I literally just bought and set one of these up after waiting years on a g27. Haven’t even used it yet. Woke up this morning excited to finally turn it on and see this video. It’s like it was meant for me. Your the man Berry!.. let’s get to it!
@@steveclark9934 Hey Steve, I will be starting on Iracing but I play everything. Lots of Dirt Rally, AC, ACC, PCars and Rfactor. Its a huge upgrade from where I was. It was a bit pricy, around $1700 for the Forza bundle, brake kit and handbrake. but I've had a Logitech for well over a decade so figured id pull the trigger. Happy racing!
Aaah... normalcy prevails, another outstanding review by Sim Racing Garage. This has to be the #1 go-to channel for sim racing fans. Awesome stuff, Barry.
Got mine ordered just the other day, along with the gt wheel and the v3 pedals. I'm upgrading from a ten year old second hand logitech wheel and pedal set so I'm fascinated and excited to see what difference it makes! EDIT : it's amazing! The leap in performance is huge! I am one VERY happy customer!
Have used one of these for about 2 yrs now. About 10 hrs per week no issues. Great feedback and very quiet. Love it👍 Thanks Bazza another great review🇦🇺
I found sim rig from guy he selling all for 1200€ with this base and v3 pedals shifter and e brake its looks phenomenal and wheel is forza lether with xbox hub exactl ehat i need because i have xbox not pc
I just got my CSW 2.5, Barry’s videos have definitely given me a better idea on what to expect before making the purchase, coming from a G920 there’s a big learning curve but a little seat time and tuning and I feel comfortable with it.
I considered buying one, but at the time the cost of the base + button box + rim + shipping was within $10 of buying a full Accuforce kit, I went with the Accuforce. (I'm in Canada and Fantec shipping is very expensive)
Even before shipping fees, there's only about $150 between this base with the bmw wheel bundle, and the accuforce with wheel included. Unless that $150 is a dealbreaker, or you need console compatibility, or want to lock yourself into the fanataec ecosystem, why not have an excellent DD for not much more?
Keep it up man, i based my purchases on your reviews honestly and haven't failed me yet. I have no problem with binge watching these!!!! awesome work man!
Barry, you are the main reason I decided to buy fanatec stuff. Watched hours of your reviews. The amount of details covered is awesome. Thanks again for a nice review!
Thanks for the review, great to know how your wheel base looks inside. I can't help but smile at your "Fananalab" comments 😄 Seems you realized by 35min. and forward though 👍
Yet I’ve read the difference is a lot smaller then one might think. Sure you get more TQ but feel is what matters more than just raw power. The CSW 2.5 does that just fine.
@@drift400 I have used the 2.5 before and the added tq and sustained tq you get from DD does add to the immersion. I think you get to a point with sim racing where it just comes down to added immersion. I and many others were plenty decent and quick with all logitech gear
@@chuckystang There's almost no correlation between better gears equals better laptimes. The fastest alien Sim racers some of them are using simple Thrustmaster setup.
@@radityaindera3442 yes in a dining room chair on a standard 1080p screen at a wooden desk. I will go with this bundle and pedals as my premium. i was so impressed with TS-PC
@@Fanatec_is_TRASH well yeah because the DD1/2 were at their infancy then and the software had a lot to catch up (still does if you ask me, too many broken features")
Great, in depth review as usual. This is the wheelbase that I wish I had. I rarely drive my car anymore because my arms and legs are less functional by the day because of spinal cord damage, but I tried an older club sport wheel my friend has. Wow, are there amazing and not to the point I have to worry about getting my arms ripped off.
Barry, regarding Project Cars 2. If you select custom for the ffb and use the wrist breaker settings provided by Hugo Vai, you will find a tremendous difference and very pleasing experience. Try the Formula Renault around Bannochbrae, it is fantastic.
