Steering Wheel Compatibility

Thomas JackermeierThomas Jackermeier Member
in Blog
We get several inquiries about the compatibility of our steering wheels to other Direct Drive systems. 

Fanatec is supporting open systems and we made our wheel bases, pedals, shifters and handbrakes compatible with other products as you can use them with USB together with any other brand.

We also allow and welcome the use of custom steering wheels on our wheel bases as long as there is no connection to our electronics and those wheels are using the Universal Hub or the upcoming Podium Wheel Adapter as a basis. This has several reasons:
  • Untested devices can damage your wheel base. The electronics as well as the mechanics.
  • Our products are fully certified (CE, FCC etc.) and this certification is only valid with original Fanatec equipment
  • Our license partners do not tolerate a connection of untested devices on their consoles
For the same reasons we do not allow the connection of one of our steering wheels to an adapter and use it on an untested non-Fanatec wheel base. You risk damage to your steering wheel and of course will lose the warranty.
Because it is hard for us to identify if a steering wheel was used on such an adapter we had to encrypt the communication between the wheel base and the steering wheel in order to prevent the wrong usage.

Our Podium DD has a special QR adapter on the base side which prevents any shaking and therefore damage. This is very important with the high forces of Direct Drive Wheels. Therefore I can only emphasize that you should use your Fanatec steering wheels only with Fanatec wheel bases in order to avoid damage.

We could probably make some more money by tolerating  the use of  our steering wheels on OSW but those customers could end up in a bad surprise with damaged products without warranty. Therefore please take the compatibility notes on our product description serious and use your Fanatec products only in the way they were designed.
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Comments

  • Cory ClarkCory Clark Member
    Thanks for clarfying that for all those who wanted it....

    Now, how about the status of the DD1? Are we still on schedule for late April launch or possibly early shipments like the LE F1 Wheel? :D
  • Thomas JackermeierThomas Jackermeier Member
    Cory Clark said:
    Thanks for clarfying that for all those who wanted it....

    Now, how about the status of the DD1? Are we still on schedule for late April launch or possibly early shipments like the LE F1 Wheel? :D
    Things look good so far. We will use the time and do more testing but nothing tells me that we cannot meet the target date this time.
  • Maxime MIGNOTMaxime MIGNOT Member
    edited February 2019
    Hi Thomas! What about attaching (with Podium Wheel Adapter + ClubSport Quick Release Adapter) an actual steering wheel from our every day cars (2-3 kg for 36cm diameter) onto the Podium DD? If electronics is needed, it could pass through a USB mod perhaps.

    I would be very interested in something along the lines of what the extra mile has done with his direct drive wheel :
  • Justin HessJustin Hess Member
    edited February 2019
    Thomas Jackermeier said:
    Cory Clark said:
    Thanks for clarfying that for all those who wanted it....

    Now, how about the status of the DD1? Are we still on schedule for late April launch or possibly early shipments like the LE F1 Wheel? :D
    Things look good so far. We will use the time and do more testing but nothing tells me that we cannot meet the target date this time.




    Good to hear, obviously this can change but I think we all are hoping for the best. We all want the wheel as soon as possible but only once it does what its said to be able to do reliably. Waiting has been difficult... but if it releases around April 30th I think it will be worth it. 

  • Marc-Antoine ThibaultMarc-Antoine Thibault Member
    edited February 2019
    i will put the CS QR and attach it directly to a 27mm round wheel to have a rim without buttons.

    good to hear the DD are on target (even if I would have liked to have it earlier) but thanks for letting us know. Next thing would be to have news on the porsche podium wheel
  • Cory ClarkCory Clark Member
    Thomas Jackermeier said:
    Cory Clark said:
    Thanks for clarfying that for all those who wanted it....

    Now, how about the status of the DD1? Are we still on schedule for late April launch or possibly early shipments like the LE F1 Wheel? :D
    Things look good so far. We will use the time and do more testing but nothing tells me that we cannot meet the target date this time.
    Very good to hear, Thomas! Can't wait to get my hands on it. My CSL Elite base is great but I can definitely feel the loss of sensation at certain times and hope the DD can remedy that.
  • Joel BarsottiJoel Barsotti Member
    It seems like you may have a market for an additional product.

