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Discussion List

  • Firmware 715 for CSR Elite UPDATE 2


    • The first CSR Elite wheels have arrived at the customers and in order to give them a perfect experience from day 1 we are releasing 715 right away.


      The new updater is not 100% ready yet but works much better than the old one and runs stable on Vista and Windows 7.


      Please read the manual inside the .zip file and follow it carefully. This is really important to assure a smooth installation. 


      715 will bring several  improvements and bugfixes.

      • Issue with shifter paddles on Xbox360
      • Imporved force feedback effects
      • Autoclutch
      • Improved damper on PC and PS3. PC needs a driver for further imporvement but this will follow soon. 


      This version is only compatible with CSR Elite but we are working on a similar version for the CSR, PWGT2 and PWTS wheels.


      Enjoy your CSR ELite with 715!


      UPDATE: Video manual in french. Thanks to our community tester Homed!


      http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xn1h66_procedure-mise-a-jour-du-firmware-pour-le-fanatec-csr-elite_videogames?start=0#from=embediframe


      If anybody would like to make a video manual in a different language Ican post it here as well.


      UPDATE 2:


      English fw upgrade manual made by Patrick Spence. Thanks a lot!



       

    -1 comment 762 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR E benchmarked


    • We have received several great reviews but I would like to highlight the benchmark made by sonac because this has never been done before.


      He posted his brilliant summary in  his blog at the Fanatec fansite:


      http://f-wheel.com/reviews/csr-elite-wheel-benchmarked


      It is important that you read the text as looking at the figures alone will not give you the full picture.The PWT2 and PWGT3RS fall back in this test because of their heavy wheel rim.The title of the test 1.1 is also a bit misleading as instead of just FF strength, this test shows a combination of strength, speed and reaction time.


      The results are pretty obvious and makes  the CSR E the fastest and strongest wheel with the most linear force feedback curve and smallest FF deadzone on the market.


      It also shows how low the friction of the system is which is important to feel even the smallest sensations.


      If I am looking at the chart of the  chart of the 1.1 test, I am wondering if you can also draw any conclusions from this test in regards to the precision of the steering axis. Perhaps somebody wants to investigate that...


       

    -1 comment 232 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR Elite pre-orders online again UPDATE 1


    • Time for several good news:


      All pre-ordered wheels have arrived in both the EU and USA. In the USA we are still waiting for customs clearing but Eu is done and we will be starting shipping out wheels from tomorrow. Wheels will be shipped no matter if we have other items which have been ordered with it on stock or not.


      We except the US clearance to be done anytime as well but it is not in our hands and US customs is a bit difficult sometimes.


      We also are about to receive a second shipment so that we will have more inventory which will be shipped out before Christmas. This is true for both the US as well as the EU webshhop. As the situation is the US is not 100% under control yet we will start offering the wheel in Europe first.


      Quantity is extremely limited so grab your wheel before we have to take it offline again. 


      UPDATE 1


      The US wheels cleared customs as well and are on the way to the warehouse.


      This means we also open the pre-order for the US webshop. 


      A note for Canadian customers. We can only promise that the wheels which are pre-ordered now will leave our warehouse before Christmas but it depends on Canadian customs how fast you will have it at your door. We are currently setting up a Canadian warehouse and webshop so that we can avoid such problems in future.

    -1 comment 280 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Forza Motorsport CSR Elite Wheel Community Reviews UPDATE 7
    -1 comment 428 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • FM4 review embargo and recommended settings after the patch


    • We finally got the community test wheels out of the US customs. Although we shipped EU and US at the same time, it took ages until UPS managed to get things done and so these wheels arrive just a few days ahead of the regular first shipment to customers. 


      Good thing is that we learned from this trial run so we can avoid such a situation for the customer wheels.


      The review embargo for the Forzs Motorsport CSR Elite wheel will end this Saturday at 18.00 CET (German time).


      The recommended settings have changed after the patch.


      The steering mode "simulation" let all cars oversteer more easily. Even the slowest Nissan Datsun 510 going uphill on Fujimi Kaido will oversteer easily although the power of the car is not enough to go higher than second gear most of the time. Do an oval track with a Mercedes C63 and you will fly off in every corner. Tim Schrick mentioned the tendency to oversteer the virtual M5 already on his comparision to the real car and he was using the old simulation mode.


      I think the problem is not the oversteering but calling the mode "simulation". If T10 would have chosen "drift mode" it would have been more appropriate and still makes sense as it is fun to play. Remember: difficult not equal to realistic.


      If you want to have more realistic car behavior and be faster than in the old simulation mode, you need to turn the steering mode to "normal" now.


      If you stay in "simulation" mode it helps to turn down the sensitivity to 270° or even lower to 180° to make ultra fast movements. This is not recommended [edit] for smooth drivers!


