Fanatec Gran Turismo DD Extreme Wheel

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Received the replacement base today. It appears new but the serial number on the base itself does not match the serial number on the box. This new one also has coil whine whereas my current one is dead silent. Oh well. It came with 2.0.1.4 base and 1.1.0.1 WQR firmware which I updated to 2.1.0.3 and 1.1.0.3

IMG_1335.jpeg
 
That sucks about coil whine, my OG base was quiet. I got my replacement in a small box the other day, haven't had time to even open it and look at it. And might not for another few days. I'm not going to be happy if this new base has loud coil whine or has disconnect or freezing issues. I assumed the new bases were all good to go. 🤞
 
@hrtrob Sorry, I missed your direct message from 2 weeks ago. I just replied and shared my experience with you. =)

For those who might want to know, I received a new replacement DD+ base and I've returned my original base for FANATEC's analysis. In short, the new replacement base is awesome! No coil whine and most importantly, for me at least, there is no "grainy" sandpaper feel when the wheel is turned left or right! The replacement base is truly butter smooth! The base firmware that came with it is from PC Driver 455 (2.0.1.4) and the WQR firmware is the test hot fix (1.1.0.3) that Fanatec had volunteer’s test. They had to have loaded it from their German headquarters knowing that combo firmware is the most stable at present. The firmware from PC driver 457 and the test WQR "hot fix" resulted in my original base developing the "soft disconnect" issue, which seems to have perplexed their software/hardware engineers. I suspect there's a batch of bases that have an out of spec internal component that is not playing nice. Anyway, glad to have the replacement. It's been a true joy to play with for the last couple of days.
 
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FMW
@hrtrob Sorry, I missed your direct message from 2 weeks ago. I just replied and shared my experience with you. =)

For those who might want to know, I received a new replacement DD+ base and I've returned my original base for FANATEC's analysis. In short, the new replacement base is awesome! No coil whine and most importantly, for me at least, there is no "grainy" sandpaper feel when the wheel is turned left or right! The replacement base is truly butter smooth! The base firmware that came with it is from PC Driver 455 (2.0.1.4) and the WQR firmware is the test hot fix (1.1.0.3) that Fanatec had volunteer’s test. They had to have loaded it from their German headquarters knowing that combo firmware is the most stable at present. The firmware from PC driver 457 and the test WQR "hot fix" resulted in my original base developing the "soft disconnect" issue, which seems to have perplexed their software/hardware engineers. I suspect there's a batch of bases that have an out of spec internal component that is not playing nice. Anyway, glad to have the replacement. It's been a true joy to play with for the last couple of days.
So did Fanatec send you a replacement before you returned your original base?

Can you tell me what you told them in order to get your RMA?

DM me if you prefer to keep it private. 👍
 
So did Fanatec send you a replacement before you returned your original base?

Can you tell me what you told them in order to get your RMA?

DM me if you prefer to keep it private. 👍
Yes, they did. I also sent my original base back to Fanatec within 24 hours of receiving the replacement. They included the return shipping labels in the replacement base. I received an email this morning, they already received it. Keep in mind, I did not go through the normal RMA process, although, I did submit an RMA back in early March, which had not been answered yet. (I realize they are completely back logged right now. I also think their RMA process through their website might be a little bugged. I got several errors on their site before the RMA ticket submitted)

While waiting for a response, my base worked perfectly fine to use, so I used it a lot. It just had two quirks that I wanted answers to. The two quirks were “coil-whine”, and turning the wheel left or right from dead center felt grainy. Anyway, I frequent the official Fanatec forums. Long story short, my base had developed the “soft disconnection” issue after loading FANATEC’s latest release candidate firmware. I only loaded it because it fixed the “hard disconnect” issue that people were experiencing, though it never happened to me. In either case, I loaded it to make sure my base was up to date. Oddly, my base developed the “soft disconnect” issue with this firmware. I tried the “hotfix” that was offered on their forums for customers willing to partake in evaluating it. It didn’t work, so after submitting a detailed report, their software/hardware people via DM kindly offered to exchange my base so they could analyze it. Apparently, the hotfix solved the soft disconnect issue for most people.

At the end of the day, I got lucky. Their firmware/hardware engineer got involved because I partook in evaluating the “hotfix”. It looks like not too many people did.

Whatever issue some of these first production bases are having seems to be hard to find the root cause. I feel their pain. I’ve also seen that people on their forums are often not helpful because they don’t clearly articulate the issue or clearly articulate answers to questions their forum moderators are asking.
 
