I just received my second Fanatec BMW GT2 rim (for a friend) and my Porsche 918 RSR rim. I was curious in comparing the two BMW GT2 rims as sometimes - like with all products - there are un-advertised/un-marketed differences from "identical" model to "identical" model. This is what I discovered...
Back of Wheel Material (big center plastic part/cover thing):
BMW GT2 Rim A - Smooth, but friction, almost as if there is a super, super thin layer of rubber on top of the plastic. There is resistance when you slide your finger over it. Having a wheel's FFB damper setting raised is a kind of way to think about it. A slightly rubber-y plastic.
BMW GT2 Rim B - Smooth, little friction, no rubber feel but just a harder, low resistance feel.
Paddle Shifter Shift-Feel and Noise:
BMW GT2 Rim A: Shift-Feel: Quite positive and sharper than rim B - Noise: Louder than Rim B
BMW GT2 Rim B: Slightly softer, definitely springy and positive but not as "sharp" and positive as Rim A - Noise: Noticeably - but not massively so - quieter than Rim A
Paddle Shifter Material and Colour:
BMW GT2 Rim A: Feel: Very smooth. Almost no texture-feel. - Colour: very dark grey. Like a light black if you know what I mean. A touch of shine on them. A general more metal look and feel.
BMW GT2 Rim B: Feel: Slightly rough/coarse feel, textured. - Colour: grey / dark-ish grey, definitely lighter than Rim A's almost black colour. Hardly a touch of shine. A generally more stone-like look/feel.
Quick-Release:
BMW GT2 Rim A: Much more force required to slide. About on par with my Porsche 918 RSR rim.
BMW GT2 Rim B: Requires quite a noticeably less amount of force to slide. It also has a small amount more play.
When Driving (related to quick-release differences???):
BMW GT2 Rim A: The wheel is less susceptible to metallic sounds, rattles, etc. Furthermore, when the wheel hits the rotation limit-stoppers while spinning at full speed, the sound is a much softer and dampened sound. It doesn't "hurt" me as much when I hear it compared to rim B.
BMW GT2 Rim B: The wheel is more susceptible to loud, metal-on-metal "clanking" sounds during quite strong and sharp FFB moments. Furthermore, when the wheel hits the rotation-limit stoppers while spinning at full speed, there is a quite sharp/"hard" sound. It really sounds like the wheel is hitting the stoppers hard/sharply.
- NOTE 1: I did not have the metal quick-release screw installed on any of the wheels. This apparently can really help, especially - I'm guessing - in the BMW Rim B's case.
- NOTE 2: Rim B was mostly stored without the plastic screw/pin in place. On the other hand, I believe Rim A was usually stored with the plastic screw/pin in place. So, are the quick release and noise differences due to slightly different designs, or does not using the plastic pin make the quick-release partly loose it's spring-strength after a while? Also, did Rim B loosen-up over time because the metal screw wasn't installed during gameplay while maybe rim As' was? I honestly don't know. A lot of speculation/guessing.
BMW GT2 Rim A: 2140 g ≈ 75.486 oz ≈ 4.718 lbs
BMW GT2 Rim B: 2035 g ≈ 71.783 oz ≈ 4.486 lbs
Porsche 918 RSR: 1650 g ≈ 58.2021 oz ≈ 3.638 lbs
With regards to the Porsche's weight-savings over the BMW, Fanatec claim, "... saves about 30% of weight over the BMW GT2 rim ..."
- Porsche 918 RSR weighs about 23% less than BMW Rim A
- Porsche 918 RSR weighs about 19% less than BMW Rim B
- BMW Rim A is about 30% heavier than the Porsche 918 RSR
- BMW Rim B is about 23% heavier than the Porsche 918 RSR
Top Speed:
BMW GT2 Rim A: 185 RPM
BMW GT2 Rim B: 186 RPM
Porsche 918 RSR: 187 RPM
Acceleration (This is how responsive the FFB will feel, how instant it'll change directions, slow-down, speed-up, how lively and reactive the wheel will behave):
BMW GT2 Rim A: 1153 RPM - (1140, 1130, 1169, 1174)
BMW GT2 Rim B: 1256 RPM - (1243, 1307, 1247, 1259, 1238, 1242)
Porsche 918 RSR: 1887 RPM - (1848, 1952, 1826, 1877, 1934)
Latency:
Latency on all wheels was almost always either one of two numbers - about 13.75 ms or about 23.75 ms. It was almost always either-or for both wheels (one 26 ms with the BMW Rim A). I tried powering the base off and on to see if I could find out some sort of pattern but I couldn't. Weird. The latency results didn't affect the acceleration results I.E. the quicker acceleration times were not necessarily the lower latency instances.
P.S.
