Fanatec CSW/CSR Elite Modders Thread *UPDATE February 2014*

  • Thread starter eKretz
  • 3,600 comments
  • 586,118 views
Probably not I'm guessing as it would mean one wouldn't have to buy a formula/bmw wheel and I doubt that Fanatec would let that happen.


Jerome
 
Not sure, but I will check the pinout when I get a chance and let you know. Even if the wiring could be made to work though, the mounting mechanics are different... So you'd need to have a QC (or not so Q) adapter made up or get or make some CSW parts to swap on. I like the direction that the Japanese blogger is going with his CSR Elite wheel adapter - did you see his latest work that I recently linked in the first post?
 
polonord
Hello guys, i'm desperately searching for the CSW rim (BMW) fast-release pinout. I had to change some of those pins and some cables got disconnected, as you know already there's the 13 pins circular connector, while only 8 of them are connected to the internal flat cable. Anyone with a schematic?
Click to expand...

I don't have a schematic, but would it help if I gave you a picture showing where the wires go? I can pull mine apart and get a photo for you if that will help. I only have a formula rim, but I'm sure they're the same, since they have all the same buttons and the same connector.
 
eKretz
Not sure, but I will check the pinout when I get a chance and let you know. Even if the wiring could be made to work though, the mounting mechanics are different... So you'd need to have a QC (or not so Q) adapter made up or get or make some CSW parts to swap on. I like the direction that the Japanese blogger is going with his CSR Elite wheel adapter - did you see his latest work that I recently linked in the first post?
Click to expand...

Yea I translated his website a while back, pretty cool stuff.


Jerome
 
Dean the first 25110 in that datasheet looks like it would be close, but it does draw a good bit more current than the stock motors do, so it would likely clip since the stock power supply would run out of headroom - they would run hotter than the stock motors also. (So more/worse heat fade). Two of those motors together at stall would probably pull the stock power supply voltage down far enough to substantially weaken the felt torque at the wheel. So in short, those would not work very well with the stock power supply, and if an aftermarket power supply was used, it would likely run the motors extremely hot and they would probably eat themselves alive also.

If we used the thermistor trick to cut max pulse width they might be workable though. Anybody knows where to get a couple I'll try them out and report back.
 
Last edited:
Okay - I noticed that the numbers didn't quite match up, I just didn't know what the effect would be. This makes me wonder what plan Fanatec might have for replacing failing motors in the future unless they are sitting on a mountain of them. It seems as though some people believe that any version of these motors will work and can be had dirt cheap. They might be in for disappointment regarding the results.

Thank you, I look forward to hearing more about your projects.
 
Why dont you use watercooling? I have seen your work eKretz, than it shouldn't be that hard to make cooling blocks that completely surround the motors (says the guy with two left hands).
 
People stuff their PC case full with water straight above their PSU (i always wondered). The problem is the blocks. Never ever in my life i have seen round or bend blocks. In that way air should be the only solution. Im following this threat with great attention. Keep on doing the good job. From now on i hush :)
 
Bkim
People stuff their PC case full with water straight above their PSU (i always wondered). The problem is the blocks. Never ever in my life i have seen round or bend blocks. In that way air should be the only solution. Im following this threat with great attention. Keep on doing the good job. From now on i hush :)
Click to expand...

If you look through this thread you will see that I actually did design water jackets for the motors and water blocks for the drive MOSFETs.

https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/thre...e-modders-thread-update-1-2014.274631/page-12

But with the cost of copper so high, not to mention the cost of machining them, I decided to go in the direction of air cooling - at very least for testing first. Aside from that - the way I set up the air cooling it is removing heat directly from inside the motor - straight from the armature and brushes. Water cooling only removes heat from the can - after its already soaked into the armature and every other part of the motor. If I could circulate a cooling fluid through my air passages we'd really have something, but the motors aren't, and really can't be made fluid-tight - the fluid would likely escape through the bearings even if they were sealed bearings rather than shielded.

Water cooling in a PC is a bit easier - there's significantly more room in a PC case then in the CSW/Elite wheel housing. Needing to make all the ancillary cooling parts external is trouble - children and pets could gnaw on, yank on and/or trip over them, etc.

