Blog

Torbjørn Mundal

Officially licensed by the World Rally Championship (WRC), the CSL Elite Steering Wheel WRC is perfect for mastering the most demanding rally stages. This wheel will be used in official WRC Esports competitions.

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https://youtu.be/Q-fH279NyYk

The wheel looks familiar but it is a complete new development and has very little in common with the CSL Elite P1 steering wheel.

NEW:

Thicker grip
Removable shifter paddles to be able to use static shifter paddles
New 5-way joystick with much better click feeling
Exchangeable quick release
New simplified QR quick release with no tools needed and no flex
New frontplate and backplate design
Changed position of the buttons

Only the display section on top and the shape of the buttons remain the same. All the rest is new.

It makes your PC / PlayStation wheel base compatible to XBox and of course it works with the new Xbox Series X as well. A perfect allrounder and works brilliant with rallye games like the new WRC 9.

Alexandros Annivas

Today, Playstation finally made the announcement you were waiting for for such a long time.

Your Fanatec wheel bases and racing wheels which are officially PS4 licensed will be compatible to the new PS5!

This is a consumer friendly and important decision and makes sure that you can continue to use your valuable equipment for a very long time.

Microsoft already made a similar announcement so all current console products in our portfolio are future proof.

I can also tell you that we are in close contact with Polyphony so it is very likely that our wheels will be fully supported by GT7 from day 1.

Mario Olivier

You might have noticed that a lot of sim racing products from other companies have become more expensive since the pandemic started due to a big increase in shipping costs and also because supply is not enough to fulfil the demand.

Against the trend, we are trying hard to keep our prices stable so that our customers can plan their investment even if that means we are giving away a lot of profit.

The German government decided to reduce the VAT for German customers ordering here in Germany (not for orders from outside of Germany). We keep the prices stable as we have a common price for whole Europe anyway but this allows us to keep the worldwide prices at the current level as the tax we save here in Germany is a small compensation for the increased logistic costs worldwide.

The recent overload in our service department was also caused by the many pre-orders we have and with faster shipments we can avoid that.

We think global and not national and hope that our international community will appreciate this step.

Brad Hoffman

I would like to express my full support for the decision of our partner NASCAR to ban the confederate flag which is a political symbol and was used by many supporters of slavery.

Any sport should not be a platform for political activists. Drivers, team members and the audience are at a race to enjoy the action or amuse themselves.

I would feel very uncomfortable if somebody would wave a Swastica besides me and I am not even jewish with relatives which were killed by the Nazis. Forbidding the Swastica is not against the Germans or against German pride. It is to ban a symbol of cruelty and I am not offended by such a ban because I absolutely never ever sympathised with the diabolic and racist exctinction of jews, gypsies, homosexuals and other minorities.

It is not about left or right. It is about wrong or right. And if you don't like that decision then I would kindly ask you to listen to those comments and rethink your position. This is not against the South, it is against stubborn supporters of slavery and please don't be the one who is offended now because someone took away your toy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djoEn6NsTb8

Wayne Lobo

Dear Sim Racers,

I would like to explain the situation we are facing at the moment.

Since March we are getting an unusual and unexpected amount of orders. This has to do with the lock down but also with the increased promotion of sim racing as replacement for the real life race events. This is obviously no reason to complain and we are super happy about the new popularity of sim racing in general.

The orders on some days were suddenly five times higher than in January and the January numbers were already 60% above the previous year. But despite that we are temporarily sold out of many products the demand is still crazy high and still three times higher then what we planned.

This means we have a shortage of manpower to handle all sales enquiries and technical support issues. We need to at least triple our staff from one day to the next and it takes time to train them in order to be effective.

A part of our team still has to work from home and this means distraction from kids which are still not in school etc. At the same time, our production can hardly keep up with the huge and sudden increase and this is causing products on pre-order. Logistics are also hard to control with a lot of uncertainties due to the pandemic which is always problematic as there will be delays and wrong shipping dates. But despite the external factors, we also have massive bugs on our new website which is causing a variety of avoidable issues and I clearly have to apologize for that. It looks like we picked the wrong webdesign agency but we are about to solve this problem as well within the next weeks.

Please note that we are urgently looking for a variety of new employees and have a clear preference for people with sim racing background so please feel free to apply for a job at Endor.

While we build up our team I would kindly ask you for patience. It can take over a week to get back to you on your messages but you will get a response.

Please support us with the following:

Do not send us reminders or ask us when we will come back to you. Rest assured we will get back to you within 14 days. If not then you are welcome to remind us.
Your tracking info will be sent when the product is dispatched. Please don't ask for tracking info.
Please read our FAQ and the manual before contacting us. This could avoid 30% of support inquiries.
Please don't be mad at us. Our team is really working hard.

Please feel free to share this article if you find some unsatisfied customer in social media so they get a better understanding. Thank you.

Despite all the difficulties I am happy to welcome a lot of new Fanatec owners and wish them a lot of fun with our equipment.

Thomas

Aurelien Bichet

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke63KbYpNC4

We proudly introduce the new limited edition ClubSport Steering Wheel F1® 2020, officially licensed by Formula 1™! Following our annual tradition, we have a strict limitation of 2020 units available. The new wheels ship on July 7th, pre-orders open today!

Unique forged carbon!

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The 5 mm carbon fibre front plate now features a forged carbon finish. This design continues to the shifter paddles, also finished in forged carbon.

New single magnetic shifters!

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The biggest upgrade for this year is the new ClubSport Magnetic Paddle Module. This is a simplified version of the Podium Advanced Paddle Module with a single shifter on the left and right, featuring a strong magnetic resistance and ‘click’, giving a solid, positive feel to every shift. The 3 mm-thick carbon fibre paddles are finished in forged carbon, which is exclusive to the F1® 2020 wheel. Of course, the modules are still upgradeable to the Podium Advanced Paddle Module if you need that extra pair of paddles and the analogue ‘dual clutch’ system.

Perforated leather grips and customisable button caps!

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This year, the genuine smooth leather grips feature perforations to provide superior breathability over longer race sessions. In addition, 11 customisable black button caps are included, along with the full set of stickers from the ‘Button Caps and Sticker Set’.

Loaded with tech!

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The F1® 2020 remains packed with the same advanced technology as the F1® 2019 wheel, including multi-colour RevLEDs, FlagLEDs, an OLED display, and a huge number of inputs: thumb encoders, 12-way multi-position switches, 2-way rocker switches… the list goes on.

Codemasters F1® 2020 Deluxe Schumacher Edition!

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For just 1 EUR / 1 USD / 1.50 AUD / 120 JPY, you can also add the latest official Formula 1™ game from Codemasters, F1® 2020 Deluxe Schumacher Edition, to your basket! You’ll find the option to add the game (on the platform of your choice: PC, Xbox One, or PS4*) in the shopping cart, and you will receive the game key when it launches on July 7th.

Please note: all customers are eligible for this game deal when they place an order of any Steering Wheel (including Racing Wheels and Bundles) in our webshop, so tell your friends!

*PS4 Game Key is currently not available for pre-order, pending approval from Sony Interactive Entertainment.

UPDATE

SOLD OUT in the the US and Australia

...and in Europe

Only 7 units left in Japan. Go Japan!

UPDATE 2

Due to a technical problem, the game was not available on Friday. Several customers cancelled the order and re- ordered once the game was available again. We therefore have a few more units available.

Rest assured that the total number of produced units is not more than 2020. This includes marketing units.

Martin Keller

Much like the previous two years, we are celebrating our ongoing partnership with Formula 1 by launching a new, limited edition steering wheel. In 2018 we revealed the gold-accented F1® 2018 wheel, which introduced the new-generation features now found in our ClubSport Steering Wheel Formula V2. Last year, we went for a bright silver theme, can you guess what’s next?

We’re really excited to show you this one, as it not only looks incredible, but it includes some new technology and new materials as well. The wheel will be available on our website in all regions on Thursday May 14th, at 3PM CET. The wheel is restricted to 2020 units worldwide; you don’t want to miss this!

