Anyone see this? CSL Direct Drive.

[Michael Krone]

Looks like that April Fools joke isnt so much a joke now? https://www.racedepartment.com/news/fanatec-reveal-new-csl-dd-wheelbase.34/

 

[Daniel R.]

So in stock mode it has 5Nm torque. So, close to Thrustmaster Wheels.

The real advantage is the Direct Drive concept. Should result in more detailed FFB.
Price is also interesting.
Though you need a wheel for it.

With the boost option (seems to be just higher current) you get 8Nm.

That should be enough because it is more or less the max. torque you get in a vehicle when driving. Higher torque is only happening when you crash o. e.

 

[AccAkut]

No I hadn't, very interesting. Lol at all the guys posting "Logitech and Thrustmaster are dead", this still just a subniche of a niche, those two have their market share and this will hardly put a dent in it.

5 NM should be plenty enough for most users, but the fidelity will be key.

 

[Fat-Alfie]

I would probably be considering this, if I didn't own a barely-used Thrustmaster TS-PC.

I am forced to use a Wheelstand-Pro and 5nm would be perfect for my needs, combined with the extra fidelity a DD wheel would provide

 

[Lesthegringo]

Definitely interested in this, compared to the DD1, but one key point for me will be the ability to use FanaLabs to control it. Nothing in the Fanatec blurb about that

Les

 

[BrightCandle]

What this attacks most is the high end of Thrustmaster like the TS-PC (and all of Fanatec's belt line up which I presume they end) and vendors like Simplicity that do 8nm and 13nm open sim wheels. It isn't cheap enough to be competing with a T300 or Logitech that also come with pedals and are quite a bit cheaper than this. The majority of the market will still be on belt wheels and Potentiometer pedals. Presumably this competes well with Accuforce and Simagic M10 in terms of price to performance, less strong but has the ecosystem.

What I think Fanatec needs is one more DD in the 13nm range to complete the line up.

 

[AmazingReflex]

.

 

[WarmRed]

Fanatec's statement: there is no power supply in the CSL DD's packaging as standard and the customer has to choose when ordering.

and

There is a DD in development to fill the gap between the CSL DD and the DD1 but this will still take quite some time.

 

[Fat-Alfie]

Does it come with a motor? Or do you have to buy that separately too, along with the steering wheel and power supply?

 

[Michael Krone]

Does it come with a motor? Or do you have to buy that separately too, along with the steering wheel and power supply?

Jeez, right.. Starting to seem like not such a good deal. Ive never been one to use any kind of "boost mode" on any product either. I feel like thats just more wear and tear or rather, planned obsolescence.

Something seems fishy, maybe its just me. Why would you sell two different power supplies? I guess I see the business model if the lesser was included.

By the way fanatec, whats with the pricing? 350 USD and Euros???

Yea, ill be happy with my CSW until next year when I can blow the money on a proper DD. Theres a chance I could change my mind but im 99.9% sure that wont happen.

 

[BrightCandle]

What no power plug at all? Well that is what we call a con. So the price is just made up then basically, it isn't a working product without a PSU? That is unless it uses a completely standard AC adapter of the small or larger variety in which case we can buy our own power supply unit?

Unless we can use third party PSUs this is sounding like it might be running into EU's misleading marketing legislation. It has to be possible to buy it at the price listed and it has to be usable in some form without requiring further purchases from Fanatec.

 

[Jan Larsen]

What no power plug at all? Well that is what we call a con. So the price is just made up then basically, it isn't a working product without a PSU? That is unless it uses a completely standard AC adapter of the small or larger variety in which case we can buy our own power supply unit?

Unless we can use third party PSUs this is sounding like it might be running into EU's misleading marketing legislation. It has to be possible to buy it at the price listed and it has to be usable in some form without requiring further purchases from Fanatec.

What? Do you honestly think it'd ship without a power brick at all?

 

[RasmusP]

I would probably be considering this, if I didn't own a barely-used Thrustmaster TS-PC.