      Button clutching:


      To map a button to work as an analog axis is ok as long as it does not bring any speed advantage. Due to the many complains of our customers and the absolutely legitimate desire to stay competitive with a wheel against a user with a controller we decided to ...


      (to be continued in the CSR E reviews)

    -1 comment 452 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR Pedals and CSR Value pack delivery


    • We just received the shipment of the CSR pedals in Europe and USA and we will start shipping to customers right away.


      The back orders in Europe were too high to deliver all open orders. All orders placed after the 28th of November will be served with the next shipment which should arrive later this week.

    -1 comment 227 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR E and CSW production UPDATE 1


    • More CSR Elite shipments will leave China next week and those shipments should arrive before Christmas as well. The delay on the community test wheels showed us problems with paperwork which we can avoid for future shipments. The last community testers should get their wheels by middle of next week so expect the embargo to end on Friday 9.12. at 18.00 CET (German time).


      We will have enough wheels to fullfil all pre-orders and even more to start taking pre-orders again soon. But we will only do that once all open orders are shipped or at least 100% safe.


      As we are now in control of the CSR E production in terms of quantity and quality we can now focus on the ClubSport Wheel (CSW) and both rims.

      Production for CSW is now planned to start in January but we just added more features and a new PCBA design which should improve quality. This new design is not fully tested yet so I cannot confirm any date yet.

      Due to our good UPS freight rates we will offer direct import from China by UPS so shortly after production we should be able to ship wheels.

      Best case: January

      Worst case: April


      After that we fully take care about the ClubSport handbrake and shifter and they should follow quickly once we really concentrate on them. Multitasking is usually delaying all projects to make so making things in a sequence is surprisingly faster very often.


      The nice surprises we have for the CSS will compensate you for waiting.


       


      UPDATE:


      We are about to receive the first CSR E shipment early next week in both US and EU so if everything goes smoothly we can ship all open orders next week.


      There are more wheels to come before the end of the year so we will start taking pre-orders again very soon.


       

    -1 comment 262 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • New FM4 improves Fanatec wheel support and fixes no-credit bug

    • Today, Turn 10 has released a patch for Forza Motorsport 4 which fixes the no-credit issue and also the countersteering issue.

      Adapting the game to our wheels seem to be very important for our partners at Turn 10 and we are very happy about that. Thanks to all of you to who helped us to identify the problems.

      Please read all the details directly from an interview with Dan.

      http://forzamotorsport.net/en-us/underthehood5/

      My personal experience after just 3 races is that driving became more challenging.  But in World Tour i got bored quickly so I am happy that the AI seems to be faster and driving more challenging. If it is more realistic I have to find out by doing more laps and of course I would have to do more real world comparisons with all those cars in my (virtual) garage. :)

       

    -1 comment 243 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Darin Gangi no longer working for Endor


    • This is a sad day for us because our latest team member Darin Gangi has left the team today. Darin is also the partial owner of SRT Media which produces insidesimracing.tv on Youtube.


      He has to take care of the show and we were not able to solve this conflict of interest. 


      Darin will always stay a close firend of us and we will be happy to support his show. I wish him all the best for his work. In the short period he worked for us he gave us valuable input how to imporve our service and products and we will miss him.

    -1 comment 319 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR Elite review embargo ends soon

    • The embargo for unboxing videos and reports ends today at 20.00 CET. As soon as you detect such a repor, make sure to post here in the comments!

      The embargo for reviews is supposed to end next Saturday but in the US there was an issue with the shipment so not all testers have received their wheels yet. If this problem cannot be solved today and the wheels arrive in time, I will postpone the review.

      This will give the community testers also more time to get familiar with the new firmware which will be released this week.

      About shipping status: We have wheels on the way to the US and EU but I will not tell you how many and if you are part of this shipment or not. I hope that all customers understand that we are very busy at the moment and cannot give a daily status on every single order. All open CSR E orders are supposed to be shipped before Christmas as promised. I will report as the first wheels are ready to be depatched to our customers. Everybody is excited and so are we. :)

    -1 comment 255 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Another funny tradition: Cyber Monday

    • I love the American innovators to make people buy something. After Black Friday comes "Cyber Monday".

      As our Black friday offer was such a huge success we are also offering a special which is valid just today:

      Porsche 911 GT3 RS Cyber Monday Edition

      You get:

      • Porsche 911 GT3RS V2
      • CSR Elite Pedals (yes, the ones with load cell)
      • Porsche Shifter set

      We get:

      Just 249,95 USD / EUR instead of the regular 359,85. This is a discount of  30,5%!

      Let's see when we will get a Pink Saturday or Space Tuesday.

