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- Toronto
- SignsOfChaos
- SignsOfChaos
I received my CSR today. I got it late in the afternoon and I'm working afternoon shift so I didn't get time to bolt it to my rig to give it a try but I did unbox it to check out it's construction and such.
Impressions:
There's too much being made of the "cheap plastic" parts of the rim. The pictures online don't show it but it should be made clear: Although the gloss black portions are indeed plastic it it not low grade or flimsy in anyway....it feels very solid and is not snapped together....it is secured by numerous screws. The seam is very smooth and is of no concern (at least in my eyes) Also of note.....this is not molded gloss black plastic. The plastic areas of the wheel rim are actually painted gloss black and finished very well giving a richness to the finish. The finish matches the gloss black *painted finish of the base housing. Alcantara on the whole wheel would have been the bees knees but the design choice here is perfectly acceptable and unique looking.
All the buttons on the wheel have a nice tactile action to them and have a solid click when pressed. None of the buttons feel anything like what is on my PWTS.
The shifter paddles are IMMENSELY improved over previous Fanatec wheels. They are easy to reach, have a comfortable shape and just plain feel great when engaging them for gear changes. If you have tried the paddles on the G25/27 and like those you will love these. They're the best feeling shifter paddles on any wheel I've tried.
The joystick is a bit of a wet noodle. It's a bit sloppy as it has a fair amount of play in it. However it should be noted it is not an analogue joystick.....when you push it in a given direction it's actually actuating a tactile button. It's basically a D-Pad but done differently. The joystick is the only thing that feels a bit out of place in terms of a quality feel compared to the rest of the wheel.
The wheel itself feels very nice in your hands. The grips feel natural and ergonomically designed. The rubber section doesn't feel cheap or gummy and the alcantara pads are comfortable to hold. The wheel also has a lot less play in the shaft compared to my PWTS. My PWTS wheel can be wiggled around a bit up and down but this one has very little movement at all. The wheel itself is 1/8'' aluminum with a nice brushed finish and has very little flex.
The gloss black base with orange/red vents looks great and the finish is top notch.
Thats all for now until a test drive but so far I'm liking what I've experienced so far.
Edit: After some testing
Just did a few laps on Forza 4 right after doing some with my PWTS. Transferred all my PWTS settings to the CSR.
As I mentioned earlier....the wheel feels great in your hands and at least for me anyway has a nice comfortable and natural grip.....I don't feel like I'm doing anything unnatural in terms of my grip so it's easy to have your hands relax which makes driving easier. The way your thumbs hook around the grips makes it really easy to control the wheel when the FFB gets strong.
Speaking of FFB it feels stronger to me than my PWTS. It also feels more refined so to speak. I think the combination of the lighter wheel and perhaps some tweaking on the motor control electronics by Fanatec has this providing the best FFB of any Fanatec wheel to date. The differences are not mind blowing compared to previous products but they are noticeable. Shaun Cole on ISR talked about feeling the subtleties with the CSR and I think he nailed the observation. You notice very subtle changes in the FFB in this wheel when vehicle dynamics are going through small changes.....things like small bumps, momentary losses of grip, when the front of the car gets light over minute elevation changes....that sort of stuff. I think the older Porsche wheels with the higher center mass absorbed and perhaps took away some of that but with this wheel being so light and made with the materials it is made from does a better job of transferring that stuff. Same goes for the vibration motors in the wheel rim that provide ABS vibtration....it is more pronounced in this wheel than my PWTS. And it goes without saying that the FFB is butter smooth and feels natural like a real car .
The paddle shifters are superb.....there's nothing more to say there. In my mind they're the new standard for feel, comfort and ergonomic location. Many people have asked about the button placement. Being 6 feet tall I don't have small hands so I didnt find the button location a problem for me.....I could easily reach any of the four red buttons with my thumbs without shifting my grip.
All in all I really love the wheel and consider it a step up from my PWTS in every way except for one thing:
And here's my gripe. For some reason or another this wheel makes a very annoying, high pitched whining noise when in XBOX mode. Its not the fans either...it is something else entirely. And it's not quiet either. If you play at low volume you'll clearly hear it and it will likely annoy you. Its a similar sound Ive heard to when a fan is going bad in a PC. The sound apears to be coming from the FFB area of the wheel......be it the FFB motor or it's controller. Its hard to tell without cracking it open to investigate. My PWTS is dead quiet in comparison. I know many others have complained about the problem to Fanatec on the 911wheel.de blog and Fanatec has responded by saying they are looking to a solution for it as it doesn't make the same sound in PC or PS3 mode. Hopefully its something that can be fixed with a firmware update.
