CSR Elite Shaft Movement: Is It Normal?

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Edited out.
Answer is in hawks post. And dont want to cause problems for anyone.
Caz
 
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It's not within spec. There should be VERY little to no movement whatsoever when pulling back and forth on the axis shaft. All the wheels that I've seen all show the same thing.....the entire front bearing moving back and forth inside its locator hole in the front plate and a distinctive knocking/clunking sound. To me it indicates a machining error on the axis shaft's locator grooves for the bearing's lock rings. My first wheel exhibited this issue and after contacting Johannes of support and showing him a video he promptly sent me a replacement wheel. I was also in contact with Thomas at the time and he said that was not within spec. My new wheel exhibits a minuscule amount of play on the shaft when you pull hard back and forth on the wheel and the play exists on the front bearing as that bearing's location is maintained on the shaft with lock rings on each side of the bearing. As a car guy who's dealt with bearing mounting solutions like that his whole life that amount of play is acceptable. The only way to alleviate that would be to use press fit bearings.

If your axis shaft is clunking/knocking when you pull back and forth like the vid below and the bearing itself moves back and forth this is not normal or within spec. My first Elite was exactly like this one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gf01rc9fNo&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
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Yes, thehawk05 it would be crazy if fanatec support would say that that kind of movement is within specs.

Will keep your guys updated!
 
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Just received an email back from support saying the movement in my second wheel is ok. I can live with that, the wheel still rocks. Now I'm just hoping it doesn't get worse.
 
Just got this shocking email back from Fanatec Support:

we discussed that with the manufacturing and the improvement and this movement is within the tolerance as long as the functionality of the wheel isn´t affected and the shaft doesn´t touch the codewheel-sensor.


Best Regards / Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Johannes Kirsch


I edited my post because Fanatet did their very best to solve my problem. Seems there was some mix up between my Username on this forum and the Fanatec account email.

Fanatec support has contacted me personally and assured me that they are working on it.

Because this a new product, it could take some time, but issues will be solved.

From this personal contact i really got the feeling that they do care for their customers and they are doing their best to support this awesome product.

I'm very glad that my blind trust in Fanatec was not misplaced and i looking forward to their upcoming awesome products.

If you have the issue, just contact support and they will handle it properly
 
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HoiHman
old quote removed on personal request from the writer due to extreme good treatment from Fanatec and a total mix up.
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Hrm... I personally would not tolerate such a slack in the wheel. If this is going to be the new quality standard I'd feel scammed if I has to put down such an amount of money. They better not tolerate it with the CSW or else I don't care how smooth it is, it will loose against the T500. Which has its own set of issues but you can't move the whole axle which destroys the experience (at least it would for me). Having a cheap wheel rim on there to keep the costs down I understand, this however just seems like bad machinery/assembly and quality control. Also it being talked good to keep the financial damage to a minimum for Fanatec. It is in my eyes and I reckon many of us here clearly an issue. Besides we know for a fact that there are good wheels out there. So it's not like it can't be done or should be like this. It is just new policy and within what they tolerate. Now I reckon we will have to see what the customers will tolerate.
 
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This makes me very grateful for my GT2, even though it has its own issues, it works amazingly with iRacing. I can see the gripe about the lack of effect on the xbox360, but not for PC. The GT2 is amazing for iRacing. I feel everything with it, and it is very precise with the proper Drift mode. Just needs to have its centering and cold start-up issue resolved.

I already have been messaging back and forth with the US repair center(house actually) He feels its the main PCB board/circuit that is causing this. I am sending it in when I get my CSW. I still have 13.5 months on my warranty for the GT2, so no worries about getting it fixed. Since I can still race somewhat competitively, I'll live with it for now. I have little to no issue with Superspeedway 2 car draft, so that is good. I am pretty smooth even with the minute issues.
 
