Fanatec Podium Direct Drive Wheel Bases Thread

  • Thread starter super_gt
  • 3,718 comments
  • 521,448 views
Nothing lasts forever!:) LoL
Hasselt, were she lives according to the interview is only 30 min from were I'm typing this post (home). Maybe when she gets her free DD wheel from Fanatec, I can ask her to invite me over the try the DD wheel.


:P
 
Hasselt, were she lives according to the interview is only 30 min from were I'm typing this post (home). Maybe when she gets her free DD wheel from Fanatec, I can ask her to invite me over the try the DD wheel.


:P
First congrats for the great team on the World Cup! Second, I believe she lives in Germany now, I know she is from Belgium, but now is hired from Fanatec and needs to be around there!:)
 
First congrats for the great team on the World Cup! Second, I believe she lives in Germany now, I know she is from Belgium, but now is hired from Fanatec and needs to be around there!:)
Thanks.

Why would she wants to do something like that?





:D
 
FMW
For the uninitiated...She's a YouTuber that got into Sim Racing a few years ago. Her boyfriend is into it and she got hooked after some of his friends told her girls can't be fast at sim racing. Challenge accepted as they say! She proved them wrong and has been doing YouTube videos allowing her to share her new passion for the hobby ever since. Check out this interview: She's really articulate and IMO a great ambassador for the hobby. Thomas was smart in hiring her to do PR work. As a marketing director for the brand I work for, I would have hired her in a heartbeat to represent us. Anyway, check out her channel. She's articulate and presents a lot of good, concise and detailed information on what she reviews. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcXmo4byaxhwuW8RCySL0ng


From a neutral professional point of view she isnt very articulate and stumbles on her words...but more then good enough for youtuber. Also the videos were nicely edited with good music. But honestly most of her popularity is because of her looks. That doesnt mean she is qualified... but that Podium presentation was very cringy tbh. Jessica Lopez was also immensely popular in her ISRTV days but sadly not particularly for her presentation skills (good enough).
 
From a neutral professional point of view she isnt very articulate and stumbles on her words...but more then good enough for youtuber. Also the videos were nicely edited with good music. But honestly most of her popularity is because of her looks. That doesnt mean she is qualified... but that Podium presentation was very cringy tbh. Jessica Lopez was also immensely popular in her ISRTV days but sadly not particularly for her presentation skills (good enough).
You are right here - she is cute and nice and I like her, but she is not good live performer! Thomas behaves on cam much much better!!! About the presentation - well, at least they did it!;)
 
I wish that they put a little more effort into their graphs. They are almost impossible to interpret. The torque ripple graph has no units on either the x or y axis. Who knows if these are even important values. The first value for the 26Nm wheel is actually quite high but was never commented on. Is this real or just an artifact? The stepper motor has an obvious ripple but that is how steppers work. The acceleration graph has no labelling on the x-axis and the x and y axis values were poorly chosen making it hard to interpret the graph. What is important is the slope of the lines. The 26Nm wheel looks like it has the best acceleration. Everyone is focussed on the speed of the wheel but that is not important. It would be nice to know what rpm range is actually important for actual usage. I would have thought that change in torque over time is more important for sim racing than change in rpm over time.

More important than motor characteristics is how the motor is controlled. Part of that is the encoder. Reviewers for OSW appear to be finding that the better encoder provide tangible benefits in how the wheel feels. Has Fanatec given information on their encoders? The other part of control is the other electronics and software. I guess we won't know about that until reviews start coming in.
 
I wish that they put a little more effort into their graphs. They are almost impossible to interpret. The torque ripple graph has no units on either the x or y axis. Who knows if these are even important values. The first value for the 26Nm wheel is actually quite high but was never commented on. Is this real or just an artifact? The stepper motor has an obvious ripple but that is how steppers work. The acceleration graph has no labelling on the x-axis and the x and y axis values were poorly chosen making it hard to interpret the graph. What is important is the slope of the lines. The 26Nm wheel looks like it has the best acceleration. Everyone is focussed on the speed of the wheel but that is not important. It would be nice to know what rpm range is actually important for actual usage. I would have thought that change in torque over time is more important for sim racing than change in rpm over time.

More important than motor characteristics is how the motor is controlled. Part of that is the encoder. Reviewers for OSW appear to be finding that the better encoder provide tangible benefits in how the wheel feels. Has Fanatec given information on their encoders? The other part of control is the other electronics and software. I guess we won't know about that until reviews start coming in.
Eventually Simracing garage will review this wheel and hopefully will go a lot more in-depth in hard/software and perhaps compare it with OSW and Bodnar wheel.
 
If the silhouette of Podium Racing wheel is real , the design should come from CS formula wheel ..

