Fanatec CSL Elite Pedals V2
Back with a vengeance; are the Fanatec CSL Elite pedals, but this time in a further developed V2 version. The CSL Elite pedals were always a lot of ‘bang for buck’ and we, and many with us, always thought it was very strange that the CSL Elite pedals had disappeared from the Fanatec line-up. For a reason, it turns out! Fanatec claims it has listened carefully to the community and has improved all the shortcomings of the CSL Elite pedals in this V2 version. Fanatec has sent us the V2 version of the CSL Elite pedal set and of course we are very enthusiastic that we can share our experiences with you.
The Fanatec CSL Elite V2 pedals are supplied as a complete bundle by Fanatec and come fully assembled out of the box. That means you’ll find three pedals mounted on the CSL Elite heel plate: a throttle, clutch and load cell brake pedal. At the time of writing there’s a price tag of € 299.95 excluding shipping costs for this complete pedal set.
Packaging & Content
We receive our shipment via UPS and it was delivered within 2 working days. We are a bit repetitive in terms of packaging and Fanatec; as always, this one is very well taken care of. In a brown outer box is a white product box with the image of the CSL Elite V2 pedal set. When we open the box we see the pedal set and a smaller white box. The pedal set is completely assembled in the box, so you can mount it directly on your sim rig. In the smaller white box we find the manual, tools, a USB cable, an RJ12 cable for the wheelbase connection, various (65, 75, and 85 shore) elastomers and a stiffer coil spring.
Technique & Quality
Both the pedal arms, footplates and heel plate are made of cast and machined aluminum and finished with a durable powder coating. This base provides a solid and very durable construction. The extra reinforcement at the rear of the assembly should provide extra rigidity and stability under heavy loads. When you take the pedals out of the box you really feel that you have a very sturdy construction in your hands.
The control unit is mounted on the bottom of the heel plate with the 3 different pedals connected to it. You can easily convert the setup to a 2 pedal configuration if you are not using the clutch pedal.
As mentioned, Fanatec has listened very carefully to the community and addressed all the shortcomings of the CSL Elite pedals. Both the accelerator and clutch pedals are now fitted with a magnetic hall effect sensor instead of the rather fragile potentiometers. By measuring the pedal position with a magnetic hall effect sensor the system is contactless, which means that there is no wear on the sensors. Choosing a hall effect sensor benefits the durability, precision and consistent performance of the pedals.
The brake pedal has been completely revised, with an all-new custom load cell sensor. The load cell sensor is a 200kg variant that can measure up to 90kg of real force on the pedal. The load cell sensor measures the pressure on the pedal instead of the position and is adjustable via the Tuning Menu on the supported Fanatec steering wheel, provided the pedals are connected directly to the wheelbase with the RJ12 cable. If you have connected the pedals to the PC with the USB cable, the pedals can be configured via the Fanatec Control Panel software.
Between the elastomers on the brake pedal there is now a coil spring which is intended to simulate the initial movement from the brake pad to the brake disc. In the previous series of CSL Elite pedals, this was a spongy pad that was supposed to simulate this movement and really just didn’t do what it was supposed to do. With the included (65, 75, and 85 shore) elastomers and the stiffer coil spring you can adjust the pedals completely to your liking for the most realistic braking feeling possible for you. The orange bushes in the box are an aid for (dis)assembly of the elastomers.
The removable rubber pads on the footplates give you the choice between having a lot of grip on the pedal or letting the pedal slide more under the foot. For example, you can choose to leave the rubber pad on the brake pedal for more grip and remove the rubber pads on the accelerator and clutch pedals so that they slide a little more under your feet for smooth acceleration or clutching.
Finally, Fanatec has tackled the (im)possibilities for mounting on your sim rig. At the rear, the CSL Elite pedals were always easily accessible, but at the bottom of the heel plate it always required a lot of fiddling. Fanatec has easily solved this by giving the option to slide the Allen screws from the side into the mounting point. In addition, by (temporarily) removing 2 caps on the heel plate, you can easily tighten the bolts from above.
The Fanatec CSL Elite V2 pedals are a bit more expensive than its predecessor. Where its predecessor cost € 99.95 for the 2-pedal set plus € 139.95 for an optional load cell kit, the V2 pedals cost € 60.00 more for the complete bundle. In the past 2 years, there have been some price increases due to a worldwide shortage of raw materials. In addition, the CSL pedals came on the market last year, which have a price tag of € 199.95 including a load cell brake pedal and are positioned as entry-level pedals. The CSL Elite V2 pedals position themselves between the CSL and V3 pedals, so in our opinion the price difference is justified.