I may yet try a set of prototype water cooling parts, but they will probably be from aluminum. That's why I asked a few posts back if anybody had any old water cooling parts such as radiators, etc. that they didn't want or had replaced, etc.
 
Last edited:
Yup, will be testing with a bunch of different sims today just to make sure everything is good to go before I ship it back to Jerome (Jump Ace). I got it all back together again last night after the little guy went to bed. Hard to work on stuff when he's awake because he is constantly in my business, lol. He is definitely daddy's boy. I can't even leave the room without him running after me to see where I'm going and what I'm doing, and he of course always wants to "help" with anything I'm doing.

Anyways - here are a few pics and a short vid of the first complete startup I sent to Jerome:









I discovered that the FF setting was only at 60 after I took the vid, that's why the startup looks a little sluggish at the end. I turned it to 100 and tried again and got the little snap back to center I had expected.
 
Last edited:
It has a 2-rib. Since his wheel is going to be using the thermistor "trick" it will probably be sufficient. If he ends up wanting more strength later it'd probably be a good idea to swap to a 3-rib. For you I'd recommend the same, since you also want to use that setup. I'll see how it fares in testing today though...
 
Well, that's definitely unique. I think the name you were looking for is Nylatron. It's molybdenum disulfide impregnated nylon.
 
eKretz
Well, that's definitely unique. I think the name you were looking for is Nylatron. It's molybdenum disulfide impregnated nylon.
Click to expand...
Haha yeah thats the stuff :) And i only modded it cause i snapped the wheel off in the back of the hub,being the "no funding" type it was all free:)👍 But is a lot more immersive with a 14 inch wheel.
 
i have a quick question, dont know if it would be possible or not but, would it be possible to get into the firmware of the wheel and raise the maximum amount of lock? (obviosly this would require some phisical mods aswell) or even remove the stop mecanism and be able to set rotation to anything you desire? or is it nececary to have the stopper for the wheel to calibrate?
just a wild tought
 
There are no hard stops on the csw. So technically yes you can have any lock you want. The problem I believe is cracking the firmware. Don't think anyone has dove into that yet. I think It is coming though.
 
Yup, at end of travel there is definitely a hard stop. The collar on that big screw could be removed to eliminate the hard stop, but the problem with that is the wiring from the base to the wheel would end up getting twisted off its socket if you went too much more. The electronic side of that would probably have to be an add on module to the optical sensor or done in the firmware.
 
eKretz
the problem with that is the wiring from the base to the wheel would end up getting twisted off its socket if you went too much more. The electronic side of that would probably have to be an add on module to the optical sensor or done in the firmware.
Click to expand...

ah yes of course, but i wouldnt have that problem as there are no wires runing from the base to my wheel, all my buttons are mounted off to the side of the base

i beleive the hard stops on the CSW are exacltly the same as the CSR-e
 
Last edited:
OK guys, in the process of working on Jerome's wheel I've discovered that the output to the motors is different from the CSW to the Elite. I've done some more poking around with the old oscilloscope and discovered that the Elite seems to never hit 100% pulse width outside a game - this may be different in-game. Edit: yup. In-game it hits 100%. The CSW will hit 100% even with the USB unplugged just rotating against the soft stops. At the same temperature that the CSW cuts pulse width to 88%, the Elite cuts to practically nil. When the Elite gets warm enough to just cut pulse width to limit heat, it cuts to 72% and stays there. It doesn't come back to max unless you restart the wheel - at least not in the time I was willing to wait - maybe it does after a set amount of time. I am taking a few shots of my scope screen tonight to show you guys - I should have them up tonight or tomorrow. I've been busy racing with Jerome's wheel to prove it out and make sure there are no issues. So far it's been through Forza 4 (360), GT5 (PS3), Race Room (PC) and F1 2013 (PC) with no issues all night. Fixing the air passage clamp so it has the proper center distance did help with keeping things cooler, seems to be working very well. Motors are getting pretty warm but I'm still able to hold my hand on them... This is very good.
 
Last edited:

Latest Posts

Back