Fanatec’s Forza Motorsport CSR Wheel and CSR Elite Pedals - Product Spotlight

If it were not for the Fanatec Forza Motorsport CSR Wheel and CSR Elite Pedals I would not be as high up the Forza Motorsport 4 leader boards as I currently find myself. That’s not to say I’m in the top 1 percent, or even the top 5 percent, on any one track/car class, but I’m in the top 15 percent or better in many of the track/classes I’ve raced in.

A proper wheel and pedal set is the best way to improve your times. There’s no two ways about it. For hard-core racing sim gamers you would be hard-pressed to find a better setup than the Elites from Fanatec.

So how does the Fanatec Forza Motorsport CSR Wheel and CSR Elite Pedal set compare to the standard controller? I picked out a 2009 MINI John Copper Works and headed out to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for a few hot laps. With the standard controller I did 10-12 laps and came away with a verified best time of 1:53.024. The time was representative of my skill level as five laps were within a tenth or so of the best. Not too shabby I thought as it placed me in the top 9 percent in the Laguna Seca/C class leader board. Using the Fanatec Elite wheel and pedals I knew the lap times would be a lot better right from the out lap, which was quicker by more than one second than the out lap with the standard controller. At the end of 10-12 laps my time dropped to a verified best of 1:49.960. That time placed me in the top 6 percent on the leader board.

Three seconds! In racing that’s an eternity. If you’re racing in a multi-player mode that’s enough time to get in some quality smack talk before your opponents even cross the finish line. How does three seconds affect your leader board position? In my case, considering at the time when I did my laps there were over 118,000 times posted on the Laguna Seca/C-class leader board it translated to a jump of over 3,500 positions.

If anyone were to ask for my recommendation for a wheel and pedal set, the Fanatec Forza Motorsport CSR Wheel and CSR Elite Pedals is at the top of my list. And they’re not just for the Xbox, they work with PCs and the PS3s, too. Now if you’ll excuse me there’s some upgrade room left in the MINI JCW before the C-class ceiling of 425 is hit and I want to get as high up the leader board as possible. – Bill Klein