What to buy? Fanatec CSW or T500RS

[Ilias Axarlis]

I'm thinking to buy CSW base with the gt2 rim and the v2 pedals, I'm actualy between this and the T500 RS, but I have found reports for bad reliability on fanatec products but there are all 1 year ago. Is there any new feedback on this? Have they fixed the problems or they are still there?

 

[jimortality]

I have the chance to buy a CSR Elite from Feb 2012, is it worth the gamble? Im using a DFGT at the moment.

Not sure what to tell you mate. I had the normal CSR and didn't really like it. I had the G27 which was great but I\m now on a T500 and it's fantastic. My problem with the fanatec was the firmware updates seemed to make my wheel worse everytime and the wheel always felt lumpy to me.

 

[InsaneOzzie]

I have Fanatec's CSW with both F1 & BMW rims, I've had them for about 4mths and I have had NO issues with any of the things people are saying here, I find the FFB to be outstanding, but it also depends on the game too, the great thing about the CSW rims is you can dial the wheels FFB settings in live on the track, I used G25 prior to CSW and the difference is like comparing a mini cooper to a Ferrari, lol.

As far as the weight of the BMW rim is concerned, I wouldn't be, it makes no difference to my racing at all, infact the wheels weight just feels natural to me now, the F1 rim is incredibly light compared to the BMW rim, but that's to be expected seeing as it's only half the size, but it is worth the outlay if your into F1 and open-wheelers. The other great thing I like about the CSW is the amount of buttons and the rotary encoder included on the rims, makes racing so much better when all those important buttons etc are just a fingertip away, nothing worse than looking for a button on ya keyboard while doing 300kmh

I cant compare the T500RS as I've never used one, but I will say this, in my opinion the CSW and rims are worth every cent I paid, and in today's cheaply made product market "you get what you pay for" for me the CSW is like the Zonda of steering wheels, and I paid heavily for it, but well worth it in the end.

Hope this may help somewhat with your decision, the best advice I can offer is, do your research as it's not a cheap prospect, and you want to be sure your getting exactly what you want, and don't settle for anything less. Good luck with your decision, it's not an easy one to make.

Cheers

 

[Kevin Ascher]

Sorry Anestis, I don´t have the F1 addon.

Kevin in your point of view, which FFB is better, T500 or CSW?

In terms of FFB they are both very good. The T500 is a little bit stronger but I never really liked the arrangement of the shifting paddles. If you still have more specific questions, ask me via PM and I will reply here again.

 

[SergioCarr]

Myself I'm not a Logitech so it's easy ... plus all Fanatec products look sooooo amazing!

 

[SergioCarr]

.. I meant Thrustmaster of course

 

[Radek Zukowski]

I had CSW for about 1.5 year now, I was a community tester and I had one of the earliest batches. I had one motor failure after about 3 months of use (probably I had the one from bad batch). Also in Formula Rim, the spring broke in one of the paddles. I had no problems with support whatsoever, I had CSW replaced and they sent me another paddle for F rim.

Since then I had no problems, the base works for over a year now. I'm very happy with the wheel, coming from G27 was like night and day.

 

[Kjell Eilertsen]

Thanks for sharing Radek! I'm on the fence on which wheel to upgrade too as well, both wheels are probably going to make me happy but I must admit to liking the CSW a tad bit more due to the overall material quality and sheer awesome looks.

 

[RaceNut]

I just ordered new pedals from Fanatec and would like to get the CSW and GT2 rim in the future so please, anyone who can share more info or updates - it would be appreciated.

 

[Mika Kerttula]

When I have read how breakable fanatec wheel is and how many "monday-version" wheels there are, buy only T500RS.

 

[RaceNut]

When I have read how breakable fanatec wheel is and how many "monday-version" wheels there are, buy only T500RS.

Thanks for the info and I am finding quit a lot of negative reviews on the company as well as the wheel. It's too bad because it is such a nice package. I read many complaints about the T500RS as well but, they are relatively minor ones for the most part.

 

[Mika Kerttula]

Thanks for the info and I am finding quit a lot of negative reviews on the company as well as the wheel. It's too bad because it is such a nice package. I read many complaints about the T500RS as well but, they are relatively minor ones for the most part.

