Fanatec CSL Seat Review & High-End Wheel Shootout

The last 12 months have been a busy year for Fanatec, who have been steadily updating their line of products aimed towards the more demanding sim racer.

In 2012, several GTPlanet community members were selected to be among the first to actually test and review the company’s new ClubSport Wheel and rims. The resulting reviews went into great detail, offering many points of view on the strengths and potential weaknesses of one of the most expensive console gaming peripherals on the market.

The tradition continues this year, as Gran Turismo insider and owner of the Croatian community GTSurgeons had the chance to review the all-new Fanatec ClubSport Seat, and shares his opinion on how it fits within the rest of the ClubSport family of products.

He also had a chance to pit the ClubSport Wheel against its primary competitor, the Thrustmaster T500RS, focusing on their performance in Gran Turismo 5.

Read Amar’s full review here in our Sim Racing Hardware forum.

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Comments (19)

  1. wnw65

    Question is, how many future racing sim games will be compatible with, or support, our Fanatec gear? Was it worth the investment?

  2. CodeName

    Noooo!!! I’ve own the t500rs since not long time (about 3 months) and now this! If I new about this, i would take this one for sure, but the t500rs is still ok. until it will be broken, i won’t change.

  3. Longa23

    I have the CSW BMW M3 GT2 and it is the best Wheel i’ve ever drive….
    My Wheels: Driving Force GT, Porsche Turbo S, Porsche 911 GT2, CSR Elite…
    That is not a Plastic Wheel like a G25/27 the CSW is awesome…

    1. mef

      Fair enough, but calling a G27 a plastic wheel is a bit silly mate. Those are strong wheels and well priced for the quality.
      Shame some Logitech manager decided they would stop gaming peripherals…

  4. 2012GT325

    What if all this noise was about the new PS Controller??? Wouldn’t it be funny if on Feb 20 Sony and PD announce that their big reveal is actually a new controller for the PS3 and that those “maintenance” days were so that PD would update GT5 to have it work with the motions of the new controller???!!! It would be the ultimate disappointment, but it would also be funny!!!

    Then again, maybe, just maybe, we will see/hear about the next PS Console and the next series/chapter in GT. What I have learned from Sony/PD is not to get my hopes too high and to be very, very patient. Not that GT5 was a let down or anything; just that all the delays of the game were disappointing and I don’t want to be disappointed again. Especially now that the other game that I wanted very badly, GTA V, has been pushed back to September :(

    So for now I’m going to focus on Sony just announcing a new controller. That way I won’t be disappointed when a new console/game is hopefully revealed!

  5. singletrack

    What a shame about Fanatec’s woeful distributor arrangements, that effectively drive their customers to other products in places like Australia. Perhaps they could join the global economy at some point and ditch their dated business model. My brother recently was told he had to wait 7 months for a Fanatec wheel. He gave up, bought a playstation and a copy of GT5, just so he could use a Logitech.

    1. TomBrady

      Better value than the high end ones but not the CSR wheel. The CSR bundle is $250, and it works on xbox, has better force feedback, better pedals, and more options for add ons. G27s are great, don’t get me wrong but the fanatecs have much better FFB feel and they work with xbox so I think that’s the best value besides the DFGT

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