What happened to the Mclaren GT3 wheel?
Michael Burnett
Member
There was a new version that was on the site for Pre-Order that said it was going to release on January 15th. I was going to order it after the holidays, but now it's not showing up anymore?
Comments
Under the "media and downloads" website the wheel is listed as an discontinued product.
The licence with McLaren could be an contract for 2 years. ( Until December this year)
So the wheels you could pre-order where the last badge of them.
!! Only speculations !!
Some comment from fanatec here maybe? Or point us to where it is answered?
Well since they have been plagued with paddle shifting issues I would guess they pulled them initially to redesign the dome switches then after the redesign found more problems and pulled the wheel altogether because it has never worked right. I had one and it was an absolute mess. Constant missed shifts or double shifts. Save your money and get the Formula wheel. Its more expensive but its less plasticky, doesn't have all the issues, has more knobs, and comes with the better quick release.
That is an opinion and speculation. I've used a McLaren since launch and never had a single issue with it. I'm not saying you didn't have legit issues with it, but that doesn't mean everyone else did and that the product "never worked right". That's just silly. In fact, I prefer the cheaper McLaren rim over my more expensive Formula, Formula DD1, and now Porsche wheel. The wheel profile/size and grips on the McLaren rim are just fantastic.
There were gazillions of people complaining about missed shifts over many forums. Where there is smoke there is fire.
I love my McLaren wheel and had never problems with it.
It could also be, that McLaren is mad because the gt3 rim is only a "low quality" plastic one. Compared to the new 600€ Porsche wheel.
So maybe all factors came together, that decided to take the product of the website.
But it's really a shame, that Fanatec just says nothing. They just do not care about their customers.
I pre-ordered it and got an E-mail today: "
Dear valued customer,
We know how much you are looking forward to receiving the CSL Elite Steering Wheel McLaren GT3. We’ve been working hard to prepare this product and make it 100% bulletproof, but supplier issues have caused a setback that means we are unable to provide a new estimated availability date at this time. Unfortunately we have taken the difficult decision to postpone all shipments of this product and refund your pre-order.
The most suitable alternative to the McLaren wheel is the ClubSport Steering Wheel Formula V2:
To give you the best race experience also in future and as an apology, you will receive an offer for the Formula V2 into your account within the next few days. It will be listed at the same price you paid for the McLaren wheel. If you accept this offer within a year, it will be applied as a new order at this special price.
To accept the offer, please log into your account, click on 'My Account' -> 'Quotation'
Please click on ‘Show’ and check the quotation. For accepting the quotation please click 'Accept Quotation'. The product will appear in your basket and you can proceed with the payment.
Your McLaren pre-order will be automatically refunded to the payment method you originally used. This can take up to a week depending on your payment provider.
Naturally we would have preferred not to make this decision, but it was the best way to ensure that we deliver products of consistently high quality.
We wish all the best for the new year.
Kind regards,
Team Fanatec "
That really sucks, because im waiting quite a while now for the wheel.
WOW!! For all the complaining Fanatec is hooking you guys up. Paying 250 for the V2 is a steal, that thing is a piece of art and much better quality then that McLaren
All forms of art are subjective. Some people will pay $120k USD for a banana duct tapped to a wall (https://www.vulture.com/2019/12/man-duct-tapes-banana-to-wall-makes-usd240-000.html) and others will pay $0.25.
Complaining is very natural and should help a growing company identify areas that should be tightened up. Take it for what it's worth. Some people want a GT wheel, not an F1 wheel. Fanatec doesn't have their ducks together and had to pull the plug. Disappointing to say the least.
By the way, anyone who runs Fanatec knows that nothing made in China is worth the price we buy them for...but we're all suckers ;)
Yes your correct, when I see the base or pedals, which I think look nice and are quality, I have to tell myself it must be the technology I am paying for because I feel I am paying at least 1/3 more then I feel it actually is worth, but I feel different with the V2.
Do you have the V2? I have both. They arent even in the same world. The V2 is actually the one piece of equipment I think is worth the money. At least on the PS4 with everything working, the rotary switches, 2 way switches, multiple joy sticks, thumb switches, shifter adjustable and feel, aclantra, quality of the resoultion on the wheel screen, digital flags, QR, and just the overall quality and feel it isnt even in the same ball park as the GT wheel. Unlike some of the other stuff I cant find any corner that was cut with this wheel.
I own a bunch of fanatec stuff, this was the one wheel I opened and said Damn!! Its not a toy! Like I said this is a steal for those offered. there is no better F1 wheel unless your looking at one of those 2000 dollar full screen wheels.
Pick up the $20 magnetic mod and I cant imagine you every needing this style a wheel again.
The V2 is actually the one piece of equipment I think is worth the money. At least on the PS4 with everything working.
Do the rotary encoders and such actually work on any PS4 game?
I've hesitated upgrading my Esports wheel because I was under the impression that the encoders, flag LEDs, etc. only worked on the PC-I'd love to hear otherwise.