Blue circles sth like encoders for adjusting brake bias or TCS ,etc

Yellow circle seem refined the led rev light bigger? Lighter?

Green circles are the buttons, same position as CSFW does

24C8C48F-CFFE-4D76-8C3A-D3EFB4FFC0BE.jpeg
 
And the McLaren Gt3, which no one has mentioned, but which I hope is the case.
Mclaren GT3 rim is xbox compatible , but i wonder GT3 or P1 rim can hold that DD power or not... coz they are quite much flex with those 2 rims
 
Last edited:
I think you have to compare the products in a different way.

I currently own a OSW and have previously owned nearly every Fanatec, Logitech and Thrustmaster top-of-the-range wheel on the market since 2010. And I pre-ordered the Fanatec DD2. My take on it is this.

The Fanatec DD wheelbase is like a console. Cutting edge technology at the time of launch. Plug & Play, ready to go out of the box, everything you plug into it just works. But the customer pays a slight premium for the user friendliness.

The OSW is like a PC. Everything can be changed or upgraded with time. But have to be willing to invest the time/money and be prepared to fiddle and troubleshoot when things go wrong. Custom wheels and button boxes are nice options to personalize your setup, and gives a real sense of pride and joy. But... A complete OSW setup always ends up costing much more than you think!

Completely agree. People always act like building a custom PC is issue free and inexpensive, but forget to mention the time put in to build yourself (which can be fun if there are no issues) and the time spend troubleshooting when there inevitably are issues. Personally I would gladly pay a company a slight premium for doing all that boring testing and leg work to make sure everything is up and running and ready to go. And also a single company to rely on when issues come up. Not saying that custom setups can't be built up and made to be very reliable.

When it comes down to it, some people want a DIY project which can definitely be fun. Personally I just want to do some sim driving with great hardware. As great as Barry's (Sim Racing Garage) youtube channel is, each one of his reviews is 90% mechanics and build, and 10% of what it is actually like to drive with. Which is great for people looking for that perspective, but he is clearly happy to spend a majority of his time on the DIY aspect rather than the driving. Definitely not the case for many.
 
I think the auction is held more for customer engagement, PR and marketing purposes. Maybe they are still figuring out licensing costs (PS4 and F1) and may already have a price in their head. And again dont blame a company for its pricing.

Fanatec know the PS4 licensing costs - because they pay them for their Elite wheelbase. As far as the F1 licensing - they could have just auctioned the DD1 wheelbase PS4 licensed. Instead, they are hiding the potential cost of the DD1 PS4 combination. Due to the F1 wheel, and the F1 license.

If Fanatec want to encourage users to buy DD2 wheelbases, they need to keep the value of the DD1 retained - avoid it going down in value. So sell it now at the price Thrustmaster might introduce the wheelbase at. That way when DD1 users upgrade to DD2, they'll not loose as much money. And brand loyalty will be retained.

As far as compatibility goes with the future PS5 - it would be easy to do that with a paid software upgrade. But we have to live with the potential for it not happening. However if the DD1 is priced low enough so that it will not depreciate when the competition arrives - then PS4 users will be able to sell their DD1 PS4 wheels to PC users (and Xbox users too) without loosing too much, and then get the PS5 wheelbase. The key is that the PS4 DD1 is not priced higher than it will be in two years or so. When the PS5 arrives.

Myself - I will never buy anything Logitech because of my G25 wheel being superseded for PS4. It may not have been Logitech's fault - but for me, its a matter of principle. Of course such wheels don't have the smarts of Fanatec products, which are software upgradeable. If Fanatec over price their DD1, they'll burn users when they lower its price or introduce a DD0 to broaden their market. Fanatec need to consider the future, not just the present opportunities. Hopefully they have done so - hence the DD2 option. We don't know yet what the DD1 price will be. It should be an attractive price, as that is where the volume is.

From a neutral professional point of view she isnt very articulate and stumbles on her words...but more then good enough for youtuber. Also the videos were nicely edited with good music. But honestly most of her popularity is because of her looks. That doesnt mean she is qualified... but that Podium presentation was very cringy tbh. Jessica Lopez was also immensely popular in her ISRTV days but sadly not particularly for her presentation skills (good enough).

It was a bit cringy sure - but she made the boss look good. Clearly she had to do stuff in a sequence - and she's used to saying what she wants to say straight away - by coming straight to the point. But she couldn't there ... hence her unease. But her discomfort was actually quite appealing, and seems straightforward. Not a fixed job, or a real pro performance. I liked the whole thing. Her unease mean't to me, that there was more to come.

