Fanatec Podium Direct Drive Wheel Bases Thread

[F Inferno]

I've just bought a Track Racer RS6 Mk2, which is quite stiff. The owner reckons it'll take direct drive. However while flex is not good, being in a real car, your whole body is being pushed around, and your head is moving all the time. So there's movement in a real car - I don't think the flex issue as important as some carry on about. When you change gears, your moving too (and I'm talking paddle shifters). I simmed on a portable wheel stand, and was not slow on international times on GT6. And that thing moved all over the place.

I think you underestimate just how much FFB forces are absorbed and damped through the rig when it’s not solid. Movement in a real car and flex in a rig aren’t close to the same thing and having moved to VR I found the flex in my old rig immersion breaking and distracting because it was moving around when it shouldn’t have been.

Then you have the weight and force consideration of a DD wheel, not even the expensive but nice looking RSeats are strong enough not to be bouncing around with a DD wheel attached because that type of thin wheeldeck design isn’t very strong. You’ll be shocked just how much a DD wheel makes a weak deck bounce with high forces, watch some videos online and you’ll see, I honestly feared the old rig would get torn apart. On top of that with a load cell brake pedal, if the pedal deck is flexing then it means your braking isn’t as accurate.

Until you own or try a rig which is solid you don’t even realise just how poor the mainstream designs are when it comes to rigidity. Sometimes ignorance is bliss as they say (certainly cheaper anyway!), but don’t try and justify it as being better.

What you are saying is like when people go well the top guys are using Logitech wheels so DD and LC pedals aren’t needed. No, if someone is fast they can learn to be good with anything but also realise they run with almost no FFB strength because it’s faster for example over bumps as they don’t have to fight the wheel like in a real car or with higher forces.

Anyway enjoy your rig for what it is and don’t go looking for problems because it that only ends in your wallet getting much lighter as you upgrade everything .

So the TR1 is a GT2 with Fanatec Compatibility baked in? Not bad. I like the GT1 EVO better. It looks more sturdy.

Caan I get the TR1's wheel deck with the GT1 Evo?

You can get any combination of things if you ask, the Sim Lab guys are amazing it would just be a case of whether it fits. Are the rigs the same width?

 

[Whitestar]

Just dawned on me... I always worried about lateral force with a DD servo but after seeing the acuforce 2 review it made me check the weight of the Fanatec DD and my jaw dropped, its a wopping 28.6lbs!!!

That's 13 kg! I wonder if my Obutto R3volution will handle that.

 

[WVStarship]

That's the weight of the entire package that's shipped, which is about 10 lbs. heavier than the 2.5 base package. Still quite heavy but not 28 lbs for the DD alone.

 

[LearnersPermit]

The Kollmorgen AKM54G is only 9.1 kilos or 20.062 pounds and that looks a lot bigger than the Fanatec DD base, so I doubt the DD is 13kg

 

[BrainsBush]

• Size (L x W x H) : 51.00cm x 26.00cm x 28.00cm
• Weight: 13.00kg
• Volume weight: 7.42kg

See Fanatec site --> https://www.fanatec.com/eu-en/wheel...net&utm_campaign=General+Links&a_aid=gtplanet

 

[Dopplegagger]

Weight aside, everyone seems to be convinced that the wheel motor will destroy any wooden deck it's attached to. Why?
I thought one of the biggest draws to Direct Drive was it's ability to deliver crystal clear Force Feedback responses at lower torque. So in essence a DIY cockpit made from fairly cheap MDF should be able to handle a direct drive motor, just as long as it can support the motors weight and the forces are turned down from 11.

I know I am guilty of looking at such options, but I have to ask myself; does this bridge need to be crossed? Especially seeing that I have a perfectly good drafting table that's currently supporting about 60-80lbs of weight. A 30lb motor's weight shouldn't do a darn thing to this desk, and with me being the weakest link in stopping any torque it will put out. I know I am not about to put more than 80lbs of twist into this desktop once the wheel is dialed in. So do I really need a cockpit made from Industrial Router arm extrusions? I'm wondering if I'd be good with a soft mount, like Fanatec's Clubsport Clamp.

