Fanatec Clubsport Wheel Review

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by SKeijmel, Jun 29, 2012.

  1. SKeijmel

    SKeijmel Registered

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    Fanatec ClubSport Wheel Review


    I recieved my Fanatec ClubSport Wheel + BMW m3 GT2 and Formula Rim on the 21st of may.
    so i have had plenty of time to take a good look at it

    my full in-depth review



    HD Link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BiEB6bR4GQ&hd=1

    Also English subtitles are available
    French subtitles are comming later today

    rFactor 2

     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 29, 2012
    1 person likes this.
  2. John Crichton

    John Crichton Registered

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    Hi
    Very nice job
    i will post mine this weekend
    cheers
     
  3. SKeijmel

    SKeijmel Registered

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    iRacing Wlliams F1 @ Okayama Circuit



    Mazda MX5 @ zandvoort with BMW M3 GT2 rim

     
  4. SKeijmel

    SKeijmel Registered

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    Silverado truck @ daytona old bumpy version



    Impala Class A @ Charlotte Motor Speedway

     
  5. SKeijmel

    SKeijmel Registered

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    IndyCar @ Spa Francorchamps with Fixed set



    Star Mazda @ road america low df fixed set

     
  6. sg333

    sg333 Registered

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    Thanks, great insight!

    Will the rev meter and gear indicator be implemented in any way to work in RF2? I'm not sure if this is something ISI can make a plugin for?
     
  7. SKeijmel

    SKeijmel Registered

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    Williams F1 @ Spa



    My Daddy LOL

     
  8. SKeijmel

    SKeijmel Registered

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    Richard Burns Rally



    Dirt 3

     
  9. SKeijmel

    SKeijmel Registered

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    Ferrari Virtual Academy



    ford gt @ oulton park



    There is more on my youtube channel you can check it out @ http://www.youtube.com/user/SKeijmel

    Enjoy

    [​IMG]
    www.skeijmel.nl
     
  10. SKeijmel

    SKeijmel Registered

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  11. ProTraX

    ProTraX Registered

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    Damn, I want this wheel so much :(
     
  12. Snooops

    Snooops Registered

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    for what are the gloves? :confused:
     
  13. jubuttib

    jubuttib Registered

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    Thanks for the review, especially appreciate the test program data!

    But dang, I was expecting this test to make me doubt about my decision to aim for the CSR Elite, but it actually made me want it even more, compared to the CSW.

    And the reason is this: I have zero, zilch, nada, absolutely none, ei niin vitun mitään interest in the F1 wheel, but the BMW wheel makes the FFB of the CSW slower and less responsive than the CSR Elite, according to the same test program. To me having a full wheel rim is simply a 100% must have (I drift and drive street cars, almost never open-wheelers).

    Unless they can come up with a larger diameter full wheel rim that weighs less than the F1 wheel (due to the bigger diameter and having more mass at the extremities, it needs to weigh less to be as fast) for a reasonable price, the CSW is just not a fitting product for me.
     
  14. Jameswesty

    Jameswesty Registered

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    Whats also interesting is that this shows how much of an impact the wheel size Wight has on thing ( obviously due to inertia and physics) and why we need somone to test the t500 with the F1 wheel attached which due to its smaller size and build looks as if its far lighter and will there for better compare.

    Seems to me for the price the t500 might actually be better than the CSW when it comes to raw sim racing and putting lap times down. Sure the CSW looks nicer and might be a better wheel with nicer design and general function, but its almost twice the price of the t500 when you add peddles and table clamp to it.

    Guess if Money was not an issue then I'd go for the CSW
     
  15. sg333

    sg333 Registered

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    I don't see any way the BMW rim is worth €250. Is that €150 product, €100 license fee to BMW? Knock 100 off that, and maybe.

    A rim with a full MOTEC system built in should be in that price range. It has some LEDs and a THREE digit LCD display.
     
  16. jubuttib

    jubuttib Registered

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    I'm not so sure about that, because while the CSW with the BMW rim is slower to move, it still changes direction better and returns closer to it's starting point, as shown in the test. The T500 RS seems to have some troubles with rapid changes of direction.
    It's an expensive wheel because it's more or less made to racing spec. They've show footage of the wheel being used to drive a real BMW race car, taken out (the quick release is essentially the same as in racing cars) and attached to the CSW, continuing the racing in a sim. So it's a very decently built wheel altogether. For reference even a very simple MOMO steering wheel for your actual car costs about the same as the BMW wheel, and they have no buttons, displays or quick-releases.

