Fanatec has been releasing a series of teasers on their Facebook page over the past couple days. After letting us know that previous Fanatec wheels won’t work on next gen consoles, it looks like they will be releasing their first wheel for the Xbox One and PS4.
There looks to be a lot of speculation going around that this is going to be a direct drive wheel. However, I would be willing to go out on a limb to say that it is otherwise. I don’t think Fanatec is willing to commit corporate suicide by alienating the midrange market that’s looking for a Fanatec next gen wheel. My guess would be that it is an updated version of the ClubSport Wheel with next gen support, brushless motors, and potentially a fix to the centering issue a few V1s have encountered.
Fanatec could be working on a Direct Drive wheel separately. I would find it highly unlikely that we could be seeing it for consoles, considering the large footprint that those wheels provide. The other concern is, Fanatec likely hasn’t been in the best financial situation in the past year or so. Would they be willing to take such a large gamble on a high end wheel, when so many potential competitors are emerging?
There is no hiding that Fanatec has had a spotty track record in terms of reliability, so it is interesting how they are touting the “Rock Solid” tagline. I really do hope that they have ironed out the gremlins from the original Clubsport Wheel, but if it’s a V2 model, could CSW V1 owners feel somewhat shafted? I’d hope that if it is an upgraded model, Fanatec could at least provide some sort of upgrade kit, maybe to install the new motors and whatever else is upgraded in it.
If it is a Fanatec Clubsport Wheel V2 or something of the sort, would you be interested in purchasing it? Would you rather see a Fanatec wheel competing with the Thrustmaster TX or the SimXperience Accuforce?
Well, I was ordering a New Wheel (w/steering wheel) here a few weeks ago and they was in stock and the next day they was out of the “Bases”when I checked on my order. They shipped my Steering Wheel and Back ordered the “Base”. SO, Yes I would still want the “Base” when they are “In Stock”. I’m just hoping they have Improved them (the CSW Base) or they are fixing to start selling a “Direct Drive Base” THEN, I might have to SAVE more Money for it! Yes-indeedie!
Looking at those cooling ribs (and if this is a pic of the actual wheelbase),that it looks like a servo motor .
aren’t all or well at least all motors in our wheel servos?… I think you ment a direct driven wheel
I own the wheel base, BMW Rim, Formula Rim, Club Sport v2
pedals and the club sport sequential/manual shifter. I have had an issue with my
1 week old BMW Rim when the option controller failed therefore making the wheel
useless. I had a new replacement within a week since I purchased it from
simulations1 they took care of it not Fanatec. Quick free shipping and a new
replacement, very fast and professional. As for my club sport shifter the steel
shifter rod snapped in half somehow. It was quite shocking as I only used it
for about 50 hours playing time it sure seems to be built very strong and
robust. Just a weird failure but in the case of the shifter I purchased it
directly from Fanatec USA and I had to send it to California, they offered me a
new shifter but a week later told me it was not available for 6 weeks so I just
ask them to fix mine. It took them 2 weeks to fix it so yes that is a little
long, after all the shipping I been waiting a month now.
As for all the other products I own I have not had a failure
and I find their support to be quite good. Fanatec to my mind has done a lot to
address its faults of the past I hope they keep moving forward as they have a
huge fan base and some really good products to offer.
I find there RIMS
fantastic but I hate the wheel base. Especially after the latest firmware in my
opinion it destroyed the feel I find the force feedback is now very weak plus
you no longer get much felling going over rumble strips. I address my concern
to Fanatec as everything on the Wheel base seems to work just fine. They claim that
their latest firmware did nothing to reduce the force feedback but you could
previously set the force to 150 and now it’s locked at 100.
What I find upsetting is that reverting back to my old
firmware, changed nothing. It seems there firmware locked the settings for good
and prevents anyone from using the old firmware to revert back. Sure the old
firmware loads onto the base but all the settings are the same, so no more
force at 150. Just to be clear I’m using the old firmware that I had backup not
the one from there site. After trying all the different firmware from there
site it appears they changed the file name but in reality the firmware are all
the same. I can’t prove this to be the case but for my wheel the settings and
fell are the same since I upgraded or downgraded if you like. As for the new driver
for the wheel it is weird like it’s made for a flight SIM joystick that being
said it does work properly.
I’m now questioning if I replace my wheel base or get the
Accuforce once that comes out. The accuforce would obviously mean I need to sell
all my RIMs and my wheel base and there is still 10 month’s warranty left on
them. After the firmware fiasco and having Fanatec not admit they tone down the
force feedback likely to prevent motor overheating or failures. I’m not too
sure what I will do?
Cheers
Just grant the clients a 5 years warranty and watch the Fanatec sales increase. This will ultimately kill all the bad reputation built on Fanatec setbacks.