Do Silent Wheels exist? Loud Fan noise / T300RS, TS-PC, Fanatec...

[Molda222]

Hi,
for the last many years i have been using Thrustmaster T300RS wheel and i was mostly satisfied with it but one of the problems i have with it is that it can be annoyingly loud when the fans kick in when the wheel thinks its getting hotter.
I can even hear it when wearing headset. And because i am also content creator, its even bigger problem for me (no matter what i do in post production, nothing can get entirely rid of the loud fan noise recorded together with my voice)
I had to set the FFB strenght in profiler to 65-70% and even with this setting the fans kick in after like 30-45 minutes of playing depending on the game.

To cut things short, the wheel is now very old and very used and there are some mechanical issues and soon i will have to buy new one.
I was thinking about new T300RS again or TS-PC racer, or something from fanatec like clubsport or elite. From what i was reading, it looks like they all have similar problem. Is there any wheel that can stay silent and you can drive with for 1-2 hours without the fans making tons of noise?
I can live with lowering the FFB by few % if it gets rid of the problem but its not worth wasting lots of money on some wheel and then use it with 50% FFB just to avoid loud noise.
From your exerience, what wheels you know dont have this issue or have it very very minor?
Thanks to all.

EDIT: this is little demonstration about what i am talking about (not my video but its just for showing an example) :

 

[ColinMac]

I've a Fanatec DD1. It's literally silent. No fan noise, no turn noise.

Expensive solution though !

 

[Equipe Matra]

My Simucube Pro is literally noiseless as well. I guess that's the case for all DD wheels.

 

[super_gt]

For this you need wheel base without a fan and the future is promising in this regard, but you will have to wait a while.

 

[St3fan]

Most new DD wheels are passively cooled and don't make fan noise. Some older ones have fan-cooled controller box that can still make some noise.

Before I got a VRS direct drive wheel my Fanatec CSL elite was very noisy after driving for a while. I also switched from magnetic shifters to spring ones and now my wife is very happy about the noise level of my game room.

 

[Molda222]

Direct drive could be the solution but at the moment i am not able to fit any rig here so i can only use the wheel with normal desk and its not very good idea to do that with DD i've heard.
Anyone else with TS-PC racer, fanatec clubsport or perhaps TS-XW? I've heard that TS-XW could be a little bit more silent?
Its weird that the wheels cost a fortune and yet they cannot use better and bit quieter fans inside them.

 

[blekenbleu]

Direct drive could be the solution but at the moment i am not able to fit any rig here so i can only use the wheel with normal desk and its not very good idea to do that with DD i've heard.

As with load cell brakes, there is no requirement to crank direct drive wheelbases to higher forces than their lesser counterparts, and they will still provide better feedback when limited to the same peak levels.

 

[Shovas]

One of the cheapest yet good DDs was reviewed quite favourably by SimRacing604. If you're in the ballpark budget-wise it might be your answer. Also, if you're anywhere near DD price-wise, don't go with something like Fanatec for belt-driven. DD makes that much difference.

 

[Warren Dawes]

I have a Fanatec CSW 2.5 and it is very quiet.

 

[St3fan]

Direct drive could be the solution but at the moment i am not able to fit any rig here so i can only use the wheel with normal desk and its not very good idea to do that with DD i've heard.
Anyone else with TS-PC racer, fanatec clubsport or perhaps TS-XW? I've heard that TS-XW could be a little bit more silent?
Its weird that the wheels cost a fortune and yet they cannot use better and bit quieter fans inside them.

I know quite a few people are running simagic m10 with their normal desk, but I think most of them bolt to the desk. I also have a friend on our team who used to bolt Fanatec DD1 on his wooden desk.
CSW 2.5 I have used before and it is also noisy.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

My Simucube Pro is literally noiseless as well. I guess that's the case for all DD wheels.

Podium and AF come with active cooling, SC2 passive.

