pre order CSL DD

[Cote Dazur]

Received the email from Fanatec that I could pre order a CSL DD today as I am a Fanatec customer, pre ordered the wheel which could be delivered in Sept. Looking forward to the new wheel base.

Any other Fanatec customer here took advantage of the priority pre ordering opportunity?

 

[31Mod]

I just purchased one with the 8nm PS, and an additional year warranty. I don't know why, since I just purchased the Forza Motor Sport bundle in January.

 

[manu68]

I pre ordered one too, with maclaren v2 wheel and shifter.
I never got email from fanatec. I ordered directly after i could log in to my account and manage to see the wheel base appear on the website.

 

[Cote Dazur]

Received my CSL DD today, looks great. I am still waiting for the wheel, so not installed yet.
I am curious to know about good settings to drive in Assetto Corsa.
Also curious about impressions in AC and other titles.

 

[BrightCandle]

The Fanatec recommendations felt pretty good to me. All the various Youtubers (GamerMuscle,Ermin) have put out videos with their settings as well, they mostly seem to be running defaults but less dampening, from 10-30 and largely the same advice for AC - turn the effects off, FFB in the 50-60 range.

 

[Cote Dazur]

The Fanatec recommendations felt pretty good to me. All the various Youtubers (GamerMuscle,Ermin) have put out videos with their settings as well, they mostly seem to be running defaults but less dampening, from 10-30 and largely the same advice for AC - turn the effects off, FFB in the 50-60 range.

Sounds great, that is what I am running now on my Buhler modified CSR Elite.

 

[Cote Dazur]

Alright, received the CSL DD, received the McLaren V2 wheel, one day later received the adapter so I could attach the wheel to the base. Connected everything.
launched Assetto Corsa, WOW!, I was expecting better, instead I got a game changer.
The feeling on the wheel is so smooth, effortless, precise.
What were before effects are now a car reacting to the track and to the forces of gravity.
In VR, in conjunction with the tactile, once passed the period on just trying to feel the wheel, the immersion is like a new game.
Like a layer has been removed and you can see clearly now what looked like a foggy day before.
Very happy, worth every penny, even if it was not that expensive, definitely worth the wait.
To the new CSL DD user, how do you feel about your new wheel.
What set up are you using?

 

[Wilko Jones]

My wheel is awesome. It took me a while to get use to actually feeling proper FFB. For years I was getting on with a Fanatec CSR, and I thought it was a great wheel. It wasn't until the move to PC and my second build, that I considered getting a new wheel base. I was looking to get a CSW when the CSL DD was announced. I am kind if glad I decided to wait on the direct drive base.

For me, I get a kick out of being able to feel something subtle like engine rumble. Or while the wheel is loaded up on turning forces, it still can illustrate grip loss undulations and even curb rattle. The CSR couldn't do that at any point. Also being able to feel, catch and correct the back of the car stepping out before the actual spin happens is a game changer. I've been diving head long into fights with the Greenwood Corvette in R3E, just for fun.

Setup and tear down wise, the wheel is bolted to my GT Omega stand, and I disconnect the power plug at the wheel base. I leave the USB-C end of the USB cord in the wheelbase, and fold the stand up and store it off to the side when not using it. Its much like my CSR setup, except its a little heavier now.

 

[Cote Dazur]

. It took me a while to get use to actually feeling proper FFB

What is it that took you time to get use to?
In my case the most unsettling was how light the wheel feel, like no resistance at all when no FFB is at play. I am good now, but was not so sure at the very beginning.
Now that I am concentrating on driving again instead of trying to understand what the FFB is doing, I am in heaven.
It feels more natural than ever!

 

[Wilko Jones]

With the CSR, at full lateral load, it didn't allow rumble, or respond that well to changes in grip. It would just feel lumpy if I was turning on one of Macau's turns and didn't do much else. With the new base, it feels like tires gaining and losing traction on rough asphalt, and not a bunch if lumps on the belt of the FFB motor.

Then the effect of the rear getting light has a direction to it. Its difficult for me to describe, but if the rears are breaking loose and want to swing the back of the car to the right, the wheel gives me more forces going into that direction. And knowing I didn't ask for that to happen (intentionally), I can preemptively counter steer and keep the back tires in place. Spins came out of nowhere on the CSR.