I have them also, if you look broken reports every wheel has its type failure. I'm not going to specify them but failure is hard driving with smashing handling. Pedals break almost everytime when driving doesn't go as sim enthusiastic wants.

 

[Kjell Eilertsen]

I must admit to not having been looking for this info, but what I've stumbled upon I've seen almost equally many saying they've had a great experience contacting Fanatec support. I've contacted them myself two times, the first was a great experience, the second sadly took a long time to get any reply to, but my issue was a minor so I won't hold it against them to downprioritize it.
And for the record, no my wheel has not broken down.
My experience with their support has been this;
1. I contacted them regarding the fans on my GT3 RS starting to become noisy, I got a reply the day after asking if I would be fine with replacing them myself, I said yes and a few days later I had new fans in the mail. Replacing them myself didn't even void my warranty.
2. I contacted them regarding the fact that my wheels vibration motor is constantly on unless I'm in a car and on a track (it works normally when on track), it stops if I change my Sho to 0 on the wheel.
Took a while to get a answer (and we've not fixed it yet), but can't complain about them taking some time answering this as it's a minor issue and probably down to software/firmware and nothing hardware. I'm suspecting a driver or firmware bug, but I've got the latest drivers and can't downgrade for some reason. Going to test the latest beta firmware released recently.

Anyways, this turned into a wall of text
I would keep one thing in mind regarding the reports of faulty wheels from Fanatec, and that's the fact that people who experience problems are prone to share their experiences online, those who have a wheel and no issues are less likely to go to some forum just to tell everybody how little issues they have.
Also, when buying a CSW, I recommend you go for the bundle with the base and both the formula and GT rim, because if you buy the bundle you get Premium Service Pack for all three devices for free. You can find the bundle here;
http://eu.fanatec.com/Bundles?product_id=571

With Premium Service if you have a issue with your device that will take them more than 2 business days to repair they will send you a replacement device on loan until they're done fixing your wheel. Pretty damn good if you ask me!

Edit: That's a €150 worth of premium service for free compared to buying them seperately.

 

[RaceNut]

Thank you kindly for that information Kjell, I generally take into account that a certain amount of complaints for any item being considered for purchase is normal. And of course, it's mostly the negative issues that get reported the most.

I am going to wait a bit to make a decision on the CSW and my G25 works fine. At the very least I may add SLI with a few buttons to that for now along with the CSR Elite pedals.

 

[UFwho]

I must admit to not having been looking for this info, but what I've stumbled upon I've seen almost equally many saying they've had a great experience contacting Fanatec support. I've contacted them myself two times, the first was a great experience, the second sadly took a long time to get any reply to, but my issue was a minor so I won't hold it against them to downprioritize it.
And for the record, no my wheel has not broken down.
My experience with their support has been this;
1. I contacted them regarding the fans on my GT3 RS starting to become noisy, I got a reply the day after asking if I would be fine with replacing them myself, I said yes and a few days later I had new fans in the mail. Replacing them myself didn't even void my warranty.
2. I contacted them regarding the fact that my wheels vibration motor is constantly on unless I'm in a car and on a track (it works normally when on track), it stops if I change my Sho to 0 on the wheel.
Took a while to get a answer (and we've not fixed it yet), but can't complain about them taking some time answering this as it's a minor issue and probably down to software/firmware and nothing hardware. I'm suspecting a driver or firmware bug, but I've got the latest drivers and can't downgrade for some reason. Going to test the latest beta firmware released recently.

Anyways, this turned into a wall of text
I would keep one thing in mind regarding the reports of faulty wheels from Fanatec, and that's the fact that people who experience problems are prone to share their experiences online, those who have a wheel and no issues are less likely to go to some forum just to tell everybody how little issues they have.
Also, when buying a CSW, I recommend you go for the bundle with the base and both the formula and GT rim, because if you buy the bundle you get Premium Service Pack for all three devices for free. You can find the bundle here;
http://eu.fanatec.com/Bundles?product_id=571

With Premium Service if you have a issue with your device that will take them more than 2 business days to repair they will send you a replacement device on loan until they're done fixing your wheel. Pretty damn good if you ask me!