Neil Farren

Fellow Sim Racers,

In these crazy COVID-19 times where it feels like the world is turned upside-down, we wanted to do our part to help. We decided to buy and distribute 500,000 CE-certified mouth and nose masks to the city of Landshut, where Fanatec HQ is located. Together with the city, we formed a plan to source half a million masks. With the help of our employees located in China, we worked hard to make it happen. With the massive demand it took us two months but we’re pleased that the citizens of Landshut have finally received their masks. The full consignment of masks arrived three weeks ago and 80,000 units shipped directly to households last week. The rest of this delivery, valued at 500,000€, will be donated to retirement homes and other medical institutions, distributed directly by the city of Landshut.

But that’s not all. Until further notice we will make donations of one nose and mouth mask with every purchase on the Fanatec website. The masks will be donated to hospitals, nursing homes, and other locales that are of utmost importance for society and its functions - decided by the city. You’ll see the counter which shows the amount of masks donated on our front page.

We believe that if people work together to protect each other and the ones that need it the most and with a united effort, we will come out of this pandemic stronger than before. You’ll find the full article (in German) here: https://www.wochenblatt.de/gesundheit/landshut/artikel/325750/firma-spendet-stadt-halbe-million-masken

Torbjørn Mundal

We’re excited to announce our official partnership with WRC eSports!

The multi-year agreement means that all upcoming WRC eSports activities will be powered by Fanatec equipment, and it also gives us time to develop dedicated products for sim rally driving in close cooperation with WRC.

The first Fanatec-powered invitational WRC eSports event already took place in January, ahead of the start of Rallye Monte-Carlo in Monaco. Unfortunately other real rally events are postponed for now due to the current global situation, and we’re all looking forward to their return, but for now, online WRC sim events are the best way to enjoy this thrilling sport.

To kick off the partnership, we’re backing this week’s #RaceAtHome WRC Weekly Challenge in WRC 8. Available from tomorrow (April 23rd) to anyone playing WRC 8 on all platforms, the task is to master Rally Argentina’s El Condór special stage. The WRC Weekly Challenge presented by Fanatec will stay open for a week. Good luck!

An all-new WRC-branded steering wheel will be launched later this year, here’s a teaser:

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Gary Johnston

This simple but highly effective upgrade will make your Fanatec steering wheels unique.

The new Button Caps and Sticker Set allows for a huge variety of steering wheel customisation - combine coloured backgrounds with black or white text/symbol stickers for more than 20,000 variations.

The 127 different black and white text/symbol stickers include all commonly used sim racing button assignments, including brake balance, DRS, and engine/fuel management.

The caps are easy to install and compatible with most Fanatec steering wheels. Plastic tweezers are also included to avoid fingerprints and for easy removal of existing caps.

The new button caps have a different shape which allows to add two stickers (colour+symbol) and get a flat surface. It is therefore more advanced than any other sticker set which is available on the market.

98 additional rectangular stickers are also provided for drivers who prefer to place the button labels on the wheel itself. Some small Fanatec logo stickers are also included.

We’d love to see photos of your Fanatec wheels with the new button caps, we’ll share our favourites on our social channels!

Jeff Sanders

Dear Simracers

Nature just sent us a little reminder who the real boss is. We realize how vulnerable our system and society is. Stupidity, selfishness and ignorance are the assistants of the virus. I am guilty as well as I did not realize the impact on our health system and did not understand in the beginning that the virus itself might be as deadly as the flue but the impact will be dramatic just because humans have zero immunity and it takes time to prepare human mankind to a new species of virus.

Now we need to avoid the collapse of our health system by changing our habits and give up a lot of our freedom and the things we love for a while. And we need to stay reasonable and calm. Panic helped to get awareness so even the simple minded understood the danger but I am not afraid of getting Covid-19. Most of us will get it sooner or later and will be just fine.

So what is the impact on our business and on you as a customer of Fanatec?

Demand is strong and gets stronger every day as Simracing is apparantly the only motorsport you can perform at the moment

Our inventory situation is still ok and our factories are working on a reduced level but of course we do not know how long our supply chain will work as in some critical areas the delivery services already stopped working. Therefore we recommend that you get whatever you need until supply lasts. We might need to raise our prices if demand is higher than supply.

Our team is mostly working from home office or took a holiday as some of them need to take care of children which cannot go to school or simply stay at home to reduce the spread of the disease. This means that it can take longer until you get a response and repair times will take longer as well. Please be patient. Thank you.

Development is affected as well so a few prodcts might be delayed. The good thing is that I did not tell you about the upcoming goodies yet so I don't have to justify any delays. 😜

It is a very special time and we all can learn and get stronger if we use the time of slow motion and limited possibilities for good. Take care about the elderly and protect them. Be responsible so that our doctors can do their jobs without beeing overloaded. Give your favourite small businesses, bars and event organizers etc. your financial support if you can. Help your neighbours and stay together. Stay at home or places where you can keep some distance and follow the new rules. Reduce contacts as much as you can IRL. This is certainly not the end of the world. It can be the awakening of humanity.

And of course enjoy simracing at home 😉

Take care

Thomas

UPDATE

More and more regions are affected heavily so that delivery services like UPS will stop delivering our products. Some shipments already have been returned to us.

Before you place an order, please make sure that your region is not affected. Thank you!

English - https://www.ups.com/de/en/service-alerts.page?id=alert1

Deutsch - https://www.ups.com/de/de/service-alerts.page?id=alert1

Please place your order in time if you plan an upcoming purchase.

Detlef Fegers

When the Podium Direct Drive systems launched earlier this year, we included an improved Tuning Menu system compared to our belt-drive wheel bases. Several driver and firmware optimisations followed, along with FanaLab, which is becoming more flexible and powerful with every version.

Today, we’re introducing the first Performance Update for the Podium Series, which is available as a beta driver package (v352). This includes some major driver optimisations and firmware updates for the DD1 (including PS4 version) and DD2 wheel bases and motors.

FFB Optimisations:

Reduced FFB latency by 23% - latency is the enemy of simulation, so lower latency means a general performance improvement in all aspects of force feedback.
Increased resolution of the FFB signal to 16-bit (65536 increments) instead of 8-bit (256 increments) - this also helps with smoothness and response. The fidelity is now 256 times better!
Improved FFB linearity - a more linear response means more consistent torque delivery across the dynamic range.
Improved motor control with significantly less ‘loss’, to resemble the raw FFB signal more precisely. Simply described, the previous motor handling acted like a slight filter on noisy FFB but also reduced detail (1:1 game FFB can be quite rough and noisy, therefore we have added a new filter to the Tuning Menu called "Force Interpolation" - more on that below).
Improved Spring Effect calculation to improve oscillation behaviour.
Improved Damper Effect calculation to improve oscillation behaviour.
Improved Natural Friction calculation to solve unwanted vibration.

New FFB Features:

Linearity Mode “LIN” reduces maximum FFB output by a small amount to guarantee a consistent output between peaks and holding forces. Improved general linearity between game output and torque output.
Force Interpolation “INT” (similar to the ‘Reconstruction Filter’ on OSW/SimuCube) filters and smoothens the incoming rough game FFB signal and increases the refresh rate. For example a 60Hz FFB signal (e.g. iRacing) looks like rough steps on a graph and can also feel like this, but using Force Interpolation, the signal is recreated as a smooth curve. In comparison to FEI, this filter is a lot more powerful as it doesn't influence latency as much, has a better smoothing algorithm and doesn't eliminate effects completely.
Natural Inertia "NIN" simulates additional weight on the steering axis. This can be particularly useful when using light wheels like the P1 or McLaren GT3. It also makes the Natural Friction setting feel less ‘sticky’ on direction changes.

Other notable changes and fixes:

All Tuning Menu parameters have been rearranged into a more logical order. Now the list starts with the settings that are constantly influencing the steering independent from the game, followed by FFB settings only influencing the game effects, then the vibration effects, and then settings dependent on connected hardware.
Added dynamic tooltips in the Tuning Menu, which makes more effective use of the OLED, and should make Tuning Menu adjustments more intuitive and less intimidating for beginners.

There are many more improvements and fixes included in this update - a full list of changes are available in the forum.

https://forum.fanatec.com/discussion/1414/fanatec-beta-driver-v352-dd-performance-update-for-csl-csw-and-podium-bases-all-wheels/p1

We recommend that everyone with a Podium wheel base should try it! And because many of the optimisations are within the firmware, the Tuning Menu and motor performance improvements apply to consoles too.

Thierry Coelho

After reading all the feedback about our Black Friday 2019 offers, I thought about what could explain the negativity of some posts.

