I just broke my wheel and now I need help deciding on a new one

[ZeroKey]

With such a plethora of wheels on the market it's hard to decide what to get and what not to get and also which wheel is expensive but trash and which wheel is cheap but good.
So far I used a Thrustmaster RGT FFB. The wheel was okay I guess but the FFB was kinda disappointing. For pedals I use Fanatec CSR Elite V1s. I don't have a rig to mount my wheel and pedals on I only have my very thin glas desk.
So what I'm looking for is a wheel that compliments my pedals in terms of quality and simulation and has good FFB. A sequential shifter like I had on the RGT isn't necessary since I can get that separately but still would be nice. In terms of budget I can't really give a number but I probably won't spend more than 300€ except if the wheel is an absolute banger.
Oh I should probably tell you what kind of games I play since that probably matters as well. I mainly play Assetto Corsa and Dirt Rally.

If you need any more info or if my expectations don't make sense just tell me. I'll get back to you as fast as possible.

Thank you for you help in advance.

Greez
Zero

 

[callumjtc]

With such a plethora of wheels on the market it's hard to decide what to get and what not to get and also which wheel is expensive but trash and which wheel is cheap but good.
So far I used a Thrustmaster RGT FFB. The wheel was okay I guess but the FFB was kinda disappointing. For pedals I use Fanatec CSR Elite V1s. I don't have a rig to mount my wheel and pedals on I only have my very thin glas desk.
So what I'm looking for is a wheel that compliments my pedals in terms of quality and simulation and has good FFB. A sequential shifter like I had on the RGT isn't necessary since I can get that separately but still would be nice. In terms of budget I can't really give a number but I probably won't spend more than 300€ except if the wheel is an absolute banger.
Oh I should probably tell you what kind of games I play since that probably matters as well. I mainly play Assetto Corsa and Dirt Rally.

If you need any more info or if my expectations don't make sense just tell me. I'll get back to you as fast as possible.

Thank you for you help in advance.

Greez
Zero

I'd forget about a decent wheel until you get at least a wheelstand, and after that the Fanatec CSL Elite may be a good choice.

 

[ZeroKey]

I'd forget about a decent wheel until you get at least a wheelstand, and after that the Fanatec CSL Elite may be a good choice.

While the CSL Elite is very tasty I'd have to spend around 300€ for the base and another 100+€ for a rim plus 80+€ for a rig/wheelstand. That is simply to much. While I do love my racing sims I'm not willing to dump that much money on gear. At least not in one go. I'd rather invest that into my track bike.

Edit: At the risk of sounding offensive: You sound like a guy on his 40k$ custom Harley telling me to get a "real" bike.

 

[callumjtc]

While the CSL Elite is very tasty I'd have to spend around 300€ for the base and another 100+€ for a rim plus 80+€ for a rig/wheelstand. That is simply to much. While I do love my racing sims I'm not willing to dump that much money on gear. At least not in one go. I'd rather invest that into my track bike.

Edit: At the risk of sounding offensive: You sound like a guy on his 40k$ custom Harley telling me to get a "real" bike.

I can't stand Harleys! In that case, wheelstand (GT Omega) and a Logitech G920.

 

[callumjtc]

I can't stand Harleys! In that case, wheelstand (GT Omega) and a Logitech G920.

Nevermind, I completely forgot that you don't need a console compatible wheel, in which case go Thrustmaster and a T300.

 

[ZeroKey]

Nevermind, I completely forgot that you don't need a console compatible wheel, in which case go Thrustmaster and a T300.

I've heard good things about the T300. I'll look into it.

 

[ZeroKey]

Nevermind, I completely forgot that you don't need a console compatible wheel, in which case go Thrustmaster and a T300.

So I've been looking around on ebay and I could get a T300 base for 200€ plus the GT28 rim for 100€. I could also get a CSL Elite base for 260€ plus the P1 rim for 80€. Is it worth it to spend another 40€ on the CSL setup?

I'll worry about a wheelstand another time. I might even build my own.

 

[RasmusP]

To give you a brief overview:
Logitech wheels: weak, dead on straights without special settings for each game and loud/rattling. While I do like my g27 (25/29/920 all basically the same more or less) for assetto corsa and rfactor 2 I absolutely hate it for rally games. Sounds like a 40 year old Daihatsu going over the heaviest cobblestones you can imagine.
It's doable but a belt driven wheel is just a massive step ahead and mostly silent in comparison!

Thrustmaster: t300 is good and a bit stronger than the logitechs. Belt driven but can overheat so there's a workaround to always put the fan inside of it to 100%. Most of the "broken" t300's are due to that issue.
It's the wheel I would recommend to you if you want to buy new.

Ts-pc: stronger and better than the t300, comes without pedals and is awesome. It's the wheel I'm saving for. You'll need to turn the ffb down without a wheelstand!

Fanatec: csl elite is comparable to the ts-pc. It's above the t300! Silent, belt driven. I did a few laps with that in F1 2018 and it's simply awesome. Massive step over the logitechs!

So if you want to buy a used one definitely spend the 40€ for the csl! If you buy new, ts-pc or csl are probably not worth the money over the t300 for your scenario

And the other guy doesn't sound like sitting on his 40k Harley. Modern simracing wheels are priced from 200-2000€ so he basically only told you to get a VW Golf instead of a Toyota aygo and to get one with a standard 4 cylinder and no 3 cylinder that will run like crap (quick and nonsense comparison but you get the idea).

Friend of mine has a logitech dfgt and it spins too slowly for good driving in dirt Rally. Also the rattling on his thick wooden table is driving him crazy.

