- 3,082
- Allen, Texas
- crispychicken49
- crispychicken49
I was one of the three (Sonac, sandboxgod, and me) to receive the CSR Elite Beta wheel from the poll here on GTPlanet. I don't have the wheel yet, but I will very very soon. As you can see, I'm very anxious! I hope everyone enjoys my reviews. (Especially the video, this is the first video review I've ever done. I can write though) I promise Mr Latte, I will take a whole lot of photos, I promise! 
The Game(s)-Forza Motorsport 4
Gran Turismo 5
Formula 1 2011
GTR2
In Game Settings-
FM4: ABS-Off
TCS-Off
SCM-Off
Line-Off
View-Hood Camera/Cockpit
GT5: ABS-On
TCS-Off
SCM-Off
Line-Off
View-Bumper/Cockpit
F12011: ABS-On
TCS-Off
Line-2D-Corners Only
View-TV Pod
Shift 2: ABS-Off
TCS-Off
Line-On
View-Helmet Cam
NOTE**Some may have noticed that I have deleted GTR2 from my testing list, and inputed Shift 2. The reason for this is because FFB wasn't working properly, and Steering Sensitivity was quite high. I've had this problem with every wheel I've tested before (CSR Elite, GT3 RS, T500, Madcatz something or whatever) so I highly, highly doubt it's a problem with the wheel itself. Most likely due to GTR2 using Logitech's as their wheel brand of choice. I hope to head over to Blockbuster tomorrow, and rent F1 2011 and Shift 2. I will update my reports once I require an iRacing account and a sufficient PC to run it properly. (Soon)
If you didn't already know, this wheel is the official wheel of Forza Motorsport. For a very long time Fanatec has been supplying the community with Xbox 360 compatible wheels. With the release of Forza Motorsport 4, they didn't fail to please, launching an entirely new line dedicated to the Forza Franchise. From this line, five products spawned. The CSR wheel, CSR Elite wheel, CSR pedals, CSR Elite Pedals, and CSR Shifter set. I tested this wheel using the CSR Elite wheel (No-duh!), Clubsport Pedals (Yum, Aluminum), and the CSR Shifter Set (I like the cold grasp of metal in the morning). To go along with this I used the Clubsport Table Clamp (Which I highly recommend if you don't want to drill holes into something to hardmount). Since this is the official wheel, it should work pretty well with Forza right?
Well, your wrong. It works amazingly well! I haven't felt another game that takes advantage of this wheels potential, especially after the first Firmware update. The FFB in Forza isn't as good as in GT5's, but you certainly get all the information you need to properly race around the track. With this wheel I've found it increasingly easier to countersteer and regain control than with any wheel I've ever tested! You honestly feel like your driving a real car, and that's what we look for in sims right?
Since Forza 4 came out, there has been two choices of steering physics. Normal, and Simulation. The problem with the game was that there was a bug in the programming, known as the 900 degree steering glitch. With the latest patch this was fixed, the problem was, there was no way to regain control after a high-speed drift, which would happen a lot. So, Fanatec issued a Firmware update, 715, and bam! This issue was gone! This is where I felt the wheel gained a totally new life. It was sensational, I had never felt anything like it before!
You get a major advantage online as well. Throttle control, Braking, and steering input place you way higher than anyone using a controller, or even other wheels. The smoothness really helps in this factor, giving you control down to the nanometer. Another great feature about all Fanatec wheels is if you find something odd about the wheel, you can adjust it through the built-in tuning section. This is like Fine-tuning a suspension to your liking, and it can really give you the edge on the competition.
One downside for the wheel in Forza Motorsport is the Firmware. In order to get the most out of the wheel, you'll need to update the wheel's Firmware. I can understand it a little since the Patch for Forza required an update, but I'm a firm believer of something working perfectly out of the box. Another downside, again with most wheels, is the clutch work. Controller users are able to shift within milliseconds using a button. Wheel users aren't able to do this since we need to use a pedal and H-Gate. This was combated with Firmware 715 with the feature Autoclutch, but this isn't available out of the box, so again it goes back to the firmware. For many, this isn't a big deal, but as reviewers, we need to be as honest as possible, and this requires us to relay everything we've found with the wheel.
The game that brought many of us here. The game this website is dedicated to. The game that made many people got angry over, so they switched to Forza. There are 99 problems with this game, but Force Feedback isn't one of them! The FFB coding in this game is pretty amazing to say the least. It's quite strong, but it's not so strong that it'll whip the wheel out of your hands. You feel everything you need to feel in order to speed your car around the track, yet you still get everything you don't need that adds to the realism. The wheel lightens as you go faster, the wheel really lightens when your airborne, the wheel spins around when the rear looses grip, it's all a beautiful collage of wonderful FFB that makes you not only faster, but also feel much more immersed in the action.
Those results were created from hours upon hours with my GT3 RS, since the CSR Elite is a better wheel, you would expect it to preform better, correct? Well don't worry, it preforms beyond better. This game really provides the best FFB on consoles that I've seen so far, and with this wheel, it just feels perfectly realistic. Every change in motion is incredibly smooth, and countersteering is a lot easier this time around. Nothing truly compete's to the experience I've had using this wheel, it's insane!
One disadvantage I feel is the side to side movement that GT5 has. When ever your on a straight section of road, you can feel the wheel going side to side. With the GT3 RS it was fairly noticeable. With the CSR Elite it's really noticeable! You can turn on some Deadzone, but that will make you lose sensitivity. This brings me to another point. No official support from PD for Fanatec wheels. This would really help against that horrid side to side movement. You could be able to set 2-4% deadzone, take away the side to side, and keep most of the sensitivity. You would probably not even notice it!
Overall I feel GT5 with the CSR Elite is truly amazing! You don't feel limited at all, in fact, you feel like your driving a real car! If all you play is GT5, then you will enjoy this wheel! There really isn't anything like this that I've experienced before on a game! It is really immersive!
Codemasters newest addition to the Formula 1 Gaming Franchise has been spotted many times before with Fanatec's Porsche wheels, specifically the GT2. It would then make sense for it to play great with the CSR Elite wheel right?
Well to give you an idea of how well it works, when I had my GT3 RS wheel, the FFB was pretty strong. I only had to turn it down to 80, maybe 70 though. With the Elite, it was scary. The FFB was so strong, I had to turn it down to 40 value on the wheel! Whenever I went on the grass, it felt like my hands would snap in half! This is what I call FFB strength, and it really shows the true power of this wheel!
That's not the best part though. Previous wheels don't have the turning speed this one does, which makes high speed chicanes an ease! The accuracy of F1 2011's FFB really shows in this wheel. Every little thing can be used to tell you how this car is reacting with the world out around you. It's not all about the information though, as they added a lot of little things to add to the immersion, which the Elite brings out a lot more than any other wheel I've felt. One such thing is when ever you shift, you can slightly feel the wheel "kick" of sorts. It's a small jerk to one side, about two millimeters, but it adds to the immersion greatly!