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LogiForce
Hrm... I personally would not tolerate such a slack in the wheel. If this is going to be the new quality standard I'd feel scammed if I has to put down such an amount of money. They better not tolerate it with the CSW or else I don't care how smooth it is, it will loose against the T500. Which has its own set of issues but you can't move the whole axle which destroys the experience (at least it would for me). Having a cheap wheel rim on there to keep the costs down I understand, this however just seems like bad machinery/assembly and quality control. Also it being talked good to keep the financial damage to a minimum for Fanatec. It is in my eyes and I reckon many of us here clearly an issue. Besides we know for a fact that there are good wheels out there. So it's not like it can't be done or should be like this. It is just new policy and within what they tolerate. Now I reckon we will have to see what the customers will tolerate.
Click to expand...

I edited my post because Fanatet did their very best to solve my problem.

Seems there was some mix up between my Username on this forum and the Fanatec account email.

Fanatec support has contacted me personally and assured me that they are working on it.

Because this a new product, it could take some time, but issues will be solved.

From this personal contact i really got the feeling that they do care for their customers and they are doing their best to support this awesome product.

I'm very glad that my blind trust in Fanatec was not misplaced and i looking forward to their upcoming awesome products.

If you have the issue, just contact support and they will handle it properly
Last edited by HoiHman; Today at 6:39 AM.
 
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HoiHman
Just got this shocking email back from Fanatec Support:

we discussed that with the manufacturing and the improvement and this movement is within the tolerance as long as the functionality of the wheel isn´t affected and the shaft doesn´t touch the codewheel-sensor.

Best Regards / Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Johannes Kirsch

(Fanatec Support Team)

I send them this video of my wheel:

http://youtu.be/NJAF_unNzJ8

This is shocking news:

-First Thomas confirms (according to thehawk05) this NOT normal
-Now they are saying that it is normal to have such a ticking an moving axle in a 540 euro wheel.

Fanatec buyers be warned: this is the kind of quality you can expect from the wheelbase of the CSR Elite and the same one that is going be in the clubsport wheel later this year

From now if you get this issue be prepaired to receive the same email.
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That's the same email I received. I find it funny it was a problem in my first wheel but not the second.
 
I got that for my GT2 last year as well. The first one had issues starting up in the cold, grant you cold being 65 Fahrenheit / 17-18 Celsius. Once above that mean temp. it starts right away.

Well the 2nd wheel had the SAME issue, and still does...... But, I have learn to accept it, and it will get fixed if I so choose to send it in. I have been trying to wait patiently for the CSW, but now I'm thinking of just sending in the GT2 to get fixed and go from there. And bag the CSW, but I NEED a larger rim for it. While under operation, I have NO complaints really. Just that damn lack of center issue, but does not affect me racing that badly. I can tell it's there though, just have to race around it.

I thought these issues would finally be resolved by now. It looks like my inkling is coming to fruition unfortunately. I mean, how long can you continue to be a profitable entity with all of these issues?
 
I've tried to be loyal to Fanatec but I can't do it anymore. I've stated on these forums numerous times, when the gear is working correctly, it's awesome. The problem is getting something that will work correctly. I've made 3 major purchases from Fanatec, had a problem with something every single time. That is totally unacceptable. Customers shouldn't have to wait for their second or sometimes third replacement to get a piece of gear that works the way it was meant to, without any defects.
 
I've tried to be loyal too. Tried to keep it out the forums and i realy love the gear WHEN it's working correctly.

I was one of the first who preordered the CSR Elite (within the first hour), i put blind trust in them to deliver me a good product.


Edit: After having contact with Fanatec Support, i know that my trust is not betrayed.

My problem will be solved.


ImSixString did you get a replacement for the shaft movement issue ?
 
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HoiHman
ImSixString did you get a replacement for the shaft movement issue ?
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I did get a replacement. Unfortunately the replacement has some movement too. I just can't win I guess. Received the email saying the movement was ok from support this morning.
 
HoiHman
I realy feel scammed too. :grumpy:

Thomas in all his promotion videos talking about: quality, real metal , quality products, "germanering" ect ect.

This is what you can finally expect from fanatec. I'm not just talking about the inferiour wheelrim quality, which i could live with or even buy another wheelrim later on. I even repaired my CSR Elite wheel myself.

