I'm seriously thinking of upgrading from my current logitech G27 to another wheel and I'd love to get some of you simmers' opinions. The feel of the G27 is okay, imo, but just that... nothing more. I'm thinking other wheels must have a better "feeling" to them. However the biggest problem is the huge amount of noise this wheel produces, especially in this sim and Assetto Corsa. Me living in a small apartment makes for a pretty big problem at night when I want to race and the wheel is simply too noisy. I have to dial the FFB way down and use a lot of filter to make sure I avoid the horrible rattling and banging. This in turn makes the steering sluggish and slow. All in all this wheel has been a pretty big disappointment for me. I have set my sights on the CSR Elite and I'd like to hear opinion of someone who has experience with this wheel and rF2. Maybe even someone who've gone from G27 to the CSR. Is the FFB silent? Does it rattle and bang like the G27? Is it more precise? Any pros and cons would be welcome.
I upgraded from a g25 to the CSR-Elite....awesome upgrade and no rattling issues anymore except when running over curbs, grass and flat-spot tyres but those are all normal. The normal rattlings (whilst not exactly rattling in the same sense as the g25) still are a problem when i drive later at night as my flatmates told me they could hear/feel the vibrations sometimes. fyi, i don't remember it costing €599.95, that is ridonkulous...last i remember it was at least €100 less. At that price, maybe you should get the CSW instead. However, having said that there is still perhaps one saving grace for the CSR-Elite...the lightness of the steering wheel used on the CSR-Elite vs those of the CSW's. Lower steering wheel weight means you should get slighter stronger ffb and quicker response since the motors have less moment of inertia to fight (though i haven't compared them myself, i make this statement based on what others who have both have said and it does make physical sense for this is to be true). But i honestly cannot speak for whether this would make a difference for me personally without being able to test it. I went with the CSR-E because it was cheaper but i did have a long winded internal battle trying to decide which to go for. The fact they had the identical base units and the argument of a lighter steering wheel as well as being a bit cheaper won me over. CSW formula rim is 2kg and the BMW rim is 3.5kg. If i were to go for the CSW, i would probably just get the formula rim and then the heavier BMW rim maybe down the line. I went a silly route with my CSR-Elite however. I bought mine in October last year but at the time they were sold out and Fanatec were not taking anymore pre-orders for at least a month. So in my impatience i decided to buy a second hand one of ebay and found one in really decent condition and for a quite a bit less. Badly wanting to get a hold on one i didn't even think to do the math and find the overall cost including shipping (from frick'n Japan!!!) and import tax. Yeah, ended up paying more than i would have if i bought a brand new one from Fanatec lol...and here's the worse part....didn't arrive for over a month and fanatec restarted taking immediate orders (yeah, not pre-orders as they previously stated) and shipping them out immediately only 2 weeks after i made the ebay purchase. So i could have paid less, received a brand new CSR-Elite and received it earlier...felt like a total dumb-ass . It was originally purchased in January 2012, so i had a little over 14 months left on the warranty. 4 months in and the ffb motor died and become incredibly notchy until the ffb was no longer giving me any feedback. I let it be for about a month and then the wheel wouldn't centre itself anymore and would loose centre in game so i had to constantly re-center it whilst racing which is...tricky. Enough was enough and i got in contact with the original owner, got the purchase papers and registered it under my own account and requested a repair. They offered to send me replacement motors as a secondary option and i took it. It fixed the ffb but the centering wasn't resolved and i discovered the sensor for wheel rotation was the culprit (so essentially independent faults) so i requested for that and they sent me a replacement for that too. I do worry if the motor will go again outside of my warranty but i have a feeling i can still get a hold of these motors from fanatec since they are the exact same as the CSW's. How much it'll cost me when/if they do die again is going to be the surprise. Fanatec say the motor of the first generation were faulty by design, in which case if this is true then i shouldn't have anything to worry about but their action to reduce the ffb of the latest firmware leaves me some doubt. If you do get the CSR-Elite, make sure you use firmware 737 for rf2. It unleashes the full strength of the motors and on top the ffb fidelity is significantly better out of the bunch. Update: I've just realised that the fanatec site says the csr-e is "Availability: Not released yet" and it's not even in the product list which makes me think it's actually discontinued. So perhaps the choice between CSR-E and CSW has been made for you.
