A Direct Drive Wheel for UNDER $400...

  • Thread starter Leadfoot53
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super_gt
And is cheaper than Fanatec CSW Base V2.5 đź‘Ť
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Damn...Your right. At least in € Hopefully this will pressure Fanatec to lower its prices... especially upcoming DD.

Really would like to see these 2 wheels head 2 head.
 
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Looks nice, the rim looks a little small though. And unlimited rotation? I hope it can do soft lock, I like to know when the wheel has reached full rotation.
 
Do wish them well but don't hold much hope for this after the videos over the past month - hard pass.

I get thats a crappy attitude to show toward a new product/company but I'm sorry, the demos showed over the past month were bad and the options available from reputable companies easily outweigh the risk.
 
This is great news! More competition in the market really can't be anything but good news.

But with one caveat:

Fidelity >>> Torque. Reading that description of 4x the torque of a T500 and all I can think is "whyyyyyyyyy???" The T500 already has a LOT of torque, and unless you want to risk physical-injury to your hands (like RL racing drivers), then I just don't see the point. I would rather see manufacturers put the effort into other areas - better pedals, better shifters, and better wheel-ffb instead of just MORE.
 
panjandrum
This is great news! More competition in the market really can't be anything but good news.

But with one caveat:

Fidelity >>> Torque. Reading that description of 4x the torque of a T500 and all I can think is "whyyyyyyyyy???" The T500 already has a LOT of torque, and unless you want to risk physical-injury to your hands (like RL racing drivers), then I just don't see the point. I would rather see manufacturers put the effort into other areas - better pedals, better shifters, and better wheel-ffb instead of just MORE.
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If you have a more capable motor the fidelity will improve. You can think about it in the same manner as you would with speakers. You can play music on a cheap bluetooth speaker or you can stream it to your livingroom speakers... also called "Hi-Fi" or High Fidelity speakers.

Of course different motors/speakers will have a different quality to them, and how well these are driven matters as well. In general the more watts maximum a motor/speaker can handle, the better it will be for the fidelity of the speaker. Also the lower the resistance the better.

Besides, just like with your Hi-Fi setup in the livingroom you won't be setting a DD wheel to its maximum either. I mean, with the Hi-Fi you can damage your ears and with the DD wheel you could damage your hands.
In other words, you also have to use a bit of common sense here and be sensible in how you operate your devices in order to not cause harm to yourself or others.
 
Leggacy
Looks nice, the rim looks a little small though. And unlimited rotation? I hope it can do soft lock, I like to know when the wheel has reached full rotation.
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Don't worry, it will definately soft lock. Every wheel softlocks if you set it to a lower rotation than it's built for. :)
 
Whitestar
Where on earth is Fanatec's Podium? I'm just waiting for that (and a review of the SW7C) before making my mind up.
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Thomas Jackermeier
"Knowing how much it costs to build such a product and what it takes to run a company they will have my honest and full respect if they come up with decent and high quality products and worldwide logistics and service.

If they really can get official licenses from Sony and MS which took as many years to get then they deserve even more respect.

We certainly do take any competition seriously but it does not influence our product development. We already put all our efforts into it and there is not much we can do to speed up our DD development."

For me SW7C is very tempting but with perfectly working T150 and brand new CSL Elite I can not justify buying a new wheel.
By the way, it is time to have a separate thread for this wheel.
 
I've been thinking. Whatever DD wheel I should get, it will always be better than my current G27. So I can't go wrong with the FeelVR DD wheel.
 
kikie
I've been thinking. Whatever DD wheel I should get, it will always be better than my current G27. So I can't go wrong with the FeelVR DD wheel.
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For me Plug & play is very important. The Logitech wheels are the most plug & play wheels out there, so you probably never had very much problems with install, settings etc. I just want to help you remind to not underestimate that before pulling the trigger. That is why I might seem critical with all these new DD options. I am looking for as little time spent on install and settings, tuning etc. as I possibly can.
 
PocketZeven
For me Plug & play is very important. The Logitech wheels are the most plug & play wheels out there, so you probably never had very much problems with install, settings etc. I just want to help you remind to not underestimate that before pulling the trigger. That is why I might seem critical with all these new DD options. I am looking for as little time spent on install and settings, tuning etc. as I possibly can.
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Yes plug & play is a very important feature but that is not what I was saying. I mean that whatever DD wheel brand I should get, regardeless of plug & play, it will always be a better solution compared to the G27 >>> realisme, latency, a direct feeling, fidelity, smoothness, acceleration etc .... .
 
kikie
Yes plug & play is a very important feature but that is not what I was saying. I mean that whatever DD wheel brand I should get, regardeless of plug & play, it will always be a better solution compared to the G27 >>> realisme, latency, a direct feeling, fidelity, smoothness, acceleration etc .... .
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The difference between any direct drive wheel and your G27 will be huge.
 
PocketZeven
Still looks like a prototype to me or a design my 6 year old son drew with crayon. I really thought they would clean up the design. A matter of taste I guess.
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Well the red parts would have to go. :D
But other than that it looks decent I think.
 
kikie
Yes plug & play is a very important feature but that is not what I was saying. I mean that whatever DD wheel brand I should get, regardeless of plug & play, it will always be a better solution compared to the G27 >>> realisme, latency, a direct feeling, fidelity, smoothness, acceleration etc .... .
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DD is still rather new to me. Still in doubt but I think Fanatec DD1 is my best choice. Why? Hopefully the marketed ease of use, proven (also local) service/support, supported software titles, huge install base vs other DD vendors (CSW/CSL etc). Fanatec knows how to deal with mass updates etc.

Other new DD manufacturers may be cheaper but it is still 'not a pakje butter'. Hopefully my € will be best spend when going for Fanatec? Time will tell.
Or go for Accuforce, Simucube/OSW? I like the easier compatability with existing Fanatec wheels. E.g. the McLaren GT3 wheel.

And I listened carefully to the wise words of @PocketZeven : just wait :nervous:
 
At the moment I'm still leaning towards @Fanatec... 's DD. Depends on what the difference between DD1 and DD2 will be. Is it the torque of will the DD2 perform better overall?

Accuforce is out of the question because of three things:

  • Simcomander is too complicated (saw it at a friend's place when I could try out his AF).
  • Stepper motor
  • Transport, import duties and other taxes makes this wheel waaaaay tooooo expensive.

OSW seems to be to complicated to set up and I don't like the extra box.

FeelVR, mmmm .......... .
 
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No doubt the DD1 looks like the most attractive option. But for me an OSW would be a lot cheaper given that I don't have any Fanatec gear from before. I still haven't ruled out the Feel VR either. Apparently you get some really nice pedals with that.

Oh the agony of choice...
or
Hooray, we have lots of choices!
 

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