Fanatec CSL Elite Review (XboxOne, PC)

24. July 2017 Review 15 Comments
Fanatec CSL Elite
Overall
8.6/10
8.6/10
  • Overall Impression - 8/10
    8/10
  • Value for Money - 9/10
    9/10
  • Precision - 9/10
    9/10
  • Robustness - 9/10
    9/10
  • Material (Metal vs Plastic) - 8/10
    8/10
Sending
User Review
2.94 (31 votes)

Summary

If I had to choose between the competition, including older Club Sports, and Fanatec CSL Elite, I’d choose the latter. Especially with the load cell kit, this is a highly competitive setup, enabling you to compete for podiums in race. Clear winner!

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(originally published Dec 6, 2016; updated Jul 24, 2017; updated Aug 24, 2017; updated Apr 09, 2019; updated Apr 16, 2019)

fanatec-csl-elite-review

A few weeks ago, Fanatec sent us samples of their new Fanatec CSL Elite Wheel BaseCSL Elite series, consisting of …

In for the Christmas Season, the new CSL Elite series is none too soon (actually, it was already released a few weeks ago).

As always, I’d like to start this review with a quick recap for you busy racers.

Fanatec have released a PS4 version of their wheel, too. Together with a Xbox One compatible steering wheel or Fanatec’s Universal Hub for Xbox One, you can also use that for Xbox One racing, thereby having the currently most compatible wheel base on market. Read our reviews here:

Fanatec CSL Elite Review Summary

Is Fanatec’s new series worth the money? Short answer: Absolutely. 

Note if you are used to Load Cells, then make sure to grab the additional Elite Pedals Load Cell Kit.

Here’s how the CSL Elite compares to the competition.

In terms of pure, overall performance, Fanatec CSL Elite is, in my humble opinion as a simracer, better than:

It is worse than:

  • Fanatec Club Sport with Wheel Base V2, Pedals V3

The latter is considerably more expensive, though.

The CSL pedals alone, together with the Load Cell Kit are better than Club Sport Pedals V2, but only without damping oil installed. However, with oil in the damper of the CSP V2, my feelings are that they are en par.

Compared to the more expensive CSP V3, the CSL Elite pedals + load cell are a downgrade for sure.

So, if you have a Club Sport Wheel Base V1, the CSL Elite Wheel Base is a total upgrade. I was stunned at how well I could drift in the Lotus 49 in iRacing. It’s quick, fast, strong and about double the size of a ClubSport Wheel Base V1.

If you have Club Sport Pedals V2, then the CSL Elite + Load Cell Kit are not so much of an upgrade. In my opinion you do better at trying different silicone oils instead. However: A reason you might still consider trying out the CSL pedals is that the pedal’s can be shifted left and right almost freely. If you regularly cramp because of the fixed pedal positions, this may be a reason for you.

In-Depth Review of Fanatec CSL Elite Series

Part 1: CSL Elite Wheel Base

If you’re coming from Fanatec’s Club Sport Wheel Base V1, Thrustmaster T500RS or Logitech G27/G29/G920, or any of their predecessors, then the CSL Elite Wheel Base is a definite upgrade.

In terms of torque, it is located exactly between Club Sport Wheel Base V1 and V2:

In contrast, here are some more torque numbers for the competition:

So as you see, the CSL Elite Wheel Base is upper class, with only Club Sport Wheel Base V2 beating it. The Bodnar SimSteering system is a bit out of competition, with a relatively luxurious price tag in excess of 3000 GBP (> 3700 USD at the time of writing), and was only included for comparison.

So much for the torque. What about the quality of Force Feedback?

Personally, I am not so much a fan of too much technical detail, so let’s just mention that Fanatec build a brushless motor and a single belt drive into their product. These make for very quick FFB response and for ultra smooth rides.

Upon first trying this wheel base, I loaded up iRacing and the drifty Lotus 49 for a practice session at Imola. What I instantly recognized was just how smooth the feedback feels. If you come from a CSW V1, which feels more rugged, then you’ll first be skeptical. But without reason! Exiting the pit lane, I floored the gas pedal. After decelerating for the first chicane, I floored the gas again. This time, a tad too much and too early. I expected to spin the next moment.

