Thrustmaster T-GT VS Fanatec CSL Elite PS4

[Georgeagea]

Im also interested in this comparison. I have a G27 collecting dust and am fed up with the DS4. Considering getting a Playseat and either of these.

I like the optimization of the TGT and currently have no other interest in other sims/games even if they are better. But the future holds all possibilities and the Fanatec seems to be the better made product but doesnt appear to be seamlessly integrated into GT Sport?

I'd want the Loadcell if I got the Fanatec, so the TGT is the cheaper option. I'm not opposed to getting a Logitech G29 either but feel like it'd be better to just adapt my G27 at that point.

I think I can help a bit.
I've done so much research about these three wheels (and the T300 too).

For value for money, for what you get for what you pay, nothing can beat the G29, hands down.
It is so damn cheap and built like a tank. I think it has the lowest ratio of defects/failures/issues from what I've been able to see.
It has 3 pedals by default with a progressive brake pedal.
It has 17 buttons in total (disregarding the 2 shifters, the option, share and PS buttons). Last thing you will need to worry about with this wheel is about assigning buttons in games. You have plenty.
It is compatible with any game under the sun ().
Its shifter (albeit toyish) is dirt cheap.

The CSL elite is the best wheel in general, if we neglect the price. Best motors and FFB. Best options, settings, features and has the option to get load cell (but at a price).
Its rims and shifter and other accessories are expensive.

The TGT is simply the biggest ripoff in recent years in the wheels market. It's very similar to older TM wheels but like double (if not more) the price. It's good don't get me wrong, but for that price, you can get the CSL elite which is much better.
Its rims and shifter and other accessories are expensive.
But, it is the most feature-full and suitable for GTS, if that is all what you care for.

In the end I decided to go for the G29 just coz I 'm not a wealthy man, I don't live in Europe or USA (so very hard for me to deal with RMAs or customer support). Since the TGT and the CSL are the most complicated, and hence the most susceptible to having issues, I went out the G29 and I'm not regretting it a single bit. BEST WHEEL IN TERMS OF VALUE.

 

[AlexRacing]

T-GT is much better than CSL in terms of everything. Power, feedback details, materials, noise. T-GT is almost CSW.

 

[AussieMitch]

T-GT is much better than CSL in terms of everything. Power, feedback details, materials, noise. T-GT is almost CSW.

Surely your trolling? It may have slightly better feedback in gt sport due to the feature that only the tgt has, but if you look at both wheels and consider more than one game, I don't know anyone who in their right mind would say the TGT is better than the csl elite. I have no idea what you mean when you say the TGT has better materials.... It looks like a plastic toy in comparison to the csl, pedals are inferior also.

 

[StraywalkerX]

I recently went from G29 to the T-GT. The T-GT was on sale with a 30-days «no questions asked» return policy so I thought, might as well test it and if it isn’t a huge difference between that and the old G29, I’ll just return it.

10 days later and I’m overjoyed - the G29 is sold and not missed. Where the G29 «forgot» FF effects during a race, the T-GT delivers them all - and with precision. For example, the «sliding on ice» sensation you get when the wheels on the car lose traction? Well with the T-GT you can still feel the tarmac - fantastic!

Yes, I know the wheel is exclusivly made to work with GTS, but GTS is all I drive.

If you’re into Sims and drive a lot of other sims you might wanna go Fanatec, because of the HW options, but if you’re into GTS - you should definitly go T-GT!

The smaller rim was no problem coming from G29 - which actually was the same size. You can still use the other Rims in the Thrustmaster series, but the original really excels in GTS (love the Braking Bias and TC wheels) so why bother getting those other rims then, huh?

Note that this is my personal view/experience as a GTS level 47 casual gamer. I’m only C/S in GTS daily online races and within 100 races I’ve only reached one pole position, 12 Silver, 4 Bronze and no Gold what so ever - so, definitly not a pro!!!

