I agree, I LOVE Fanatec products, but this pricing is beyond me. I understand it must be high quality, but why on earth would anyone pay more than the BMW Rim, which is licensed and has a ton more technology and must cost more to produce, for this basic (though elegant) wheel? I don't get it myself. Have to pass on this one, and I have bought about everything else they make. Hope more choices from Fanatec in the $75-200 range become available in the near future. Also agree a universal adapter for the QR that included the necessary circuit board/tuning menu, which could mate to a matching adapter to put on standard available 3rd party (real car) wheels is a winner. This would sell well to CSW owners like me and open up your market to new potential customers.
Nice looking wheel but very expensive. Please concentrate on mechanical/electrical improvements like a drop-in motor upgrade/replacement package with ball bearings and tighter windings (like the Bühler 1.13.046.401/404.which is actually made in Germany and has a stall torque of 290mNm). The weight of this rim would completely overwhelm the stock motors (about 5.2 Nm of torque) which already has difficulty with the weight of the BMW rim. Two Bühlers would provide 8.8 Nm of torque which would considerably enhance the feel of the ffb when using the larger, heavier rims. Currently only the Formula rim provides adequate ffb strength without clipping.
This is not meant as a criticism of the existing CSW design, which is ground breaking in many respects. However, the bushed Mabuchi motors used fade as they heat up and the bushings obscure the fine detail of the ffb that the electronics resolve from the sim software.
Like I mentioned to other fellow Simracers... I just feel insulted. It's ok to have diversity, but overprice a product like that?!?! With a little more I could buy another wheel base from other manufacturer... Come one!!
Insulted? Really? just because a company makes a product that you are not interested in and think its costs too much? there are many companies that make expensive products I'm not interested in but it doesn't make me feel insulted, I just don't buy them
Cmon Kevin, we Csw owners are waiting 2 years for promised new rims and we get this!? - for price biger than licenced Bmw GT wheel - this must be a joke :-(
Nice looking wheel but very expensive. Please concentrate on mechanical/electrical improvements like a drop-in motor upgrade/replacement package with ball bearings and tighter windings (like the Bühler 1.13.046.401/404.which is actually made in Germany and has a stall torque of 290mNm). The weight of this rim would completely overwhelm the stock motors (about 5.2 Nm of torque) which already has difficulty with the weight of the BMW rim. Two Bühlers would provide 8.8 Nm of torque which would considerably enhance the feel of the ffb when using the larger, heavier rims. Currently only the Formula rim provides adequate ffb strength without clipping.
This is not meant as a criticism of the existing CSW design, which is ground breaking in many respects. However, the bushed Mabuchi motors used fade as they heat up and the bushings obscure the fine detail of the ffb that the electronics resolve from the sim software.
Hit the nail on the head. This should be top priority.
I agree with the sentiments towards red leather, or at least another color that compliments the rest of the Fanatec gear. As for the rim style, it certainly is something different from the F1 and GT2, and it's unique when compared to competing products.
Personally, I just don't drive the cars that would best suit the rim.
As far as iRacing goes (stat sheet), only 94 of the 12,973 drivers that competed in road racing events last week used the Lotus 49. Even if you consider MX-5 and oval drivers as potential purchasers of this rim, the value proposition is weak.
the only way i would buy this wheel (if i had the CSW, i have the csr elite) is if the rim actually unbolts from the Q/R and you actually can adapt to whatever aftermarket steering wheel you wanted. on my csr-e i need to press a button on the wheel in order to connect to the pc, is this the same with the CSW?
First of all I'm very happy to see this wheel rim as a life sign from Fanatec. The old blog has been very quiet lately and I started to get worried. But since this came out, all seems to be OK.
From my point of view, the wheel rim itself is nothing special or fancy, but it's at least decent-looking. I think there's not much more you can expect from a classic wheel rim in terms of looks. A wooden rim like on the "OMP Monza" would have looked good too, but in my eyes the leather is ok (and will most likely provide good grip).
The price tag is really heavy on this for just a bit of aluminum and leather, so I assume the rim itself is only the half of the story!
At least on the consoles, you can't live without a set of buttons! On the PC, it would be quite annoying to re-map all the buttons (that formerly were on your GT or Formula rim) to the keyboard just to compensate the lack of the buttons on the rim. I assume not much customers would be ok with that extra work.