But not so. The FFB fires up. Barely noticable, more of the sublimial kind. I take counter measurement earlier and just so enough as I have never done with my CSW V1. Wow, this was the moment I knew that the CSL Elite will replace my CSW V1.

I ran many more laps, for the joy of it, and to statistically validate my impression. Seriously, I don’t remember ever doing so many consecutive, incident free laps in the L49. Not with the Logitech G27, neither even with CSW V1.

I tried it with more of my favorite cars, including the MP4-30 (McLaren F1 car), Lotus 79 (F1 car of the infamous ground effect era in Formula 1) and the one always good for a nifty race, Formula Renault 2.0. In each and every car and lap, the CSL Elite was better than CSW V1.

Therefore, the CSL Elite Force Feedback is both, stronger, quicker and simply put, better than any other wheel base I have ever owned.

It’s also “softer”, less rugged and rough, which I miss a little bit. But this is only a minor glitch.

I really need to stress this “V1”  in CSW V1. The V2 is a different story, with even stronger motor etc., but also in another pricing league. Don’t be confused: At the moment, the current Club Sport Wheel Base is V2, and the current Club Sport Pedals are V3.

Part 2: CSL Elite Pedals

To be honest, there’s not so much to say about the pedals with regards to race performance. The package comes with a brake pedal and a gas pedal. Both of which are linear and potentiometer based, as one knows from the Logitech and Thrustmaster competition.

Unlike most of the competition (including inhouse competition), Fanatec uses torsion springs instead of compression strings. Regarding your foot feeling, this does not make for any difference.

The pedal travel on this set is pretty long if you’re used to Club Sport Pedals. Actually, I had to remove the rubber grip s because of this. The longer travel required my feet to slide on the pedals a bit, and the rubber was clearly in way of that (on the Load Cell Kit, which eradicates almost all pedal travel, I still use the rubber pad).

The brake pedal comes with a little foam insert to make it feel more like a real brake. However, when comparing to Thrustmaster T500, Logitech G29 / Logitech G920 or a Logitech G27 with Nixim Mod installed, then Fanatec’s foam really comes last in the list of “brake feel hacks”. But don’t stop reading before you’ve checked the Load Cell Kit, which is a game changer.

The brake pedal has a little more resistance. Also, the brake later becomes the clutch pedal when you install the Load Cell Kit.

Part 3: CSL Elite Load Cell Kit

This is the bread and butter of the pedal set. It makes it actually compete with ClubSports in their previous version V2.

Even more so, I think that this Load Cell Kit makes the pedals even BETTER than Club Sport Pedals V2.

So why is that?

If you compare the CSL Elite brake pedal to CSPv2 brake pedal, than, apart from visual differences, there is one huge shrieking difference, and this is travel distance. A CSPv2 brake pedal simulates the travel distance from street and non-Formula 1 race cars; i.e., the travel distance is what Average Joe would deem “realistic”.

The brake pedal distance in the CSL Elite ones, however, is almost none. If you install the 95 kg (209 lbs) rubber kit, then travel is just about 1.5 – 3 cm (0.6 – 1.2 in), depending on your strength. And this is good, …, wait a moment; it’s NOT good. IT’S FREAKING AWESOME.

Of these few centimeters/inches of travel, the yellow sponge you see in the pictures takes up the most actually. The softness of this sponge basically simulates the movement of the brake shoes towards the brake discs. I am thinking about removing the sponge and testing the results. Maybe it’s even better then.

I don’t know the exact physical reasoning on a scientific travel. But my humble guess is the following:

Everyone who sports a brake based on load cells and who has experience with linear, potentiometer based pedals (like was the case with a factory Logitech G27 and most (if not all) pedals cheaper than that, knows the following. Human muscle memory is magnitudes better at memorizing Strength than memorizing Travel. How many times have you overworked your tires upon braking with a linear brake? For my part: Absolutely routinely. When driving at the edge, a lap without blocking tires was more the exception than the rule (of course I also know racers who have no problem with this).

