When the first box from Fanatec arrived, I opened it up and spent a good half hour marveling at the CSL Elite wheel. I don’t know what it was, but it was a fascinating introduction to the CSL Elite peripheral. All the necessary buttons found on a standard DualShock 4 sit lined up across the wheel, and there’s even a little joystick on the left. To top it off, the face buttons can be replaced with more traditional buttons for added visual effect. The up and down shifters sit just within fingers’ reach behind the wheel, and they click beautifully, providing a clear sense of input. The wheel base has a clamp attachment that’s bolted on and then tightened to anchor to a surface. The wheel itself slides into place on the wheel base, a tight yet easy connection, but what threw me off was trying to get the clamp to align with the screw hole so I could lock it in place. This took me much longer to deal with than I care to admit, as did the bolt to clamp the wheel into the base itself. I understand that having the bottom part of the clamp be a separate piece is a smart tactic for saving box space, but the wheel is a different story. I know that there is a much easier slide-on-and-off option on other wheels Fanatec has made. While this isn’t a severe negative, it’s a step back for such a hefty, refined piece of hardware that’s intended to have easily replaceable parts.
There is a ton of settings for the CSL Elite Racing Wheel for PS4 that can be adjusted, from wheel sensitivity to feedback intensity. Early on, I was a bit dissuaded from using it, only because the DualShock is already calibrated to navigate games the way that feels the most accessible. With the CSL, it takes some time to align settings with your in-game preferences. What’s nice about this, though, is that once you find a calibration that feels right, you can set it as a profile so it’ll be ready to go the next time you load up the game. The degree of freedom with setting up this entire peripheral is astounding, but it initially can be a buyer’s remorse wall. Don’t be discouraged, because the final setup feels great. If you’re feeling intimidated, there are plenty of sites out there dedicated to calibrating the CSL for supported racing titles.
Initially, I was almost flabbergasted with all the moving parts involved. I had had several wheel peripherals before, like those from Logitech, but they were standard plug-and-play models while the CSL is a completely different beast. The pedals have to be bolted to the Loadcell Kit, and the connecting lines have to run from the pedals into a Loadcell Kit, which then has a long line connecting to the wheel base; the wheel base also has more connections for a stick shift and handbrake as well. The brake has a short push to it due to the stopper behind it that simulates brake tension, while the accelerator and throttle require longer presses. Since the pedals are made of sturdy metal, there’s no need to worry about putting the pedal to the medal when needed. Response time is great, and the Loadcell Kit manages to remain stationary despite my twitchy feet.
There’s a lot of connections and hardware, but what’s convenient about all of this is that Fanatec includes the necessary tools to put everything together without hassle. While there is a lot of moving parts and pieces, it’s honestly rather straightforward. As expected, instructions are included with each piece of hardware, but I had little use for them as I explored the device. The biggest struggle with it all is getting all of those parts and cords to work in your current gaming situation, the worst of this being the long cord running from the PS4 to the wheel base. For me, this wasn’t an issue, because my living room is sectioned off so that there’s no need for anyone to cross my part of the room, but some will face this inevitable conundrum. Like any wheel peripheral, one major setback will be establishing a setup that works with your given situation. In my case, it was dusting off my older Rocker chair, clamping the wheel base to my coffee table, and running all the cords underneath it to the pedal lock kit. In an ideal world, we’d all have one of those racing simulator chairs down in the basement ready to roll, but such is life. This does work well in a computer setting, since a desk is the perfect height for any standard chair and there’s plenty of room for the Loadcell Kit underneath. The CSL is compatible with PC, so it can be utilized on more than the PS4.
The product itself is immaculate, to be sure, but the drawbacks to the package will undoubtedly keep potential buyers away. This is serious tech, and it comes at a serious out-of-pocket cost. The whole bundle, including the wheel, wheel base, and pedals runs 519.95€, or $658.73 as of conversion rates at this publication. Yeah. It’s quite the investment. While the product is more than capable of emulating a driving experience, especially with its haptic feedback, the cost will inevitably deter plenty of people. While this is considered a mid-range peripheral for racing, it’s a product that’s directed at those who live and breathe racing games.
We’ve all been to an arcade (presumably) and sat in those sweet racing kiosks. Those cannot compare to how well this Fanatec setup plays. The rumbling of a gravel road. Brake tension under foot while taking a sharp curve. A gear shift at the right time, that slight hitch simulated beautifully. The CSL Elite is an immaculate piece of hardware. It will require some changes in your gaming situation (unless you use one in your game pad), but once all the hardware is put in place and settings configured, the CSL Elite will take you off road, on road, and it’ll do anything you need it to to get that authentic racing feeling right at home.