New Sim Racing Wheels (XBox One & PC)

[ysu]

Finally, I got my wheel back today. Working. Great.

I have asked them a few days after sending it off if they've received it; no response. I've asked them again two days ago, they said it's probably already sent (probably!).

All in all, somewhat disappointing experience, I don't think I'll buy from them again to be honest. Bad communication, lost emails and very slow turnaround and where I believe I should have received a brand new box (I've paid for a new wheel) now I've got one which has been repaired. All this one and a half months after parting with my money.

They said they'll reimburse me for the cost of shipping, I haven't heard a word about that at all. But then I've had a promise from support originally for free shipping as well (compensation for the fact they could not offer a fix on my old wheel) - so at the moment I'm a good $40 worse off on the two shipping costs.


The wheel is good (now) but I think I'll go with Logitec's support anyday instead of this Fanatec bs.


Oh, and what's a joke, too; I can't see my order in their system. I've repeatedly told them that I can't see it, please fix it, nothing.

[AstrO]

This is all I'm going to say...

[youtube]7hIESl6tgH4 [/youtube]

[ysu]

That looks like a broken wheel, not a calibration issue. Mine did pretty much the same, on arrival the first time.

[AstrO]

I can get it working again if I re-flash the firmware, but usually after a power off it returns to this state. :/

[ysu]

well, I'd still contact support, it's a broken wheel.
They may or may not help.

[AstrO]

The video was part of my support request sent yesterday

[ysu]

best of luck!

[AstrO]

Here is the support timeline so far:

• 10 February 2014 (11pm): Support request sent, along with video of the issue and received automated acknowledgement of support request.
• 14 February 2014 (4am): Received human response acknowledging the issue stating that the wheel would need to be exchanged to resolve the issue and thanks to my product registration that can
• happen right away. They also stated that they will contact me asap with information on how to go forward from here.
• 14 February 2014 (7pm): Received details about the return process. It's more or less send the wheel back with all the things that came in the original package (used the details on the website to find that out), preferably in the box it came in, which I no longer had. So I ended purchasing a box from office works the next day that was a good fit. Note that they don't' send out a replacement wheel before receiving the broken one (which is a fairly standard practice).
• 16 February 2014 (4pm): Sent the packaged wheel off to the Fanatec return centre in Melbourne (it was due to arrive on Tuesday the 18th).
• 19 February 2014 (1am): Received a message stating they were ready to send me a new wheel and when it leaves the warehouse they will email me with the tracking number. But if I don't receive the goods within 3 weeks, then to contact them.

So now I play the waiting game... or hungry hungry hippo's.

[ysu]

it's not bad at all...
I've received a "we will send you your money" email after ~2 wks, by the way. But no money, still.

[Gizmo]

Ordered my Fanatec Clubsport wheel and pedals on the weekend. Now the waiting game!

[Duke]

Ordered my Fanatec Clubsport wheel and pedals on the weekend. Now the waiting game!

Which wheel rim did you get? The Formula or the BMW M3 GT2, just don't tell be both...
Very interested to hear about your customer experience with this purchase & your review of the set once you get them & use them for a while.

[peter]

Ordered my Fanatec Clubsport wheel and pedals on the weekend. Now the waiting game!

nice gizmo, are you getting it from the Aus site?

[ysu]

well, I still haven't seen my money, so I'm guessing they're just bullshitting about that.
One thing is pretty sure; I'll not buy a fanatec wheel again. It was a bit too much for me.

[Gizmo]

I went with the formula rim. I'm lucky enough to have some iRacers pretty close to where I live so I was able to try both rims before I spent the money. They are both nice however the buttons on the formula run were much easier to use, placed better and the rip just felt more comfortable in general.

So far my experience has been pretty good. I ordered from Fanatec directly as it was saving me some money. Ordered them Saturday afternoon. Got to work Monday morning and I had an email confirming my payment had been received. Tuesday morning I received an email saying my order had been shipped and they supplied a tracking number. Tuesday night Australia Post has it scanned in. Maybe its been sent from the Australian rep?

