CSL DD - Problem or learning curve?
Daniel Morgan
Member
I recently received a CSL DD, a McLaren V2 and CSL LC pedals and got them all mounted up a couple of days ago. I upgraded from the Logitech G29.
Pedals and the wheel are awesome. I feel I'm a second faster just through the brakes.
I'm using the recommended iRacing settings with the Mazda (Summit Point) 488 Evo (Silverstone, Spa) and strength settings of 12 and 8 respectively. I'm well below clipping range when using the indicator bar as a reference. I never get into the yellow.
Mid corner, I get what I can only describe as a rotational wheel wobble. There is resistance, but it's on and off and feels like someone is grabbing and letting go of the shaft in quick succession or the FFB is coming in and out. It's almost like I am on the threshold of understeer and oversteer and I bounce between them, with no "flat" zone and the hand feel is very mechanical and unnatural and notchy when the feedback is present. The wheel ends up sawing a little in the corners and I am constantly trying to counteract that to keep a smooth-ish steering input. In the G29, I cornered nice and smooth with some resistance and could hold a line without much adjustment.
I realise there is a learning curve, so I am trying to understand if this is just "detail" that I did not have in the G29, a setting I need to adjust or could something be wrong?
Increasing and lowering strength (in-game) doesn't help. I've increased damper in Fanalab to 25 from 15, and switched from PEAK to LINEAR (which makes it feel more floaty) but it doesn't remove this cornering wobble.
Appreciate any and all thoughts!
Comments
Hi Daniel,
It sounds pretty normal to be honest. If it's something you think can be demonstrated on video, please create one and post it here.
[Fanatec Community Manager]
Thanks Dominic - somewhat reassuring to know that this sounds normal to you.
I am trying to understand what detail this FFB behaviour is recreating. If I go round a corner at reasonable speed well below even hot lap pace (e..g an out lap), I don't expect to have to continually have the steering go loose then tight unless I am on the limit or the road surface is awful. I would expect to feel smooth resistance to turn the wheel left in a left hander. Same in a scenario where I am understeering. I would expect a higher force, which when countered would turn to a light feeling.
I know iRacing doesn't have the best built in FFB.
I'll try and create a video but I am not sure how much of the issue will come through.
The irony is that it doesn't seem to hinder my ability to drive, but my hands/arms waggling the wheel 2-3 times a second whereas I could drive smoothly with smooth inputs before. I am not sure what impact this is having on tire wear 😀
Having read your first description again, combined with your new description, it's not sounding as normal as I first thought. You should indeed be getting a fairly smooth resistance if the road surface is also smooth, and only very fine detail of small surface changes coming through on top of that. This idea of the resistance continuously going loose and then tight is strange, and it's something that you should be able to show on video (by holding the wheel very lightly as you corner).
I get that too.
In ACC, Suzuka, the last long left hander after the series of S turns. If you hit it at speed, you feel the "knocks".
I have somewhat increased, low speed bump and rebound, which has reduced it slightly but when I get close to the limit, it is there again. Will try increasing it further to see if it is a game feature.
Do real cars do that? Actually come to think of it, it does, when you are in a med/high speed continuous turn, when you lose and regain traction, you feel the knocks.
I will try tonight to go at it slower, on ACC in Suzuka, to see if it does that.
Thank you. I have created and attached a couple of videos of the Mazda (summit Point) and the 488 (Silverstone) going round corners at slowish speeds. Holding onto the wheel lightly is tricky as the wheel correctly wants to center itself due to the expected physics of cornering so it's hard to see but hopefully it comes through and you can see this happens in slow corners.
I've looked at other videos of SIM racers on Youtube and there is a lot of sawing of the wheel when "on the limit" so it's unclear if this is due to real time "corrections" or fighting the physics of the car coming through the wheel which perhaps I am not understanding. It certainly makes you feel involved in driving, and I understand that this is racing not a Sunday drive. With the G29 I would pride myself on the ability to corner smoothly with minimal if any corrections and undue wear on the tires and while FFB on the G29 is not anywhere near as strong and as detailed as the CSD DD I feel I need to hold on very tightly to do that now.
Thanks David. I get this feeling in almost all corners though, not just long ones or on specific tracks/surfaces. Still pumping away at different car and track combos to see if I can isolate the behaviour.
Oddly today I was racing and had a sudden boost of strength come through the wheel mid lap, almost like it switched from 5nm to the 8nm (but I only have the boost kit) so I am now wondering if it's related to power delivery as I have limited point of reference.
Just an update - throughout all of yesterday, the noted behaviour was not present. I don't know why. I haven't changed anything. Obviously I am happy should this be persistent, but concerned that I am having intermittent issues in behaviour.
Hi Daniel,
Apologies for the delay, I only just saw your reply. The two videos you attached look like normal behaviour to me. In fact, considering how you are barely holding the wheel, the movement is surprisingly stable. This looks like expected force feedback. You absolutely do have to hold on to a race car wheel in real life, in some cases with a huge amount of strength to fight against steering column torque.
This is why race drivers do training like this:
My guess is that you are surprised by the amount of feedback when compared to your previous hardware. The G29 has much lower peak performance and additional mechanical resistance from the gear drive.
Your most recent reply saying that the behaviour is not present anymore is what sounds weird. That sounds like you are not getting FFB anymore. This can sometimes happen if you connect your USB late (after launching iRacing).
[Fanatec Community Manager]