Fanatec GT3 RS V2....My Experience

[pgagoober]

So I've found just one little glitch. When I turn the wheel very slightly left/right of center I hear a clicking sound from inside the wheel base. It sounds like a creaky spring. Once you get past an inch or two in either direction there is no more noise. It's most noticeable when making small adjustments on a straight. Anyone else come across this ? It's minor but I'd love to fix it if possible.

 

[JerkinJohn]

Funny stuff! Hope you feel better John.

Ouch, sorry to hear that. Hope they can take care of it fast for you. Good luck !!

Hope you are feeling better.....Sounds painfull.

Thanks guys! Pray ya's never get a kidney stone! They compare the pain to child birth ( Not that we would know what that feels like) but it is extremely painful! Hopefully through the worst of it!


Time for a some negative feedback on this awesome wheel and CSP.

First, my centering trick does work but I sometimes have to turn the wheel on and off a couple of times to get it. IMO when you turn the wheel on it should stop at center by it's self. Just sayin...

Second, when using the GT3 with iRacing the FFB is very strong and precise 👍 But with some vehicles it is a bit to much FFB. I ran a few time trails with the wheel set to high with a ford spec car and thus created a problem.

Although I think it's okay now (Hopefully)

Apparently there has been issues with the wire harness of the wheel controls hitting or rubbing against the internal fan (shown here) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypfuuO5LF5Q

I believe from the strong FFB with this specific car I was using in iRacing it caused this issue for a brief time. Because that's what it sounded like. Something rubbing the fan blades inside the housing and it was loud and alarming I must say. But it was brief and hasn't done it since or with any other car or sim since.

So I will keep an eye on it for sure.

And third, is my clutch (which is really the gas pedal) is squeaking like crazy. I tried shooting some bike lube in there but I can't get the right angle and am going to have to take them out of my pod and probably take them apart again to get a good lube job on them! Just a PITA and would think that they would all be plenty enough pre lubed from the factory. Just my opinion.

Other than these 3 things I'm am loving my fanatec products!!!


pgagoober: Good review and I'm happy for you that you are liking them so much! They really do bring our hobby to a new and more realistic level! Keep us posted!

 

[andresm1126]

Just got to try the wheel today and let me just say, it is freaking awesome. Specially the pedals, I got used to the load cell pedal extremely quick and the abs vibration is great for breaking in F1 2010.
The only bad part is that my playseat revolution does not have holes for the fanatec wheel so I'm gonna have to drill them, but so far I'm loving my first experience with a wheel and a set of pedals

 

[Welda]

Great find and review John....I am glad someone had the nads to open one up....Looks like a simple fix...I hope Fanatec look's @ these issues...Honestly I dont hear any squeaking, only because the volume in the Turtlebeach's is usualy cranked lol, but today I will take them off and run a few race's. did you get the pedal tuning kit? I think it comes with Brass Bushings, I think these would cure any issues with squeaking, but I am not sure. But it would be a nice thing to have, I am ordering it now. I think the springs would be good for customizing anyway... At one point the fan did have a slight noise(more like a slight vibration) thats what caught my attention. But then cleared up, could have been this because that is when I noticed it heating up a little. Does the cover just slip off that easily?? I agree with you on the centering...it should, but your trick works sweet:tup: it took me a few time's...but now have it down.
One thing that impressed me though was the looks of the belt drive, that thing looks like the drive belt on my Harley

 

[Welda]

Just got to try the wheel today and let me just say, it is freaking awesome. Specially the pedals, I got used to the load cell pedal extremely quick and the abs vibration is great for breaking in F1 2010.
The only bad part is that my playseat revolution does not have holes for the fanatec wheel so I'm gonna have to drill them, but so far I'm loving my first experience with a wheel and a set of pedals

Yes....it is "Freaking Awesome"

 

[JerkinJohn]

Alright well I took the housing off the wheel base ( the plastic cover ) and I now see a metal cover for that fan and it is protecting the fan from the wire harness. There is also a little tiny fan that is for the exhaust vent on the top of the plastic cover. The wheel gets it's greatest workout with iRacing in my experience so far. I just did 15 laps with the ford spec car with the cover off the wheel and not a peep from the wheel so far.

Now I am wondering what that sound was yesterday. It seems to me that the wheel can exhaust the heat from the motor a lot better without the cover on it. So for now I will leave it off ( I may just leave it that way permanently ) and I have a flash light handy while driving so if it makes that sound again I can quickly take a look and see if I can see anything obvious. Like I said it sure sounded like a wire rubbing against a fan blade but idk... Hope this wheel is okay and lasts a while.


