Fanatec Podium wheel - dated for 13th July 2018

[Mascot]

https://www.racedepartment.com/thre...dated-for-13th-july-2018.152102/#post-2759238

Now, 13th July for preorders... more info... prices..?
Who knows at this stage. But my interest is piqued!

 

[Mr Latte]

As covered in past threads, all current DD wheel offerings did not have a specific motor made for the function of sim racing. Yet for Fanatec to come out and state doing such can bring improvements, is laughed at. It seems those that invested already in DD dont want Fanatec to succeed here.

SimXperience brought a DD wheel to market, never having built a steering wheel before. That shows at this (prosumer/ industrial/ professional) level of components you pass many of the "quality / durability/reliability factors" associated with the cheaper more toy-like based wheels of the past with plastics, limited motors/pulleys or gearing.

Surely Fanatecs aim is to develop a motor and sensor that can match the desired performance of DD wheels. Yet bring a more economical or focused unit for the job. Of course to even imagine potential benefits is also laughed at. Why because its Fanatec or because no other company has done such?

The key indeed is price, as price determines what/how good the potential of your product is going to be. In my own mind I feel if this product fails, then there is a good chance Fanatec as a brand/company may fail. Due to this being so important to the company's own future sales I dont see them releasing something that performs badly or is unreliable.

At this price/level people do not want to be arsed around so yeah it also has to be reliable and work with good drivers/software. Avoiding a release with issues like before with other products. I think more people are perhaps concerned with this than if the units will be performing well to others on the market already.

Does anyone want to start making guesses at the two base units price points?

 

[Mascot]

Does anyone want to start making guesses at the two base units price points?

Hard to guess with no idea of the specs but I think they'd struggle if they pitched the low-end base unit higher than the equivalent Accuforce Pro v2 packages.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Hard to guess with no idea of the specs but I think they'd struggle if they pitched the low-end base unit higher than the equivalent Accuforce Pro v2 packages.

Which coincidentally has a Summer Sale promotion now
http://simxperience.com/News/tabid/94/post/simxperience-2018-summer-sale/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Got this in email yesterday.

 

[Mr Latte]

Ha, Villers is running scared already lol..
He's about to lose major % in sales.
(intended as humour)

Fanatec could possibly manufacture and sell in a few months what Simx have sold in total since releasing his own wheels.

It really will be interesting to see how competitive Fanatec squeeze the pricing.
What if their basic DD model is as good or better than a SimX V2 option and cheaper?

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Looking in the past few years, Accurorce was super popular at the very beginning, impossible to get with many months of waiting time.
But seems like OSW didn't let it dominate the market and over time, esp. after Simucube introduction, almost completely pushed it out, when perhaps all that they needed to compete is a better motor.
Curios what and how Fanatec is planning on doing to not follow the steps of Accuforce.
I never owned Accuforce but from what I've heard the build quality and reliability is higher than on Fanatec gear.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

As covered in past threads, all current DD wheel offerings did not have a specific motor made for the function of sim racing. Yet for Fanatec to come out and state doing such can bring improvements, is laughed at. It seems those that invested already in DD dont want Fanatec to succeed here.

SimXperience brought a DD wheel to market, never having built a steering wheel before. That shows at this (prosumer/ industrial/ professional) level of components you pass many of the "quality / durability/reliability factors" associated with the cheaper more toy-like based wheels of the past with plastics, limited motors/pulleys or gearing.

Surely Fanatecs aim is to develop a motor and sensor that can match the desired performance of DD wheels. Yet bring a more economical or focused unit for the job. Of course to even imagine potential benefits is also laughed at. Why because its Fanatec or because no other company has done such?

The key indeed is price, as price determines what/how good the potential of your product is going to be. In my own mind I feel if this product fails, then there is a good chance Fanatec as a brand/company may fail. Due to this being so important to the company's own future sales I dont see them releasing something that performs badly or is unreliable.