      And because discounts are great in the long run as well, we are permanently lowering the price of the Porsche 911 Carrera Wheel to 99,95€ in Europe.  (until supply lasts)

      Here is a review about this wheel

    -1 comment 413 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR Elite pre-orders stopped


    • We a are being overun by CSR Elite orders so unfortunatley we have to cut off taking pre-orders for the CSR E.


      Our production is running full speed but demand is exceeding supply. We will start flying in the wheels from next week and will ship all open orders before Christmas as promised.


      As soon as we can see when we can bring in more wheels, we  will take the pre-orders again.


      This situation is also affecting the ClubSport wheel as the metal parts are the bottleneck. If we would offer the ClubSport wheel now, the situation would just get "worse" so we decided to expand our production first in order to make sure we can deliver the high demand for these wheels.

    -1 comment 240 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Black Friday: RennSport Wheel Stand just 69,95!


    • Black Friday is the friday after Thanksgiving and a popular day in the USA to start the Christmas season for many shops.


      As giving a discount is somthing our European customers will aprreciate as well are we offering a Black Friday Special this year. This offer is only avaliable for today.


      RennSport Wheel Stand V2: 69,95 USD / €uro


      This is a discount of up to 46% on this product and this offer is only available until supply lasts.


       

    -1 comment 260 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR E and CSW drilling templates


    • Attached you will find two drilling templates to mount the Forza Motorsport CSR Elite Wheel and the ClubSport Wheel to a cockpit or Wheel Stand.


      Both wheels come with an adapter unit which makes the wheels compatible to the mounts of the Porsche wheel series.


      If you want to mount it on a table you need to get the ClubSport table clamp. This will give you a rock solid mount with adjustable angle.


       

    -1 comment 1.1K views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR Elite Pedal review


    • Shaun Cole of Insidesimracing.tv made a very good review about the CSR Elite pedals and how they compare to the other Fanatec pedals.


      He also explains the benefits of a load cell brake versus a potentiometer brake which is very helpful.


      And we received a fantastic score of 9/10!


      I just might want to add that the Clubsport Pedals  are not just more sturdy because it is all metal but they also come with magnetic and contactless sensors for gas/brake and with a rumble motor for the brake.The CSP bundle with the Tuningkit is sold out in the USA and only available in Europe anymore.


      Here is the comparison sheet mentioned in the video:


      http://www.fanatec.de/html/pd_overview.html


       


       

    -1 comment 573 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Forza MotorSport 4: One way to play

    • Turn 10 made a nice video about the 4 different ways to play the game.

      Of course for everybody reading this here on my blog there is actually just one real option. ;)

    -1 comment 242 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Driving a M5 in real vs. FM4


    • Here is a nice video made for a German TV channel to compare a ride on the Nürburgring GP track.


      Tim Schrick was driving a BMW M5 in reality and the same car in the simulation.


      To get an adequate counterpart for this great car, he was playing Forza Motorsport 4 on our RennSPort Cockpit underfloor cockpit.


      As the video is in German you might want to know his feedback. The real car has more traction than featured in the game and in general it is much easier to drive the real car than the virtual car. The speed, shifting points and times were pretty close but the missing g-forces make a big difference.


      This is actually exactly my feeling as well when I had the chance to make a very similar test with an Audi some time ago. Some gamers mix up realism with difficulty. Just because a game is easy to play it does not mean it is unrealistic. A test like this proofs that driving a car in real can be less challenging to a certain degree. Of course we should not forget that in real live there is no rewind button and much more physical stress for the body so there will alsways be some difference between the worlds. But it is getting closer...

    -1 comment 219 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR Elite Wheel Community Tests


    • Aside from the beta tests we have also selected the testers for the community tests for the Forza Motorsport CSR Elite wheel.


      This time, we did not pick those testers but let the community decide to choose members who should review the CSR ELite wheel for them.


      The following communities were involved.


       


      1. Forzamotorsport.net


      Organized by:  Savoury69


      http://forums.forzamotorsport.net/forums/thread/4977772.aspx


      Winners of the poll:

      • VVV Worm
      • Porsche 9146
      • Soadieman


      2. GTplanet.net


      Organized by:  Sandboxgod


      http://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=229227


      Winners of the poll:

      • Sonac
      • Sandboxgod
      • CrispyChicken49


      3. Insidesimracing.tv


      Organized by: Darin Gangi


      http://www.insidesimracing.tv/forums/viewtopic.php?f=0&t=5526 


      Winners of the poll:

      • PAPA
      • Flunky
      •  rbracer


      4. iRacing.com


      Organized by Darin Gangi


      http://members.iracing.com/jforum/posts/list/1822040.page  (members only)


      Winners of the poll:

      •  Michael Main
      • John Molony
      • Peter Taggeselle


       


      Congratulations to all the winners and a big thanks to verybody involved to make this happen.


      We had a small delay on the shipment of the samples but all testers will receive their wheels next week. After the last tester has received his wheel, I will determine the end of the review embargo so all community and betatesters can post their impressions.