I just paid a bit over $1k for one of these here in Oz. At least the supplier offered free delivery. Direct drive seems to be the future. However, it is cost prohibitive atm. That been said. With one of these at least you get something that looks like a dash behind the wheel. Lifetime Professional driver. First time building myself a sim racing setup. Nice review.
I want one of these so bad. My father and I are currently building a sim rig out of wood but we're both disabled so it takes us a long time to do anything. We're currently trying to get our seating position down and I downloaded the Rimco seat position guide lines. I'd love for Barry to cover a whole video just on seating positions using the Logitech system and then more high end systems. It could become a guide for everyone getting into sim racing because of how thorough he is.
Please do a playlists on your channel, separating the review videos of steering wheels, cockpit, pedals, etc for easier browsing when someone is looking at your videos.
I've been with Fanatec since 2014. While I've had very small issues here and there (mostly hall sensor related on pedals), Fanatec is a super solid brand. I know some people like to dump on them because they expect everything to always be 100% perfect. Nothing is. Coming from the IT field, we are used to this.
Always cracks me up when he says "Fananalab" LOL It's fan-AH-lab, Barry...not fa-NaaNAH-lab :-) Great review as always, this and the Porsche 918 Rim are the only Fanatec gear that hasn't given me any problems in 2+ years (can't say the same about the V3 inverted pedals, The H-Shifter, The McLaren or Formula V2 Rims).
Barry your reviews are super detailed but more often than not are lacking the information people really want. I know your style is not to compare one product to another but, when people are dropping large amounts of money on something like this, that is what they are after. You can dial in pretty much any wheel system to a point where you can get a good feel for what the car is doing. This conclusion is not really helpful to someone wanting to buy this wheel. What would be helpful is a bit of info on how it compares to say a DD wheel (considering the cost of this V 2.5) and also how it compares to say the Thrustmaster TS-PC wheel? For whatever reason this is not something you ever do but are clearly in a privileged position to comment on. I guess companies don't want their products compared to another manufacturer and maybe that is part of your agreement in how you operate. Anyway I appreciate your in depth look inside inspections but would appreciate reviews which cover a bit more ground. I know that any comparisons are purely subjective but, at the end of the day, people are coming here for your opinion not your vernier readings!
I can only tell you how this wheel feels compared to my old T500. It blows it completely out of the water on all fronts. On the T500 I could feel the "notchiness", i.e. that I was rotating a belt. None of that here, it's buttery smooth. And really really fast compared to the T500. Able to catch all kinds of slides now. It's also a lot more powerful, really strong feedback. I haven't tested a DD wheel yet but honestly I'm so happy with this wheel that I won't even consider a DD for the foreseeable future.
I would think he doesn’t go down that road as then for example he says this Fanatec 2.5 is light years better than the Trustmaster Tx... oh shit, that’s what I’ll buy than.... than the guys buddy has the thrustmaster and he tries it out and says wtf, Barry is a jackass, this is much better than my Fanatec he said which was better. It’s all subjective. Many have used Logitech, Thrustmaster, Fanatec, and direct drives and prefer X over the other, and another guy May prefer the opposite. So he gives “you” the detailed information to make your own decision.
I believe he does the right thing, comparison is subjective. He opens things up, he goes on the details of the product... what you can do now is watch another of his review and YOU do a comparison and YOU draw your conclusions
For my CSW2.5 I mounted it with the angle plate onto a 1/4" sheet of G10 (high quality fiberglass sheet), which was then bolted onto a $50 plastic folding table from Staples (Tied some 10lb weights to the sides of the table and it doesn't wiggle too much). This setup works well for me because I can still fold up the table and tuck things away. Biggest problem is the cable connectors on the back of the unit are a NIGHTMARE to get plugged in if you ever feel like you need to disconnect the pedals.
