Need some help for a rookie
Law Shadow
Member
Hi all, my first post.
So im eye balling to purchase a sim set bundle from Logitech to Thrustmaster to Fanatec bundles. From my understanding Fanatec makes higher quality products then the previous 2 mentioned brands. Plus it just looks better overall.
First of all i had to save hard earned money for this setup max budget = around 1080 eur. For me its a lot and i know the budget is kind of mediocore compared to the high tier products from Fanatec even then its a whopper for me to spend.
Not sure which racing type i want to play most ie GT, F1, street race cars, rally etc.
So what steering wheel can give me the most out of every type of racing type? Example GT or F1.
This is my initial setup going to play mainly on PC. Is this a good setup for the budget i have?
1 - ClubSport Steering Wheel RS (349 eur) or is there a better option for me?
2 - CSL DD 5nm (349 eur)
3 - CSL Pedals (79,95 eur)
4 - ClubSport Shifter SQ V 1.5 (259 eur) - i love manual shifting:)
5 - CSL Pedals Clutch Kit (39,59)
6 - have to check which race sport cockpit i have to get i found one that can be folded.
Is the CSL pedals fully compatible with the CSL Pedals Clutch kit?
Is the Clubsport Steering wheel RS good for all types of racing types?
And lastly VERY IMPORTANT how is Fanatec customer service? Because imo a companies stand and fall with not only their quality of products but also their customer service both need to represent each other. If one has a faulty product i really do not want to spend hard earned money to a company that lets its costumers hanging....
I am sorry if these type of questions have been asked before but i do want your feedback/expertise and definatley have in mind my budget = 1080 eur.
Thank in advance help is much appreciated
Comments
I hate to say it, but if timely, responsive and effective customer service is a top priority for you, you may be better served by looking somewhere other than Fanatec. The quality of their new products recently has been suspect, and there have been requests for defective products needing to be returned nearly every day posted here on these forums, as well as frequent complaints about Fanatec Customer Service taking days and sometimes weeks to reply to seemingly simple requests. As a company, they've really taken a turn for the worse in these regards recently. Their CS department is overwhelmed, and what's worse is that they don't seem to be taking any steps to rectify this... in fact it seems to be part of their business strategy of cutting operating costs while maximizing their market share (perhaps to make themselves appear more attractive to potential corporate investors or buyers?)
I bought my first Fanatec products over 10 years ago, (a Porsche 911 GT2 wheel and Clubsport v1 pedals), and they were rock solid. I bought a CSL DD and McLaren GT3 v2 wheel from them last year, and it's been a very different, very frustrating experience. The stuff's great when it works, but I've had to return the base twice and the wheel once before I got a combination that worked... and I still have an ongoing issue that creeps up from time to time. Unless things take a significant turn for the better, I don't think I'll be buying any more Fanatec products in the future.
As far as recommending to others, perhaps for accessories like a shifter or handbrake they're ok, but for mission-critical gear like the base or wheel, I'd recommend looking elsewhere. To me, there's too much of a risk that what you'll get will either not work properly out of the box, or will require the attention of the CS/ Repairs department, and you'll be stuck for ages waiting for a reply, then waiting even longer to get it returned, repaired, and sent back to you.
Especially if you're mainly (only?) concerned with PC, there are several similarly priced options out there such as Moza, Accuforce, Simagic, VRS, and others. I have no knowledge of the quality of any of their customer service, but I think you probably owe it to yourself to do a little research on that if you can, especially considering the not-insignificant chunk of money you're prepared to spend.
(I'm sure Fanatec won't appreciate me posting this on their forum, but it's my honest opinion. YMMV.)
If customer service is important to you, try getting on other manufacturer's forum and send them an email to see how long they will take to reply.
I think Fanatec's customer service is overwhelmed currently, but have read somewhere that they are trying to increase the department but employing new staff and training them may be challenging and will take time.
Hi,
Thanks for the replies Gregg and David,
To Gregg thank you for your experience if you didnt gave me your feedback i would have chosen Fanatec gear of course i did some additional research and you are right they might have been solid 10 years ago. But on inspecting forum threads on Reddit and reading comments on Youtube videos gives me another view... i am reading things like "my dd died after a view weeks/months and many are popping up in the last couple years....mainly their QC and service isnt good. However i do understand that Fanatec is a mid end segment so they sell more and obviously have more drop outs. But even then it is not a good sign.
I thought this is a solid brand for me spending around 1100 eur is a LOT and i might deal with faulty units and a possible bad service which lead to STRESS 1100 seems not that huge since i do know of the other brands like Simagic which are more expensive. Heck ive seen people with a Logitech G29 pretty much abuse the heck out of it and it still keeps running then made the switch to Fanatec and then problems....
I either STOP purchasing any sim gear because it is to expensive (but worth it) or keep saving for better gear with high quality and reliability.
Now i am looking at Simagic Alpha Mini base which has very good feedback on forums base + F1 wheel rather high for me i might save for it don't know. You can even use Fanatec wheels on it with a mod. Im also looking at Moza racing gear but don't know if they are good since they are relative new. Its a mixed bag i did find forum threads that praise the Fanatec CSL DD so im bit confused. Fanatec CSL DD + wheels etc does not cost me an arm and a leg i thought Fanatec was a MID/END brand even then you can expect some reliability and quality guess times have changed. I hope Fanatec changes for the better i do like their stuff but for now it is going to be a pass for me to spend my hard earned money on them.