    You could make something that would be the wheel side QR complete with the sinch from the Podium wheels.  Make it with a 6 bolt flange and wired so that anyone could bolt that to an OSW or other wheel bases. I would think people would much rather have something like that then all the boutique mods they try to use now.
  • Roland SchmidRoland Schmid Member
    I support this 100%
  • Albert MüllerAlbert Müller Member
    Viele deutschsprachige Fanatec User bzw. Fanatec-Interessierte haben mich über meinen YouTube-Channel kontaktiert, warum es keinen deutschsprachigen Content bezüglich Kompatibilität (PC/PS4/Xbox) oder Fanatec Tuning-Menü gibt.

    Ich habe hierzu zwei deutschsprachige Guides erstellt und auch Bezug auf eure erscheinende Podium-Series, welche ich auf eurem Communityevent getestet habe, genommen.

    Vielleich könnt ihr mit diesen Guides etwas anfangen bzw. diese verlinken. Das Feedback meiner deutschsprachigen Community war diesbezüglich sehr gut. Hier die Links:

    1.) deutschsprachiger Kompatibilitätsguide (PC/PS4/XBox):


    2.) deutschsprachige Erklärung Fanatec Tuningmenü:


    LG
  • leon liuleon liu Member
    i want to know, dd can use diy wheel with fanatec wheel? just like diy usb hub wheel
  • Gian-Luca MateoGian-Luca Mateo Member
    To use any non-fanatec wheel, you need to use a Universal Hub or the apparently upcoming Podium Adapter. I know of no DIY wheels that are mounted using the 6-hole pattern required
  • Sánta LászlóSánta László Member
    Thomas Jackermeier said:
    Cory Clark said:
    Thanks for clarfying that for all those who wanted it....

    Now, how about the status of the DD1? Are we still on schedule for late April launch or possibly early shipments like the LE F1 Wheel? :D

    Thanks for the info Thomas.
    Things look good so far. We will use the time and do more testing but nothing tells me that we cannot meet the target date this time.

  • Kevin LoweKevin Lowe Member
    edited February 2019
    "upcoming Podium Wheel Adapter" - interested to hear more about that...
  • Joel BarsottiJoel Barsotti Member
    Kevin Lowe said:
    "upcoming Podium Wheel Adapter" - interested to hear more about that...
    They showed it a bit at the sim racing expo.  It's similiar to the universal hub, but more modular.
  • Joel BarsottiJoel Barsotti Member
    Gian-Luca Mateo said:
    To use any non-fanatec wheel, you need to use a Universal Hub or the apparently upcoming Podium Adapter. I know of no DIY wheels that are mounted using the 6-hole pattern required
    What are you talking about? Almost all automotive wheels use some form of a 6-bolt pattern and most other DD bases ship with an adapter to a 6-bolt hub. Of course from there most people then add some kind of QR system, but I stand by the recommendation that if Fanatec wants to sell wheels to users of other bases a QR that can be mounted via a 6 bolt makes sense.

    sim racing bay adapter: 
    sim-plicity: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1044/3202/products/SW10C_Motor_large.jpg?v=1522683233

    Almost everybody vends a QR system as well, but the native mounts are alls some form of 6 bolt.
  • Thomas JackermeierThomas Jackermeier Member
    edited February 2019
    Joel,

    such an adapter will not happen for the reasons I mentioned in my post. It is out of our control and our wheels are not designed for 60 NM wheel bases for example.

    And why would anybody want to use our steering wheels with a USB cable on a non-Fanatec DD wheel base with less functionality, compatibility and no EMI compliance if you can get all that with a Podium DD? 

    There might be a small market for now until the Podium DDs are available but the demand for such an adapter in future is highly questionable.

    There are people out there who do a proper and full conversion of our wheels to USB and with a proper QR for OSW and I am sure that they can cover this market very well. 

