Endor (Fanatec) won't be saved from this Death Star

Discussion in 'Hardware Building/Buying/Usage Advice' started by Panigale, Apr 1, 2014.

  1. Jamezinho

    Jamezinho Registered

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    Actually, I think Fanatec has missed a trick by not offering a wheel and pedals set for the budget/starter end of the market, arguably the most sizable sector of what is a niche market anyway. Let's face it, many people new to sim racing are not willing/unable to spend £hundreds on a first wheel setup. Fanatec hasn't catered for this market which is a mistake in my opinion.

    My first decent wheel was the Logitech Driving Force GT which offered amazing value for what was a very solid, well built wheel with strong FFB. At £80 new it was a steal and was the wheel that got me interested in sim racing and led me on to higher-end Fanatec products. If Fanatec could produce and sell a basic yet solid wheel and pedals set in the £100-200 price bracket they would generate more sales and get more people interested in the brand. Forget the Xbox, just offer a good value USB wheel for PC, PS3 and PS4.

    Generally I think Fanatec's products are a little overpriced (and postage costs are far too high) and build quality can be sketchy. However as the owner of a CSR wheel and Clubsport V2 pedals I have little to complain about. Apart from a couple of minor niggles both products have worked well. Perhaps I've been one of the lucky ones.
     
  2. CordellCahill

    CordellCahill Registered

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    http://www.virtualr.net/new-fanatec-product-rumored



    I'm not sure if Fanatec is dead or not, but a good reason we haven't heard from Thomas could be because he smartened up. He has a way of putting his foot in his mouth, going silent can only improve his image.
     
  3. Murtaya

    Murtaya Registered

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    Got to be a new csw rim. Well overdue. Probably be yet another dash display or the handbrake though.
     
  4. MorganH76

    MorganH76 Registered

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    I have just ordered a CSW base, desk clamp and the BMW rim. Was looking at this gear when it first came out, but being in Australia, the shipping was pretty high.

    Now they have a local web site, the shipping on the above gear came to under $20, which is very reasonable for the size and weight of the packages.

    I think there would be quite a few people like myself who were put off previously with no local point of contact. I think having them open a local point of contact for Australia and also Japan is a step in the right direction.
     
  5. sg333

    sg333 Registered

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    So Fanatec have finally released a new rim for the CSW : http://www.virtualr.net/fanatec-new-wheel-rim-revealed

    As the owner of the CSW base and both rims, let me just say this is a complete joke. €350 for a wheel with no buttons. I'm very disappointed. Wont even consider it.

    EDIT: Here's what we were promised in 2012 for the CSW, straight from Thomas himself :rolleyes:


    View attachment 12602
     
  6. Marek Lesniak

    Marek Lesniak Car Team Staff Member

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    Read notes (those in bold).
     
  7. Jamezinho

    Jamezinho Registered

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    I don't know what Fanatec are thinking to be honest. Simpler wheel with no buttons yet charge double the price.
     
  8. Prodigy

    Prodigy Registered

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    [​IMG]

    It's just crazy.
    Sure the quality is great, but not worth that money. I don't know where they got 350€ for it.
     
  9. Panigale

    Panigale Banned

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    The new wheel looks like my old momo prototipo but costs twice as much?

    Fanatec seems to make two bad decisions for every good one. GE got into the home appliance business because it sold turbines to create electricity as the story goes. i.e. They had little interest in making cheap toasters but they did want to sell their turbines. Thomas needs to sell CSWs to grow their user base. Multiple low cost wheel options should help facilitate this. Instead he is trying to make a killing on a new toaster. Like Clint Eastwood said, "a man's got to know his limitations."

    July 25th will provide new financials, should be interesting...
     
  10. sg333

    sg333 Registered

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    If they sold just the quick release/mounting kit that wheel uses for 70-100€ they could sell hundreds, as you could mount any aftermarket wheel with the same bolt pattern. Even if that was possible to remove the new rim, who on earth is going to spend €350 for that rim just to have the release unit?
     
  11. Panigale

    Panigale Banned

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    I wanted to post this as this comes directly from Thomas. I've never seen this officially addressed before and I think it is long overdue but I like what I see. Helps greatly to know that the burnout issues are resolved.

    Thomas Jackermeier May 6th 2014:

    "The motors of the CSW are the same or similar as used in millions of FF wheels. There was a large batch of bad motors which caused big problems but with the latest motors those issues are gone.

    Think about it. We are using the same motor on the Porsche wheels with 2,5 A and we use 2 of those motors in the CSW at 5A. The application is the same and stall is stall - no matter how you achieve it.

    The problem was a wrong soldering method and wire shielding which was not suitable for high temperature. Only a limited amount of motors were affected but we are still talking about hundreds of wheels and even replacement motors had the issue as it took us too long to find out the root cause.

    And it occurs ore likely if you race very often and so does the very vocal and influential minority of opinion leaders. That is the reason why you read so often about the issue.

    If a motor is replaced now or if you purchase a CSW new and don't overclock your FOR or SPR power above 100 then you will be just fine. No engine will last forever and it always depends how you treat it. No matter if it is a real car or one of our wheels. But our products are designed for heavy use and the motor itself is fit for the purpose."
     
  12. Jamie Shorting

    Jamie Shorting Registered

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    That price is insane. Your options of buying a real racing wheel with a quick release hub are cheaper. I just don't understand what this guy is thinking. I do understand why he doesn't have any buttons on it though as that seems to be another thing people are complaining about. Thomas has lost all touch with reality of business and seems more into these strange promotional and sponsorship deals.
     
  13. sg333

    sg333 Registered

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    You might be misinterpreting what myself and others mean by this; the Formula and BMW rims have a lot of buttons, display etc, meaning complex electronics, so that's going to drive the cost up. If this wheel clearly has little to no electronic components, then the €350 price tag is even more insane.
     
  14. GTFREAK

    GTFREAK Registered

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    I get what they were going for with this wheel, but I just don't understand how they could even consider charging this much for it. If it were $150, maybe people would buy it. But, 350 euros? I just don't get it.
     
  15. Adrianstealth

    Adrianstealth Registered

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    seems a tad steep

    maybe their just throwing a product onto their list with a high price in an attempt to convince people there's something extra special about it ( bet some people will buy it too )
     
  16. thuGG

    thuGG Registered

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    Yep, the price is ridiculous (still I'd probably consider it if it had buttons). What many people wanted was just light wheel with buttons (maybe a tad smaller than BMW rim).
     
  17. sg333

    sg333 Registered

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  18. Jamie Shorting

    Jamie Shorting Registered

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  19. sg333

    sg333 Registered

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    I fully expect him to be asking north of €300 for that again. That's a wheel that *could* tempt me, but I wont pay an unreasonable price for it.
     
  20. Jamie Shorting

    Jamie Shorting Registered

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    The thing is with the big heavy wheels they dampen the FFB effects. I don't think that is a good thing.
     

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