I've had a CSW 2.5 since feb. 2018, never had an issue. I think this is the best decently priced wheelbase when you're just starting with simracing, it's not cheapest and not the most expensive, the middle segment. Can probably find it used since people upgrade to the podium series, providing even better value. For maybe 350 to 400 USD you can find one. Yes, direct drive is a whole new world, but for someone starting out this is the way to start. Fanatec rims are not expensive if you look at other manufacturers, I think they are pretty good value. Once again you can find them used easily. I bought my formula carbon for 150 USD in mint condition.
I made the jump from my Csl Elite 2 years ago And the difference was Power and feel. The Csl was too noisy and rattled if FEI was above 50% The strength of the FFB is much better with the V2.5 and at 100% will make you turn it down depending on how long your session is. With the Csl there was never enough power. ( My Csl was the original. Not Ps4.) One thing i've noticed with some that have the DD is they always turn the power down to the point the V2.5 would still have some left in the tank. It would have been nice if Barry compared the DD and V2.5 at similar FFB strength and tell us the quality difference and detail difference between them. Love your video's Barry as always.
I am an owner of a CSL v1.1 and is exactly the same description than you are commenting. You are always on the clipping edge, trying to find more power and better feelings, at least on iRacing. I've found the FEI problem is about a small tensor belt, that's becomes later this crackling feels and sounds. CSW v2.5 is far away better choice if you have the money.
Well.... Most wheels above a certain price point have the same kind of performance IE: the buttons work, the wheel is rigid, the paddles click nicely but it's the added amenities that make a Martin Ascher wheel cost what it costs... After taking a look at them while they do look like a nice wheel I don't think they're at that Martin Ascher level just yet
@@rizzeerizz8985 looks great but so far i have one big problem i do also drifting so the cord will be in the way and that is a bummer. also how warm does the unit get but it looks great and thanks for sharing the info. also here in oz this wheel be over $999 but still cheaper i guess
lol they are not manufacturing the USB cables, maybe Fanatec had contract on the braided version, supply was low so they moved to alternative. It's just a stupid USB cable. It's same with the $3 HDMI cable it can pull same res and frequency as the highend $50 HDMI cable. No one cares honestly.
If you think that price high, just check out the Australian site and then you will not complain about price. If you want quality you have to pay the price.
You should do a collaboration with AvE... BTW, there’s a power diode, Schottky I think, on that board behind the motor, which is prone to blowing up. I replaced mine with a somewhat generic power Schottky and it has been good ever since.
Another Great video Barry . Had mine just over a year but its great too see whats going on underneath . i do a lot of Gt and touring car races ("tin top"as you say) and wondering if the v2 rim would be good for those sort of races ? Keep up the good work Barry !
I'm sure you've been asked this too many times already, but how would you compare it to a lesser model like a g29? Is it a significant leap in performance?
@@yamabushi170 I've never used a g29 personally, but I will say this; the g29 is great for what it is, especially considering you can get a wheel, pedal, and shifter for like 300 ish new. However, it feels like a plastic toy compared to Fanatec 2.5 base and v3 pedals. You're not gonna find any plastic on the parts besides the buttons, and they're built very well in general. The Fanatec stuff feels much less like a toy/controller and much more like sim equipment. Thrustmaster is arguably a middle ground, but frankly, I think one is much better off either spending some more for Fanatec gear, or spending less and getting Logitech stuff. But if you're not looking to spend over a grand, a g29 or g920 will do you just fine as basic sim equipment. Only thing I'm not really a fan of is the lack of a clutch pedal
@@CGoody564 thanks for the reply! Yeah, from what I read I was coming to a similar conclusion, that being either to economise with the logitech and still have a decent quality wheel or just go for it and get the fanatec gear. The thrustmaster seems like a pointless compromise for a relatively small saving over the fanatec and there seems to be some inconsistency with the build quality on the TM wheels. I'm currently playing with a really old logitech wheel which is pretty flimsy and has really weak ffb but I'm still loving the racing, having started a few months ago initially with a joy pad. I'll stick it out for a bit longer and if I'm still keen then I'll probably take the plunge with the fanatec csw 2.5 and 3 pedal set.