 

[kikie]

If you turn down the torque and the FFB a simple home made cockpit will do just fine. If you don't, your cockpit will become a pile of scrap.

 

[WVStarship]

• Size (L x W x H) : 51.00cm x 26.00cm x 28.00cm
• Weight: 13.00kg
• Volume weight: 7.42kg

See Fanatec site --> https://www.fanatec.com/eu-en/wheel...net&utm_campaign=General+Links&a_aid=gtplanet

That's the size of the entire package that it ships in, including the box.

 

[BrainsBush]

That's the size of the entire package that it ships in, including the box.

Really? That would be a huge DD wheel on top of your rig. haha. I copied it 1:1 from the Fanatec site because of the (volume*) weight. Could have deleted the box size before posting.

* this also includes other items in the box like e.g. the cables and mounting bracket

 

[F Inferno]

An Accuforce V2 weighs around 10kg with off board electronics and a Mige motor alone weighs more than all of the other DD motors/wheels.

I imagine it will be in that 10kg ball park.

 

[LearnersPermit]

Really? That would be a huge DD wheel on top of your rig. haha. I copied it 1:1 from the Fanatec site because of the (volume*) weight. Could have deleted the box size before posting.

* this also includes other items in the box like e.g. the cables and mounting bracket

To my knowledge there is no mounting bracket, but Fanatec will work on one if there is enough demand for it, that’s according to the community manager on their blog

 

[andrewhake]

An Accuforce V2 weighs around 10kg with off board electronics and a Mige motor alone weighs more than all of the other DD motors/wheels.

I imagine it will be in that 10kg ball park.

Yeah they list that they will use an external power supply, which is where a lot of the weight comes from. So the actual weight of the bases themselves isn't know just yet I don't think.

@Fanatec1 @DomB_Fanatec Any word on the actual weight of the wheelbases themselves?

Weight aside, everyone seems to be convinced that the wheel motor will destroy any wooden deck it's attached to. Why?
I thought one of the biggest draws to Direct Drive was it's ability to deliver crystal clear Force Feedback responses at lower torque. So in essence a DIY cockpit made from fairly cheap MDF should be able to handle a direct drive motor, just as long as it can support the motors weight and the forces are turned down from 11.

I know I am guilty of looking at such options, but I have to ask myself; does this bridge need to be crossed? Especially seeing that I have a perfectly good drafting table that's currently supporting about 60-80lbs of weight. A 30lb motor's weight shouldn't do a darn thing to this desk, and with me being the weakest link in stopping any torque it will put out. I know I am not about to put more than 80lbs of twist into this desktop once the wheel is dialed in. So do I really need a cockpit made from Industrial Router arm extrusions? I'm wondering if I'd be good with a soft mount, like Fanatec's Clubsport Clamp.

I would definitely try it out and see if it works but with DD stuff the point really is to minimize flex as much as possible to really feel what you are paying extra for.

 

[F Inferno]

Weight aside, everyone seems to be convinced that the wheel motor will destroy any wooden deck it's attached to. Why?
I thought one of the biggest draws to Direct Drive was it's ability to deliver crystal clear Force Feedback responses at lower torque. So in essence a DIY cockpit made from fairly cheap MDF should be able to handle a direct drive motor, just as long as it can support the motors weight and the forces are turned down from 11.

I know I am guilty of looking at such options, but I have to ask myself; does this bridge need to be crossed? Especially seeing that I have a perfectly good drafting table that's currently supporting about 60-80lbs of weight. A 30lb motor's weight shouldn't do a darn thing to this desk, and with me being the weakest link in stopping any torque it will put out. I know I am not about to put more than 80lbs of twist into this desktop once the wheel is dialed in. So do I really need a cockpit made from Industrial Router arm extrusions? I'm wondering if I'd be good with a soft mount, like Fanatec's Clubsport Clamp.

