Fanatec Equipment: Worth The Money?

[VRTSmith]

Image Courtesy of Fanatec.com
I currently run a Logitech G29 + Shifter and it's fine to use at the moment as I have been using it for around a year and a half, but I have overheard people talking about Fanatec equipment and how "superior" it is.

I had a look online at some Fanatec gear, and I was pleasantly surprised. I had always known of Fanatec as a company, but always thought that they were the Apple of the sim-racing community. The wheels themselves look brilliant and the pedals, with the load cell technology, also look equally as good.

The image above is the bundle that I am looking to save up for. Question is, is it worth the $1.3k price tag? Let me know below.

 

[Soulstoner]

I'm not sure where to ask this without creating a new thread about the Fanatec handbrake:

Can the tension of the lever be adjusted at all?

 

[anton_Chez]

The travel can be adjusted by tightening or loosening the nut inside, the tension cannot.

 

[Henri Sinik]

Switched over to Fanatec with pair of gloves and boots last January after using G25 & G27 last 12 years.
Did it make me faster? Probably not but I'm now a lot more consistent load cell brake helps a lot.
Driving experience is more enjoyable mainly because of belt drive and I'm more motivated to play now
I went from racing 2-3 times a month to 2-3 times a week.
Bought 3 steering wheels for CSW 2.5 and G27 looks like a toy compared to all of them.

 

[RaceWasGood]

Coming from a G27 i switched to the Fanatec ecosystem (CSW V2 + CSP V3) about 2,5 years ago. Since then i've expanded with a few rims, SQ shifter and a, handbrake. I'm still very pleased with the setup and haven't had any major issues. The handbrake gave up on me at some point, but with a little DIY:ing involved it wasn't that hard to fix. I do have other brand mixed stuff as well, like shifters and button boxes, but i'd say the wheelbase and pedals are a good solid base to build upon. At least it was for me Happy hunting!

 

[averyclevertitle]

Yes yes and more yes. Enough for me to splash out 600 aud on a 918 rim.

 

[anton_Chez]

Interested on your thoughts on that rim. I went for the cheaper BMW rim. I wasn't a fan of the leather on a racing rim. Thought it might be a little slippery while racing. I use gloves so it probably wouldn't be a problem but I would have thought the cloth material, or even a good quality rubberized material would be more functional for a racing rim.

I could just be a complete noob, however, and not realise that race cars do indeed use leather on their rims.....

 

[Emery]

I could just be a complete noob, however, and not realise that race cars do indeed use leather on their rims.....

[edit: just realized AntoN was talking about the Porsche 919 rim, which is indeed a leather covered rim for a production car rather than the alcantara racing rims. Sorry about misinterpreting!]

You need to look at more endurance race car cockpits...
Porsche 956/962 used alcantara:

And, of course, the BMW GT2 that is the model for Fanatec:

 

[Furnace Inferno]

Interested on your thoughts on that rim. I went for the cheaper BMW rim. I wasn't a fan of the leather on a racing rim. Thought it might be a little slippery while racing. I use gloves so it probably wouldn't be a problem but I would have thought the cloth material, or even a good quality rubberized material would be more functional for a racing rim.

I could just be a complete noob, however, and not realise that race cars do indeed use leather on their rims.....

It feels nice, I’ve been hands-on with a USB converted one with magnetic shifters which was lovely but biggest issue is the rev lights on the rim, the hard plastic edge kind of ruined it but the actual leather on it and my previous FORZA GT rim feel great plus you don’t need gloves to preserve the suede/alcantara.

Though gloves probably needed on the 918 because of the aforementioned plastic casing of the revlights.

 

[averyclevertitle]

I use gloves to protect the leather and provide grip from sweaty hands. I would love to own the BMW wheel also but I'm more of a Porsche fanboy. My previous rim was the csl elite rubber wheel. So the Porsche wheel is ridiculous in terms of quality. The biggest surprise was the Porsche emblem itself. Also the funky switch is super useful in vr now.