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

[Blue028]

that looks very handy FatnSlo, and i agree with you the CSR-e is a good wheel (i hated the original rim though) it is essensially a clubsport wheel minus the quick release and fancier rims (and the ability to have 2 shifters plugged into the wheel at once, and the support for the 7th gear on gated shifters). if you decide to go to pc at a later stage and you do want the fancy rev lights and things you can actually buy dashboards designed to bolt onto your wheel, rather that buying a whole new wheel PLUS rims to go with it.

 

[Alex Bonner]

My "long game" is to end up on PC someday when I'm able to afford to build a good one.

After the switch to PC you will struggle to enjoy sim racing on console again. I've built a few good ones over the last 3 years and you would be surprised how an $100 i5 and a $200 GTX 680 will perform on ultra settings.

 

[K_Soze]

After the switch to PC you will struggle to enjoy sim racing on console again. I've built a few good ones over the last 3 years and you would be surprised how an $100 i5 and a $200 GTX 680 will perform on ultra settings.

200$ 680 ? where ? when ?

 

[superslowme]

Pre used maybe?

 

[Dean Ogurek]

Yeah, my old GTX 670 still sells for $200 or better on Ebay. Even with that, I could run AC with high settings and a full grid @Silky smooth 70+ FPS with one monitor (1920x1080).

Regarding SLi dash, I found the SLi-M (w/o timing readout) for under $60 on Ebay but, I had to make my own face plate/bracket. I made the housing out of black PVC, works very well and adds some "bling" to the CSW.

 

[nubrocket]

This is all great stuff guys, thanks.

 

[Blue028]

just put myself down for the bulk motor thingo, can never hurt to have some spares

 

[Alex Bonner]

200$ 680 ? where ? when ?

I got lucky with an PNY XLR8 enthusiast edition about 6 months ago paid £170 on eBay. It was pre owned but it's still kicking arse 1175 boost and 6600memory speeds in SLI with a Gigabyte I brought new a few years ago.

Just looked at £/$ exchange and $200 was a bit low sorry.

Here she is

 

[ultimate]

question about cooling, i need to make DIY wheel support such as below picture

with such support which base is closely confined, wonder if it lets base cooling properly?

 

[paskowitz]

Ok we have a sign up sheet for interested guys thanks to nubrocket, anyone who is interested check it out:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1q2HmZzm7DD_zaoh83KTxT3A2lYjqeaX75ZdjJmGjSfY/viewform?usp=send_form

Where are we at in terms of results for the google doc?

 

[eKretz]

Where are we at in terms of results for the google doc?

We currently have 12 signed up.

 

[paskowitz]

We currently have 12 signed up.

Do you think it is worth reaching out to other forums?

 

[eKretz]

Do you think it is worth reaching out to other forums?

Probably wouldn't hurt. Not sure how the different forums feel about that though - might need to be a sponsor or some such and I'm not in a position to do that at the moment.

 

[vittorio]

There is a constant discussion about T500 vs. CSW/CSRE and motor failure ... at the rfactor2 forum. I told them once half a year ago about your work but didn't dare to post again, because I didn't know if you like to get more modding requests. The rfactor2 community certainly likes to know more about this solution (which I think is the only way to get great FFB, lasting motors and without fade, which isn't possible with any <$1500 wheel on the market IMHO). I will then post there tomorrow as it seems to be OK for you.

 

[eKretz]

Sure, go ahead. Another guy tried once but said there was a Fanatec fanboy mod that closed his post due to the fact that he complained about the crappy stock motors.

 

[vittorio]

At the ISI rfactor2 forum? The rfactor2 forum mod owns a T500RS himself, that was probably a different forum. I won't post something like advertising, I simply post my honest thoughts about the problem (failure, heat, fade) and what I do to solve it -> this mod. This is more than welcome on the rfactor2 forum, it's helping others.

 

[eKretz]

I'm not sure which one but I know it was something to do with rfactor.

 

[AttilaTheHUN]

@eKretz

Hello,

Would it be possible to use this water cooling jacket on the Bühler motors? The diameter of the Bühler motors is 40mm, right?

