We Check Out the Fanatec Direct Drive Wheel

[Paul Jeffrey]

At the 2017 Sim Racing Expo today I had the chance to check out the new Fanatec Direct Drive wheel... here are my first impressions.

Now before going any further I need to give out some caveats. My time with the wheel was limited and used with the so far unreleased Project CARS 2 software. I had over three and a half laps at Spa in PCARS 2, under race conditions at night. Not an ideal scenario to give a serious and informed opinion, but enough to at least give me an idea of what we can expect to find come release day.

Using the Porsche rim from the Fanatec ClubSport range, the wheel felt like a marked step up from my personal ClubSport V2 I use regularly at home. The initial weight of the wheel on first turn into a corner carried more force, as did the step up in resistance once additional forces were applied to the car under heavy cornering.

The build quality was the usual Fanatec standard, well put together, stylish in finish and I must say a rather neat and "cool" solution in comparison to some of the other Direct Drive products available in the marketplace today.

Having spoken with Endor CEO Thomas Jackermeier at length about the new range (interview video to follow later), he confirmed the Podium series of wheels will be compatible with earlier ClubSport rims as well as receiving a brand new range of rims, pedals and accessories further down the line. Additional confirmation was given that two different DD units will be produced, both containing the same housing but with different torque strengths.

No release date has been confirmed as yet, however early development units are under testing as we speak.

RaceDepartment have requested and have been approved for a long term test unit, of which we will put through its paces once it arrives and give you a full and detailed review in the coming months.



Stay tuned to RaceDepartment for more news and insight from the Sim Racing Expo over the next few days and follow us on social media at on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, Steam and YouTube.

Looking forward to the Fanatec Direct Drive range of products? Can the company challenge the established DD manufacturers? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

[WOKOWEN1]

It makes more sense to spend 2000 bucks on a decent motion rig in the near future and have a crapy G25/27 than spending 1000 or more in a single steering wheel anytime.

 

[Raikku]

If you have money to buy high end stuff you buy everything from same quality level, anything else would be insanity. You don't want to use 3K pc with 1280x1024 monitor, in example. Or you don't buy expensive AV-amplifier and then put some crappy few hundreds € -speakers with it.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

Just as idiotic as spending 1000 bucks on a steering wheel alone and imagining how the car would really feel in real life

If we are going to be silly about this then we may all as well buy the cheapest stuff because nothing replicates reality 1:1 so why bother trying .

If it gets closer to reality then it's worth it if you can afford it, people need to stop being jealous.

Comparing it to road cars with electric power steering is stupid because they have numb weak feeling anyway, what I want is authentic forces no matter the car and right now my V2 can't do that, I can easily overpower max force, doesn't feel very realistic for classic F1 cars when they basically crawled out of those things after a long race?

For people who only care about going fast sure not the best use of money but for authenticity it's almost a requirement.

 

[DumitruM]

Believe it or not but I found after a bit of tweaking that the DFGT works wonderfully well with GTR2, feels better than in AC IMHO.

I don't need the tweaking, I want to get rid of that horrible backlash and inconsistencies caused by it (also, can't drive straight if I let go of the wheel)

 

[RaceNut]

Based on what Fanatec has stated in the past, they want their DD1 to match up well with the AccuForce system and the entry level AccuForce V2 base (DIY) can be purchased for $704usd currently. If it turns out to be the case and you already have Fanatec gear (Wheel), stepping up to the DD-system should not be that much of a leap coming from the CSW 2.5 base at all.

Fanatec is in a great position to succeed in the DD-wheel market because of the hardware eco-system they have developed to date. It could make for a very attractive and cohesive control package with excellent broad game support overall.

At any rate, it's a good development for the Sim-racing community as more options become available, hardware support is broadened, technology is advanced while costs are reduced over time.

 

[Raikku]

Yeah, like me who have two un.hubs(orig and xbox-hub) and 4 other Fanatec-rims/wheels, which already has costed way over 1K, getting new base in around 1K€ price is no biggie at all.

 

[Amir Vodokotlic]

I am not in the market for direct drive wheel.

But in my opinion this is good news.

More manufactures making them can only mean price will start falling.

Especially on the DYI wheels if the Fanatec direct drive wheel is anywhere close to that price.

 

[Richard Wilks]

"If it gets closer to reality then it's worth it if you can afford it, people need to stop being jealous"

I love this argument, exactly what do you think he needs to be jealous about? The fact that you spend more on a toy wheel than some real cars cost?
On topic, i think fanatec has a dodgy reputation for reliability at best, so it will be interesting to see the fallout of having something that costed this much go wrong on day 1.

 

[RichardHessels]

Hmm looks bloody ugly to me, hope they don't go with that paint scheme...Interesting on that rig the way they have mounted it..but I'm sure it will mount like most bases do as well..

These kinds of patterns are normally used on cars that are still prototype. So when photographed on the public road you can't see the final shapes.

 

[kondor999]

Forget the wheel, look at that gorgeous mounting system! That's definitely not the standard Rennsport V2 kit.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

"If it gets closer to reality then it's worth it if you can afford it, people need to stop being jealous"

I love this argument, exactly what do you think he needs to be jealous about? The fact that you spend more on a toy wheel than some real cars cost?
On topic, i think fanatec has a dodgy reputation for reliability at best, so it will be interesting to see the fallout of having something that costed this much go wrong on day 1.