Yes, everything works on the PS4 for F1 2019. I have the one rotary encoder set to ERS and the other to fuel mixture. Not only do they work they remember the position. So for instance "High" is always on dial number 6 and dial number 5 is "normal" for instance. So if you are on "overtake" you just need to know to get the dial to 5 to get to "normal" You just dont keep rolling through it. Really cool...I have break bias and diff set to the 2 two way switches. The thumb wheels work also. So many options, I have one button set to go directly to whether I want the wing changed, I dont have to go digging through menus while racing. Yes flags work also. Makes the wheel awesome!
Awesome-thanks for the reply. I'll start saving for the V2, I guess.
Just went looking for the quick start guide and noticed the Mclaren wheels have been pulled from the market. It’s a good idea as this wheel has had more then its share of issues. Mine had issues with my CSW V2. Buttons would constantly stop working...for 10 minutes at a time sometimes. With my DD2 I’m pretty sure if I use it daily it’ll snap from the QR eventually..at least that’s how it sounds.
Heading into March 2020 amd Still no word on the Re release on the GT3 McLaren CSL Elite wheel..
I want to buy a new wheel so badly but they are just so darn high in price. I feel like 150 to 199. Would be a perfect price for rims that actually have plenty of buttons on them.
They do have 130 dollar rims but they have no buttons so I dont see how you could really utilize them without the Hub which is also very expensive.
I dont know They have a few products that I want to try out.
The CSawv2.5 I want to try before I move on to Direct drive. I'm absolutely ok with the price of that with no wheel.
The BMW wheel I feel like if it were 200 dollars instead of 3 they would sell many more of them.
But when irs all said and done more than the prices I care about quality and customer support.
Around 3wks with my CSL Elite PS4 and Its a great buy.
I have the Mclaren GT3 wheel and had all the missed shift issues for most of last year , it did get sent back to have something replaced but 2 months later one of shifters lost its click , it would still work but no feel.
I had had enough with fanatec and this constantly misbehaving wheel so i fixed it myself.
As it turned out the snapdome was no longer snapping ( had a crack in it ) , i'm an electronics tech and snapdomes have been around forever ( it's what those handheld lcd games i played as a kid 40 years ago used to use (Donkey Kong) and have always been one of the first things to stop working , so i was surprised Fanatec had tried to use them in this wheel as they are renowned to be unreliable.
I replaced the snapdome with a reed switch and glued some magnets to the aluminium shifter arm to activate them and guess what , i did that probably about 6 months ago and they haven't malfunctioned once and are lighter and better to use.
I absolutely love the feel of the wheel in your hands , it fits like a glove and especially part of that is the rubber grips , i see all the new wheels use alcantara which wears out very quickly from heavy use and doesn't feel as good , so i am not keen to buy another one until they have similar rubber grips/wheels .
Apart from the shifting issues i had , it is by far the best steering wheel ergonomically to hold in your hands , it would be a shame not to bring out a version without those stupid snap domes.
Hi David
Any details on changing it over to a reed switch?
Thanks
I've not had any problems with my McLaren GT3 wheel and really like the size but the plastic creaks a bit on my DD1. I like the shifter feel and had no problems. If they were to fail I think I'd opt for the replacement magnetic aftermarket replacements.
These wheels fetch up to £400 on eBay consistently and I hope that makes the Fanatec folks think about a new version: the same size and grips but with the OLED display from the Endurance module, the podium shifter option and in real carbon fibre would be fantastic. It would be expensive but IMO make a better proposition than the Porsche podium wheel which is very big and heavy.
Something like this, please!
and this would solve the licensing problem, and knock off a few pounds :-)
Yes, we need new bigger(than F1's 27cm) Formula/LM/DTM/GT-style wheel. Something like 30-32cm wide.
Sure,
You will need to remove all the screws and knobs (nuts under some of the knobs also need to be removed) to remove the front face to get to the large PCB inside.
Undo the screws for the PCB and unplug the wires , flip PCB over and you will see the 2 large Snapdomes used for the shifting.
They are circular and are soldered to the PCB , you will need to remove them from the PCB , i have a hot air rework station at work so it was easy for me.
Once removed , you are left with the outer PCB track ring and inner round PCB track , the Snapdome when pressed shorted between these 2 points to register a shift.
I soldered a small reed switch at each point , so one end to the outer PCB track ring and the other end to the Middle round PCB track.
The reed switch is roughly in the centre of where the Snapdome was , you have a bit of wiggle room , just as long as the magnet can activate the reed switch.
i then glued small neodymium magnets to the underneath of the aluminium shifters in the middle of the return spring, so when you pull on the lever the magnet gets close enough to activate the reed switch.
The only thing i haven't done and wish to do is to put rubber over the shifter bump stop as at the moment it is the aluminium shift lever hitting hard plastic , when the Snapdomes were used they stopped the lever going full travel but now they can.
David