So here's a wild guess, and I hope no one feels offended or sad when I'm completely wrong: There MIGHT be a separate Fanatec button box on the way that provides all buttons and pots like the rims do, and it COULD probably be plugged into the separate interface port in the wheel base. Then it would make sense to include this button box in the set price of the rim and that would surely justify the high price tag.
Let me just make a short calculation: You get an awesome Derek Speare button box for around 130 bucks. A quality classic style wheel rim with leather would go for about 150 bucks (check out the MOMO Prototipo, looks pretty similar, don't you think?) The prices above are retail prices, so Fanatec should be able to obtain or produce these somewhat cheaper. So rough-guessing with that prices should leave Fanatec with a fair margin. To sum this up there would be at least 70 bucks leftover for the quick release system, which sounds realistic to me when peeking at the formula rim price. So in theory, an all in one package with rim and button box sounds possible to me.
So I can only hope I'm on the right track with my wild speculations. If I'm wrong then please excuse the waste of time reading this...
For people who like classic cars looks nice but is not my case and $350 for this rim is too much, how many classic cars we have in pc sim ? Just games like GT and Forza offer a wide variety of classic cars to enjoy this rim, but, without any buttons is no possible to connect on Playstation and the CSW is not compatible to the xbox 360 or xb one. I'm waiting for more lighter GT rim and DTM or F1 real size rim, and i hope in the near future you made something like a CSW v2 compatible to PS4, XB1 and PC because i can't back to use Logitech's and Thrustmaster's.
Well I´m a Fanatec admirer, fan and adict, so I´m buying.
We proudly present the NEW RIM for your ClubSport Wheel.
The CLASSIC rim features fine brown leather and polished aluminum and is the most stylish way to steer any classic car. No buttons disturb the nostalgic look so it is a perfect addition to your ClubSport Shifter. Of course it also features a metal quick release system like the other wheel rims.
The diameter is 35 cm and it looks and feels just like a real steering wheel. The metal hub cover made of polished aluminum gives a nice and elegant touch to it.
It sells for 349,95 USD (excl. tax) or 349,95 Euro (incl. VAT) and will be available for sale this summer.
We put a lot of effort into it and I hope you like it. What do you think?
A wheel completely devoid of any buttons is great for events! Yay!.. But I agree with the lot on the price tag.. it should retail for around €200.. Nevertheless, I guess I'll have to buy 6 of'em.....
Hi, happy CSW customer here (BMW & F1 rim + SQ shifter and CSPv2s).
This new rim looks great.
Though the price is unbelievable.
Thomas, I'm not going to tell you how to do business. I'm just a happy and (so far!) loyal customer.
This pricing is a bit insulting. It's nearly as much as the base unit itself. With the AU mark-up, that's close to 3 G27s. The price sends a message to the user base which makes us feel that maybe our investments weren't that smart in the long-run.
That price range is beginning to compete with custom rim builders for other base units.
On that note, here's some rambling. Perhaps the price is high to ensure people don't buy a cheap rim to salvage the CSW quick release mechanism for use with custom rims.
Why not make the CSW QR a separate product? Fanatec could clearly state the limitations of support and would no doubt sell in a volume where the overall profit would eclipse the 'per part' profit of these classic rims.
The Fanatec BMW and F1 rims are fantastic products in their own right and I would imagine would continue to sell well against 3rd party products based on price alone.
tl;dr: Thomas, I wasn't going to tell you how to do business but I just did, please sell CSW QR packages so we can make our own custom rims. I'd buy one of those (unlike the classic rim at that price - pretty as it is).
You might not like the rim or how the company is developing the wheels, that is ok I dont like clasic cars either, and i preffer the porsche one, but that is life, let's wait im sure we will have new products in the future for sure, if you dont like it in the moment ok dont buy it, no one force you into it!!!
Another silly topic i'm tired of hearing is to launch a CSW QR Package, really guys you are expeckting that?
Its impossible they can launch something like that, imagine you invent your own wheel that weigts more that the actual GT2 RIM and breaks your motors, or the own wheel you created its not balanced for turning properly, would you expect fanatec covering that under warranty?
Of course not, so they will not take the risk to let users create and experiment with their bases under warranty, its not worth it.
If they do launch this, expect the service center full of wheels!!!
