Sim Racing Cave Alert! Because we are weak weak people.

BritishBean

Alex

Well, that’s the new CPU arrived and now fitted. I forgot how simple swapping out a CPU is these days, took fifteen minutes and ten of that was wiping off the old thermal paste from the heatsink. 🤣

Although I did make sure to flash the BIOS earlier just to be safe.

BritishBean

GassyHaggis are you going for the CSL DD?

I saw the F1 v2 rim go on eBay for £270 today in pristine condition. There’s deals to be had out there!

GassyHaggis

BritishBean That’s the way I’m leaning. One of my friends got in early enough to get the September release so I will be making a nuisance of myself when he gets it in. He already got the Formula wheel and the McLaren one too.

BritishBean

GassyHaggis sadly I’d be starting from scratch so it’s an expensive game with Fanatec. But it’s a good value upgrade if you’re already in the ecosystem. Let me know what your friend reports. Date is November now for delivery. I think I’m going to have to wait and ask for donations at Christmas time. And maybe donate a kidney…

BritishBean

Also I think I need to adjust my gaming setup in general. I’d mounted my TV on the wall about halfway up with general gaming in mind but with my seating position for sim racing it means I’m always looking up and it just doesn’t feel right or 100% comfortable.

BritishBean

Who knows how the Fanatec prices work? It’s in Euros so I’ve converted to £ but when I got to PayPal checkout it was a lot less than expected. Will I be hit with import charges at customs or something?

Alex

It should just be the price at Fanatec including delivery converted into euros. I didn’t have to pay anything extra but that was pre-Brexit. I was charged 38.59 euros shipping at the time.

BritishBean

Oh ok. It’s quite confusing as sometimes the basket shows with shipping or without or with VAT or without. Got to £650ish at the PayPal checkout which was less than I expected even converting to pounds

Alex

Yeah the Fanatec website is incredibly confusing.

BritishBean

So a CSL DD, Elite Pedals and Formula v2 X is costing about £630… I expected it to be more expensive 👀

UPDATE: The marvellous government will add 20% VAT upon arrival to our dear shores.

Brave

BritishBean So a CSL DD, Elite Pedals and Formula v2

You win the thread.

For now…

Alex

Did you get the load cell brake? Actually, does that still come separately?

Will be very keen to hear your experiences with the DD wheel.

BritishBean

Alex Still comes separately. Haven’t gone for the load cell, it’s pushing my budget and it’s out of stock anyway. I’d look to get that later - maybe Christmas.

BritishBean

Brave didn’t @Alex win it many moons ago?

I’m undecided between the Formula v2 and the McLaren GT3 v2. The McLaren is cheaper but doesn’t look as nice and has rubber/plastic handles whereas the formula v2 has Alcantara which I’d prefer. The only thing that has been unsure is some people have said the formula v2 feels a bit narrow for GT3 Racing….

Any thoughts?

Alex

I think we both spent about the same amount. 🤣

The load cell is the biggest upgrade really, although as ACC has ABS it’s probably not critical for you. If you were going to race iRacing in the F3 or Porsche Cup then it’s pretty much essential. That said if it’s out of stock them not much you can do

BritishBean

Alex good to know. I’m on ACC mostly at the moment but might start to dabble in F1 2020 now it’s part of EA Play. All on Xbox at the moment as I don’t have a windows pc but I’d like to in the distant future so perhaps load cell isn’t that critical right now.

BritishBean

So I think I’m locked in now:

CSL DD w/ 8nm power adapter
CSL Pedals
McLaren GT3 v2 wheel

Whilst the CSL pedals are more entry level than the Elite version (and €20 cheaper) they are improved in some ways compared to the older Elites as confirmed by Fanatec in a YouTube video with such things as ‘Hall-effect sensors) and will also have a Load Cell upgrade available soon, so I’m going for them.

The money I save on swapping to the McLaren wheel instead of the Formula, I’m putting towards the 8nm power pack as some reviews convinced me it’s best to get it rather than settling for the standard 5nm.

Brave

You might want to be just aware of your seat with a direct drive wheel. People who’ve attached it to a playseat say it’s fine for the most part but a more powerful DD would flex that seat apart.

From what I can tell from a quick search, the biggest problem is actually load cell pedals which create more force than the geometry of the seat can handle.

I’m not saying swap your seat. Just saying be wary, and turn the strength of that wheel up gradually in case it becomes an issue at higher strengths.

BritishBean

Brave Funnily enough it collapsed on me last night (well not that’s funny actually as it bloody hurt). I’m still trying to find a position that’s most comfortable. I find the headrest area of the challenge a bit awkward. It obviously tilts inwards a bit but I don’t know if it’s my size or what but in the seating position I’m in I find it’s pushing/tilting my head/neck forwards more than I’d like. I went to the extreme end of open last night and obviously there wasn’t enough Velcro connected on the arm straps and sure enough they popped off and I hit the ground with the wheel base support bar landing on my shins.

My other issue is arm positioning as the more you close the seat or open it the steering wheel moves closer to your chest or further away and I like my elbows around 100-110°. I suppose this is the drawback of the challenge and for ultimate flexibility to get each component where I want it maybe I need a GT Omega or something.

Alex

The CSL DD has much lower max force than the big DD wheels, even with the boost pack, so hopefully that should not be an issue. My understanding is that the CSL DD does not output much more force than a belt driven wheel like my CSL Elite.

I use the load cell with the Playseat Challenge and I don’t have any sort of problem with it move or warping. I have the hardest shores fitted and have it set to 100% brake force (80kg) and it is absolutely fine.

The biggest issue was zip tying the pedals to the Playseat so they would not move.

BritishBean

Alex Yes the Fanatec video said the 5nm DD is similar to the CSL Elite in terms of force 👍🏻

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