In the lead-up to the holiday season, and we all make wish lists, and if we don't get what we want, it can be disappointing. I think many of us know that feeling if you look under the Christmas tree and the thing you dreamed about is not there. Perhaps this is a similar situation.

What did we do differently compared to recent years? Not much. We always offered just a few products with a decent discount and even announced limited editions (Formula 2018) or new products (McLaren). We don’t encourage customers to wait for Black Friday because we prefer continuous sales and not big peaks.

Where we clearly failed was to manage expectations. And this is the reason for this post; I want to manage the expectations for future Black Fridays.

Future sales will be based on these basic rules:

Fanatec usually does not run sales or special prices throughout the year. There is one day per year when we sell products at a discount, and this is Black Friday.
There will be only one or two products (bundles or individual products) on discount. There will never be a general discount of X% on all products or free shipping. This would just accumulate most sales to this one day and create massive handling and logistic problems.
The discounted products will be popular sellers, but unlikely to be newly launched products or products we’ve had on sale before.
The discount will be significant and in the range of 20% to 30%.
On top of the discounted products, we might sell a limited edition with special colours or better materials like the Shifter with Carbon Fibre knobs this year which als has a price advantage of about 30%.
We might also use Black Friday to launch a new product without discount.

This is how we did it in the past and this is how we want to do it in the future.

Fanatec products usually have a very long life cycle; products like the BMW steering wheel have remained in our portfolio for over eight years. The prices on our products usually only go up over time (due to manufacturing costs and inflation), which means strong used value too. We are not fans of stimulating sales with discounts and we prefer to convince customers with quality, features, functionality, and a strong price-performance ratio. Our general pricing already represents good value due to the fact that we sell directly from our own website instead of retail.

I don't believe in cheap. I believe in value. The craziness around Black Friday does not change our principles.

And please don't get hyped nor disappointed. Buy the things you really enjoy and nothing more.

Cesar J Quintero

It’s that time of year again, and we have some great new offers and new product reveals for Black Friday!

The Black Friday Deals will be available from November 29th at 09:00 CET until Cyber Monday (December 2nd), exclusively through our webshop.

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CSL Elite Pro Kit - Officially Licensed for PS4™ at 699.95 € (Europe only)

This offer is only valid in EU and is strictly limited!
Race-ready Fanatec package for PS4™ and PS4™ Pro combines the CSL Elite Racing Wheel for PS4 and the CSL Elite Pedals LC
Wheel base provides realistic force feedback thanks to Fanatec ClubSport technology
Fully metal, adjustable CSL Elite pedals
CSL Elite Loadcell Kit included! Load cell technology greatly improves brake feeling and consistency.

ClubSport Pedals V3 + Brake Performance Kit at 299,95 €/$, 37,900.00¥, AU $499.90

Buy the legendary ClubSport Pedals V3 with the Brake Performance Kit for less than the normal price of the pedals alone!

High performance pedals with Hall sensors on throttle and clutch pedals for precision and durability
Pressure sensitive load cell brake system with custom-made 90 kg sensor and tool-free stiffness and travel adjustment
12-bit resolution (4096 values) on all axis
Alternative D-shape pedal plates included, with adjustable extensions
Brake sensitivity can be adjusted through the Tuning Menu while driving
Vibration motors on throttle and brake pedals to simulate TC, ABS, and other effects
Exchangeable throttle springs. Two springs with different strengths are included.
Optional damper kit for gas and brake with adjustable damping resistance.
Full multi-platform compatibility
Full metal construction of CNC-machined aluminium
Brake Performance Kit stiffens and shortens throw to behave more like a race car pedal, greatly improving on-the-limit threshold brake feel.

ClubSport Shifter SQ V1.5 Limited Edition 2019 for 259,95€, US $199,95, 28,900.00¥, AU $349,90

The ClubSport Shifter SQ V1.5 Limited Edition 2019 comes in a unique colour scheme, featuring a matte grey body, anodised red lever, and matte carbon gear knobs.
Shares the same high-performance specification as the standard ClubSport Shifter SQ V1.5: Full metal construction, seven gear H-pattern mode, reverse gear with realistic inhibitor to prevent accidental shifts, realistic sequential mode with strong haptic feedback, instant switching sequential and H-pattern mode.
Carbon Fiber gear knobs, compatible to popular automotive standards (value ca. 80 €/USD)
Adjustable shift feeling and resistance
Multiple mounting options on all four sides and bottom

Introducing five new Wheel Rims!

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ClubSport Wheel Rim NASCAR at 149,95 €/$, 20,000.00¥, AU $259,90

Drivers, start your engines! Grab the officially licensed NASCAR wheel rim for the most realistic oval racing experience!

Officially licensed NASCAR product
Three-spoke aluminium wheel rim with a 35 cm diameter
Genuine Alcantara© grip
Genuine Alcantara© hub cover with embroidered NASCAR logo

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ClubSport Wheel Rim Classic 2 for 129,95 €/$, 14,900.00¥, AU $199.90

The Classic wheel rim returns in a new colour!

Perfect for vintage road cars and historic racing cars. The thin, large diameter rim creates an authentic feeling of driving a classic car.
Three-spoke aluminium wheel rim with a 35 cm diameter
Polished, anodised silver finish
Black ‘F’ signet in centre of silver metal hub cover

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ClubSport Wheel Rim R330 for 129,95 €/$, 14,900.00¥, AU $199.90

Multi-purpose, fully round wheel with ergonomic grips. The smooth leather is durable and comfortable, and features stunning blue and orange accents.

Three-spoke aluminium wheel rim with a diameter of 33 cm
Genuine smooth leather
Neon blue centre stripe
Neon orange stitching
Fanatec ‘F’ signet embossed in centre of black metal hub cover

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ClubSport Wheel Rim Flat 2 for 129,95 €/$, 14,900.00¥, AU $199.90

The compact size and light weight makes this wheel perfect for open-wheel racing and any race car requiring fast steering inputs. The evocative polished silver and red colour scheme is a nod to classic Formula cars.

Three-spoke aluminium wheel rim with a diameter of 27.5 cm
Polished, anodised silver finish
Red synthetic suede

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ClubSport Wheel Rim GT Alcantara® for 129,95 €/$, 14,900.00¥, AU $199.90

A variation on the popular ClubSport Wheel Rim GT, using genuine Alcantara®. The striking lime green accents add a splash of colour to any simulator setup.

Three-spoke aluminium wheel rim with a 33 cm diameter
Genuine Alcantara® grip
Genuine leather lime green centre stripe
Lime green cross stitching

Of course, the five wheel rims will also be available as ClubSport Steering Wheels. The site will be updated with the newly announced hardware very soon.

What is your favourite offer?

UPDATE

Our Black Friday 2019 deals and new products are now online. Don’t delay, the reduced prices will only last until Cyber Monday, at 9:00 CET or until we run out of stock.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty11ClwtZaI

https://youtu.be/egdsoyHUfSg

UPDATE 2

Thank you for the most succesful Black Friday in the history of Fanatec!

We had incoming orders every 2 seconds during peak time and we sold 26 times as much as on a average day in November. The new products were received very well and the remaining limited edition shifters will not last for long.

Thanks to all new and existing customers for your trust in us and I wish you a lot of fun with your new products.

Feel free to post pictures 😃

Paulo Rodrigues

Our new flagship modular steering wheel, the Podium Steering Wheel Porsche 911 GT3 R, finally launched on the webshop today! It is available for pre-order in all regions, and will ship in December.

The individual components are also available separately, including the new officially licensed Podium Wheel Rim Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in two finishes, and the Podium Advanced Button Module. A ClubSport Universal Hub for Xbox One version of the Porsche steering wheel is also available for pre-order.

The Podium Steering Wheel Porsche 911 GT3 R is the ultimate wheel for GT racing, combining the complete set of modular steering wheel components from the Podium range to create a high-performance, full-scale replica of the Porsche 991 GT3 R wheel.

The Podium Steering Wheel Porsche 911 GT3 R includes:

Podium Wheel Rim Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
Podium Button Module Endurance
Podium Advanced Paddle Module
Podium Hub

Official Porsche replica!

The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup rim is a premium quality replica of the real Porsche wheel based on original CAD data, built to automotive-grade quality. The brushed and anodised aluminium rim is covered in genuine, premium leather, available in both suede and smooth finishes.