Just wished they costed the DD1 up front ... and had them available for sale right now. Imagine if December stretches into June 2019 ...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
It was a bit cringy sure - but she made the boss look good. Clearly she had to do stuff in a sequence - and she's used to saying what she wants to say straight away - by coming straight to the point. But she couldn't there ... hence her unease. But her discomfort was actually quite appealing, and seems straightforward. Not a fixed job, or a real pro performance. I liked the whole thing. Her unease mean't to me, that there was more to come.

Just wished they costed the DD1 up front ... and had them available for sale right now. Imagine if December stretches into June 2019 ...
Everything is possible, but we have many choices these days... I kinda feel that will be a drama with DD wheel launch in December, but not the Fanatec one...I mean another brand;)
 
Everything is possible, but we have many choices these days... I kinda feel that will be a drama with DD wheel launch in December, but not the Fanatec one...I mean another brand;)

I think I'll bid for the PS4 DD1 if its available to Australia, but I reckon I'll miss out because I don't want to pay more than its worth. The F1 also means nothing to me - I find the F1 experience more challenging than anything else by quite a margin! But if I do - as expected - miss out on the DD1 PS4, I'm going to go the PC route with the G25 until December, then I'll make up my mind. By then, I may find I'm not interested in the PS4 anyway. I loved Gran Turismo and was quite OK at it ... but by the time a DD is available, I might not bother with the PS4 anyhow. I have a PS4 though, and I was going to get the Elite bundle with the better peddle set (the ClubSport ones with the foam upgrade option, but not the extra piston for a different feel). But optioning those pedals mean't I lost a discount, as then its all retail pricing (in Australia).

So I'm now going to go the PC experience for now, with the G25, and in December when I know the prices, I'll make up my mind.
 
Why do I have this feeling that the DD2 is a professional wheel for professional use (automotive and simracing) hence the price and the DD1 is for simracing and going to be more accessible for mainstream simracers?


Carbon fibre has very good electrical conduction (properties). I think that certain carbon fibres, such as carbon fibre nanotubes has good heat dissipation properties as well.
 
Why do I have this feeling that the DD2 is a professional wheel for professional use (automotive and simracing) hence the price and the DD1 is for simracing and going to be more accessible for mainstream simracers?


Carbon fibre has very good electrical conduction (properties). I think that certain carbon fibres, such as carbon fibre nanotubes has good heat dissipation properties as well.
Maybe, because Thomas said this in the presentation!;) Btw some Nm difference and everything else the same don`t make for me enough difference to feel one product for profesional use and the other for general use!;) The raw power is not benefit for me, the entire DD concept and evolution is the real benefit for us/me!;)
 
That's not an alternative for people who want a DD wheel. I wouldn't even consider it at £600 if I was after a DD wheel. Which is what I'm really interested in.

that was meant for people who were complaining about price. If you cant afford this one or feel it is overpriced there are other options.
 
Close to impossible is DD1 to be below 800 or close to 800$...


S0 many great posts and so many things to comment about, but the quickest first is that I agree with you, Krassi.

Showing their hand on the DD2 now tells me to expect the DD1 to come in at about $1,199, at the cheapest, with the PS4 DD1 (apparently with the steering wheel) similar in price as the DD2 base, at $1,499.
 
S0 many great posts and so many things to comment about, but the quickest first is that I agree with you, Krassi.

Showing their hand on the DD2 now tells me to expect the DD1 to come in at about $1,199, at the cheapest, with the PS4 DD1 (apparently with the steering wheel) similar in price as the DD2 base, at $1,499.

The Podium wheel would cost more than a Clubsport wheel. Its higher end. A Clubsport wheel is $399 i.e. $400. So the Podium wheel comes in at lets say $450. Add the F1 license @$15 and the PS4 license at $35. So that's a wheel and two license cost of $500. Take that off your $1,500, and you get the DD1 wheel costing in @ $1,000. I'd say that's the maximum price the DD1 will be worth.

You can get an Electrobikes (which use similar motor hardware) sell with frame, brakes, lights, seats, lithium battery, their most powerful 500w motor - for $900. Sounds a good deal: https://store.electrobike.com/products/seal-500w-all-purpose-electric-bike. There are other bikes with 350w and 250w motors too.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The Podium wheel would cost more than a Clubsport wheel. Its higher end. A Clubsport wheel is $399 i.e. $400. So the Podium wheel comes in at lets say $450. Add the F1 license @$15 and the PS4 license at $35. So that's a wheel and two license cost of $500. Take that off your $1,500, and you get the DD1 wheel costing in @ $1,000. I'd say that's the maximum price the DD1 will be worth.


Great points, MP.

So, and forgive me for being thick, you just plain think what I said is too low for the PS4 DD1?

Likely it would be in the $1,599 and up range?

EDIT: and yes, I know you say the maximum price you'd think it is worth, but do you think it is going to be that?
 
Back