Shop Links
Everything you see can be bought via the links below:
Fanatec DD1: https://bit.ly/3z3Id1y
GT Omega Prime Lite (5% Off Code DANNYLEE): https://bit.ly/3opeGKU
Turn Racing R320 and BP2 Button Plate: https://bit.ly/3RueJSL
Introduction
This is the Fanatec Podium DD1 Wheelbase, and it’s a big deal. How powerful is it? If a logitech G923 was to challenge a DD1 to a fight it would quickly find itself rearranged into a 392G with a shoe missing and its wallet stolen, a wallet that’s already empty anyway because the DD1 costs around 1,200 Euros or your equivalent currencies in your corner of the globe.
It can make up to 20nm of force feedback, that’s over 8 times the strength of a G923, and 2 and a half times that of a 8nm Fanatec CSL DD which itself is pretty strong. I bought this DD1 after finally caving to temptation and fulfilling my ambition of having a full power direct drive, something I’ve longed for over the past couple of years. I didn’t know what to expect but I was excited. Having now had it for a few months I can talk about how the DD1 has treated me as my chaperone into the world of high power sim racing.
Disclaimer
Before we begin, Fanatec didn’t send me this for review, it’s paid for by me, that doesn’t automatically mean my words are worth more than other reviewers you might watch, just judge for yourself. If you are heading over to Fanatec to buy something then using the link in the description to go there helps me out at no extra cost to you, and thanks so much to everyone who has done so in the past.
Summary
First up, a summary:
The DD1 has enough power for practically anyone for any situation, regardless of what diameter steering wheel you’re using or what you want to race, you should not find yourself short on power for the experience you want.
I’m having more fun because I feel like the cars I’m driving are more wild, brutal and vicious which has turned sim racing into a legitimate physical activity.
It’s given me extra confidence and consistency in my driving, coming from a mid range wheel the extra volume and contrast in the feedback is put to good use for me.
If you’re coming from a low power wheel of 5nm or less, then clear out your schedule, you will not want to step away from your rig for days, it will amaze you how different the experience is.
If you use small wheels that are 280mm or below then I don’t think you’ll get the very best out of it. If you’re on a 300mm or above wheel then I think it will really shine.
The quick release is inferior to what you’ll find with other manufacturers such as Simucube or Moza and is an overall weak spot for Fanatec, it’s slow and rattles under hard movement.
Reviews from others in previous years mentioned the DD1 and DD2 felt grainy or rough, but this was resoundingly fixed in a firmware update in 2022.
It’s got side and bottom mounting holes which use the same bolt pattern as other Fanatec bases which makes it fit almost any cockpit without extra adaptors.
Those that are paying attention will notice this is the F1 esports edition DD1 that came with special carbon fibre panels on the top and sides that have a blue carbon thread weaved throughout. Sadly, this edition is now discontinued, the DD1s on sale today won’t have them and will be clothed in plain black.
With that said, the outer casing, the bit you can touch, is constructed of plastic, the only chunk of metal on show is the quick release receiver which admittedly is gorgeous and sets off the unit so well, it goes a long way towards making the DD1 look good. The casing doesn’t feel cheap or badly built, but some areas are maybe a bit rugged and simplistic looking, such as the bezel around the display. It looks serious in a way that ordinary people can look at it and be somewhat aware of the power it contains.
Connecting and Setup
Mounting the DD1 is very simple. As mentioned in the summary you have the option of either a bottom or side mount. The bottom mounting holes will be compatible with nearly any cockpit out there, Fanatec is very widely supported, but always check the manufacturer’s compatibility guide and just be aware that your cockpit needs to be quite strong to really get the best out of this, such as the GT Omega Prime Lite shown below - that’s definitely good enough for this, whereas something like a Playseat evolution will be bullied around badly by the forces generated. Some cockpits can side-mount the DD1 which helps reclaim some legroom in some cases, but is by no means essential, I don’t feel any difference between the two methods.
Connection from the base to the computer is direct via the supplied USB cable. If you have lots of Fanatec gadgets like a set of pedals or a shifter, they can all connect to the rear of the wheelbase, helping to consolidate multiple items of equipment down to a single USB connection at the PC side.
The device picture above is known as a Torque Key, it’s supplied with the DD1 (and DD2) and its purpose is to unlock 'full torque' mode, which consequently means that removing it is a way to easily limit the power of the DD1 to safer levels, such as if your grandad with bad elbows wants a go on your sim rig. Remove the torque key and the DD1 is limited to a much friendlier 8nm, 40% of full power.
