Pax7
LifeOn2 Development
Guys, I posted this review over at iRacing, but for those of you who are not members there, here you go:
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Hello All,
I have had the new Fanatec CSR Elite wheel for about a week now, and used it for 8-10 hours - so I thought I'd write a few words on it, not least to compare it to the Frex SimWHEEL MkI I have had since 2008.
Although the Frex wheel was roughly 4(!) times more expensive than the CSR Elite, the Elite does very well in many aspects compared with the Frex - a good indication on value-for-money in the higher-end price range for wheels.
Bear in mind also that the Frex wheel is the (almost) unmodified Mk1, released more than three years ago, so the wheels are not from the same generation really. However, the general working principle of the new MkII (TypeG) Frex wheel is the same as for the MkI - torque transmission via a ball screw (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_screw).
I will also show some measurements I have done on the Elite, which are complemented by measurements on a G25 I also own. Unfortunately the Frex is out of comission since a few months (broken ball screw), so I could not collect any measurements on it.
But, without further ado, let's get started!
1. Build Quality and durability
The casing of the CSR Elite is very solid and feels stable (it also looks good), aside from the rear cover which is made of plastic. But since that seems not to be a load bearing part, it does not matter much.
I do however have some metal chips on the inside of the transparent plastic window, which was there from the factory; see this picture, primarily between the two rightmost vertical metal bars:
Full size picture here
The steering wheel itself is made of plastic and does not quite correspond in quality to the casing. The holes for the screws holding it together can be felt on the backside of the wheel, but it does not bother me when using the wheel. The buttons etc. on the wheel seems durable enough.
The wheel is attached to the steering axle with two insex-screws, and the total length from the case to the end of the wheel is rather great. This makes the wheel flex somewhat under load, and I have doubts on whether the two screws will last in the long run holding the wheel firmly on to the steering axle.
As a matter of fact I have already had problems with this, having to tighten the two screws a few times to hold the wheel firmly in place. The torque I have had to put in to tighten the screws have been quite high to make the wheel fit tight (it still flexes a bit, but at least there is no play), and I doubt the construction will last really.
When using the wheel and for instance countering a throw (which can be a quite violent motion as we know), you sometimes can hear the wheel creak a bit, which I suspect comes from this joint between the wheel and the steering axle (I have not confirmed this though).
Compared to this the Frex is considerably more stable. All parts are made of metal and there is very little flexing or anything that seems too weak.
2. Maintenance
It is really too early to tell how maintenance intensive the Elite will be, but since there are adjustment screws for the belt tension we maybe can expect that to need some attention going forward, plus exchange of belts(?). Then the question is how well the wheel will fare without maintenance lubrication, as some types of moving parts like lubrication
But since I have not disassembled the Elite and had a closer look, it is hard to tell exactly.
The major point on maintenance at this point is the screws, which I mentioned in 1.
The Frex wheel on the other hand I know a great deal of when it comes to maintenance. It must be the king of maintenance amongst wheels without competition; You (way too) regularly need to lubricate the ball screw mechanism, which is some pain - especially if the wheel is mounted in a tight rig. There also might be the need to adjust the alignment of the wheel (at least on the MkI), which is a much greater pain. If you are unlucky you may also have to need to exchange the ball screw (at least on the MkI), which is quite complex. All in all the Frex MkI is much too maintenance intensive, and I expect the Elite to fare better here. As for the Frex MkII, what I have heard "only" the lubrication part is still there; if somebody can give more info on this situation it would be nice
3. Usability and Ergonomy
The Elite has a quite intricate adjustment system where you control most settings on the wheel itself. For the PC it would be good to move all that to the PC driver UI, so one need not fiddle with that on the wheel. Initially, before getting used to it, it was a bit cumbersome. Also, it seems every time you power on the wheel you have to set it in PC mode, which is a bit annoying. It would be good to do that once and then leave it.
Not being dependent on the wheel would also be good for people (like me) who want to use real racing car steering wheels instead of the stock one(s).
We have already heard reports on that the buttons are not placed too well on the Elite, and I agree on that. A side effect of this is that since you need to move your hands to reach the buttons, you also may need to quickly look at the wheel to find the buttons, at least in the beginning when you are not used to the wheel. The problem is though that in a dark room, some of the buttons are very hard to see with their dark colours.
Personally I find the diameter of the Elite grip a bit too big, and the plastic material is rather harsh on your hands after some use. The diameter of the wheel is fine, although I would would not have minded one or two centimetres less for an all round wheel. That would also be good for rim force levels, see below for more on that.
The paddles of the Elite are probably the biggest plus of the wheel rim. Their feel is very good, their placement and size too.
The Frex has a not very versatile add on to a real race car rim; it works well with some Sparco and Momo single seater wheels. The paddles are also so small you cannot really go over 27-28 cm to use them. The buttons and paddles have very good feel though and are of high quality. I know that each button on the Frex costs around $7 here in Sweden!
The Frex SW is no nonsense and easy to use; all is done in the PC UI.
4. Cockpit Mounting
The Elite has three M6 holes in the bottom for hard mounting to a rig. Although simple from a design perspective, it is not very versatile. As most want some inclination of the wheel, that needs to be solved via the rig rather than via how the wheel is mounted to the rig. For my rig this unfortunately caused quite some extra work, as I had to spend a number of hours to go get material and to build this custom bracket:
It would be nice if Fanatec could provide something like this as a add on. Both Frex and ECCI 7000 offer this type of mounting, and at least the Frex as standard.