One downside though is if you don't have the settings dialed in, you will either break your arms, or feel nothing at all. Finding that goldilocks setting (Different for everyone) isn't hard though, which helps. If I were you, try adjusting the on-wheel settings first before you mess with the in-game settings. It will make your life a whole bunch easier! 👍
5/5
Force Feedback/Sensitivity-This is, for many, the most important part of the wheel, I mean it is what we pay for right? The FFB in this wheel is mighty different then any other wheel Fanatec has made. As I've mentioned, this wheel uses two Force Feedback Motors instead of one, which means more strength right? Well, it does, but not like you think. See, it's technically possible to use these motors to give more strength in the FFB, but that's not what they aimed for. What Fanatec went for with the dual Motors was to individually time each motor to act at a different time, or something very similar to that. Have you ever heard of the term cogging? If you haven't, cogging is the term to describe the mechanical steps the motor goes through. If you've used previous Belt driven wheels you can feel this in the wheel by the small skips you feel when turning. Since there are two motors in the Elite, you cannot feel the cogging at all. Of course it's still there, but the motors cog at different times, meaning you can't feel it. This creates perfectly smooth turning and countersteering. This makes it feel much more direct and connected to the car your driving, and makes it feel like the real thing, not a toy. It really is hard to explain, because you really can't understand how great it feels until you've tried it yourself. Another advantage of the small and light wheel rim is that is can spin much faster. This, combined with the smoothness, provides an incredible amount of realism to the wheel. (Just some thought, to those of you with the wheel right not, switch Damper settings to -3, and Drift mode to 5 and see how fast it moves. It's incredible!
I also want to mention something else here, it's a little smaller section that I haven't included in my previous reviews, but I figured I will include it. It's sensitivity. Most wheels currently on the market mount the sensor on the motors. Doing so creates lag through the motor motion, steering axis, and belts. With the Elite, they mounted the sensor on the steering axis itself. This means completely direct steering. No lag between internals at all, just pure steering. All of these things combined get it nearly a perfect score. The only thing holding it back is that it's not the strongest wheel out, but that really doesn't make you faster.
24.5/25
The Paddle Shifters-If you've seen any of my posts about Stick Shifts or Paddle Shifts, you'll know I prefer Six Speed more. That however doesn't change the fact that a nice true Paddle Shifter will feel nice to pull, good on the touch, (That's what she said) and not to far from the fingers. (Seriously, how else am I supposed to word it? You guys think wrong!) The old Porsche wheel paddle shifters (PWPS) were pretty good. They weren't too far from the rim, you knew whether you missed the shift most of the time, and you could change gears mighty fast. With the CSR Elite's Paddle Shifters (CSREPS) Fanatec went with an entirely new design. They scrapped the screw on, went with thicker metal, and made the travel much much greater. They even added a little clicking noise when you pull it, which helps gauge when you have shifted, or missed. You may not think this helps, but it does. It confirms you've pulled it enough. The feel is also quite nice. It'a aluminum (I think) and chrome colored, so you can see your pretty race driver face! There's not much to say here, besides that they're a massive improvement over the old one's (which were pretty good to start with) so overall, I give it a perfect score!
5/5
Compatibility-Compatibility is a huge factor in the success of a gaming device, specifically wheels. You need to have compatibility to the hottest consoles, that support the best games, but you also want to serve the PC side who (Usually) want the most realistic experience without getting in their own car, and risking a high insurance claim, or death. Gamers always want something that will tailor to their needs, just look at the GT5 Sub-section, it's full of them! This calls for a wheel that will match every gamer, whether they're on the PC, Xbox 360, or PS3. This wheel does all of those! Mighty well I must say as well. It's really cool to have a wheel that can switch from Forza on the Xbox, to GT5 on the PS3 in a matter of seconds! Even better once you consider that nothing is lost in between. There's no FFB problems or anything. It'll work just as well on one platform, as it will the other! There's not much I can add on this side, so it get's a perfect score here as well!
5/5
Adjustability-There are many games out there that don't fully support wheels, or only fully support certain wheels. If your wheel isn't fully supported by the game, good luck fine tuning the settings, because to earn the fastest laptimes you have to adjust the wheel to what you like. This is where Fanatec changed the game. They added a tuning display, which includes many settings you can adjust. Sens Setting changes the wheel's sensitivity, or degrees of turning. It goes from 240-900 degrees. Next up is FFB, which adjusts the Force Feedback Cutoff point, similar to a high or low pass filter. If you set it to 100%, then you get the full spectrum. Set it to 50% then you get half the spectrum. (This is not a strength adjuster, if you want to adjust the strength, do it in-game) Then there is DRFT, or drift mode. This lightens the wheel up, making it spin faster. It can be adjusted 0-5. Then there is Dmpr, or Damper setting, which makes the wheel lighter or heavier. This can be adjusted -3 to 3. Sprng Sets the Center Spring value. Accl sets the Auto Clutch feature to on. This is made especially for FM4. It allows the user to get quick shifts using the Clutch feature, without using the clutch. This means you can use the Paddle Shifters, without using the clutch, improving the realism. All these features make this wheel one of the most adjustable wheels on the market, in not the most adjustable. For this, I give it a perfect score.
5/5
User Friendlyness-I'm afraid this is where the wheel will lose a couple points. Most people want plug and play capability with their wheels, especially console users. This means they want it the best it can be, 100% out of the box. Sure you can plug it in and play once you get it out of the box, but if you want it to work the best it can possibly be, you'll have to download the drivers. I downloaded the drivers, and the wheel felt incredible! Before, it felt good, but nothing near as good as what it feels like now. What you have to do to update the drivers is go into Bootloader mode. To do this:
1. Power off the wheel, plug it into your PC, and hold the XBOX button.
2. While still holding the XBOX button, push the power button.
3. Keep holding the XBOX button until one ring of light lights up.
4. Your now in Bootloader mode. Follow the instructions provided to update your wheel.
It's not to complicated with the new updater, but before that it was pretty difficult. I'm afraid, this is where this wheel will lose points. It's not as easy as my GT3 RS, and you'll need to update it in order to get the best results. Here is the score.
3.5/5
Final Results
Feel-5
FFB-24.5
Paddles-5
Compatibility-5
Adjustability-5
User-3.5
Total-48
Compared to:
GT3 RS-92.5 CSR Elite-96
Day 2 Gone Sideways:My main difficulty with previous wheels was that it was really hard to drift, I mean really hard. Those wheels weren't as smooth, or light as the CSR Elite. So I changed the settings on the Elite on Drift mode 2, which is asking for your and to get cut off. No matter that, I figured I'd try and drift. Took a couple laps but after that I was banging out incredibly cool slides, burnin' rubber like an ADHD Sex Maniac. Twas the most fun I've had in a video game for a while. After that I set out online. Boy was I quick! Until I got rammed. But that just proves that all the bells and whistles this wheel has pay off in the long run, I can guarantee you will be faster.
Day 3 The Senna Special-I never really managed to test this wheel on PC. I got it hooked up, ready to play, and...the demo of GTR2 doesn't really like the term FFB. I just got a really tight center spring as it's "so called force-feedback" so I decided to give that a rest until I can get a full copy. I was about to exit the game when I noticed something. This wheel is recognized as it's own self now! No longer does it say "Logitech G27" under the listed game controllers, it now says "Fanatec CSR Wheel" which must mean that this and the CSR are both recognized as their own wheel. No more identity theft. Will this mean better compatibility when the CSW comes out?