      It looks to be a great way to do the tests as this is more objective than anything else. A review made by an unbiased community member which has deep knowledge of simracing and is well respected in the community.


       


       


       

    -1 comment 260 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR Elite available for pre-order


    • Finally!


      The Forza Motorsport CSR Elite wheel is ready for pre-order from now on. We will fly in products from China by UPS airfreight so that we can ship it in time for Christmas.


      This increases the cost of the wheel a little bit so that the new price is 539,95 Euro (incl VAT) or 539,95 USD (excl. VAT).


      We only have a very limited amount of wheels available as production is still slow due to increased quality control measurements. We rather give the workers more time to assemble it nicely and save time with the shipping instead of rushing things to the market.


      This wheel is a new milestone in simracing and you will discover your games in a complete different way.

    -1 comment 263 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Video manual for the CSR P Inversion Kit


    • Darin just finished the video manual how to invert your CSR and CSR Elite Pedals with the optional Inversion Kit.


      This should help you to get the conversion done as smooth as possble.


      We plan to make such a video for all our products because reading a manual is boring and everybody hates reading manuals, right?


       


       

    -1 comment 361 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • CSR Elite production has started

    • Here is some fresh information from the production line in China.

      We have started the production of the CSR Elite wheels and will start shipping very soon. As soon as the products are shipped we will start taking pre-orders

      We should be able to ship a few hundred wheels in time for Christmas.

      For the CSW we have started to prepare the material and will start production in a few weeks as well. And I am bringing home some samples of the CSS as well.

    -1 comment 254 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Endor Japan is now registered


    • We have received the certificate of Incorporation for Endor Japan.


      This means we will soon be able to start offering our products to the Japanese market. We are now working on setting up the logistics and localising the website and manuals etc.


      I would also like to introduce you to Yoshihiko Sugahara which will manage Endor Japan and will take care about customer satisfaction in this country.


      The products have passed the Japanese certification as well so we will ship to Japan very soon.


      In parallel we do the same for Australia and making good progress there as well.

    -1 comment 683 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • New product bundles available with CSR pedals


    • Right in time for the Christmas season we are offering two new product bundles at a special price:


      Porsche 911 GT3 RS V2 CSR Edition

      • 911 GT3 RS V2 wheel
      • CSR Shifter set
      • CSR pedals 


       Advantages over other wheels in this price range:

      • Bigger wheel rim
      • Genuine Alcantara as used in real Porsche cars
      • Silent and smooth belt drive
      • Adjustable steering angle in games like GT5 which do not allow those adjustments in game
      • ABS vibration to indicate locking tyres
      • Tuning display to change settings and show telemetry data (PC)
      • Additional vibration motors in wheel rim
      • Pedal distance adjustable
      • Inversion option for pedals
      • Long pedal plates for better ergonomics and realism
      • Full metal knob on shifters
      • Additional sequential shifter 
      • Possibility to upgrade the wheels with CSPs and many other shifter and pedal options in future


      Price: 279,95 






      Forza Motorsport CSR Wheel Value Pack

      • Forza Motorsport CSR Wheel
      • CSR Pedals


      Advantages are almost all of the above mentioned plus the Xbox 360 compatibility and great new shifter paddles.


       Price: 299,95


       


      Both bundles are available as soon as the CSR pedals can be shipped on Dec. 7th.


       

    -1 comment 240 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Interview
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  • CSR P and CSR P IKIT now available in the webshop


    • We can finally start selling the long awaited CSR pedals and the inversion kit for CSR and CSR Elite pedals.


      Both products are now available in the webshop.


      The CSR pedals are already on the way to the warehouse and we will start delivery on Dec 1st.


      The CSR P IKIT is already in stock and we can start shipping this week.


      Price:


      CSR P: 79,95 USD/ € (excluding VAT / including VAT)


      CSR P IKIT: 49,95 USD/ € (excluding VAT / including VAT)


       


       

    -1 comment 259 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Porsche 911 Carerra now reduced to 129,95 €


    • The Porsche 911 Carrera wheel is already sold out in the USA and now we reduced the price of this wheel to only 129,95€ in Europe


      For this money you get:

      • 900° rotation
      • Large wheel rim diameter (30 cm)
      • Big pedals with clutch
      • 6+1 h-pattern shifter
      • Tuning functions


       Look no further because you won't find any comparable offer anywhere else.


       

    -1 comment 206 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • FM4 "no rewards" issue UPDATE: Solution


    • UPDATE


      Fanatec wheels are too good to be true?


      Thanks to the great feedback. Because of your feedback we have been able to reproduce it. It always happens if you do an extreme clean lap without any countersteering. The most easy way to reproduce it is on an oval.