- If anyone wants to know the purchase and/or shipping dates of the rims, the exact serial numbers, etc., then let me know and I'll take them out of their boxes and check
- If anyone wants graph-pictures of the RFR wheel tests, let me know. Just tell me which exact one you want (by the acceleration result listed above)
- If enough of you want to see pics of the differences between the two BMW wheels then maybe I'll take some (or maybe a video) if I don't feel lazy, no promises though
Back of Wheel Material (big center plastic part/cover thing):
BMW GT2 Rim A - Smooth, but friction, almost as if there is a super, super thin layer of rubber on top of the plastic. There is resistance when you slide your finger over it. Having a wheel's FFB damper setting raised is a kind of way to think about it. A slightly rubber-y plastic.
BMW GT2 Rim B - Smooth, little friction, no rubber feel but just a harder, low resistance feel.
Paddle Shifter Shift-Feel and Noise:
BMW GT2 Rim A: Shift-Feel: Quite positive and sharper than rim B - Noise: Louder than Rim B
BMW GT2 Rim B: Slightly softer, definitely springy and positive but not as "sharp" and positive as Rim A - Noise: Noticeably - but not massively so - quieter than Rim A
Paddle Shifter Material and Colour:
BMW GT2 Rim A: Feel: Very smooth. Almost no texture-feel. - Colour: very dark grey. Like a light black if you know what I mean. A touch of shine on them. A general more metal look and feel.
BMW GT2 Rim B: Feel: Slightly rough/coarse feel, textured. - Colour: grey / dark-ish grey, definitely lighter than Rim A's almost black colour. Hardly a touch of shine. A generally more stone-like look/feel.
Quick-Release:
BMW GT2 Rim A: Much more force required to slide. About on par with my Porsche 918 RSR rim.
BMW GT2 Rim B: Requires quite a noticeably less amount of force to slide. It also has a small amount more play.
When Driving (related to quick-release differences???):
BMW GT2 Rim A: The wheel is less susceptible to metallic sounds, rattles, etc. Furthermore, when the wheel hits the rotation limit-stoppers while spinning at full speed, the sound is a much softer and dampened sound. It doesn't "hurt" me as much when I hear it compared to rim B.
BMW GT2 Rim B: The wheel is more susceptible to loud, metal-on-metal "clanking" sounds during quite strong and sharp FFB moments. Furthermore, when the wheel hits the rotation-limit stoppers while spinning at full speed, there is a quite sharp/"hard" sound. It really sounds like the wheel is hitting the stoppers hard/sharply.
- NOTE 1: I did not have the metal quick-release screw installed on any of the wheels. This apparently can really help, especially - I'm guessing - in the BMW Rim B's case.
- NOTE 2: Rim B was mostly stored without the plastic screw/pin in place. On the other hand, I believe Rim A was usually stored with the plastic screw/pin in place. So, are the quick release and noise differences due to slightly different designs, or does not using the plastic pin make the quick-release partly loose it's spring-strength after a while? Also, did Rim B loosen-up over time because the metal screw wasn't installed during gameplay while maybe rim As' was? I honestly don't know. A lot of speculation/guessing.
Performance According to "RFR Wheel Test" (download link here, click link after "Lien" - top of post #1)
Weight:
BMW GT2 Rim A: 2140 g ≈ 75.486 oz ≈ 4.718 lbs
BMW GT2 Rim B: 2035 g ≈ 71.783 oz ≈ 4.486 lbs
Porsche 918 RSR: 1650 g ≈ 58.2021 oz ≈ 3.638 lbs
With regards to the Porsche's weight-savings over the BMW, Fanatec claim, "... saves about 30% of weight over the BMW GT2 rim ..."
- Porsche 918 RSR weighs about 23% less than BMW Rim A
- Porsche 918 RSR weighs about 19% less than BMW Rim B
- BMW Rim A is about 30% heavier than the Porsche 918 RSR
- BMW Rim B is about 23% heavier than the Porsche 918 RSR
Top Speed:
BMW GT2 Rim A: 185 RPM
BMW GT2 Rim B: 186 RPM
Porsche 918 RSR: 187 RPM
Acceleration (This is how responsive the FFB will feel, how instant it'll change directions, slow-down, speed-up, how lively and reactive the wheel will behave):
BMW GT2 Rim A: 1153 RPM - (1140, 1130, 1169, 1174)
BMW GT2 Rim B: 1256 RPM - (1243, 1307, 1247, 1259, 1238, 1242)
Porsche 918 RSR: 1887 RPM - (1848, 1952, 1826, 1877, 1934)
Latency:
Latency on all wheels was almost always either one of two numbers - about 13.75 ms or about 23.75 ms. It was almost always either-or for both wheels (one 26 ms with the BMW Rim A). I tried powering the base off and on to see if I could find out some sort of pattern but I couldn't. Weird. The latency results didn't affect the acceleration results I.E. the quicker acceleration times were not necessarily the lower latency instances.
P.S.
- If anyone wants to know the purchase and/or shipping dates of the rims, the exact serial numbers, etc., then let me know and I'll take them out of their boxes and check
- If anyone wants graph-pictures of the RFR wheel tests, let me know. Just tell me which exact one you want (by the acceleration result listed above)
- If enough of you want to see pics of the differences between the two BMW wheels then maybe I'll take some (or maybe a video) if I don't feel lazy, no promises though
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