Driving
With everything bolted up, connected, software installed, powered on, it’s time to go racing. For me this was a big moment. My very first proper, grown-up, 20nm direct drive motor. A genuinely 'new-to-me' experience.
I can summarise how it feels quite simply. On my 8nm CSL DD, I could say that I was always driving the car. Now I’d say the car is in charge, I’m just there to tell it which way the track’s going. I now feel smaller than the virtual machine I'm driving, like I am merely a passenger - true to how in real life the driver is only a small piece of the puzzle, at least when it comes to the mass of the race car.
I am using the DD1 at 90% force, using a 320mm wheel, and as a guy in my mid-30’s with 'new dad' arms, it’s a perfect match for me, I feel like I am sparring with an equal partner now. Such a big part of sim racing is to do with trying to capture the thrill of motorsport, and a big part of that is emulating the physical element, an artists impression of the danger that the people doing it for real face head on.
There’s no real risk to me doing this; the worst that might happen is I’ll get a whack from the steering wheel and get a booboo, but the intensity of the drive I can experience now can really trick your brain into feeling some of that danger.
With my CSL DD and Moza R9 mid range wheels packing 8nm of force as opposed to the DD1's 20nm, I still had everything I needed to drive well and in my eyes you don’t need more than those to unlock 99% of your potential - they’re excellent and offer a huge ability boost over beginner wheels. Moving up to a DD1 the improvement in my actual driving is small but detectable. What I really notice with all that extra brute force is the extra thrill I’m having doing it. I love turning through hairpins and fighting the sticky slick tyres underneath, swooping into fast turns and feeling the imaginary weight lean over and crush the outside wheels, clattering chicanes and genuinely fearing that I've broken something expensive on the car - before I remember it’s not for real.
The most important question is this: is my mind blown? Do I feel like I’ve got value for money and if I was to do it again would I bother choosing a DD1 now that the mid-range is full of good wheelbases at under half the cost.
I’ll say this; it won’t change your life like it does to hop from low end to mid-end, I didn’t drive my first few laps and rub my eyes with amazement, but I knew sim racing would be a more thrilling activity from now on. If you have any combination of passion, skill or experience then you will appreciate a high end wheel like a cinema fanatic appreciates an all-out home theater. It’s what you enjoy, so you’re going to get the most out of it. In terms of performance per pound spent, the mid-range (CSL DD, Moza R9 etc) is absolutely brilliant now, but if you have the budget and the passion to put it to use, a DD1 or similar will still be worth it, especially if you are more about the experience than the competition.
I was long skeptical of whether a full power DD would really give me anything extra, but now I know what it's all about - things are just more exciting when you add force!
Small Wheel vs Big Wheel
In my summary I said something about small wheels and big wheels getting a different experience from a DD1, so allow me to explain. When I first gave the DD1 a spin, I used the 270mm diameter Fanatec Formula wheel that this special edition version came bundled with.
I’ll be blunt. With the formula rim, I wasn’t massively impressed with what I felt. It was very powerful, but not precise, it’s strong, but I couldn’t feel as much clarity, contrast or detail through the wheel as I’d hoped, and I’ll tell you exactly why. In my opinion, the 270mm formula rim is partly to blame, because it's just too small, especially for the power of the DD1. The smaller the wheel, the more difficult it is to sense the detail in the force feedback, and above a certain power output your arms are going to find it hard to read the road. To really use a wheel like this, you have to turn the power down quite a bit in order to have a balanced feel through the wheel, one that doesn’t feel like a brick wall in either direction, and that feels somehow like a waste of machinery, why buy a DD1 if you’re going to leave most of its power on the table. Personally I feel the Formula wheel hides the true benefits of having all this power, if you have only ever used a Formula wheel and are happy then that’s totally fine, I mean I can’t go up to Jarno Opmeer and tell him he should switch to a bigger wheel, can I...It’s just my opinion and everyone has different tastes and preferences, I’m just telling you mine. I had a feeling that, for me, changing the wheel would bring about a change of personality in the DD1.
Then I swapped it out for the R320 rim, a favourite of mine, with 50mm of additional width, a noticeably larger wheel. In doing so, all the DD1’s potential suddenly came bursting out in full bloom, it’s a completely different experience, I find it much, much more precise to drive and with the power available I can now use it to its fullest. On my Moza R9 and CSL DD this steering wheel was my favourite in terms of how accurate I felt driving it, but I did always feel like I needed a bit more force feedback strength, because the larger or heavier your steering wheel is, the more force the wheelbase needs to generate for it to have the same intensity, it’s all down to leverage and inertia.