      Special thanks to our members FakeThinkpad and kartman21 who detected the solution. 


      What happens? The Fanatec wheels allow minimal movements of the steering wheel and extreme precise manouvers so that the game apparantly thinks that the user must be cheating as this cannot be achieved by a human. 


      The better you drive the more often it happens. It is independent from the steering angle but a clean lap is more likely if you use higher sensitivity like 900°. In theory it can happen with a controller or other wheel as well but so far I was not able to proof that because it is hard for me to drive clean without our wheels. ;)


      Solution:


      1. Make sure that you make at least one drift with countersteering per race


      2. Reduce your steering angle to 270° to emulate the MS wheel which makes it harder to drive clean but avoids the issue more likely.


      Of course, T10 is working on a patch to solve this issue but it takes time until those things go through all internal testing so please be a little bit patient.


       


       


       


      IT IS NO LONGER NEEDED TO ASNWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:


      It seems that we had aerver issue so my last post on this subject was lost.


       


      I would like to ask you again to help us to reproduce the problem so please let me knowthe following.


      1. Did this issue already occured to you? (how often)


      2. What Xbox console version are you using?


      3. What sensitivity did you use when the issue occured?


      4. Did you find any setting or solution where this issue did not occur?


      5. Did it happen with SEN at 270 (this emulates the MS wheel)? (If yes, how often?)


      6. What wheel do you have?


      7. Did this happen to you or have you heard of that this is happening with other wheels or controllers as well?


      8. What version of the game do you have? (demo, full, NTSC, PAL, updates)


      9. Did you make a full installation (disc 1) on hard disk?


      10. Did you turn on the Xbox console with the Xbox button on the wheel or with the power button on the console?


       


      It seems that not everybody driving a Fanatec has this issue so there must be a difference.  It could bethat setting the sensitivity to 270 would solve the issue but we need to confirm that. We only received one FM4 copy so far and it works on 900 as well on our system but this version is not a retail version.


      I also saw a report that saving the difficulty settings after loading the race can avoid the issue.


      There are already threads in other forums and I would like to list those for reference:


      Video:


      http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/driving/forza-motorsport-4/show_msgs.php?topic_id=m-1-60613949&pid=997653&page=0


      http://forums.forzamotorsport.net/forums/thread/4861891.aspx


      http://www.forzaplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=32


      http://forums.forzamotorsport.net/forums/thread/4879072.aspx

    -1 comment 349 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • ClubSport Pedal Tuning Edition with free Tuning Kit UPDATE


    • For a limited period of time we are now offering the ClubSport pedals with a free Tuning Kit.


      We have ordered too many Tuning Kits so this is your chance now to get our top of the line product in a very attractive bundle. No other pedal offers the combination of magnetic sensors, adjustable load cell and ABS vibration.


      On a side note: After considering an inversion kit for the CSPs, I have decided that we will not do that for the CSP as it is too complicated to modify and it would be an ergonomic compromise as these pedals were built like real race car pedals which are mounted to the floor. This is how they work best and this is how they were designed to be used.


      Side note 2: We do not plan to make any special bundle offers with the CSP and the CSR Elite or CSW at this point.


       


      UPDATE


      All CSP orders which have been shipped within the last two weeks can contact our sales team and receive the Tuning kit for free or get a credit note if they have ordered CSP with Tuning kit together.

    -1 comment 377 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Who has recieved the CSR wheel, pedal or shifter and how do you like it?


    • Hmm... I guess the headline already explains what this post is about.


      Post your pictures or movies! Tell us how like the new products.

    -1 comment 266 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Preview of FM4 demo with the PWGT2


    • Have a look at the public demo of FM4 and some coverage of the 911 GT2 wheel with ClubSport pedals.


      It looks like this is the same demo as we have seen at E3, Gamescon or TGS before.


      Go download it now!


       

    -1 comment 254 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Fanatec presents the official BMW M3 GT2 rim for ClubSport Wheel


    • Fanatec and BMW present the official M3 GT2 racing wheel rim which is compatible to the ClubSport wheel base. 


      The rim was presented at the 25th anniversary of the BMW factory in Regensburg together with touring car champion Dirk Adorf.


      I am proud that we are now working with another German premium car manufactuerer who never licensed a racing wheel before. BMW not only makes one of the best cars in the world, the brand BMW is one of the most valuable brands worldwide. It is an honour to be selected to make a wheel rim for them.


      We had a close co-operation with BMW Motorsport and they supported us with everything we need to make this wheel.


      I have personally a close relationship to BMW as BMW has a factory in Landshut and having 4 BMWs in my garage (incl. 3 BMW Isettas) and I did the Mille Miglia in a BMW which was my best car experience ever. (Followed by driving a Porsche 959 on the Autobahn when I was just 18)


      Thanks to Maurice (Simracer92) for helping us to make this video public. You will be able to test this wheel very soon.