Edit: That's a €150 worth of premium service for free compared to buying them seperately.

 

[UFwho]

I'm not sure which is better. But the CSW formula rim is amazing next to the G27. .....When it works!! I have dropped a lot of money on the fanatec wheel, Base and V2 Pedals and I am using the G27 now!!! Why? Because I am in the middle of the single worst (Hands down) consumer experience of my life! It started the day I plugged the set up together (10 months ago). The pedals were responding very badly in-game! Actually useless. Then I contacted the dealer where I bought it (out of province). They admitted to knowing there were problems with faulty sensors and circuit boards. I wanted a new unit since they were claiming a 2 year warranty. They insisted on sending me new chips and boards! I asked for something in writing that would honour the warranty in case I caused any damage while disassembling it. I got a verbal "don't worry". It took almost 2 months to receive the parts! After changing them, they worked! Except I was between 4 and 5 seconds per lap SLOWER than I was with the G27. I was so discouraged at that point that I asked for a cash refund and an adaptor to plug my G27 pedals to the formula rim. 2 weeks later I was finally back in the game. They wouldn't refund me without a restocking fee! The $300 pedals are on my shelf ever since, unused. I am now having the same problem as everyone else with the motor for the wheel. For the last 2 and a half months I have been e-mailing and complaining about getting a replacement. Fanatec wants to send my distributor a replacement motor. But I don't want to do this again. As a consumer of a product in this price range, I should have a brand new unit! No?! Apparently not! My distributor says that Fanatec doesn't want to replace a unit that has been in the customers possession for "more than 3 months". My reply to this is that there is a 2 -year warranty AND it only worked for 3 months!!! I've been told that e-mails about my claim are going unanswered for more than 2 months now because of the release of the new shifters!! They are so busy in Germany trying to make accessories for a base that is unreliable that their customer service is basically offline! So, getting nowhere with this I went straight to Fanatec's facebook page and wrote a nasty message. I received a reply saying that they knew about the case and would not replace the unit. BUT they told me it was because I didn't order it on their website!!! I found the only liscensed canadian distributor I could find and now they are telling me that that won't cut it!!??!! I'm getting ****ing angry now! The best part is that I have built a simulator around this product and I am actually very happy with the way the CSW formula worked. I don't want to change product at all. I just want a new wheel base and I will carry on loving the way it elevated my in-game experience!

 

[Kjell Eilertsen]

Dunno about the consumer laws around where you live, but in both sweden and norway (which have among the strongest and most protecting consumer laws in the world afaik) Fanatec (or any other company) would have 3 chances of repairing your gear before you can claim a refund or replacement unit. They would have no obligation to replace your unit on your first contact, but if it fails 3 times during warranty period, or they fail to repair it 3 times, THEN you can ask for a new unit.

Furthermore, Fanatec has the full rights to deny you a refund or replacement unit if you bought the wheel through a reseller. This is quite common actually, I've had the same situation with Logitech where I had to contact the reseller to have my broken Logitech equipment replaced because it was within 1 year old, and within the first year Logitech expects the reseller to take care of ALL support and service, at least as a first line. Maybe they could and should have replaced your wheel to keep you and other customers happy, but fact is that if they don't sell to your country it is because they have no shipping deals to that country (among other things I reckon) so they might be loosing money on every wheel. You made a choice to trust the reseller you bought the wheel from, you should be angry at them for failing to support you if that's how Fanatec are expecting their resellers to take care of business, if he at all is a official partner with Fanatec.

I think this also is a example of people expressing discontent with the support people get, when they have the wrong expectations to begin with. Know your rights before you complain imo.
That said, there might be other legitimate reasons you have to complain about the support you got (or lack thereof), so don't take this as a personal attack against you, just pointing out the things that I think are wrong in your assumptions.
I am truly sorry to hear that you've had a poor experience with Fanatec hardware, and I hope it turns out allright sooner rather than later.