Why does it matter to you what me or anyone else spends their money on? It's not like it costs more for no gain, so surely it's the fact you're upset I can and don't care about the cost (within reason) if it brings me more immersion.

Also the argument you can get a real car in these scenarios is stupid, not only would that car be total crap but I can't go casually drive it around the world on different circuits or in official races whenever I please like after work on a Monday evening can I now!

It's honestly just sad, the same arguments come up when people talk about nice bicycles with people being like 'lol I can get a real car for £900 it costs for those wheels/groupset etc.' Well good for you but that's not going to be much use to me when I want to go for a long ride is it now...

It is pure jealously that other people can afford (or are allowed ) to buy these things and they can't. Its not like someone buying a Ferrari to drive around and show off. Nobody is going to see it or care in the real world so insinuating that's what I'm claiming anyone is jealous of is stupid.

So back on topic shame they didn't have a game people could compare FFB we already know. Very interested in getting one and may get the new wheel if it releases at the same time.

 

[Richard Wilks]

"It is pure jealously that other people can afford (or are allowed ) to buy these things and they can't."

And there you go again! Jealousy? It makes me wonder if it gives you a special pleasure to imagine that you can afford something that other people can't?

Oh and yes, back to the topic, a direct drive wheel, or any force feedback wheel feels NOTHING like a real wheel for that matter, so the immersion argument is balls. You are trying to feel with your hands what you actually feel with your body in reality. Many of the fastest aliens in the world don't even use force feedback, because sometimes the feedback is actually counter intuitive. I am STILL to be convinced that DD wheels are any better than normal ones about anything, bar maybe input lag, and even that is debatable.

 

[MarkR]

I'd certainly like to 'test drive' one of, or even better a range of, these DD wheels. I wasn't at all sold on VR but once I tried both the Vive and Rift I was immediately sold on the Rift. Trying new products is often the best convincer.

Call me a sceptic but I don't for one minute believe the YouTubers who rave on about the current DD wheels without declaring their interest in the product or if the item was provided by the manufacturer. There is a lot of cherry picking in their comments, like missing out how tricky they can currently be to set up.

I loved my Fanatec CSL Xbox 360/PC wheel, unfortunately, the 2 V2 hubs I owned both failed within days (fully refunded can't fault Fanatec customer service for that). Sure the experience is 10% better than the consumer wheels but the quality did not match the price. As a result, both Fanatec and the other DD wheel makers need to convince me the product really is superior, they are easy to use and they are highly reliable.

Just because I could buy one doesn't mean I will in this case.

 

[Jeffers58]

"It is pure jealously that other people can afford (or are allowed ) to buy these things and they can't."

And there you go again! Jealousy? It makes me wonder if it gives you a special pleasure to imagine that you can afford something that other people can't?

Oh and yes, back to the topic, a direct drive wheel, or any force feedback wheel feels NOTHING like a real wheel for that matter, so the immersion argument is balls. You are trying to feel with your hands what you actually feel with your body in reality. Many of the fastest aliens in the world don't even use force feedback, because sometimes the feedback is actually counter intuitive. I am STILL to be convinced that DD wheels are any better than normal ones about anything, bar maybe input lag, and even that is debatable.

Out of curiosity Richard, have you tried a DD wheel?

 

[Richard Wilks]

I did yes, an accuforce DYI from a friend.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

"It is pure jealously that other people can afford (or are allowed ) to buy these things and they can't."

And there you go again! Jealousy? It makes me wonder if it gives you a special pleasure to imagine that you can afford something that other people can't?

I never even started the argument about worth so please try again. My point was simply why come in throwing **** about how it's pointless without any facts.

I've happily said those Vesaro motion rigs are a rip-off because of the huge markup on what is actually included but that is not the case here. Saying you could buy a real 2nd hand piece of junk car for the same price is completely irrelevant because it's not really going to help me play any sim games is it now.

Also I race with all fake effects off and nearly every sim gives you the ability to do that so again what you are saying isn't useful. What I said I want is more torque to match as close as is possible in the digital world to driving cars with more torque. I really don't care if people race with no FFB to go faster or because they don't have the strength or fitness to races with realistic forces I want what a driver would have to do, it's as simple as that, same reason I use a h-shifter/clutch even though I'm slower, if that's what the car uses then that's how I'll drive it.

 

[MarkR]

Hmm...this just appeared and really makes me question what all the DD wheel stuff is really about. Not getting at Jimmy he seems to be a decent lad. Surely these wheels are seriously over-engineered, no track or road car (or aircraft for that matter) I've ever had the luck to drive requires or produces such turning force at the wheel.

 

[Raikku]

Have you heard nm-maximums what in example drivers have to endure in Indycar, they are more than present DD-wheels can produce...

 

[Jeffers58]

I did yes, an accuforce DYI from a friend.

Ah ok. Something like a DD wheel will certainly be subjective, what works for me may not work for you.

 

[kondor999]

I wish they'd make a DD wheel with a fairly low-torque (and therefore, hopefully less expensive) motor.

I'm intrigued at the fast response time and detail of a DD, but I already run my lowly TM TX/458 wheel at about 50-55% on most cars in AC.

Anything above 70% feels wrong to me, and I end up over-correcting a lot. I have fairly extensive (over 30 years) of IRL on-track experience, and I've never driven anything that, once you got it rolling, felt as stiff as what the TX can deliver at 70-80% strength. I've never driven open-wheel or anything with very high downforce, however.