But the wheelbase of their TOP LINE products, with such a design failure and then after complaints start coming in saying it's within tolerance is ...ing unbelievable.:nervous::nervous:

And i realy, realy tried my best to keep this out of the forums (Caz can confirm this), but this is something that ALL potential buyers of the CSR Elite and the CSW should know in advance.

You could easly spend 550 to 650 euro's and end up (just like me) with a wheel like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJAF_unNzJ8&feature=youtu.be
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This is very disappointing news. My wheel shaft moves at least as much as in that video if not more and it seems to be getting worse. When I first got the wheel, I could move it just a little bit if I really tried and didn't notice it at all while racing. Now I can really notice it and it bothers me while racing.

I have been using Fanatec steering wheels since the original xbox and the Speedster 3 wheel. I pre-ordered the PWTS in Feb '09 and waited for months to receive it. I pre-ordered the CSR Elite day 1 when it went on the webshop.

Like was said earlier, when the products work, they are amazing and give an incredibly immersive racing experience. But the quality control and customer support needs to improve or the sales won't last.

I am really forced to use Fanatec products because I only play xbox 360. There is no other xbox 360 compatible wheels that come close to even the PWTS, let alone the CSR Elite. So I will have to continue to use their products and hope they will continue to work most of the time.
 
I don't mind some movement, but mine is almost like it's loose and makes a knocking noise.

Just like troyslot it also bothers me while racing and it's gets worse.

What bothers me the most though is that we were al let to believe that this is a top of the line product and we could not even imagine that this kind of issue would be within the "tolerance" of the production.
 
I find it quite disappointing about that response.....I'd be fuming and demanding a refund.

It would be really lame if this is some sort of brush off tactic due to the fact the CSR E is currently sold out. Seems odd that 3 weeks ago people like myself were easily getting replacements sent out when they were still in stock but now it's being deemed to be spec? That's not cool.

If you have no stock to offer replacements fine.....just be honest and tell customers that but at the very least offer to take care of them when you do get them in stock again.

On my first wheel I was able to fix the play of the bearing moving back and forth inside it's locator hole and was almost going to keep the wheel as it was working awesome. After some thought though I chose to file for a replacement because I felt like I was settling for something that was subpar for the money I spent. And to Fanatec's credit they came through with flying colors for me.
 
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It is technically essential that there is some movement because otherwise the wheel gets stuck. The movement can be more or less but it cannot be fully avoided.

If it gets worse and makes noises then it is a different story because this indicates that something gets lose (perhaps a screw?). In such a case we need to have a look at the wheel and repair or exchange it.

When you contact support, please add to your description if the movement gets significantly worse or if it affects gameplay.

Again, a little bit of movement is normal and necessary (many race cars have that as well) but it should not affect your gameplay and should not get worse and noises appear which did not occur before.
 
Fanatec...
It is technically essential that there is some movement because otherwise the wheel gets stuck. The movement can be more or less but it cannot be fully avoided.

If it gets worse and makes noises then it is a different story because this indicates that something gets lose (perhaps a screw?). In such a case we need to have a look at the wheel and repair or exchange it.

When you contact support, please add to your description if the movement gets significantly worse or if it affects gameplay.

Again, a little bit of movement is normal and necessary (many race cars have that as well) but it should not affect your gameplay and should not get worse and noises appear which did not occur before.
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Interesting to hear I never realised that wheels needed the movement!*
I'm also interested In seeing a video during gameplay as I imagine it is not very noticeable,
 
The movement on some wheels (as shown in some videos) could be smaller but we actually tolerated the gaps as it does not affect gameplay according to all beta testers. The smaller the tolerances the higher the risk that friction is increasing. And this is something which is definitely noticable.

We can make movement less if customers are really demanding it although this was more a theoretical problem up to now which can only be noticed if you dont drive. Noise or loose screws are a different story of course.
 
Fanatec...
It is technically essential that there is some movement because otherwise the wheel gets stuck. The movement can be more or less but it cannot be fully avoided.