Oh, almost forgot.... The G29 and T-GT pedals are equally: «Meeeeh» in function - so I guess a Loadcell might come my way in a nearby future...

 

[AlexRacing]

Surely your trolling? It may have slightly better feedback in gt sport due to the feature that only the tgt has, but if you look at both wheels and consider more than one game, I don't know anyone who in their right mind would say the TGT is better than the csl elite. I have no idea what you mean when you say the TGT has better materials.... It looks like a plastic toy in comparison to the csl, pedals are inferior also.

CSL Elite entirely made of plastic. Top Thrustmaster bases have metal chassis. People who tried both found Thrustmaster FFB is more detailed even without transducer while CSL is sluggish or if you optimist "smooth". Guy from Inside Sim Racing said TS-PC, which is actually T-GT, close to CSW 2.5. TM Bases have Hall sensor which is more precise, reliable and detects position even without wheel movement. CSL uses older optical sensors. CSL cockpit mounting is not rigid and the base plays a little. TM bases are quieter under FFB while CSL is noisy:
But Fanatec could fix it by limiting FFB in firmware as it did earlier with older Porsche wheelbases.

Yeah. TM pedals are not so good. But bases are great, if they work ).

 

[Georgeagea]

Between the T-GT and the CSL Elite, I'll definitely pick the G29.

 

[CJ1045]

CSL Elite entirely made of plastic. Top Thrustmaster bases have metal chassis. People who tried both found Thrustmaster FFB is more detailed even without transducer while CSL is sluggish or if you optimist "smooth". Guy from Inside Sim Racing said TS-PC, which is actually T-GT, close to CSW 2.5. TM Bases have Hall sensor which is more precise, reliable and detects position even without wheel movement. CSL uses older optical sensors. CSL cockpit mounting is not rigid and the base plays a little. TM bases are quieter under FFB while CSL is noisy:
But Fanatec could fix it by limiting FFB in firmware as it did earlier with older Porsche wheelbases.

Yeah. TM pedals are not so good. But bases are great, if they work ).

I have owned both. The T-GT has plastic chassis too. The Fanatec is way ahead in detail compared to T-GT. It also works much better with a wide variety of sims.

CJ

 

[breeminator]

TM bases are quieter under FFB while CSL is noisy:

Super GT uses the CSL Elite PS4 and I've never noticed any noises like that when he's live streaming. You can clearly hear the sound of the paddle shifters each time he changes gear, so his mic would pick it up if the wheel were making noises like the above video. An example live stream:

 

[AlexRacing]

If I think about Fanatec it would buy not less than CSW. Otherwise I would buy one of T-GT, TS-PC, TS-XW. CSL is low-budget Fanatec version, that is not so cheap, with some compromises. I think CSL is not Fanatec what we love.

 

[StraywalkerX]

Between the T-GT and the CSL Elite, I'll definitely pick the G29.

I see what you did there...

 

[super_gt]

T-GT is much better than CSL in terms of everything. Power, feedback details, materials, noise. T-GT is almost CSW.

Power

Both wheels have 6 Newton meters of torque.

feedback details

The single belt drive mechanism has less friction and dampening in comparison to dual belt drive in T-GT which should give more details in FFB.

materials

If you see them disassembled, you will find that they are almost the same.

noise

The CSL is noisier.

T-GT is almost CSW

Just no.

Top Thrustmaster bases have metal chassis.

The bottom of the T-GT base is metal which is a big plus, on the other hand, the CSL quick release is metal which is a big plus.

TM Bases have Hall sensor which is more precise, reliable and detects position even without wheel movement. CSL uses older optical sensors.

It would be nice if Fanatec replaces the optical sensor in CSL with Hall sensor.

Super GT uses the CSL Elite PS4 and I've never noticed any noises like that when he's live streaming. You can clearly hear the sound of the paddle shifters each time he changes gear, so his mic would pick it up if the wheel were making noises like the above video. An example live stream:

In some games when you run through the grass with wheel settings: FEI 100, DRI OFF, FF and FOR 100 the wheel makes that noise.