At this price/level people do not want to be arsed around so yeah it also has to be reliable and work with good drivers/software. Avoiding a release with issues like before with other products. I think more people are perhaps concerned with this than if the units will be performing well to others on the market already.

Does anyone want to start making guesses at the two base units price points?

I think you are misinterpreting what people are saying and what Fanatec have said.

If you listen again they say the motors in other wheels are overspecced and not originally designed for sim racing sure that’s true but then that means it has industrial endurance and quality. It also means that the simple act of using it won’t break it because the motor isn’t breaking a sweat.

Them using their own custom motor is a concern for this very reason, it won’t be industrial grade but built to a specific spec meaning it will be operating closer to it’s maximum and also will wear out sooner. How many reports of peoples DD wheel motors do you hear have burnt out, I’ve not seen a single one. The motor in the CSW V1 though was trash and not up to the task and needed replacing to 1.5 spec.

I don’t know why you think they are going to use industrial quality parts just because it will be the same price range as the DD wheels that do when they’ve already stated they will use lower quality parts to bring build costs down as that level isn’t needed on racing wheels. They still use crappy soft aluminium bolts FFS on already pretty expensive kit!

This is the high end market whether it succeeds or fails really won’t have much impact on Fanatec’s future, it’s not going to be a high sale item and a few failures and issues with V1 really won’t mean the base will fail in the long run. If that were the case Fanatec would have died a long time ago.

All people are saying is don’t get yourself hyped up like it will be the holy grail because you will almost definitely be left disappointed. Unless said person is one of the few blinded by fanboyism to companies/brands who just want your money, then anything they do is pure gold.

As to cost, the base unit with BMW rim will be Accuforce V2 territory, the one above impossible to say without specs but a larger motor shouldn’t be more than an extra few hundred £€$.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

Ha, Villers is running scared already lol..
He's about to lose major % in sales.
(intended as humour)

Fanatec could possibly manufacture and sell in a few months what Simx have sold in total since releasing his own wheels.

It really will be interesting to see how competitive Fanatec squeeze the pricing.
What if their basic DD model is as good or better than a SimX V2 option and cheaper?

How many wheels in this price range do you think are being sold specifically to consumers?! I think you’ll find the audience is much, much smaller than you think.

SimX aren’t even trying to compete with Fanatec, they handbuild and test every wheel they make, same with all the high end stuff like Heusinkveld or ProtoSimTech etc. whereas Fanatec is mass produced more like Thrustmaster.

Total sales of Accuforce wheels are in the 1000’s, it’s really not a big market, if it was we’d be getting the same wheels for 1/2 the price because of economies of scale and DD wheels won’t take off until they are in the £500 range and even then still not huge sales like current £500 wheels aren’t the biggest sellers.

 

[Mr Latte]

I think you are misinterpreting what people are saying and what Fanatec have said.

If you listen again they say the motors in other wheels are overspecced and not originally designed for sim racing sure that’s true but then that means it has industrial endurance and quality. It also means that the simple act of using it won’t break it because the motor isn’t breaking a sweat.

Them using their own custom motor is a concern for this very reason, it won’t be industrial grade but built to a specific spec meaning it will be operating closer to it’s maximum and also will wear out sooner. How many reports of peoples DD wheel motors do you hear have burnt out, I’ve not seen a single one. The motor in the CSW V1 though was trash and not up to the task and needed replacing to 1.5 spec.

I don’t know why you think they are going to use industrial quality parts just because it will be the same price range as the DD wheels that do when they’ve already stated they will use lower quality parts to bring build costs down as that level isn’t needed on racing wheels. They still use crappy soft aluminium bolts FFS on already pretty expensive kit!

This is the high end market whether it succeeds or fails really won’t have much impact on Fanatec’s future, it’s not going to be a high sale item and a few failures and issues with V1 really won’t mean the base will fail in the long run. If that were the case Fanatec would have died a long time ago.

All people are saying is don’t get yourself hyped up like it will be the holy grail because you will almost definitely be left disappointed. Unless said person is one of the few blinded by fanboyism to companies/brands who just want your money, then anything they do is pure gold.

