CSR Elite wheel: 3 steps forward and 2 steps back.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Troysloth
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12thgear
First, I'm not made of money, though I wish I was. Secondly, I never noticed any flex in the CSR design rim and I think the only reason we're talking about this is because of the aforementioned YouTube video. Finally, the T500RS is an example of a great rim, but at $600 MSRP (~$500 street) it still has tons of compromises in its design as well.

Anyway, it's your money and you should spend it how you see fit. If the rim turns you off, I'm not trying to convince you otherwise. You have your eye on the CSW anyway, as I recall?
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I was not directing my comment at you mate, just noticed something you said and know others were thinking alike. Hence I pointed towards it. I figured you would make an angry or at least annoyed comment towards me though but left any explanation out hoping it would end differently. Figures how easy people are to figure out on emotional level, especially during the stresses of Christmas. Anyhow, it was a general comment.

I had my eye on both. Of course i'll be reviewing the CSW and thus have more interest in that at the moment, but as the CSR Elite is a sister wheel I am also paying attention to it. On another note the reason I had my eye on it was simple, since I bought FM4 with the almost free MS Speed wheel I started to like the game and was maybe thinking of buying an CSR Elite somewhere next year. Maybe I will do so when a better rim comes out... who knows. Maybe i'll just get a GT2 instead.

I am starting to sympathize with the people here that aren't positive about Fanatec though. They get burned at the stake if they don't watch out. lol

I will stay hopeful and wish for a V2 to be released with better rim in the future, I will probably buy one that. ;)
 
Burned at the stake? LOL. Well I'm from New England, so that explains that. I actually wasn't annoyed at you at all. Sorry if it came off that way.
 
Fact: the wheelrim is the weakest part of the CSR Elite.

Mine is going RMA due to loose alacantara pads, which make a ticking sound.

I also had a CSR. The reason you don't feel the wheelrim flex on the CSR, is becuase the axle it self has some play on it.

The CSR Elite axle has no play at all, thats why you feel the wheelrim flex.

What we need is a full metal wheel for the CSR Elite, but this might take a year.

@Logiforce, vrolijk kerstmis van Henkus :):)
If you have the CSW (next year) for the PC/PS3 , playing forza 4 with a GT2, is like playing on a 22" when you have a 55" lcd.
 
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@Henkus... ook vrolijk kerstmis... naja... meer lekker als vrolijk soms met al die stress in tegenstelling tot het eten :):)


LOL... I missed the Frex/Flex joke.

What we call a flex here in the Netherland is this though... and that 'wheel' has less flex for a Flex. :P

72411_0020_FLEX3709-115.jpg
 
Interesting my wheel has a slight flex but nowhere near as much as that video, maybe im just not that buff to make it move that much lol. But i never feel any flex in the wheel while driving.

But i do have to agree with most of you here that the wheel rim feels cheap, i have no problem with the center of the rim though. The only thing that really bugs me is the seams and patches of alcantra. The piece together wheel rim seems that it wont last as long as well.

PS the frex/flex joke was awesome lol
 
Spagetti69
Simple communication error.

Public wanted a wheel like a Frex.
Thomas mistook for Flex.
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That's a good one 👍





LogiForce
I am starting to sympathize with the people here that aren't positive about Fanatec though. They get burned at the stake if they don't watch out. lol
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Careful now, "the Fanaticals" are watching. :D
 
You guys must really "drive angry" if you can even get it to flex even a little bit in game.

Get some gloves and relax your grip, squeezing too hard only makes you slower and less accurate. Same deal with riding motorcycles for those of you who ride, keep a firm but relaxed grip on the throttle for best control.

Even the basic CSR I got to hold me over until the CSW comes out doesn't have and kind of odd flex like that, but again, probably due to driving style.

The CSW is going to be $600 not $650 ($450 for the base and $150 for the wheel) plus shipping of course. Yes, the CSR/CSR-E wheel is very basic and a cheap, but I still don't blame Fanatec fully, I think Microsoft may have had some input on the wheel design as well.
 