Another silly topic i'm tired of hearing is to launch a CSW QR Package, really guys you are expeckting that?
Its impossible they can launch something like that, imagine you invent your own wheel that weigts more that the actual GT2 RIM and breaks your motors, or the own wheel you created its not balanced for turning properly, would you expect fanatec covering that under warranty?
Of course not, so they will not take the risk to let users create and experiment with their bases under warranty, its not worth it.
If they do launch this, expect the service center full of wheels!!!
silly topic? really?? it wont mater if a steering wheel is off balance FYI almost all steeing wheels are,the bigger size of the wheel will only make the FFB feel weaker and a 350mm wheel like the classic rim would be (from what ive seen) the prefered size anyway so i dont see what the big deal is. the motors in these wheels WILL break eventually even with the stock rims because they are being pushed too hard in this application wich is a fact.
The motors of the CSW are the same or similar as used in millions of FF wheels. There was a large batch of bad motors which caused big problems but with the latest motors those issues are gone.
Think about it. We are using the same motor on the Porsche wheels with 2,5 A and we use 2 of those motors in the CSW at 5A. The application is the same and stall is stall - no matter how you achieve it.
The problem was a wrong soldering method and wire shielding which was not suitable for high temperature. Only a limited amount of motors were affected but we are still talking about hundreds of wheels and even replacement motors had the issue as it took us too long to find out the root cause.
And it occurs ore likely if you race very often and so does the very vocal and influential minority of opinion leaders. That is the reason why you read so often about the issue.
If a motor is replaced now or if you purchase a CSW new and don't overclock your FOR or SPR power above 100 then you will be just fine. No engine will last forever and it always depends how you treat it. No matter if it is a real car or one of our wheels. But our products are designed for heavy use and the motor itself is fit for the purpose.
Like I mentioned to other fellow Simracers... I just feel insulted. It's ok to have diversity, but overprice a product like that?!?! With a little more I could buy another wheel base from other manufacturer... Come one!!
Insulted? Really? just because a company makes a product that you are not interested in and think its costs too much? there are many companies that make expensive products I'm not interested in but it doesn't make me feel insulted, I just don't buy them
Cmon Kevin, we Csw owners are waiting 2 years for promised new rims and we get this!? - for price biger than licenced Bmw GT wheel - this must be a joke :-(
I can understand people being disappointed if its not to their taste or what they were expecting but using words like "insulted" is being a bit over dramatic in my opinion
The motors of the CSW are the same or similar as used in millions of FF wheels. There was a large batch of bad motors which caused big problems but with the latest motors those issues are gone.
Think about it. We are using the same motor on the Porsche wheels with 2,5 A and we use 2 of those motors in the CSW at 5A. The application is the same and stall is stall - no matter how you achieve it.
The problem was a wrong soldering method and wire shielding which was not suitable for high temperature. Only a limited amount of motors were affected but we are still talking about hundreds of wheels and even replacement motors had the issue as it took us too long to find out the root cause.
And it occurs ore likely if you race very often and so does the very vocal and influential minority of opinion leaders. That is the reason why you read so often about the issue.
If a motor is replaced now or if you purchase a CSW new and don't overclock your FOR or SPR power above 100 then you will be just fine. No engine will last forever and it always depends how you treat it. No matter if it is a real car or one of our wheels. But our products are designed for heavy use and the motor itself is fit for the purpose.
You make some good points here, but I have one outstanding question.
As the owner of a CSR-E, which I have taken excellent care of, what happens when the motors DO die (since, like you said, "no engine will last forever")? I am out of warranty. Will you still work with me to replace them?
Or do you owe Microsoft tons of royalty money and you are not authorized to even develop software associated with making your wheels work on a major platform?
Who is making decisions over there?
Really?!?!?!
Very weird (as my face is scrunched up in disbelief).
Look at your Facebook comments. Don't you listen to your customers?
I think I can see where you are going with this and if I am reading between the lines correctly I think this is what most of us CSW owners have been waiting for. Am I right?
Comments
This is not meant as a criticism of the existing CSW design, which is ground breaking in many respects. However, the bushed Mabuchi motors used fade as they heat up and the bushings obscure the fine detail of the ffb that the electronics resolve from the sim software.
Personally, I just don't drive the cars that would best suit the rim.
