Fanatec McLaren GT3 rim problems...

[anton_Chez]

Hey guys,

Anyone having problems with their newly released McLaren GT3 rim? I am having the clutch paddles drop out on me after a random amount of time. Upon plugging the rim into the base (I use an OSW with the Fanatec wheel base side conversion kit with the newly flashed firmware to operate the GT3 rim) everything is recognized, map-able and works fine. After a while driving, the clutch paddles just drop out and become unusable. I've had the gear paddles drop out once or twice but it's the clutch paddles that do it pretty much every session. Sometimes after 20 minutes, sometimes after a couple of minutes. I've contacted both Fanatec and Simracingmachines.com where I got the conversion kit from in a hope to get to the bottom of it. Just wondering if anyone else is having drama with it.

When you first plug it in, everything is recognized so their shouldn't be a problem with compatibility. Just a reliability thing now.

 

[Mr Latte]

Just a thought?
Fanatec may want with this rim and others coming to keep full compatibility with their own current and upcoming wheelbases? That's not to say the issue cant be resolved or a fix found but will be interesting to discover if those with various DD wheels can get this rim to operate properly or not?

Of course, this as a possibility could be bollocks and my own weird imagination.

 

[anton_Chez]

I am surprised you still persist with Dirt 4. I tried it again when testing all the sims/games out when the OSW got here and I just can't get on with it. This was after driving an hour or so hard in Sweden in Dirt Rally. It's a real shame. I did at one stage get on with it fairly well but the cars just feel so alien that it's almost not worth the effort.

 

[anton_Chez]

Fanatec may want with this rim and others coming to keep full compatibility with their own current and upcoming wheelbases?

That may be true but they still sell the rims as a product and as such, they should at least attempt to have them function with adapters that aren't exclusively Fanatec. I will be steering away from their ecosystem in the future, even though new rims are going to cost me a fair bit more. I already am dirty that it cost me $40 to CONTINUE to use my CSS shifter once I got rid of the wheelbase, as you need the USB adapter. I will be able to easily sell off these rims once I make the jump over.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

I am surprised you still persist with Dirt 4. I tried it again when testing all the sims/games out when the OSW got here and I just can't get on with it. This was after driving an hour or so hard in Sweden in Dirt Rally. It's a real shame. I did at one stage get on with it fairly well but the cars just feel so alien that it's almost not worth the effort.

I use the Sim Commander foundation FFB in both games so I get proper FFB without having to mess around. I’m pretty relaxed when it comes to handling as long as it’s drivable so I’m fine with Forza 7 but Forza 6: Apex and Horizon 3 had some of the worst FFB I’ve ever had the misfortune to experience.

Got Dirt 4 engine vibrations working properly now though so all good.

That may be true but they still sell the rims as a product and as such, they should at least attempt to have them function with adapters that aren't exclusively Fanatec. I will be steering away from their ecosystem in the future, even though new rims are going to cost me a fair bit more. I already am dirty that it cost me $40 to CONTINUE to use my CSS shifter once I got rid of the wheelbase, as you need the USB adapter. I will be able to easily sell off these rims once I make the jump over.

Yeh I’m still salty about needing to spend £40 on a little USB adapter when I sold my pedals. That along with quality issues has led to me going from all Fanatec gear to just the shifter and I’ll be tempted to swap it out for the Heusinkveld one once it releases.

 

[anton_Chez]

I am looking forward to that, as that tank of a thing is not going to look any good next to all my new gear now. The H pattern was pretty good for what it was, but it's so bloody big compared to everything else mounted to the shifter rail now, it's ridiculous. I am hoping for an elegant design from the HE one. I don't think they will disappoint.

As a side note, I've ordered 20 x nylon washers to use between the conversion hub and the shaft. I am hoping this solves the issue. I am out of ideas and almost am certain that Fanatec will wash their hands as soon as they see that I am not using their wheelbase. I had the V2 when I pre-ordered this rim but it's taken so long to get here that I was unable to even test it on that base. It would have been great had I had the rim to flash before I sold the V2.5. At least that's another factor ruled out and I would have had it malfunction on a Fanatec wheel base.

I am pretty sure that the firmware in the hub is a modified version of Fanatecs, because everything works, and also, the fine tune mode for the clutch paddles works on mine before Fanatec even had a chance to update and implement that feature into their BIOS.

 

[Hiro Abe]

That may be true but they still sell the rims as a product and as such, they should at least attempt to have them function with adapters that aren't exclusively Fanatec.

