Steering Wheel choice

[Von Butters]

Folks, I'm in a kerfuffle over what wheel i am going to buy at the end of July.

Ive been thinking for months now that its going to be the Fanatec CSR Elite to go with the CSR pedals i got for christmas, but ive heard they have a problem with the motor for FFB giving up on people without warning.
Also, i dont want to have wasted the purchase of the pedals if i go elsewhere.

Then there's the Thrustmaster T500, which has a great reputation, has a great set of pedals with it already, and has an add on range that could be bought, (ie, Gear Shift, Ferrari F1 Style wheel), for the price of just the basic CSR Elite.

It will be easy enough to sell the pedals that i have already, they're just sitting in storage as it is, and buy the full Thrustmaster pack, but as for the wheel, FFB and general feel, would it be a better buy, or am i still better off sticking to my first goal of the Elite.

Please feel free to give your thoughts and advice as this has my head mashed to the point i cant think of it anymore.

Cheers guy n gals

Peace Out!!

 

[Pär Öqvist]

Guess you will get a lot of different answers here. As you are interested in different wheel rims that is much easier achieved on the T500RS though and you can fit on any real steering rim with adapter.the Thrustmaster rims is a bit on the expensive side I feel. 99 Euro they wanted for the T500RS wheel. I bought my T500RS with the F1 integral which bumped the price around 80 Euro.

I have compared the CSP V2 and T500RS and it budget is of ANY concern the T500RS is vastly better I feel. They are comparable.

As for the wheel haven´t tried the CSR Elite but I am quite happy with the T500RS so dunno about that. This comparison is perhaps helpful?

http://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=7894888#post7894888

 

[Von Butters]

Its a very hard desision and hearing folks thoughts like on the link is very welcome. A bit more trawling through forums is in order me thinks!

Cheers Par

 

[Anthony Levene]

I went through the same deliberations a few months back and it does your head in after a while...so many conflicting reports and reviews!
I can't think of too many other items that, even though they cost so much, you can't try before you buy
Anyway I love my T500 wheel but didn't like the pedals as much as my customised CSP v1...so they're just sat in the box which seems like a bit of a waste!
For me the deciding factor was the ability to customise and mod the wheel. So depending on what I'm driving I either use the my Renaultsport wheel (attached with a DSD adaptor) or my F1 wheel modded by Kai.
I find the feedback to be very precise and, although it is much more powerful than the Fanatec PWTS I had previously, rather than cranking the FFB up, I've left it at a similar level to what I was using previously, but it seems to offer a lot more detail and definition. Occasionally I do feel a slight notchiness in the wheel but it is not something that I find off-putting at all.

I am hoping that Fanatec will be sending some of their gear over very soon so we can have some in depth reviews on RD...I would really like to do a head to head comparison with the T500, because it's a question that is being asked a lot!!

Decisions decisions

 

[Von Butters]

Thanks Anthony. Its not about money, though saving a few bucks never goes a miss, but more about finding the BEST wheel in my budget, which will be around 500GBP. Like i said, I can get the T500, extra F1 wheel, shifter and probably still have money to spare, but getting everything i need to mount the Fanatec, get a shifter...

You know what, i was going to write a bit more in this post, but im going to stop now. My mind is made up.
I am going to go with the T500.

It has everything i need in a wheel, even if it means buying extra parts, and it does so in a price range thats (a lot of money?) with in my budget.

Thanks guys, i guess seeing it wrote down in front of me has made things that little bit clearer!

 

[Steve O'Malley]

I bought a Fanatec GT3 Porshe wheel and dint really like it so reverted to my G27. Will the T500 F1 wheel be much different form the G27?

 

[Dominik Schollmayer]

I bought a Fanatec GT3 Porshe wheel and dint really like it so reverted to my G27. Will the T500 F1 wheel be much different form the G27?

Why didnt you like the gt3 exactly? (we are talking about the v2 right?) I would like to hear some opinions.
I'm searching for a replacement for my g25 and thought about buying the gt3v2 and csr elite pedals bundle...it would lack a shifter but would only cost me 270€

 

[Warren Dawes]

Why didnt you like the gt3 exactly? (we are talking about the v2 right?) I would like to hear some opinions.