As far as iRacing goes (stat sheet), only 94 of the 12,973 drivers that competed in road racing events last week used the Lotus 49. Even if you consider MX-5 and oval drivers as potential purchasers of this rim, the value proposition is weak.
From my point of view, the wheel rim itself is nothing special or fancy, but it's at least decent-looking. I think there's not much more you can expect from a classic wheel rim in terms of looks. A wooden rim like on the "OMP Monza" would have looked good too, but in my eyes the leather is ok (and will most likely provide good grip).
The price tag is really heavy on this for just a bit of aluminum and leather, so I assume the rim itself is only the half of the story!
At least on the consoles, you can't live without a set of buttons! On the PC, it would be quite annoying to re-map all the buttons (that formerly were on your GT or Formula rim) to the keyboard just to compensate the lack of the buttons on the rim. I assume not much customers would be ok with that extra work.
So here's a wild guess, and I hope no one feels offended or sad when I'm completely wrong:
There MIGHT be a separate Fanatec button box on the way that provides all buttons and pots like the rims do, and it COULD probably be plugged into the separate interface port in the wheel base.
Then it would make sense to include this button box in the set price of the rim and that would surely justify the high price tag.
Let me just make a short calculation:
You get an awesome Derek Speare button box for around 130 bucks.
A quality classic style wheel rim with leather would go for about 150 bucks (check out the MOMO Prototipo, looks pretty similar, don't you think?)
The prices above are retail prices, so Fanatec should be able to obtain or produce these somewhat cheaper. So rough-guessing with that prices should leave Fanatec with a fair margin.
To sum this up there would be at least 70 bucks leftover for the quick release system, which sounds realistic to me when peeking at the formula rim price. So in theory, an all in one package with rim and button box sounds possible to me.
So I can only hope I'm on the right track with my wild speculations. If I'm wrong then please excuse the waste of time reading this...
Best regards,
Timo
<:-P
Damn, we need to produce more right away.
WOW!!! What are you doing with all those wheel and pedal sets? I'm very curious. Please share.
You might not like the rim or how the company is developing the wheels, that is ok I dont like clasic cars either, and i preffer the porsche one, but that is life, let's wait im sure we will have new products in the future for sure, if you dont like it in the moment ok dont buy it, no one force you into it!!!
Another silly topic i'm tired of hearing is to launch a CSW QR Package, really guys you are expeckting that?
Its impossible they can launch something like that, imagine you invent your own wheel that weigts more that the actual GT2 RIM and breaks your motors, or the own wheel you created its not balanced for turning properly, would you expect fanatec covering that under warranty?
Of course not, so they will not take the risk to let users create and experiment with their bases under warranty, its not worth it.
If they do launch this, expect the service center full of wheels!!!
Please listen to this for next developments http://f-wheel.com/top-voted-csw-wheel-rims
Think about it. We are using the same motor on the Porsche wheels with 2,5 A and we use 2 of those motors in the CSW at 5A. The application is the same and stall is stall - no matter how you achieve it.
The problem was a wrong soldering method and wire shielding which was not suitable for high temperature. Only a limited amount of motors were affected but we are still talking about hundreds of wheels and even replacement motors had the issue as it took us too long to find out the root cause.
And it occurs ore likely if you race very often and so does the very vocal and influential minority of opinion leaders. That is the reason why you read so often about the issue.
If a motor is replaced now or if you purchase a CSW new and don't overclock your FOR or SPR power above 100 then you will be just fine. No engine will last forever and it always depends how you treat it. No matter if it is a real car or one of our wheels. But our products are designed for heavy use and the motor itself is fit for the purpose.
I can understand people being disappointed if its not to their taste or what they were expecting but using words like "insulted" is being a bit over dramatic in my opinion
You guys are a serious joke.
Where are your priorities?
XBOX ONE development?
Or do you owe Microsoft tons of royalty money and you are not authorized to even develop software associated with making your wheels work on a major platform?
Who is making decisions over there?
Really?!?!?!
Very weird (as my face is scrunched up in disbelief).
Look at your Facebook comments. Don't you listen to your customers?
I think I can see where you are going with this and if I am reading between the lines correctly I think this is what most of us CSW owners have been waiting for. Am I right?
Reserve me a wheel please Thomas
All the best Thomas.