Assembly
We mount the Fanatec CSL Elite V2 pedals on our TREQ One simrig and connect it to our CSL DD Pro wheelbase with the RJ12 cable. We will also connect to our PC via the USB cable later in this review to see if we notice any differences between the two connections. As before, mounting the CSL Elite pedals on your sim rig used to be a fairly difficult job, but luckily that point is in the past with the new V2 pedals. We put the pedals on the pedal plate of the TREQ One, slide 2 M8 bolts into the slots at the front and simply tighten them from above. At the back we use 2 pieces M6 bolts per pedal, causing the whole to be very firmly mounted in no time.
Adjusting & Usage
Because you have limited adjustment options with the pedals, we have to set the pedal plate of our TREQ One Simrig at the right angle and distance so that it feels comfortable. After the standard job of fitting, measuring and adjusting (read; stepping into our simrig a few times, feeling, getting out, making adjustments and getting back in again) we were soon able to adjust the pedals just right for us and they are completely ready for use. As soon as we start up our PC, the pedals are automatically recognized via our wheelbase and the pedals can immediately be used for what they are intended for. If you want to visually adjust and/or recalibrate the pedals, this functionality only works on PC, you will have to install the Fanatec drivers. In our case the drivers were already installed because we use a Fanatec wheelbase. In terms of settings, we don’t have to change anything at first and we just get started in the virtual racing cars of Assetto Corsa.
On first use we notice that there is no play at all on the pedals, either sideways or when operating them. A noticeable point is that the travel on the accelerator and clutch pedal is quite long. We like pedals with a shorter travel ourselves and this cannot be adjusted on this pedal set, so it takes some getting used to during the first few laps. Both the accelerator and clutch pedals are equipped with a fixed resistance spring. In itself, the pedals provide excellent resistance, but they cannot be adjusted as desired. The clutch pedal only has a linear movement and therefore we miss the bite point feeling when pressing this pedal. At the same time, both pedals are very easy to dose, they react very quickly and accurately and they feel extremely smooth and solid. The calibration screen shows us that instinctively pressing 50% of the pedals corresponds to 50% input in Assetto Corsa, so our feeling also corresponds with reality.
The brake pedal feels a bit too soft, numb and quite unnatural for us as standard. Fortunately, we can fine-tune a few things with the supplied elastomers and coil spring, which we will do immediately. With the supplied orange plastic bushings you can easily detach the loadcell stack so that you can slide the other elastomers and/or coil spring on it. There are ample possibilities because you can combine the different hardnesses of the elastomers with each other. We first started with the 75 shore elastomers, which already felt a lot better, but still a bit on the soft side. So after some trial-and-error we arrived at the 85 shore elastomers which in our case give the most natural feeling while driving. We actually found the stiffer coil spring just too stiff to simulate the initial movement from the brake pad to the brake disc. The standard mounted coil spring is fine for us. We can say that we are quite accustomed to using loadcell brake pedals and this V2 load cell pedal can too be pressed very hard without having to worry that something will break.
We tested the pedals both via the RJ12 cable on the wheelbase and via the USB cable directly to the PC. Of course we tested these connection possibilities separately. Connecting both cables is a bad plan, because you also provide the pedals with power twice, it can end badly. So always choose one connection method. Connecting via a USB cable should theoretically be the better choice as you have a 12bit resolution versus an 8bit resolution via the RJ12 cable. In practice, however, you hardly notice this and you can choose the connection that best suits your setup.
Conclusion
In our opinion, Fanatec has listened carefully to the community and put the finishing touches on the CSL Elite V2 pedals. The pedals feel very solid due to the aluminum die-cast construction, with hardly any play to be observed. The accelerator and clutch pedals are well doseable and respond very accurately. However, we do miss the possibility to adjust the travel of the pedals. Depressing the clutch pedal is a linear movement and therefore we miss the bite point feeling. We can’t say any negatives about the brake pedal, except that we found the pedal a bit limp and numb out of the box. The setting of this is a personal preference and we can therefore not really call it a minus. The adjustment options are quite ample and we especially think the spring instead of the sponge is a huge improvement on this pedal.
We did not encounter anything crazy or any inconveniences during our review. The pedals are also fairly maintenance-free, every now and then you can use some PTFE dry lubricant on the hinge points (see manual or video guide), but we haven’t had to do that yet either. The Fanatec CSL Elite V2 pedals did not disappoint us during the review and have certainly proved worthwhile. In our opinion, the Fanatec CSL Elite V2 pedals out-of-the-box are a lot of bang for buck!
Are you as excited as we are after reading our review? The Fanatec CSL Elite V2 pedals are available through the Fanatec webshop for € 299,95.
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