Very interesting point about the weight of the wheel itself versus FFB. Never thought of that. Yeah 599.95 is hellla expensive... But I wonder how much it'll be if I go for a CSW instead plus a wheel to fit on the base. Gotta check that out. Does anybody know whether CSW is more or less noisy than CSR?
There shouldn't be any difference in noise compared to the CSR-Elites (when there is any) since the motors and belt-driven systems are absolutely identical for both. The only difference is the little PCB board inside the base unit that controls the different electronics used in the CSR-Elite rims and the CSW rims.
I replaced my G27 with T500 (F1 rim and 458 rim) and I couldn't be happier. I can feel much more on the road including flatspots I didn't feel before (although not in the latest build, but maybe I drive better?) Once you have been driving for a bit the fan starts and can be a bit noisy locally, however I believe you can replace this if it is annoying. The force feedback is not noisy like my G27 was. I like being able to change the rims too. You will have to buy the shifter separately if you want one, but the shifter is fantastic compared to the G27 one
But when there is noise I don't suppose it's like the buzz saw noise of the G27 when I for instance drive over curbs or into gravel and such? Little rattles are okay, it's part of the experience of FFB, but it's the god awful noise I need to get rid of.
No deafening buzz saw curb/gravel noise on the T500 either then? Interesting. Can this wheel be combined with the Logitech shifter and pedals I wonder?
Yeah mate just saw that too. Hmm that made things easier I guess. Now I just have to scrape some dough together, haha.
No buzz saw. You can get a standalone adapter for the G27 shifter from http://www.leobodnar.com/ however the Thrustmaster shifter is so much better - I rarely miss a gear now You can't but the wheel without the pedals. If you see a standalone wheel its probably just the add on rim
I went from the G25 to the CSR-E and liked that a lot! Didn't like the Xbox Button and the Forza logo, though. Now I am using the CSW with the BMW rim and wouldn't want to go back. As far as noise goes there isn't any difference between CSW and the Elite. They even feel mostly the same as far as FFB is concerned. The BWM rim is bigger in diameter though which is a really nice feature! And there are so many buttons! Edit: I guess I wouldn't want to use it on the desk or a wheel stand. Had the CSR-E on a wheel stand which... well, it worked. But now I have a full rig to which I attached the CSW. Didn't make me faster but more comfortable
I'm seeing a lot of people complaining about faulty fans in the T500RS... This does turn me off quite a bit. Hmm..?
I think the newer ones aren't faulty, they are just noisy (not too noisy) when they start. I have seen plenty of advice about swapping the fan for a quieter one. I'll only do that once it is out of warranty
The difference in price is pretty big when comparing Clubsport to the T500. I wonder if the two wheels feel very differently?
You know, I've read about this very point for about 3-4 months. In the end, it's pointless if you don't try them both yourself. I bought myself a T500 and it's a fantastic wheel, so much better than DFGT I had. I'll just say that a few weeks after I ordered the TH8RS shifter and F1 rim Decide either way and go for it! For me the Fanatec was just too expensive.
Yeah I'm actually going more towards the T500 now. The Fanatec prices are a little bonkers. But oh would I like to test the new wheel before I buy it. Would you say that the fan is the most noisy bit on the T500? Does the FFB make much sound at all?
I too upgraded from G27 to T500 recently. Audibly the FFB is quieter then the G27, if you play with sound off it sounds like electrical motor noise like if you hold the wheels on an RC car, also like people have said you don't get that knocking noise when off track. The issue is that the T500 produces much more vibration which travels through the floor like a bass speaker, it actually vibrates my entire rig so sometimes my mouse and other things will fall off the desk while racing. So if you are worried about other people in other rooms I would say that it is actually louder.
Like the previous post says, make sure to attach the T500 to a solid rig or desk. I have mine (hopefully temporarily) clamped to a normal 120x70 table, and ffb can and will move the table Fan is noisy. I woudn't say it's much more noisy than a standard PC fan though. Haven't needed to replace mine. Watch some youtube video if you're worried about it maybe?
I had both wheels. Now only the T500 left. The csw spent more time broken as usable. Initially i bought the T500 to bridge the time my csw was broken. But then i realized the better feedback from ffb and the noticeable preciser steering. Not to mention the better support. My csw then went on ebay and i kept only the pedals.