As to cost, the base unit with BMW rim will be Accuforce V2 territory, the one above impossible to say without specs but a larger motor shouldn’t be more than an extra few hundred £€$.

Firstly I am not an idiot that's being over-hopeful, blinded or unrealistic by what you call fanboyism.

I don't know why, you cannot assume its possible that Fanatec could not of approached companies that specialise in such hardware for the motor or sensors. To then make a new product to a desired spec or price. No different really to Apple going to Samsung for a specific screen specification.

You and others seem to continually use the "overspecced" comment as a problem or potential drawback of these upcoming units. When possibly they could be the key aspect that brings a good performing DD wheel to a new price point along with other features these wheels may have.

All I can tell you is, as a potential customer, I am waiting to see and learn more, rather than shoot these down based on other products of the past. Fanatec deserves the chance in my view and I wish them as a company well, that indeed these are popular and good performing units.

Time will tell when comparisons are made. If they turn out to be absolute turkeys and breaking down etc then well done your fears and assumptions were right. Although if you're not interested in the products why then bother to continue posting in such threads and pushing the negative aspects and assumptions?

The buzz and excitement should be on how, if or at what price Fanatec are indeed going to enter the market.I don't think we can consider Thrustmaster wheels to be in the same category when Fanatec already have a line of products that compete in that sector. Podium is clearly to compete with what DD options are currently available. So Fanatec knows what level of performance, build and price they need to come in at to shake up the market or seek to convince people to buy into their hardware. They have spent a long time on this, you would think additional care has been taken.

Finding this interesting should not make such people be deemed as a fanboy when really I or some others just want as good a product as we can get, hoping even for something improved for the general price of current offerings.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

Firstly I am not an idiot that's being over-hopeful, blinded or unrealistic by what you call fanboyism.

I don't know why, you cannot assume its possible that Fanatec could not of approached companies that specialise in such hardware for the motor or sensors. To then make a new product to a desired spec or price. No different really to Apple going to Samsung for a specific screen specification.

You and others seem to continually use the "overspecced" comment as a problem or potential drawback of these upcoming units. When possibly they could be the key aspect that brings a good performing DD wheel to a new price point along with other features these wheels may have.

All I can tell you is, as a potential customer, I am waiting to see and learn more, rather than shoot these down based on other products of the past. Fanatec deserves the chance in my view and I wish them as a company well, that indeed these are popular and good performing units.

Time will tell when comparisons are made. If they turn out to be absolute turkeys and breaking down etc then well done your fears and assumptions were right. Although if you're not interested in the products why then bother to continue posting in such threads and pushing the negative aspects?

Again misinterpreting and reading into things I never said, no need to be so defensive. If I was going to call you a fanboy then I would have said it outright not made a general statement, I have no idea what hardware you are running so the only thing I know you’re a fanboy of is tactile feedback .

They aren’t bringing these to a new price point though, the base will cost just as much as an Accuforce or OSW, even £100 cheaper doesn’t bring it into reach of the average consumer or sim racer. You have the CSW V2.5 already at what €550 at the minute before shipping so again I’ll ask how on Earth you think it’s going to bring DD to the masses at a lower cost?!

They have already said it’s a premium product, it’s not going to be any cheaper otherwise there’d be no point in the CSW V2.5 if this was only marginally more.

Latest wheel also has issues with dodgy clutch paddles which are not something a decent Bodnar board couldn’t already easily do so I’m not sure what the issue on that front is and that’s a current issue.

You keep talking in black and white like it can only be amazing or terrible when the reality is it will be exactly what we’ve been told, a consumer DD wheel using consumer grade parts and all that entails.

Just remember the stuff from the likes of Bodnar and Heusinkveld isn’t consumer gear, it’s stuff heavily funded race teams sourced from specialised engineering companies (which is what they are) to build for them which they then decided to make available for consumers to buy.

They are two very different things, just like if you get a professional monitor it is far higher quality than the mass produced consumer monitors most people use.