    It is however (imho) totally over engineered for the purpose. While racers might like it as an idea, there is no NEED for it to be that "good", in sim racing you could built it much lighter and simpler, and it'd be cheaper and most likely work better (FFB-wise). Hopefully they'll come out with a lower end wheel, something like a small step up from the CSR Elite wheel.

    EDIT: Funny thing actually. Looking at this test, which has the same data for the T500 RS as the test above, it looks like the CSW has more internal resistance than the CSR Elite. In the video chart the T500 RS is slower to accelerate than the CSW with the Formula rim, but it actually has a higher top speed, whereas in the CSR Elite test the CSR Elite has the same or slightly higher top speed. Also at the end of the test the CSW stops very soon, whereas the CSR Elite keeps on going and bounces off the limiter.

    The CSR Elite rim still seems to require more grunt to get moving (most likely due to weight distribution, not actual weight), because the CSW F1 returns to the same level as the G25, whereas the CSR Elite can't quite manage that. It also travels further before the first change of direction, most likely due to the slightly higher speed and the full rim.

    I wonder what they've changed to increase the internal resistance that much. In the video you mention how the CSW has quite a bit of internal friction, whereas in the CSR Elite test it's especially mentioned how little internal friction it has...
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 29, 2012
  17. sg333

    sg333 Registered

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    I have seen this and am 99% sure this was 'debunked' as being no way even close to working in that car. It was a marketing piece. The quick release and electronics are propriety Fanatec, hence there's no way you could use that wheel to drive a real race car.

    Edit: I am however strongly considering the CSW base and Formula rim. I would also need the 50€ table clamp, but with all added up im not sure I can justify the price.
     
  18. Jameswesty

    Jameswesty Registered

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    Your saying its acceleration is faster but its top speed is slower ? makes sense but there is no graph showing the t500 using the F1 wheel, who is to know if the T500 does not have faster acceleration and accuracy comparable to that of the csw when using the t500 f1 wheel instead of the default one?

    The t500 wheel looked quite light and tacky to me which might be an advantage in this case.

    As far As I can see its entirely possible that with a less heavy wheel the t500 could perform as well or very close to the CSW , Granted I would expect the CSW to be better due to it costing more , but then again for its price you would not expect the g25 to be as good as it is (even given its obvious issues).

    Have you seen a graph or data for the t500 when its using the F1 wheel instead of the default one ?
     
  19. jubuttib

    jubuttib Registered

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    I'm only saying that the motor reacts better when changing direction. The T500 RS clearly accelerates faster than the CSW BMW, and has a higher top speed, but while the G25, CSW F1 and CSW BMW all return pretty close to where they started from before the last FFB input, the T500 RS doesn't manage quite as well.

    Take a look at the slopes. The slopes of the CSW are very similar before and after the direction change, with both wheels (and the CSR Elite is very good at this too). The BMW rim isn't as good as the F1 rim, but it's decent. The T500 RS however has very different looking slopes before and after the direction change, and it looks like the acceleration right after the direction change is much slower than the acceleration from stand still. Might be a driver/firmware problem, and I'd dearly like to see the results after the latest updates to the T500 RS.

    No doubt the T500 RS would improve it's performance with the F1 rim. I also think it's kinda unfair to compare it to the CSW BMW, because the BMW wheel is massively weightier. A more close comparison would probably be the CSR Elite wheel, and the tests show it can't keep up with that one.
     
  20. Jameswesty

    Jameswesty Registered

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    Thats what I am saying for the T500 V the CSW or CSR E

    Until we have data with the T500 using what I assume is lighter and we know is smaller f1 wheel we cannot know for sure what effects the inertia of the larger wheel is having to the base performance of the t500 FFB device.

    I see your point about the T500 curvs and those issues and also its apparent the T500 is worse with its default wheel than the CSW with its BMW wheel.

    Also for driving on the limit in faster cars , its those tiny twitchy movements and how acuret and responsive they are that really matter and it seems the CSW does that very well.

    Maybe if I write to Fanatic and Thrust master I can blag a pair of wheels to do a full video review and full testing with?

    I'm fairly confident the CSW is the better wheel but the question I have is If its that much better when considering its cost.
     

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