Introducing the Podium Button Module Endurance!

This advanced modular component includes two 12-way Multi-Position Switches with rotary encoder functionality, toggle switches, analogue stick, FunkySwitch, and 10 buttons. The integrated 2.7” 256x64 resolution OLED display is able to display more information than ever before, through our new Intelligent Telemetry Mode (ITM). The deep contrast of this display is truly stunning!

The most authentic paddle system ever.

The incredible Podium Advanced Paddle Module is part of the package, adding a dual analogue clutch paddle system and two pairs of magnetic shifters, built to automotive quality: carbon fibre paddle plates, aluminium cage, contactless Hall sensors, high-end switches.

Podium Hub at its core.

This Podium-spec steering wheel is defined by the high performance core hub, a gold anodised aluminium monocoque using a strong space frame design. The Button Module Endurance connects directly to the DataPort-C, unlocking the full potential of the Podium Hub.

Compatibility.

The Podium Button Module Endurance also fits on the front of the ClubSport Universal Hub for Xbox One, meaning that you can create a version of the ‘GT3 R’ design that is compatible with Xbox One. We are offering two ClubSport Steering Wheel Porsche 911 GT3 R packages that include the Podium Wheel Rim Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, Podium Button Module Endurance, and ClubSport Universal Hub for Xbox One. At the moment, the Podium Button Module Endurance and bundles with this product are only compatible to our Podium DD Wheel Bases but we are currently working on a firmware update to make more Wheel Bases, like our ClubSport Wheel Base V2.5, compatible.

Black Friday 2019.

Our Black Friday offers will be revealed on Monday, stay tuned! We can’t wait to show you more!

Carlos Dominiak

Finally we launched the new webshop which is based on a more modern platform and with a fresh design.

We’re glad to hear so much positive feedback about the new design already. We’ve been hard at work fixing the last few issues that have appeared during the transition period.

A few known issues:

• We are aware that customers with active discount codes are not currently able to use them on the new site. We aim to have this resolved by tomorrow.

• The changeover has resulted in a delay to support communication and RMAs. Please bear with us while we catch up on the support tickets.

• The CSL Elite Steering Wheel McLaren GT3 has been temporarily removed from the site due to a specific bug; it will return as soon as this is fixed.

• Cockpit accessories are not currently available in the US region, this will be resolved as soon as possible.

There are several more bugs we need to fix and things we want to improve and we will continiously work on it.

Please feel free to leave comments, suggestions or report bugs if you like. It is always helpful if you include screenshots, urls or a description of what system/browser you are using.

Do you like it better than the last one?

Billie Bowerman

The company has expanded beyond the capacity of the current premises, so we’re moving our headquarters to a bigger location, still within our beautiful home town of Landshut, Bavaria.

This will happen on Friday, October 11th.

While the move has been planned to be as seamless as possible to minimise disruption, please excuse some small delays in communication with our sales and support departments during this time. Note that the Support Chat feature on the website could be affected on Friday and though the weekend due to the transfer of our network infrastructure.

The new HQ is bigger and leaves space for expansion. Perhaps it will be YOUR workplace. We already hired 40 more team members this year and we are still looking for electronic engineers and programmers, a PR manager or project managers for example.

We have about 30 new projects which wait for completion as we plan a massive product launch to expand our product portfolio in all directions. Stay tuned.

Peter Ellis

FanaLab is our new PC software that allows fine-tuning of Fanatec hardware settings and features. We originally designed this software for the Podium Series wheel bases, but as the development scope has grown, it now alsofully supports the ClubSport Wheel Base V2.5 and CSL Elite Wheel Base +, as well as improving display functionality on all Fanatec steering wheels, plus improved control over vibration motors in compatible wheels and pedals. The CSL Wheel Base, CSL Elite Wheel Base V1.1 and the ClubSport Wheel Base V2 are compatible as well but with limited functionality as the Tuning menu cannot be synced. We are working on improving the compatibility of at least the CSL Elite Wheel Base V1.1 as this can be fixed by firmware.

With this new software, you’ll have another means of adjusting Tuning Menu values on-the-fly, with a wider overview of the settings compared to the wheel displays. You can save as many profiles as you like, and create an unlimited number of Tuning Menu presets. These can be assigned to automatically load when you launch your favourite sim from FanaLab, and you can export and share your best profiles with your friends.

We’ve also enabled new dynamic FFB effects driven by car telemetry data. At this stage, we’re including a speed-sensitive damper and an additional damper for driving in reverse, with more dynamic features to come, for example front suspension effects, countersteer effect, and Dynamic Force Enhancement. The speed-sensitive damper is useful for taming high-speed oscillation without needing to add too much ‘natural’ damper or friction, meaning that you can have a very active wheel at low speeds, and a stable one at high speeds.

In addition, display functionality has improved on all wheels, as FanaLab allows you to select what available telemetry data is shown, and the order of priority. The activation point for all RevLEDs can also be changed, and the new RGB RevLEDs and FlagLEDs allow for custom colours.

FanaLab is now available for free

Bear in mind that this is beta software, and that sim support will improve and new features will be added over time. We welcome your feedback; please discuss any technical aspects of FanaLab in this dedicated section of the forum.

Baj Dhadda

Here it is!

The long awaited review of Barry Rowland. The master of disassembly! And while I always have some screws left over after I re-assembled everything he always manages to put back everything perfectly.

This is our very first DD wheel base and it is a great honour for us that he sees the overall experience you get with our DD at the level of the very best last gen DDs out there. Thank you, Barry!

He also gives a great explanation of the Fanalab software and it looks like he liked it a lot.

A few notes I would like to mention:
1. With an upcoming new firmware you can also turn down the torque only if you press the power button short and to turn it off you press it 2 seconds.
2. The flex in the QR will not cause any lack of fidelity as it is not rotational flex. You can also avoid it by using the locking bolt if it bothers you. I personally doubt that there is any chance that you notice that while driving.
3. Fanalab will be available for all wheel bases and not just Podium

4. The dynamic force feedback damper works now

Have fun!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-Qd6Hl4IZ0&feature=youtu.be

PS: The Fanalab software is really close to release now and it is just a matter of days or weeks and not months.

Regan Hemopo

Good news for owners of Fanatec Xbox One steering wheels!

Not only can you play all your current games on the new console you can also sync your achievements and most of all continue to use your accessories as it all comes forward with Scarlett.

It is a very user friendly move which will make existing customers very happy and makes sure that your investment in expensive peripherals is not wasted as soon as the new console launches.

Now personally I hope that PlayStation does the same and everyone will be happy.

Thorsten Rinkenberger

The original CSL Elite Wheel Base was out of stock in most regions for quite some time now as we were working on an improved version. This CSL Elite Wheel Base V1.1 is now ready to ship to customers.

Same advanced electronics as the PS4 versions of the CSL Elite Wheel base minus the PlayStation security chip.
Improved force feedback
New appearance with new front plate, silver top and Fanatec logos on the side

It is the perfect entry level to the Fanatec ecosystem if you play on PC or Xbox One (Xbox One steering wheel needed for compatibility). If you already have the original CSL Elite Wheel Base you don't need to bother about upgrading as the changes are not significant enough to justify an upgrade.

Loris LAGREF

I would like to give you an update about various Podium related topics:

Podium KillSwitch

This product is available from today in all territories for immediate shipment.

We are also working on a new firmware which allows to decide if you just want to turn off the force feedback or to turn off the complete unit.

Podium Mounting Brackets

This product will be available in the first half of July. We made a last minute change to make it more compatible to 80/20 cockpits and not just the RennSport Cockpit.

Podium Hub

We will show and explain this product on the 28th of may and will put it on pre-order. The exact delivery date will be announced as well but you can expect a launch in August/September.

Podium Software (Final name still pending)

The software has still some major problems and is simply not ready yet but you can expect at least a good beta version in May so you can try it out.

If you have further questions, please let me know.

UPDATE

We just put on a few more goodies online on our website. Besides the Podium hub we also have new products available.

Podium Wheel Rim R300

This is the perfect allrounder. With a diameter of 300 mm it is perfectly balanced for any GT racing series and the automotive grade leather and aluminum is on a different level.