However, when switching to load cell based, i.e. strength based, input, your braking failure rate suddenly starts to drop. For me: Blocking tires because of braking has become an absolute exception. It is no longer a problem to me. Neither in Mazda MX-5 or Lotus 49 nor MP4-30.

That’s how good strength based input is. Now, with CSL Elite, Fanatec have almost eradicated Travel altogether.  What remains is a brake pedal with almost only Strength Based Input.

My guess for why this is even better than what CSPv2 comes up with is that Travel somehow irritates and confuses muscle memory. The fact that Travel has been shut down to an obligatory minimum might mean that there’s less irritation and confusion left for your humble legs, thereby generating more focus onto what counts: Strength of Input.

By the way: With regards to Club Sport Pedals V3, Fanatec are just releasing a Brake Performance Kit which replicates exactly that: Eradication of Travel. But that’s the stuff of another review.

On a side-note: This is kinda rocket science. The F16 Falcon fighting jet is said to feature a stick that has no travel either, and all it recognizes is strength of input. Awesome?

So, in just a few words, my opinion is that the CSL Elite pedals, together with the CSL Elite Load Cell Kit, beat Club Sport Pedals V2 and the Thrustmaster and Logitech Competition in terms of pure performance. Of course, the full setup, including the load cell kit, is more expensive, but what you get is quality (*).

(*) And I have a gut feeling that you also get a foretaste of what might become a standard in the next generations of high performance pedals in that pricing magnitude (i.e. the eradication of travel in favor of a purely strength based brake pedal).

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Fanatec CSL Elite
Overall
8.6/10
8.6/10
  • Overall Impression - 8/10
    8/10
  • Value for Money - 9/10
    9/10
  • Precision - 9/10
    9/10
  • Robustness - 9/10
    9/10
  • Material (Metal vs Plastic) - 8/10
    8/10
Sending
User Review
2.94 (31 votes)

Summary

If I had to choose between the competition, including older Club Sports, and Fanatec CSL Elite, I’d choose the latter. Especially with the load cell kit, this is a highly competitive setup, enabling you to compete for podiums in race. Clear winner!

Related Posts

About The Author

Sebastian

Simracing for more than five years. iRacing, rFactor, but sometimes arcade racing just for fun. Typically Top 2%-5% racer. Tries to not be slow.

15 Comments

  1. Alex 29. December 2016

    Great review! Do you think it’s worth going up to the clubsport package for another $500 with this elite set up being so good? Currently have an unmodded G27

    Reply
    • Sebastian 29. December 2016

      Thank you, Alex.

      Good question. In terms of pure performance, the additional $500 are worth it (in my opinion). You get 2 Nm more torque, which is really nice to have if you ever use larger rims, like the Clubsport Classic (the larger the diameter, the less strong the force feedback, and the Classic is really large).

      The pedals are more adjustable; you don’t need to dissasemble anything to adjust the brake pedal, for example. You also get pedal vibration with the Club Sports (though not all sims support it; most notably iRacing).

      It depends on your definition of how much you want it. If you want to go hardcore or have the best hardware for what you want to afford, then Club Sport are a good investment.

      I would say in the end it depends on your budget. Both the CSL Elite and Club Sport give you a huge bang for the buck.

      Reply
  2. Alex 29. December 2016

    Ok thanks. I just ordered the elite set up but had some second thoughts. What about just the wheel base for $300?

    Reply
  3. Alex 29. December 2016

    Upgrading from the elite to clubsport wheel base that is. It’s a 300 difference and I lose the free copy of assetto corsa but that was an Xbox version anyway.