Microsoft might have a say in how many buttons there are,how there placed and what color they are,but im sure they had no say in the material the wheel is made from.
 
fatkrakr
Microsoft might have a say in how many buttons there are,how there placed and what color they are,but im sure they had no say in the material the wheel is made from.
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Actually, I heard from a sister-in-law's coworker's godfather's cousin that Microsoft had piles of leftover plastic from all the original RROD Xbox 360s. They melted it down and recycled it into CSR rims. That's the real reason CSR rims are are designed with so much plastic.
 
It is not my grip that I am worried about. My grip is loose. It is just that there will be people out there that do grip like a nutter and/or have the tendency to push and pull the wheel a lot. This causes stress on the plastic and especially on the screw holes that are likely to snap fast with that amount of flex. So it is about making things 'idiot proof'.

Also the reason to not use some aluminum pipe and bend that into shape and welt it then coat it with rubber and put alcantara on a piece of carbon fiber, it really is a decision that is beyond me. Especially since I believe I read somewhere that Thomas said he wanted to put this clearly above and beyond the T500, but take that with a grain of salt as I am far from sure about this statement.
It just is a decision that cost wise doesn't make sense to me at this point in time.

@12thgear: lmao. I hope that is a joke but the color seems right. Haha
 
LogiForce
I am starting to sympathize with the people here that aren't positive about Fanatec though. They get burned at the stake if they don't watch out. lol
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left888
Careful now, "the Fanaticals" are watching. :D
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We lookin' fo you, we gone find you, we gone find you! :sly:

Spagetti69
Simple communication error.

Public wanted a wheel like a Frex.
Thomas mistook for Flex.
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Ah, I see what you did there! :lol:


Wow, that wheel flex is pretty insane! I haven't witnessed that with my wheel, although that's probably because I have the strength of wet paper! :lol:
 
Christmas eve guys... I won't be around for a while.. whoever gets a CSR E over xmas I hope you enjoy it...

Adam!!
 
The way the bottom of the wheel is also moving in the video my first thought was a loose hub. Didn't someone have that issue ? If that's the issue he probably would have figured that out.

a) It shouldn't do that. b) He shouldn't do that. c) I hope he keeps us current on his rim's condition.

Scotty
 
I'm new & might be interested on this wheel but I'm worried about this ball bearings problem after only several hours of gameplay :guilty:
Already several cases...



 
Sorry Troysloth that video looks bad!

are you saying you usually drive like this? if not then deliberately flexing the plastic like this (to prove what?) will cause any plastic materials to deform, it will spring back to it's original position only so many times, but eventually with enough energy (I know you weren't trying hard :)) it will become weeker and inelasticity will ensure the plastic no longer returns to it's original position!

In short the plastic will become deformed and weakened, beyond the yield point and it might even snap!

sure there is flex on my Wheel, but I had to go looking for it, and it has not been an Issue to me when using the wheel as it was designed!
i.e. as a gaming input device.

I can't see anything that's an Issue with the grip and load levels I drive with.

I do agree that the buttons are in the wrong place!

I've had issues with my own and Fanatec have come back to me and offered several solutions to the Audio Issue that I have (faulty jack socket).

also I can see posts from many beta testers saying fanatic is working hard on solving the deadzone Issue on the wheel, as well as some others.

So I think this wheel has Potential. so much that even with these Issues it's still on my rig... why cause it's miles better than what I had before (GT2)


Regarding the follow up posters, I find it tiring to read through so much of this when the thread started was of interest initially.

I't looks like fanatic have come a long way. It used to be just Nvidia and ATI, or PS3 and XBOX, Forza vs GT5 that could stir up so many smart ass derogatory comments (is this really humour), none of which actually bring any value to the thread or help the original poster with his issue. except to reinforce the fact that they may feel victimised through there issue.

it's a cruel world these days...

I wish you one and all, a peaceful and Merry Christmas.

Troysloth, I'm waiting to see what other rims come out and the quality of those products, perhaps in the future the base will provide the platform for better rims and this will become a non Issue.

Good luck with your Wheel and thanks for your input, I have respect for all who have served in there countries forces.
 