ClubSport Button Clusters

This is a set of button units which you might know from the ClubSport Universal hub. In fact they are identical so if you have one of those you can either use them to install an additional button cluster on your ClubSport Universal Hub or to the Podium hub. With a set of Button Clusters and the Advanced Paddle Module you have a total of 10 buttons and 2 analg axis available. If you need more you can get one of the upcoming button and display modules which will fit between the wheel rim and the Podium or ClubSport hub.

Podium and ClubSport Steering wheel R300

These are pre-configured packages for you. It is the beginning of our modular steering wheel system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b2NezyL4Z8

Maurice Böschen

Originally we developed a special lower spec motor for the Podium DD1 and the Racing Wheel but it turned out that we could not meet the specs.

We therefore decided to develop a new motor for DD1 and use the DD2 motor in the lower spec models as an interim solution to fullfil the pre-orders.

We decided now that we will permanently use the bigger high-end DD2 motor in the smaller models as well until a new Dd1 motor is ready but this will still take quite a long time.

Together with the bigger motor you will also get 3 years warranty instead of 2 years on both DD1 and Racing Wheel.

As you can imagine, this comes at some price as we are forced to increase our prices a bit due to the extremely low margin we make on our DD1 which does not allow us to recoup our huge R&D expenses for many years. Here is the new pricing:

Podium DD1:

EU: 1199,95 Euro

US: 1199,95 USD

AUS: 1699,90 AUS

J: 159.900 Yen

Podium Racing Wheel:

EU: 1599,95 Euro

US: 1599,95 USD

AUS: 2599,90 AUS

Please keep in mind that the Podium Racing Wheel not only includes a steering wheel but also the magnetic shifter paddles. This makes is the best deal for PC racers and the PS4 compatibility is a free bonus.

Order now if you want to purchase at the original low prices as the price change will be effective on May 7th (9:00 UTC+2)

Andreas Gremme

As already mentioned last year we want to make a limited edition Formula steering wheel every year. Last year our production run of 2018 units of the gold F1 wheel were sold out within 24 hours during Black Friday 2018.

This time we've created something special as well and we are giving priority to our Podium Series pre-order customers who ordered for the very first release date which had to be postponed.

Those customers received a voucher of 350 Euro/USD which can be used on any product and they also get the first chance to look at the new ClubSport F1 2019 Steering Wheel and order it before anybody else.

More details can be found in the newsletter we sent to customers today and will be revealed in a blogpost tomorrow.

UPDATE

The new steering wheel is now available in the webshop to everyone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RDn2rTxkLk

Bill Krause

We already announced that there will be a new software coming together with our Podium DD Wheel Bases and so far the project name is "Podium Software".

This is just a working title and now we need a final name for it. Of course we already have some ideas but this community probably knows best how to call it.

The name should

describe the functionality of the product or at least has some association
be independent of the product line as it will work with all Fanatec wheel bases
be innovative and unique
be short and memorable

This is what the software can do for you:

Synchronize the Tuning menu settings of the wheel base with your PC for unlimited amount of different setups
Save and load the optimal settings automatically as soon as you launch a game
Allows up to five settings per game so you can even fine tune your favourite cars
It reads out telemerty info from the game
Show various info on the Tuning Dirsplay
Change the colour or style of your rev lights
Map functions like traction loss on the flag LEDs or vibration motors
Create customized force feedback effects
Share your setup with the community or easily get the best setups into your wheel base

Please write your suggestion in the comment field of this blog post.

We will pick our favourites and make a poll in a few days so you can vote for your favourite.

The winner gets a nice surprise and eternal glory.

UPDATE: Please vote on page 1

Thanks for the fantastic feedback and the sheer amount of creativity. Some of the suggestions made me love and there are plenty of good candidates. My team selected their favorites and we want to know your opinion as well.

Benjamín Navalon González

The day has finally come.

I am happy to tell you that we started to ship the first Podium Wheel Bases today to our customers. We started with the Podium Racing Wheel but DD1 and DD2 will follow soon so we will deliver all pre-orders of the first batch on or before April 30th, as promised.

Here is the first unboxing video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ohOYdqAgGA

The additional software package is not final yet but we will make it available by the end of the month as well. Driver and firmware are ready of course so you can immediately use it. Only the stand alone version of the Podium Advanced Paddle Module does not make it in time as we had to postpone the shipping date to mid June due to a production shortage.

I can't wait to see the first customer reviews and impressions. We worked many years and we never invested so much money into anything in the history of Endor / Fanatec so I really hope we made it right and you like it. Let me know once you receive your Podium Direct Drive Wheel Base.

Richie Ryan

Let’s talk about data safety. We have discovered a potential safety leak on our website which could have theoretically been used by an attacker to obtain some customer data, including names, addresses, and passwords. Payment and credit card details were never in danger.

Popular websites like Fanatec.com are the target of hacker attacks every week, and usually they fail on our firewalls; in this case we cannot 100% guarantee that all attempts were unsuccessful. If we found the leak someone else might have found it as well.

There is no evidence that any data was stolen but due to the new data protection laws in Europe we want to be extra cautious and therefore are implementing a mandatory password reset.

Here is the direct link to do so:

Of course we are now working hard to improve the security on our website. The new website with a state-of-the-art shop system will be launched in April/May.

If you also want to improve your personal data safety, I would personally like to recommend a database for your passwords (Password Manager) which is convenient and 100% safe. I’ve used it for 2 years and couldn’t live without it anymore. This is a great solution for passwords on the internet because it is safe and very convenient.

• Use an individual and very complex password for every website you need to log-in.

• No need to memorize dozens of different passwords.

• All the passwords and website links are available on all your devices and in one place.

• Use it for all your website log-ins, credit card details, banking details, passport data, etc.

• Super convenient because you only need to memorize ONE password, and you can even log-in with your fingerprint. Auto-fill of forms on websites is also supported.

• The passwords are not saved in the browser or cloud (which is NOT safe) but locally on a super encrypted and personal database file on your mobile phone, tablet, or PC.

• The tool is free of charge and from a non-profit organization which uses open-source code. Your personal password database is protected with the same algorithm which is used by the NSA.

If you like to do this, you need to install two things:

1. A data cloud service like Microsoft OneDrive (free)

2. The database tool KeePass (free)

First you install OneDrive (or similar) on all your mobile phones, PCs, and tablets. There is now a data folder which is synced to all your devices.

Then you install KeePass on all your devices and create a new password database. Store this database file in your OneDrive folder so it will be available on all your devices.

You can now access all your passwords with one single master password, or your fingerprint, and don’t need to worry that your 12345678 password is used by a hacker to log-in to your iRacing account then drives like a maniac in your name.

Jevon Gregory

I’m pleased to confirm that we are on track to ship the first batch of the Podium Series direct drive systems on April 30th. This includes all three systems: Podium Wheel Base DD1, Podium Wheel Base DD2, and Podium Racing Wheel F1® PS4™. All units already pre-ordered until now will ship on time.

Please note that due to high demand, we are very nearly sold out worldwide for this first batch. In fact, some variants are already sold out in some regions, for example the Podium Racing Wheel F1® PS4™ in Australia, and the Podium Wheel Base DD2 in Europe. So if you see the estimated availability date change on the product page, this isn’t because we are delayed, it’s because you’ve missed the first batch!

Production continues to ramp up and we are beginning to prepare the second batch, which will ship in June. Thank you for your patience; we’re really excited to get this remarkable technology into your hands.

Marcel de Groene

Good: We just started the shipment of the Formula V2 and therefore it is in time with the expected launch date

:-bd

Not so good: Due to the strong demand we just sold out and have to put this product on pre-order again.

:-q

Along with it comes a new driver / firmware package 328 which fixed several small issues as well as improving the force feedback on Xbox significantly.

Development still goes smoothly for the Podium DD. All remaining minor issues can be fixed by firmware so that we can ship in April as planned. Please put in your order in time so you can make sure your unit will ship in the first batch.

Joseph Gossen

We get several inquiries about the compatibility of our steering wheels to other Direct Drive systems.

Fanatec is supporting open systems and we made our wheel bases, pedals, shifters and handbrakes compatible with other products as you can use them with USB together with any other brand.