    Reply
    • Sebastian 29. December 2016

      I still stand my point with the same line of argumentation, so if it doesn’t hurt you to buy the Club Sport Wheel Base, I would personally go for it, especially if I plan on buying larger wheel rims 🙂

      Reply
  4. E M 16. January 2017

    Any chance you know if the pedal set with load sensor will work with the PS4 pro and Thrustmaster Alcantara 599x wheel?
    Thanks

    Reply
  5. Lewis 2. October 2017

    Hi great review.
    just wanted to ask you something.
    I have the G920 and I’m looking to upgrade it soon. It’s the first wheel I’ve had.
    It seems to have a really bad clattering noise when going over bumps and curbs on various racing games.
    Do all wheels have this or is it just the G920 because of its conical gears inside?
    With the csl elite and other wheels are the bumps and kerbs a lot different In feel ?
    Thanks
    Lewis

    Reply
    • Sebastian Mach 3. October 2017

      Hey Lewis, thank you very much!

      And apologies for the untimely reply; I had it done yesterday, but then I pressed some button combination that killed all I have written. I will never write replies within the blog’s editor again 😛

      Great Question!

      I am not fully qualified to answer this, as I almost always drive with earphones on:

      1 – It’s helps getting into the zone
      2 – I did not particularly like the clattering of the Logitech G27/G920/G29 devices

      However, here’s what I have experienced:

      With the Logitech as well as the ClubSport Wheel Base V1 (V1! Don’t know about V2 and ClubSport V2.5, for I have never tested them without headphones), the clattering was disturbing and I thought “OMG, wtf are my neighbours going to say, if they don’t skip the talk and lynch me right away”.

      The ClubSport was definitely softer and not sooo clacky, but still significant.

      I have not tested the CSL Elite really well regarding noise. However, every time external factors force me to rip out the earphones while driving, I am surprised by its gentleness.

      I don’t have a Logitech G920/G29/G27 handy to perform a factual comparison, but in all honesty, I think the Logis are significantly more disturbing than the CSL Elite for PS4/PC(+ XboxOne with proper wheel or Universal Hub) and CSL Elite (XboxOne + PC).

      Plus, I actually thought about removing my earphones for sake of real loud speakers + sub woofer. But, while the CSL Elite so far was of acceptable loudness, it was the environmental sounds that made it hard to me to focus on my racing performance.

      Birds or elderly neighbours with enormous vocal chords are okay when delivering cargo in Truck Simulator. But when performance driving, I prefer to shut down the real world as much as possible. That is, I ditched that plan.

      So, in the discipline of noise, this is my humble, opionion- and memory-based ranking, from best to worst:

      1. CSL Elite & CSL Elite for PS4
      2. ClubSport V1 (can’t tell V2.5, sorry)
      3. Logitech G29/G920
      4. Logitech G27

      Regarding FFB quality:

      I have made almost only good experiences with the CSL Elite. It’s better than CSPv1 and waaay better then Logitech’s, overally.

      The only gripe I have is that it sometimes felt to light. I prefer some more weight in the feeling. But then, I think it was just me who misconfigured “damping”. Once I increased damping in iRacing, it felt better.

      I know which effect you mean; it’s still an effect that makes me curious on the mathematical level. And I am pretty sure it’s also in the CSL Elite; maybe not exactly in the same form, but with the same consequential effect of knowing when the car is light.

      Anecdote: Just 2 days ago, I tested an Oculus Rift, together with CSL Elite for PS4, in iRacing, on Formula Renault, in Bathurst a.k.a. Mount Panorama.

      If you know that track, you know it’s a bit like Nordschleife, only way worse. A track I am not sure I would performance-drive my private car at; it’s like a roller-coaster, but, erm, “better” 😀

      And in that combination, Oculus Rift, CSL Elite, Club Sport Pedals V3, I experienced something for the first time ever: True dizziness while racing a simulation. And that without hydraulics on my Rig! It’s fascinating what positional and rotational head tracking, combined with stereo vision, can achieve. And I can tell you that the CSL Elite was a perfect fit for it, including the feeling of lightness. It was perfect.

      I am curious how a ClubSport Wheel Base v2.5 and Brake Performance Kit will even improve that experience.

      Oh, and the direct drive (a.k.a. Fanatec Podium Series), …, but I am not sure about my budget on that one, yet. I am not a pro racer with billions of bucks at hand, but just a blogging simracer sharing his experience 😀

      In any case, I will consider adding noise criteria to my future reviews.

