Fanatec Reveals New $400 CSL Cockpit

  • Thread starter Jordan
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The idea of these additional rods to keep the monitor stable is genius! :)

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Looks like a decent, compact small set up. Need to see reviews though, for sure!
 
I dunno…

Either Fanatec is starting to liquidate existing unreleased inventory to bring up their bottom line, or their “restructuring announcement” the Friday before April 1st, was just a head start on their April fools joke.

What was it? Three years ago when they made an April fools post on a “new” DD base that ended up coming to fruition..
 
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Yard_Sale
I dunno…

Either Fanatec is starting to liquidate existing unreleased inventory to bring up their bottom line, or their “restructuring announcement” the Friday before April 1st, was just a head start on their April fools joke.

What was it? Three years ago when they made an April fools post on a “new” DD base that ended up coming to fruition..
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Soooo much everything but pedals lol..!

I do like this as a cockpit though. Nice and concise.
 
This thing looks like a great solution if it's as stiff as they claim. It's compact enough for me in my space where a profile rig just doesn't fit. I'm super interested in this thing. The price point is pretty excellent too. I hope that they figure out their financial woes because other than logistics and customer service, (and driver issues for the new bases) 😂😂 Fanatec really does a good job with their gear. I'm fairly new to this so I don't have a huge point of reference but I've been over the moon with my DDPro. If this rig does what they say, sign me up. 👌
 
Against all my instincts, I ordered one. The footprint alone was enough. Hopefully it's here in a week or so like they claim. I'll post up the good and the bad I find, when I do get it together. Looking forward to a stiffer rig for sure. The playseat challenge worked well while it did but it's just going to collapse on me one day soon. 😂😂😂
 
More information about stability (specifically for a properly installed monitor), ergonomics and accessories (hand brake & seq. shifter) in these videos:


The ESPORTS WRC KNOCKOUT TROPHY '23 was driven in this cockpit:



In the hands of the world champion:



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EA_WRC.jpg



This "entry level cockpit" is good for the world's best racers, so it will probably be good enough for "beginners" as well. ;)


PASSAU Germany X/2023:

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The seating position is not like in a VAN, but like in a real sports car:

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It has also been tested with visitors of different builds and ages.

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As you can see, FANATEC has already "tested" this cockpit with the best racers in the world (unofficial WRC FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP - POLAND XII/2023) and used it in their advertisements (X/2023)








The cockpit in the hands of real WRC drivers.

Enjoy yourself !!!

 
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I get a kick out of people thinking this will be wobbly. They don't build roll cages out of aluminum extruded rails, they build them out of tubing. That tubing looks like heavy wall. Similar to what you'd build a bike with. I bet it's surprisingly stiff for sure. I believe people will be surprised by how well it works.
 
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The new FANATEC CSL cockpit with a trapezoidal wheel holder made of aluminum round tubes is a revolutionary solution on the cockpit market, specially developed for today's strong DD steering wheels and the new present/future FANATEC technology FULLFORCE - FORCE FEEDBACK 2.0 FOR DIRECT DRIVE.

With this trapezoidal construction of the chassis made of round aluminum tubes, it was no longer necessary to use aluminum square solid and heavy profiles for strength and stability (40x40 40x80 ...) and it was possible for the cockpit to be very lightweight, simple and even more stable and rigid than square aluminium profiles + extremely sensitive to FF. The FF is transferred to the whole cockpit and for example the motor vibrations from ABS in the pedals can also be felt in the seat and your body as tactile vibration.

As you can see in the many videos above, this revolutionary technology has been tested and used with the world's best drivers (real WRC drivers + the best SIMRACE drivers) also with many visitors to those events.
 
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Thats my favorite thing about it. Something tight and concise to hang my vr headset on with the ability to become every car. I have no desire for some massive statement piece with large trip-screens dominating the space its in. Also, the side mounting makes a ton of sense.
 
Kriptical
Thats my favorite thing about it. Something tight and concise to hang my vr headset on with the ability to become every car. I have no desire for some massive statement piece with large trip-screens dominating the space its in. Also, the side mounting makes a ton of sense.
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Side mounting just adds another member to the structure and the wheelbase becomes the rig in essence. At least that's what it seems like.

Plus it's just so svelte. Thin and barely there except for what you need. I appreciates that.
 
super_gt
One small note, it looks like you swapped the back legs, they should be pointing backwards.:)

View attachment 1346139
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I've got to adjust it a little. I'll fix it tomorrow. It took a minute to assemble but it wasn't too bad. The seat mount is a little janky. It works. That's about it. I'm going to mount a slider I think.

Overall it's pretty good. I cranked the FFB in game and it's not enough. That's a nice place to be. Seems pretty rigid. I don't have experience with a profile rig (no room for it) and I've never sat in one but this has great fore and aft rigidity and sideways it's a rock. I do have a little flex when I push up or down on it. I'm a big guy and I'm pretty strong. Been doing manual labor my whole life so sometimes I don't realize how much I push and pull on things. I think it is because I have the adjustment so far back. I can change that in a way I think will help.

It's pretty heavy. Solid. First impression is that I'm impressed.

Edit to add, looking at it I think the flex I have is in the QR2 lite more than anywhere in the rig and honestly it takes quite an amount to make it move much. It's really good for the money and the footprint. I know not everyone will want or like this thing and most have a sour taste for Endor these days after the debacle with the DD+ and Extreme but I've always had great customer care and received all my orders in a timely manner and haven't had any issues so until they burn me, I'm very happy with their products. I will continue to test...
 
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Never used a wheel and cockpit for racing but want to get one soon. I think this would be a great start. Don't have much space to spare so a smaller cockpit would be better for me.

@330_D Would like to know how the seat feels after a longer session. So if you do some longer stints let me know. 🙂
 
I've been on it every chance I've had since I put it together late yesterday and although the seat is very cheap, it does the job well. I do not hate it at all. Time will tell... I did but a slider to go with and yesterday didn't want to fuss with it much and wanted to use it so I left it out but it will be added soon. Other than not following the instructions and leaving the cables out of the tubing (derp) the assembly was easy. The seat part is not fantastic but it's a decent solution for what the unit is and to keep costs low. The hardware is all really nice. Well cut and coated and it fit together well. Im glad I didn't buy a profile rig at this point.

Also you could buy a junkyard seat and use that. I might look for a decent VW GTI seat to use. It is a standard (or adjustable enough) mount that I think you could make anything work.
 
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330_D
I've been on it every chance I've had since I put it together late yesterday and although the seat is very cheap, it does the job well. I do not hate it at all. Time will tell... I did but a slider to go with and yesterday didn't want to fuss with it much and wanted to use it so I left it out but it will be added soon. Other than not following the instructions and leaving the cables out of the tubing (derp) the assembly was easy. The seat part is not fantastic but it's a decent solution for what the unit is and to keep costs low. The hardware is all really nice. Well cut and coated and it fit together well. Im glad I didn't buy a profile rig at this point.

Also you could buy a junkyard seat and use that. I might look for a decent VW GTI seat to use. It is a standard (or adjustable enough) mount that I think you could make anything work.
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Thanks for the info.

I think I will try the cheaper seat for the start. It's still a lot of cash (wheel 800€, cockpit 400€ and seat 100€) just for the base setup but I really think that I will enjoy this 😅
 

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