With lowered forces back down to CSW level sure it’d be better but if your rig normally vibrates a little and has any movement then that is lost feedback into the rig. The issue is with the extra weight of the base on my old GT Ultimate V2 rig even when not pumping out full force it would go into something akin to a speed wobble and start bouncing with certain forces.

I can honestly say the jump from a CSW V2 to an AF V2 was smaller than moving the AF V2 from the GT Ultimate V2 to a Sim Lab P1. My first thought when I got it was to wonder how the CSW V2 would have felt on it in comparison as the AF was losing so much detail.

To my knowledge there is no mounting bracket, but Fanatec will work on one if there is enough demand for it, that’s according to the community manager on their blog

I thought that was a side mount to front mount conversion bracket they were talking about?

I did like the look of that side mount they had though, just need Fanatec or Sim Lab to provide an option with flat length adjustable end arms to mount between the uprights of any 80/20 rig and it should be just as solid as any front mount system whilst still giving full access to front mounted accessories.

Yeah they list that they will use an external power supply, which is where a lot of the weight comes from. So the actual weight of the bases themselves isn't know just yet I don't think.

@Fanatec1 @DomB_Fanatec Any word on the actual weight of the wheelbases themselves?

I think it’s only the power brick like the CSW though which shouldn’t weigh much at all.

 

[LearnersPermit]

They are not even including the 20 degree brackets like the other CS bases had unless there is enough demand for it then they would work on one.

 

[andrewhake]

Yeah I think people are definitely underestimating the value of a rig that doesn't flex at all. As inferno mentioned I bet moving to a non-flexing rig will have a bigger impact for most people than actually moving to a DD setup.

I will be waiting for the PS4 DD to be released so in the meantime I am going to get a rig from Sim Lab. I am on a quest to build a rig that I can slot right under my couch so I can avoid having a dedicated seat and screen and everything mounted to it. I have a really nice LG OLED and would like to avoid having to get a second one haha. From the looks of it the GT2 is more than sturdy enough to handle the force of a DD setup, so I am going to try their TR1 variant when that comes out and see if I can make it work for the setup I have in mind.

 

[WippyMan]

They are not even including the 20 degree brackets like the other CS bases had unless there is enough demand for it then they would work on one.

I wouldn't use one in its current form anyway, already to much flex with a csw. I boxed in the front section which solves most of it. I will just knock up my own when the DD comes but would be nice if Fanatec had a better version.

 

[LearnersPermit]

I wouldn't use one in its current form anyway, already to much flex with a csw. I boxed in the front section which solves most of it. I will just knock up my own when the DD comes but would be nice if Fanatec had a better version.

Most people don’t need one anyways since most commercial cockpits are pre drilled with the 3 hole Fanatec pattern to just screw the 3 M6 bolts from the bottom of the wheel deck and those you can tilt.
So which DD are you buying?

 

[WippyMan]

Most people don’t need one anyways since most commercial cockpits are pre drilled with the 3 hole Fanatec pattern to just screw the 3 M6 bolts from the bottom of the wheel deck and those you can tilt.
So which DD are you buying?

Still undecided on the DD1 or DD2 but probably just one drunk night away from order the DD2

 

[LearnersPermit]

Still undecided on the DD1 or DD2 but probably just one drunk night away from order the DD2

Nice, on paper the DD2 seems like the better option unless you also want PS4 compatibility too then the podium racing wheel is the only option

 

[Melbourne Park]

Hey I got my Elite PS4 setup and the V3 pedals etc etc - but the Elite doesn't work. Dead on arrival. It works on the PC setup and upgrade software, but it doesn't communicate with the PS4. So now I am in a fight with Fanatec. They'll likely demand videos of it not working ... sheesh ... this experience has put a major dampener on being an early DD PS4 buyer. Since the Elite for PS4 is not at all new ... but mine arrived not working. Goodness knows what a DD might be like.

