Thrustmaster T500RS vs Fanatec Rival

DAIR

DAIR

DAIR

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Over the years I've heard the name Fanatec thrown around a number of times. Up until now I've never really looked into them as I always thought their products were made for the PC and XBOX. So imagine my surprise when I found out that they support the PS4 too!

Anyway, I've just been reviewing their products..... Bloody hell they're expensive. I paid £350 for the T500RS. That price included the base, wheel and adjustable pedals.

Fanatec appears to sell everything separately. For example, I've just seen their top base (available for pre order) going for 699 Euros :eek: . That is the discounted price!

What I want to know is whether or not, their products are really that good?

An entire setup would no doubt cost around a grand
 
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I have got a GT2, I cannot say that I was overly impressed. Part of me wished I had waited and picked up a T500RS.

I am sure others will argue that the Fanatec products are good, their clubsport pedals certainly are but I'd say they are over priced. I was massively disappointed when I heard that the "legacy" wheels would not be supported on the next gen consoles, surely this is something a firmware or patch could sort out!
 
Fanatec prices have increased by 30% recently, bear that in mind.

Never tried their wheels, shifters or pedals so I can't comment on them unfortunately. GTPlanet or Race Department would be a better place to ask.
 
I own a Club sport base V1, Porsche rim, Carbon formula rim, Clubsport sequential
Shifter & ClubSport pedals V2.

They're very good products, they work well and I've only had cause to test their customer service once (my CSW base arrived defective, second hand) and they were very good.

However... Their new prices are just too much. They're jut too much more than their closest competitor (Thrustmaster IMO) and now too close to the bespoke high end components. My money going to them stops right now.

They've increased prices by 45% on some items, like the V2 pedals which is just far too much. These increases are only being born by the EU as they have them made in China and pay in Dollars, with the Euro weakening against it they're out of pocket.

It just strikes me as terribly poor business when an EU business has to charge that market the highest prices.

Anyway, ranting aside. The products I have all work well and I like them. Keep in mind I sim race on triple monitors though, if I was buying for console gaming I would be hard pressed to spend upwards of £1000 on a setup. I think my money would go on a T300/500.
 
Increased!!!?

like I said this is the first time I've really reviewed their goods. They look really good. But those prices!
 
Its probably not that much of a shame for me. I doubt I would lose much if anything selling them all on now if I chose to do so.

The Porsche rim went up 200EURO!

If you were looking to spend upwards of £1000 I would be happy to point you toward some of the more bespoke items.
 
CSW v1, BMW Rim, Formula Rim & CSR Elite pedals here. I bought my pedals probably 6 months ago when they were much cheaper, and honestly I think they are a better and more reliable package than the V2 pedals. I stole my CSW v1 from ebay for £200 or so(a risk but various messages with the seller gave me confidence, the base has no problems at all), and I fortunately enough bought the 2 rims just before the price increase. Still a lot of money but I managed to save a ton.

I do agree though that the new prices are ridiculous, I was eyeing up a Porsche Wheel to replace the BMW but it's just far too expensive now, but the quality of the wheel is outstanding.
 
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I bought the Club Sport V2 pedals a few months before the price rises. They are are great product, but a touch expensive even before the price rises. I had planned to add then Club Sport Wheel base and the BMW rim to the pedals, but at the price they are now there's no chance. I've actually gone back to my T500 pedal set so
I still have console compatibility.

I have to agree with that for the price a CSW V2 and the BMW rim you may as well spend more and get something like the AccuForce wheel from SimXperience.
 
Is the T500 pedal set compatible with the Fanatec base/wheel?

I'm seriously giving this more thought now. I'd love to get the formula rim.

Checked out the simexperience site. Their stuff is even more expensive.
 
I don't think there's an adapter that works that way. There are ones that allow Logitech pedals with Thustmaster wheels and one for Fanatec pedals with Thustmaster wheels.

Although the SimXperience is more expensive, the difference in the type of wheel against the extra you pay is massive.

A lot of sim racers on the iRacing forums have said using direct drive wheels is almost like cheating, such is the difference in force feedback delivery.
 
So will have to get the pedals too. Yet they don't appear to be available yet....

How much you think I can get for the T500?
 
I've never owned a Fanatec wheel but I had some of the V1 Clubsport Pedals. Best pedals you can get without breaking the bank with a proper sim set. They really do make these Thrustmaster TX pedals feel like garbage. I miss the loadcell brake.
 
So I'm pretty close to retiring my T500RS and will most probably replace it with the Fanatec Formula Wheel and the new V2 Clubsport wheelbase.

Can anyone think of a solid reason why I shouldn't make this purchase?

Also how solid are fanatecs products and what is their cistomer service like?
 
The V2 base has many of its components upgraded from the V1 making it much more reliable and more robust.

If you search the Internet for the answer you'll get more horror stories than is probably relative to the amount of happy customers. People complain more than they compliment.

If you're that concerned Fanatec do offer a priority warranty service at extra cost that basically includes fast return postage and fast repairs or replacements.

If it's any encouragement, I have just sold my T500 pedals and when I've saved the money, I'll be ordering the V2 base and probably the GT rim.

I already have the V2 pedals.
 
DAIR said:
Also how solid are fanatecs products and what is their cistomer service like?
Click to expand...

not the best from personal experience. seems they always come out with great looking hardware but often have firmware and hardware issues - this has been true for years and many different product lines. customer service is a painful process. they do try to solve issues but it takes time and not to the standard of larger established companies - Logitech being a reference in service imo and second to none. Thrustmaster was also much smoother and faster process in my experience. check out the forums on GT planet https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/fanatec-customer-service.147392/

that said Thomas does visit the forums and tries his best, but you can't help but conclude that they are small and not super organized and often swamped. if you are patient and this is not a problem for you then they will fix it in the end. too bad because their products look awesome and offer lots of options. I think when they work their products are very good but I don't want the hassle. YMMV

good luck
 
Thanks for the response.

I can't speak I'll of thrustmaster. They've recently looked into an issue for my wheel. As a result I require I new power cable. Which is going to cost a bit but meh...

I checked out that thread of yours. Some interesting posts. However, the last post was made last year. Have things / reliability improved since then?
 
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