Upgrade TS PC Racer to CSW 2.5?

Lars Koldeweij · Jan 9, 2021

Hi all,

Currently I've been using my TS PC Racer for just about 2 years. I'm now wondering how much an upgrade to a Fanatec CSW 2.5 would be. DD wheels are too expensive for me and would require a rig upgrade, so for now that's not something I'm considering. Still the CSW seems a lot smoother and quieter and with a higher quality 'feel'.

I've read some rumours about a potential 'DD Lite' from Fanatec so maybe that could be something to wait for if it ever comes out, as I'm not interested in the pure strengths of the current DDs. But obviously those are still rumours, so not very helpful at this moment.

Does anyone have any experience or been in a similar situation?

Thanks in advance.

Sithhy™ · Jul 17, 2021

Lars Koldeweij said:
Does anyone have any experience or been in a similar situation?

I haven't had a DD wheel yet nor any stronger belt-driven, but being somewhat obsessed with wheels for PC, I can tell you that upgrading from a TS-PC to a CSW 2.5 won't make a very noticable difference. It might be slightly smoother or quieter but it's not worth the money; the only reason you could upgrade to Fanatec's wheel is the ~2Nm torque increase (~6 vs. ~8). If you really would want to to do it but still not spend your life savings on a high-end DD, I'd recommend ordering the Fanatec CSL DD as with the "Boost kit" PSU it will pump out the same 8Nm as the CSW V2.5 but it will have the advantage of being a direct drive, so you will get even more details & detailed FFB than with belt-drive.

cpp214 · Jul 19, 2021

In my opinion, having owned both a TS-XW (same internals as TS-PC) and a CSW 2.5 the only upgrade you'll notice is the strength of the FFB. If you like really strong FFB then the 2.5 is the better option. But as far as the quality of the FFB, I honestly felt like the TS-XW was every bit as good as the CSW 2.5 and had all the strength I wanted. Even now with a VRS Direct Force Pro I only use about 6nm of torque, which is about what the TS-PC and TS-XW have. So honestly I don't think you'll be amazed by the 2.5 unless you just love stronger FFB or want to get into the Fanatec wheel-rim ecosystem.