Good tip David going to try that out for sure thx.
Sorry to give you the disappointing news, but I just thought I should share so that you are aware of the potential pitfalls. I think the choice of going with Fanatec or not comes down to how much tolerance you have for things potentially going wrong and how patient you think you can be while waiting for your kit to be serviced, if it comes to that. I'll say again that their stuff is great when it works...I've been able to get my CSL DD and McLaren v2 to a fairly reliable state, and I love the detailed feedback it gives me as well as all the functionality of the wheel's dials, buttons and toggles. But I won't lie...due to my experiences leading up to this point, there's always going to be this nagging voice in the back of my head, wondering when things are going to go wrong again. I suppose I'm lucky that I don't really do any league racing or any "serious" competition, mostly just solo vs AI, hotlapping and the occasional casual meet-up with friends. If I had to rely on my equipment for something like an esports competition, I would've jumped ship and gone somewhere else by now, for sure.
FWIW... my CSL DD + McLaren V3 wheel + CSL LC pedals has been fine from the day I got it. Longest race is 1hr to date with qualification and practice before that, so the base would have been on for maximum of 2 hrs.
I am very particular with how I take care of my wheels and pc though. I have not removed the wheel from the base ever since new. I have only updated the firmware twice. Once when I first got it and the other about 3 months ago.
Yes i did find posts from people who had good experiences on reddit. But gosh the amount of negative posts is pretty staggering the ones that have a good running CSL DD base or any other fanatec +wheel are regarded as the "lucky ones" i dont buy a product because of "luck". I can still purchase Fanatec and be one of the chosen ones...I think i will pass on Fanatec it's just to itchy and concerning when i spend my hard earned money on them. I wish it was different they seem to have nice products at a affordable price range if the QC and CS was rather higher then it is now i would have purchased Fanatec no doubt.
I am now looking at either Moza R9 base OR Simagic Alpha Mini base.
I might be wrong but somehow Moza brand is similar to Fanatec perhaps same factory?
Simagic Alpha Mini many satisfied customers with this base reputation is solid with this base dont encounter many negatives on forums.
Moza is just to new to have established good faith from people. Reviews dont tell anything about reliability in the long run or if the software is good.
If all else i just skip sim racing al together. Wanted to upgrade my pc rig to a RTX4080 gpu which should arrive in Sept but man...the TDP of those cards is insane minimum of 400watt the RTX4090 heard minimum 600watt up to a whopping 1200watt i thought they said max would/can be 800watt. This means 100% a new power supply probably 1000watt or higher PSU. Taken into account the power draw of any of the above mentioned bases what 60 to 100watt? The efficiency of the pc PSU and the power draw of cpu and the rest of the rig... Your looking at around 1000watt or much higher just to play a damn game!!
No worries m8 ive checked many forum posts and your not telling lies it is true MANY negative reviews/feedback.
Either i stop looking for SIM hardware or try either one of these 2 brands of bases:
Moza R9 (to new on the market have no clue if they are quality or trash)
Simagic Alpha Mini (pretty solid reputation for years and years not many negatives but on the expensive side but...buy once, cry once.
One guy used a G29 and heavily abused it for years rage quited on it you name it and still works like a charm...then he upgraded to a CSL DD and with gentle hands it still petrayed him after 2 weeks.....If i play a sim i want to play minimum of 2 to 3 hours in a session.
Ive dealt with mechanical hardware for games like another (can be expensive hobby) fighting sticks for fighting games even tho there is a difference between 'cheap" sticks vs premium sticks BUT you can play with either of them the cheaper ones will do the work 100% while the premium ones just have better feeling overall more smooth less "throw" faster engage etc. I have sticks that are 18 bucks and do the work i also have premium sticks that cost 100 bucks. What i am trying to say is both cheap and expensive sticks PERFORM. While in the SIM world you BETTER pick a good brand or be very dissapointed.
There is also VRS or the slightly more expensive simucube that you can look into as well. And you have to get either w wireless wheel or USB and they are not cheap.
I do like my McLaren V3... fingers crossed it lasts. Very affordable. Clutch feature is good so I do not need to go with a clutch pedal.
Hey Law,
As others have said, it seems really hard to reach support, and it is something that keeps popping up.
I've been using Fanatec gear for 4 years. Starting with a CSL Elite and its LC pedals, to now a DD1 with a 911 rim. I had my share of problems, but they were usually solved. I had to send my CSL base back, and the McLaren v1 rim I have got some of its well known problems.
It was all handled well. Support takes long to respond, but when they do, my feeling is that they are capable.
But what I currently really REALLY do NOT like is the fact that communication from the company is just plain stupid or non-existent on various occassions. There is NO transparency about what is happening with my order, and because support is hard to reach, answers are hard to get. This has been going on for more then a month now.
Summary
Gear: for me, always fine. Repaired quickly when needed
Support: for me, always fine, WHEN you are able to reach them.
Ordering from other companies puts me in to the position that I need to pay a lot of import taxes, causing other alternatives to be far more expensive. But if that wasn't an issue, I think I would have switched already.