The incredibly annoying squeak from the gas and clutch ( brake is fine ) is good now. I pulled them out of the pod and practically soaked them in liquid wrench and WD-40. Not the black part were the metal bar slides in but the bar that the pedals pivot on. During the day the squeak wasn't so bad but late at night it would keep the hole house up! lol... Had to get rid of it. I also had the issue with the gas sensor but I fixed that and has been working perfect since.

A little unsettling though that I have to work on this stuff so much when it's only about a week in a half old. I do get some fun out of figuring out issues and fixing them but I just wouldn't think I would have to with fanatecs products.


I will take some pics of the wheel so you guy's will be able to see what the inside looks like without taking yours apart if you don't want. It's very easy to take the plastic housing off except one screw that's behind the wheel and really can't get to. But I'm not going to share how I handled that. lol...

You just need a small allen key but it has to be pretty long to get to 2 of the screws that are towards the front of the wheel. They are metric of course and I didn't have a metric long enough for those 2 screws I'm talking about so I used an american allen key that was and a close enough fit to unscrew them.

I'm going to do a lot of driving today to see if the wheel makes that noise again. Pedals are perfect now and the wheel is performing awesome.

 

[JerkinJohn]

Here are the pics... Notice the main motor fan now has a metal cover for protection. My camera bites on close ups though.

 

[Welda]

Thank you for that info John...I do think the heat issue is a circulation, maybe the holes on the mesh are too small...if you could...while you have it off, take a pic of the cover from inside, wondering how the mesh is fastened to the housing...might be as simple as putting a couple pieces of expanded aluminum.... with bigger holes to allow for better circ. Glad you got the squeks fixed.
Obviously Fanatec is trying to fix any problems with there products...evidence in the fan shroud...great fix. Hope you find the noise.

 

[JerkinJohn]

Here are the pics you asked for. I think I might leave my cover off since I know it will get plenty of air and in case something does go wrong. It hasn't made that sound since the cover has been off.

 

[Welda]

Nice....looks like an easy mod that I might attempt, But dont want to have any warranty issues...so I will wait a bit, and try my fan idea. Thanks for the pics. I am still impressed by the look of the belt drive:tup:

 

[Welda]

Any funny sounds??? I played without my headphones and did notice a little squeaking coming from my Gas pedal....I can see how this could get annoying for anybody in the room...and after paying $200 for a set of pedals one would not expect this type of problem...Do you think the higher quality Brass bushings that come with the tuning kit would fix the problem?

 

[JerkinJohn]

Do you think the higher quality Brass bushings that come with the tuning kit would fix the problem?

Very good question! I used about 3 sprays of dry lube liquid wrench and 3 sprays of WD-40 and it worked like a charm. Mine were squeaking from the bar that the pedals pivot on. Not the black box that the metal rod plunges into. In Fanatecs video on there site he shows you how to lube the brake. But my squeak wasn't coming from the same area. And my brake has plenty of lube in it already the way they came.

I did a lot of driving yesterday! iRacing, Race 07 and GT5 and with the cover off the wheel it didn't make that sound again at all. I'm thinking about maybe drilling holes in the original plastic cover to allow for maximum ventilation. I'm thinking that heat might have been the problem the other day.

I noticed before I took the cover off that when the wheel would start getting hot the RPM's of the fans would kick up. I could hear it. Just like the fans on a GPU in your PC.

But with the cover off the fans stayed at one speed all day yesterday. I to use ear phones. Trittons and turtle beaches but I have been using my sound system lately so I can listen for any strange noises.

If I did drill holes in the cover then that would obviously void my warranty but I paid $180.00 for this wheel and if something does go wrong I'm not sure if I even want to go through the return procedure. Have you seen it?

They want you to provide a video of the wheel doing what ever you claim is wrong with it! lol... So maybe modding this wheel is worth the risk for me.

I don't know. I'm just thinking about it. In the mean time I'm going to put the cover back on and see if the sound I heard the other day happens again. But it seems to be good without the cover I pushed the wheel for about 8 hours yesterday without any problems.

 

[JerkinJohn]

I put the cover back on no problem and before doing so I removed the metal ventilation screens. So now they are just holes. But it doesn't look bad at all IMO. Time for testing... Oh and I found this in the manual and it seems to work!