With lowered forces back down to CSW level sure it’d be better but if your rig normally vibrates a little and has any movement then that is lost feedback into the rig. The issue is with the extra weight of the base on my old GT Ultimate V2 rig even when not pumping out full force it would go into something akin to a speed wobble and start bouncing with certain forces.
...

On the rig issue - if you don't hold the wheel, the wheel should just spin about. The loss to the rig would occur when the wheel accelerates, especially in an opposing direction. The real stress to a sim cockpit only comes when you put your hands on the wheel. Think about it from a physics point of view! And I've had my name on an F5000 so I know what a real wheel feels like.

 

[LearnersPermit]

Hey I got my Elite PS4 setup and the V3 pedals etc etc - but the Elite doesn't work. Dead on arrival. It works on the PC setup and upgrade software, but it doesn't communicate with the PS4. So now I am in a fight with Fanatec. They'll likely demand videos of it not working ... sheesh ... this experience has put a major dampener on being an early DD PS4 buyer. Since the Elite for PS4 is not at all new ... but mine arrived not working. Goodness knows what a DD might be like.

Well it seems you are one of the unlucky ones, well a few people happen to not be happy with Fanatec quality and seem to be going either with OSW or Accuforce due to their history with Fanatec, you can see this in the posts of Accuforce summer sales

 

[kikie]

I have no problem with the reliability of Fanatec products but it is their customer's service I'm afraid of. I have never had any problems with Logitech and Thrustmaster customer's service but the stories I've read about Fanatec makes me think more than twice before buying a Fanatec product.

 

[F Inferno]

All contact I’ve had with Fanatec support has been great certainly wouldn’t complain about that, it’s literally just those cheap ass bolts and inserts that upset me.

Honestly you have this lovely bit of expensive kit but then have to be worried about something so small that’s also pretty pivotal.

 

[Melbourne Park]

All contact I’ve had with Fanatec support has been great certainly wouldn’t complain about that, it’s literally just those cheap ass bolts and inserts that upset me.

Honestly you have this lovely bit of expensive kit but then have to be worried about something so small that’s also pretty pivotal.

I didn't get bolts to locate my pedals. Fanatec said they couldn't understand what I mean't. Which was : Are there supposed to be four bolts supplied to locate the Clubsport V3 pedal set to my Sim cockpit's pedal platform? I have not received any. They replied that they could not understand my question! I enquired when three of my four ordered items arrived. I did not try the wheel for almost a week because I was waiting for the final item to be delivered - the brake tuning kit for the V3 pedals. I wanted to fit that kit before attaching the pedals to the sim cockpit.

Then when I tried the wheel with the pedals attached with my own bolts and no V3 pedal tuning kit attached - the wheel did not work.

I've had now had no response to the wheel not working, except for 16 emails which came inside 3 minutes, which said they'd contact me shortly. The emails were all identical, and said:
quote: "
Your request has been received!

Dear xxxx xxxxx , (xxx being my actual name)
Thank you for contacting us.
We have received your message and our customer service team will be responding soon.

Best regards,
Your Fanatec team

© 2012 Endor AG. All rights reserved. Fanatec is a brand of ® Endor AG Please do not reply to this email as this is only a notification. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered. " End quote

But they still have not responded to me. 16 emails saying the same thing seemed weird and also sort of aggressive.

Endor Fanatec have not even responded to my complaint to Paypal at the Paypal site. After a few days!

I rang Germany last night - trying from 11pm Australian time to 1 am Australian time - which was from 2pm German time to 4 pm Australian time - when their support line is open - and I made 7 phone calls, which were all disconnected. The longest wait was 7 minutes, the average a 2 minute wait. So phone calls did not work for me either.

I therefor rang Paypal and they said due to their (Endor's) lack of response to the Paypal complaint site, I should escalate the matter. Paypal said I should no longer talk to Endor / Fanatec, that they (Paypal) should only be the ones to handle correspondence. Paypal said they can influence Endor as well, I guess because Endor uses Paypal quite a lot.

