Fanatec CSL Elite upgrade to GT DD 8nM worthy?

[Large Style]

Hi all,

I'm considering upgrading from CSL Elite to the GT DD 8nM and I'm just uncertain if the GT DD is worth the additional £350 investment on top of the £170 I'll likely get for selling the CSL Elite.

My CSL Elite is great, but being belt-driven the FFB feels a bit dull / lacking in fine detail, unless I crank FEI setting up - but that causes far too much rattling. I use Fanatec recommended settings via Fanalab, which although is decent, still feels like I'm not getting the full experience.

I'm interested in the upgrade for 2 reasons: stronger FFB mainly for mid-speed corners (as I find the CSL Elite a little weaker than you'd expect when holding the car / tyre balance) and just more overall but specifically sharper detail.

I already get that the GT DD will tick both those boxes to an extent, but I just don't know if that extra 2nM strength upgrade and extra detail courtesy of being a DD unit really transforms or even just justifies being 3x the price of my CSL Elite. I know diminishing returns are always normally a factor, but I'd hate to go ahead and find that the GT DD isn't that much of an upgrade and I'd be wanting more still.

I've done the usual research (watched plenty YouTube vids, read articles etc) but some have said that the differences aren't that big, while others have said its definitely a worthy improvement. So I'm still uncertain if it's worth the plunge, or I should just accept & be happy with my CSL Elite.

I'd appreciate it very much if anyone has any feedback of their experiences, especially if you've done this upgrade path yourself please. Respectfully, I'm ideally looking for some explanation / reasoning of people's feelings and thoughts, not just the probable "yeah it's great, do it" type answer as personally speaking that's not really going to be useful feedback to me.

Many thanks in advance if anyone could kindly spare a moment just for a comment or two to settle my OCD down a little please

 

[Kismet110]

I can't comment on the GT DD 8Nm but the CSL Elite DD 8Nm is fantastic. I came to it from a G920 (modded so better than standard albeit the same torque) and the enjoyment level as well as feedback has been quite something, even now months later it puts a big grin on my face.

Extra torque gives you overhead and direct drive wheelbases are significantly better than belt driven ones. I initially like yourself though long and hard about cost vs improvement but SO glad I went for it. You could also save quite a lot of money by buying the 5Nm variant and get the Boost Kit (i.e. higher rated power supply) from AliExpress or similar.

 

[Wreckoning]

Hi as someone who's a Fanatec DD1 owner and has a couple of wheels and the shifter (so quite invested in the eco system) buying anymore Fanatec stuff at the moment is a bit of a tough call.

My stuff all works fine and the shifter I got for a bargain price on Black Friday and it all turned up reasonably promptly, but it does appear quite a few people aren't that lucky.

I know they probably sell more kit than most of the other companies and therefore proportionally more complaints but the do seem to be having a particularly tough time right now. I was looking for a Podium Hub as I want to buy a Simagic GT Neo and they've just extended the backorder date on that by a month. This sort of thing has happened in the past with the lead times just get longer.

As I say I am not a Fanatec hater but I'd just struggle to recommend spending money and getting more locked into that eco system at this point in time.

 

[Large Style]

Extra torque gives you overhead and direct drive wheelbases are significantly better than belt driven ones. I initially like yourself though long and hard about cost vs improvement but SO glad I went for it. You could also save quite a lot of money by buying the 5Nm variant and get the Boost Kit (i.e. higher rated power supply) from AliExpress or similar.

Thank you very much for your reply and help, this is much appreciated!

Your comments of a DD being "significantly better than belt driven" and that you feel that DD is worth the sizable upgrade cost after going through the same doubts or considerations is very much convincing myself to go down the same road too. We seem to share the same mindset and appreciation for equipment so I feel like I can put my concerns to one side and take the plunge in decent confidence.

I forgot to mention that my CSL Elite has a very loud fan, so much that I absolutely have to wear headphones to race with, and while I've heard that DD units aren't completely silent I'm sure they're greatly improved over my current jet engine.

I'm very unsure though regarding the PSU - while I've seen these AliExpress units function seemingly without issue on YT, they surely must void warranty, which considering the fair amount of manufacturing defects I've seen from Fanatec recently might not be a good corner-cut. That said, part of me almost refuses to pay Fanatec the outright extortionate price for the PSU as that's just a seriously scummy move. That obviously won't be an issue if I ended up buying used, but as those rates are just as ridiculous then I might as well just buy new. More thought required there.

Many thanks again

 

[Large Style]

Hi as someone who's a Fanatec DD1 owner and has a couple of wheels and the shifter (so quite invested in the eco system) buying anymore Fanatec stuff at the moment is a bit of a tough call.

My stuff all works fine and the shifter I got for a bargain price on Black Friday and it all turned up reasonably promptly, but it does appear quite a few people aren't that lucky.

I know they probably sell more kit than most of the other companies and therefore proportionally more complaints but the do seem to be having a particularly tough time right now. I was looking for a Podium Hub as I want to buy a Simagic GT Neo and they've just extended the backorder date on that by a month. This sort of thing has happened in the past with the lead times just get longer.

As I say I am not a Fanatec hater but I'd just struggle to recommend spending money and getting more locked into that eco system at this point in time.

Thank you very much for your feedback and help too.

Yeah I wouldn't be buying anything (new) from Fanatec until / if they've completely gotten on top of all their delays and even the several manufacturing faults that I've seen on some Fanatec groups on Facebook. So I'd either have to buy used right now (for a pre-rushed out unit) or just wait.