We also allow and welcome the use of custom steering wheels on our wheel bases as long as there is no connection to our electronics and those wheels are using the Universal Hub or the upcoming Podium Wheel Adapter as a basis. This has several reasons:

Untested devices can damage your wheel base. The electronics as well as the mechanics.
Our products are fully certified (CE, FCC etc.) and this certification is only valid with original Fanatec equipment
Our license partners do not tolerate a connection of untested devices on their consoles

For the same reasons we do not allow the connection of one of our steering wheels to an adapter and use it on an untested non-Fanatec wheel base. You risk damage to your steering wheel and of course will lose the warranty.

Because it is hard for us to identify if a steering wheel was used on such an adapter we had to encrypt the communication between the wheel base and the steering wheel in order to prevent the wrong usage.

Our Podium DD has a special QR adapter on the base side which prevents any shaking and therefore damage. This is very important with the high forces of Direct Drive Wheels. Therefore I can only emphasize that you should use your Fanatec steering wheels only with Fanatec wheel bases in order to avoid damage.

We could probably make some more money by tolerating the use of our steering wheels on OSW but those customers could end up in a bad surprise with damaged products without warranty. Therefore please take the compatibility notes on our product description serious and use your Fanatec products only in the way they were designed.

Michael Fontanilla

Following another successful year of growth, Fanatec continues to expand quickly, and new positions have become available within the company as we look to build an even stronger team.

One of the key reasons why we can innovate and create great products is because our team has a passion for sim racing. This drive keeps the company full of fun and energy, and we want this culture to continue.

If you would like to turn your hobby into a career, please take a look at the jobs section of our site. We are looking for skilled and enthusiastic people to join the company, located in the beautiful Bavarian town of Landshut, expanding our R&D, marketing, and support departments.

Leave a comment and mention someone who wants to work with us; if we hire this person you will win a PODIUM Wheel Base DD1!

Please note: when sending in applications, it's important to mention who recommended you for the position. If the application is successful, the person who recommended you will receive a Podium Wheel Base DD1.

Only the first person who mentioned the name will get the reward. So hurry up!

fanatec.com/jobs

Guy De La Rosa

It’s a great pleasure for me to reveal one more product before 2018 comes to an end:

the ClubSport Steering Wheel Formula V2!

This incorporates all of the new features we introduced in the limited edition ClubSport Steering Wheel F1® 2018, in a more familiar shape. We’ve listened to your requests, and here it is: our first Formula-style wheel officially licensed for Xbox One and Windows 10. The Microsoft security chip inside the wheel means you can attach this product to any of our current wheel base lineup and enjoy full Xbox One compatibility.

The Formula V2 enters our product range permanently; it is not limited. This means that everyone has access to new features such as 12-way multi-position switches with rotary encoders, thumb encoders, rocker switches, multi-colour LEDs and so on. It’s also compatible with the Podium Advanced Paddle Module, which upgrades this wheel way beyond ClubSport spec.

You can control the amazing amount of 67 (!) different game functions with this steering wheel. This includes up to 4 additional analog axis and the new Multi Position switches which now can be operated in two modes. You can either use them to jump directly to a specific value or you use them as rotary encoder with endless rotation.

No need for any button box if you have this steering wheel.

This steering wheel will replace the Formula Carbon and will co-exist with the F1 Esports wheel whhich will replace the Formula Black.

The ClubSport Steering Wheel Formula V2 is available for pre-order today. Please check out the webshop product page for all the details.

Maurice Böschen

Now for some good news: I’m proud to reveal the full details of our Podium Racing Wheel F1® - Officially Licensed for PS4™!

The first ever direct drive system for PS4 completes the lineup of our three Podium Series Direct Drive systems, and this is my favourite!

Officially licensed by Formula 1™, the Podium Racing Wheel F1® is based on our DD1 technology, bringing unprecedented performance to the Sony platform. It is quite simply the most realistic force feedback system ever on a console, working seamlessly with all PS4™ and PS4™ Pro systems. Compatibility is tested and certified. It is fully backwards compatible to all titles supporting the CSL Elite Racing Wheel.

A new ClubSport Steering Wheel F1® PS4™ is included, an F1®-style wheel with a huge number of features and controls, including 12-way multi-position switches, thumb encoders, rocker switches, RGB RevLEDs and FlagLEDs. It uses the same technology and materials of the F1 2018 steering wheel and will not be offered separately at this point.

And we’re including the Podium Advanced Paddle Module, which provides two magnetic shifters that generate a solid, positive feel to every shift and two additional magnetic paddles for functions like DRS. Dual analogue clutch paddles allow F1®-style launch control by pre-defining the clutch bite point. Automotive grade quality, with real carbon fibre paddle plates, and an aluminium cage. You have to feel it!

The P APM is available for pre-order from today for 179,95 Euro/ USD and will launch together with the Podium Racing Wheel at the end of April. You can even upgrade your existing Universal Hub for Xbox One with it.

The Podium Racing Wheel F1® is available to pre-order for 1499,95 USD / Euro from today. Please check out the webshop for all the details.

Adam Baldwin

To all customers waiting for the Podium Wheel Base

I can imagine how much you’re looking forward to the release of this product. We’ve been working tirelessly to optimise and improve long term reliability, implementing many changes during the development phase. Until recently, it was looking very good that we could fulfill our estimated availability date in early December, but in final testing we discovered a serious issue which affects about 0.7% of the units produced so far.

We discussed if this really justifies a delay, but I made the painful decision to stop delivery. This product must be nothing less than flawless! In electronics design there’s always a chance that something can be missed, but if we are already aware of an issue, we cannot ship the unit. Not our flagship.

The problem requires thorough analysis, and we need to determine if we can rework the electronics of the units which were already produced or need to make new electronics. It is therefore important to adjust our realistic shipping date to the end of April. If we can begin shipments earlier, then we will do so, of course.

I’m sure you are just as disappointed as we are, but we want to keep you happy, and we want you to stay with us. Of course you are free to cancel your order now, but if you are willing to wait, we are offering a special gift as a gesture of appreciation.

All customers who pre-ordered the Podium Wheel Base DD1 or DD2 up to yesterday will receive a free steering wheel. It will be the new ClubSport Steering Wheel F1 2019 which is due to be released in May next year. It is very similar to the F1 2018 version we just released, but comes in a special and exciting new colour scheme. It is also a limited edition product, with a value of 349,95 USD / Euro

Rest assured that the Podium Series Wheel Bases will be well worth the wait.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

UPDATE

In case you have already ordered the F1 2018 steering wheel or you want a different steering wheel you can let our sales team know and we will send you a voucher for the same amount so you can use it on a different steering wheel.

UPDATE2

All Podium DD1, DD2 and racing Wheels which were supposed to be shipped on or before April 30th have left the warehouse. Thank you very much for your patience.

If you did not receive your base yet then make sure you are really on the first batch or that the product is still onthe way or in customs.

Luis Trapero

It is Christmas time again and independent of what you believe in or not I think everybody loves to receive little presents.

Instead of doing an auction again or a boring raffle we thought about a very special system for the Advents Calendar 2018 which gives all of you a fair chance to get your desired Fanatec product for free!

We will give away prices worth 35.000$ this year and this means every day one product per region.

Everyday at the same time, we will put a 100% discount code on a random product page and you will get this product for free (plus shipping).

You need to be fast to find the product we've assigned each day as only ONE customer can access the code. We give away almost 100 products in total and not everybody looks at the same page so you have a realistic chance to win.

And in case you win, you will receive another 10 discount vouchers so all your friends can also buy this product with 10% off.

Here are the rules:

The Advent Calendar starts December 1st 2018. The last code will appear on December 24th 2018.
24 different products will be featured in the Advent Calendar. (For each region different as well)
A 100% discount button will appear on a random product page.
The first person to press the button will receive an email with the code.
- This code is only valid for the product assigned with the button.
- Apply this code to your basket.
- The code is valid for 24 hours after receiving it.
A new code will go live each day at 19.00 local time (EU is CET, AU is AEDT, US is PST, JP is JST).
There can only be one winner (in every region) each day.
To complete the deal, the customer must add the product to the basket, enter the code during the checkout process, and pay the shipping costs for the item.
On top of that, the winner gets 10 vouchers. The 10% off vouchers provided in the winner’s confirmation email must be used within 24 hours of receipt and are only valid for the same product the sender received.

Tips:

Log-in or register at least 30 minutes before the code appears as the website can be slow
Open the product page of your favourite product and refresh the page at exactly 19.00

Good Luck!

Pascal Lefevre

Here are our special offers this year. After a lot of people complained about the lack of PS4 deals we made sure that this

year we have offers for everybody.
And there will be a new product announced this year!