    The rest of the market enjoys a big (and growing) range of affordable high-end Fanatec steering wheels on the Podium DDs with no limitation and can even use their custom USB corded wheels on our DDs.
  • Josh OskamJosh Oskam Member
    Personally, I don't care at all about other direct drive systems, but I'm finding the wait for my pre-ordered DD1difficult to endure. Can't wait for the day that I'm bolting it on to my rig and finally getting a chance to drive with it !  I guess there's no chance that you'll tell us if there's any possibility that shipping may start before the end of April, but I still dream that it is. 

  • Joel BarsottiJoel Barsotti Member
    Thanks Thomas,

    Fair enough.

    I was mostly basing off that off the loud response of the few that were upset. Personally I'm getting the DD1, so it's not something I need. It was just an idea to try and provide a supported use case for customers or potential customers that are unlikely to buy a new base but desire to use a Fanatec rim.


  • Marc-Antoine ThibaultMarc-Antoine Thibault Member
    edited February 2019
    I would like prefer fanatec to release the wheel before the release if possible. Push for relase rather than take the hole time for fine tunning. I prefer having the product before, and having some great time a few weeks before fanatec upgrade small tweaks and makes the wheel perfect. I feel we have been waiting a lot, evem for porsche podium news about availability or pre order.yes you gave news but I would like more technical news (feel like I am part of the devlopment) I check everyday the website to get glimpse of what i will be driving. Maybe some youtubers could show and unbox the beast. that would help waiting and see the product (like gamermuscle did). if shipment started last week of march or first of april or even before that would make me happy. we need the thing out, a lot of people go to other route because of the waiting

    Hope I wont get an angry response, love what you do !

    Also, Clubsport quick release directly to a momo wheel without button. Doable ? really want old school no button as a 3rd wheel



  • Dominic BrennanDominic Brennan Member, Administrator
    Marc-Antoine Thibault said:
    Also, Clubsport quick release directly to a momo wheel without button. Doable ? really want old school no button as a 3rd wheel



    It is not possible to directly attach the ClubSport Quick Release Adapter to a wheel rim and use it on our bases. This is what the ClubSport Universal Hub (and upcoming Podium Wheel Adapter) is for. In the case of the Universal Hub, you can remove some or all of the individual 'button boxes' so that the hub has a more appropriate appearance for an 'old school' wheel rim.
  • Thomas JackermeierThomas Jackermeier Member
    Marc-Antoine Thibault said:
    I would like prefer fanatec to release the wheel before the release if possible. Push for relase rather than take the hole time for fine tunning. I prefer having the product before, and having some great time a few weeks before fanatec upgrade small tweaks and makes the wheel perfect. I feel we have been waiting a lot, evem for porsche podium news about availability or pre order.yes you gave news but I would like more technical news (feel like I am part of the devlopment) I check everyday the website to get glimpse of what i will be driving. Maybe some youtubers could show and unbox the beast. that would help waiting and see the product (like gamermuscle did). if shipment started last week of march or first of april or even before that would make me happy. we need the thing out, a lot of people go to other route because of the waiting

    Hope I wont get an angry response, love what you do !

    Also, Clubsport quick release directly to a momo wheel without button. Doable ? really want old school no button as a 3rd wheel



    Believe me that we want this thing out as well. We will not postpone the delay to add more features or fine tune it. We just make more tests so we are 100% sure that there are no issues which could be fixed by firmware or driver. So far this is not the case and we are confident.
  • Gian-Luca MateoGian-Luca Mateo Member
    Thomas Jackermeier said:
    Marc-Antoine Thibault said:
    I would like prefer fanatec to release the wheel before the release if possible. Push for relase rather than take the hole time for fine tunning. I prefer having the product before, and having some great time a few weeks before fanatec upgrade small tweaks and makes the wheel perfect. I feel we have been waiting a lot, evem for porsche podium news about availability or pre order.yes you gave news but I would like more technical news (feel like I am part of the devlopment) I check everyday the website to get glimpse of what i will be driving. Maybe some youtubers could show and unbox the beast. that would help waiting and see the product (like gamermuscle did). if shipment started last week of march or first of april or even before that would make me happy. we need the thing out, a lot of people go to other route because of the waiting

    Hope I wont get an angry response, love what you do !