Anyway, go with the used csl or a new t300

 

[thepharcyde]

I've owned G27 and G29 and then moved to a T300 I bought second hand and bought the 599 wheel off here. The extra wheel diameter and feel of the 599 is well worth it.
I then bought again second had a TS-PC for £205, sold the G29 for £80 and the T300 for £125 so a free upgrade bar the obvious net cost of the cost my G29 and T300 cost!
I would never go back to Logitech, the cog system especially in RF2 ruins any decent feel.
T300 was light and day in comparison.
TS-PC is a decent upgrade, FFB whilst being stronger I can feel the more suttle bumps in the road and is a great wheel.
So my 2p, skip the Logitech and get something that's belt driven.

 

[ZeroKey]

To give you a brief overview:
Logitech wheels: weak, dead on straights without special settings for each game and loud/rattling. While I do like my g27 (25/29/920 all basically the same more or less) for assetto corsa and rfactor 2 I absolutely hate it for rally games. Sounds like a 40 year old Daihatsu going over the heaviest cobblestones you can imagine.
It's doable but a belt driven wheel is just a massive step ahead and mostly silent in comparison!

Thrustmaster: t300 is good and a bit stronger than the logitechs. Belt driven but can overheat so there's a workaround to always put the fan inside of it to 100%. Most of the "broken" t300's are due to that issue.
It's the wheel I would recommend to you if you want to buy new.

Ts-pc: stronger and better than the t300, comes without pedals and is awesome. It's the wheel I'm saving for. You'll need to turn the ffb down without a wheelstand!

Fanatec: csl elite is comparable to the ts-pc. It's above the t300! Silent, belt driven. I did a few laps with that in F1 2018 and it's simply awesome. Massive step over the logitechs!

So if you want to buy a used one definitely spend the 40€ for the csl! If you buy new, ts-pc or csl are probably not worth the money over the t300 for your scenario

And the other guy doesn't sound like sitting on his 40k Harley. Modern simracing wheels are priced from 200-2000€ so he basically only told you to get a VW Golf instead of a Toyota aygo and to get one with a standard 4 cylinder and no 3 cylinder that will run like crap (quick and nonsense comparison but you get the idea).

Friend of mine has a logitech dfgt and it spins too slowly for good driving in dirt Rally. Also the rattling on his thick wooden table is driving him crazy.

Anyway, go with the used csl or a new t300

Thank you for the overview. I never really considered a Logitech wheel. They always seemed a little "dead" to me. With the lackluster FFB from my RGT I didn't really want to risk spending money on another wheel with bad FFB.
TS-PC sounds like the next step up after the T300 or CSL and certainly costs as much so I'll skip that one. As I said 300€ is kinda my limit.
I'll try to push the price on the CSL a little and hopefully get the entire package for 310€.

Again thank you very much guys!

 

[RasmusP]

TS-PC sounds like the next step up after the T300 or CSL

The csl and ts-pc are the same level, t300 is below both.
Must to make it clear. Good luck with getting the csl!

 

[Leonardo Ratafiá]

Fanatec csl elite for ps4

 

[Kenneth Jurmann]

Was just reading along in this thread and I'm curious. Has the CSL a proper mounting solution for a glass desk?

 

[ZeroKey]

Was just reading along in this thread and I'm curious. Has the CSL a proper mounting solution for a glass desk?

While it has a proper mounting system for desks I'm not sure the same goes for glass desks but I can deal with that. I'll either build some sort of solution for my desk or I'll build my own wheel stand or maybe buy one at a later point.

 

[RasmusP]

While it has a proper mounting system for desks I'm not sure the same goes for glass desks but I can deal with that. I'll either build some sort of solution for my desk or I'll build my own wheel stand or maybe buy one at a later point.

I have a glass table myself and the only problem with the g27 was that the screws of the shifter didn't get the additional pieces for thin tables. 2 cubes of wood did the job

 

[Kenneth Jurmann]

Alright then. Was just thinking that there is nothing worse than spending a good bunch of money on a nice piece of hardware and then not being able to use it right away!

Had that with a new gfx, once. PSU was good enough but didn't have the right connectors. I was devastated. Lol.

 

[ZeroKey]

Just to update you guys, if you care. The guy I wanted to buy the CSL from just took down his ad so I had to look around again. I found a different one for 255€ and I'm currently bidding on a P1 rim. I hope I can get it for 80€ or less.

 

[Sjorsvdbrug]

Just to update you guys, if you care. The guy I wanted to buy the CSL from just took down his ad so I had to look around again. I found a different one for 255€ and I'm currently bidding on a P1 rim. I hope I can get it for 80€ or less.

Hi, may i ask where you can find the set for that cheap? On fanatec's website it's 600€ for the set and i can't seem to be able to find a second hand one.

 

[ZeroKey]

Hi, may i ask where you can find the set for that cheap? On fanatec's website it's 600€ for the set and i can't seem to be able to find a second hand one.

I've been looking on ebay and second hand websites for my region. Keep in mind this is only the wheel base. No pedals and no rim.

 

[ZeroKey]

So I thought I'd post an update here.
It took a while but I finally managed to find a decent deal for a brand new P1 Rim for 120€.
For everyone wondering the base dose not properly clamp down on my desk since it's to thin. I fixed that by sticking 1.5mm thick rubber pieces with double sided tape to the bases clamp. Even at 100% FFB (which I don't use anyways) it doesn't move at all. So no rig needed for this wheel.

I have to say driving with this wheel is pure joy. For everyone looking to upgrade their wheel from things like a G27 or other ~100€ wheels should seriously consider buying a CSL Elite. The difference is night and day.