Written by: Benjamin Brook
Fanatec Bringing Direct Drive To The Masses
Fanatec after what feels like forever has released their Direct Drive wheel bases for pre-order on their website. Fanatec have two Direct Drive wheelbases with different specs and under the names of the Podium DD1 and Podium DD2 there are a few differences which I will show you below as well as the near 1,000 dollar price difference.
What's The Big Deal With Direct Drive Over Normal FFB
A common term that you will hear with standard force feedback systems is servo and belt drives which uses a pulley with a belt to connect to the force feedback motor which allows the unit to use a smaller motor to generate more torque which delivers the force feedback to the user. There are some advantages with these systems as follows:
- Lower cost motors which makes for a more cost effective product
- The belt system can be smooth as it dampens the detail.
There of course some disadvantages to Belt Driven Feedback Systems which are:
- The belt can absorb some of the higher frequency detail which lessons the overall force feedback effect.
- The belt can stretch and wear which can lead to failures over time.
- Depending on the quality of the motor determines the pulley size which can also lead to less feedback effect.
Direct Drive systems however have the steering wheel directly connected to the motor shaft. Direct Drive systems use higher power and larger motors as they don't use a belt driven pulley system. There are a number of advantages to using a direct drive force feedback system such as the Fanatec Podium DD1:
- No loss of detail
- No maintenance of belts and pulleys
- Transmits a full force feedback experience
The major disadvantage to a direct drive system is the cost due to the large motors that get used.
The Fanatec Podium DD line of wheels are the the force direct drive wheels that have been designed and manufactured by a major player in the sim peripherals business beating Logitech and Thrustmaster to the table.
Features Of The Fanatec Podium DD Wheelbases
The Fanatec Podium DD wheelbases use a special out-runner styled motor that was specifically designed from the ground up to be used for sim racing. Other direct drive wheels use industrial motors that have not being designed for sim racing.
The wheel is a breeze to setup being the first direct drive wheel to be fully plug n play. The wheel also features the first fully wireless data and power driven direct drive wheel base.
One of the best features of the wheel is that it is fully compatible with the Fanatec ecosystem so that all of the wheels that you have bought are fully compatible with Podium Wheelbases.
Compatibility
- All Fanatec ClubSport Steering Wheels
- All Fanatec CSL Steering Wheels
- All Fanatec Pedals
- All Fanatec Shifters
- All Fanatec Cockpits
- ClubSport Table Clamp V2.
- Platforms:
- PC: This wheel base is compatible with PC in combination with all available steering wheels.
- Xbox One®: The compatibility can be upgraded with (optional) steering wheels like the ClubSport Steering Wheel Universal Hub for Xbox One or the Steering Wheel CSL P1 for Xbox One. Without any Xbox One® licensed steering wheel attached, the wheel base is NOT compatible to Xbox One®.
- PlayStation®: This product is not compatible to any PlayStation® console and cannot be upgraded to achieve compatibility.
The Fanatec Podium DD1 and DD2 wheels are available for pre-order from Fanatec
from Brook Racing Feed http://bit.ly/2P4xzij
via Brook Racing - iRacing Setups, Reviews and Guides
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