Just because they use a different custom motor doesn’t mean it’s automatically better just because they say so when it’s cheaper and unproven.

As to why I’m commenting because believe it or not I love gadgets and sim racing so I’m interested either way to see and try everything out there. Just because I’m not believing a load of nonsense PR doesn’t mean I have no interest, I’m just being realistic which is very different from being negative.

I may have already bought a DD wheel because I got bored of waiting but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t swap again for something better, I only had my V3 pedals for a year but swapped those out for Heusinkveld Pro’s after getting the Accuforce and realising there is much better stuff build quality wise beyond Fanatec’s Clubsport line which wasn’t quite good enough, for me anyway.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

How many units Fanatec can order to justify for servo motor company doing all R&D just for them and adjusting their production line for this one off product?
Apple with Fanatec, very different scale of production.

 

[Mr Latte]

So, on one hand, Fanatec are making high-end products here, or they are consumer grade, meaning lesser quality than others. Make up your minds guys. Again you talk about price when nothing has been confirmed.

All I am doing is speculating that a company bringing a new DD wheel to the market would research and do their homework.

"SimX aren’t even trying to compete with Fanatec, they handbuild and test every wheel they make, same with all the high end stuff like Heusinkveld or ProtoSimTech etc. whereas Fanatec is mass produced more like Thrustmaster."

You telling me Fanatec are not going directly in competition against SimX or other DD options.
Then they either have to be much cheaper or why would people buy them?

Tell me again, why Fanatec cannot match a SimXperience wheels quality or performance?
If they cant, then why would they even bother entering the market at this price point.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

So, on one hand, Fanatec are making high-end products here, or they are consumer grade, meaning lesser quality than others. Make up your minds guys. Again you talk about price when nothing has been confirmed.

All I am doing is speculating that a company bringing a new DD wheel to the market would research and do their homework.

"SimX aren’t even trying to compete with Fanatec, they handbuild and test every wheel they make, same with all the high end stuff like Heusinkveld or ProtoSimTech etc. whereas Fanatec is mass produced more like Thrustmaster."

You telling me Fanatec are not going directly in competition against SimX or other DD options.
Then they either have to be much cheaper or why would people buy them?

Tell me again, why Fanatec cannot match a SimXperience wheels quality or performance?
If they cant, then why would they even bother entering the market at this price point.

Price isn’t the only determining factor on whether something is consumer or professional and they are two very different markets, you can still make high end things without them being for the pro market.

Good example consumer hard drives vs. Professional hard drives, you can still get premium consumer ones which are faster, more secure and usually reliable than the cheaper stuff but they are still below the professional ones used in cloud computing servers and what not, not necessarily on performance but certainly on durability. Those are built in a vacuum of money is no object just make it as good as you can because it breaking is a far bigger issue than for a consumer.

Same scenario with these motors I have no doubt it will perform just as well, I never said otherwise. What I’ve said is there is no reason until proven otherwise to believe it will be as reliable and problem free because it’s not an industrial motor. It’s about being logical, new motor built for video game wheel vs. motor designed for factory use powering machinery at 3000RPM 24/7.

If they didn’t have a history of cutting corners on silly things and hardware failures then sure it wouldn’t worry me but unfortunately they do. So the bigger picture is that it should be a concern, ignoring past history because you want it to succeed is madness.

I’m just looking at all the information they have currently given just as I did before getting the AF in the Black Friday sales and none of it points to a better wheel than what’s already available performance wise. All I see is a better package for things like cordless wheels, self contained power unit and potential console support within the Fanatec ecosystem. However for me I sold all my consoles and the former two aren’t as big a deal as I thought they would be, the cord is used in a lot of real cars anyway and the power box I have bolted to the rig out of sight.

My concerns however are still the motor reliability especially long term, build quality; if they don’t stop using those soft aluminium bolts it’s dead to me right there and then and actually the backward compatible QR is also a concern as to whether it will hold it back. Manufacturing tolerances on those were already a bit off hence the need for the locking pin and O-ring which I’m not ok with on a circa £1000 wheel base, that also goes into the bracket of what is better a QR taken from a car or one built for a gaming wheel.