Um... why? They don't market this as can be used on other wheelbases. The stock mounting and the CSW adapter are all meant for Fanatec wheelbases. Why should they be concerned if it works with a non-Fanatec adapter? From a business perspective, doesn't seem to make sense to me. Now... if they sold, say, OSW adapters then I couldn't agree more.

 

[Mascot]

Um... why? They don't market this as can be used on other wheelbases. The stock mounting and the CSW adapter are all meant for Fanatec wheelbases. Why should they be concerned if it works with a non-Fanatec adapter? From a business perspective, doesn't seem to make sense to me. Now... if they sold, say, OSW adapters then I couldn't agree more.

I'd guess Fanatec would want to sell as many rims as possible to anyone and everyone, no matter who made their wheelbase. Even with the Podium (seemingly) coming soon I think it'd be daft for Fanatec to try to leverage their rim compatibility and try to tempt potential OSW purchasers to buy into Podium simply because of the nice rims.

Is the warning about CSW compatibility ONLY on the new McLaren rim, or has that been standard with previous rims too?

 

[Furnace Inferno]

I'd guess Fanatec would want to sell as many rims as possible to anyone and everyone, no matter who made their wheelbase. Even with the Podium (seemingly) coming soon I think it'd be daft for Fanatec to try to leverage their rim compatibility and try to tempt potential OSW purchasers to buy into Podium simply because of the nice rims.

Is the warning about CSW compatibility ONLY on the new McLaren rim, or has that been standard with previous rims too?

Just the new one from what I’ve seen.

 

[Hiro Abe]

Just the new one from what I’ve seen.

I agree. I'm assuming it's because of the new clutch paddles which is what Anton is struggling with. When I got mine and put it on my CSW, I totally forgot about the firmware update and my wheel wouldn't work. If I remember correctly (and that's a big "if" ), my wheelbase wouldn't even go thru it's initial boot up of spinning the wheel with my GT3 mounted. Once I did the firmware update to my wheelbase, everything has been working fine. So there is something unique to the clutch paddles that seems to be causing this issue.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

I agree. I'm assuming it's because of the new clutch paddles which is what Anton is struggling with. When I got mine and put it on my CSW, I totally forgot about the firmware update and my wheel wouldn't work. If I remember correctly (and that's a big "if" ), my wheelbase wouldn't even go thru it's initial boot up of spinning the wheel with my GT3 mounted. Once I did the firmware update to my wheelbase, everything has been working fine. So there is something unique to the clutch paddles that seems to be causing this issue.

Could also be the position switches or combination of both as they are basically a constant button input or axis depending on how they are setup.

It’s annoying they won’t just explain possible causes without insisting on pictures and videos so we can diagnose ourselves and help the community instead of having to go through the secretive means where nobody but them know what is wrong.

 

[anton_Chez]

Hey guys, just had another response from Fanatec now. They are happy to have the rim back to the workshop to be tested and firmware upgraded if needed. If anything is found to be wrong they will honor under warranty and if not, they just charge me for shipping. That seems more than fair and am absolutely happy about that.

I am not blaming them or calling them out for anything at this point. They have not washed their hands of it and I find that pleasing. They are willing to work with me knowing it's not on a Fanatec base to try and get to the bottom of what the problem may be. My point is, the rim is working. It has a firmware update via the conversion hub. I actually had a more functional firmware at launch than Fanatec users as I have been able to adjust clutch bite point from the outset, even though I didn't know about it! So the fact that it works, and then stops working, warrants investigation, in my opinion. I have ordered some washers to try and eliminate EMI related issues, and will see how they work before the rim goes back.

Also, to be fair, I ordered this rim when I had a V2 base. I then bought a V2.5, before selling both and moving onto OSW. If this rim was delivered when it was planned to be, I would have had a chance to test it. But it took 6+ months from announcement to delivery. I've also just watched Barry's review at Sim Racing Garage and he too has been having problems with clutch paddles on a CSL Elite base, the base it's designed for. His don't drop out completely but they do disappear for a random amount of time, or clutch presses, before they come back to life. Very suspicious.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

Hey guys, just had another response from Fanatec now. They are happy to have the rim back to the workshop to be tested and firmware upgraded if needed. If anything is found to be wrong they will honor under warranty and if not, they just charge me for shipping. That seems more than fair and am absolutely happy about that.

