I register a tendency in this thread
Let me tell you a story of a sim racer with sensitiveness for small changes in steering movement...this is going to be a looooncc one, so brace yourselves! (or skip it, i can't blame you, but man, was it a ride for me)
The piece of marvellous hardware, that i see as a major example for the quality assurance of a so called premium mainstream supplier:
Fanatec CSL Elite PS4 Pack (Wheelbase and P1 Rim) for 500€ + UPS Shipping. The problem is on the wheelbase side.
BTW: I own the Fanatec CSP V3 and these pedals are very nice and they're not making any problems for quite a time, no adjustments needed, no decalibration or loadcell/halleffect sensor flickering, nothing...so fingers crossed, so no wasted money, there.^^
But let's stay on the wheelbase topic here:
I really, really like the FFB and driving feel of this wheel, it's silky smooth, it has some astonishing detail in FFB, many options to modulate your steering and force characteristics in a firmware dependent tuning menu/environment and it's fine to use, even if you're not on a 1000€ rig.
So why do i think, it's the worst bit of kit i purchased?
Let me tell you at first: This is no bashing for the support of Fanatec, these guys do a good job, it's more about the company and its quality standards (and awareness of that) itself.
The problem might be even not that big of a deal for anyone, but for me it really is in some occasions and maybe it saves someone of a wrong purchase.
Well, the first time, i plugged it in (i'm not even talking about the main issue now, be aware of that
) and started it, it had some annoying coil whine, so i looked for a solution and the solution is beta motor firmware v22. This firmware sometimes leads to a coggy feel, when changing the "Sen" value to different degrees of rotation, though, when not restarting the wheel, so room for improvement, there. But the whine is gone and it works, so far, but not having this adressed and selling it without mentioning it somewhere outside their forums is already shady...
but let's have a look at the main issue, why i never recommend buying a CSL Elite to anyone:
I drove a longer period of time and after 2 months, my muscle memory was alarming something...the centering is always moving a bit in the direction of where forces are coming from and i notice it while driving smoothly out of corners (FFB and steering lock are both causing it), it's assumingly not a sensor problem.
So it got RMA'd after making several videos for the (really nice, fast and competent but also doubting) support and i waited 2 weeks, got code wheel sensor changed and motor pulley adjusted (i had also a slight grinding noise, but this got fixed) and got it back, just to see:
OH the problem is....
still there (*australian old iRacing spotter accent*).
You wanna see it?
I made an absolutely empirical and scientifically valid experiment with a white line on the monitor and a standing camera on my scientifically advanced...telephone.
(Video before the RMA)
I oriented after 0° with 32767 notches (absolute center of the CSL Elite, using magnifier for better visibility).
Look, where the numbers on the LCD on the Rim allign with the white line, when the driver shows the center after turning it left and right into the softlock (Sen value on 009 what means 90°), maybe you notice it.^^
(Video after the RMA repair)
I have the wheel centered at the start of the video and turning it all the way into the left steering lock (it is the same with every angle of rotation) and back into the exact centering position, this method this time, because the support guy wasn't understanding my method quite well, i got the feeling...
The value changes from 0 to 1 at exact center, also the notches at the top change...
what does this tell? It seems, the wheel still wants to go in a slightly different direction now, even if it's not that much, but it's not even 4 months old now, so there are not many happy feelings about that. Maybe not everyone feels it, while driving but i do.^^
BUT CrimsonCringe, why are you not RMA'ing it again, to finally solve the issue you may ask? (i'm sure you stopped reading this wall of text by now, so no questions at all
)
Well, i tried, even got a very knowledgeable guy on the telephone, because i got tired of emails,
but they tell me now, this is a normal behaviour in the tolerances, a mail from a day later, after reconsidering the value of an issue there confirms this evaluation of the whole situation.
"There is no problem with the centering" and "It will not have an effect in any game".
Dominic Brennan, the official Fanatec Community Manager told me something different, though. I link the Sector 3 Forum thread here, where i also was posting the issue already and his answer to the video, i've made before the RMA:
https://forum.sector3studios.com/in...-general-discussion.10836/page-19#post-197089
So Fanatec seems aware of this problem, has tolerance charts for it and refuses to fix it (even if the CM of the company himself told me, there is something wrong with it), that's why the support can nothing do for me there. (Nothing against the support team, they're really fast, nice and competent, at least here in germany
)
They would charge me the shipping, if they find nothing on their side, what is likely, cause they even tell me, that this is normal, despite some proof (in my opinion).
I think, driving wheels shouldn't change their calibration, even my G27 did a way better job there.
So if you made it until this point: Congratulations, after the whole thread and this way toooo long post, wasting your time, reading it, you finally got the awareness, of better saving your money for a bit better equipment or even avoiding Fanatec totally!
Also a side note:
If you want to have a probably more reliable and even less pricey shifter, than the Fanatec SQ, go with the Thrustmaster TH8A, but do not unscrew and screw it very often, the thread for the clamp has deformed a bit here, so it doesn't stick without a selfmade spacer anymore. But at least, the tech is working fine, and i must say, it feels very good after longtime G27 shifter usage! (TH8A is for quite a year in use now)
Thank you for your patience, if you made it through this post, sim racing community!
P.S. We need more alternatives and competition on the market in this price range...we REALLY, REALLY need it.