 

[breeminator]

In some games when you run through the grass with wheel settings: FEI 100, DRI OFF, FF and FOR 100 the wheel makes that noise.

IMO DRI OFF is unusable in GTS, even with the CSW 2.5 I have. I use -2, even -1 can cause some problems. So yes, if you configure the wheel such that it doesn't work properly, it won't work properly, but why would anyone do that?

Edit: Fanatec's recommended setting is -3 for DRI with GTS. I use -2 because -3 feels a bit draggy to me, and -2 doesn't seem to cause any problems. But if someone is using OFF and experiencing problems, I'd say they only have themselves to blame.

 

[AlexRacing]

My bases chart:
G29 -> T300 -> CSL -> TS-PC/XW, T-GT -> CSW -> Podium.

 

[Donnced]

My bases chart for PS4 basically:
G29 -> T150Pro -> T300 -> T-GT -> CSL -> Podium.

 

[AussieMitch]

IMO DRI OFF is unusable in GTS, even with the CSW 2.5 I have. I use -2, even -1 can cause some problems. So yes, if you configure the wheel such that it doesn't work properly, it won't work properly, but why would anyone do that?

Edit: Fanatec's recommended setting is -3 for DRI with GTS. I use -2 because -3 feels a bit draggy to me, and -2 doesn't seem to cause any problems. But if someone is using OFF and experiencing problems, I'd say they only have themselves to blame.

Hey mate, what difference does using drift at -2 or 3 make in GTS compared to off? I got my csl elite 2 weeks ago and have had drift on off the whole time. I will try -2 or 3 now to see how it feels... I thought the wheel was quite twitchy previously. Thanks for sharing that, as I didn't know what settings to muck about with on the wheel.

 

[breeminator]

Hey mate, what difference does using drift at -2 or 3 make in GTS compared to off? I got my csl elite 2 weeks ago and have had drift on off the whole time. I will try -2 or 3 now to see how it feels... I thought the wheel was quite twitchy previously. Thanks for sharing that, as I didn't know what settings to muck about with on the wheel.

If you have it off, then if you let go of the wheel it can start oscillating from side to side. You might think this doesn't matter if you're not going to let go of the wheel, but it also makes it feel a bit weird in the centre when holding it. When you go to -1 then -2 etc, it adds a bit of drag to the wheel, which is there in a real car anyway, as there's significant friction between the tyres and the road to overcome when you turn the wheel. The more negative the DRI setting, the more drag it adds. I found that -1 wasn't enough to fully resolve the problem of oscillation if not holding the wheel and the slightly odd feeling in the centre, so -2 was what I settled on. More drag does slow down the ability to countersteer a bit, but I haven't found it a problem at -2. Positive values of DRI do the opposite, they actually assist countersteering. In a way, it's awesome to drive with positive DRI, but it causes too many problems for me to want to routinely use it.

 

[AussieMitch]

If you have it off, then if you let go of the wheel it can start oscillating from side to side. You might think this doesn't matter if you're not going to let go of the wheel, but it also makes it feel a bit weird in the centre when holding it. When you go to -1 then -2 etc, it adds a bit of drag to the wheel, which is there in a real car anyway, as there's significant friction between the tyres and the road to overcome when you turn the wheel. The more negative the DRI setting, the more drag it adds. I found that -1 wasn't enough to fully resolve the problem of oscillation if not holding the wheel and the slightly odd feeling in the centre, so -2 was what I settled on. More drag does slow down the ability to countersteer a bit, but I haven't found it a problem at -2. Positive values of DRI do the opposite, they actually assist countersteering. In a way, it's awesome to drive with positive DRI, but it causes too many problems for me to want to routinely use it.

I see! That makes sense... I looked at fanatecs recommended settings for different games and they all said (assetto Corsa) (gt sport) F1 2019) and pc2 to have -3 drift setting. So it seems that -2 or 3 is the way to go for most games, I assumed "off" would be the standard.