I've asked that in a few different forums and I cant get a straight answer. All I want to know is what the FFB feels like between the two. Is it better in the CSR than the G25 and if so whats different in the FFB feeling between them.
Hello Steve. Heres my personal comparison. The CSR is definetly better than G25. No FFB deadzone, smooth FFB, Best padles i've ever seen, quiet, great grip. The FFB with CSR feels more gradual the G25 in comparison feels more direct, brutal in delivery of FFB, while CSR feels more sophisticated and feels like it has more layers of FFB than G25. I personaly wouldn't never go back to a non-BELT driven wheel. There's no "loose" feeling in center you allways feel connected to the road, it just feels more real. But it actualy takes some time 14-21 days to get used to the CSR. I was a litle disapointed with it at first, but now i absolutely love it. Tried the G25 after some time with Fanatec and the difference was huge. Currently Fanatec has a Value XL pack and it contains the CSR wheel, shifter set (sequential+H pattern) and the absolutely fantastic CSR Elite pedals with load cell. The pedals are in a league of their own compared to Logitecs' and Thrustmasters' solutions. Load cell brake is so much "reallife" like just amazing. Check this out : http://www.fanatec.de/webshop/new_u...d=112&osCsid=a9edce54ea2462c640f551962a4cd613 Cheers.
Thanks Sabre and Jaka for your replies. Sabre, I don't have a Fanatec. Just trying to figure out if I should scrap my G27 and get one. Jaka, I assume the wheel you describe is the non-Elite, especially since you give a link to the non-Elite model. That would be nice since I hesitate to spend $540 on a wheel alone. (But I might if I have to.) Also, you're comments of "no FFB Deadzone" and "no 'loose' feeling in center you always feel connected to the road" about nails it for me. I think a CSR is in my future. But I'm still curious... does that hold true when stationary? Not that stationary behavior relates directly to racing but I think it is a tell tale sign that something is wrong with the Logitech design/behavior.
I have to comment on the customer service aspect, whoever said it's bad either dealt with them a long time ago, or had a one in a million bad experience. Everyone I have talked to has had a great experience with Fanatec support, and myself as well. I own a CSR and have been playing the game a lot, the FFB is brilliant and the best I've ever felt, though, I came from a Driving Force GT. Recently, the wheel developed a centering issue, where the wheel would pick up a new point to call "center" usually after a turn. Contacted support last sunday, and by monday morning, they were ready to ship me a replacement, but I didnt have time to fill out the return form until friday. The replacement is set to arrive thursday, I'm quite excited to have my (working)wheel back and ready to send the defect back immediately.
Yes, thats also true for stationary. There is no deadzone or loosnes whatsoever. Regarding the CSR Elite wheel, i've tried it and its really great. BUT if its 340$ better than the CSR could be arguable. For me and my current budget it just isn't. Heres why: -The CSR-Elite MUST be hardmounted, there's no clamp mechanism for the desk -Its smooth as butter and great FFB but not 340$ smoother or better (CSR can be had for 199$ now, thats just the wheel) -The basic rim design is the same, also the rim buttons and functionality -You definetly need a racing rig, like GamePOD and similar products Don't get me wrong, if money was of no concern, i would definetly get the elite, a racing seat, a racing rig and so on. But sadly money is an issue and i'm perfectly happy with the CSR clamped at my desk and the CSR Elite pedals. For me the CSR Value XL pack beats the G25 or G27 in every aspect. True it costs more but well worth it. And i agree with cptkrush on the Fanatec support. It works and it works well.
Well that does it. I'm going to give up the G27. Like i said in the first post, it's hard to believe how quickly my opinion of it changed. I do appreciate your feedback. And thanks also to cptkrush for your insights into Fanatec customer support. I'm kinda disappointed that Logitech refuses (or finds it impossible) to improve on their FFB dead zone. IMO that's the only drawback their wheel has (in that price zone) but in rF2 it is a real hindrance to fully enjoying the sim. Hmm... time to make a listing on Ebay.
Vedster sounds like Darin Gangi from ISR who behaved very childishly in my opinion when he left Fanatec. My own experience of Fanatec has been pretty good. I pre-ordered the Porsche Wheel Turbo S so that was back when Fanatec's support was apparently bad according to some people. My pre-sales queries were always answered within 24 hours by a lady named Sabine IIRC. I was overjoyed when my wheel arrived but you can imagine my disappointment when the wheel failed after about two months. I emailed tech support just after 4pm when I got home from work and to my surprise got an email back inside 30 minutes asking for my contact details to arrange a replacement. The reply was swift and very courteous. I emailed straight back and again within 30 minutes got a reply telling me that a new wheel was being sent and that there was no need to send the old one back thus saving me postage to Germany. That to me was top notch support from pre-sales to after sales. I'm sure some people have had problems, that’s unfortunate but if you look around the forums for any electronic device you'll find complaints even for what is considered the best product in their area. I'd be happy to use Fanatec again.
I can't speak to the quality of the wheel, but the customer service (for me anyway) leaves a lot to be desired. I am still trying to resolve an issue which started back in late November on a set of CSP. The correspondence is severely lacking.
Not being Childish at all m8, faulty products happen, i had 3 in the row, bad, but not tragic, it can happen. After numerous videos, e-mails and phone calls it was agreed that i will receive full refund once i return all of the wheels. I have returned all wheels and shifters I had, and waited 2 weeks to get refund. Few mails and phone calls later i was told that refund is on the way, happy days. All of the staff i spoke at Fanatec were very polite, and professional, no problem there, but that alone does not get problems fixed. Few days after i receive refund for transport cost that i had to pay to send the wheels back. When i asked why i only got transport cost refunded i was told that i still have one of the wheels, which i did not. It again took few e-mails and few phone calls for them to actually realise that i was right, i was promised full refund will be send that day. After almost 2 weeks nothing. Called again, and after that i eventually received refund, but for some strange reason it was £ 30 less than invoice i have paid to Fanatec. I decided not to get in touch again and loose £ 30 and put it down to bad experience, as i could not waste any more time or money calling Germany. Call it childish if you like, call it bad luck if you like, but that's how it all went.
Lets put on the side bad experience i had, and concentrate on positive side. Limited usage of the wheels i had has good points as well. I was able to use GT2 wheels, but could not use my G25 pedals connected to the wheel. Force feedback and feel of GT2 wheels was fantastic. In a different league when compared to G25. GT2 wheel delivers powerful and very detailed forces, cant fault it. I loved all the options you can adjust on the fly, no need to exit the game just to change degree of turns, fantastic option. GT had many buttons you could easily reach, and felt great with alcantara leather on the rim. CSR wheel felt different than GT2, much lighter wheel, more precise, but it did have cheap feel to it due to materials used on the rim. Buttons are placed a bit awkward to reach, i had to take the hand of the wheel to reach them, making driving a bit uncomfortable and awkward. I cant say much about forces on CSR as there was something wrong inside of the wheel, wheel shook a lot just sitting idle, it was making loud highly pitched grinding noise as soon as there was any forces coming into the wheel, but you could feel strength and refinement of the forces despite shaking and grinding issues. I will say again, if you get a good wheel it is the best wheel to have for that money.