With a failed attempt at PC gaming, I went out to try out GT5 on the PS3. Wow, I forgot how good the FFB effects were on this game, and they're even better on the Elite. Enough about that though, does this wheel make you faster? Well, since I've used GT5 with a wheel before, I think I'll try and beat some of my times. The first of which was a Tuned NSX-R on Grand Valley. My previous time was a 1:53.7xx. So, I grab hold of my CSR Elite and set out. Already through the first set of corners it lists me as .1xx on the split time. Good, very very good. Out through the last corner, and over the finish line I get a 1:51.3xx, over two seconds faster! Is this proof that the CSR Elite is faster than previous Porsche wheels? Quite possibly, is it proof that I've gained driving experience enough to master 2 Seconds a lap quicker than my last time in two weeks? Highly unlikely, but it's possible. Is it a combination of both? Probably, but that still means that the Elite will overall make you faster. Provided you have the skill level to achieve consistent lap times that is.
Day 4 Spec Miata-Every Friday I go online on Forza, and hop on to a Spec Miata race. Tonight was the last race of the season, so it was bound to be filled with incredible action. Tonight was Laguna Seca, 35 laps. One hour, seven minutes full of racing! Now, let me put in a few words about the series.
Many people know that I'm a big Miata fan, so when I saw the chance to race Miata's for a series, I had to do it. First off, the series is run by GTPlanets and ForzaPlanets own Wardez! I thank you for this series! The organization was top notch, and I've had so much fun over the past few weeks! This has really been great, and I thank you for that. It's kinda sad for the ending of the season though. Many of us won't be racing against each other for a while, and we won't really be racing our cars for a while. Which brings me to my car. There's not really any better feeling than racing a car you've bought, tuned, and painted completely yourself. It sort of becomes a part of your personality. Sure I've had bad moments with this car, where it doesn't seem to like me all to much, but it's still mine, and I love that. I really can't wait until I get the chance to race again with all of you, it's been a wonderful experience!
Now, onto something you guys will enjoy a little bit more. The wheel. This wheel sure makes you faster. By the first lap I had shot from last, all the way to third. If I hadn't been clipped from behind I might've stayed in fourth for a little while longer. Speed may be a thing to go for during qualifying, but if you want to win, you have to go for consistency. The best thing to go for is speed and consistency. This must have been what Fanatec was aiming for, because it sure makes you faster than other wheels on the market, and you can keep banging out laps within hundredths of each other. This makes the competition that much fiercer. I've also noticed it's a lot easier to counter steer. I'm not sure why, maybe it's the more powerful FFB, coupled with the lighter wheel, and the smoothness. This helps incredibly, and you'll be a lot faster with this wheel. Tomorrow, I take this wheel out against the club, to see how it compares there!
Day 5 Take Me On a Carpet Ride-So, I headed over to Blockbuster and picked up two games for the Xbox 360. F1 2011, and Shift 2 Magic Carpet Ride. I started off with F1 2011, quite a nice game I must say.
It took me a while to adjust the FFB settings to what I liked. Honestly, even though it acts as a cutoff, setting the FFB setting on the wheel is sometimes the best bet. I nearly broke my hands trying to turn that thing on FFB 100, and setting the center spring made it floaty and odd feeling. After I got it dialed in I have to say, wow! This game's FFB is rivaling Gran Turismo's, and it doesn't have that odd side to side rocking feeling GT does. Overall, I'm very impressed, I was able to set incredibly fast laps, and all of my laps were within tenths of each other.
After a nice grin on my face, I decided to try out senior Shift. I had high hopes for this game. I thought that a FFB wheel, combined with the incredible G-Force effects in game could deliver a huge immersive experience. Well, it was immersive alright. Immersive for a magic carpet ride that is. The FFB felt really weird, I was getting no information on whether or not my car was loosing grip, where the bumps were, nothing at all! So I decided to use settings from people I trust. Insidesimracing! (Well, Shaun that is.) I inputed their settings on the wheel and set off to practice. This is where I really felt it seemed like a magic carpet ride. There was no FFB until you hit a rumble strip, and the car was incredibly unresponsive. it sort of rocked side to side and glided. Then you had to turn a million miles before the turn to actually take a moderately bad line. This game disappointed me, extremely.
Overall, F1 was very very fun. You got all the information you needed, and once you dialed it in it felt immersive and fun. Shift 2 on the other hand, felt floaty, lagged behind steering input, and felt like a magic carpet ride. Is it wheel, or game? Well, considering the wheel has performed above perfect every other game I've played, I'm going to take a crack at it's the games fault. No matter how good the CSR Elite is, it can't save Shift from the depths of Force Feedback Hell.
A: That my friends is the power button.
Q:How bad or good is the cogging effect compared to the T500 RS?
A:The cogging effect isn't even their. This wheel is as smooth as possible.
Q:How fast the turning speed compared to the T500 RS?
A:I would say it's close, but the T500 is slightly faster.
Q:How strong strong is the FFB compared to the T500 RS?
A:I would say that this wheel is just as strong as the T500RS. (Harder to say as it's been a while since I've tried a T500.
Q:Which wheel is more precise, the CSR Elite or the T500 RS?
A:The Elite is much more precise, you can make adjustments down to the nanometer, so oval fans should be happy.
Q:Which wheel's steering feels more direct?
A:This one's a little harder to answer. Again, since it's been a while since I've used a T500, I can't say for sure, I would say though that the CSR Elite feels more connected, like your fully in control of the car.
Q:Does the dual motors in the wheel drive one belt assembly with two belts, or each drive its individual belt?
A:From what I can tell, there are two belts. One very thin one, and one thicker, main belt. The thicker belt is powered by both motors.
Q:How prominent are the vibration motors in the wheel? Has this improved over previous Fanatec wheels that you know of?
A:There is definitely a difference, whether you will notice it in the heat of the moment depends. I can tell you that they are more powerful than before. Either that or they are just more noticeable.
Q:Does the PC software allow more control features over the wheel compared to previous wheels and which ones?
A:(Answered Wrong on the first go) The PC Software doesn't allow anything different from the previous Porsche Wheels.
Q:What are the dimensions of the FM Logo on the center of the wheel?
A:1.6 inches in height, 1.6 inches in length.
Q:What are the full dimensions of the wheel?
A:Wheel - diameter: 30 cm
Wheel base - width and depth: 23 x 16 cm
Wheel - weight: ~ 2.5kg
(Taken from www.fanatec.de)
Q:Now that you've tested the CSR Elite and compared it to the best wheel you own personally, are you planning on keeping the CSR Elite or will you return it to Fanatec? If you keep it what are for yourself the main reasons for keeping it, or in other words what made the decision for you?
A:I plan on purchasing the wheel. My main reason is the Xbox Compatibility, however, if this wheel was PC/PS3 compatible only, I would still keep it. The wheel feels much more precise than my GT3 RS, and the FFB is much smoother and stronger as well. Now I'm not saying my GT3RS isn't good. That wheels my baby, it introduced me into the world of competitive Sim Racing, and I can never forget that.