Also of note....my wheel up to this point anyway is not experiencing the settings save issue that some others have complained about.
So there you have it. Now excuse me while I go do some Forza.
Impressions:
There's too much being made of the "cheap plastic" parts of the rim. The pictures online don't show it but it should be made clear: Although the gloss black portions are indeed plastic it it not low grade or flimsy in anyway....it feels very solid and is not snapped together....it is secured by numerous screws. The seam is very smooth and is of no concern (at least in my eyes) Also of note.....this is not molded gloss black plastic. The plastic areas of the wheel rim are actually painted gloss black and finished very well giving a richness to the finish. The finish matches the gloss black *painted finish of the base housing. Alcantara on the whole wheel would have been the bees knees but the design choice here is perfectly acceptable and unique looking.
All the buttons on the wheel have a nice tactile action to them and have a solid click when pressed. None of the buttons feel anything like what is on my PWTS.
The shifter paddles are IMMENSELY improved over previous Fanatec wheels. They are easy to reach, have a comfortable shape and just plain feel great when engaging them for gear changes. If you have tried the paddles on the G25/27 and like those you will love these. They're the best feeling shifter paddles on any wheel I've tried.
The joystick is a bit of a wet noodle. It's a bit sloppy as it has a fair amount of play in it. However it should be noted it is not an analogue joystick.....when you push it in a given direction it's actually actuating a tactile button. It's basically a D-Pad but done differently. The joystick is the only thing that feels a bit out of place in terms of a quality feel compared to the rest of the wheel.
The wheel itself feels very nice in your hands. The grips feel natural and ergonomically designed. The rubber section doesn't feel cheap or gummy and the alcantara pads are comfortable to hold. The wheel also has a lot less play in the shaft compared to my PWTS. My PWTS wheel can be wiggled around a bit up and down but this one has very little movement at all. The wheel itself is 1/8'' aluminum with a nice brushed finish and has very little flex.
The gloss black base with orange/red vents looks great and the finish is top notch.
Thats all for now until a test drive but so far I'm liking what I've experienced so far.
Edit: After some testing
Just did a few laps on Forza 4 right after doing some with my PWTS. Transferred all my PWTS settings to the CSR.
As I mentioned earlier....the wheel feels great in your hands and at least for me anyway has a nice comfortable and natural grip.....I don't feel like I'm doing anything unnatural in terms of my grip so it's easy to have your hands relax which makes driving easier. The way your thumbs hook around the grips makes it really easy to control the wheel when the FFB gets strong.
Speaking of FFB it feels stronger to me than my PWTS. It also feels more refined so to speak. I think the combination of the lighter wheel and perhaps some tweaking on the motor control electronics by Fanatec has this providing the best FFB of any Fanatec wheel to date. The differences are not mind blowing compared to previous products but they are noticeable. Shaun Cole on ISR talked about feeling the subtleties with the CSR and I think he nailed the observation. You notice very subtle changes in the FFB in this wheel when vehicle dynamics are going through small changes.....things like small bumps, momentary losses of grip, when the front of the car gets light over minute elevation changes....that sort of stuff. I think the older Porsche wheels with the higher center mass absorbed and perhaps took away some of that but with this wheel being so light and made with the materials it is made from does a better job of transferring that stuff. Same goes for the vibration motors in the wheel rim that provide ABS vibtration....it is more pronounced in this wheel than my PWTS. And it goes without saying that the FFB is butter smooth and feels natural like a real car .
The paddle shifters are superb.....there's nothing more to say there. In my mind they're the new standard for feel, comfort and ergonomic location. Many people have asked about the button placement. Being 6 feet tall I don't have small hands so I didnt find the button location a problem for me.....I could easily reach any of the four red buttons with my thumbs without shifting my grip.
All in all I really love the wheel and consider it a step up from my PWTS in every way except for one thing:
And here's my gripe. For some reason or another this wheel makes a very annoying, high pitched whining noise when in XBOX mode. Its not the fans either...it is something else entirely. And it's not quiet either. If you play at low volume you'll clearly hear it and it will likely annoy you. Its a similar sound Ive heard to when a fan is going bad in a PC. The sound apears to be coming from the FFB area of the wheel......be it the FFB motor or it's controller. Its hard to tell without cracking it open to investigate. My PWTS is dead quiet in comparison. I know many others have complained about the problem to Fanatec on the 911wheel.de blog and Fanatec has responded by saying they are looking to a solution for it as it doesn't make the same sound in PC or PS3 mode. Hopefully its something that can be fixed with a firmware update.
Also of note....my wheel up to this point anyway is not experiencing the settings save issue that some others have complained about.
So there you have it. Now excuse me while I go do some Forza.