    -1 comment 314 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Introducing the GT rim for the ClubSport wheel - UPDATE


    • Originally I planned to show a video here which shows the new GT rim for the ClubSport wheel but a terrible accident happened.


      Darin uploaded the video on Youtube and marked it private. He made a handwritten note of the link and faxed it to me before he went to our monthly team meeting on the Bahamas and then will be gone for his annual 8 weeks vacation.


      The problem is that I cannot read the link and I need your help to identify the missing letters.


      This is the link:


      "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=?nuh?qGwOC?";


      As you can see, I could not read three letters which are replaced with question marks ("?"). 


      One of the missing letters looks like an "d" or "e" or "f" and the other looks very much like a "p", "o", "g" or "d". Or maybe a "c"?


      Another one is impossible to read but I don't think it is a number. 


      There is one question mark which was implemented in the link already. I think they do it on all videos.


       


      Please HELP ME!


      If you are the first to post the complete working link to the video here you will get this GT rim for free. Thanks a lot for your help.


      UPDATE:


      Wow. That was fast! I wanted to play around a little bit with guys but  Simracer92 is a genious. Well done! You really deserved this wheel. And in order to let you drive it asap, i will add you to the betatest program of the CSW.


       

    -1 comment 199 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • DTM star Martin Tomczyk in our Rennsport E-Motion Cockpit UPDATE

    • Our RennSport E-motion cockpit was displayed on the worlds biggest car fair, IAA, in Frankfurt.

      One of the special guests we had was the DTM champion Martin Tomczyk (AUDI) driving in our simulator on a Porsche 911 Gt3 RS wheel. (All part of the big Volkswagen family now).

      UPDATE

      Congratulations to Martin as he just became the new DTM champion 2011! 

      image

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  • New driver version 114

    • We have a new driver available for all our wheel: Version 114

      Changelog

      • new design on the installation pages and user interface (more neutral)
      • Added CSR wheel compatibility 
      This version is stable but still beta. Please report any bugs you find. Thanks.
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  • CSR product line shipping info - UPDATE 2


    • This post will show the status of the shipments of the whole CSR product line.

      • CSR wheel
      • CSR Elite Pedals
      • CSR Shifter Set


      EU:


      Ship to arrive on Oct 4th. Custom clearance in EU usually only takes a few days.


      US:


      Ship has arrrived and goods are in customs clearance. We expect the goods to be ready to ship in week 40.

      •  CSR Elite Wheel
      Production has not started yet. We expect production in November if final tests are succesful. We are still eliminating a few flaws.
      • CSR Pedals
      • CSR IKIT


      Production will start in late October and shipments to arrive in early December (estimate)


      The CSW will be made shortly after the CSR E and we have some special plans how to launch this product.


      UPDATE 1


      We started to ship out the CSR orders from our US warehouse. The containers arrived in Europe as well so we will start shipping in Europe in week 41. 


      UPDATE 2


      We started shipping to EU customers on Oct 10th and this week most customers should receive their products.

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  • CSR review by ISR


    • Inside Simracing just published the very first review of the new CSR wheel.


      We got a fantastic 9 out of 10 for the wheel only. 


      Pedals will be reviewd separatly but  when it comes to pedals you have a big choice of 4 different pedals for this wheel.


      Thanks to Shaun for this great review.


       

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  • New product pages online


    • We just brought up the product pages for the new products online

      • CSR + CSR P + CSR SS
      • CSR E + CSR E P


      We also have a new comparison chart which explains all the new products (incl. CSW!).


      http://www.fanatec.de/html/pw_overview.htm


      Please let me know if there is still information missing.


       


      Please check out the media section as well with new pictures.


      http://www.fanatec.de/html/index.php?id=411&lang=en


      Pre-order dates:


      For now we can only speculate but the pre-order of CSR E and CSW will not start before December. 


      CSR P might come earlier in November.

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  • FM4 recommended settings


    • the big day has finally come and here are my recommended settings for our Xbox wheels:


      SEN: 900 (On some race cars down to 700)


      FF: 100


      Sho: 100


      ABS: 70


      Dri:3


      Lin: 0


      Dea: 0


      Spr: 0


      Dpr: 0


       


      The game still has the issue that it only recognizes a 900° wheel properly if you turn on the game with the power button on the console. 


      The game does fully support 900° although the movement on the wheel in cockpit view is limited. (But hey, yesterday i was driving the X2010 in GT5 and the steering wheel was standing still (!) and only the hands (!!) were moving.)


      Hint: Always pick a car which is at least 100 to 150 points less than the competition if you like to fight in single player mode.

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  • The CSR wheels are swimming!


