mod work yourself, averaging about $20-$25 each. I just checked yesterday and there were at least a few currently available.

 

[FatnSlo]

In the meantime, workable Bühler motors are currently available used on eBay if you can do the mod work yourself, averaging about $20-$25 each. I just checked yesterday and there were at least a few currently available.

What kind of mods do the Buhler motors require to work?

 

[eKretz]

What kind of mods do the Buhler motors require to work?

Bores in the motor pulleys need to be opened up, pilot bores in the motor mounts need to be opened up, and the mounting screw holes in the motor mount need to be slightly elongated. A power supply with at least 10A of current would also be needed.

 

[FatnSlo]

Bores in the motor pulleys need to be opened up, pilot bores in the motor mounts need to be opened up, and the mounting screw holes in the motor mount need to be slightly elongated. A power supply with at least 10A of current would also be needed.

Thanks. Without going in to too much detail how is the power supply wired into the wheel?

 

[eKretz]

You just replace the original with the new one and plug it in to the wheel base. The power supply (AC/DC converter if you will) is the external box that plugs into the wall. The CSR Elite and the CSW both have switching regulators for the rest of the PCB voltages if you want to try different voltages (not recommended without cooling mods though) and the motor circuitry can handle the extra amperage in my experience. (The Bühlers only pull about 8A peak stock, and I have run mine at 36-40V and pulling more like 14A peak with no failures.

 

[Blue028]

i still have the old PCB here, when i saw you had a similar issue with yours eKretz i though i may be able to fix it one day if i need it.
i have a set of buhlers i modded to my spare motor rack from the ones that originally burned out, while they do produce much more torque they are significantly slower that the standard motors (as i mostly drift high rotational speed is very important to me) and seem to have a bit of slop/deadzone/enertia. these motors run withing the Voltage and Amps as the stock motors so i can use them with the standad power supply. would post pics but i dont know how

 

[eKretz]

Hmm, maybe you got a bad pair. Did you get the same model number that I posted in the first post? Did you check RPM, stall current, etc.? Are you saying you're running your Bühler motors with your stock power supply? If they work with the stock supply then you have the wrong ones. Mine work better than stock in every way but not with the stock supply. I checked the performance with the WheelCheck program so I know it's not just my imagination.

 

[lemansfanatic]

eKretz, I have a question for you. You have pretty much altered every internal piece except for the board (and even then you are running it on higher volatages.) It seems like you have the experience to build your own wheel using the clubsport electronic guts. Have you thought about doing your own wheel like Leo Bodner?

 

[Blue028]

i should have stated they arent the same buhlers, i was just trying to find a better motor that could run on the stock power supply. have not had much luck. i just want something that is reliable, with high speed and torque and ball bearings

 

[Cote Dazur]

eKretz, any developement with the other motors you were looking into?
I looked on Ebay in hope to see Buhler motors, found some but I am not clear enough on which one I should buy and I am afraid to finish as disapointed as Blue028 because I choose the wrong one.

 

[eKretz]

OK guys, since it seems like so many of you are having trouble finding these motors, here is a link to exactly what you're looking for:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/140693891693?redirect=mobile

I search the following terms when looking for these:
1. Xerox motor
2. Bühler motor
3. Buhler motor
4. Buehler motor

All can return different results.

I have definitely thought about making my own wheel "mod" by designing my own mechanical parts and using the electronics from the CSW, but it would be a lot of work. The main reason would be to get a bit more room for slightly larger pulleys so the motors get a bit more mechanical advantage. This way I could slow down the RPM of the wheel mechanically (higher gear ratio) so the motors don't have to work so hard, then bring it back up with a small voltage boost. These are only thoughts though, because I'm not so sure it would do a whole lot to help keep the motors cool, since it would still use the same current at stall, (actually more at a higher voltage) where these wheels mostly live. It would definitely add power though.

Currently I am still trying some different ideas and a few different motors and motor types to get an idea what will be the best solution. I thought I had something worked out with the original guy I was working with but he hasn't answered my last 2 emails.

 

[Blue028]

i clicked the link.. DOES NOT SHIP TO AUSTRALIA (in big red letters)

thanks for posting ekretz, i should be able to find something now, i was always just searching the seriel number on the motor with no results.

<here is my setup, its pretty messy but eh, doesnt bother me too much

 

[eKretz]

I like the QR, who makes it?

 

[Nick Moxley]

OK guys, since it seems like so many of you are having trouble finding these motors, here is a link to exactly what you're looking for:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/140693891693?redirect=mobile

I search the following terms when looking for these:
1. Xerox motor
2. Bühler motor
3. Buhler motor
4. Buehler motor

All can return different results.

I have definitely thought about making my own wheel "mod" by designing my own mechanical parts and using the electronics from the CSW, but it would be a lot of work. The main reason would be to get a bit more room for slightly larger pulleys so the motors get a bit more mechanical advantage. This way I could slow down the RPM of the wheel mechanically (higher gear ratio) so the motors don't have to work so hard, then bring it back up with a small voltage boost. These are only thoughts though, because I'm not so sure it would do a whole lot to help keep the motors cool, since it would still use the same current at stall, (actually more at a higher voltage) where these wheels mostly live. It would definitely add power though.

Currently I am still trying some different ideas and a few different motors and motor types to get an idea what will be the best solution. I thought I had something worked out with the original guy I was working with but he hasn't answered my last 2 emails.

From this page can you find the Exact motor in question ? Just to look at specs and know exactly whats what.

http://www.buehlermotor.com/C12572C600247071/vwContentByKey/51EEFA42DC9C1C3FC1257AC60035FB77/$FILE/Buehler Motor_Product Range 2012.pdf

Thanks





Is this what were looking for ?

http://www.surplusgizmos.com/24v-DC-Motor-w-200-Line-Encoder_p_1406.html