If it gets worse and makes noises then it is a different story because this indicates that something gets lose (perhaps a screw?). In such a case we need to have a look at the wheel and repair or exchange it.

When you contact support, please add to your description if the movement gets significantly worse or if it affects gameplay.

Again, a little bit of movement is normal and necessary (many race cars have that as well) but it should not affect your gameplay and should not get worse and noises appear which did not occur before.
Click to expand...

I edited my post because Fanatet did their very best to solve my problem.

Seems there was some mix up between my Username on this forum and the Fanatec account email.

Fanatec support has contacted me personally and assured me that they are working on it.

Because this a new product, it could take some time, but issues will be solved.

From this personal contact i really got the feeling that they do care for their customers and they are doing their best to support this awesome product.

I'm very glad that my blind trust in Fanatec was not misplaced and i looking forward to their upcoming awesome products.

If you have the issue, just contact support and they will handle it properly
Last edited by HoiHman; Today at 6:39 AM.
 
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Fanatec...
The movement on some wheels (as shown in some videos) could be smaller but we actually tolerated the gaps as it does not affect gameplay according to all beta testers. The smaller the tolerances the higher the risk that friction is increasing. And this is something which is definitely noticable.

We can make movement less if customers are really demanding it although this was more a theoretical problem up to now which can only be noticed if you dont drive. Noise or loose screws are a different story of course.
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Ok thanks for that... I should have the elite anyway when u get the next batch :) I will be rigorously testing although in a normal environment just with many hours of gameplay
 
Thomas, with all due respect to you. There shouldn't be any play in your car's steering wheel if you pull on it. You might have to have that checked out if that's the case. ;)
However I agree that there should be some play as you don't want to tighten it indeed so it doesn't move anymore. However more movement then a max 0.3mm (preferably 0.1-0.2mm) shouldn't be there, as this should be more then enough to let the wheel move freely. As you can see in HoiHman his video is that he has a movement of 1mm or more, this is way out of preferable tolerances. This can be seen by your CS people as well, but maybe they don't have a carpenters eye. Therefor maybe it's advisable to put a measuring tape next to it in the video, to make it more easily visible how much the movement is?
Again... tolerances and tolerances. At the very least there shouldn't be a knocking sound coming from the wheel, while still being able to move easily. As we can both agree on as I've read. Now I hope your CS people will agree as well for the many customers. ;)
 
Can't believe that explanation Thomas. I have some knowledge of RC-Cars which have ball bearings and moving parts as well. There has nothing to be lose to avoid that it is getting stuck. Not logical to me...
 
Fanatec...
The movement on some wheels (as shown in some videos) could be smaller but we actually tolerated the gaps as it does not affect gameplay according to all beta testers..
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does anyone remember any beta tester mentioning anything about this movement? i have a very bad memory at the moment and i dont know all of the beta testers, but does anyone remember any beta testers mentioning this, im sure even if there was a small movement they would have mentioned it wether it affected gameplay or not? or have they mentioned it already and its just my bad memory at fault?

did any of the reviewers mention it either?

edit oh sorry thomas were the beta testers only allowed to tell you about things like this and not to the public while testing?
 
thehawk05
I find it quite disappointing about that response.....I'd be fuming and demanding a refund.

It would be really lame if this is some sort of brush off tactic due to the fact the CSR E is currently sold out. Seems odd that 3 weeks ago people like myself were easily getting replacements sent out when they were still in stock but now it's being deemed to be spec? That's not cool.

If you have no stock to offer replacements fine.....just be honest and tell customers that but at the very least offer to take care of them when you do get them in stock again.

On my first wheel I was able to fix the play of the bearing moving back and forth inside it's locator hole and was almost going to keep the wheel as it was working awesome. After some thought though I chose to file for a replacement because I felt like I was settling for something that was subpar for the money I spent.
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Do you have a post we can go to that tells how to fix this ourselves? mine is loose but i dont care to send it back if its just a quick fix, i dont think its bad now but in case it gets worse i'd like to look into it
 

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