Quote from Tweaker :

Dunno if it has been mentioned before, but how big are the paddle shifters on the wheel? Sod the stupid shifter, paddles shifters is what makes you fast. So are they tiny little things, or wide enough to fit 3 fingers on them?

Because small paddles = big failure

Paddles are small, I reach them with the end of my 2 longest fingers if I hold the wheel "properly". They are wide enough for those 2 fingers, not for 3.

Thanks for the info Primoz.

Compressing video now. Will first upload to YT after all.

Quote from Primoz :

Kamkor did you mount it properly? Open the levers, put the fastening thingie up to the table, screw it up and lever it into place? It' still too flimy, the wheel cna be flexed downwards (not upwards, since the base prevents that) but the + is it can be mounted and unmounted in a second.

Yeah I did. I actually did "took the thing" off the wheel LOL Was showing to camera how long it is.. I will show on vid.

New impressions after playing. First of all consider that the drivers said that they installed sucesfully, but in updater it said some things failed. I couldn't find any GUI where I can change settings etc so I've set 900 degrees on wheel with buttons, turned off throttle vibration effect and went to LFS. I've set in lfs wheel to 900 and wheel compensate to 1.0 so wheel was 720.

With G25 I can often just let the wheel spin and catch it, sometimes help it, but it is always very responsive and nice to turn.

With 911 Fanatec wheel the wheel kinda gave a feeling that it turns fast, but I can't trust it. It's not always very responsive. It also kinda feels "muddy" when turning, while G25 feels light. On the other hand it feels smooth, which is nice. It's weird.. Sometimes it's like fast and cool, and sometimes it's a bitch and it fails you. But on the other hand the cooling was ON full power when I was drifting, so maybe it was automatically turning FFB down sometimes? Or maybe it is because my drivers might not be installed properly. Not sure.

So far I have mixed feelings. Positive, but mixed.. I will say more once I've played more.

Brake pedal - i can't get used to it. Working with clutch and throttle is ok.

Shifter is nice, but I have to get used to it, and it's not very steady.

Quote from deggis :

And please (also) upload them to youtube. Much more people are going to find them there than only from a dl link here.

First dl link, then youtube. Gonna start capturing first footage now.

And to all. Those are first impressions. Those might change when I get used to the wheel, or if the new drivers work better. Also my wheel wasn't centered, it was few degrees off.

edit:

Also my system is Windows XP SP2

I've received my wheel.

First impressions:

The smell is nice, reminds me the smell of new car/new g25.

Mounting the wheel was a horrible experience. I feel there is some "loose" beetwen the wheel and the base. Maybe it's not screwed properly. When wheel was unconnected it did feel more like DFP(but not as heavy in turning) rather like G25, which is very easy to turn. After connecting the resistance is still there. Atm I am downloading .net framework 3.5 so I can install the drivers.

Wheel finnish is very good, I like the feel of it etc.And the way lights go on is sweet too. Looks very very nice.


Pedals are light and feel plastic. They don't feel solid like G25 pedals. Clutch pedal has nice feel, it "pushes" your foot out of it. Pedal brake is very short. Fanatec is trying to simulate real brake but it kinda didn't work. Maybe I will change my mind once I use it in action. Throttle pedal feels light, it's quite good.

Good news about the pedals is that it is very easy and comfortable to Heel and Toe.

I've recorded some vids. Will post them later tonight.

More impressions once I've tested it in action.

edit:

I forgot. I like the feeling of shifter, needs more force to shift, but the way it's mounted.. I'm not sure. Thing is, feels nice to actually put some force into shifting the gears.

First of all, not my pic I gave a link to the source page. Rest of pictures there.

Quote from Primoz :

EDIT: can we open the pedals/wheel up and have a look at the insides? Or are there any pics out there to scratch the itch?

Someone in Italy has already opened it:

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/4687/pedalierauz7.jpg - pedals
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/8449/cazzatabw5.jpg - "wheel unplugged"
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/8449/cazzatabw5.jpg - insides of wheel
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/5990/intern2vv7.jpg - insides of wheel 2
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/8532/internolt2.jpg - and 3

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/5813/elettob3.jpg
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/374/volantekt4.jpg

source: http://www.slipangle.it/forum/index.php?showtopic=8935

Thanks for the answer, that's kinda sad to hear

I haven't received a wheel yet

Beta testers: Is FFB fast enough to allow this(countersteering speed): http://www.saikod.com/G25autox.wmv ?

Difference is the cars and the tracks. And also there aren't many S1 servers, while there are TONS of S2 servers to drive at.

http://www.lfs.net/?page=contents - at the top S1, at the bottom S2 content

Accelerator stuck down? Hardware problem already? And sparks?! The sparks part kinda made me laugh though. The wheel must really "not like you".

Maybe try uninstalling Logitech drivers and installing the ones from Fanatec.

edit:

I've also heard that you might need newest .net framework

Quote from mr_pio :

Hej Kamkor, have you got the wheel yet?

