Fanatec's Direct Drive Wheel Coming in 2017!

Thomas Jackermeier of Fanatec has confirmed that the next wheel will be a Direct Drive unit, and is expected in late 2017!

http://simracingpaddock.com/fanatec/fanatec-direct-drive-wheel-confirmed/

I also put together a video speculating on what we may see from Fanatec:



What are your thoughts? Do you think we'll see the wheel at a solid price point?

 

Thanks for sharing! This will be interesting to see how it plays out. I cant imagine how the dude that started the thread felt like when he got that answer, lol. Nice times ahead!

 

It's an interesting development but, not a surprise either. Fanatec has a good place in the market - right between the entry level and high-end gear and some of their product-features can be very appealing and still, affordable for some. If they can manage to sell a DD-wheel between the $700-1050 range, they could occupy that gap that currently exists quite nicely. If they can get close to the AF specs (I imagine that being a target), that could really be hard for many to resist.

 

Thanks for posting, appreciate the update!

I noticed the $170 price reduction on the Fanatec australia site for the v2 base today and I was close to pulling the trigger but this news made me consider holding off. I suspect the v2 may either be discounted further later in the year or hopefully the V3 price increase over the v2 is reasonable enough to justify going to a DD.

 

IMO, if the V3/DD can achieve specs close to the AF, then it would easily be worth the cost until it gets to AF territory. The benefits of DD are significant enough to justify a lot IMO.

If the specs and price are too close to the AF, then I'd say the AF holds an advantage due to the inclusion of SimCommander. I don't see Fanatec creating a similar package to SC4; it stands out among wheel and tactile / motion software. If one already has SC4, then the cost of any AF can be reduced by $90 and that puts the DIY-AF at $820 (+tax/S&H). Of course, in either case - we have to consider the wheel/shifter/button box cost as well but, at least that is flexible based on preferences and budget.

 

Anyone heard any more news on this? Interwebs seems to have gone quiet since news came out in Feb.

 

The last bit I read (iRacing) from Thomas stated that the new system development still has a long way to go.

 

https://www.fanatec.com/forum/discussion/552/fanatec-direct-drive

 

wow! Their aim is to release it Q4 2017. I have a feeling that it will be quite a bit more expensive than some of the dyi solutions out there though.

 

That purpose built motor approach sounds tempting, although I predict lots of product recalls, given the history of Fanatec.
But fingers crossed.

 

Fanatec are saying there will be multiple versions so I suspect that means at least one that is competitively priced for the current entry-level DD-systems. There is certainly room for optimization in the DD-system design being that much of the current offerings are borrowed from the CNC industry but, they still have to compete with the base version of the OSW /SimuCube and reduced pricing of the AccuForce V2 systems in terms of cost / torque and durability. Fanatec has the advantage of having an established user-base / hardware options / features / broad game & system support.

 

I'd better start saving...