      EDIT: I just realize you did not actually ask about that “hop over the bump, loose of weight”-force feedback effect, d’oh 🙂

      Reply
      • Lewis 4. October 2017

        Hi Sebastian. Thankyou for your reply.
        The Fanatec does sound like a massive upgrade from the Logitech in terms of quality and feeling.
        The clattering noise is more about me disliking the feel rather than the actual noise, my mistake for not explaining myself correctly.
        What I meant was the feeling the wheel gives when driving over road surface, bumps and kerbs. It honestly feels like I’ve got flat tyres and I’m driving on the rims of the wheel.
        On games like project cars I have to turn all road and kerb ffb right down otherwise the wheel just rattles.
        I like a heavy high torque feeling wheel but can’t seem to achieve it with the G920 once I’ve dialed down the bump effects.
        Do other wheels deliver those effect better ?
        I was looking towards the CSL elite or the thrustmaster TX
        Thanks

        Reply
        • Sebastian Mach 5. October 2017

          Hey Lewis,

          while some rattling on kerbs or bumps of course is normal (we’re driving race cars, which, compared to cars in street setup, feel like sleeping on a wood board instead of a cozy bed), the G series are indeed rather drastic in that regard.

          My guts tell me that the “kerb experience” (I like that term; should include that as a criterion in future reviews) is indeed way nicer and fits the overall FFB experience better in the other wheels.

          Unfortunately, I can’t tell about the Thrustmaster TX (I once emailed them to ask for hardware for review, but they never replied), but their T500RS and Fanatec’s ClubSport and CSL Elite are definitely better.

          They are different: If you’re used to Logitech FFB, the feeling will not be the same. However, once used to it, I was racing better than I ever did with the Logi’s.

          Of course, it’s not a magic formula to simply go for more expensive hardware. I bet Greger Huttu would still beat the sh*t out of the rest of the world with 50 EUR hardware. But still, for me, it made better times.

          Peeeeersonally, I would not upgrade to a vendor who does not offer load cell breaks. That’s Thrustmaster. But that’s really just personal preference; one could also use a Thrustmaster wheel base and a Fanatec Load Cell Break. Never do I want to drive without a load cell again.

          Hope I could help a little bit. Just ask if you have more questions 🙂

          Regards,

          Seb

          Reply
  6. Richard B. 27. March 2018

    Hi guy, great review! Question, are you able to heel & toe downshift with the CSL Elite Pedals, without the full-length throttle pedal like on the Clubsport V2 pedals?

    Reply
    • Sebastian Mach 30. March 2018

      Hey Richard, welcome and apologies for my late reply, it has been a busy week.

      Yes, you can heel & toe – because of three factors:

      1. A long plate makes heel & toe easier, but it is not actually mandatory. I can heel and toe in my real car, which is not a super sports car and does not have a dedicated heel and toe plate either.

      2. One feature which ClubSport pedals don’t have: You can slide the CSL Elite pedals left to right. That is, if you prefer to have brake and throttle nearby, you can have that. If you want them far away from each other, that’s possible. You are actually not even required to mount them on the base plate to operate them.

      3. You can operate the pedals with or without those rubber pads – so if you prefer to sliding your foot over the pedals, just remove the rubber pads.

      Reply
  7. ENDOTHERMIC1 16. April 2018

    Hello,

    What would be the best F1 simulator that money can buy? I was looking for something with seat responsiveness. E.g. If you turn a corner, the seat sensors would make you feel it

    Reply
    • Sebastian Mach 19. April 2018

      Hi,

      the best F1 simulator that money can buy would be something like a used and simulator-fitted Formula 1 cars and would involve really expensive hydraulics, direct drive wheel base and probably a very stable room (regarding structural integrity of the room).

      But apart from hydraulics, maybe first start with Butt Kickers 🙂

      Good speakers with a ton of bass will help emerging your body into the situation.

      There are also a number of sim racing rigs available which plant you into that comfy sleeping position Formula 1 pilots find themselves in.

      For additional kicks, get used tyres and scrub them heavily in order to get that special race track odour 😀 (Thinking about this, inhaling that odour while racing would be really awesome).

      Reply

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