Q:As a regular Forza player do you use simulation steering post patch.
A:Yup, I still use Simulation Steering.
Q:If so what wheel and settings did you use (GT2 CSR etc). If the answer is yes you would know of the linearity issue present that makes the TDC of the wheel over sensitive. This is a software issue as far as I know. I use 20 LIN to dial this out.
A:I use multiple settings.
Setting 1: Sensitivity-900 FFB-70 Sho-70 Drift-1 ABS-46) I use this setting for Road Cars with 6 Speeds.
Setting 2: Sens-900 FFB-70 Sho-90 Drift-1 ABS-57 Accl-On) This I use for cars with Paddle Shifters. It allows me to use Auto Clutch to get as fast, while still having a realistic feel.
Setting 3: Sens-540 FFB-60 Sho-60 Drift-2 ABS-55 Accl-On/Off) This is for Race cars mostly. It allows for quicker turning then my other settings, as well as lowered FFB to prevent Spins in some of the LMP's.
Q:I have read however that the Elite does not suffer from this issue when set to LIN 0.
A:Nope, it doesn't suffer from this promblem, the sensitivity is very normal.
Q:I can't for the life of me work that out. Could you clarify.
A:When I first got the wheel on Friday, it came with Firmware 706. (Production Models will come with 715) I was sent via E-Mail the Firmware 715. I couldn't figure out how to update it, so I played Forza post-patch with 706. found it harder then it should be to control the car, it would spin and lose control all of the time. I thought it was me getting used to Forza with a wheel. When I figured out how to update the firmware, I hoped back on Forza with the 715. It was an incredible difference. You would be punished if you screwed up, but rewarded for being a good driver. The change was immense, and I can't really describe it in words. It must be felt 1st Person. (I imagine Thomas has plans to release this to all Xbox wheels.)
Q:When the CSR-E has ACL on do shifts on the sequential shifter or 6 speed shifter engage the auto clutch?
A:Yes, you can use any shifter compatible with the wheel using Auto Clutch. It can help for knowing the gears of the 6-Speed.
Q:Are there any table clamps that come with the wheel?
A:No, there are not. I would strongly recommend the Clubsport Table Clamp if your afraid of drilling holes into something.
Q:Are the SHO options a lot stronger? It will only do what the software allows I suppose but has Thomas cranked it up a bit?
A:Pre-715 they were about the same as current wheels, afterwards however it's much much different. The vibrations (Keep in mind this is at SHO 70) are enough to cause the wheel to turn about 2-5 degrees side to side very fast, something I haven't noticed in any wheel so far.
Q:Oh Shift 2 suffers FFback drop outs. A simple pause and unpause will bring back the effects. Do you have this game to check out? Also FF isn't bad in this for a console.
A:Tomorrow I'm going out to rent Shift 2 (and F12011) to check them out. I will update this answer once I've done extensive testing.
The Game(s)-Forza Motorsport 4
Gran Turismo 5
Formula 1 2011
GTR2
In Game Settings-
FM4: ABS-Off
TCS-Off
SCM-Off
Line-Off
View-Hood Camera/Cockpit
GT5: ABS-On
TCS-Off
SCM-Off
Line-Off
View-Bumper/Cockpit
F12011: ABS-On
TCS-Off
Line-2D-Corners Only
View-TV Pod
Shift 2: ABS-Off
TCS-Off
Line-On
View-Helmet Cam
NOTE**Some may have noticed that I have deleted GTR2 from my testing list, and inputed Shift 2. The reason for this is because FFB wasn't working properly, and Steering Sensitivity was quite high. I've had this problem with every wheel I've tested before (CSR Elite, GT3 RS, T500, Madcatz something or whatever) so I highly, highly doubt it's a problem with the wheel itself. Most likely due to GTR2 using Logitech's as their wheel brand of choice. I hope to head over to Blockbuster tomorrow, and rent F1 2011 and Shift 2. I will update my reports once I require an iRacing account and a sufficient PC to run it properly. (Soon)
The Writeup
Forza Motorsport
If you didn't already know, this wheel is the official wheel of Forza Motorsport. For a very long time Fanatec has been supplying the community with Xbox 360 compatible wheels. With the release of Forza Motorsport 4, they didn't fail to please, launching an entirely new line dedicated to the Forza Franchise. From this line, five products spawned. The CSR wheel, CSR Elite wheel, CSR pedals, CSR Elite Pedals, and CSR Shifter set. I tested this wheel using the CSR Elite wheel (No-duh!), Clubsport Pedals (Yum, Aluminum), and the CSR Shifter Set (I like the cold grasp of metal in the morning). To go along with this I used the Clubsport Table Clamp (Which I highly recommend if you don't want to drill holes into something to hardmount). Since this is the official wheel, it should work pretty well with Forza right?
Well, your wrong. It works amazingly well! I haven't felt another game that takes advantage of this wheels potential, especially after the first Firmware update. The FFB in Forza isn't as good as in GT5's, but you certainly get all the information you need to properly race around the track. With this wheel I've found it increasingly easier to countersteer and regain control than with any wheel I've ever tested! You honestly feel like your driving a real car, and that's what we look for in sims right?
Since Forza 4 came out, there has been two choices of steering physics. Normal, and Simulation. The problem with the game was that there was a bug in the programming, known as the 900 degree steering glitch. With the latest patch this was fixed, the problem was, there was no way to regain control after a high-speed drift, which would happen a lot. So, Fanatec issued a Firmware update, 715, and bam! This issue was gone! This is where I felt the wheel gained a totally new life. It was sensational, I had never felt anything like it before!
You get a major advantage online as well. Throttle control, Braking, and steering input place you way higher than anyone using a controller, or even other wheels. The smoothness really helps in this factor, giving you control down to the nanometer. Another great feature about all Fanatec wheels is if you find something odd about the wheel, you can adjust it through the built-in tuning section. This is like Fine-tuning a suspension to your liking, and it can really give you the edge on the competition.
One downside for the wheel in Forza Motorsport is the Firmware. In order to get the most out of the wheel, you'll need to update the wheel's Firmware. I can understand it a little since the Patch for Forza required an update, but I'm a firm believer of something working perfectly out of the box. Another downside, again with most wheels, is the clutch work. Controller users are able to shift within milliseconds using a button. Wheel users aren't able to do this since we need to use a pedal and H-Gate. This was combated with Firmware 715 with the feature Autoclutch, but this isn't available out of the box, so again it goes back to the firmware. For many, this isn't a big deal, but as reviewers, we need to be as honest as possible, and this requires us to relay everything we've found with the wheel.
Gran Turismo 5
The game that brought many of us here. The game this website is dedicated to. The game that made many people got angry over, so they switched to Forza. There are 99 problems with this game, but Force Feedback isn't one of them! The FFB coding in this game is pretty amazing to say the least. It's quite strong, but it's not so strong that it'll whip the wheel out of your hands. You feel everything you need to feel in order to speed your car around the track, yet you still get everything you don't need that adds to the realism. The wheel lightens as you go faster, the wheel really lightens when your airborne, the wheel spins around when the rear looses grip, it's all a beautiful collage of wonderful FFB that makes you not only faster, but also feel much more immersed in the action.