So? Anyone?
Apparently not. Mines decent as in, no chain disconnects, etc..but still needs the occasional restart or pause cycle. Hard to say how much of that is pd though as im still on 455 and haven’t touched it since pre 1.43 and yet the performance of the various bugs has varied. Its kinda shocking to be heading into that montreal event with PD still not fully supporting their official wheel. Ive been kinda holding back on my opinions of the wheel because we’ve been stuck in this temporary state for so long. Really have to wonder what the heck pd has been doing all of this time. At this point we might be waiting for AC Evo’s release to actually get an honest evaluation of the wheels capability. Which, if the wheels pre 1.43 performance is any indication, will be pretty great. (1.43 nerfed down the wheel from 15nm to ?, and condensing the dynamic range).
 
Is there anyone who bought a DD+ and who has got NO issue at all? Mine won't see the handbrake.

So? Anyone?

Apparently not. Mines decent as in, no chain disconnects, etc..but still needs the occasional restart or pause cycle. Hard to say how much of that is pd though as im still on 455 and haven’t touched it since pre 1.43 and yet the performance of the various bugs has varied. Its kinda shocking to be heading into that montreal event with PD still not fully supporting their official wheel. Ive been kinda holding back on my opinions of the wheel because we’ve been stuck in this temporary state for so long. Really have to wonder what the heck pd has been doing all of this time. At this point we might be waiting for AC Evo’s release to actually get an honest evaluation of the wheels capability. Which, if the wheels pre 1.43 performance is any indication, will be pretty great. (1.43 nerfed down the wheel from 15nm to ?, and condensing the dynamic range).
I haven’t had a single issue. It’s silent, smooth and has never disconnected. I have never updated it, so it’s running on whatever came installed. Now that I say all this, I’m sure something will go wrong but as of today it’s been perfectly fine.
 
Is there anyone who bought a DD+ and who has got NO issue at all? Mine won't see the handbrake.
Mine has had no problems w disconnects or anything else FFB related. No coil whine. Got it in March this year. Shipped and delivered in a week. Run it 1-2 hrs per day at least.

However the base FW introduced issues with the BME and BMRs (all versions so far) - I have the BME and for PS it sends X and SQuare at the same time on both the X and Sq buttons, and joy stick axis reversed so its usable mostly but sometimes not such as sport mode texting - can’t use SQ. Fortunately I have other wheels not affected

I have SQ shifter, CSP V3 inverted pedals, and the HB 1.5 all good. PS5 rear port

Running base FW from 455 and WQR from 457 - a noticeable improvement from the DD Pro 8nm so very pleased w the performance

regarding HB issue - try toggling pedal calibration between auto and manual in the control panel - this resolved a pedal issue for someone on the Fanatec forum
 
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I finally got to test out the new replacement GT DD X wheelbase. I estimate I have about 6, maybe 7 hours on the new wheelbase tested on PC with Live For Speed and Wreckfest, and on PS5/ GT7 with PSVR2 and flat screen. Used USB 2.0 input on PC, and front USB port on PS5.

New base is working fine. There's no coil whine, soft disconnects, freezing, or disconnects of any kind so far.

Also the handbrake input is smooth on this new wheelbase where it was jumpy on the original wheelbase (video comparison below).

The GT DD X wheel display tuning menu has some slight text bugs once in a while in the tuning menu but that was there in all drivers and firmware versions and both wheelbases. Sometimes odd text will appear or overlap but it always corrects itself when exiting and re-entering tuning menus or going to the next tuning menu section but it's minor and inconsequential, I never mentioned it before.

I'm using the same firmware combination I used on the last wheelbase that worked without problems.

Driver 457
FIRMWARE:
wheelbase: 2.1.0.4
steering wheel: 1.0.7.0
WQR 1.1.0.3

New wheelbase handbrake input (smooth, the way it's supposed to be):


Original wheelbase handbrake input (jumpy and erratic):


So for me no problems with this replacement wheelbase, it's just as smooth or smoother than original wheelbase that I sent back to Fanatec so they could analyze it. OG base had very slight coil whine, this new one has none that I can hear.