Over engineering isn’t a bad thing, nobody complains when a bridge has been over engineered and doesn’t collapse.

If it comes out and it’s amazing, build quality is improved and the new Podium wheels are as good as the custom one I have with good magnetic shifters then I have no problems selling my current stuff and swapping it out. I’m just not getting my hopes up when as I see it there is no reason to.

It’s much like some people were gushing over something like the Xbox One X thinking it was going to destroy PC’s but to any person who actually looked at all the info and had experience with PC hardware, they knew that was not going to be the case.

If you’ve never used a DD wheel or higher end hardware how can you possibly know this will be better when you have no metric for comparison?!

Anyway I feel we are going in circles so let’s just wait and see what happens in July, I’ll probably end up ordering one anyway to compare myself if it has more torque as it will be easy to sell on if I don’t rate it.

 

[Mascot]

Price isn’t the only determining factor on whether something is consumer or professional and they are two very different markets, you can still make high end things without them being for the pro market.

Good example consumer hard drives vs. Professional hard drives, you can still get premium consumer ones which are faster, more secure and usually reliable than the cheaper stuff but they are still below the professional ones used in cloud computing servers and what not, not necessarily on performance but certainly on durability. Those are built in a vacuum of money is no object just make it as good as you can because it breaking is a far bigger issue than for a consumer.

Same scenario with these motors I have no doubt it will perform just as well, I never said otherwise. What I’ve said is there is no reason until proven otherwise to believe it will be as reliable and problem free because it’s not an industrial motor. It’s about being logical, new motor built for video game wheel vs. motor designed for factory use powering machinery at 3000RPM 24/7.

If they didn’t have a history of cutting corners on silly things and hardware failures then sure it wouldn’t worry me but unfortunately they do. So the bigger picture is that it should be a concern, ignoring past history because you want it to succeed is madness.

I’m just looking at all the information they have currently given just as I did before getting the AF in the Black Friday sales and none of it points to a better wheel than what’s already available performance wise. All I see is a better package for things like cordless wheels, self contained power unit and potential console support within the Fanatec ecosystem. However for me I sold all my consoles and the former two aren’t as big a deal as I thought they would be, the cord is used in a lot of real cars anyway and the power box I have bolted to the rig out of sight.

My concerns however are still the motor reliability especially long term, build quality; if they don’t stop using those soft aluminium bolts it’s dead to me right there and then and actually the backward compatible QR is also a concern as to whether it will hold it back. Manufacturing tolerances on those were already a bit off hence the need for the locking pin and O-ring which I’m not ok with on a circa £1000 wheel base, that also goes into the bracket of what is better a QR taken from a car or one built for a gaming wheel.

Over engineering isn’t a bad thing, nobody complains when a bridge has been over engineered and doesn’t collapse.

If it comes out and it’s amazing, build quality is improved and the new Podium wheels are as good as the custom one I have with good magnetic shifters then I have no problems selling my current stuff and swapping it out. I’m just not getting my hopes up when as I see it there is no reason to.

It’s much like some people were gushing over something like the Xbox One X thinking it was going to destroy PC’s but to any person who actually looked at all the info and had experience with PC hardware, they knew that was not going to be the case.

If you’ve never used a DD wheel or higher end hardware how can you possibly know this will be better when you have no metric for comparison?!

Anyway I feel we are going in circles so let’s just wait and see what happens in July, I’ll probably end up ordering one anyway to compare myself if it has more torque as it will be easy to sell on if I don’t rate it.

I honestly don't really believe that the Podium wheel will be comparable in price to an OSW or even the Accuforce v2 package - I think it'll be pitched much higher as a premium branded convenient 'solution' for those with deep pockets but little inclination to put any effort into their simming. Who knows, this might be a huge gap in the market that Fanatec have identified, but Accuforce (who offer something exactly like that already) seem to fallen out of favour somewhat as OSW gathers momentum.