Those results were created from hours upon hours with my GT3 RS, since the CSR Elite is a better wheel, you would expect it to preform better, correct? Well don't worry, it preforms beyond better. This game really provides the best FFB on consoles that I've seen so far, and with this wheel, it just feels perfectly realistic. Every change in motion is incredibly smooth, and countersteering is a lot easier this time around. Nothing truly compete's to the experience I've had using this wheel, it's insane!
One disadvantage I feel is the side to side movement that GT5 has. When ever your on a straight section of road, you can feel the wheel going side to side. With the GT3 RS it was fairly noticeable. With the CSR Elite it's really noticeable! You can turn on some Deadzone, but that will make you lose sensitivity. This brings me to another point. No official support from PD for Fanatec wheels. This would really help against that horrid side to side movement. You could be able to set 2-4% deadzone, take away the side to side, and keep most of the sensitivity. You would probably not even notice it!
Overall I feel GT5 with the CSR Elite is truly amazing! You don't feel limited at all, in fact, you feel like your driving a real car! If all you play is GT5, then you will enjoy this wheel! There really isn't anything like this that I've experienced before on a game! It is really immersive!
F1 2011
Codemasters newest addition to the Formula 1 Gaming Franchise has been spotted many times before with Fanatec's Porsche wheels, specifically the GT2. It would then make sense for it to play great with the CSR Elite wheel right?
Well to give you an idea of how well it works, when I had my GT3 RS wheel, the FFB was pretty strong. I only had to turn it down to 80, maybe 70 though. With the Elite, it was scary. The FFB was so strong, I had to turn it down to 40 value on the wheel! Whenever I went on the grass, it felt like my hands would snap in half! This is what I call FFB strength, and it really shows the true power of this wheel!
That's not the best part though. Previous wheels don't have the turning speed this one does, which makes high speed chicanes an ease! The accuracy of F1 2011's FFB really shows in this wheel. Every little thing can be used to tell you how this car is reacting with the world out around you. It's not all about the information though, as they added a lot of little things to add to the immersion, which the Elite brings out a lot more than any other wheel I've felt. One such thing is when ever you shift, you can slightly feel the wheel "kick" of sorts. It's a small jerk to one side, about two millimeters, but it adds to the immersion greatly!
One downside though is if you don't have the settings dialed in, you will either break your arms, or feel nothing at all. Finding that goldilocks setting (Different for everyone) isn't hard though, which helps. If I were you, try adjusting the on-wheel settings first before you mess with the in-game settings. It will make your life a whole bunch easier! 👍
Shift 2 Unleashed
[/CNETER]
Shift 2, a game that, with it's effects, graphics, and sounds, would be a very good simulation. Problem is, the physics aren't anything to brag about, and the FFB is something only Aladin would enjoy. Can the CSR Elite save it from FFB hell? Let's find out!
With a controller the cars feel floaty. In games where cars feel floaty, normally a wheel will make them a lot better. The cars might still be floaty, but there will be Force Feedback. In this, there is FFB, but only on Rumble Strips. Not to mention whenever your on the road it's next to impossible to straighten the car out. You'll end up swaying side to side more than a Boeing 747 does in strong winds!
So, what happens when you dial in the settings a little bit? No matter how much I messed with the settings, I couldn't get it to perform like other games. So I went on ISR, and looked at the settings they had come up with. This was even worse. It felt like I was on the ocean, not a road. Even rumble strips felt terrible!
Is it the wheel, or the game? I'm going with, it's the game. Why is this? Well, it wouldn't make sense that a wheel would have a problem when every other game performs better than amazing! This is the only game I've had a problem with, so it can't be a wheel problem. Plus with my GT3 RS, I can't get it to work properly either.
At first, I didn't know what to do. I was angry at PC Sims. I couldn't get it to work properly at all. Then I updated the drivers, and it made all the difference.
This is the final part in the review of the CSR Elite. After this I will write up my thoughts on the Clubsport Table Clamp, and CSR Shifter Set. I was planning on using the Shift 2 writeup as the final part, but why end on a bad note? Well the reason was I couldn't get any FFB in any PC Sim, nor more than 90 degrees of rotation, coupled with a centerspring tighter than, well something not AUP friendly! So I took some of your guys' advice, and updated the drivers.
Still the same setup screen, except something changed. This time instead of saying "steering_lock=180" it said "steering_lock=864". Still couldn't program the clutch properly, but that's okay. Going in game I had little hopes. It just didn't feel like there was going to be any feedback, it didn't feel like any game before. There was a reason for that. I discovered that reason after exiting the pits. The reason was because it wasn't like any game before! The Feedback was strong, but not so strong you had trouble turning the wheel. It was fast and I could catch slides like no other! In fact, the wheel was so fast I actually scratched myself when the wheel was spinning on the paddle shifters! It was precise, I felt every little change in elevation, bumps, and grip. I felt when the tires locked up, not only through a vibration feature that actually makes perfect sense now, but also through the weight of the wheel. This was like GT5, except on extreme steroids! The miniature bumps in the road were all met with a satisfactory hop in the wheel. Is this what I was missing this entire time? Is this what the PC world has been for this entire time? Why have I been screwing around with console games, when I could be experiencing that? These were all questions that went through my mind. There was one thing for sure though. You haven't experienced the CSR Elite, without experiencing it on NetKar PRO!
The Review
Part 1: Introduction
Come by the fire my children, as I tell you a great tale of enjoyment, fun, music, and bagels. Lot's and lot's of bagels. Plus some Rolling Stones. I write this now, hoping to inform the community about Fanatec's new wheel, the CSR Elite. This is an Xbox/PS3/PC compatible wheel and it's officially licensed for the Forza Motorsport series, which if you don't know, is Gran Turismo's counterpart on the Xbox. This series is created by Turn10 specifically for the Xbox 360. Enough about Forza, on to the wheel. For a while now, Thrustmaster has owned the game in the ultimate console sim wheel. When the CSR Elite was first announced at E3 2011, we all knew it was time for a change. The Elite has taken on the T500 full force. Can it do it? Well for starters, it has two Force-Feedback motors, belt driven, with two additional vibration motors to simulate Engine revs and ABS. Then the wheel rim uses Carbon Fibre, which is much lighter than aluminum that the CSR wheel uses. This means that the FFB Motors can spin the wheel much faster, and be put on less strain. Then theres a pretty snazzy window where you can view the internals working while you play! Speaking of the internals, this time around it has major fans working to cool down the motors. I played for 4 Hours straight last night on Forza, and the wheel stayed incredibly cool during that entire time. This is truly an amazing piece of engineering. But how does it score? How does it go against the older Porsche Wheels? Well, that's what us Beta testers are here to find. So let's get started.
Shift 2, a game that, with it's effects, graphics, and sounds, would be a very good simulation. Problem is, the physics aren't anything to brag about, and the FFB is something only Aladin would enjoy. Can the CSR Elite save it from FFB hell? Let's find out!