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Leopard-Boat...022232761?pt=RC_Modellbau&hash=item416e3af8b9

THANKS

 

[eKretz]

@eKretz

Hello,

Would it be possible to use this water cooling jacket on the Bühler motors? The diameter of the Bühler motors is 40mm, right?

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Leopard-Boat...022232761?pt=RC_Modellbau&hash=item416e3af8b9

THANKS

Yup, they are ~40mm. No idea if they will clear everything inside though, and pumping air through the motors would still work better IMO unless you could get the circulating water temp down considerably below ambient temps; maybe even then. Cooling the jacket does little for the armature and armature wire, which is what is getting the hottest the earliest.

 

[AttilaTheHUN]

Ok, that sounds logical...THANKS.

Is it possible to buy a modding kit from you? Do you sell them?

 

[eKretz]

I am backed up at the moment but I should have more parts available soon. Most of my original batches went to mod guys and a few went to guys with stock motors also. I went in to the shop this weekend to get some more parts done but ended up leaving after only a couple of hours - wasn't having a good day. Spent the rest of the weekend lying down. Most likely I'll be going back tonight.

 

[eKretz]

question about cooling, i need to make DIY wheel support such as below picture

with such support which base is closely confined, wonder if it lets base cooling properly?

Good question. The only way to know for sure is to do before and after testing. May be better to put good sized ventilation holes in the side brackets and maybe some in the upper one with mesh grille or something. Then again even the stock cooling in the open isn't really adequate.

 

[paskowitz]

I do not think I could stomach putting liquid anywhere near my CSW.

 

[MartyU]

question about cooling, i need to make DIY wheel support such as below picture with such support which base is closely confined, wonder if it lets base cooling properly?

Hard to tell how much space there is on the sides from that picture but I think if you can slide your hand along the sides of the wheel base the fans have enough to move air about as well as possible.

But just to illustrate how inefficient blowing air over the outside of the motors is for cooling the the hotter inside space I tried something with the temp monitoring setup I showed previously. Because I could only measure the temp on the outside of the case I wondered what the difference would be between the fans blowing and not with the wheel off. So a few minutes after the end of a track session with motors in a relatively stable warm condition I turned the wheel off stopping the fans and watched the temp reading quickly rise a couple degrees. Turned the wheel back on and the temp dropped to the previous reading. I think this shows how little effect (but some) cooling the outer case of the motors has on the inside of the motor where the high temps are cooking the armature. That's why Eric's approach is so elegant. It circulates cooling air directly to the source of the heat inside the motor.

PS, still waiting for my air pump before I install the motor mod.

 

[sidplayos2]

Hey guys, been lurking in Eric's thread here for a while seeing how things will progress. I want to revisit the standard DC motor again, but need some help interpreting the datasheets.

From my searches both here and elsewhere I have found the following about the standard motor:

Mabuchi RS-555PH-22130

R-Round
S- Carbon Brushes
5- Armature diameter
5- Magnet size/Housing length
5- 5 poles
P- Anisotropic magnet or rare earth magnet
H- Particular specification (whether it has a cooling fan etc)
22- Wire diameter
130- number of turns of armature windings per slot
OD: 35.6mm
Shaft Diameter: 3.175mm

The closest I've found is this Jameco ReliaPro RS-555-2480

Specification Value
Nominal Voltage (VDC)24
Voltage Range (VDC)12-24
Current @ Max. Efficiency (A)0.15
Speed @ Max. Efficiency (RPM)6500
Torque @ Max. Efficiency (g-cm)265.1
Specification Value
Efficiency61.8
Terminal Type0.21 /Solder
Shaft Diameter (inch)0.125
Shaft Length (inch)0.75

The only difference I've seen is that the efficiency seems to be 10% worse according to the datasheets? This one seems to have a higher Torque Stall force though I think. Could someone see if this might be a viable drop in option, I've attached the datasheet for the standard motor, and this Jameco motor.

On a side note, I've been updating my mod to get CST pedals working in the CSW base in my other thread and have completed it now. Works a charm, hope it might help other Fanatec CSW owners out there.