I guess it might just be morbid curiosity that's keeping me interested. I'm lucky in that I'm not desperate to upgrade to a DDW right now, but it's definitely something on the horizon. If Fanatec surprise me with an attractive package at launch then I'll probably take a punt, but I'm not particularly optimistic and I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Mr Latte]

@Furnace Inferno

Look, much of what you are doing is criticising the Fanatec decision to go their own way with motor/sensors. You already assume the performance to be much less or the reliability to be worse. You then presume because these may be made in larger volume that again the quality will be inferior.

So, that appears to me as nothing more than presumption on your own part and possible issues you have with "Fanatec" more than anything else.

I did notice you have not a single comment in the "Feel Vr Kickstarter" wheel that is coming. Where is your criticism of it and what it uses, or its build quality or reliability? Yet you have been critical of what "Fanatec" are bringing in several posts or threads.

The fact is, much of the points you raise is your own speculation and nothing more. You give virtually no credit to Fanatec going this route for improved efficiency or whatever benefits and just about every post you make regards the topic seems negative to the potential or success they may have.

Even if Fanatec has less max torque than other offerings I am sure as a platform they will have their own benefits that may appeal to some potential buyers. For me, the no cables is a nice feature as will be the usual Fanatec onscreen menu/controls built into the wheel as they always have had.

As for thoughts on "extreme pricing" that Mascot alluded too, they are offering two models for a reason. The semi-serious user and the pro user. We may find that if the smaller unit performs well for its size that a large portion of the community will be satisfied with it.

We don't all need PRO grade equipment. Also in bringing two models, Fanatec have the ability to help offset the margin in the smaller unit helping to reduce its price point and then have an increased margin in the bigger more pro model to compensate it. Will the difference between each be $200, $300 or more? This remains to be seen but it is a potential marketing tactic they may apply.

Im no expert on such matters but as stated before, when the prices, specs and reviews are available then those that have put off buying a DD wheel waiting for these to arrive can make a more informed decision or purchase.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

I honestly don't really believe that the Podium wheel will be comparable in price to an OSW or even the Accuforce v2 package - I think it'll be pitched much higher as a premium branded convenient 'solution' for those with deep pockets but little inclination to put any effort into their simming. Who knows, this might be a huge gap in the market that Fanatec have identified, but Accuforce (who offer something exactly like that already) seem to fallen out of favour somewhat as OSW gathers momentum.

I guess it might just be morbid curiosity that's keeping me interested. I'm lucky in that I'm not desperate to upgrade to a DDW right now, but it's definitely something on the horizon. If Fanatec surprise me with an attractive package at launch then I'll probably take a punt, but I'm not particularly optimistic and I'm not holding my breath.

Well Thomas already said it will be comparable to other DD wheels when specifically looking at just the base unit cost which to me means around £1000 in direct comparison to OSW and Accuforce. I guess if he was including Bodnar in the mix then middle ground would be £2000 but I can’t see that.

@Furnace Inferno

Look, much of what you are doing is criticising the Fanatec decision to go their own way with motor/sensors. You already assume the performance to be much less or the reliability to be worse. You then presume because these may be made in larger volume that again the quality will be inferior.

So, that appears to me as nothing more than presumption on your own part and possible issues you have with "Fanatec" more than anything else.

I did notice you have not a single comment in the "Feel Vr Kickstarter" wheel that is coming. Where is your criticism of it and what it uses, or its build quality or reliability? Yet you have been critical of what "Fanatec" are bringing in several posts or threads.

The fact is, much of the points you raise is your own speculation and nothing more. You give virtually no credit to Fanatec going this route for improved efficiency or whatever benefits and just about every post you make regards the topic seems negative to the potential or success they may have.

Even if Fanatec has less max torque than other offerings I am sure as a platform they will have their own benefits that may appeal to some potential buyers. For me, the no cables is a nice feature as will be the usual Fanatec onscreen menu/controls built into the wheel as they always have had.