Wheel Center

1. Bring the wheel into PC mode and turn it to its
center position, then press and hold L3 Button and R3
Button at the same time.
3. Press Base Button.
4. Release all three buttons.

Looks like there is a correct way of centering the wheel!

 

[Welda]

I thought that would keep it cooler....thats what I think I am going to do when I get the balls to open it...I have some expanded aluninum mesh with larger openings...I actualy use it it my Nitro RC trucks for the windows, to increase ventilation...I will paint them Black just like the stock mesh. I think it might even look better. but leaving them out will work too. Imo

 

[Welda]

I did see the return procedure...what a joke.

 

[JerkinJohn]

I found the noise! Thank god!

It's nothing major or mechanical with the wheel I am happy to know now. It's coming from the little exhaust fan pictured here. The plastic housing if you will notice has a little strip of one sided padded tape on the inside of it. That is because the housing sits on top of one edge of the little fan.

Now that the mesh is out I can put my finger on the fan and that's it. The housing is putting to much pressure on the little fan and when my wheel gives off strong FFB it vibrates the housing and causes the fan to make this noise.

Couple of options here.

1. There is a way to check your current firmware on the wheel by pressing certain buttons. In doing so you also change the way the fans behave. The way it comes stock is fans on 100% of the time. Or you can have them come on when the motor starts to get to hot. So I could set it to that and only worry about the noise when the wheel is hot and vibrating over bumps, crashes ect...

2. Cut out part of the top of the housing so the fan is totally clear of the housing. But then my warranty would be shot.

Idk... trying to think of the best solution. I could also do away with that fan and mod something with a more affective fan.

The wheel is working great and I am just happy that the noise wasn't coming from the motor. That was my fear because if that was the case I would have to get out the camcorder! lol...

 

[JerkinJohn]

UPDATE If you calibrate the wheel to center as the manual describes the wheel stays that way every time you turn it on! 👍

I managed to turn the fans off and checked my firmware and it's the latest one 168.

Going to test now with the fans set to auto turn on when the wheel gets hot. See how that goes.

 

[TheDabbinDave]

The return procedure requiring video is actually a good thing. It's called "proof". It also helps tech support determine if the unit needs to be replaced or perhaps repaired by the user.

I read a story on Amazon while researching whether or not Dyson was worth the extra cost. Tech support was able to diagnose a suction problem simply by listening to the sound over the phone

Squeaky gas pedal. You guys may be having the same squeak I was. It was coming from the bright aluminum block that the spring bar screws into, it pivots. Put a couple of drops on each side and work it in.

From what I can tell, the brass bushings that come in the CSP Tuning Kit are the same bushings that come with the current model CSP. They look the same and feel the same.

I think it would be cool if Fanatec could develop a ball bearing instead of a solid bushing.

 

[JerkinJohn]

The return procedure requiring video is actually a good thing. It's called "proof". It also helps tech support determine if the unit needs to be replaced or perhaps repaired by the user.

I hear ya that it's a good thing in a way but if it's under warranty it's under warranty and if the customer isn't happy with the product then I would appreciate them trying to remedy it without me getting my hands dirty trying to fix it myself.

If one of my buddies ordered a wheel from them they would have to call me to come over and make a video of the problem (with my phone) because they don't own recording equipment or would even know how to post it on the web.

I'm just saying think of the head ache a father of a 14 year old would have to put up with if he or she's wheel went bad.

Just sort of an odd thing to me to request a video that's all. I have returned parts for my PC and once I'm on the phone with costumer support as long as it's under warranty they just ask for my address to ship a return box out all postage paid for. No questions asked. That's been with EVGA and Intel.

 

[JerkinJohn]

Problem solved!

And the rest of the parts that didn't belong in there! lol...

Might try and find a replacement fan. All I have to do is mount it and plug it in. I'll see how it does first without that little bugger.

 

[Welda]

Very Brave....My fan is also set on auto and that is the only time I feel the vibration, But if I run my little CPU fan...no problems.... I hope that works for you though. I havent been able to run the wheel today, promised the wife But on a lighter not my B-Spec Driver just won a 500mile endurance race.

 

[nick09]

You can easily get a replacement for that fan. It looks like a 40mm fan but you just measure the width from end to end and get the right sized fan. It's a standard two pin fan. You should also get a fan that draws the same power or lower power(wattage or amps) to just be on the safe side.

 

[JerkinJohn]

I just got done running my first league race with my new setup. It's pretty much non stop racing for 3 hours with a little break between the 2 races we run back to back.