The offers will be available from Friday morning (German Time) until Monday. Exact times will not be announced on purpose.

We have moved to a new sever but could not get the new website online so website problems on Friday can occur. Please be patient. Thank you.

Let us know your favourite!

Gaetano Cammareri

I’m pleased to confirm that auctions for US and EU customers will commence next week! The auction for the Podium Wheel Base DD1 for Fanatec US customers begins *Tuesday 13th November, from 18:00 PST (21:00 EST)*.

This will be followed by the auction for Fanatec Europe, which begins *Thursday 15th November, from 19:00 CET (18:00 GMT)*.

As before, each unit starts at $1 (1€ for Fanatec Europe) with no reserve. Several Australians made a very good deal so expect that some lucky winners in Europe and USA as well.

*These are the only auction sessions we have planned for these two regions.*

There will no more auction in Australia and no auction in Japan. All DD1 units sold by auction (as well as the pre-ordered DD1) will have the bigger DD2 motor.

If you are a PS4 user you should wait for early December when we will release all details about the Podium Racing Wheel for PS4

Instructions:

- For those based in the relevant region wishing to participate, please create a Fanatec account in advance and log in.

- Once active, you’ll see an ‘Enter Auction Page’ button on the DD1 product page, which launches a secure bidding area hosted on Amazon’s servers, which has been thoroughly tested for stability. (Anyone can click this link to watch the bids in real-time.)

- Click to bid as many times as you wish. Each click automatically increases the price by a fixed increment of $10 (10€).

- After every new bid is placed, a 60-second timer will reset.

- If there are no new bids after the timer reaches zero, the auction ends, and the winner receives an email with details on how to complete the pre-order.

- The next auction begins immediately, starting at $1 (1€).

*Please note:*

*- There is an unlimited amount of auctions if the auction ends at $970 (970€) or higher (which is still below the regular price of $999.95 (999.95€).*

*- We will stop the auction sessions after 30 units (for US) and 45 units (for Europe) reach an end price below $970 (970€).*

*- You will be able to see the previous winning bid values.*

*- Any bids above the regular pre-order price are automatically invalid.*

*- If you win an auction, it is not possible to bid for another unit.*

Standard pre-orders for both the DD1 and DD2 wheel bases are already available in all regions; the auction system is a genuine opportunity for our customers to score a great pre-order price for this cutting-edge sim hardware.

Links to product pages:

Europe

USA

UPDATE 1

Here are some important tips and tricks for a succesfull bidding and how to get a cheap unit.

The longer you wait the lower the prices. In USA the prices got really low after 3 hours after the session started.
Be patient and don't click like crazy. Do not place a bid if the price is above your limit.
Do not place a bid if the counter shows above 30 seconds. You will only win after nobody is bidding for 60 seconds anyway.
Do not place a bid if the price is above the pre-order price. It just delays the auction session for everyone else and is therefore not only unreasonable but also unfair to other bidders. We can block you in such a case.
Watch how many units are left below the threshold. After 45 units in EU we will end the session.
Be patient and wait. You will have ONE MINUTE before the auction ends. If prices go up like crazy then there is no chance that your bid is succesfull anyway.
All pre-ordered or auctioned DD1 as well as the Podium Racing Wheel PS4 will get the DD2 motor
If you win an auction and cancel the pre-order you made, you will lose your delivery slot

Christophe Zwecker

At the Simracing Expo 2018 we were showing the new modular steering wheel system which is an eco-system with our eco-system.

Here is a brief introduction and some impressions about the expo:

Highlights:

The new Podium Wheel Adapter is the motorsport version of our universal hub and allows the connection of advanced button plates like the new Podium Button Plate.
You can also attach any non-Fanatec custom wheel to it and then use a USB cable just like on any other DD system.
The new Podium Advanced Paddle Module provides 4 magnetic paddles and two analog paddles. It can be mounted to the Podium Wheel Adapter as well as to the Universal Hub for Xbox (with full functionality) and future steering wheels of the Podium and ClubSport series
The QR is also exchangeable and upgradeable
We were also showing 4 new wheel rims at the expo. Two versions of the 911 CUP rim, the R300 which has the same shape but 30 cm diameter and the Alcantara version of our GT rim

Have you been at the Expo? What was your impression?

Danilo Alfio Longhitano

We had the 20th anniversary of Endor and combined it with a community event for the Podium DD wheel bases.

It was really a big pleasure to meet all these guys and we had an excelent time. Here is a summary of the various feedback we got:

https://www.facebook.com/RaceSpotTV/videos/279234972903030/

https://www.bsimracing.com/fanatec-podium-series-community-event-some-impressions/

German:

https://www.isar-tv.com/mediathek/kategorie/wirtschaft/video/communityevent-bei-fanatec-in-landshut/

https://forum.virtualracing.org/showthread.php/104725-FANATEC-DIRECT-DRIVE-infothread?p=2382425&viewfull=1#post2382425

https://forum.virtualracing.org/showthread.php/104725-FANATEC-DIRECT-DRIVE-infothread?p=2382476&viewfull=1#post2382476

https://germansimracing.de/artikel/das-fanatec-podium-direct-drive-event-und-unser-eindruck/

French:

Italian:

We will have the test bench at the Simracing Expo and I hope to see you at the Nürburgring this weekend!

Thorsten Rinkenberger

After reading some comments on the live stream we thought it was a good idea to make this video in order to explain some points in more depth.

This video summarises the unique benefits of the Podium DD Wheel Bases, announces pricing and explains the auction system. I will even show a new steering wheel which is in development.

We also decided to publish these torque graphs so you can see how our outrunner servo motors behave over time. Even the most expensive DD motors de-rate when they heat up as it is a physical law that heat increases resistance and therefore reduces power. But please consider that it is not typical in simracing that the motor is operated in full stall for 5 minutes or more.

In our realistic life test scenarios we reach only 60°C motor temperature if operated with 100% force feedback. But not everybody really wants to drive at 100%

P K

This is how the auction system for the DD1 will work.

Our intention was to create a system where everybody has a fair chance to make a good deal and to eliminate luck. We also want to avoid any technical problems and therefore the auctions are hosted on the Amazon webservers with much better performance of our current server. Side note: We are working on a complete new website and change our server host with it sometime later this year.

Our target is to start with the auctions on the 30th of July but only if it was tested carefully and runs stable. The exact timing and all parameters will be revealed later.

This is how it works:

The DD1 will be on pre-order before the first auction starts and will be available for regular pre-order the whole time. So you have the choice to place a regular pre-order or to take part in the auction system.
Every registered customer can place as many bids as he like per auction but is allowed to win only one auction. We want to avoid resellers.
The auction starts at 1 USD / Euro and every bid changes the auctionprice for a certain increment (e.g. +5,00)
With every bid a countdown is reset.
If nobody bids within the countdown, the auction is closed
After an auction is closed the next product will be put on auction automatically.
We will put as many products on auction until a certain amount (will be announced) of auctions reach a certain price of XXX (will be announced) which is below the regular pre-order price.
This will guarantee that a lot of customers will get the DD1 well below the pre-order price and it can go down as far as a couple of Dollars if there is no more demand. Naturally demand will go down the more we put on auction.
Auctions will be held in Europe, USA, Australia and Japan but not at the same time. Exact timing and dates will be announced here and on the auction page.
We currently plan only one event but if it is succesful then we might make more events in the pre-order phase.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

UPDATE 1
The auction system is still beeing tested. The auction will not start before 12.00 German Time. We will let you know more by that time.

UPDATE 2

The auction system is running but we need more time for testing. We have to avoid the problems we had during the Adventvalendar auctions and therefore we decided to postpone the auctions. I assume it will be postponed for two weeks but I will give you an exact date as soon as we have a reliable date.

UPDATE 3

So the first auction will start on Monday 20th of August at 20.00 AEST. It is limited to Australia only as we want to get familiar with the new auction system and we expect less traffic in this region.

We will put plenty of DD1 on auction and make sure that there will be several units sold below the RRP of 1599,90 AUD. Prices above the RRP make now sense and such auctions will be ended by us if the bidding goes above.

After a succesful first round we will announce the date for Europe, USA and Japan.

Please note that you must live in Australia and have an australian account on Fanatec.com in order to place a bid. But other regions can follow the auctions on the austrialian webpage of the DD1 .