I totally get your point of wondering if I should stay faithful to Fanatec as I've recently questioned this myself. A quick browse on Moza's website revealed that while they make seemingly good stuff, their pricing isn't as good as I've heard many others make out to be, to the extent of not being that competitive (if at all) against Fanatec. If I was starting my setup from scratch then yeah I'd definitely consider them (or other alternatives) but I'm maybe already in too deep with Fanatec(?)

A couple or so times per month I have an evening on Gran Turismo 7 hence why I'm currently following the PS compatible ecosystem for now, but the €599.95 cost of the GT DD compared to the €449.95 of the CSL DD (both 8nM) is a very tough pill to consider swallowing just for one kinda-meh game. That said, if I got the CSL DD then I no doubt will miss GT7 so I suppose I better widen my throat (and wallet) for that one.

Another factor I need to consider is that my PC is currently upstairs in my bedroom (for another use) and my racing rig is downstairs and I have cables going everywhere (tidyly) but done so at a fair bit of expense - so if I started mixing gear up then that's even more cables and expense.

Plus (!) I really love my CSL Elite V2 pedals and I have absolutely no desire to change them out, and even my bottom-of-the-line P1V2 wheel does the job more than well enough for me too, so (to me) I'm half way there to having a decent setup. I guess I'm more in than out when it comes to staying with Fanatecs ecosystem, it's more just the questions of how far in do I go and to what expense is it worth doing so? I still need / would like their shifter & handbrake too, which will also require a cockpit mount, so I'm ideally wanting to move forward than go backwards or even just sideways.

I've spend a damn fortune on all this already and I feel like I'm not even close to finishing my setup! I may've made my mind up of "the plan" by the time BF rolls around again

 

[Wreckoning]

Thank you very much for your feedback and help too.

Yeah I wouldn't be buying anything (new) from Fanatec until / if they've completely gotten on top of all their delays and even the several manufacturing faults that I've seen on some Fanatec groups on Facebook. So I'd either have to buy used right now (for a pre-rushed out unit) or just wait.

I totally get your point of wondering if I should stay faithful to Fanatec as I've recently questioned this myself. A quick browse on Moza's website revealed that while they make seemingly good stuff, their pricing isn't as good as I've heard many others make out to be, to the extent of not being that competitive (if at all) against Fanatec. If I was starting my setup from scratch then yeah I'd definitely consider them (or other alternatives) but I'm maybe already in too deep with Fanatec(?)

A couple or so times per month I have an evening on Gran Turismo 7 hence why I'm currently following the PS compatible ecosystem for now, but the €599.95 cost of the GT DD compared to the €449.95 of the CSL DD (both 8nM) is a very tough pill to consider swallowing just for one kinda-meh game. That said, if I got the CSL DD then I no doubt will miss GT7 so I suppose I better widen my throat (and wallet) for that one.

Another factor I need to consider is that my PC is currently upstairs in my bedroom (for another use) and my racing rig is downstairs and I have cables going everywhere (tidyly) but done so at a fair bit of expense - so if I started mixing gear up then that's even more cables and expense.

Plus (!) I really love my CSL Elite V2 pedals and I have absolutely no desire to change them out, and even my bottom-of-the-line P1V2 wheel does the job more than well enough for me too, so (to me) I'm half way there to having a decent setup. I guess I'm more in than out when it comes to staying with Fanatecs ecosystem, it's more just the questions of how far in do I go and to what expense is it worth doing so? I still need / would like their shifter & handbrake too, which will also require a cockpit mount, so I'm ideally wanting to move forward than go backwards or even just sideways.

I've spend a damn fortune on all this already and I feel like I'm not even close to finishing my setup! I may've made my mind up of "the plan" by the time BF rolls around again

The Gran Turismo things obviously sticks a bit of a spanner in the works.

There are loads of shifters and handbrakes about that work via USB but if you want to use the in GT7I assume you’re going to have to plug them i to the wheelbase which means you are stuck with Fanatec. I’d have a bit of a think on whether you want to use them for GT as you’ll have more options going USB. I only bought the Fanatec shifter as I got it and the USB adapter for £150 on Black Friday., I would have looked elsewhere at full price.

Good luck, upgrading is always a bit of nightmare

 

[Large Style]

The Gran Turismo things obviously sticks a bit of a spanner in the works.

There are loads of shifters and handbrakes about that work via USB but if you want to use the in GT7I assume you’re going to have to plug them i to the wheelbase which means you are stuck with Fanatec. I’d have a bit of a think on whether you want to use them for GT as you’ll have more options going USB. I only bought the Fanatec shifter as I got it and the USB adapter for £150 on Black Friday., I would have looked elsewhere at full price.

Good luck, upgrading is always a bit of nightmare

Many thanks again for your response and help.

Actually, the shifter and handbrake would (probably) only be for PC use and not GT7, so I could well go to another manufacturer and USB them up, but as my PC is in a different part of the house from my racing rig I'll have to also buy a couple of long active USB extenders which aren't cheap. Besides, I'd prefer to run everything through the base not just for simplicities sake, but also just in case a rally game came out on PS5 than ran ok there and like garbage on PC (er, WRC)!

To me, Fanatec are definitely in the same ball-park as nVidia - as a company I absolutely despise their excessively greedy prices, but I do like their products, so I foresee staying with them both for that reason. That's really interesting about the deal you got on the shifter for BF though - that reduction makes the pricing quite reasonable (while showing how great their profit margins must be) so I might hold off upgrading right now and get a bundle of stuff in that sale, if I can wait that long.

I annoyingly have some repairs to pay for at the moment with my real life car that'll likely cost a good DD setup's worth, so I suppose I need to prioritise boring life neccessities over simracing, for now at least.