So I ended up giving my gt2 wheel to a friend for a xmas present today. And after we set it up I tried a few runs(haven't used it for awhile) and wow I miss the feel of that rim compared to the csr-e it felt alot better and way more sturdy. The gt2 is still no where in the league of the csr-e when it comes to the actually feeling/ffb outputs it provides :) hopefully they come out with some really good wheel options.
 
Jirvin
I'm new & might be interested on this wheel but I'm worried about this ball bearings problem after only several hours of gameplay :guilty:
Already several cases...
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Well thats a wheel with obvious problems and needs replaced.

Ive been using a "beta wheel " for going now 8 weeks, no problems to report, no issues with ballbearings, noises, wobbles, ripples/creases in alacantara. Ive also been pretty hard on it in tests done thus far.

So while like any porduct their will be faulty units I wouldnt worry.

*As for those people flexing the rim beyond the way you would normally hold and use the wheel. Chances are if they keep using excessive forces doing something they shouldnt it is possible they could damage the PCB within the wheel rim.
 
Mr Latte
Well thats a wheel with obvious problems and needs replaced.

Ive been using a "beta wheel " for going now 8 weeks, no problems to report, no issues with ballbearings, noises, wobbles, ripples/creases in alacantara. Ive also been pretty hard on it in tests done thus far.

So while like any porduct their will be faulty units I wouldnt worry.

*As for those people flexing the rim beyond the way you would normally hold and use the wheel. Chances are if they keep using excessive forces doing something they shouldnt it is possible they could damage the PCB within the wheel rim.
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The flexing is barely noticable when driving, but mine alacantara pads are loose and make a crispy and ticking sound with normal driving.

I do have one other issue in forza 4 :

in every corner, with every car the wheel gives very noticable tick, which is very annoying. You feel it, hear it and its not ffb game related, i even have it on oval tracks.

Have you experienced anything like that Mr Latte in Forza 4 ?
 
HoiHman
The flexing is barely noticable when driving, but mine alacantara pads are loose and make a crispy and ticking sound with normal driving.

I do have one other issue in forza 4 :

in every corner, with every car the wheel gives very noticable tick, which is very annoying. You feel it, hear it and its not ffb game related, i even have it on oval tracks.

Have you experienced anything like that Mr Latte in Forza 4 ?
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yes it's a known Issue, which I believe is being addressed in a firmware fix.
 
gslooney
yes it's a known Issue, which I believe is being addressed in a firmware fix.
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Glad to hear it's firmware and not hardware related. Didn't know it was a known issue though, i guess i missed that one.

Still gonna have to RMA my CSR Elite due the loose alcantara pads though.:grumpy:

It's gonna be hard to send the wheel back and wait again untill it returns.
 
HoiHman
Glad to hear it's firmware and not hardware related. Didn't know it was a known issue though, i guess i missed that one.

Still gonna have to RMA my CSR Elite due the loose alcantara pads though.:grumpy:

It's gonna be hard to send the wheel back and wait again untill it returns.
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Do you have to send back the entire kit or will they just let you remove and exchange the wheel?
 
HoiHman
The flexing is barely noticable when driving, but mine alacantara pads are loose and make a crispy and ticking sound with normal driving.

I do have one other issue in forza 4 :

in every corner, with every car the wheel gives very noticable tick, which is very annoying. You feel it, hear it and its not ffb game related, i even have it on oval tracks.

Have you experienced anything like that Mr Latte in Forza 4 ?
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My wheel has a click/tick noise from the alcantara area sometimes too depending on how I grip it durning turns
 
12thgear
Do you have to send back the entire kit or will they just let you remove and exchange the wheel?
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I think they will repair the wheelrim, but i will probably have to send in the whole wheel.
 
You guys are too quick to trust a guy with 1 post (troyslough or whatever his name is). :crazy:

I'd feel much more confident if this review was written by an experienced member of this community

At least that guy from iRacing forums that wrote his CSR-E review is a well respected member of the community with a super high iRating (meaning he is dangerous opponent on the field)

This is why when I conducted the csr-e testing poll I only accepted votes from established members 👍
 

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