DD wheels : so few options, such a difficulty to choose

[Fastard]

I am about to buy a DD wheel and I passed quite some time searching about what the market has to offer.

I want to share my thoughts with the community hoping to get some feedback on the validity of my conclusions(at least the non subjective ones).
In plus, other members that are currently on the same boat may share their thoughts/findings on the matter.


Simagic M10 : - not interested

I didn’t like the reviews


OSW : - not interested

Not an option for someone with terrible DIY skills like me


Accuforce Pro V2 : -not interested

+good reviews

+good user feedback(especially for the software)

-stepping motor

-170 euros the shipping cost to Europe

-unknown custom fees as I had no reply from the custom office of the country I live


VRS Directforce Pro : - still considering as an option

+Barry’s statement : ‘I could be happy if this would be my only wheel’

+impressive feedback from rally drivers and visitors of SimRacing Expo

+200 euros cheaper than DD1 and SC2

-I will be an early adopter

-sent an email asking for the weight of the base as well as for the availability and had no response

-limited community of users to share experiences with

-unknown games support

-lost in the steering wheels options as I cannot identify which is the cheapest rim that will do the job*


Fanatec DD1 : - still considering as an option

+large community of users

+fanatec wheels ecosystem

+realtively cheaper than SC2 as the cost of a decent wheel is lower(a 300 euros BMW GT2 wheel can do the job*)

+available

+easy to sell if I ever decide to

-QR flex

-I don’t trust their quality control and their software

-I doubt if my GT Omega Art Cockpit can handle the 10kg of weight and the forces produced by the base**


Simucube 2 Sport : - still considering as an option

+seems to be the most reliable base

+seems to offer the best driving experience

+weights 2kg less than the DD1 and it may be manageable by my cockpit

-lost in the steering wheels options as I cannot identify which is the cheapest rim that will do the job*. I think that the minimum you need is 400 euros but again the price/quality ratio is not so clear as with Fanatec wheels.

-usb cable on the wheel(in my price range)

-unavailable



*I don’t want a fancy rim with an lcd display and many functions. I just want a wheel with a basic button box+basic paddle shifters. By ‘doing the job’ I mean finding a rim that can handle the FFB of the base with no flex. That's my only concern.

**during my research I realized that i will most probably ave to upgrade my cockpit. It will be good though to do the upgrade in 6 months time. I will be hapy if my current rig can serve me till then.

 

[rand777]

Considering that out of the box configuration works for you, and if not, you'd need to learn to live with it.

The Bodnar is configurable, so you would not be stuck, but the SC2 looked like it had on the order of 10 or more additional configuration parameters, so more possible permutations of settings to play with. I can confirm that the many reviewers I had read were right regarding the Bodnar in that, when I tried it out of the box, it already felt incredible immediately, and adjusting the config settings were more then for fine tuning.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

First time I see an engineer who doesn't want to tweak and improve things.
It's a good wheel base, hope you'll like it.

 

[CRMS]

>USB 4.0 will continue to be backwards compatible with USB 2.0...

It may well be in theory. But there is considerable chat on forums that gaming gear suffers less glitches when plugged into USB 2.0 sockets. My Asus AMD ROG X570 gaming motherboard, released end 2019, has a USB 2.0 double header on the board but the otherwise excellent Fractal Define Nano S case doesn't have USB 2.0 case port, so I have 2 ports on a lead poking out a rear corner. One day, I'll cut a hole and mount properly.

 

[mrbean_phillip]

@rand777: Read my earlier reply a page back, the SC2 can fully replicate the Bodnar SS2 feel

 

[RCHeliguy]

I'm going to put this out as a public service announcement, just in case.

The SimuCube people were clever with their design for the bolt pattern on their wheel connectors. If you rotate the adapter plate one hole at a time, you will eventually find an orientation where you match both the bolt pattern of your wheel AND the holes line up so the quick release orientation is straight up/down so all wheels have the same 0 degree point.

I mention this just in case some of you still have a wheel cocked to the left or right of center.

As is usually the case when something is clever, it isn't always obvious.

 

[rand777]

First time I see an engineer who doesn't want to tweak and improve things.
It's a good wheel base, hope you'll like it.

Thanks, it's been a blast so far. Only recently picked up the sim racing bug. I usually like to tweak my own software but generally prefer stable over cutting edge when buying someone else's

 

[rand777]

@rand777: Read my earlier reply a page back, the SC2 can fully replicate the Bodnar SS2 feel

Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to try them back to back first. Competition is always a good thing though

 

[mrbean_phillip]

I tested them both back-back for many months, hence my feedback

 

[Fastard]

There is no availability on SC2 and the re-sellers cannot give an estimate.

The unknown waiting time brings me closer to Fanatec.

It's a pity to pay such an amount of money without getting what you exactly wanted.

But as I already said I am running the 2nd month without any simracing gear and I really don't think that I can wait without even having an aproximate date of delivery.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

It's a pity to pay such an amount of money without getting what you exactly wanted.

You probably can get it the fastest from simracingbay (if lucky), Tomo does not take preorders so when they show up in stock, you need to react quickly, so watch out for those notification emails.