So due to faulty gear and primarily a failure to support in a timely fashion, they've given me a bad experience, cost their reputation and also this will highly likely cost them transport and holding costs. And a sale for the Elite setup, the V3 brakes, and highly likely a DD1 PS4 setup in December/January. All because of poor quality assurance and poor support for a product that they have been making for some considerable time.

Darn and for me, no Fanatec DD solution. I hope Thrustmaster brings one out for the Playstation. their T-GT kit looks horrible to me though - an ugly small wheel and heavier wheel, poor pedals with just a rubber conical pressure setup, no lights etc - yuck yuck yuck. But at least I can buy it from a store, and if I have a problem, I can contact the retailer and they will sort it all out, quickly and be nice about it.

 

[LearnersPermit]

Yeah I don’t think the Club Sport Pedals V3s come with mounting bolts, at least mine didn’t have any, also they don’t mention on the website that they provide any bolts to mount your pedals to your cockpit

 

[F Inferno]

I didn't get bolts to locate my pedals. Fanatec said they couldn't understand what I mean't. Which was : Are there supposed to be four bolts supplied to locate the Clubsport V3 pedal set to my Sim cockpit's pedal platform? I have not received any. They replied that they could not understand my question! I enquired when three of my four ordered items arrived. I did not try the wheel for almost a week because I was waiting for the final item to be delivered - the brake tuning kit for the V3 pedals. I wanted to fit that kit before attaching the pedals to the sim cockpit.

Then when I tried the wheel with the pedals attached with my own bolts and no V3 pedal tuning kit attached - the wheel did not work.

I've had now had no response to the wheel not working, except for 16 emails which came inside 3 minutes, which said they'd contact me shortly. The emails were all identical, and said:
quote: "
Your request has been received!

Dear xxxx xxxxx , (xxx being my actual name)
Thank you for contacting us.
We have received your message and our customer service team will be responding soon.

Best regards,
Your Fanatec team

© 2012 Endor AG. All rights reserved. Fanatec is a brand of ® Endor AG Please do not reply to this email as this is only a notification. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered. " End quote

But they still have not responded to me. 16 emails saying the same thing seemed weird and also sort of aggressive.

Endor Fanatec have not even responded to my complaint to Paypal at the Paypal site. After a few days!

I rang Germany last night - trying from 11pm Australian time to 1 am Australian time - which was from 2pm German time to 4 pm Australian time - when their support line is open - and I made 7 phone calls, which were all disconnected. The longest wait was 7 minutes, the average a 2 minute wait. So phone calls did not work for me either.

I therefor rang Paypal and they said due to their (Endor's) lack of response to the Paypal complaint site, I should escalate the matter. Paypal said I should no longer talk to Endor / Fanatec, that they (Paypal) should only be the ones to handle correspondence. Paypal said they can influence Endor as well, I guess because Endor uses Paypal quite a lot.

So due to faulty gear and primarily a failure to support in a timely fashion, they've given me a bad experience, cost their reputation and also this will highly likely cost them transport and holding costs. And a sale for the Elite setup, the V3 brakes, and highly likely a DD1 PS4 setup in December/January. All because of poor quality assurance and poor support for a product that they have been making for some considerable time.

Darn and for me, no Fanatec DD solution. I hope Thrustmaster brings one out for the Playstation. their T-GT kit looks horrible to me though - an ugly small wheel and heavier wheel, poor pedals with just a rubber conical pressure setup, no lights etc - yuck yuck yuck. But at least I can buy it from a store, and if I have a problem, I can contact the retailer and they will sort it all out, quickly and be nice about it.

I mean you have worded that a bit strangely, as a native English speaker it’s easy for me to work out you mean bolts to mount the pedals to your rig but that evidently wasn’t obvious to them.