If I'm crossing a bump on the road, say going onto or off of a cobblestone section of the road,and I approach that transition diagonally, I feel the wheel react in one direction slightly before the other. That's something that feels new with this wheel base. I don't recall the old wheel doing that. Hell I had to dial the CSR up just to feel the concrete slabs at Sebring on RFactor2.

Mostly things like that were distracting me. Then just for kicks, I turned the canned effects in R3R up to maximum. I quickly turned that noise down. LOL. The CSL DD sounded like a jack hammer when I touched the rumble strip.

 

[th3orist]

Happy for you guys that you got your wheels but also a bit sad that mine apparently will indeed take all the time that is named on the order I had the chance to preorder one in early August or Mid July, i cant remember, but i just did not because i was not completely sure if i want to spend 600-700 bucks to get into the Fanatec eco system. Now i've done it last week but the wheelbase will arrive 30th of Nov and so its still quite the wait but from what i can gather from reviews and what you guys say it is totally worth the wait.
And i am coming from a T300RS, so i guess it will be quite the improvement.

 

[RasmusP]

What is it that took you time to get use to?
In my case the most unsettling was how light the wheel feel, like no resistance at all when no FFB is at play. I am good now, but was not so sure at the very beginning.
Now that I am concentrating on driving again instead of trying to understand what the FFB is doing, I am in heaven.
It feels more natural than ever!

Hi,
can you tell me or Screenshot your inertia/friction/damping settings you're using for AC (or the other normal tarmac sims)?

From what I've read in some experts discussions between mclarenf1papa, kyuubey, stereo etc is that to be "realistic", you basically need a lot of torque but then a lot of dampening and inertia.
Basically you make the wheel feel very smooth, but quite heavy to turn but still super reactive over bumps and load changes due to the torque.
They also say that a lot of people get the most kick/awesomeness from using semi-high torques with almost no friction/inertia/damping so you get an unrealistic, super reactive wheel.

Why I ask:
I'm considering the side grade from csw 2.5 to csl dd. I'm really happy with the strength, detail, ffb, everything but 2 things annoy me:

1. The fans. Not that much of an issue but I'd like to have a fanless, silent wheelbase as my pc is built for maximum silence too.

2. More importantly, some games don't have much ffb in the center. It's not a dead zone, it's just that the ffb only kicks in when you turn a bit. Basically lacking the gyro effect.
Dirt rally 1 and 2, wrc 9, wreckfest, f1 2020 are examples.
The issue is that the wheel has almost no resistance in the center but is still sensitive to turning and therefore my inputs are a bit unprecise.
When I turn up the "drift mode" to give it more friction (natural damping), the wheel becomes too hard to turn swiftly when needed mid corner or when drifting.

With the fanatec dd wheels (and other dd wheels ofc), you not only have the drift mode but you get inertia and friction additionally.

My hope would be to give the wheel some inertia so you gain more precision when there isn't much ffb but once the ffb really kicks in, you won't feel the inertia anymore.

Sorry for the long post, I'm just really curious about this and sadly can't test it anywhere right now.
So I'd like some opinions on this before ordering it, re-cabling everything and do some A/B comparisons..

 

[th3orist]

I'm considering the side grade from csw 2.5 to csl dd. I'm really happy with the strength, detail, ffb, everything but 2 things annoy me:

There are in YT also several videos of people going from your wheel to CSL DD and it does not sound like a side grade at all, but rather an actual improvement. Sure, probably not the same as for someone coming from a G29 or T300, but still.

 

[Cote Dazur]

some games don't have much ffb in the center. It's not a dead zone, it's just that the ffb only kicks in when you turn a bit

Thank you for this excellent and detailed question.
You mention experts discussions between mclarenf1papa, kyuubey, stereo etc about what needs to happen to be "realistic", I have a lot of respect for those individual, they are helping us all reaching a more realistic simulation.