I am not blaming them or calling them out for anything at this point. They have not washed their hands of it and I find that pleasing. They are willing to work with me knowing it's not on a Fanatec base to try and get to the bottom of what the problem may be. My point is, the rim is working. It has a firmware update via the conversion hub. I actually had a more functional firmware at launch than Fanatec users as I have been able to adjust clutch bite point from the outset, even though I didn't know about it! So the fact that it works, and then stops working, warrants investigation, in my opinion. I have ordered some washers to try and eliminate EMI related issues, and will see how they work before the rim goes back.

Also, to be fair, I ordered this rim when I had a V2 base. I then bought a V2.5, before selling both and moving onto OSW. If this rim was delivered when it was planned to be, I would have had a chance to test it. But it took 6+ months from announcement to delivery. I've also just watched Barry's review at Sim Racing Garage and he too has been having problems with clutch paddles on a CSL Elite base, the base it's designed for. His don't drop out completely but they do disappear for a random amount of time, or clutch presses, before they come back to life. Very suspicious.

Yeh, saw that too clearly something up with them and perhaps just a software issue rather than hardware.

 

[PFC-Paula1969]

I have the same problem. The clutch will fail after a few minutes, Adapter SRM conversion Kit, Simucube. Did you solve the problem?

 

[Mascot]

Failure after X amount of time then returning to normal usually suggests a thermal issue. Could be a dry joint on the board that just needs a micron of movement to break contact before cooling and re-establishing connection.

No doubt Fanatec will insist on a video of this directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Steve McQueen.

 

[anton_Chez]

I have an RMA issued to me and am sending the rim back to them for inspection. Just FYI, my rim NEVER reinstates the control, it disappears after a random amount of time, whether in use or just sitting there on the wheel hub. It doesn't need to be in use to fail. The only way to get it to come back is to physically remove and reattach the rim to the wheel hub or to remove the USB cable from the PC and re-plug it back in. Both achieve the same thing, and the paddles reappear. I've done everything I can think of on my end and am pretty sure that it's a hardware issue, hardware being the rim.

Also, while I was going to try and video it, it's pretty hard as you cannot catch it in the act. You can show a video of it working, and then a video of it not, when you pull the paddles in. But they did not insist I send one, and have issued RMA without a video. I guess I can explain stuff pretty good. They did advise me if they cannot reproduce the issue that I pay for the shipping but that's a small cost for peace of mind, especially since I am convinced it's the rim and the more people that mention the issue just reinforce that.

It's a little sus that you are running a conversion hub like I am, however. Perhaps it could be related. We'll see, anyway.

 

[PFC-Paula1969]

gestern habe ich von Simon eine neue Firmware bekommen. Ich habe mehr Stunden erlebt. Fällt weiterhin irgendwann aus. Meine Vermutung ist, dass es einen dem Adapter liegt. Bis jetzt habe ich nur Leute, die das Problem haben und DD mit dem Adapter verwenden. Sonst hat der Fanatec Benutzer sich sicher schon gemeldet.

Mod Edit: RaceDepartment is an English speaking website. When posting on public message boards, please use only the English language.

 

[anton_Chez]

I translated your message there. I have contacted Simon again (I did once before with no response) and have asked him for his opinion on the matter. Before I send the rim in for inspection, I will wait to hear what he says. I have a feeling that it very well could be the hub. Will post back once I have some new info.

 

[anton_Chez]

Just spoke with Simon now. It seems that the firmware that the rim ships with is causing issues. The rims he has updated to the latest firmware seem to work as expected. So, my mission now is to find someone to update my rim for me on a CSL or CSW V2/2.5 wheel base. Had I had the rim when EVERYONE else got it, and not a month later due to living in Australia, I could have updated it myself. Such is life. Worst case I can send it to Fanatec, pay the shipping and get them to update it for me. I would hope that they could do that for me even though the rim is no longer being used on a Fanatec base. Giving me this issue in the first place

 

[MeNoMoney]

Sounds like I need to test mine are working aswell. Also running SRM conversion kit on DD mige Servo setup but only ever used auto clutch option with paddle gearchange shifters so never even tried clutch paddles on my Mclaren GT3 wheel.

 

[Moxley6969]

Scary how much flex this rim has....

EPOXY to the rescue, and LOTS of it.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/2rXtbimDm47xi5TM6

Ill post another video when all the epoxy is cured. Epoxy Around the bolts ins't as critical as the bottom area around the "tool holder" where 95% of the flex is coming from the webbing.