 

[UFwho]

Dunno about the consumer laws around where you live, but in both sweden and norway (which have among the strongest and most protecting consumer laws in the world afaik) Fanatec (or any other company) would have 3 chances of repairing your gear before you can claim a refund or replacement unit. They would have no obligation to replace your unit on your first contact, but if it fails 3 times during warranty period, or they fail to repair it 3 times, THEN you can ask for a new unit.

Furthermore, Fanatec has the full rights to deny you a refund or replacement unit if you bought the wheel through a reseller. This is quite common actually, I've had the same situation with Logitech where I had to contact the reseller to have my broken Logitech equipment replaced because it was within 1 year old, and within the first year Logitech expects the reseller to take care of ALL support and service, at least as a first line. Maybe they could and should have replaced your wheel to keep you and other customers happy, but fact is that if they don't sell to your country it is because they have no shipping deals to that country (among other things I reckon) so they might be loosing money on every wheel. You made a choice to trust the reseller you bought the wheel from, you should be angry at them for failing to support you if that's how Fanatec are expecting their resellers to take care of business, if he at all is a official partner with Fanatec.

I think this also is a example of people expressing discontent with the support people get, when they have the wrong expectations to begin with. Know your rights before you complain imo.
That said, there might be other legitimate reasons you have to complain about the support you got (or lack thereof), so don't take this as a personal attack against you, just pointing out the things that I think are wrong in your assumptions.
I am truly sorry to hear that you've had a poor experience with Fanatec hardware, and I hope it turns out allright sooner rather than later.

Dunno about the consumer laws around where you live, but in both sweden and norway (which have among the strongest and most protecting consumer laws in the world afaik) Fanatec (or any other company) would have 3 chances of repairing your gear before you can claim a refund or replacement unit. They would have no obligation to replace your unit on your first contact, but if it fails 3 times during warranty period, or they fail to repair it 3 times, THEN you can ask for a new unit.

Furthermore, Fanatec has the full rights to deny you a refund or replacement unit if you bought the wheel through a reseller. This is quite common actually, I've had the same situation with Logitech where I had to contact the reseller to have my broken Logitech equipment replaced because it was within 1 year old, and within the first year Logitech expects the reseller to take care of ALL support and service, at least as a first line. Maybe they could and should have replaced your wheel to keep you and other customers happy, but fact is that if they don't sell to your country it is because they have no shipping deals to that country (among other things I reckon) so they might be loosing money on every wheel. You made a choice to trust the reseller you bought the wheel from, you should be angry at them for failing to support you if that's how Fanatec are expecting their resellers to take care of business, if he at all is a official partner with Fanatec.

I think this also is a example of people expressing discontent with the support people get, when they have the wrong expectations to begin with. Know your rights before you complain imo.
That said, there might be other legitimate reasons you have to complain about the support you got (or lack thereof), so don't take this as a personal attack against you, just pointing out the things that I think are wrong in your assumptions.
I am truly sorry to hear that you've had a poor experience with Fanatec hardware, and I hope it turns out allright sooner rather than later.

lol .....You work for Fanatec by chance?

 

[Kjell Eilertsen]

Nope, do I have to work for them to point out the flaws in your post?

 

[RaceNut]

@UFwho - I hope that you are able to work out a solution to get your Fanatec working but, if you are not able to, you may be surprised to find that your wheel and pedals will bring quite a bit of money on Ebay. I have been watching the T500RS and Fanatec models sell used for almost as much as new, even more in some cases where the models have been discontinued. Even those not in working order will probably interest someone with the skills and knowledge to repair it and there is also a strong modder-base that will pay for parts like those on the Fanatec's.

 

[UFwho]

@UFwho - I hope that you are able to work out a solution to get your Fanatec working but, if you are not able to, you may be surprised to find that your wheel and pedals will bring quite a bit of money on Ebay. I have been watching the T500RS and Fanatec models sell used for almost as much as new, even more in some cases where the models have been discontinued. Even those not in working order will probably interest someone with the skills and knowledge to repair it and there is also a strong modder-base that will pay for parts like those on the Fanatec's.

That's not a bad idea for the pedals. i appreciate the insight. Thanks