    Also, Clubsport quick release directly to a momo wheel without button. Doable ? really want old school no button as a 3rd wheel



    Believe me that we want this thing out as well. We will not postpone the delay to add more features or fine tune it. We just make more tests so we are 100% sure that there are no issues which could be fixed by firmware or driver. So far this is not the case and we are confident.
    That's great to hear. Could you please confirm that there are no plans to ship the units earlier than the end of April? The uncertainty is uncomfortable.
  • Troy SergeantTroy Sergeant Member
    edited February 2019
    Dominic Brennan said:
    Marc-Antoine Thibault said:
    Also, Clubsport quick release directly to a momo wheel without button. Doable ? really want old school no button as a 3rd wheel



    It is not possible to directly attach the ClubSport Quick Release Adapter to a wheel rim and use it on our bases. This is what the ClubSport Universal Hub (and upcoming Podium Wheel Adapter) is for. In the case of the Universal Hub, you can remove some or all of the individual 'button boxes' so that the hub has a more appropriate appearance for an 'old school' wheel rim.
    I understand that it needs something but $500 for effectively a Wheel Side quick release is a lot over priced. A Q1R wheel side is less than 1/5 the cost and a lot more robust. I hope the new Podium Wheel Adapter is more inline with options available to other DD Wheels Options. In my opinion  the current offerings significantly add to the total cost of the system.
  • Marc-Antoine ThibaultMarc-Antoine Thibault Member
    Gian-Luca Mateo said:
    Thomas Jackermeier said:
    Marc-Antoine Thibault said:
    I would like prefer fanatec to release the wheel before the release if possible. Push for relase rather than take the hole time for fine tunning. I prefer having the product before, and having some great time a few weeks before fanatec upgrade small tweaks and makes the wheel perfect. I feel we have been waiting a lot, evem for porsche podium news about availability or pre order.yes you gave news but I would like more technical news (feel like I am part of the devlopment) I check everyday the website to get glimpse of what i will be driving. Maybe some youtubers could show and unbox the beast. that would help waiting and see the product (like gamermuscle did). if shipment started last week of march or first of april or even before that would make me happy. we need the thing out, a lot of people go to other route because of the waiting

    Hope I wont get an angry response, love what you do !

    Also, Clubsport quick release directly to a momo wheel without button. Doable ? really want old school no button as a 3rd wheel



    Believe me that we want this thing out as well. We will not postpone the delay to add more features or fine tune it. We just make more tests so we are 100% sure that there are no issues which could be fixed by firmware or driver. So far this is not the case and we are confident.
    That's great to hear. Could you please confirm that there are no plans to ship the units earlier than the end of April? The uncertainty is uncomfortable.
    Same question here
  • Lauren Manuel Garcia CarroLauren Manuel Garcia Carro Member
    Thomas Jackermeier said:
    Marc-Antoine Thibault said:
    I would like prefer fanatec to release the wheel before the release if possible. Push for relase rather than take the hole time for fine tunning. I prefer having the product before, and having some great time a few weeks before fanatec upgrade small tweaks and makes the wheel perfect. I feel we have been waiting a lot, evem for porsche podium news about availability or pre order.yes you gave news but I would like more technical news (feel like I am part of the devlopment) I check everyday the website to get glimpse of what i will be driving. Maybe some youtubers could show and unbox the beast. that would help waiting and see the product (like gamermuscle did). if shipment started last week of march or first of april or even before that would make me happy. we need the thing out, a lot of people go to other route because of the waiting

    Hope I wont get an angry response, love what you do !