    • I am happy to announce that production of the following products is running in full speed:

      • Forza Motorsport CSR wheel
      • CSR Elite Pedals
      • CSR Shifter set


      The first containers are already on the way to Europe and the USA and we will have inventory for the launch of Forza Motorsport 4 on October 11th.


      That means we will start taking pre-orders for these products until supply lasts.


      The CSR Elite has just passed the technical approval of Microsoft so we can start the production of this model in a few weeks as well as the CSR pedals and the CSR Pedal Inversion kit.


      The CSR Elite got a new colour scheme with rubber coating on the full wheel rim and on the back cover.


      We also released the first pictures of the CSR pedals which will be introduced in a dedicated video very soon.


       


       

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  • ISR interview on the CSR Elite wheel - UPDATE: Feature comparison

    • At Gamescom I made an interview with ISR about the CSR Elite wheel and some special features.

      You can hear from my voice that the show was pretty exhausting but we had a good time.

      Thanks to Andreas for the great help (he also helped me with the CSW introduction video) and spending his birthday on the show.

      UPDATE

      Feature comparison

        CSW CSR E
      Price of base with wheel rim  From 599 499,95
      Compatibility PC, PS3 Xbox 360, PS3, PC
      Connection wheel rim to base Quick release Detachable system
      Hot plugging of wheel rim during gameplay yes no
      Analog joystick yes no
      5 way encoder switch yes no
      Rev indication LEDs yes no
      Advanced electronic options (bigger LED screen, more dialswitches, buttons etc.) yes no
      Direct data output plug (not USB) yes no

      Amounts of shifters attached in parallel

      		2 1
      Steady shifter option yes limited (depending on rim)
      Choice of wheel rims Full range Limited
      Pedal compatibility (when connected to wheel)
      		 Only digital (CSP, CSR E P)

      All Fanatec
      plus G25/G27


      Advanced Tuning options
      		 yes

      no

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  • Inside the ClubSport Wheel

    • I am currently in China and one of my main tasks is to supervise the pre-production assembly of the CSW samples.

      Although I did not plan to reveal so much at this date I could not resist to show you those pictures. Please excuse the bad quality as I only had my mobile phone with me.

      Enjoy:

      Ooops :-O

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  • CSR Elite - Community testers wanted! UPDATE 3


    • We already started the beta tests but we need some more people to help us testing the product and also to make a review about the products for your community.


      Here are the specific requirements:

      • Needs to be able to test on Xbox 360 and PS3
      • Bonus if you can also test on PC
      • Needs to be able to write a written review or video review
      • EU, Japan and USA participants only
      • Minimum age: 21


      Basic rules

      • Please report all issues to Darin
      • Test period: Until October 15th
      • After the test period you can send back the wheel or purchase it with a 50% discount
      • Shipping costs will be covered by Endor
      • Of course we will give no guidelines what you write in your review. You don't have to be a fanboy to get the chance to test it.
      • Embargo: You are not allowed to publish anything about this wheel until October 15th
      • We will store your credit card information as deposit.


      If you are interested, please follow the next steps:

      • Please register here if you are not registered already: http://www.911wheel.de/?q=node/1154

        You can only register once!
      • Post the following information as comment to this blog entry:

        Your country / language

        Consoles / PC you own

        Links to reviews you made

        Forums you are most active in

        Tell my why you would be the perfect tester




      The beta test for the CSW will follow as well but quantities are very limited.


      UPDATE:


      If you cannot register anymore it means that you probably are already registered. It is only possible to register one time. But this does not mean you cannot participate in several tests of course.


       


      UPDATE 2: 


      Thanks for the tremendous response. We only have a very few wheels available but the enourmous amount of interest convinced me to make a second round with more testers. Keep posting.


       


      UPDATE 3:


      Thanks for the great interest. We have now selected testers and will notify them soon.

    -1 comment 406 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Porsche 911 GT2 Clubsport edition available again


    • We finally have enough inventory to offer the 911 GT2 Clubsport edition again.


      But supply might not last very long with the upcoming release of FM4.


      The PWGT2 ClubSport edition contains:

      • 911 GT2 wheel
      • ClubSport pedals
      • Porsche wheel shifter set
      • ClubSport shifter paddles  - Carbon fibre
      It is available in the US and EU webshop.
    -1 comment 282 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Do you want to work for Fanatec? UPDATE


    • We have a rapid growth at the moment and this means we are looking for new members of our team.


      If you have a porfessional attitude and like to help us to develop our products and build up our service structure you might like to consider working for us.


      So if you live around Landshut or want to move to Landshut you are welcome to have a look at the attached documents. 


      UPDATE


      The job does not require  to be German or speak German. If you seriously consider to move to Germany we can translate the job description for you.


       


       

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  • Introducing the ClubSport wheel base with FORMULA rim


    • At Gamescom in Cologne we are showing the new ClubSport wheel with Formula rim together with the game Formula 1 2011.