Sim rig: Fanatec GT DD Extreme - QR2 // CSL Elite v2 Pedals // ClubSport Handbrake V1.5 // ClubSport Shifter SQ V 1.5 + (not hooked up) // Old Sim-Seats SR-X Racing Rig // Dayton Audio BST-300EX 300 watt Extreme High Power Pro Tactile Bass Shaker - Dayton Audio SPA250 250W Plate Amplifier
 
FMW
@hrtrob Sorry, I missed your direct message from 2 weeks ago. I just replied and shared my experience with you. =)

For those who might want to know, I received a new replacement DD+ base and I've returned my original base for FANATEC's analysis. In short, the new replacement base is awesome! No coil whine and most importantly, for me at least, there is no "grainy" sandpaper feel when the wheel is turned left or right! The replacement base is truly butter smooth! The base firmware that came with it is from PC Driver 455 (2.0.1.4) and the WQR firmware is the test hot fix (1.1.0.3) that Fanatec had volunteer’s test. They had to have loaded it from their German headquarters knowing that combo firmware is the most stable at present. The firmware from PC driver 457 and the test WQR "hot fix" resulted in my original base developing the "soft disconnect" issue, which seems to have perplexed their software/hardware engineers. I suspect there's a batch of bases that have an out of spec internal component that is not playing nice. Anyway, glad to have the replacement. It's been a true joy to play with for the last couple of days.
Are you still doing good with that firmware combination in gt7? I was just recommended that combo as well to try by the staff.
 
The Gran Turismo DD Extreme was not used at the Gran Tursimo World Series Montreal event (they used instead the small Gran Turismo DD Pro).

Why?

Because of the disconnect issues?
 
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Are you still doing good with that firmware combination in gt7? I was just recommended that combo as well to try by the staff.
Yes. It's been flawless so far. Not one single soft disconnects with the replacement base. I have about 20 hours logged in so far with mostly GT7, then ACC a close second. The last communication I had with FANATEC engineers was more questions about my set up, driving habits, cars used, tracks driven, etc. They have not been able to replicate the issue with my original base.
 
FMW
Yes. It's been flawless so far. Not one single soft disconnects with the replacement base. I have about 20 hours logged in so far with mostly GT7, then ACC a close second. The last communication I had with FANATEC engineers was more questions about my set up, driving habits, cars used, tracks driven, etc. They have not been able to replicate the issue with my original base.
I can’t believe they can’t reproduce the issue easily. This is getting ridiculous. If that firmware combo works it seems it’s by luck. We are not hearing that they really understand the issue.
 
The Gran Turismo DD Extreme was not used at the Gran Tursimo World Series Montreal event (they used instead the small Gran Turismo DD Pro).

Why?

Because of the disconnect issues?
My DD Pro disconnects all the time, I doubt that would be the sole reason. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd imagine they used the DD Pro because most of the drivers are accustomed to it.
 
My DD Pro disconnects all the time, I doubt that would be the sole reason. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd imagine they used the DD Pro because most of the drivers are accustomed to it.
DD Pro disconnects are mostly because of shaft issues. You have to inspect it.
 
I can’t believe they can’t reproduce the issue easily. This is getting ridiculous. If that firmware combo works it seems it’s by luck. We are not hearing that they really understand the issue.
To be fair, I'm not certain how much time they have spent analyzing it. In my original bases case, it was not consistent on when it would soft disconnect. That alone is going to make it challenging for them to replicate. My base also had another issue, which if I were a betting man, think it may be related to the disconnect issue with the 457 firmware. My base had coil whine and the steering input felt grainy when turning left or right in any game. The whine in my base also got noticeably louder the longer you played any game. At the same time, the graininess slightly subsided the longer you played. Furthermore, at dead center, the whine was faint, but the second you turned the wheel left or right, the whine pitch got louder. The replacement base is dead quiet no matter if it’s at rest or if you steer, and there is no grainy feel at all. I reported this back to Fanatec. I know at one point they wondered if the coil whine may be related to possibly causing issues. Maybe it does, maybe it’s unrelated.
 
FMW
To be fair, I'm not certain how much time they have spent analyzing it. In my original bases case, it was not consistent on when it would soft disconnect. That alone is going to make it challenging for them to replicate. My base also had another issue, which if I were a betting man, think it may be related to the disconnect issue with the 457 firmware. My base had coil whine and the steering input felt grainy when turning left or right in any game. The whine in my base also got noticeably louder the longer you played any game. At the same time, the graininess slightly subsided the longer you played. Furthermore, at dead center, the whine was faint, but the second you turned the wheel left or right, the whine pitch got louder. The replacement base is dead quiet no matter if it’s at rest or if you steer, and there is no grainy feel at all. I reported this back to Fanatec. I know at one point they wondered if the coil whine may be related to possibly causing issues. Maybe it does, maybe it’s unrelated.
Whatever the cause, Fanatec can’t seem to figure it out. The DD+ has been shipping for around 6 months now. I’ve lost patience. But I will try to rollback the base to 455. I had just bought an expensive wheel but have lost confidence in the company so I just sent it back for a refund. No reason to sink more money into the eco-system until they ever figure out their issues.
 