Using Race 07 so the FFB is demanding and tough on the wheel. Didn't hear a peep from the wheel the entire time and the wheel performed perfectly. Tonight was it's first true test as I only run that hard during a club/league race.

Didn't seem any hotter than usual and am happy with it's performance. I did well tonight also. Maybe this new hardware is helping this struggling sim racer get quicker.

I am going to look into a new fan but I don't like the design of how they have it now sandwiched in between what looks like a heat sink and the housing. May try to come up with something different but as of right now it's performing great without it. I'll think about it and do some searching onthe web and see what I come up with.

Btw... have you guy's tried the centering of the wheel like the manual says? It works great! Every time I turn my wheel on now it goes right to center! 👍

 

[pgagoober]

Btw... have you guy's tried the centering of the wheel like the manual says? It works great! Every time I turn my wheel on now it goes right to center! 👍

Yup - I tried this last night and it worked perfectly. Previously it would default a little left of center when in PS3 mode but now it's spot-on. Thanks for the tip!

Unfortunately I will have to contact Fanatec about a problem with creaking/resistance when the wheel has been used for a little while. My best guess is there are some parts in there with little to no clearance from each other and when the unit warms up they expand and make contact. It is quite noticeable when the wheel has warmed up. Hopefully Fanatec will ship me a replacement while I keep using the one I have now. Other than that this wheel is a major upgrade from the DFGT.

 

[pgagoober]

👍 Let me know how you like F1 2010. I was thinking of picking that one up myself! I hear it's got a great career mode.

I spent some time with F1 yesterday and so far I like it a lot. It took a while to find some settings that made the car controllable but now that it's dialled in it's pretty cool. I ran a practice session at Bahrain using the higher of the onboard views for better visibility. When I was familiar enough with the track I switched to in-car view and that is quite an experience. I've always know this, but driving in this way really made it clear that F1 drivers have balls of steel You really need to know where you are going at all times and many corners are blind until you're already entering. Overall I would say F1 2010 does a very good job of conveying what it must be like to sit in one of these cars for real.

The AI was a pleasant surprise too - the other cars seems to behave very like you would expect in real life. If you late brake enough to get the inside line on a corner they will not cut you off or ram into you. They move aside nicely during qualifying if they're not on a hot lap. The same seems to happen in practice. I did run one race on intermediate level and got my butt kicked so I've got a lot to learn yet. So far so good though. I'm very glad I bought it! I'm already looking forward to F1 2011 to see what they come up with.

 

[Chibana]

I have to chime in with more praise for the Clubsport pedals. I knew they were good when I ordered them, but wow. Every time I play GT5 I fall more in love with them, especially the brake pedal. It's amazing how much it improves the sim experience compared to the G25 pedals. When I first started reading about mods to the G25 brake pedal and these better pedal sets my response was basically, "Meh, OK." As much as I love the GT3RSV2 wheel (and I do), I think the pedals have made a bigger difference in the sim experience for me. I just wish my shifter would arrive! I don't want to wait for May, dang it.

I actually ended up not using my Fanatec table clamp. I found that the wheel was mounted perfectly (for me) if I simply lined up the front line of the template with the front edge of the wheel mount on the ozone. This put the mounting holes right in front of the tube under the mounting plate, and put the steering wheel in the perfect position for me. I can sit with proper posture in the seat, my back against the back of the seat, and rest my wrists on top of the wheel with my elbows with the perfect amount of bend, just like the instructors taught at the Mid-Ohio racing school I attended years ago. I have the seat all the way back, but I'm 6'3" and have long arms for my height. Of course, that perfect position will be different for everyone, so I could definitely see how the table clamp would be a good thing (which is why I ordered mine to have just in case).

 

[GORDATA2NICE]

JerkinJohn- I have a little problem on my GT3RS V2 Wheel with centering where if I turn the wheel on with the usb cable attached, It does the testing to the right and when returning to center it keeps going and then comes back way off the center and looses its center. If I unplug USB then power it on and plug the USB after its done testing, it goes to the center correctly. I also have a GT2 wheel that doesnt have the problem. Its not a big deal but its annoying.

 

[JerkinJohn]

Unfortunately I will have to contact Fanatec about a problem with creaking/resistance when the wheel has been used for a little while. My best guess is there are some parts in there with little to no clearance from each other and when the unit warms up they expand and make contact. It is quite noticeable when the wheel has warmed up. Hopefully Fanatec will ship me a replacement while I keep using the one I have now

Sorry to hear about your troubles and hopefully you can get things straightened out without to much hassle! Things are a bit tight in there as to be expected. I'm not sure as to what would be causing your problem. There is a lot going on in that little case and it could be anything I suppose. I wish my close up shots were better quality so you could see better as to how things are arranged in there. Good luck!

