This’s not as hard as you might think, is not like a Clash of titans, battle of bastards, or a face battle (not really), is more simple than that, picking which brand is at the TOP of the chain is easy, the hard part is picking the right racing wheel for you, The one that suits better your needs, is not the same playing with some friends online than working for a simracing team and playing e-competitions all over the world. Copy that?
But let’s keep this simple, imagine you are new to Sim Racing, and you are doing your initials researches on which brand to point your fingers to, assuming you don’t have any previous exposure to any product produced for one of these companies, after this, you will be able to identify more clearly the advantages and disadvantage depends on your needs, and which one is the better option for you.
Fanatec vs Thrustmaster [ The Simracing Battle? ]
Let’s jump right to the point, first of all, Fanatec produce one of the top simracing products in the industry, (Nothing new here), this German company is well know for producing high-level simracing equipment, no one like them produces racing wheels in mass with such high quality, top-notch technology, and great design. Their products are at the top of the chain, if you want to start simracing with the right foot you will need to buy one of Fanatec’s ecosystem products.
On the other hand, if you just want to play with some friends on weekend, start slowly, or don’t want to spend a lot of money (because Fanatec products are really expensive ), then you could go for a Thrustmaster wheel, Their wheels are really good as well, well designed and with a ton of features, for example, if you decide to go after the new release T248 or the TS-XW Racer Sparco P310 wheel, you will get a really good and high-tech product.
Do you know now where I am going with this? If you are ready for the competition I will enforce you to buy the new entry-level CSL Elite Base with DD and wheel of your choice, Ā or a more advance like the Podium DD1 Racing Wheel F1, both products made for high demand in F1 and e-racing competitions.
Our Mission
My other mission is just to write the facts I have learned and witnessed over the years that I have been a sim racer. Thousands and thousands of forums, articles, and even videos about this topic but today I wanna decode everything about these two brands for you to pick wisely your wheel or else product they produce, passing from customer service to quality of products, letās do it.
Features Compare | |
|---|---|
Fanatec |
Thrustmaster |
| Drive System: Most of their simracing equipments are going to direct drive (DD) in the coming future. | Drive System: Belt Drive Technology in all their wheels. |
| Force Feedback: Innovating in new products with Direct Drive technology with great success. ( The future of simracing ) | Force Feedback: Innovating in force feedback with 3 “modes” or types of FFB you can configure depending on the game and race type. |
| Setup: It takes some time to configure, ( all wheels does ) | Setup: It takes some time to configure, ( all wheels does ) |
| Can configure: sensitivity – strength of the Force Feedback – strength of the shock/vibration motors – ABS – The linearity – deadzone – Drift Mode | Can configure: sensitivity – strength of the Force Feedback – strength of the shock/vibration motors – ABS – The linearity – deadzone – Drift Mode |
| Price: Hight | Price: ok |
| Ecosystem: Full of products, ( They produce only simracing products ) | Ecosystem: Full of products, ( They produce another type of products as well, like flight simulation. |
| Competition: Yes, you can go to the competition with Fanatec wheels | Competition: Yes, you can go to the competition with Fanatec wheels |
Fanatec
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Better for E-sports / High level of competitions | Products with a high range of prices |
| A great ecosystem with much more options ( more products ) | Most of the time pedals are not included |
| Pedals are much much better than Thrustmaster | Times on delivery is a thing, based on the high demand for the products. And not all products are available all the time at the same time. |
| Extremely customizable | |
| Best design full of technology | |
Check Products On Fanatec
Thrustmaster
PROS |
CONS |
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Check Products On Thrustmaster
More Insights
Warranty
Warranty is something you should care about, simracing wheels are in demand all the time, soon or later you will need at least replace a part, and in worst cases replace your entire wheel or setup.