To answer your question though they don’t come with mounting bolts which I suspect is purely down to the fact rigs are so wildely different when it comes to pedal mounting systems that their isn’t a one size fits all. Plus I’m kind of glad they don’t use their own as the soft aluminium ones they use would disintegrate under the full pedal loads available on the V3!

It seems to me like you’ve been a bit impatient and escalated it rather quickly. There is a live chat option you could have used which allows instant contact with them, emails take a day to get a response to as those are dealt with when time allows.

I’d advise not going high end if you don’t like waiting as they also don’t respond to emails instantly and build times are longer, took over a month to get my Sim Lab P1 rig after paying but it’s still some of the best customer support I’ve ever had despite having to wait 3-4 times longer than advertised.

Now back on point, it works on PC fine but not on your PS4 which sounds to me like the wheel is working fine so explain to me the exact process you are doing to try and operate it on PS4 and what game/s you are using and then I or others can offe you some help. I’d be very surprised if it working fine on PC and not on PS4 was a hardware issue with the wheel and is not just user error.

 

[Melbourne Park]

Now back on point, it works on PC fine but not on your PS4 which sounds to me like the wheel is working fine so explain to me the exact process you are doing to try and operate it on PS4 and what game/s you are using and then I or others can offe you some help. I’d be very surprised if it working fine on PC and not on PS4 was a hardware issue with the wheel and is not just user error.

I hope your right.

The V3 pedals are connected via the supplied cable to the Elite PS4 wheelbase.
The power supply for the Elite PS4 wheelbase is plugged in and I put tape onto it to secure it due it being a simple push in small diameter power connection
The USB cable goes from the USB port on the wheelbase (all Fanatec cables and I have tried another Fanatec USB cable too which came with the V3 pedals) to the PS4. The PS4 has two USB ports, I have tried both.

The PS4 has two games only on it, and has the latest software. One game is some sort of strategy game my son gave me, the other is a Gran Turismo Sport.

I have turned the wheel on first, and also turned the PS4 on first.

I have tried various lights.

There is no communication between the wheel and the PS4.

On starting the PS4, the window requires the user to engage a hand controller by pressing the Sony Playstation button - the one with the Sony graphic on it, which is in the centre of the PS4 hand controller and the Elite PS4 wheel has that button with a large diameter in the lower centre of the wheel. If I push that button when starting the SP4 and with the wheel on (with a blue light and I have tried the purple and the red) - nothing happens. If I push the PS4's hand controller , the PS4 then starts up.

I haven't been able to get the Elite wheelbase (with the wheelbase attached) to shake hands with the PS4.

By the way, does the wheel have a light just above the Sony button described my me preceding? There is a small green plastic half sphere above the Sony button, which looks like an LED. Its not specified in the manual, but should that illuminate itself?

There is a possibility that the wheel is being upset by the V3 pedals ... I might try again with the pedals disconnected. On the PC tests, I selected the V3 pedals, and they were attached to the Elite wheelbase.

I'll try that option and report back.

It seems to me like you’ve been a bit impatient and escalated it rather quickly. There is a live chat option you could have used which allows instant contact with them, emails take a day to get a response to as those are dealt with when time allows.

I have used the text communication on their Aussie website. I followed their queries and filled in mud issues. No reply came.

I have also telephoned them. After 7 calls and waiting on line at midnight - they would just hang up. I even tried to talk to sales - no reply, they hung up. I find it extraordinary that when you ring a company, they hang up on you without even talking to you. That behaviour is extremely bad practice IMO.

I did escalate it but due to no responses. And running onto several days - no responses yet from them except for 16 emails which arrived inside 3 minutes which said they would contact me shortly, which they have not done!! Bazaar but true!!!

If the gear worked, I think Fanatec would have a right to say there is nothing wrong with it, and that I cannot pull out due to me changing my mind. I am still keen to get it working, and I hope its me or my gear. But without support, the only course I have had is to go into dispute. Otherwise they might say that I broke it. And perhaps using Paypal Fanatec might re-consider their service model, which for Australians seems not to be there.