EDIT: Looks like Sport is in stock right now, or I am dreaming

SIMUCUBE 2 Sport - SimRacingBay

Next generation Simucube 2 Direct Drive System 17 Nm of max torque, 22bit angle sensor - 4.2 mil cpr resolution Designed for ultra low latency, dual CPU architecture Simucube Wireless Wheel (SWW) support, new Simucube software New R2 version with 1x280W Power supply, worldwide compatible...

www.simracingbay.com

 

[Fastard]

You probably can get it the fastest from simracingbay (if lucky), Tomo does not take preorders so when they show up in stock, you need to react quickly, so watch out for those notification emails.

EDIT: Looks like Sport is in stock right now, or I am dreaming

I was not fast enough last Friday

As for the Sport, you get an 'out of stock' message when you try adding it to your basket.

But the worst thing as I already said is that there is no light in the end of the availability tunnel.
I tried contacting various suppliers and the best I got was a 'probably later in this month'.

 

[Fastard]

My barrel is still smoking

SC2 Sport would be my choice under normal circumstances.
But I still feel I made a good choice with the clean Fanatec solution.
Great piece of hardware, experience getting better with driver releases, games compatibility and huge community to share settings, less complexity for my pc(1 usb/1 driver).
Extremely happy and forward to set everything together and race.

Got also an email from Motedis that my parts are ready.

Let's only hope that this 'Ready to ship' on my Fanatec shopping basket is not iconic.

Thank you all

 

[RCHeliguy]

Good luck to you sir!

 

[deandsfsdfewsad]

My barrel is still smoking

View attachment 386123

SC2 Sport would be my choice under normal circumstances.
But I still feel I made a good choice with the clean Fanatec solution.
Great piece of hardware, experience getting better with driver releases, games compatibility and huge community to share settings, less complexity for my pc(1 usb/1 driver).
Extremely happy and forward to set everything together and race.

Got also an email from Motedis that my parts are ready.

Let's only hope that this 'Ready to ship' on my Fanatec shopping basket is not iconic.

Thank you all

I took delivery of my Motedis profile a week back and all I can say is good luck, I will never purchase from these merchants again. Profiles came hanging out of the packaging upon arrival, 200 t-nuts missing, parts opened and falling out as the delivery guy took them down my driveway. I spent nearly £1000 with them and it took 8 weeks to arrive, massively disappointed with them... + they can shove that babble factor where the sun doesn't shine... that's my 2 cents on them

 

[AccAkut]

I got lucky and landed a SC2 Pro, should be at my place in a few weeks. Wanted a Sport but those are even harder to get.

 

[TedBrosby-]

My barrel is still smoking

View attachment 386123

SC2 Sport would be my choice under normal circumstances.
But I still feel I made a good choice with the clean Fanatec solution.
Great piece of hardware, experience getting better with driver releases, games compatibility and huge community to share settings, less complexity for my pc(1 usb/1 driver).
Extremely happy and forward to set everything together and race.

Got also an email from Motedis that my parts are ready.

Let's only hope that this 'Ready to ship' on my Fanatec shopping basket is not iconic.

Thank you all

All that matters is the smile on your face when you're driving!
But for god's sake, buy the brake performance kit!

 

[Fastard]

DD1 in da house!!

Ordered the above parts Monday 23:43(for the ones interested in Fanatecs availability)

What a weekend to come!

 

[alfye20]

DD1 in da house!!

Ordered the above parts Monday 23:43(for the ones interested in Fanatecs availability)

What a weekend to come!

Congratulations!
Some time ago we are raving about Fanatec webstore and Preorders and no availability at all... Right now, that same selling metoth is a pleasure for the customers. Evolution.

 

[Ruttman98]

I believe I read above about a member using a Fanatec universal hub on an older OSW wheelbase.

Does anyone have experience using the Fanatec universal hub on any of the Simucube SC2 wheels? I know Sim Racing Machines and others make USB adapters for Fanatec wheels on DD wheelbases. Fitting the SC2 QR adapter might be a challenge.

 

[Fastard]

Put everything together.
Formatted my pc.
Installed ACC, DR2, RRE and PC2.
Used the Fanatec recommended settings for each game and had an one hour practice/single race session with each game. Without even installing Fanalab.

This should not be called a Direct Drive wheel.
This should be called a Direct Smile wheel.

Everything I was reading in the forums during this 2 months exciting research is true!
The difference from a good belt driven wheel is not huge.
It's the difference from very good to awesome.
It's the smoothness of the FFB. Which is delicate as a ballet dancer, and has the power of a heavy weight boxer.

And yes I can catch slides. I am almost f@@@ing drifting!
And yes I can feel every single bump of the kerbs as well as the road anomalies.
And yes I know that I will be more consistent, even though I had an express experience.

I was also reading that a DD does not make you necessarily fast.
How can this be the case if the above are valid?
Without even knowing the wheel, I did a quick run on my well known test stage in every game and was impressed by the results.
I don't have to underestimate the pedals factor though.
But I do believe I will be faster with my current setup.
And most importantly and without any doubt I will be happier.

Beat you on track!