- Fanatec: For the U.S, Canada, and Australia Fanatec offers a 12-month warranty, in the EU It’s a 2-year warranty, On new products like the DD2 Base they offer a 5-year warranty on the complete wheelbase
- Thrustmaster: offers a 24-month warranty
Customer services
Setup a simracing wheels the right way is not that easy, getting official tech support that lets you adjust your telemetrics or just some steps by steps for your initial setups is very very important, you will suddenly need to contact the customer services sooner than later.
Fanatec: all over the web you can find mixed opinions but mostly positive ones, the major complaint is about the hours and time to respond.
Thrustmaster: With almost the same complaints as his competitor, I can call this a tie.
Product Quality
Fanatec: Based on my own experience, I can say that Fanatec has better quality, the built-in quality is amazing, this German brand goes with everything when it comes to the finish, the aesthetic, and the quality of the materials, definitely Fanatec is top-notch.
Thrustmaster: But Thrustmaster is not far from Fanatec product quality, their products are well-made design full of new gaming technology. I really think that Thrustmaster is doing its best to release high-quality simracing equipment, like the T-GT II, but at a much much better price range.
Product Performance
On a basic level is better to compare 2 products and not the entire company that produces them, I mean not any single product are equal, they produce products with different users in mind, different level of experience and different level of budget, It’s ok to know which brands are in the top of the line, but better for you compare feature by feature.
Take a look at the main feature a racing wheel should have, like Force feedback, compare each other and take you finale desition
TOP Sell Products
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FAQ ( Fanatec Vs Thrustmaster ) Thread
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Is Fanatec compatible with Thrustmaster?
Sorry for this answer, but that’s a “depends” approach for this question. if you are trying using a Thrustmaster Steering Wheel with your Fanatec base, for example, the answer is simple, you can’t. Thrustmaster has not a release system or interchangeable rims like Fanatec does. The Fanatec ecosystem is fully compatible with their own products, you can nearly setup your simracing as you like but is less suitable for cross-platform interactions. But add-ons like pedals, shifter are another thing, through the USB and an RJ45 type connector you can do very cool use of any add-on.
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Can I use Fanatec pedals with Logitech wheel?
Same answers here, but short, yes, you can use your Fanatec pedals as a standalone product with the USB cable. Actually, Fanatec has an entire post talking about this thread, you can check here. There they explain that the capability all personal computer has to connect multiple, individual USB devices is endless, giving you multiple options to combine hardware of different vendors the way you want.
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Can you use Thrustmaster shifter with Fanatec wheel?
Can you use Thrustmaster shifter with Fanatec wheel? Same here On PC you can connect shifter direct to PC via USB, If you want to use Thrustmaster shifter with a Fanatec wheel on Xbox or PS4, you will require the DriveHub adapter.
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Can you use Fanatec pedals with g29?
Same here, if you connect via USB in your PC you are good to go, if you connect via PS4 or Xbox you’ll need an extra connector. but yes, you can connect your Fanatec pedals with your G29, G920, and the new G923 Racing Wheels.
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Fanatec vs Thrustmaster: Which is Better? Thread
If you are on a budget go for a Thrustmaster wheel, they are VERY good, I actually recommend Thrustmaster if you are new to sim racing and just playing around. moreover, if you are looking for a Hight-tech sim racing system you might go for Fanatec, They produce one of the most advanced products out there, they are well designed and built to the highest standards in the industry, they separate a toy from a real racing wheel, you definitely get worth the price.
Wrapping Up
What you really need to think about is, what fits best for you, your level of experience, budget, and expectations, I think the level of game immersion you want to get is crucial for your final decision, in a nutshell, racing wheels with modern drive systems like Direct Drive will deliver stronger, and smoother force feedback than the previews generations, not saying here belt drive system won’t deliver a nice and seamless sensation on the track. They will, in fact, I will recommend you start with a belt drive system like the Thrustmaster has, and then if you consider yourself an Enthusiast you can always do your upgrade for more advanced equipment, like Fanatec, built for sim racer by real sim racers.