There will be an auction button which you need to press in order to get to the auction page.

We will annouce the auction results here as well.

Perhaps we will do another round of auctions. We will not stop until we have sold at least 100 units well below the pre-order price.

UPDATE 4

We’re giving our Fanatec Australia customers a second opportunity to participate in an auction for the Podium Wheel Base DD1 on Tuesday 30th October, starting 21:00 AEDT. Other regions will follow, and we’ll make separate updates about that.

As before, each unit starts at 1 AUD with no reserve. This is for Australian customers only, but all regions can view the auctions in real-time.

Instructions:

- For those based in Australia wishing to participate, please create a Fanatec account in advance and log in.

- Once active, you’ll see an ‘Enter Auction Page’ button on the DD1 product page, which launches a secure bidding area hosted on Amazon’s servers, which has been thoroughly tested for stability. (Anyone can click this link to watch the bids in real-time.)

- Click to bid as many times as they wish. Each click automatically increases the price by a fixed increment of 10 AUD.

- After every new bid is placed, a 60-second timer will reset.

- If there are no new bids after the timer reaches zero, the auction ends, and the winner receives an email with details on how to complete the pre-order.

- The next auction begins immediately, starting at 1 AUD.

- There is an unlimited amount of auctions if the Auction ends at 1500 AUD or higher (which is still below the regular price of 1599,90 AUD).

- We will stop the auction event in Australia after 10 Auctions reached an end price below 1500 AUD.

Thomas Schuster

I would like to introduce you to Dom Brennan who works as a community manager for us now. He moved from the UK to Bavaria and is a simracer who knows what he is talking about.

Dom will also be active in this forum from now on and help you with answers. He is also building up a real forum with help section and guidelines how to set up your Fanatec product in a game.

This year we are celebrating 20 years of Endor/Fanatec. As we take any chance to make a party we will celebrate that on the 25th of August in Landshut.

Such a party would not be complete without our fans and customers.Therefore we would like to invite a couple of you to celebrate with us so it will be a community event.

We will put our old products on display as well as showing the latest Podium DD wheel bases. You can even compare them with its most important competitors both in a racing simulation as well as with test tools to measure torque, smoothness, acceleration, etc.

So who would like to come to Landshut?

Maurice Böschen

So finally it is time to release all information about our revolutionary Direct Drive Wheel Bases.

Here are the webshop descriptions of the products:

EU

https://www.fanatec.com/eu-en/wheel-bases/podium-wheel-base-dd2-eu.html

https://www.fanatec.com/eu-en/wheel-bases/podium-wheel-base-dd1-eu-1.html

https://www.fanatec.com/eu-en/racing-wheels/podium-racing-wheel-officially-licensed-for-ps4-eu.html

US

https://www.fanatec.com/us-en/wheel-bases/podium-wheel-base-dd2-usa.html

https://www.fanatec.com/us-en/wheel-bases/podium-wheel-base-dd1-usa.html

https://www.fanatec.com/us-en/racing-wheels/podium-racing-wheel-officially-licensed-for-ps4-usa.html

AUS

https://www.fanatec.com/au-en/wheel-bases/podium-wheel-base-dd2.html

https://www.fanatec.com/au-en/wheel-bases/podium-wheel-base-dd1-aus.html

https://www.fanatec.com/au-en/racing-wheels/podium-racing-wheel-officially-licensed-for-ps4-aus.html

J

https://www.fanatec.com/ja-en/wheel-bases/podium-wheel-base-dd2-1.html

https://www.fanatec.com/ja-en/wheel-bases/podium-wheel-base-dd1-japan.html

If there is some information missing, please let me know in the comments.

Pre-order of the DD2 start right away and the auctions for DD1 on July 30th.

And no, the 1 Euro/USD start price for the DD1 auctions were NOT a joke

Stephen Frith

Esports is getting more and more popular and while other game genres are already attracting millions of viewers, racing is a bit behind in popularity.

This will change now and one of the leading racing esports series will be Formula 1.

All participants of the F1 Esports finals will use Fanatec gear and we also get a massive presence with our simulators at the F1 races and Fan festivals. This agreement is for five seasons.

But of course we will also come up with licensed and official F1 branded steering wheels which will feature new technology and will be supported by the upcoming F1 games by Codemasters.

In parallel we also made an agreement with Codemasters and starting in 2018 you can expect attractive bundle deals of the F1 games with our products.

Oh and we will have some Paddock Club tickets available for our community.

Are you a fan of F1? What is your favourite race?

Antoine Goossens

Let me present our first stand-alone wheel base officially licensed for PS4: CSL Elite Wheel Base+

These features are exclusive among official licensed PS4 racing wheels and wheel bases:

Unmatched compatibility. It is the master of compatibility among all racing wheels on the market
Precision. The steering sensor mounted directly on the axis and not on the motor avoids all the negative influence of the belt drive on the precision
Silk smooth single belt drive system
1000Hz update rate with lowest latency of all PS4 wheels
Strongest servo motor on the PS4 (identical to the ClubSport Wheel Base V2.5)
Solid metal QR system
Integrated rev lights

This product is available and will ship right away! Please use our configurator to add all the peripherals you would like to add.

Paul Hartl

Massimiliano Pecora

We are about to release a new firmware for the Mclaren Steering Wheel which will feature a new Clutch Bite Point Mode.

Now you can finally launch your car like a F1 driver. SimRacingGirl will explain how to use it in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au5IAe2WdxI

The McLaren is only the first wheel which will make use of this feature. There will be more steering wheels in the ClubSport and Podium series with this very useful function in the near future.

Rami Ahola

If you missed the pre-order opportunity for the CSL Elite Steering Wheel McLaren then here is your chance to place an regular order.

From today you can pre-order those steering wheels again and they will be available worldwide on June 6th for shipment.

I kindly invite all pre-order customers who already revceived their McLaren wheel to give me their impressions or reviews here in the comments.

Andrew Hake

PlayStation Announcement

With the March patch, GT Sport will add full native support of the Fanatec CSL Elite Racing Wheel. The ClubSport Shifter and even the ClubSport handbrake is supported as well if connected to the wheel base.

There is no more need to switch to compatibility mode and your Fanatec wheel will be shown in the options menu of the game.

Kazunori Yamauchi told me that the implementation is still not completely finished and they will continue to add features and better functionality in future updates.

I will meet with him very soon so please let me know how you like the implementation now and what improvements related to our wheels you would like to see. Please do not list any issues related to the overall force feedback system of the game.

It took a little bit longer than expected but we are building up a solid long term relationship with Polyphony and in the long run this you all will benefit from that.

UPDATE

As a lot of our community members are complaining about the understeer rattling effect, I would like to mention that this effect is not a bug but present with other wheels as well.

Please head over to GTplanet and participate in this poll so you can tell us your favourite choice.

My personal suggestion to PD will be to make this effect adjustable in the game options.

Dominic Brennan

I would like to give you a short update on some important topics.

CSL Elite Steering Wheel McLaren GT3

We had some last minute electrostatic issues on this product and we had to make some small design changes. This means that the shipping date will be postponed to late April.

All customers who pre-ordered the steering wheel will get an e-mail and they can also expect a nice compensation for this delay. All affected customers will get a free ClubSport quick release adapter or a coupon code if they already purchased one. Of course they can also cancel the pre-order at any time.

Podium Wheel Base

Talking about delays...

We are all waiting for this product to be released but we had to fight a lot of small issues. The pre-production is done and we are still making internal tests to verify the design and sort out some obvious issues.

Currently we select the beta testers and will get in contact with them shortly. The beta tests will start in late february and it is still planned to held a community event in our HQ where we will invite interested potential customers and direct drive specialists to help us fine tuning the wheel base.

At the moment we are aiming to start selling the DD wheel bases in summer.

Some good news as well. We managed to crank up the torque on both versions. We also successfully eliminated all torque ripple so you can expect the same smoothness as on your ClubSport Wheel bases which is on par with the very best DDs out there or even better.

Full Implementation of the CSL ELite Racing Wheel in GTS (blue mode)

I have received an update from Polyphony and got the confirmation that the wheel is already implemented in the code and that they are fine tuning it. Unfortunately I did not get any confirmation when this change will be patched to the game.

But it looks that this this should not stop you from going fast.

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