Fanatec Porsche 911 Racing Wheel Author:  Rafael Rios Date:  2008.11.06 Topic:  Gaming Provider:  Fanatec Manufacturer:  Fanatec

Fanatec Porsche 911 Racing Wheel

Game Tests:

The game tests used for the Porsche 911 Turbo Wheel were run using three of the latest realistic driving simulations. Note we did not use any "game-style" driving sims as we wanted to get a feel for the force feedback system as we run over curbing. We used GTR2 racing the Porsche's in-game, rFactor racing the F1Mods racing mod, and iRacing which is the latest realistic driving simulation available.

The steering wheel worked flawlessly and actually helped me to improve upon my driving prowess due to the precision action, smooth force feedback that made you feel as if you were driving on the curbing in the corners as well as making it easy to actually feel the edges of the road as my tires drifted partially off of them. The force feedback was powerful yet delivery was smooth making it feel very realistic. The feeling of the road versus the curbing or the grass just off the pavement was amazing, and made smooth recovery onto the fast line much easier driving in the virtual world, where sometimes our senses are dulled a bit due to the lack of real-world feedback, but with the Porsche 911 Turbo Wheel and pedals, the sensation of immersion felt deeper than ever before realized with other wheel systems.

Hands-On & Gear Shifters:

In all three racing sims we tried the different gear shifters, as I try to best describe the effect of each. I used the paddle style shifters on the backside of the wheel racing in the rFactor simulation to replicate the feel of my F1 Ferrari on the road course. The wheel worked like a charm after I fine tuned the settings to my liking. The feel of the authentic hand-stitched leather running under my fingertips was amazing as I tried to straighten out the course of curves to the best of my ability. The ease by which I was able to shift gears up and down rapidly is almost undescribable, being more one of those sensations that you must feel to believe. The performance of the shift paddles was flawless, and allowed me to easily decelerate deep into the corners without kicking the back end around or getting into trouble. The use of the clutch pedal greatly enhances the experience as I was able to heel-toe the pedals in an effort to derive the fastest laptimes possible. I must mention here that the fuel pedal felt amazing with a medium to high feedback adjustment, since the pedal actually allows you to feel the engine rev's through your foot as you press down on it. The clutch was a huge improvement over two-pedal systems allowing the user to feather the engine output and comes in very high on that "must-have" list.
 Next, we tried using the 6 speed gear shifter with the iRacing simulation, in the Skip Barber RT2000. Again the Porsche 911 Turbo Wheel system worked flawlessly, the effects from the pedals being felt through my body as I accelerated out of the apex's, the strong effects felt from the awesome Mabuchi motors of the force feedback system was incredible and felt as if I was driving on a real track. The only issues I did have was with the 6-speed shifter where it was a little stiff in the shifting but I am certain that this is because the edges for each gear-change notch were brand new and expect this to only get smoother after break-in. Driving my car around Infineon Raceway was amazing to say the least as this wheel system from Fanatec increasingly reminds me of how the heck was I ever able to race well without it. Going into and out of the corners was smooth and silky, the resistance-force on the brake pedal just the right amount allowing me to feel my way to the braking markers and then accelerating out of the corners with the engine rev's coming up through my accelerator pedal. I can only sum it up in one word...Amazing! Last we tried using the sequential gear shifter in the GTR2 racing sim racing the Porsche 911 racing cars. Having had many years of experience racing this particular sim, I wondered about how Fanatec's Porsche 911 Turbo Wheel system would affect my laptimes on some very well known tracks where I can easily identify time markers throughtout my laps. To make a long story short, the Fanatec wheel system had me doing faster laptimes right off the bat! I tried it out on two of my most favorite tracks and right away after a warm up lap, I was able to easily outdo my best laptimes from the days when I used other wheel systems! This was incredible as the added sensory indicators I was receiving from the pedals, and wheel with its' smooth yet powerful force feedback was actually permitting me to go deeper into the braking zones, earlier on the throttle prior to the apex of the corners and smoothly allowing me to drive the car out of the turns using up the entire track. This was done with my previous best setups as a controlled test. I was in complete disbelief, if it were not for my knowledge and records on the corner speeds, exits, and split times I had achieved prior, I would not have believed it.

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