How To Use Fanatec’s CSL Elite McLaren GT3 Racing Wheel | How to… Video

Here at SpecialEffect, we’re often asked about what different wheels we useto access driving games.

Today I’m going to show you the Fanatec CSL Elite McLaren GT3 steering wheel which is just one of the options that allows you to drive in-game pedal free.

This specific wheel works with Windows 10 and Xbox One but Fanatech do make a PS4 version as well.

When you get your McLaren GT3 wheel there is a basic setup process which involves downloading some software onto a PC and then connecting the wheel to the base and doing a short calibration process

First I’ll go through some basic components of the wheel which has been
designed as a direct replica of the wheels used in the actual GT3 McLaren cars

As you can see the wheel itself is fairly light to hold and if you’re into your race cars you’ll notice the various details in the design of the materials
and how it’s finished.

You can see here that the paddles on the back both have a textured surface for better grip.

So you can purchase the wheel and the base separately from Fanatec and the wheel does come with its own adaptor to attach to the base but this is a different one which is a quick-release adaptor and that’s just an optional extra from Fanatec to allow you to take your wheel on and off the base
more quickly when attaching and connecting to your console.

This copper coloured bar on top here is the shifter and it’s just one bar as you can see so when you press down on one side the other side will pop up
and it’s worth noting that it’s quite a short distance but you have to press
it down which can be helpful for some people.

Next on the bottom here we have two analogue paddles and these can be set to different functions on the wheel and the most important function for us is that you can map these analogue panels to accelerate and brake, which negates the need for the use of foot pedals or other switches

So the various buttons and switches on the front here are all mapped to different functions on the controller and a full guide of what functions they’re mapped to can be found in the instruction manual

In the box you’ll also find these packs of stickers, which you can add to your wheel if you’d like to further customise the look

So now that we’ve got the wheel attached to our base and all plugged into our console I’ll go through a few of the features that will be important if you are going to use this as a pedal free option for racing.

This is your paddle mode switch and this is going to be important if you are choosing to use this wheel as a means of Sim racing without foot pedals.
These analogue paddles on the back have four different modes.

Mode C is the one that allows you to use them as your brake and throttles, just click it over twice to mode C and now your right paddle is your throttle and your left paddle is your brake.

It’s also worth noting that these two red switches on the top here are automatically mapped to your right trigger and left trigger so they’ll be your throttle and brake as well

If you’d like to use some of the other modes that are available here
which have to do with your clutch and bite point as well as your handbrake and Mode D allows you to map any function in the game

So there are a number of settings that you can change on the wheel itself by pressing this small button here and will take you into what’s called the tuning menu and then this button down here is called the funky switch which basically acts as a d-pad so that you can navigate through this menu on the screen.

The wheel allows you to save five different sets and by sets that just means a profile in which you can save the different variables you might want to change such as sensitivity force feedback or vibration.

This can be useful if you like to race with different settings in different games. Beyond this you may wish to adjust various in-game settings which will allow you to further customize how the wheel feels and responds when racing.

We use a lot of different driving games here at SpecialEffect. Some have more assists than others. If you do want to assists with your driving you’ll find that this wheel reacts differently with different games so you might want to do some experimentation

Here we’re showing some of the settings and assists you can change in Forza Horizon 4 as an example

So overall this wheel has a nice solid feel with a good finish and nice materials it’s not too big or heavy even when mounted on the base.

So if space is an issue that might be something to think about when getting yourself a Sim Racing Wheel

It is worth being aware however that some of the buttons are harder to press than others, such as these ones up here.

This might not be a problem but it could be an issue in some games where it’s not possible to remap certain functions that are important to game, such as the Map or the Menu.

Some people may also find that the paddles and shifters are more stiff than on other Sim Racing Wheels they’ve used, so this is also worth considering if you have smaller hands or a weaker grip that
you might need to take breaks or build up stamina using it.

Thanks for watching and if you have any questions about this video or the work that we do, please get in touch.