 

[asteroulis]

Hi,
for the last many years i have been using Thrustmaster T300RS wheel and i was mostly satisfied with it but one of the problems i have with it is that it can be annoyingly loud when the fans kick in when the wheel thinks its getting hotter.
I can even hear it when wearing headset. And because i am also content creator, its even bigger problem for me (no matter what i do in post production, nothing can get entirely rid of the loud fan noise recorded together with my voice)
I had to set the FFB strenght in profiler to 65-70% and even with this setting the fans kick in after like 30-45 minutes of playing depending on the game.

To cut things short, the wheel is now very old and very used and there are some mechanical issues and soon i will have to buy new one.
I was thinking about new T300RS again or TS-PC racer, or something from fanatec like clubsport or elite. From what i was reading, it looks like they all have similar problem. Is there any wheel that can stay silent and you can drive with for 1-2 hours without the fans making tons of noise?
I can live with lowering the FFB by few % if it gets rid of the problem but its not worth wasting lots of money on some wheel and then use it with 50% FFB just to avoid loud noise.
From your exerience, what wheels you know dont have this issue or have it very very minor?
Thanks to all.

EDIT: this is little demonstration about what i am talking about (not my video but its just for showing an example) :

Hi ,
first of all you should upgrade your T300 to the latest firmware , and the have FORCED COOLING always on , meaning that the fan should always be on , and not wait for it to overheat.
Then I would strongly suggest to change the fan to a new one. The stock fan is not the best quality , and a new one , will last you more and make less noise, it could be even inaudible.
Stock fan is 21.4 cfm , people often use the (expensive imho) Noctua which is 17cfm but enough for always on mode. You could find other aftermarket ones that are also silent with same specs for 1/3 of the price.
Also what kind of mechanical issues do you face? The only problems not easy to fix are usually electronic ones.

 

[Molda222]

Hi ,
first of all you should upgrade your T300 to the latest firmware , and the have FORCED COOLING always on , meaning that the fan should always be on , and not wait for it to overheat.
Then I would strongly suggest to change the fan to a new one. The stock fan is not the best quality , and a new one , will last you more and make less noise, it could be even inaudible.
Stock fan is 21.4 cfm , people often use the (expensive imho) Noctua which is 17cfm but enough for always on mode. You could find other aftermarket ones that are also silent with same specs for 1/3 of the price.
Also what kind of mechanical issues do you face? The only problems not easy to fix are usually electronic ones.

Thanks. I was looking into changing the fan but from what i've seen on the internet i am not sure if i would be able to make the switch becuase its not that easy like switching fans in PC, since you need to tinker with the wires in the wheel (from the video i watched).
As for the mechanical issues - the "quick-release" mechanism in T300 is not very good and after years of heavy use and need to change rims back and forth very often, no matter what you do, the rims dont hold tight enough, also one small part of the connector from the pedals (T3PA Pro) was broken and its weird type of connector that is not possible to buy anywhere (at least not in my country or anywhere i asked). Its not ideal. I dont mind investing into the new wheel, its been a long time since i last bought a wheel and its my hobby and passion. But thanks, i will keep the fan change in mind and we'll see.

 

[RedBull48]

I previously used a Fanatec CSW2.5. For the most part it was quiet but if you like driving with higher end ffb the fans would kick on 15-20 minutes into use and I did not care for them. Recently I updated to a Fanatec DD1 and there is literally no fan noise as others have stated.

 

[jonlf]

i think the accuforce wheel is half as strong as other DDs so it may be ok on your desk perhaps, also has a good reputation with the software, simcommander

 

[Shovas]

i think the accuforce wheel is half as strong as other DDs so it may be ok on your desk perhaps, also has a good reputation with the software, simcommander

Ya, that's probably right. I own an AF1. On its strongest it's probably not a good idea but for average racing forces it probably wouldn't be an issue on a strong desk and if you lower the strength any desk should work, I'd imagine.

 

[mrexcitement71]

DD1 is much quieter than the CSW V2.5 (which I upgraded from) , now I have turned vibration off on WRC 9 the DD1 is completely silent.