With a controller the cars feel floaty. In games where cars feel floaty, normally a wheel will make them a lot better. The cars might still be floaty, but there will be Force Feedback. In this, there is FFB, but only on Rumble Strips. Not to mention whenever your on the road it's next to impossible to straighten the car out. You'll end up swaying side to side more than a Boeing 747 does in strong winds!
So, what happens when you dial in the settings a little bit? No matter how much I messed with the settings, I couldn't get it to perform like other games. So I went on ISR, and looked at the settings they had come up with. This was even worse. It felt like I was on the ocean, not a road. Even rumble strips felt terrible!
Is it the wheel, or the game? I'm going with, it's the game. Why is this? Well, it wouldn't make sense that a wheel would have a problem when every other game performs better than amazing! This is the only game I've had a problem with, so it can't be a wheel problem. Plus with my GT3 RS, I can't get it to work properly either.
NetKar Pro
At first, I didn't know what to do. I was angry at PC Sims. I couldn't get it to work properly at all. Then I updated the drivers, and it made all the difference.
This is the final part in the review of the CSR Elite. After this I will write up my thoughts on the Clubsport Table Clamp, and CSR Shifter Set. I was planning on using the Shift 2 writeup as the final part, but why end on a bad note? Well the reason was I couldn't get any FFB in any PC Sim, nor more than 90 degrees of rotation, coupled with a centerspring tighter than, well something not AUP friendly! So I took some of your guys' advice, and updated the drivers.
Still the same setup screen, except something changed. This time instead of saying "steering_lock=180" it said "steering_lock=864". Still couldn't program the clutch properly, but that's okay. Going in game I had little hopes. It just didn't feel like there was going to be any feedback, it didn't feel like any game before. There was a reason for that. I discovered that reason after exiting the pits. The reason was because it wasn't like any game before! The Feedback was strong, but not so strong you had trouble turning the wheel. It was fast and I could catch slides like no other! In fact, the wheel was so fast I actually scratched myself when the wheel was spinning on the paddle shifters! It was precise, I felt every little change in elevation, bumps, and grip. I felt when the tires locked up, not only through a vibration feature that actually makes perfect sense now, but also through the weight of the wheel. This was like GT5, except on extreme steroids! The miniature bumps in the road were all met with a satisfactory hop in the wheel. Is this what I was missing this entire time? Is this what the PC world has been for this entire time? Why have I been screwing around with console games, when I could be experiencing that? These were all questions that went through my mind. There was one thing for sure though. You haven't experienced the CSR Elite, without experiencing it on NetKar PRO!
The Review
Part 1: Introduction
The Feel of the Wheel-
On previous Fanatec wheels, they were modeled after their Porsche equivelints. Materials like Alcantara and Leather were used. With the CSR line, Fanatec went for a race look, so with the CSR Elite, only grips on the side are Alcantara, everything else is a Matte Black Plastic, which actually looks pretty good. In the center is a Forza Motorsport logo, which I wasn't a big fan of when I saw it in photos. Having it in person is a different story. I quite like it actually. It gives character, and adds a nice look when next to the Carbon Fibre. Speaking of Carbon Fibre, all of the spokes of the rim are real Carbon Fibre. It helps add to the race style it was going for and it's definitely a nice touch. The buttons are also finished off quite well. The Xbox's A,B,X,Y are black with the letters outlined in their respected colors, and they have a nice good firm feeling when you push them. The D-Pad included also has a great feel. It makes it easy to surf the menus or adjust tuning options, which are a nice cool blue LED from the CSR. Every button is nicely colored, has a good firm feel, and is within reach when your in the heat of the moment. The Carbon Fibre is a beautiful touch, and the FM Logo is quite the snazzy piece of artwork. The Alcantara grips provide great traction on the 3 and 9 positions, helping you race quite a bit. Overall, I think the feel is dead on perfect!5/5
Force Feedback/Sensitivity-This is, for many, the most important part of the wheel, I mean it is what we pay for right? The FFB in this wheel is mighty different then any other wheel Fanatec has made. As I've mentioned, this wheel uses two Force Feedback Motors instead of one, which means more strength right? Well, it does, but not like you think. See, it's technically possible to use these motors to give more strength in the FFB, but that's not what they aimed for. What Fanatec went for with the dual Motors was to individually time each motor to act at a different time, or something very similar to that. Have you ever heard of the term cogging? If you haven't, cogging is the term to describe the mechanical steps the motor goes through. If you've used previous Belt driven wheels you can feel this in the wheel by the small skips you feel when turning. Since there are two motors in the Elite, you cannot feel the cogging at all. Of course it's still there, but the motors cog at different times, meaning you can't feel it. This creates perfectly smooth turning and countersteering. This makes it feel much more direct and connected to the car your driving, and makes it feel like the real thing, not a toy. It really is hard to explain, because you really can't understand how great it feels until you've tried it yourself. Another advantage of the small and light wheel rim is that is can spin much faster. This, combined with the smoothness, provides an incredible amount of realism to the wheel. (Just some thought, to those of you with the wheel right not, switch Damper settings to -3, and Drift mode to 5 and see how fast it moves. It's incredible!
I also want to mention something else here, it's a little smaller section that I haven't included in my previous reviews, but I figured I will include it. It's sensitivity. Most wheels currently on the market mount the sensor on the motors. Doing so creates lag through the motor motion, steering axis, and belts. With the Elite, they mounted the sensor on the steering axis itself. This means completely direct steering. No lag between internals at all, just pure steering. All of these things combined get it nearly a perfect score. The only thing holding it back is that it's not the strongest wheel out, but that really doesn't make you faster.
24.5/25
The Paddle Shifters-If you've seen any of my posts about Stick Shifts or Paddle Shifts, you'll know I prefer Six Speed more. That however doesn't change the fact that a nice true Paddle Shifter will feel nice to pull, good on the touch, (That's what she said) and not to far from the fingers. (Seriously, how else am I supposed to word it? You guys think wrong!) The old Porsche wheel paddle shifters (PWPS) were pretty good. They weren't too far from the rim, you knew whether you missed the shift most of the time, and you could change gears mighty fast. With the CSR Elite's Paddle Shifters (CSREPS) Fanatec went with an entirely new design. They scrapped the screw on, went with thicker metal, and made the travel much much greater. They even added a little clicking noise when you pull it, which helps gauge when you have shifted, or missed. You may not think this helps, but it does. It confirms you've pulled it enough. The feel is also quite nice. It'a aluminum (I think) and chrome colored, so you can see your pretty race driver face! There's not much to say here, besides that they're a massive improvement over the old one's (which were pretty good to start with) so overall, I give it a perfect score!
5/5
Compatibility-Compatibility is a huge factor in the success of a gaming device, specifically wheels. You need to have compatibility to the hottest consoles, that support the best games, but you also want to serve the PC side who (Usually) want the most realistic experience without getting in their own car, and risking a high insurance claim, or death. Gamers always want something that will tailor to their needs, just look at the GT5 Sub-section, it's full of them! This calls for a wheel that will match every gamer, whether they're on the PC, Xbox 360, or PS3. This wheel does all of those! Mighty well I must say as well. It's really cool to have a wheel that can switch from Forza on the Xbox, to GT5 on the PS3 in a matter of seconds! Even better once you consider that nothing is lost in between. There's no FFB problems or anything. It'll work just as well on one platform, as it will the other! There's not much I can add on this side, so it get's a perfect score here as well!
