Fanatec Wheel Functionality

I can't find any concrete or up-to-date info on this on the net so: what is the current wheel and pedal functionality like on GT Sport? Specifically (when paired with a CSL Elite Wheel Base + for PS4):

  • Does the LCD display on the F1, Formula and McLaren wheels work? For gears and speed?
  • Do the shift lights on the base/wheels work?
  • Do the buttons on the Formula and McLaren wheels work as PS4 controller buttons?
  • Do the vibration motors work on the V3 pedals? Accelerator and brake?

Thanks in advance!

Comments

  • Most things work pretty well on GT sport. the v3 motors, club sport motors all that stuff. mapping is challenging on GT sport ,but the rest of the games it's pretty straightforward and you can map most buttons like the f1 V2 rim to the limits of each title.

    i have to do a teapot dance for every title but gt sport, but when everything is working right, you forget the dance, price and the fact the support is hit or miss.

    especially for console.....

    these systems destroy the logitech, thrustmaster or whatever else in features and tuning, but i always expect more from the products, support and the staff in general for the buy in. As logitech and thrustmaster destroy the fanatec in respect to the hassles.

    My fault for making any expectations?

    before any fanatec robots say otherwise, i reccomend u look around here and see for yourself.

  • Regarding Aaron's reply.....

    I have no clue what a "teapot dance" is or why one would have to do that with other titles. Does that mean you have to reconfigure something? I don't have any of those hassles in my set up. In my case I have my 5 Fanatec custom profiles configured to match 5 styles of racing games (AC, Dirt, F1, GT, PC2). I simply switch to the profile I want for the appropriate racing game and I'm off and racing. It's that simple. I also usually swap the rim from round (rally) to F1 (F1 2019) which also takes only seconds. Everything just works. I'm not sure why Aaron is having so much "hassle" in his set up?


    Now, to accurately answer your GT Sport questions, Reuben....

    1. Display Information - Yes, in GT Sport, the display will show speed and gears for all three of those rims. I use them all myself. (McLaren, F1 Podium and Formula Carbon, and a Porsche round rim). All work fine.
    2. Rev Lights - By "shift lights" I assume you mean the LED rev lights. Yes, the LED lights in the base and/or rims all function in GT Sport.
    3. Wheel Face Buttons - This is a yes, but with a caveat regarding the McLaren rim. On the F1 podium and Formula rims all the buttons map to PS4 controller buttons. You can even use PS4 style button caps if you want to. That's how all my various rims are configured. Some of the rims come with the PS4 caps, but some don't like the Xbox branded McLaren rim. Not to worry, Fanatec sales will sell the caps separately if you contact them. I ordered two sets to complete my other rims.
      1. As mentioned, the caveat regarding face button compatibility is the McLaren rim. This is actually my favorite of all my Fanatec rims, despite it being the cheapest. It just feels great because of the rim size and button placement. Anyway, unfortunately Fanatec recently updated their firmware for this rim which resulted in removal of the L2/R2 face buttons. All the other buttons still work fine but you end up being short two face buttons in GT Sport and all other PS4 games for that matter. I spoke to Fanatec support about it when the update happened and they stated the change was made to "re-align the McLaren with how the newer Formula V2 and podium rim buttons function on PS4". In other words, they standardized it on their end but none of the older games are updated on our end to be able to pick up the change. So you end up losing those two buttons because of this. Btw, they are the red toggle switches next to the LED display on either side. Those buttons both map to L2/R2, but just don't work after the update. It's slightly annoying, but it hasn't had a dramatic effect in GT Sport or other games. You just have to decide what extra functions to give up. In my case I ended up not having my left/right turn signals mapped.
    4. Pedals Vibration Motors - Good question. I have had V3i pedals for years and to be honest, I'm not sure if the vibration motors work in GT Sport or not. I can't recall ever noticing them, but it could be that they were working and it just wasn't apparent. The pedal vibrations are very subtle and difficult to pick up during an actual race, and this is even while racing in socks. I think I recall them working in GT Sport, but can't say 100% for sure.