Sorry to hear about your experience with them Ysu. Maybe time to get some Skype credit and give them a call

[ysu]

What for? That few bucks? Fuck it.

I'd call fanatec if I knew to make a difference and be able to improve support for the future. However, they did not listen when I asked for the matter to be forwarded to a superior. It's no use to talk to the bottom feeder support, who aren't willing to escalate the issue. They've no channels over the regular ones, and the owners and/or management obviously does not overview the operations as closely as they should. I know it's hard, I run businesses too. But that's the right thing to do if you want to provide service.
They very clearly not into that.

It seems they just want to flog off their units, which isn't bad (when it works). But it's made in a chinese factory, with a QC "good enough", supported by QC and personnel, also "good enough" for the purpose. Then hands off, let it fly: if you're lucky, you won't crash.

Even their setup talks about a rather half-assed approach if you are willing to see the signs; there's barely any Australian presence, no oz support, and some contractor fixing the damaged units when they can. And you can't contact that person. They've no spare parts here, either.

I will rather just avoid them in the future. That's a much simpler from where I'm standing.
But I will make a noise about them everywhere I go; other people should avoid them, too. Then, maybe maybe, they'll start to listen.

Well, it's also possible they simply are unable to manage it properly, but the end result is the same for our purposes here.

[DarrenM]

Nice choice Gizmo. I have both rims and I rarely use the BMW one. It's slightly too large and it's too heavy for the motors in my opinion.

I'm starting to wish I'd been wearing gloves with it though. The alcantara on my formula rim looks pretty gross and I haven't found a good way to clean it yet. Alcantara feels nice when new, but for a heavily used item I'd prefer plain leather or rubber.

Got my CSS SQ shifter on Friday. Still need to make a mount for it to go in my cockpit but the movement feels good. It weighs a fucking ton

[ysu]

..., but for a heavily used item I'd prefer plain leather or rubber....

That's an interesting observation! I always hated rubber, as it usually gets sticky after a while without any way of cleaning it.

[Gizmo]

Products delivered today. Amazing turn around time. Looks as if they were sent from VIC.

Just have to wait until I get home now

[Gizmo]

Darren, is there anyway to increase the sensitivity of the loadcell in the brake pedal? I've got the dial turned up to 10, however I'd like it more responsive.

[DarrenM]

You can move up the seat for the brake spring, the one around the oil reservoir, which will reduce the minimum force. I've also got the brake spring attached to the top hole on the pedal. Those should increase the stiffness and make it more sensitive to initial pedal movement.

Make sure the oil reservoir etc is filled to the brim as well. When I first set mine up I didn't get the system fully filled and the air bubble made the pedal less responsive.

In iRacing set brake force factor to 0. I think higher makes it less sensitive. In AC it's called brake gamma and seems better at 0 as well.

It took me ages to adjust to the load cell and after a year I still don't think my braking will ever be quite as good as it was with a pot brake. Not too good for someone who sucked at braking in the first place, but overall I prefer these pedals to the logi ones so I've stuck with them.

[Gizmo]

Thanks for the tip Darren. I had no oil in the shock..... Feels much better now!

[DarrenM]

Got my shifter bolted on today. Feels really nice, but the spring for sequential mode is on the stiff side. Either that or I'm just really out of condition. Drove for 1.5 hours and my arm is fucked. I think after 6 months heavy use I'd look something like this

[ysu]

LOL guys, the joke continues.

One of the screws fell out of the bottom of the wheel, and it looks like this:
" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (if it's not clear: the ridge is flat on the silvery part, and the end is slightly damaged, too)

It has clearly been forced in mindlessly - and now it can't be put back either.

Fuck fanatec, fuck them with a fucking telephone pole. All of them.


They've apparently sent me emails from their magnificent system, but I'm apparently receiving about 30% of them, only. Great.
And they blame my spam filter for it (there's no spam filter on the account I'm using with them) What a bunch of fucktards.


Never ever, ever, EVER again will I touch a fanatec product, not fucking EVER!

[wobblysauce]

lol