Fanatec Wheel has Arrived!

Finally got mine delivered yesterday! GT2 Wheel / CSR Pedals / Rennsport Stand

It's a blast to spin doughnuts with, but I am so slow with it I feel like a n00b again!! If I try to go just a little too fast I end up fish-tailing into the grass. Any pointers for a 1st-time wheeler?

keep the Steering setting in the game set to normal... Not sure on the GT2 wheel settings, but you need to turn off the turning acceleration so you get the same turning rate... Also make sure that the lock to lock is set to 270 degrees. That is default for the game and best for FM4...

It will take some time to get used to it, so I just start using it... That's what I did... At first you will suck, but you will quickly get the hang of it...

I also just ordered some new pedals... I miss my wheel SO much!!!

Be patient with the wheel/yourself, keep the steering to normal or you'll get frustrated, and just keep practicing with it. I sucked with the wheel and I still kinda do compared to the controller(on FM4 at least). But it is a hell of a lot of fun to drive with it.

I especially like the season play events with the traffic on fujimi and nurburgring. Feels like a street race without any real consequences!

Markve91 wrote:

I especially like the season play events with the traffic on fujimi and nurburgring. Feels like a street race without any real consequences!

Haha yes! Actually, part of my motivation to finally get the wheel is the thought of using it on the streets in Horizon!!


Thanks for the tips guys, i think I'm just gonna start turning laps in a miata or something until I'm proficient

I reccomend running B or A class well tuned cars to learn. They don't have to be well behaved though.... A Miata tuned to B class should work well for learning and migh I reccomend Maple Valley, Infineon and Laguna Seca as your training venues.... Those three tracks offer a little bit of everything (speed, low and high speed turns, slow and quick transitions) and will help you with your transition to the wheel....

You will have to rethink your timing for turn-in and braking and learn to calm your inputs...

Awesome, thanks for the tips Lou!! I will start my training tonight

You will have to rethink your timing for turn-in and braking and learn to calm your inputs...

Definitely keep this in mind^ On the controller you can go full lock on the joystick, but that wont translate well on the wheel, you'll just understeer. It's surprising how little you need to turn the wheel to get the car around a corner

I'm finding this out quickly! The mid-engine LS3 fiero I built for this month's series is now understeering like crazy when I'm on the wheel

Fraid... The Wheel adds a TON of "feel" to the steering that you do not get from the controller... As Mark stated, with the same tune on normal steering, the controller can go full lock and the game sorts out the angle where the wheel is totally under your control. The game knows what controller you are using.

Tunes built for the controller do not always translate to the wheel. Especially ones that are built to take advantage of the Controllers full lock steering... Let me know what cars you are driving and I'll get you some tunes...

I'd love to have any tunes you think would be good for a beginner, thanks!

I'm getting better with the wheel... I fixed my issue of fish-tailing while exiting turns! Every time I accelerated out of an apex and had to correct I would end up in awful tank-slappers. No matter how delicate I was the wheel would just start oscillating out of my control until I tapped the brakes or lost it. Turned down (return to center) SPR to -4 & LIN to 80. Wow, what a difference I can actually make it around a track!! But I'm going to try and gradually work those setting back though, as it seems most "authorities" don't recommend those settings.

Try switching using Manual instead of Manual w/clutch or at lease lift throttle on up-shift and start working on rev-match for downs... Using Manual will automatically do the lift and rev-match and I prefer Manual over Manual w/clutch except with bone stock cars and AWD cars...

Yeah Lou's right, rev matching in a downshift helps a ton with keeping the car in control. It's a lot easier with the controller so you probably didn't have to worry too much about rev matching before...

It was 2nd nature on the controller, but it's different trying to remember to let off / rev match for gear changes with my foot instead of my finger haha. This is what I'll be concentrating on now that I've got the steering inputs somewhat under control. As always, thanks for the tips!

If you are using the Auto Clutch feature (ACL) on your wheel, this is essentially like POPPING the cluthc on a real car. Mark is right as well. With the controller, the effect of using the A+X and A+B method of quick shifting up and down is 25% or less of what it is using the wheel.

With the wheel I use Manual. Why?

The first and biggest are the consistent rev-matched down-shifts. While I'm going to be out accelerated by the same car+tune using Manual w/clutch, Manual allows provides significantly better braking due to the rev-match down-shifts. That means I can brake later and harder using the engine to it's fullest to slow me down. It works GREAT. Sometimes I'll even give it a quick double blip on the paddle as I am beginning to brake. I find that using the engine brake transition the weight forward reduced the potential for locking the brakes. That means I can even brake harder.

