Serious question asked hundreds times - which wheel?

  • Thread starter Thread starter TPS
  • 18 comments
  • 2,402 views
TPS

TPS

Messages
27
Poland
Lodz
Hallo SimRacers

My name is Tom, from Poland.

I am a newbie to iRacing sim, which I love but got experienced in GT5, Shift(s), Dirt(s), Grid on PS3 with pretty decent prizes. I started with DFGT and Wheel stand Pro, then got Playseat Evo and G27 and it worked as far GT5 or any other console game. But as far as Iracing I cannot feel brake properly and that affects my lap time. In Mazda MX5 Cup over Lime Rock I got 1.03.077, and know I can much improve it!

My concern is pretty simple - which wheel (not pedals) to choose from and take the risk of potential breakdown. Fanatec CSR Elite with CSP or T500RS with CSP? I read a lot about Fanatec Customer Support. Know not much about Thrustmaster. I know that everything breaks, that is the matter of time of usage.

I have never seen neither of them so if I want to buy one I have to order it via net. Any suggestions please?

Tom
 
Hi Tom,

another guy from Poland asked me the same question some weeks ago. He told me, that Fanatec does not sell their stuff in Poland. I checked their website and he was right.

And that is the point, why I would recommend Thrustmaster or Logitech.

You won't get your wheel directly delivered to Poland and I am not sure if you will have any customer support in Poland. I guess not.

Since there is a good chance, that something can happen, I would go to the safe side. You can get Logitech or Thrustmaster in "every" shop in Poland. So no big deal in case of a failure.

The T500 wheel is very nice, I can recommend it. I use it with GT5 at the moment and will defenately try it on iRacing as well. Your only "problem" then are the pedals, because you want CSP's.

Maybe you have connections to Germany to get your Fanatec gear this way?
 
Buy a progressive spring update to g27 pedals. Costs about 20€ including postage fees. You can use g27 pedals with fanatec so fanatec is still an option after the update.
 
Last edited:
Raitziger
Buy a progressive spring update to g27 pedals. Costs about 20€ including postage fees. You can use g27 pedals with fanatec so fanatec is still an option after the update.
Click to expand...

Sticking to G27 is out of question since I hate its H-shifter. Why? H-Shifter isn't what I expected. It lacks precision and sometimes I cannot change 2nd to 3rd gear rapidly, hitting the blank between 1st and 3rd.

Tom
 
Mahnegold
Hi Tom,

another guy from Poland asked me the same question some weeks ago. He told me, that Fanatec does not sell their stuff in Poland. I checked their website and he was right.

And that is the point, why I would recommend Thrustmaster or Logitech.
Click to expand...

I am in touch with a guy, here in Poland, who can sell both wheels since he represents Playseat manufacturer. That's not the point. I do not want to buy something I will have to service immediately after unboxing.

BTW I'm not coming back to GT5 anymore. Since the very beginning, GT5 annoyed me with the fact I cannot damage any car, moreover I am able to use other cars or bands to tighten corners. It is senseless. A month ago I took part in a seasonal race on inverted London track and won it, but with huge help of bands!

For last couple of days I have been riffling through many webpages reading about T500 and CSRE.

What I like (upon reading) about CSRE is:
  • quieter cooling
  • rotating paddleshifters

What I like about T500
  • (maybe) more predictable customer service
  • TH8RS shifter and its quality

So being confused I am open to your suggestions

Tom
 
TPS
Sticking to G27 is out of question since I hate its H-shifter. Why? H-Shifter isn't what I expected. It lacks precision and sometimes I cannot change 2nd to 3rd gear rapidly, hitting the blank between 1st and 3rd.

Tom
Click to expand...

Well fanatec shifter is complete crap compared to that so I would wait until fanatec CS shifter comes or try T500RS(some like it, some not).
 
Raitziger
Well fanatec shifter is complete crap compared to that so I would wait until fanatec CS shifter comes or try T500RS(some like it, some not).
Click to expand...

I'm going to give T500 with its shifter a try. Just ordered it and on coming Saturday I will test it. I read that Fanatec's shifter is far from being perfect. So time and patience is required. Intuitionally I feel T500 with pedals will be modded with load cell in near possible future and it will end the whole story.

Tom
 
In Mazda MX5 Cup over Lime Rock I got 1.03.077, and know I can much improve it!
Tom
Click to expand...

Quoting myself ;-) but...
Funny thing! I was able to go down with my lap time on Lime Rock Park in Mazda MX5 (iRacing) to 1.01.922 (unfortunately scored one off track) using my G27. And I still can see possible areas of further improvements!

What I hate about G27 is H shifter! It lacks precision.

Tom
 
thechosenwonton
Does anyone else find it ironic that a German company isn't selling their goods in Poland?

:)
Click to expand...

They do, but you have to contact them directly in Germany. There is no official dealership here in Poland, and that slows down customer service. That is why I chose T500 from a big Polish gadget retailer and got two years of warranty.

Tom
 
Finally I mounted my T500 on Playseat Evo and went to Lime Rock Park for couple of laps of testing. My previous lap record (not official due to off track) was 1.01.922. With my new wheel T500, without any effort, after within 5 laps I achieved 1.03.062.

There is only one thing bugging me - the wheel is a bit offset to the left, something like 0.5 deg. I know that iRacing centers the wheels itself, but I have this weird impression that my wheel is a bit left side bias.

So - there is no comparison to G27. G27 is a great wheel, but T500 is just another league. Shifters are very OK, notwithstanding the fact they do not rotate with the wheel. I don't have any problems to down/up/shift.

Pedals are much better, especially brake pedal, modded with attached mod.

Now I am awaiting TH8RS.

Tom
 
TPS
There is only one thing bugging me - the wheel is a bit offset to the left, something like 0.5 deg. I know that iRacing centers the wheels itself, but I have this weird impression that my wheel is a bit left side bias.
Click to expand...


This seems to be a common fault in the wheel. Our local general technology magazine(TM, mostly do car reviews) said the same in their review.
 
Raitziger
This seems to be a common fault in the wheel. Our local general technology magazine(TM, mostly do car reviews) said the same in their review.
Click to expand...

Yeah, read about it. Fortunately it fixed itself. It is now perfectly centered.

Tom
 
So finally I got the full set T500 + TH8. I noticed that the wheel is more forgiving as far as getting out of a spin. I can feel much better when wheels lose control and can counter steer accordingly. With G27 that was impossible to feel it.

The shifter is just a state of the art. Got some problems to mount it to my Playseat but with one clamp and two pieces of plywood I did my job.

Generally speaking driving is much different and better compared to G27.

Tom
 
A few days ago i decided to buy a playseat, on location i was able to try a few stands out. I am a G27 owner (wich i tought was a pretty good wheel), and I try'd out the T500RS, and could not believe what i felt...This wheel is something else then the G27, it is very accurate, gives a realistic feelin'....

Well to be honest I am not happy I gave it a try, cause now I am just not satisfied anymore with my G27.... hopefully Christmas is early this year :)
 
Racingworld68
Well to be honest I am not happy I gave it a try, cause now I am just not satisfied anymore with my G27.... hopefully Christmas is early this year :)
Click to expand...

It is endless adventure. I got T500 but now strongly considering CSR Elite pedals as I like its horizontal adjustability of the pedals.

Tom
 

Latest Posts

Back