 

[LeMansAid]

So that means that the pedals are not dropping from 1024 step resolution down to 256 like the Clubsports do, but actually over 4000 (can't remember exact number) step resolution down to 256? Standalone connection vs through the wheel, that is.

Do you use the pedals on pc as well, and is the difference noticeable?

 

[eKretz]

OK. We will go over this again. There is not an easy drop-in fit motor with exact specs to replace the stock one at the moment other than the QK1-1500 I spec'd previously. And those are also fairly rare. The motor above - the 2580 - has less stall torque than the 22130. This is right in the data sheet. (93mN•m vs 157mN•m) The extra speed may not hurt anything (might even help a bit) but the lack of torque will.

Speaking of CST type pedals:

 

[sidplayos2]

OK. We will go over this again. There is not an easy drop-in fit motor with exact specs to replace the stock one at the moment other than the QK1-1500 I spec'd previously. And those are also fairly rare. The motor above - the 2580 - has less stall torque than the 22130. This is right in the data sheet. (93mN•m vs 157mN•m) The extra speed may not hurt anything (might even help a bit) but the lack of torque will.

Thanks Eric, much appreciated. I wasn't 100% sure how to read the data sheet. And now I see I was comparing different units of torque. Torque @ Max. Efficiency (g-cm)265.1 vs 157mNm.

Just when I saw 265 my eyes went big.

Very nice pedal faces BTW, they look awesome.

Just having difficulty finding those Buhlers here

@LeMansAid It is still limited to the 256 Steps (Plugged into the Base), not the 4096 steps you get on PC. But it is more the 'feel' of the load cell (and these pedals in General, quality pots etc) that helps being more consistent. That mod does nothing more than just to let you use the pedals on PS3. But I've uploaded the schematics and source code so anyone can give it a try. Just my way of giving back to the community.

 

[Colt Rogers]

Hello all! I have just joined GTP and wanted to say a huge thanks to Eric and everyone else taking part in this fascinating discussion over our sometimes beloved FANATEC wheels...beloved for a while and now at this point just a pain in my @$$. So hello all and after checking in and out on this thread for the last few couple years I have finally experienced my first batch ELITE wheel failing as we speak.

I was satisfied for awhile playing Forza and other console games with the ELITE having come from the regular CSR. Since I have moved to PC and namely Assetto Corsa I am just not content with the TENSION of the wheel in most all cars especially the Lotus T125 but that's an entire other subject.

The issues started a few days ago when I was thoroughly enjoying some Assetto Corsa and noticed what felt like some weakened FFB. Soon after came the FLICKERING LEDs on the tuning menu. I am assuming from what I have read that this is a sign of failing motors.

At the moment I am attempting to open up the wheel base and see what's inside which could be interesting since I am no electrical engineer or engineer of any kind. Just removed the wheel rim and now stuck on getting the base to come apart. Does anyone have pics of which bolts to remove in order for the base to open up?

I believe my wheel is too old to be replaced by FANATEC so I am leaning towards a motor swap and am quite frankly extremely excited about this prospect. Seems like I am in the right place to get my wheel up to the next level that it needs to be at for maximum enjoyment/realism.

To Eric, I just signed up on the list for new motors. Please inform me of what I need to do as a next step in this process as far as options on motors, cooling, etc.

Thanks again and looking forward very much to being a part of this ELITE/CSW community and putting this wheel on the level it deserves to be on.

 

[eKretz]

If you want to take your wheel apart, just remove the rear cover first by unscrewing the (4) hex head screws on the rear. After that take out the (4) outermost small hex head screws on the front plate (2 on each side) to remove the louvered side panels. Careful with the clear top panel as once those are removed it will be loose - it may come with one of them. That far will get you pretty good access to poke and prod a bit.

When the list makes it to 15 I will contact the distributor again and get the details for the motors finalized. Once that's done we'll let everyone know what the next steps are. After everyone makes payment for their motors I'll place the order. If some fail to pay then you'll have the option of a refund or waiting to see if a few more guys come along.