I believe that FFB, in its present stage, both software and hardware is at best a compromise. So an ultra realistic approach, although it should be the goal, might end up, at this point in time, in an experience more frustrating than fulfilling. My goal is immersion, what makes me forget the hardware and believe that I am actually driving a car, is my real goal. The CSL DD is a game changer, like VR, for me in my quest and I now believe that DD is the way to go.

You mention, "not much ffb in the center", this is the first thing that shocked me, in AC, when I started using the CSL DD, very light, no resistance what so ever, in comparison to what I was experiencing on my Buhler modified CSR Elite. Will it be an issue for you, I don't know. Past the first shock, I got the {NDP} Natural Damper to 40% and all is good now.

There is no fan and no noise and no heat generated by the CSL DD, that is amazing, dead silent and feels like a rock.

From my experience, the feeling of immersion with a DD, in my case a CSL DD, is a huge improvement over my previous experience with other type wheels.

To me, the smoothness, speed and detail are on a different level and make all my SIMS better SIMs.
To close, CSL DD to me , but I believe about DD in general, is so different, that we all need to understand that, at the beginning, driving with DD is unsettling, As in any compromise, you gain some, you loose some, in this case some things familiar and comfortable, but overall the gain are so nice, that once you crossed the threshold, their is no turning back.

I hope it helps, I recommend you go for it.

 

[RasmusP]

I hope it helps, I recommend you go for it.

Just pre-ordered

Thanks for the detailed reply! Interesting that you don't use friction or inertia but 40% damping.
Can you describe the difference between these 3? Official descriptions aren't that helpful

I would like to have more resistance around the center and when doing slow movements but have a reactive wheel without steering "through pudding" when doing some quick left/right/left/right.
The "dri" setting with the CSW 2.5 is basically the opposite. Very low resistance when turning slowly but when trying to be really fast, the resistance becomes super annoying.

From the official descriptions it sounds like Inertia would be perfect for that...

 

[Cote Dazur]

Official descriptions aren't that helpful

Are you referring to the description in Fanalab? I find them helpful.
I have not played with friction and inertia to be honest, as historically they were very bad on my CSR Elite, introducing noise in my FFB I did not want.
When I started with my CSL DD, with the standard setup, it felt great, then I started using the “recommended “ Fanatec setting for AC and although much more detailed, the Center in straight was, to me, overly light. From the description and seeing NDP was at 15% in the recommended setting, I added more and the issue just vanished. Could it be an even better compromise at 30%, maybe, will eventually try it, if I have nothing better to do at some point, but for now, I am having too much fun enjoying driving and rediscovering my favorites combo. This morning Lotus 49 at Rouen is a pure sim delight, something that good should be illegal if I am completely honest.
Everything is already so much better, that I do not have the need to fix anything, but of course with time I will tweak it to make it even better.
Looking forward to exchange best practice with you when you get your hands on your CSL DD, by then I will also have more to share, as this DD “thing” is still very new to me.

 

[Cote Dazur]

Just a little update, it has been a week, I like my CSL DD more and more as I start to understand better what it is telling me.

Before this wheel, I always thought we gave too much importance to FFB (and not enough on physic) within our SIM community.

Now I get so much more info than before, in all my SIM, that I appreciate more what FFB, with the right FFB software and hardware can do to improve the depth of my simulation.

VR and CSL DD, are a match made in heaven to me as the one two punch to create a better illusion that I am actually racing a car.

 

[Cote Dazur]

Sunday update on living with DD wheel base. After some more tinkering I am now totally happy with AC, which is good since this is the SIM where I spend most of my time. I use the recommended Fanatec setting.

I have to give thanks to Fanatec for giving us the opportunity of taking advantage of DD at such an affordable level.

Any body else received their CSL DD wheel base yet? Any comments?

 

[download]

Sadly my June 8th CSL DD order just got pushed back from shipping on Sept. 20th to shipping on Oct. 28th now, so another six or seven weeks before I hopefully get mine But thank you for making this thread so when I do get it I'll have some good FFB settings to start with

 

[Wilko Jones]

AC does feel better with the CSLDD. AC isn't my main sim, but it's a lot more enjoyable now. I'm even able to drive fast enough to keep the tires howling, and warm. Its probably the wrong way to drive in the sim but damn it's a ton of fun!