5/5
Adjustability-There are many games out there that don't fully support wheels, or only fully support certain wheels. If your wheel isn't fully supported by the game, good luck fine tuning the settings, because to earn the fastest laptimes you have to adjust the wheel to what you like. This is where Fanatec changed the game. They added a tuning display, which includes many settings you can adjust. Sens Setting changes the wheel's sensitivity, or degrees of turning. It goes from 240-900 degrees. Next up is FFB, which adjusts the Force Feedback Cutoff point, similar to a high or low pass filter. If you set it to 100%, then you get the full spectrum. Set it to 50% then you get half the spectrum. (This is not a strength adjuster, if you want to adjust the strength, do it in-game) Then there is DRFT, or drift mode. This lightens the wheel up, making it spin faster. It can be adjusted 0-5. Then there is Dmpr, or Damper setting, which makes the wheel lighter or heavier. This can be adjusted -3 to 3. Sprng Sets the Center Spring value. Accl sets the Auto Clutch feature to on. This is made especially for FM4. It allows the user to get quick shifts using the Clutch feature, without using the clutch. This means you can use the Paddle Shifters, without using the clutch, improving the realism. All these features make this wheel one of the most adjustable wheels on the market, in not the most adjustable. For this, I give it a perfect score.
5/5
User Friendlyness-I'm afraid this is where the wheel will lose a couple points. Most people want plug and play capability with their wheels, especially console users. This means they want it the best it can be, 100% out of the box. Sure you can plug it in and play once you get it out of the box, but if you want it to work the best it can possibly be, you'll have to download the drivers. I downloaded the drivers, and the wheel felt incredible! Before, it felt good, but nothing near as good as what it feels like now. What you have to do to update the drivers is go into Bootloader mode. To do this:
1. Power off the wheel, plug it into your PC, and hold the XBOX button.
2. While still holding the XBOX button, push the power button.
3. Keep holding the XBOX button until one ring of light lights up.
4. Your now in Bootloader mode. Follow the instructions provided to update your wheel.
It's not to complicated with the new updater, but before that it was pretty difficult. I'm afraid, this is where this wheel will lose points. It's not as easy as my GT3 RS, and you'll need to update it in order to get the best results. Here is the score.
3.5/5
Final Results
Feel-5
FFB-24.5
Paddles-5
Compatibility-5
Adjustability-5
User-3.5
Total-48
Compared to:
GT3 RS-92.5 CSR Elite-96
Daily Updates
Day 1 First Impressions: Today was the first day I've actually had time to race with this wheel. I did a couple races without the Firmware update, and a couple with. Same car/Track Combination as well. I must say, this wheel is incredibly fast! You lose the end with the #1 SX4 and you best be prepared for that wheel to whip right around at insane speeds. Strength is also a good feature. The power of this wheel is immense, which helps it in the speed category. It's also ultra precise. You move the wheel a nanometer and it'll be registered. A lot of people complain about cogging with other wheels. Thanks to two FFB motors that dreaded cogging effect is no longer! This wheel is really smooth. It never breaks smoothness. Day 2 Gone Sideways:My main difficulty with previous wheels was that it was really hard to drift, I mean really hard. Those wheels weren't as smooth, or light as the CSR Elite. So I changed the settings on the Elite on Drift mode 2, which is asking for your and to get cut off.
No matter that, I figured I'd try and drift. Took a couple laps but after that I was banging out incredibly cool slides, burnin' rubber like an ADHD Sex Maniac. Twas the most fun I've had in a video game for a while. After that I set out online. Boy was I quick! Until I got rammed. But that just proves that all the bells and whistles this wheel has pay off in the long run, I can guarantee you will be faster.Day 3 The Senna Special-I never really managed to test this wheel on PC. I got it hooked up, ready to play, and...the demo of GTR2 doesn't really like the term FFB. I just got a really tight center spring as it's "so called force-feedback" so I decided to give that a rest until I can get a full copy. I was about to exit the game when I noticed something. This wheel is recognized as it's own self now! No longer does it say "Logitech G27" under the listed game controllers, it now says "Fanatec CSR Wheel" which must mean that this and the CSR are both recognized as their own wheel. No more identity theft. Will this mean better compatibility when the CSW comes out?
With a failed attempt at PC gaming, I went out to try out GT5 on the PS3. Wow, I forgot how good the FFB effects were on this game, and they're even better on the Elite. Enough about that though, does this wheel make you faster? Well, since I've used GT5 with a wheel before, I think I'll try and beat some of my times. The first of which was a Tuned NSX-R on Grand Valley. My previous time was a 1:53.7xx. So, I grab hold of my CSR Elite and set out. Already through the first set of corners it lists me as .1xx on the split time. Good, very very good. Out through the last corner, and over the finish line I get a 1:51.3xx, over two seconds faster! Is this proof that the CSR Elite is faster than previous Porsche wheels? Quite possibly, is it proof that I've gained driving experience enough to master 2 Seconds a lap quicker than my last time in two weeks? Highly unlikely, but it's possible. Is it a combination of both? Probably, but that still means that the Elite will overall make you faster. Provided you have the skill level to achieve consistent lap times that is.
Day 4 Spec Miata-Every Friday I go online on Forza, and hop on to a Spec Miata race. Tonight was the last race of the season, so it was bound to be filled with incredible action. Tonight was Laguna Seca, 35 laps. One hour, seven minutes full of racing! Now, let me put in a few words about the series.
Many people know that I'm a big Miata fan, so when I saw the chance to race Miata's for a series, I had to do it. First off, the series is run by GTPlanets and ForzaPlanets own Wardez! I thank you for this series! The organization was top notch, and I've had so much fun over the past few weeks! This has really been great, and I thank you for that. It's kinda sad for the ending of the season though. Many of us won't be racing against each other for a while, and we won't really be racing our cars for a while. Which brings me to my car. There's not really any better feeling than racing a car you've bought, tuned, and painted completely yourself. It sort of becomes a part of your personality. Sure I've had bad moments with this car, where it doesn't seem to like me all to much, but it's still mine, and I love that. I really can't wait until I get the chance to race again with all of you, it's been a wonderful experience!
Now, onto something you guys will enjoy a little bit more. The wheel. This wheel sure makes you faster. By the first lap I had shot from last, all the way to third. If I hadn't been clipped from behind I might've stayed in fourth for a little while longer. Speed may be a thing to go for during qualifying, but if you want to win, you have to go for consistency. The best thing to go for is speed and consistency. This must have been what Fanatec was aiming for, because it sure makes you faster than other wheels on the market, and you can keep banging out laps within hundredths of each other. This makes the competition that much fiercer. I've also noticed it's a lot easier to counter steer. I'm not sure why, maybe it's the more powerful FFB, coupled with the lighter wheel, and the smoothness. This helps incredibly, and you'll be a lot faster with this wheel. Tomorrow, I take this wheel out against the club, to see how it compares there!