I spent some time with F1 yesterday and so far I like it a lot.
I switched to in-car view and that is quite an experience. I've always know this, but driving in this way really made it clear that F1 drivers have balls of steel You really need to know where you are going at all times and many corners are blind until you're already entering. Overall I would say F1 2010 does a very good job of conveying what it must be like to sit in one of these cars for real.

I have a few F1 and CART mods for rFactor that I like to run. I wonder how F1 2010 stacks up to those. I'll check on steam and see what they are asking for it but I think I'm going to get it. Sometimes I like to take a breather from the hardcore sims and just have some arcadey fun. Like with NFS Shift for example. Graphics look pretty sweat too! 👍

I actually ended up not using my Fanatec table clamp. I found that the wheel was mounted perfectly (for me) if I simply lined up the front line of the template with the front edge of the wheel mount on the ozone. This put the mounting holes right in front of the tube under the mounting plate, and put the steering wheel in the perfect position for me. I can sit with proper posture in the seat, my back against the back of the seat, and rest my wrists on top of the wheel with my elbows with the perfect amount of bend, just like the instructors taught at the Mid-Ohio racing school I attended years ago.

👍 Sounds like a sweet and comfy setup you I have there! Great for long exhausting races!

JerkinJohn- I have a little problem on my GT3RS V2 Wheel with centering where if I turn the wheel on with the usb cable attached, It does the testing to the right and when returning to center it keeps going and then comes back way off the center and looses its center. If I unplug USB then power it on and plug the USB after its done testing, it goes to the center correctly. I also have a GT2 wheel that doesnt have the problem. Its not a big deal but its annoying.

Are you talking about the PC or PS3 or both? The advantage with the PC driver is that you can get into the GT3's profiler of sorts and see exactly what the wheel is doing. Same with the CSP's. It's a great tool to use to make sure everything is working properly or not.

With the PS3 the only way to tell is how the car or cars are handling I suppose. At least with the pedals anyway. I guess you can at least make sure your buttons are working by mapping them out.

Have you tried both USB ports? Have you tried the centering calibration that's described in the manual that I posted above? Just trying to help. I'm no GT3 expert by any means. Just would rather try and improve or fix myself rather then trying to deal with the Fanatecs return circus. If I can help it. But as with any computer/electronics it could be one of many things that can go wrong.

 

[pgagoober]

JerkinJohn- I have a little problem on my GT3RS V2 Wheel with centering where if I turn the wheel on with the usb cable attached, It does the testing to the right and when returning to center it keeps going and then comes back way off the center and looses its center. If I unplug USB then power it on and plug the USB after its done testing, it goes to the center correctly. I also have a GT2 wheel that doesnt have the problem. Its not a big deal but its annoying.

I tried this on my PS3 just now. PS3 powered on and in the menu - no game launched. GT3 RS V2 connected to the USB port before power-up. I powered on the wheel and it turned all the way to lock clockwise, then rotated back to slightly left of center. Finally it jerked right and stopped dead center. I did the center calibration on it last night so I don't know if that helped or not but right now it's doing just I would expect it to. FYI - mine is connected via a 4-port unpowered USB hub but it does the same thing when connected directly to either of the 2 USB ports on the front of the console.

Sorry to hear about your troubles and hopefully you can get things straightened out without to much hassle! Things are a bit tight in there as to be expected. I'm not sure as to what would be causing your problem. There is a lot going on in that little case and it could be anything I suppose. I wish my close up shots were better quality so you could see better as to how things are arranged in there. Good luck!

Thanks. I submitted a support request so I'll let you all know how it goes.

 

[sandboxgod]

Hey guys -- any idea if the Table clamp works just like the DFGT/DFP whereas I can simply clamp the wheel to my desk? I've read every post and viewed all the pictures of yall setups but I'm still confused if I can just clamp this wheel to my desk like I could with Logitech wheels w/o needing bolts. I'm assuming both GT3 R3 v2 and GT2 uses the same table clamp? I'm debating between the two versions only because I have an xbox 360 as well. It would be nice to be able to use my wheel on it as well in case I race on it

edit- Btw, I refer to the table clamps included with the wheel.