There was another problem with the hard mounting, which could have been serious. One of the M6 threads was not good, allowing a bolt only to go part of the way into the hole. Luckily it could go far enough down to secure the bolt though. Picture:
Now see next post to continue (I apparently maxed out the post size )
**********
Hello All,
I have had the new Fanatec CSR Elite wheel for about a week now, and used it for 8-10 hours - so I thought I'd write a few words on it, not least to compare it to the Frex SimWHEEL MkI I have had since 2008.
Although the Frex wheel was roughly 4(!) times more expensive than the CSR Elite, the Elite does very well in many aspects compared with the Frex - a good indication on value-for-money in the higher-end price range for wheels.
Bear in mind also that the Frex wheel is the (almost) unmodified Mk1, released more than three years ago, so the wheels are not from the same generation really. However, the general working principle of the new MkII (TypeG) Frex wheel is the same as for the MkI - torque transmission via a ball screw (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_screw).
I will also show some measurements I have done on the Elite, which are complemented by measurements on a G25 I also own. Unfortunately the Frex is out of comission since a few months (broken ball screw), so I could not collect any measurements on it.
But, without further ado, let's get started!
1. Build Quality and durability
The casing of the CSR Elite is very solid and feels stable (it also looks good), aside from the rear cover which is made of plastic. But since that seems not to be a load bearing part, it does not matter much.
I do however have some metal chips on the inside of the transparent plastic window, which was there from the factory; see this picture, primarily between the two rightmost vertical metal bars:
Full size picture here
The steering wheel itself is made of plastic and does not quite correspond in quality to the casing. The holes for the screws holding it together can be felt on the backside of the wheel, but it does not bother me when using the wheel. The buttons etc. on the wheel seems durable enough.
The wheel is attached to the steering axle with two insex-screws, and the total length from the case to the end of the wheel is rather great. This makes the wheel flex somewhat under load, and I have doubts on whether the two screws will last in the long run holding the wheel firmly on to the steering axle.
As a matter of fact I have already had problems with this, having to tighten the two screws a few times to hold the wheel firmly in place. The torque I have had to put in to tighten the screws have been quite high to make the wheel fit tight (it still flexes a bit, but at least there is no play), and I doubt the construction will last really.
When using the wheel and for instance countering a throw (which can be a quite violent motion as we know), you sometimes can hear the wheel creak a bit, which I suspect comes from this joint between the wheel and the steering axle (I have not confirmed this though).
Compared to this the Frex is considerably more stable. All parts are made of metal and there is very little flexing or anything that seems too weak.
2. Maintenance
It is really too early to tell how maintenance intensive the Elite will be, but since there are adjustment screws for the belt tension we maybe can expect that to need some attention going forward, plus exchange of belts(?). Then the question is how well the wheel will fare without maintenance lubrication, as some types of moving parts like lubrication
But since I have not disassembled the Elite and had a closer look, it is hard to tell exactly.The major point on maintenance at this point is the screws, which I mentioned in 1.
The Frex wheel on the other hand I know a great deal of when it comes to maintenance. It must be the king of maintenance amongst wheels without competition; You (way too) regularly need to lubricate the ball screw mechanism, which is some pain - especially if the wheel is mounted in a tight rig. There also might be the need to adjust the alignment of the wheel (at least on the MkI), which is a much greater pain. If you are unlucky you may also have to need to exchange the ball screw (at least on the MkI), which is quite complex. All in all the Frex MkI is much too maintenance intensive, and I expect the Elite to fare better here. As for the Frex MkII, what I have heard "only" the lubrication part is still there; if somebody can give more info on this situation it would be nice
3. Usability and Ergonomy
The Elite has a quite intricate adjustment system where you control most settings on the wheel itself. For the PC it would be good to move all that to the PC driver UI, so one need not fiddle with that on the wheel. Initially, before getting used to it, it was a bit cumbersome. Also, it seems every time you power on the wheel you have to set it in PC mode, which is a bit annoying. It would be good to do that once and then leave it.
Not being dependent on the wheel would also be good for people (like me) who want to use real racing car steering wheels instead of the stock one(s).
We have already heard reports on that the buttons are not placed too well on the Elite, and I agree on that. A side effect of this is that since you need to move your hands to reach the buttons, you also may need to quickly look at the wheel to find the buttons, at least in the beginning when you are not used to the wheel. The problem is though that in a dark room, some of the buttons are very hard to see with their dark colours.
Personally I find the diameter of the Elite grip a bit too big, and the plastic material is rather harsh on your hands after some use. The diameter of the wheel is fine, although I would would not have minded one or two centimetres less for an all round wheel. That would also be good for rim force levels, see below for more on that.
The paddles of the Elite are probably the biggest plus of the wheel rim. Their feel is very good, their placement and size too.
The Frex has a not very versatile add on to a real race car rim; it works well with some Sparco and Momo single seater wheels. The paddles are also so small you cannot really go over 27-28 cm to use them. The buttons and paddles have very good feel though and are of high quality. I know that each button on the Frex costs around $7 here in Sweden!
The Frex SW is no nonsense and easy to use; all is done in the PC UI.
4. Cockpit Mounting
The Elite has three M6 holes in the bottom for hard mounting to a rig. Although simple from a design perspective, it is not very versatile. As most want some inclination of the wheel, that needs to be solved via the rig rather than via how the wheel is mounted to the rig. For my rig this unfortunately caused quite some extra work, as I had to spend a number of hours to go get material and to build this custom bracket:
It would be nice if Fanatec could provide something like this as a add on. Both Frex and ECCI 7000 offer this type of mounting, and at least the Frex as standard.
There was another problem with the hard mounting, which could have been serious. One of the M6 threads was not good, allowing a bolt only to go part of the way into the hole. Luckily it could go far enough down to secure the bolt though. Picture:
Now see next post to continue (I apparently maxed out the post size
)