 

[F Inferno]

I hope your right.

The V3 pedals are connected via the supplied cable to the Elite PS4 wheelbase.
The power supply for the Elite PS4 wheelbase is plugged in and I put tape onto it to secure it due it being a simple push in small diameter power connection
The USB cable goes from the USB port on the wheelbase (all Fanatec cables and I have tried another Fanatec USB cable too which came with the V3 pedals) to the PS4. The PS4 has two USB ports, I have tried both.

The PS4 has two games only on it, and has the latest software. One game is some sort of strategy game my son gave me, the other is a Gran Turismo Sport.

I have turned the wheel on first, and also turned the PS4 on first.

I have tried various lights.

There is no communication between the wheel and the PS4.

On starting the PS4, the window requires the user to engage a hand controller by pressing the Sony Playstation button - the one with the Sony graphic on it, which is in the centre of the PS4 hand controller and the Elite PS4 wheel has that button with a large diameter in the lower centre of the wheel. If I push that button when starting the SP4 and with the wheel on (with a blue light and I have tried the purple and the red) - nothing happens. If I push the PS4's hand controller , the PS4 then starts up.

I haven't been able to get the Elite wheelbase (with the wheelbase attached) to shake hands with the PS4.

By the way, does the wheel have a light just above the Sony button described my me preceding? There is a small green plastic half sphere above the Sony button, which looks like an LED. Its not specified in the manual, but should that illuminate itself?

There is a possibility that the wheel is being upset by the V3 pedals ... I might try again with the pedals disconnected. On the PC tests, I selected the V3 pedals, and they were attached to the Elite wheelbase.

I'll try that option and report back.

Have you updated the wheelbase to the latest firmware? Does the wheel calibrate itself when you turn it on by rotating lock to lock? Have you then calibrated the centre afterwards?

The light on the actual wheel rim? No I haven’t seen it light up, I know on the XB versions they do so perhaps only an Xbox feature to show its connected to one as all their gear does that.

I have used the text communication on their Aussie website. I followed their queries and filled in mud issues. No reply came.

I have also telephoned them. After 7 calls and waiting on line at midnight - they would just hang up. I even tried to talk to sales - no reply, they hung up. I find it extraordinary that when you ring a company, they hang up on you without even talking to you. That behaviour is extremely bad practice IMO.

I did escalate it but due to no responses. And running onto several days - no responses yet from them except for 16 emails which arrived inside 3 minutes which said they would contact me shortly, which they have not done!! Bazaar but true!!!

If the gear worked, I think Fanatec would have a right to say there is nothing wrong with it, and that I cannot pull out due to me changing my mind. I am still keen to get it working, and I hope its me or my gear. But without support, the only course I have had is to go into dispute. Otherwise they might say that I broke it. And perhaps using Paypal Fanatec might re-consider their service model, which for Australians seems not to be there.

Hmm, does seem odd but it is summer so probably a few staff on holiday and I imagine they are gearing up for sim racing expo and the DD wheel event right now. Much as Fanatec claim to be some huge company, that is really only in comparison to other smaller sim gear manufacturers, in real terms they are still pretty small so you aren’t going to get the same service as say Amazon.

I guess one could argue that if they want to market themselves as a huge entity as one of the benefits of choosing their products then they need to provide the same level of global, work hours, yearly support. It’s a difficult one though as their popularity in the sim racing community but that community not actually being that big means it’s always going to be a balancing act.

 

[Whitestar]

Would be nice if we could get back on topic. I came here looking for Podium news and/or insights.

 

[F Inferno]

Would be nice if we could get back on topic. I came here looking for Podium news and/or insights.

Well you’ll be waiting at least another 9 days until we get some impressions from the Fanatec party and another month from now until general public use at Sim Racing Expo .

Patience my friend, there’s still another 4+ months before release. I think I’m going to wait it out to see the Podium wheels as I don’t want to buy a CSW rim and then need to sell it later, plus I just blew a ton on a new projector .