As for thoughts on "extreme pricing" that Mascot alluded too, they are offering two models for a reason. The semi-serious user and the pro user. We may find that if the smaller unit performs well for its size that a large portion of the community will be satisfied with it.

We don't all need PRO grade equipment. Also in bringing two models, Fanatec have the ability to help offset the margin in the smaller unit helping to reduce its price point and then have an increased margin in the bigger more pro model to compensate it. Will the difference between each be $200, $300 or more? This remains to be seen but it is a potential marketing tactic they may apply.

Im no expert on such matters but as stated before, when the prices, specs and reviews are available then those that have put off buying a DD wheel waiting for these to arrive can make a more informed decision or purchase.

I mean you keep saying things I’ve not said in regards to performance so you are clearly reading things that aren’t there....

Look again, I have in fact commented on my concerns about reliability of FeelVR if not here then maybe over at GTPlanet but then that thing is also 1/2 the price, marketed as cheap DD and I’m not particularly interested because I know it’s worse than what I have.

Motor cost shouldn’t increase the cost much, again look at the difference between a big/small Mige or the different tiers of Bodnar wheels. The only thing that changes other than a larger motor is a bigger power supply. Honestly you admit you don’t have any other experience and yet claim to know better than those who do because you are under some preconception we are all hoping it fails to justify our purchases, not everything has to be done console war style childish stupidity you know?!

I’ve said before I thought the cord would bother me but it isn’t an issue at all. I though the extra box would be an issue but on the AF at least it’s small enough to screw to the rig like I would have needed to for the power brick anyway. The display is nice sure but uselessfor me in VR and actually the Sim Commander software is far more useful as you can bring it up in-game if need be and adjust things on the fly and then save unlimited profiles per car and track to load up quickly again. If you look at what they were looking for from beta testers it was for people with experience of other DD wheels and specifically the software of Sim Commander as they are looking to do something similar I would bet which would be a great idea.

It’s easy to have an idea of what you think you will or won’t like but until you actually test it out yourself in practice you can’t truly know for sure and it seems you are the one who’s written off current DD systems without even trying them and proclaim Fanatec must be better solely on them saying it is.

You can believe what you want though but we’ll see soon enough won’t we now.

 

[Mr Latte]

Heres what I believe, I think its good to have optimism, to be positive and hope for something to be excellent rather than go into several threads about such topic and then be mainly negative about it. Basing potential factors on assumptions.

Then to make others being positive or excited of the products out to be biased, fanboi or those just wishing on a miracle. This may be how you want to spend your day or enjoy the forums but really I don't care about comparisons with monitors or hard drives of pro and consumer level products. I cant just assume however that Fanatecs decision to do their own motor design etc was only for cost cutting or profit reasons. We as yet do not know how well it performs to assume anything so why then seek to be more negative than positive?

I stated more than once I believe Fanatec understand the importance of nailing this and coming to the market with solutions that will compete very well with what is currently available.

Really what matters is waiting to see just how well the products do perform. I am happy to expect these to be excellent options. What suits different users may vary and nothing you have said changes my position. Where did I write off current DD options, I stated when we know exactly how and where these models fit then we can make a more informed purchase.

Its highly possible the DD wheel I eventually buy will not be a Fanatec one. Yet I made the decision to wait till these were released before committing. They deserve at least the benefit of the doubt, well to me personally at least.

You have a good performing wheel so what does it matter how these perform to you, especially since your expectations of them are not so positive or high.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1803305556412099

6NM, 2800 EURO (excl Tax), PC only
Hope it was worth the wait.

EDIT: Looks like it was a joke from Thomas. High end model will be 1,499 18Nm

 

[MattPepp]

6nm and 2800 was obviously a joke . Unfortunately them selling it in auction style sales was not a joke .

 

[Mascot]

Terrible presentation, terrible pricing, terrible idea to auction the DD1.

Lovely looking bit of kit though.

I look forward to picking a used one up in 2020.

 

[Khyber]

auction is the biggest bullshit in sim racing ever