@@yamabushi170 also remember you don't need to upgrade all at once. You could order pedals at one point, base and wheel at another, etc. If you can afford a bundle and it saves you some money, go for it, but if you can't, you can always piece it together Direct drive would be preferred over belt driven, but for a belt driven base, you're not finding much better than fanatec
@@CGoody564 well I just decided to take the plunge and got the clubsport 2.5 with the v3 load cell pedals and gt wheel. I could have gone for dd but that's twice the price and I reckon if I decide to upgrade further I can get a damn good price for the clubsport so it's win win imo. Can't wait to try it out!
Both fans on my unit are very loud and actually introduce vibrations in the wheel when they turn on. Really annoying. What quality fans can i use to replace them?
You should really give Assetto Corsa Competizione a try. Btw I own a 2.5 as well and I run it at drift mode -1. I wouldnt reccomend going any lower than -2.
It's crazy how Pc2 feels completely different with the right custom ffb file... Most people missed out on the game because the didn't know... It's a shame because it's such a good SIM when you know how to set it right...
in fact we have to admit that project cars 2 has evolved very well over the years, contrary to the idea that many have that it would not be a "simulator". It has matured, continues to receive many updates, and has definitely turned out to be the best software for both worlds: simulation and just fun.
I had it for a short while and used custom FFB profiles. My main gripe was that any road car I drove felt like a total boat, huge sway and lean on anything I tried. Just odd feeling all around
I like your reviews, but it would be nice if you specified competitors at the price point. Like what would be comparable to this wheelbase? Same with your other reviews. Just makes it easier on the users to know what else is out there.
I wish they had one fan pulling the other pushing air out that would keep it even more cooler as design factor. Nice review think overall this will be the wheel I get n settle on as Logitech wheel just isn’t cutting it for me.
So I decided to take mine apart, because you did (obvs) and when I put it back together and plugged it in- it created a gravitational singularity in my man cave that spaghettified my two Jack Russells. Good news no more crazy dogs bothering me- bad news I'll never get that vision out of my head and really bad news is that my wife is pissed. And I immediately got a message from Fanatec saying don't even think about returning it, we know what you did. My wife is a fancy London born and Cambridge educated lawyer and she is going to sue the universe and quantum physics. She loved those dogs man.
Did you actually run Drift mode at -5? It slows down quick movements massively and i dont understand how you can like it, especially you since you have experience with DDs.
I tried 0 yesterday on ACC and I could barely feel anything at all on the car, I couldn't catch any slides, the wheel would barely move. Put it on -1 and I had feeling again. Not going any higher, though.
@@jeffbanfieldsflwr3537 the software is called fanalabs, but Barry calls it fananalabs. He sticks in an extra a and n. Makes it sound more like banana. Just amuses me, that's all ☺️
I always wonder where you are pointing when you suggest to "hit the subscribe button" at the end of your videos. You point up the top, but the sub button is below the video :-P
I'm honestly a little worried with firmware or hardware issues, even if its a rarity. because im dumb as a post but fast as F. so getting back into racing on PC or console ranked, I want this as my premium buy, but while being more open to great used packages. Your videos over the last few months have really given me a solid understanding of all wheels and the value and why they cost differently. But I'm not tech-ee, so I'm a little worried haha. Can you race online in VR against people? ONline? Ive been going to VR ASC and iRacing, and wide screen 34, I've been renting a seat at a sim place for about 1.25 hours so far. I cant believe all the things you say are true. I've tried a few rims, bases, seats and tv or VR... its so cool.. This VR is just too real. I had F4, F3 and F2 at spa... and my last 15 they let me do F1 at spa and barcelona. it was incredible focusing the sight and braking in hard zones, and looking through the corner or to the exit in fast corners and blind corners... incredible.
exellent reviews .... not only this :-) Do you notice an empty - tiny space while steeing with force-power ? from left to right or right to left ? perhaps is something loose inside on my base but I don't see anything loose ...