I was in a similar situation. I replaced my G25 with a GT3 V2 (plus CSP pedals). I love the pedals but the wheel never felt as good as the G25 to me. It has a very heavy / dampened feeling FFB and without using high Drift settings, it was hard to turn quickly. (I always prefer light FFB though). Right from the start, the paddle shifters felt flimsy and they broke after a about 9 months usage.
Some features were better though, especially the ability to change settings on the fly and even the separate on / off switch was handy.

Whilst getting my GT3 Paddle shifters repaired, I went back to my old G25 and immediately preferred it again. I've since picked up a G27 (on special) and relegated my GT3 as a "spare".
Best combo I have used is a G25 with the CSP Pedals.

 

[Von Butters]

Hi Warren, how have you gotten the CSP pedals to work with the G25/27?
I've got a set but i haven't been able to use them as windows wont recognize them without a Fanatec wheel plugged in.

 

[Von Butters]

Hi Warren, how have you gotten the CSP pedals to work with the G25/27?
I've got a set but i haven't been able to use them as windows wont recognize them without a Fanatec wheel plugged in.

Edit: BTW, as this conversation is still ongoing, i thought i'd just pipe in that today i ordered the F1 Ferrari Wheel for the T500 today. I saw it for a little over £95, and as its something Ill be wanting with the wheel anyway along with the GT style wheel, well, i just had to buy it!

 

[Sergio Goncalves]

Hi Warren, how have you gotten the CSP pedals to work with the G25/27?
I've got a set but i haven't been able to use them as windows wont recognize them without a Fanatec wheel plugged in.

You just need to install the drivers,that was the only thing that I did. I'm currently using CSP with DFGT on PC.
You can find the drivers here: http://eu.fanatec.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=63&product_id=252#downloads

 

[Warren Dawes]

Hi Warren, how have you gotten the CSP pedals to work with the G25/27?
I've got a set but i haven't been able to use them as windows wont recognize them without a Fanatec wheel plugged in.

Exactly as per Sergio's post. Installed the Fanatec driver and calibrated the pedals using the Porsche Wheel Properties icon. The pedals connect separately via USB.

All of my Racing Sims recognise the CSP's as a separate Controller.

Of course I have the G25 Pedals disconnected.

 

[Steve O'Malley]

Why didnt you like the gt3 exactly? (we are talking about the v2 right?) I would like to hear some opinions.
I'm searching for a replacement for my g25 and thought about buying the gt3v2 and csr elite pedals bundle...it would lack a shifter but would only cost me 270€

Firstly, I kept the pedals they are great. The wheel would lose feedback during a race. I sent i back and they replaced some parts but it still cost me money for shipping etc. The wheel itself did seem bulky and slower than the G27 and also I have it clamped to my desk and the position is a lot higher than the G27. The whole thing felt a bit less durable to me. I'm not saying its a bad wheel but I preferred the G27.

 

[Steve O'Malley]

So can anyone give me their thoughts on T500 compared to G27 please.

 

[kikie]

Hi Warren, how have you gotten the CSP pedals to work with the G25/27?
I've got a set but i haven't been able to use them as windows wont recognize them without a Fanatec wheel plugged in.

This is maybe what you are looking for: http://www.basherboards.com/PD1

 

[Pär Öqvist]

So can anyone give me their thoughts on T500 compared to G27 please.

Lots of impressions if you google around.

My impression is that they are a world apart in performance. The G27 distort the force feedback so heavilly in comparison and only have half the torque capabilities. You can put whatever wheel rim on the T500RS and switch within two minutes so you can´t be dissatisfied on that end

Pedals is just as big of a step up also. I haven´t tried all mods available for the G27 pedals though but the T500RS pedals is more comparable to my clubsports.

 

[Steve O'Malley]

Lots of impressions if you google around.

My impression is that they are a world apart in performance. The G27 distort the force feedback so heavilly in comparison and only have half the torque capabilities. You can put whatever wheel rim on the T500RS and switch within two minutes so you can´t be dissatisfied on that end

Pedals is just as big of a step up also. I haven´t tried all mods available for the G27 pedals though but the T500RS pedals is more comparable to my clubsports.

Update. I bought the T500RS with F1 wheel. Its fantastic, far better than either G27 or Fanatec but more expensive. I tried the pedals but didnt like them as much as the Clubsport, the travel on the throttle seems a lot shorter, so am sticking with the CLubsport but anyone thinking of investing in the wheel - you wont be desappointed.