The second is acellerating out of a turn and shifting. Shifting up mid turn using Manual w/Clutch and the A+X/A+B or ACL shifting methods could result in spin-outs due to the "popping" of the clutch. That results in a slight "chirp" in a straight line, but will spin the car pretty quick in a turn. This is more pronounced using the a wheel. Why? Well, you get almost instant Lock-to-Lock with the controller (totally unrealistic), so it's a crap ton easier to recover. With the wheel, you will have a more pronounced slide or even a spin if you don't use throttle control. Using Manual doesn't completely remove the "slide" or "spin" from the equation, but it does reduce the affect and allows more time to correct...

Hope this helps...

Grumble grumble, Alright... I think you have convinced me to switch to manual (no clutch), at least for now! It would be smarter to have consistency for the time being and work on shaving those 10-ths of a second later

Tonight, after the series race, I went back after messing with my settings. Per Lou's post above, I tried using manual instead of manual + clutch. I never noticed the benefit of rev-matched downshifts, but I did tonight. I may start doing this during series races.

Secondly, I cranked my SENS up to 900. I didn't notice a HUGE difference, but I had a bit more fun and felt more in control of the car. I think I'm going to leave it that way for Forza.

Anybody know if changing tuning presets while in a game is bad? Before the qualifier I launched the game with my F1 preset and switched back while loading. When I got in I had no acceleration. A power-cycle set me back to normal.

EDIT: NM, the 900 SENS setting hadn't fully taken yet (disconnect wheel & power cycle for change to fully set). Don't think I like this after all.

EDIT EDIT: Second mind change. 900 is amazing.

As for changing preset procedure, I had luck with doing the following.
1. Turn off the wheel
2. Wait a beat
3. Turn on the wheel
4. Select Preset or change SENS
5. Press and hold guide button to connect wheel
6. Profit

I did this mid race and confirmed with one of the obnoxious metric display screens that the change had taken beautifully. Procedure makes me happy.

Just talking to myself.

Officially submitted my fanatec support ticket this morning. The wheel has increased its rate of freezing to a level that's unacceptable. I fully expect to have a lockup within 15 minutes of starting to race, everytime I race. Makes my stomach hurt to think about.

As in the wheel just locks to one side? I don't really have that problem when I do season play races, and I agree, 900 degrees on the wheel is amazing! The problem may just be unique to your wheel, I hope fanatec support is good to ya!

I'm seriously thinking about getting the fanatec wheel with horizon coming out soon, it seems like the perfect game to start using the weel with. right now it seems like it will come down to how much I have to spend. Any recommendations for what I should get?

Markve91 wrote:As in the wheel just locks to one side? I don't really have that problem when I do season play races, and I agree, 900 degrees on the wheel is amazing! The problem may just be unique to your wheel, I hope fanatec support is good to ya!

This is the video I sent to them, per their soup-Nazi esque support ticket rules.

http://www.mediafire.com/?9ui57b222h7iciw

EDIT:

I've put about 3 hours now into GT5 and have had no issues. The feedback has been solid and there's been no freezes or disconnects. If platform specific, I wonder if it's something to do with the connection mechanism. Although the wheel doesn't disconnect from the 360, perhaps it gets "confused". /speculate

I wish you could have a wired connection to the 360. Just sayin'.

Nub.. I have not had that issue. Sorry you're having trouble man! But... I have a CSR and not the CSR elite...

Lou, do you use a wireless headset for voice chat? I found this thread where users have come to the conclusion that the freezes happen when a mic is plugged into the wheel. The accepted work-around is to use the wireless headset.

Honestly that won't fly with me (as you can see in my post at the end of that thread), but it is certainly curious.

The first time my wheel went nuts it was on suzuka during the april mugen series. I had my regular old busted xbox headset plugged into the wheel that time. It also buzzed more than when I have it plugged into my controller.

Maybe it does have something to do with the mic being plugged in?

I do use the MS Wireless Heaset w/bluetooth.... The Headset interface on the wheel sucks.... I never had the wheel freak out, but I could count on my MIC going nuts about every 15-45 minutes. I would have to restart the wheel to fix it... I finally had enough and got the MS Wireless headset, and I love it... I can hear everyone great, and the battery lasts for hours... I can play 4-5 hour straight before it needs to be recharged.

(EDIT for more info) Beef... If you are going to get a wheel, go for the FANATEC CSR Value Pack... For $250, you get the wheel and pedals.. The shifters (bump and 6-speed w/ reverse) are a $60 option (or $30 for the Porsche shifters which is what I would get if I were doing it all over again)... There is one other force feedback wheel out there for the Xbox, and it's $250 as well (but it does NOT have a clutch pedal).... If you want to spend $360, you can pick up the CSR Value Pack XL... That comes with the CSR Wheel, Elite Pedals and the shifter set... The standard value pack comes with the standard pedals and no shifters (other than the paddles). There is 1 difference between the Std and Elite pedals, and that is the Elite pedals have a load-cell brake versus the standard pedals potentiometer...

There are not really many choices out there for wheels on the Xbox. I wish that Logitech would make the G series wheel for the Xbox, but it looks like Microsoft is only letting a few companies do it...