Help me choose a new wheel (Fanatec or Thrustmaster)

[panjandrum]

The comments on the rim are not justified in my opinion. I actually like the feel of the material.

Yeah, everyone likes something different, which is fine. Personally, I very much dislike the material on my Fanatec wheel. I would prefer a real leather wheel (traditional leather, not some suede-like material).

I'm talking to a local body-shop with excellent metal-fabricators. I'm considering a custom-solution. I'll definitely stop-back and let you know what I come up with (probably nothing, depends on costs...)

 

[Silver-Sylph]

I have the GT3RSv2 and i havent had any problems with it aside from the fact that the paddle shifters are quite poor. I had a G27 for 6 months before it killed itself and lost all respect for Logitech. As for Thrustmaster I wouldn't know much about it besides that its made just for GT5. That and every wheel below the T500 that Thrustmaster makes is lackluster.

I would get (if u can afford it) the Fanatec CSW. Its up there as one of the best next to Frex but nothing really can be compared to Frex. I always enjoyed Fanatec custom settings. No other wheel has it and you do have a distinct advantage over other people.

 

[shelbyz4u2nv]

I have had my CSR-E since release. My wheel was in the first batch of shipments, so i think its been roughly a year. I use it very frequently, as well as my friends, and they are pretty rough on it. The wheel has seen a ton of rally races at 100% FF, I haven't had a single issue and recommend the wheel to anyone. I came from a g27 and would never look back. If your looking for a multi-platform wheel, it so worth the price.

 

[panjandrum]

Well, this decision was just made for me, as I sat down last night to race with my very-expensive Fanatec wheel and, dum dum dum dum, it was totally dead within 5 minutes of use. This means that the Fanatec wheel died with a total of about 1/3 the hours that are on ANY of my family's 4 Logitech wheels (2xDFP and 2xG25), and yet all those Logitech wheels still work perfectly (did have plenty of DFP pedal exchanges before I got 2 good sets however!)

At any rate, I'm fairly unforgiving when it comes to product reliability - I'm old enough to be one of those people who thinks a company needs to EARN my money, and despite the wonderful Fanatec pedal set, I've just been disappointed in the Fanatec in too many ways and am unwilling to trust them again. I decided to go with the Thrustmaster wheel. I see that various pedal upgrades are available, so if necessary I'll invest in one of those (not that Bodin thing though, Ick!).

Thanks for the feedback, it helped my with my decision.

 

[tan2012]

fanatec have an excellent warranty service, i had the original carrera wheel, it broke after 9 months and they replaced with csr wheel which i sold and then bought the clubsport.

 

[paskowitz]

Well, this decision was just made for me, as I sat down last night to race with my very-expensive Fanatec wheel and, dum dum dum dum, it was totally dead within 5 minutes of use. This means that the Fanatec wheel died with a total of about 1/3 the hours that are on ANY of my family's 4 Logitech wheels (2xDFP and 2xG25), and yet all those Logitech wheels still work perfectly (did have plenty of DFP pedal exchanges before I got 2 good sets however!)

At any rate, I'm fairly unforgiving when it comes to product reliability - I'm old enough to be one of those people who thinks a company needs to EARN my money, and despite the wonderful Fanatec pedal set, I've just been disappointed in the Fanatec in too many ways and am unwilling to trust them again. I decided to go with the Thrustmaster wheel. I see that various pedal upgrades are available, so if necessary I'll invest in one of those (not that Bodin thing though, Ick!).

Thanks for the feedback, it helped my with my decision.

Sorry to hear that. Which wheel did you get (ie which one broke)?

 

[bobster0070]

Had a T500rs when first launched and after 2 months the fan played up badly, and also the rim is very thin, no leather either (not like the cheaper G27!) and how its been made i.e moulded together you get an annoying rough join that after a few hours made the inside of my thumbs/hands sore.

Ive now got the GT3RS V2 and love it no probs what so ever!

Just my experience with both, hope it helps!

 

[panjandrum]

It was my GT3RS v2 that gave up the ghost.

Setup the Thrustmaster today, and the wheel itself is indeed fantastic. I much prefer the thinner "classic car style" wheel rim, actual round-shaped-wheel, something not available on the newer advanced Fanatec wheels, and I also prefer the rubber vastly over the Fanatec fake suede (which got hard and slippery from skin oils after a time and was hard to clean). The pedals are not bad at all. At step down sure, but the throttle is very easy to modulate. In GT5 the brake is pretty close to an on/off switch, but then that's true for every wheel except the Fanatec with their hardware-adjustable brake sensitivity. This is also a GT5 problem, not a wheel problem. Booting up Dirt 3 I adjusted the brake sensitivity in software in about 15 seconds and all was good. PD *really* needs to get with the program and make throttle, brake, and clutch adjustments available in software like even the crappiest of other sims do.

The only major downside is that this wheel has no true legacy mode. Although I had seen problems with compatibility mentioned online, I was surprised by how few PS3 games recognize the wheel. In GT5 and Dirt 3 the feedback is really sweet (still zero understeer-lightening in GT5, but that's a GT5 problem, not a wheel problem). On my GT3RS V2 the legacy mode basically emulated a standard HID-compliant wheel (like the Logitech wheels), but the T500 emulates a basic controller instead. Why someone at Thrustmaster believes it is OK to sell a wheel in this price-range that doesn't have basic functionality like legacy-wheel emulation I'll never know. Then again, most companies anymore simply produce something for maximum short-term profit, and it probably would have cost them an extra 2 bucks per wheel to add the appropriate circuitry. Hey, at 2 bucks per wheel eventually that's another private tropical island for the CEO... Really, I would have sooooo felt his/her pain...

Luckily I still have my nice old G25 hanging around and have been meaning to setup a second cockpit anyway for 2-player racing, so I can just use that wheel for older games and let's face it, the G25 is really a pretty good wheel overall.

So pretty happy with it for now, but they will be getting a firmly-worded (but polite) letter regarding their lack of legacy-support in such a pricy product. Thanks again for the feedback.

 

[TheBoriquaOne]

As mentioned, if you want Xbox 360 compatibility, Fanatec is the ONLY game in town.

I can give you my take as an owner of the CSR-Elite;

Pros: amazing ffb in FM4 and iRacing. truly immersive.

Hi! I want to purchase a whole Cockpit triple monitor racing seat combo for Forza Motorsport 4 and for the Xbox One Forza Motorsport 5 but I want to get the best! what should I get?

 

[HBR-Roadhog]

Hi! I want to purchase a whole Cockpit triple monitor racing seat combo for Forza Motorsport 4 and for the Xbox One Forza Motorsport 5 but I want to get the best! what should I get?

I would say wait and see right now there is no confirmation as to what wheel will work on the XBox One and FM5. It seems like maybe none of the existing wheels will work.