    Also, Clubsport quick release directly to a momo wheel without button. Doable ? really want old school no button as a 3rd wheel



    Believe me that we want this thing out as well. We will not postpone the delay to add more features or fine tune it. We just make more tests so we are 100% sure that there are no issues which could be fixed by firmware or driver. So far this is not the case and we are confident.
    It is good news Thomas.But I am with other customers, we would like to have more development, test or whatever updates because the delay has been quite big, almost half a year. Besides of it is quite confusing right now the ecosystem for the podium series, I didn't know it that I would need a QR podium adapter and the kill switch we haven't see a picture. Probably in the website it's necessary to create a new section about Podium series. Create some unboxing or simracing girl new video showing us the HW and how it is actually working with iracing it would be something that probably make comfortable all of us besides make a marketing hit!
  • Daniel WatkinDaniel Watkin Member
    edited February 2019
    Thomas Jackermeier said:
    Joel,

    such an adapter will not happen for the reasons I mentioned in my post. It is out of our control and our wheels are not designed for 60 NM wheel bases for example.

    And why would anybody want to use our steering wheels with a USB cable on a non-Fanatec DD wheel base with less functionality, compatibility and no EMI compliance if you can get all that with a Podium DD? 

    There might be a small market for now until the Podium DDs are available but the demand for such an adapter in future is highly questionable.

    There are people out there who do a proper and full conversion of our wheels to USB and with a proper QR for OSW and I am sure that they can cover this market very well. 

    The rest of the market enjoys a big (and growing) range of affordable high-end Fanatec steering wheels on the Podium DDs with no limitation and can even use their custom USB corded wheels on our DDs.
    I have a set of Fanatec pedals, next to a Fanatec shifter, with a Fanatec steering wheel and Fanatec handbrake. All set up alongside a 20nm OSW that hasn't given me any grief since the day I bought it. A proven design with incredible force feedback that thousands of users have ran for a very long time without issue. This is the reason I will be running a "non-Fanatec DD wheel base with less functionality" instead of an unreleased Fanatec base that is already 4 months behind schedule and has no proven track record.

    Also you mention"There are people out there who do a proper and full conversion of our wheels to USB and with a proper QR for OSW and I am sure that they can cover this market very well". But isn't this the exact market Fanatec just killed by encrypting the wheels? I don't get it.
  • Ruarri FairweatherRuarri Fairweather Member
    edited February 2019
    Why do people want Fanatec to be like Apple? 

    What is wrong with Fanatec letting other people build and offer 
    conversions to use their wheels on other platforms?

    A company can only focus so much time on each item or product.
    Do you want them to focus on releasing the podium base perfectly 
    or would you really rather they spread their resources and focus on 
    a variety of other things and do nothing well?


  • Joel BarsottiJoel Barsotti Member
    What is wrong with Fanatec letting other people build and offer 
    conversions to use their wheels on other platforms?

    A company can only focus so much time on each item or product.
    Do you want them to focus on releasing the podium base perfectly 
    or would you really rather they spread their resources and focus on 
    a variety of other things and do nothing well?



    I wasn't suggesting they start building it now, just that such a product be on their development roadmap. Fanatec has a long history of discussion products that are on their roadmap but are who have as yet undetermined release dates. I don't think anyone would have a problem with them letting the community handle adapters, but the topic at hand is how they encrypted the communication from the wheel to the base. Even if it's technically feasible, and it may not be if they took the right precautions, in the US breaking an encryption like this is illegal under the DMCA. So Fanatec now could put anyone producing this out of business and then go after all the money they made.
  • Simion MihaiSimion Mihai Member
    Hello beautiful community ! I can only dream to have something like this products ! But im happy for ppl that can have this ! Beautiful base and wheels ! And not last shift and handbrake also very gorgeous products ! I keep on dreaming ! Good luck everyone !
  • Joseph GossenJoseph Gossen Member, Moderator
    Simion Mihai said:
    Hello beautiful community ! I can only dream to have something like this products ! But im happy for ppl that can have this ! Beautiful base and wheels ! And not last shift and handbrake also very gorgeous products ! I keep on dreaming ! Good luck everyone !
    Thanks for the positive post Simion ! You know what they say "The difference between a dream and reality is a date" Set a goal ;)
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