Day 5 Take Me On a Carpet Ride-So, I headed over to Blockbuster and picked up two games for the Xbox 360. F1 2011, and Shift 2 Magic Carpet Ride. I started off with F1 2011, quite a nice game I must say.
It took me a while to adjust the FFB settings to what I liked. Honestly, even though it acts as a cutoff, setting the FFB setting on the wheel is sometimes the best bet. I nearly broke my hands trying to turn that thing on FFB 100, and setting the center spring made it floaty and odd feeling. After I got it dialed in I have to say, wow! This game's FFB is rivaling Gran Turismo's, and it doesn't have that odd side to side rocking feeling GT does. Overall, I'm very impressed, I was able to set incredibly fast laps, and all of my laps were within tenths of each other.
After a nice grin on my face, I decided to try out senior Shift. I had high hopes for this game. I thought that a FFB wheel, combined with the incredible G-Force effects in game could deliver a huge immersive experience. Well, it was immersive alright. Immersive for a magic carpet ride that is. The FFB felt really weird, I was getting no information on whether or not my car was loosing grip, where the bumps were, nothing at all! So I decided to use settings from people I trust. Insidesimracing! (Well, Shaun that is.) I inputed their settings on the wheel and set off to practice. This is where I really felt it seemed like a magic carpet ride. There was no FFB until you hit a rumble strip, and the car was incredibly unresponsive. it sort of rocked side to side and glided. Then you had to turn a million miles before the turn to actually take a moderately bad line. This game disappointed me, extremely.
Overall, F1 was very very fun. You got all the information you needed, and once you dialed it in it felt immersive and fun. Shift 2 on the other hand, felt floaty, lagged behind steering input, and felt like a magic carpet ride. Is it wheel, or game? Well, considering the wheel has performed above perfect every other game I've played, I'm going to take a crack at it's the games fault. No matter how good the CSR Elite is, it can't save Shift from the depths of Force Feedback Hell.
FAQ
Q: What is the yellow button above the Xbox Guide button?A: That my friends is the power button.
Q:How bad or good is the cogging effect compared to the T500 RS?
A:The cogging effect isn't even their. This wheel is as smooth as possible.
Q:How fast the turning speed compared to the T500 RS?
A:I would say it's close, but the T500 is slightly faster.
Q:How strong strong is the FFB compared to the T500 RS?
A:I would say that this wheel is just as strong as the T500RS. (Harder to say as it's been a while since I've tried a T500.
Q:Which wheel is more precise, the CSR Elite or the T500 RS?
A:The Elite is much more precise, you can make adjustments down to the nanometer, so oval fans should be happy.
Q:Which wheel's steering feels more direct?
A:This one's a little harder to answer. Again, since it's been a while since I've used a T500, I can't say for sure, I would say though that the CSR Elite feels more connected, like your fully in control of the car.
Q:Does the dual motors in the wheel drive one belt assembly with two belts, or each drive its individual belt?
A:From what I can tell, there are two belts. One very thin one, and one thicker, main belt. The thicker belt is powered by both motors.
Q:How prominent are the vibration motors in the wheel? Has this improved over previous Fanatec wheels that you know of?
A:There is definitely a difference, whether you will notice it in the heat of the moment depends. I can tell you that they are more powerful than before. Either that or they are just more noticeable.
Q:Does the PC software allow more control features over the wheel compared to previous wheels and which ones?
A:(Answered Wrong on the first go) The PC Software doesn't allow anything different from the previous Porsche Wheels.
Q:What are the dimensions of the FM Logo on the center of the wheel?
A:1.6 inches in height, 1.6 inches in length.
Q:What are the full dimensions of the wheel?
A:Wheel - diameter: 30 cm
Wheel base - width and depth: 23 x 16 cm
Wheel - weight: ~ 2.5kg
(Taken from www.fanatec.de)
Q:Now that you've tested the CSR Elite and compared it to the best wheel you own personally, are you planning on keeping the CSR Elite or will you return it to Fanatec? If you keep it what are for yourself the main reasons for keeping it, or in other words what made the decision for you?
A:I plan on purchasing the wheel. My main reason is the Xbox Compatibility, however, if this wheel was PC/PS3 compatible only, I would still keep it. The wheel feels much more precise than my GT3 RS, and the FFB is much smoother and stronger as well. Now I'm not saying my GT3RS isn't good. That wheels my baby, it introduced me into the world of competitive Sim Racing, and I can never forget that.
Q:As a regular Forza player do you use simulation steering post patch.
A:Yup, I still use Simulation Steering.
Q:If so what wheel and settings did you use (GT2 CSR etc). If the answer is yes you would know of the linearity issue present that makes the TDC of the wheel over sensitive. This is a software issue as far as I know. I use 20 LIN to dial this out.
A:I use multiple settings.
Setting 1: Sensitivity-900 FFB-70 Sho-70 Drift-1 ABS-46) I use this setting for Road Cars with 6 Speeds.
Setting 2: Sens-900 FFB-70 Sho-90 Drift-1 ABS-57 Accl-On) This I use for cars with Paddle Shifters. It allows me to use Auto Clutch to get as fast, while still having a realistic feel.
Setting 3: Sens-540 FFB-60 Sho-60 Drift-2 ABS-55 Accl-On/Off) This is for Race cars mostly. It allows for quicker turning then my other settings, as well as lowered FFB to prevent Spins in some of the LMP's.
Q:I have read however that the Elite does not suffer from this issue when set to LIN 0.
A:Nope, it doesn't suffer from this promblem, the sensitivity is very normal.
Q:I can't for the life of me work that out. Could you clarify.
A:When I first got the wheel on Friday, it came with Firmware 706. (Production Models will come with 715) I was sent via E-Mail the Firmware 715. I couldn't figure out how to update it, so I played Forza post-patch with 706. found it harder then it should be to control the car, it would spin and lose control all of the time. I thought it was me getting used to Forza with a wheel. When I figured out how to update the firmware, I hoped back on Forza with the 715. It was an incredible difference. You would be punished if you screwed up, but rewarded for being a good driver. The change was immense, and I can't really describe it in words. It must be felt 1st Person. (I imagine Thomas has plans to release this to all Xbox wheels.)
Q:When the CSR-E has ACL on do shifts on the sequential shifter or 6 speed shifter engage the auto clutch?
A:Yes, you can use any shifter compatible with the wheel using Auto Clutch. It can help for knowing the gears of the 6-Speed.
Q:Are there any table clamps that come with the wheel?
A:No, there are not. I would strongly recommend the Clubsport Table Clamp if your afraid of drilling holes into something.
Q:Are the SHO options a lot stronger? It will only do what the software allows I suppose but has Thomas cranked it up a bit?
A:Pre-715 they were about the same as current wheels, afterwards however it's much much different. The vibrations (Keep in mind this is at SHO 70) are enough to cause the wheel to turn about 2-5 degrees side to side very fast, something I haven't noticed in any wheel so far.
Q:Oh Shift 2 suffers FFback drop outs. A simple pause and unpause will bring back the effects. Do you have this game to check out? Also FF isn't bad in this for a console.
A:Tomorrow I'm going out to rent Shift 2 (and F12011) to check them out. I will update this answer once I've done extensive testing.
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