IF anyone has an advantage it is those with a Fanatec GT2, GT3RS with the clubsport pedals. The FFB is more precise and the load cell in the pedals would let them brake with greater precision. If anyone has a T500 RS then maybe the 1080 degrees of rotation may and better FFB may give them a small edge. If you have a G25/27 or DFGT you should be fine.
Nah. I have the GT3RS V2 and Clubsport Pedals. They are nice pieces of equipment, without a doubt, but you won't get any advantage with the Fanatec gear that you wouldn't with Logitech. At least not in GT5. The FFB signals that GT5 sends to the wheel are far too bland to get any real input on what the car is doing. Sure, you can feel a shudder that at times feels like it's going to snap your thumbs off when you tag a rumble strip, and the steering will occasionally go light when your front wheels lift over a crest, but that's about it. There's no perceivable change in FFB as the front wheels start to slip. You can definitely feel it if you completely lock the fronts under braking, but that's about the only time. At least not in my experience. Maybe I'm wrong? The load cell pedals are great but, again, they don't really have an inherent advantage. Sure, they might feel more realistic, but it doesn't matter if it's a linear/rotary potentiometer or a load cell - braking is braking and you just have to be familiar with your equipment.
If the Fanatec gear has ANY advantage at all in GT5 (in terms of actual performance, not the sensation of realism), it's from the on-the-fly adjustability of steering and braking settings.
As for the Thrustmaster T500 RS... That thing is a joke. Stationary paddles? wtf. 1080 degrees of rotation? Who needs that much? 900 degrees is bordering on too much if you ask me. If you need 1080 degrees for the extra "precision", then you should probably be worried about how you're going to tie your shoes. And then there's the price... Holy tits. And here I thought my Club Sport Pedals were expensive.
At the end of the day, the fastest guys are those who know their equipment well and know how to use it to the fullest. Not who can afford the most expensive kit.
Post thought: I've often wondered if GT5 is programmed to recognize Logitech and Thrustmaster wheels and give any vehicle a tiny bonus to grip and power when one of those wheels are used. Logitech is the "official" wheel of GT5, after all. How foolish would it look if every top driver in GT5 was sporting Fanatec or Frex wheels? Though I'm not sure GT5 even supports Frex wheels at all. If my DFP was still functional I would test this hypothesis.