No, they are probably delivering them to Poland with special delivery car

Jakg, feels like a toy? Isn't it bigger than G25?

Jakg: Did you try new Beta drivers: http://www.fanatec.de/html/index.php?id=3114&lang=en ?

What about a vid like this I made a while ago about g25: www.saikod.com/G25autox.wmv

Quote from Shotglass :

im starting to wish i had singed up for this beta
sounds really nice

now if anyone (in case jack cant get his damn overclocked... thing to work) would do a niels type video this might turn out to be a real competitor for the g25

Shotglass: What type is exactly niels type video? Atm I'm just planning to make vid showing difference in pedals beetwen G25 and 911, same with shifter. Also vid of wheel in action while drifting - "letting the wheel spin" and catch style to show its speed.

Seeing the staff on LFS-Drift forum it made clear for me to completely avoid the place.

I'm gonna wait for LFS-T to come back, the true home of lfs drift community rised from the first lfs drift community that had their home at old IDX board.

Primoz, looking from responses or lack of responses on other forums, rather no one did. I just hope the wheel will come early this week, since less and less days are left for testing.

One word - WOW. Simply awesome. :wow:

You are very right that time is running short now. I guess the wheel will have to get some decent beating over the bumps of south city.

But on the other hand first units of G25 were breaking pretty early in hands of drifters that "abused" the motors, by using them all the time to their full potential. I will be still impressed if after 2 weeks wheel feels like new.

Shotglass: Yes I do, since a fair amount of time already.

Quote from squidhead :

I watched that review just now, and when the wheels were self calibrating (full lock to lock) it really looked like G25 vs DFP....which is not a plus towards the Porsche wheel...lets wait and see

Come on. Like G25 vs DFP? DFP is uber slow and fanatec wheel turning speed looked very similar to G25.

I'm suprised how negative people are towards new Fanatec wheel saying how bad it is without even trying it. There is only one test avaible too. And hell, what if Fanatec wheel turns out to be actually really better than G25? Personally, I hope it does. What would be the point of having a new expensive wheel on the market if it's not better? I don't care if best wheel is by Logitech(I'm not counting here Frex, BRD etc.) or any other company. I only care about the product.

I'm looking forward to reading/watching more reviews, and actually testing the wheel myself. Let's wait with giving opinions about product till the right moment, aye?

Quote from tristancliffe :

I'd hate to be caught sticking up for rFactor, but you'd be surprised how progressive slicks can be. It really isn't quite the 'everything to nothing' feel you suggest. For starters, look at the F3000 Hillclimb thread and see them sliding about like the maniacs they are. Yes, they are less forgiving than a road tyre, but not by that much.

I will also add that one of best european drifters(Paul Vlasblom) is known for drifting on slicks.

D: Some years ago you became an instructor of that school. It was a great distinction for you, wasn’t it?

P: Yes, it was. I kept on racing, and with success; some victories in the Porsche Series, and winner of the BMW Cup 2002. After that year I was asked by the directors of the Rensportschool Zandvoort to become one of the instructors, because they had seen me drifting my race-BMW in the warm-up lap of one of the races….on slick-tires!

Full interview here: http://driftingo.eu/Page/exeCo ... ew-with-Paul-Vlasblom,,36

Good idea about reserving a post. Will be nice if people can just enter a thread and see reviews and not lots of review comments inbeetwen.

I will be testing the wheel mostly in LFS, RBR and rFactor in as heavy situations as I can get. Lots of rallying, lots of drifting, lots of heavy impact on wheel. I hope I can make videos too.

I will be giving my input here about the wheel too Will be mostly testing FFB, precision and how much it can take, as I will be mostly drifting/rallying it.

Btw guys, can you still see/be able to confirm the betatest-confirmation text even after confirming it ?

Quote from Klutch :

Japanese D1 tracks are VERY tight and usually low speed corners, its why low powered cars are just as good as the more high powered ones.

Just please don't give people wrong idea or everyone will think D1GP is 1-st-2nd gear corners only. D1GP tracks are high speed too. Very high speed actually and the cars in D1GP are very high powered except some ae86(but many of those are amazing too, and they are very light on top of that).

http://www.d1gp.co.jp/topix/08/08_sch/D1_SCHE_HP.html - Schedule for 2008.

Ebisu is pretty much the only one with low speed corners(at the end of section).

Power in serious drifting is needed, and denying this is just wrong. And actually every longer corner or longer sequence of corners will include "power drifting"(Note: I do not mean it as initiation technique now). This is simple physics.

FF cars on the other hand can't do one very important thing, they can't accelerate while drifting like FR cars do. "Drifting FF cars" seems to be just "art for art"(As doing something, just to do it, even if it doesn't make much sense, and even if a car with FR layout gives lots of more possibilities). And if it's real drifting or not - I don't give a shit anymore. Enjoy the cat fight

RWD let's you control understeer, FWD forces understeer.

Power isn't a problem either, it's the surface that is a problem from physics point of view imo. Maybe I can't really see your point? Explain more please.