Whatever the cause, Fanatec can’t seem to figure it out. The DD+ has been shipping for around 6 months now. I’ve lost patience. But I will try to rollback the base to 455. I had just bought an expensive wheel but have lost confidence in the company so I just sent it back for a refund. No reason to sink more money into the eco-system until they ever figure out their issues.
For sure. It's annoying to say the least and don't blame you for returning the new wheel. Give 455 a try with that hotfix for the QR2 they gave you. It's solved a lot of folks issue. Hopefully, you will be one of them. :D
 
DD Pro disconnects are mostly because of shaft issues. You have to inspect it.
I've switched over to QR2 and torqued everything to spec. It'll disconnect sometimes if I'm not touching the wheel and at times, it seems that it has something to do with the USB port.

ATP, I don't claim to know what's causing it. Just that it happens still and no one thing has fixed it.
 
Your DD Pro issue sounds like it might be a USB physical connection issue. When I updated my DD Pro to a QR2, before selling it, I recall seeing the wheel side was specific to the spacer you should use depending on the wheel. You might want to refer back to the manual to see if my memory of it is accurate.
 
FMW
Your DD Pro issue sounds like it might be a USB physical connection issue. When I updated my DD Pro to a QR2, before selling it, I recall seeing the wheel side was specific to the spacer you should use depending on the wheel. You might want to refer back to the manual to see if my memory of it is accurate.
I appreciate the suggestion, thank you.
 
- Controller behaviour for steering wheels have been updated:
  ・The force feedback algorithm has been adjusted, allowing devices to use their full torque range;
  ・The steering geometry calculation have improved, resulting in better force feedback feeling.

2. Controllers
 - Fixed an issue wherein force feedback vibration on the Logitech® G923 was too sensitive;
 - Adjusted the strength of the vibration effect on the Logitech® PRO Racing Wheel;
 - Improved the performance stability for all Fanatec® steering controllers;
 - The LEDs of the four sticks on the Fanatec® GT DD Extreme will now light up in the colour of the corresponding MFD;
 - Adjusted the Tuning Menu Auto Setup parameters for the Fanatec® GT DD Pro/Extreme, and Podium.

Selecting 'Auto Setup' (AS or A SET) from the Tuning Menu on the wheel will load the optimal parameters for playing Gran Turismo. A firmware update may be required in order to enable the Auto Setup function on your device. On the Podium mode, Auto Setup is intended for use in Low Torque mode. The use of High Torque mode will require manual adjustments.
 
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The FFB with street cars feels extremely weak with both CS DD+ and GT DD Pro even with ingame torque set to 10 and FFB and FOR set to 100.🙈
That's pretty much the opposite from what I interpreted into the above detailed release notes snippets for FFB improvements
O_o

Stink...
 
With street cars that have high downforce at high speed it's not that weak, but with street cars that don't have downforce it's weak.
 
I tried it a bit after the update, the FFB is now laughably weak even after cranking the in-game setting to 10/10, and 100% FFB on the wheel. If you believe the update description and use the Auto setup, it feels almost as weak as a G29. So I ended up using the update I used before, same as @PirovacBoy's recommendation in this article.
I also tried Super Formula SF23 at Fuji, the same combination of the online time trial before the update, so I still remember vividly what it felt like before. Now the FFB only becomes somewhat strong at high speed after downforce has kicked in, at low-speed corners it's still terribly weak like someone spilled oil on the track, no feeling of grip at all.
In terms of FFB, I think this update is a complete disaster just like update 1.15.

Update: other cars feels pretty good, SF23 was bugged in this version. Maybe some other high downforce cars too.
 
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I played only a short amount of time early today (in offline mode) using the Mazda RX Vision GT3. It definitely changed a lot, but with my settings it still felt good after cranking the FFB up from 60 to 80. 100 was too strong for me with my settings. I'll probably increase it a bit from 80 later on.
The Auto setup really isn't good, I agree with that.

However, it's nowhere near as week as 1.15 was.
 
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