      Here is a detailed introduction about the features and benefits of the new wheel.


      The target audience for this wheel are hardcore Simracers on PC or PlayStation 3.


      The development is not finished yet but we are confident to start production this year. We will only take pre-orders if the products are on the way to our warehouses.


      The next wheel rim will be announced in middle of September in Regensburg.


      It is great to get so much great feedback here at GC and I would like to thank all the people I met here and had nice conversations. 


       


      What are your top 3 favorite features?


       


       

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  • Fanatec at the GC 2011 - UPDATE 1 Something beautiful...

    • This week is Europes biggest game fair: The Gamescom in Cologne.

      We will show the Forza MotorSport CSR Elite wheel at the Xbox booth on the same motion simulator as at E3. Certainly an impressive set up to play this great game.

      Hint: Although everybody chooses the Ferrari, I can highly recommend to drive the Mercury Cougar. Big fun!

      And we have a world premiere and proudly present our new ClubSport Wheel with FORMULA rim at the Deep Silver booth with Codemaster's F1 2011. 

      You are welcome to try out the wheel and the great game. (Hint: One car maker has sometimes three cars in the race now)

      Later this week, I will make a video and explain the wheel in more detail.

      I will be there and happy to meet with you and anybody who sees me on the show is welcome to say hello and have a chat with me.

       

      UPDAE 1:

      Enjoy ;)

      image

      image

       

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  • Beta test for website has now started


    • We just started the beta test for our website. There are still many things to change and also we did not start the translation yet as we will be offering German, English, French, Italian, Spanish and Japanese. on the website.


      We have selected over 50 testers and I would like to thank everybody involved to help us.


       

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  • Introducing the RennSport Cockpit Underfloor Edition

    • In Savannah we also showed a new version of our RennSport Cockpit which is the perfect solution if you want to have the ultimate gaming rig.

      The Cockpit is fully assembled and will be delivered in a big wooden crate and ready to go.

      Features:

      • RennSport Cockpit with underfloor box
      • Full aluminum construction
      • Carbon fibrebucket seats (different from picture)
      • Porsche 911 GT2 racing wheel (to be replaced with CSR Elite)
      • ClubSport pedals
      • Porsche wheel shifter set (to be replaced with ClubSport Shifter)
      • ClubSport handbrake
      • 3 x Xbox 360 consoles
      • 3 x Forza Motor Sport 3 and 4
      • 3 x Playstation 3 consoles
      • 3 x Gran Turismo 5
      • Optional PC can be integrated into the underfloor box on demand
      • Teufel Motiv 5 high-end 5.1 surround system with integrated speakers in the seat (not shown in these pictures)
      • Teufel Decoderstation for digital input
      • Fanatec Quake module under the seat
      • 3 x 26" gaming monitors
      • Triple screen stand (new design)
      • 3 x Xbox 360 controllers and 3 x PlayStaion 3 controllers with mounting
      • Fans, network hub, HDMI cables, power extensions etc. 

      Price:

      9.999 USD (excl VAT) in USA

      9.999 €uro (incl. VAT) in Europe

      plus freight and instruction cost.

       

      Probably the finest racing simulator for gaming consoles on the market.

      image

      image

      image

    -1 comment 675 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Fanatec at the Porsche Club of America Parade in Savannah

    • Last week I was traveling to Savannah in the USA to attend the annual PCA Parade.

      Over 800 participants brought their cars to Georgia/USA and there were a lot of nice people driving in our new RennSport Cockpit Underloor Edition.

       

      We made a Hotlap competition driving a Porsche 911 Carrera RS of 1973 at Road Atlanta with all assists on except autobrake.

      The winners:

      1. Trip Campbell 1.41.483
      2. Denver Sells 1.42.787
      3. Andrew Simrell 1.43.885
      4. Chris Walty 1.44.092
      5. Alex Rhoades1.44.438

      Congratulations and have fun with your new 911 GT2 wheel plus ClubSport pedals!

      The winners of the raffle will be announced in the PCA newsletter

    -1 comment 219 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog
  • Darin Gangi of InsideSimracing.tv is now representing Fanatec
    • I am pleased to announce that Darin Gangi of Inside Simracing is now workin for Fanatec. He is helping us with PR, marketing, developer relations, development, community support and more.



      Darin is a very dedicated simracer and very well connected in the simracing community. He is a great asset for us and I am happy to have him on board.



      What does it mean for our relationship to ISR?

      First of all Darin will no longer review any Fanatec products or products that are in competition with Fanatec so that there's no conflict of interest. Inside Sim Racing  will continue to review hardware and Darin will continue to be part of the show in other capacities.



      His first task will be to start the betatesting of the website and this will start this week.
    -1 comment 299 views 0 comments Started by Thomas Jackermeier Subscribe to this blog