Now I have all the power I could possibly need and it’s just brilliant - I don’t ever want to go back. I now have the wheel I want with as much power as I want. This is one of the major purposes of a full size direct drive wheel, the power isn’t there for bragging rights, it’s to make sure that you can mount anything on it and not have to compromise your experience. I can shop around for almost any sim wheel now and be totally confident that it won’t be too heavy or too large for the DD1, it will have the power it needs to achieve a realistic feeling.
All that extra power helps to define the highs and lows with more clarity, helping to give your arms quicker and clearer signals that a reaction is required, an improvement which I’ve definitely noticed and adapted to. The best way to describe it is that I feel like the margin for error in my driving has been slightly magnified, I can more clearly interpret that tiny slither of land between in control and out of control, and for me as an experienced sim racer that translates into better consistency, less mistakes and better chances at a satisfying race well done. It’s not a miraculous advantage, don’t get me wrong, the performance jump between a CSL DD and a DD1 is nowhere near the gigantic leap between a G923 and a CSL DD in terms of the effect it’ll have on your driving, but for experienced enthusiasts with sim racing in their DNA the extra power and contrast in the force feedback should be put to good use, like a freshly sharpened kitchen knife would be to a trained chef.
I am confident that I have avoided accidents on the DD1 that I might not have on the CSL DD, due to that extra punch in the feedback. I definitely notice I have a stronger 'startle reflex' when my car steps out of line and the DD1, whilst holding high force through corners, suddenly goes light as the tyres on the car let go, which gives me that extra millisecond headstart on correcting the problem. To frame it another way, imagine you’re in the biscuit aisle at the supermarket and an old lady softly taps you on the shoulder to get you to move out of the way of the rich teas. Then imagine, instead of an old lady tapping you on the shoulder, it’s Dwayne The Rock Johnson slapping his hand down on it. You could say your 'involuntary physical response' might be a bit more distinct in the latter scenario. That same startle reflex can help save you from a spin that comes out of absolutely nowhere by firing your neurons that little bit more urgently. (I'm not a biologist.)
Quick Release
There’s been plenty of praise so far - now for the one big criticism. The quick release system Fanatec has used for years and years plays a direct role in sucking a little bit of joy out of an otherwise fine job the DD1 does.
I can forgive the slowness of the quick release - on Fanatec QRs you’re advised to use the retaining screw to help reduce play. Not ideal, it slows things down, but OK. The podium DD1 features a rubber collar on the receiver which, when your wheel is mounted, can be compressed by tightening this screw ring which in theory shores everything up a bit, but that too takes time and is another action that other manufacturer QR systems don’t need.
The biggest flaw of Fanatec’s system is that the retaining collar is somewhat free to clank and rattle whenever forces get particularly sharp or exuberant, making a clinking noise that just doesn’t sound good, although this doesn’t happen much under normal conditions, if you have an accident or lose control then the unwanted steel ensemble rings out.
As an experiment I removed the retaining screw and used tape to try and bind the collar so it won’t move at all, and it drastically reduced the noise generated by the metal-on-metal impacts.
It shouldn’t be the case that this years-old design has carried this flaw up to now. Nowadays this quick release system is put to shame by much of the competition, Moza’s system for example is leagues ahead, I only wish Fanatec would get a move on with its much needed QR2 system, but who knows when that’ll be here. All that said, it still functions fine - it’s not like it doesn’t work but compared to others it’s pretty crude and is a shame that it slightly spoils an otherwise decent unit.
Conclusion
Now I’ve spent months driving it, I look at the DD1 like a builder probably looks at his favourite drill. It’s heavy duty, has loads of muscle but is silky smooth, looks pretty cool perched on the rig, too. I was half-worried it would be grainy or coggy like I’d heard on reviews from times gone by, but after the famous firmware update in 2022 that problem must have been knocked on the head because I feel nothing of the sort.
If you already have an inventory of Fanatec wheels, the DD1 is the logical choice for you as you can just carry on using your collection, but with other makes and brands releasing equivalent models that each have something pretty good going on, you can’t be blamed for thinking twice. I can only speak for myself but I got what I hoped to get, it has met expectations, and if I do end up trying an equivalent direct drive from another manufacturer and it impresses me more, it won’t change how I felt at this moment in time, this is a very good benchmark. It’s a great time to be shopping for something like this because you’re spoilt for choice, but if you’ve long had an eye on a DD1 like I did, you’re definitely still in for a great time.
Thanks for watching, that’s all for the time being, please watch the video review here if you want this article in video form.
Fanatec: https://bit.ly/3z3Id1y
GT Omega (5% Off Code DANNYLEE): https://bit.ly/3opeGKU
Turn Racing R320 and BP2 Button Plate: https://bit.ly/3RueJSL