    Btw, there is one really great feature in GT Sport with Fanatec rims. Polyphony support the "Auto" wheel rotation feature. This means that each car in GT Sport will automatically adjust to the proper degrees of rotation. This is awesome so you don't have to manually change wheel rotation from 360 (for a F1 car) to 900 degrees for another car, etc. It always just matches up correctly. That's a feature that most other games on PS4 don't support with the Fanatec rims so it's very nice to have in GT Sport. :)

    Hope that info helps.

    Cheers

  • Thanks Frank! Definitely addressed all the queries. I'd been looking to buy for a while but as a GT Sport player primarily I was concerned that a lot of the functionality didn't work, and I'd seen a few reports that maybe the McLaren rim wasn't that well supported on PS4/GT Sport, so your info helps makes sense of it all. Will be buying in very soon now. Thank you!

  • Aaron ScottAaron Scott Member
    edited November 2019


    i have had a fanatec from day 1 of gt sport implementation and have had more stupid conversations thru Google translate with Austrians than i should for a device marketed as plug and play, is that clear enough, any questions?

  • Aaron ScottAaron Scott Member
    edited November 2019

    i was writing that, then i thought wow, i shouldn't be so dismissive and actually read this. , you wrote all this and barely play gt sport and to the point you have v3 pedals but cant tell if they work?

    WOW, what a rich existence you have, thank you for hovering down from heaven on a cloud to share this with us.


    so eloquently put?

    🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

    this is why i just play wreckfest, im not smart or tactful enough for gt sport anymore.

    if all you want is the best system for gt sport ?

    Buy a Thrustmaster tgt, its the best for gt sport, if u aspire for more than ps4 console racing, eventually, buy a fanatec anything.

  • Frank FishFrank Fish Member
    edited December 2019

    No worries, Droors...eloquence may not be your forte, but that's okay. Nothing wrong with that at all!

    Regarding my post, you'll need to point out where I stated that I “barely play GT Sport”. I don't see it. It's quite the opposite, in fact. Feel free to query my stats in the game or online; I’ve put in my hours on the track. ;)

    And yes, I’ve never really noticed the vibration in the pedals, but that’s because it is a subtle effect (unlike wheel vibration), especially when racing in racing shoes. I’m sorry you read that as dismissive. It’s just an honest assessment of my experience with the game/pedals. ;)

    And lastly; don’t worry at all, it was my pleasure to come down from the clouds and help out a pleb! ;)

  • Reuben BrownReuben Brown Member
    edited December 2019

    I thought I'd give an update here.

    I ended up picking up a CSL Elite wheel base, a Clubsport Formula V2 wheel and a set of Clubsport V3 pedals with the brake performance kit. The McLaren GT3 wheel is/was out of stock, so figured the Formula V2 would be a good fit instead. Upgrading from a Thurstmaster T500RS.

    Before doing anything with the kit, I connected it to a PC and updated firmware on everything to the latest release. No issues getting the wheel recognised on the PS4 or in GT Sport.

    Functionality wise for GT Sport, the wheel base works fine, the Formula wheel has the LED rev lights and the LCD display working, though the rotary encoders, thumb wheels and red up/down switch thingies don't work (I knew this before I bought it). The pedals work well, though the vibration motors don't work in GT Sport (tested, they work in PS4 F1 2019).

    Comparing to the T500RS + T3PA, this is a huge step up. Wheel weight and torque is much higher and more minute on the feedback, you can feel the car's weight shift much more, particularly when playing with the throttle mid corner. The pedals are amazing as well, with the extra throttle travel being really useful for modulating through corners. The brake pedal took a week or two to get used to as I've never used a load cell before, but I've got it now and feel much more consistent when trail braking, even with the reduced pedal travel when using the brake performance kit.

    Very happy with my purchase and would recommend, 10/10 😊.

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