I am forced to use a Wheelstand-Pro and 5nm would be perfect for my needs, combined with the extra fidelity a DD wheel would provide

Don't worry! I had 2x TS-PC for 2 weeks each and wouldn't both have cracking in the Ferrari rim and loud coil wine, I would prefer it over my CSW 2.5!
The higher base-friction of the TS-PC construction gives it that nice, tight and beefy center position feeling.
But as soon as you give input and the wheel turns, the resistance won't really increase so you can still turn very swiftly and quickly when needed!
Also the ffb doesn't feel damped by this friction at all.

When I got the TS-PC I was testing Dirt Rally 2.0 and I liked it with it.
With the CSW 2.5 I just couldn't keep my from swerving left/right when going down a straight at higher speeds. I was using the "real" degrees of the cars after calibrating the wheel so the cars weren't twitchy in general.

When I set the base friction of the CSW to a higher setting ("drift mode" , DRI) like -4 or -5, the swerving stopped and it felt nice around the center but when you had to turn really swiftly and quickly, the resistance was very annoying, like steering through pudding.

DD wheels seem to have more settings for this. Simucube/OSW have "inertia", "friction", "damping" so I guess it might be possible to get it right with a mix of them but not sure what settings Fanatec will implement..

Long story short: For me, the TS-PC is the best feeling wheel! I was just too annoyed by the coil wine, cracking and I have to say the starting procedure is pretty brutal.. CSW has a power button and calibrates with a slow and silent rotation...

What? Do you honestly think it'd ship without a power brick at all?

I think you'll have to select which one you'd like to get during the shopping process and probably have to pay 50€ extra for the 8NM power supply or something

 

[WarmRed]

At the communicated price, you get the small power supply. If you specify that you want the 8NM CSL when ordering, you will get the large power supply instead of the small one. This is the statement from the Fanatec CEO.

And if that's not enough, you can wait for the CSW DD, which is in development. It will fill the gap between the CSL DD and the Podium DD.

 

[Michael Krone]

Ok so the lesser PSU is included in the $350 price? I wasnt sure and shouldnt have sounded so final.

 

[girarcat]

So where does the CSL DD stand as compared to the CSW2.5? Is it supposed to be better just because it's a DD? I hardly think so considering it's like 200€ less expensive than the CSW2.5

 

[super_gt]

So where does the CSL DD stand as compared to the CSW2.5? Is it supposed to be better just because it's a DD? I hardly think so considering it's like 200€ less expensive than the CSW2.5

Answer.

 

[gecco]

Fanatec marketing has really pulled that off fine, but I fail to see, where this is a good deal?

The main rotor shaft, as well as the front and back plate are made of plastic.
It comes without table clamp.
It comes without steering wheel.
it comes without paddles pedals
It only has 5nm of torque...

...while the whole unit is made to put out 8nm of torque, but Fanatec charges extra for a more powerful power supply, if one wants to utilize that, ...and who wouldn't?

Then, for the steering wheel you have to buy extra, out of the Fanatec pool of course, you'll probably also want the improved Fanatec quick release, that does away with the wiggle, again paying extra for that.

So not to say that the product itself will be bad, but it is not a good deal at all really, it's foremost a cheap invite into the Fanatec eco-system!

 

[RasmusP]

The main rotor shaft, as well as the front and back plate are made of plastic.
It comes without table clamp.
It comes without steering wheel.
it comes without paddles.
It only has 5nm of torque...

Well the CSW 2.5 was 549€:
The main rotor shaft and front plate are out of metal, backplate and top cover are plastic.
It came without table clamp
It came without steering wheel
It came without pedals (paddles are part of the steering wheels)
It has about 8nm of torque

So what I see is if the shaft isn't bending and the 8nm power supply isn't more than 200€, you get exactly the same package, probably cheaper than the csw 2.5 but you'll have a DD.

The Quick release on this CSL DD looks exactly like the old clubsport QR!

 

[super_gt]

The Quick release on this CSL DD looks exactly like the old clubsport QR!

The QR looks improved.