To all Wheel Stand owners!
I am doing a litle research and like to find out why you decided to buy a WSP instead of the Fanatec RSWS or the other way round.
It does not matter if you tested both products. At the moment i would just be interested to find out your motivitation to buy either one of those.
So why did you purchase your WSP?
Or why did you purchase your RSWS?
This will help us to improve our product and service and will help others to make a buying decision. You can mention any argument like:
- price
- service
- product design
- product construction (adjustability, sturdiness ec)
- user recommendations
- test reviews
- compatibility to this or that wheel
- etc etc
I bought a Wheel Stand Pro last week, and it turned up in the mail this afternoon. This is for use with a Driving Force GT that I picked up a few months ago, and there were a number of reasons I chose the WSP over the Fanatec RennSport Wheel Stand. Im probably in a different position from most people in that I was already sitting at a sturdy desk when using the wheel for comparison.
The main reason I chose to get a stand for the wheel was to make it easy to quickly set up/take down the wheel, and have it all as a single contained unit rather than separate pieces to move/store.
With the desk I was having to clamp it on/unclamp it every time I wanted to use the wheel, run cables down the back, and I found myself using the wheel less the more I had it as a result.
Being clamped to a solid desk certainly is more stable than using the WSP (the wheel cant move at all) though I was pleasantly surprised by how stable it actually is. Theres not a lot of movement with it and you dont really notice it when racing. Where I actually noticed it most was using menus with the dpad & buttons rather than when using it to steer. The upside to this is that it seemed quieter. Being clamped onto the desk seemed to amplify the noise from the DFGT, particularly the calibration process when you first plug it in.
Setting up the WSP was a relatively simple process. Its already assembled in the box, you just need to attach the wheel and pedals to it. The wheel just clamps on using the desk clamp (though I had to fetch the box for the wheel and get the spacers from it) and the pedals are attached by screwing down a padded metal bar over them which provides a very secure fit - they arent going anywhere! The bar is red which I thought was a nice accent and matches the red dial on the DFGT.
However, there were a few issues that I did have. Once I put everything together, I found that it would not sit flat on my floor. I spent quite some time taking it apart trying to figure out what exactly was causing the problem - it would only show up when I fully tightened the bolts holding the rails for the pedals in place.
It turned out that one of the rails was not completely straight - I dont know if this was a problem in manufacturing or shipping damage, but what I had to do in the end was remove the back part of the WSP and bend the rail back into shape. Once this was done, putting it back together was simple and its not rocking on the floor any more.
What I also did was reverse the compression fitting on the centre column. Normally this points away from you, but I found that this made it more difficult to adjust, and it also meant that it had to be completely closed for the stand to fold flat. The compression fittings are very tight to adjust, so I didnt want to have to close it completely when storing the wheel. A simple job to do, but another that I did not expect to be doing.
Something that is not necessarily an issue with the WSP, as it seems to affect all wheel stands, is the cable management. Now Logitech is mostly to blame for thisI cannot understand the thinking behind the cabling on the DFGT. If I had designed it, I would have had a single cable connecting the Wheel to the pedals, and the power & USB would connect to the pedals rather than the wheel.
Despite the poor design from Logitech, I feel that the stand could have helped a bit more.
If the bottom of the centre column were open rather than being solid, and if the centre column was slightly thicker, you would be able to run all your cables through it, and have them come out the side which would look
much neater. As it is, Im not sure what to do to keep the cables neat. Any suggestions here would be appreciated.
So why the Wheel Stand Pro over the Fanatec RennSport Wheel Stand?
There were two main reasons:
- Despite the design being more appealing, having more height and looking sturdier, it is simply not designed with my wheel in mind. It did not look like there was a good solution for mounting the pedals, and it is huge. I didnt realise how much bigger it was compared to the WSP until I saw this image:
The DFGT Just looks comical on it.
- Availability. Orders are not being fulfilled until the end of December which is probably (hopefully!) after the release of GT5, and I really wanted to have things set up by then.
The extra £17 or so was not a major issue, but factored in. (though considering the size, it does seem like you get your moneys worth)
I also liked the idea of the compression clamps rather than using knobs to adjust the stand. It just seemed like that would be quicker and easier. With camera tripods, I have always preferred quick release clamps for convenience. It also looked like the Fanatec stand only allowed you to set the height at specified notches rather than being able to clamp it anywhere.
I was also a bit concerned about only being able to have the wheel at 90° (though it sounds like v2 might have changed that?) and after using the wheel it seems I was right to be concerned. The pedals/wheel just arent at a comfortable position for me if I set it up at 90°. (sitting in an office chair)
Overall Im happy with my purchase, and Im still confident that the WSP was the right choice for me. I can definitely see where the Fanatec stand would be a better choice for other people though, depending on the wheel they have and how much space they have for it.
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