Fanatec zone

The Carrera Wheel from Fanatec is a great value for money option... the package includes a 6 speed shifter... a sequential shifter a pedal set including the clutch and of course the wheel. The package is great, the only thing that anyone can complain about is the pedals which arent great in terms of feel. They are nothing like the clubsports however this is expected when the whole package including the wheel comes at the same price as just the clubsport pedals.
Value for money wise i would recommend this package. The wheel itself is gear driven so not as smooth as the other Fanatecs but at this price you can't go wrong.

 
 Features

Earlier Fanatec wheels such as the GT3-RS and the Turbo S came with spectacular features such as an Alcantara-leather rim or cross-compatibility to all major gaming platforms.

Given that the Carrera Wheel is Fanatec’s entry-level wheel, some of the features of its bigger brothers had to be ditched but there’s still plenty of features to talk about.

The Carrera Wheel comes with 900-degree steering, a three-pedal unit including a clutch pedal, a 6+1 Shifter, the same Mabuchi RS550 Force Feedback motor the top wheels use as well as a built-in LED display.

Compared to the other wheels, the Carrera Wheel lacks the wireless functionality, Xbox 360 compatibility, expensive materials for the wheel rim and, most importantly the more sophisticated Force Feedback mechanics.

The wheel not just lacks two additional vibration motors but also relies on gear-driven Force Feedback instead of the ultra-smooth belt-driven FFB effects the GT3-RS and Turbo S have become famous for.

Design & Build Quality

The wheel follows the same base design as all Fanatec wheels, featuring the glorious Porsche badge and 14 buttons including a D-pad on the 300mm diameter wheel.

The Carrera feels less like a real car’s wheel since no expensive materials such as Alcantara and stitched-leather have been used as Fanatec has been relying on TPE rubber in order to cut costs.

While the wheel doesn’t feel as spectacular as other Fanatec products, the build quality itself is nothing to complain about as the whole wheel comes across as solid and well-made including quite durable buttons and a very grippy rim.

The wheel comes with a 6+1 stick shifter that can be installed on both sides of the wheel, players also have the choice to use the sequential pedal shifters. Those are pretty much the weakest link of the wheel though as the standard shifters are merely just a base to put on the optionally-available Clubsport shifter pads that are available in the Fanatec webshop.

The shifters can be used without them of course but the base is rather small and nothing for sim racers with bigger hands. While the wheel comes with the 6+1 shifter included, a sequential stick shift is only available as an additional purchase from the web shop.

The clearest indication that we’re indeed in the budget department is the Carrera Wheel’s pedal unit. The whole three-pedal unit is completely made of plastic, allowing absolutely no adjustments whatsoever.

While no one can expect Clubsport-level quality for this kind of retail price, the pedals still seem very cheap compared to the pedals of Thrustmaster’s F430 wheel that sells for less than 100€.

Installation & Configuration

Given that the Carrera Wheel uses the same design as all Fanatec wheels, it comes with the same table clamp mechanism of course. The mechanism allows very quick installation as the lower part of the clamp is held in position by a screw in the wheel’s base, the wheel is then affixed by pulling down the two clamps that push the wheel’s base to the table.

The advantage of this mechanism is that it’s very quick to put on and off, requiring no tools or long fiddling with screws. The downside is that the whole thing doesn’t really allow a rock-solid fit to the table compared to the techniques used by other manufacturers.

The wheel comes with screw holes for installation on cockpits and wheel stands as well for those of you having a more sophisticated setup.

Once the Wheel is fixated and both the pedals and shifter are connected, it’s time for the driver installation. I´ve been reviewing Fanatec products for almost two years now and it’s safe to say that their efforts in terms of drivers, firmware and documentation have greatly improved.

Back when I first reviewed the GT3 RS, the wheel came with almost no documentation whatsoever and 64bit drivers were in beta stadium at best. The Carrera Wheel comes with a very nice quick installation guide that leaves no question unanswered and Fanatec constantly updates their drivers on a regular basis, adding new features and improvements all the time.

Same goes for firmwares as constant updates have given sim racers more and more settings to play with. The firmware version installed on the Carrera Wheel allows to change Force Feedback strength, steering degree, deadzone, steering linearity and damper settings while driving thanks to the build-in display.

Driving & Force Feedback

The first thing you´ll notice when taking the Carrera Wheel out for a first spin is that the wheel is quite noisy. Sim racers who´ve tried other Fanatec wheels before will be in for a little shock as the gear-driven Force Feedback is both noisier and way less smooth than belt-driven effects.

The actual Force Feedback strength is nothing to complain about as the effects are very strong & detailed thanks to the Mabuchi RS550 motor. Sim racers who crank up the FFB effects to max using iRacing or GTR Evolution will be in for quite a workout as the Carrera Wheel offers very strong FFB effects for those who feel like it.

The wheel feels very durable while driving with no mechanical play or deadzone spoiling a great driving experience. The wheel’s rim is very grippy and I instantly got a great feel for the car just like with the other Fanatec wheels.

While the missing vibration effects make the Force Feedback less detailed, the biggest difference is definitely the noise as the Carrera Wheel can in no shape or form be deemed as silent.

Aside from PC simulations, the wheel can also be used on the Playstation 3, a simple button combination sends the wheel in PS3 mode. It was almost perfect out of the box for Gran Turismo 5, only a bit of fiddling with the deadzone setting was needed to make it perfect.

The pedal set is less of a joy to work with for obvious reasons. Even though the pedals offer pretty solid resistance and grip, the unit fully made of plastic simply doesn’t feel like it’s made to endure longer beatings. The pedals’ rubber stops at the bottom work quite well on carpet but not so much on wooden or tile floors, Fanatec offers an optional steel plate to increase the anti-slip effect.

Conclusion

Selling for 159 Euros/Dollars, the Fanatec Porsche 911 Carrera Wheel is serious competition for Logitech’s G27 that sells for almost 100 Euros/Dollars more.

The Carrera Wheel has almost the same features and offers even more in some departments, most notably the rich quick-tuning options and the excellent Force Feedback. The wheel is well-built and Fanatec’s software support is edging closer to being flawless.

The only real downside is the pedal unit that is in no shape or form on par with the G27’s pedals. While that may not be a fair comparison, one has to wonder while wheels that sell for considerable less money manage to offer much better pedals.

Overall, the Carrera Wheel is great value and a cheap entry into the world of Fanatec’s Porsche wheels, lacking some of the more exotic features of its bigger brothers but still featuring the same well-engineered design at heart.