To get the most out of Assetto Corsa, racing with a sim racing wheel really adds to the immersion of a very good racing sim. Here are our recommended force feedback settings for Fanatec wheels in Assetto Corsa.
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While we now know that Assetto Corsa 2 is in the works, with a potential 2024 release, the original Assetto Corsa remains as popular as ever. The original Assetto Corsa, despite being nearly 10 years old, still provides some of the very best sim racing of any sim in 2023.
One of the very best ways to maximise your immersion while racing in Assetto Corsa is to use a racing wheel. A racing wheel allows for much finer levels of control while racing, and thanks to force feedback you will be able to feel how your car is behaving over every bump and kerb.
To feel the most accurate force feedback, you should ensure your racing wheel is correctly set up in Assetto Corsa. In this guide, I’m going to focus on Fanatec racing wheels, showing you our recommended wheels settings for Fanatec wheels in Assetto Corsa.
These settings can be used on PC, as well as Xbox and PlayStation consoles.
The Fanatec CSL DD is one of the best-selling racing wheels over the past few years. It redefined the direct drive racing wheel, by reducing both the size and price that used to be commonplace when buying a direct drive racing wheel.
The CSL DD is compatible with both PC and Xbox consoles, allowing it to be used with Assetto Corsa on both of these platforms. It is also completely compatible with Assetto Corsa, and should work incredibly well right out of the box.
The GT DD Pro wheel base looks slightly different from the CSL DD, although the internal architecture is incredibly similar, allowing for near identical force feedback. The GT DD Pro was created to be compatible with PlayStation consoles, both the PS4 and PS5.
The below settings are our recommended force feedback settings for the Fanatec CSL DD and GT DD Pro in Assetto Corsa. Both of these wheel bases can be used in 5Nm and 8Nm modes, with the 8Nm option producing stronger force feedback.
The settings below are for the 8Nm version of the CSL DD and GT DD Pro. If a different setting is required for the 5Nm version, I have included it in brackets.
Racing Wheel – Fanatec CSL DD
Compatibility – PC, Xbox Series X|S
Price – From €/$349.95
Where to buy –
Buy from Fanatec EU /
Buy from Fanatec US
Racing Wheel – Fanatec Gran Turismo DD Pro
Compatibility – PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox Series X|S
Price – From €/$599.95
Where to buy –
Buy from Fanatec EU /
Buy from Fanatec US
If the 8Nm of peak torque of the CSL DD and GT DD Pro isn’t quite enough, the next step up the Fanatec ecosystem is the Fanatec DD1. This wheel base is older than both of the new smaller direct drive wheels, and produces 20Nm of peak torque. That’s over double of the CSL DD and GT DD Pro.
Despite being slightly older than the newer CSL DD and GT DD Pro, the DD1 still performs incredibly well. So much so, that it is considered one of the very best high-performing direct drive wheel bases.
The recommended Assetto Corsa settings for the DD1 below make full use of its power, allowing us to lower some overall settings to give us the best performance and range of force feedback.
Racing Wheel – Fanatec DD1
Compatibility – PC, Xbox Series X|S
Price – From €/$499.95
Where to buy –
Buy from Fanatec EU /
Buy from Fanatec US
The Fanatec DD2 is the bigger brother to the DD1, producing 25Nm of peak torque compared to 20Nm of the DD1. This allows for an even greater range of force feedback to be produced.
With the higher peak torque potential, you can lower your force feedback strength a little on the wheel base itself. This will help keep the strength manageable, without causing too much fatigue over time. Of course, being a more powerful wheel base, you can increase the strength setting to feel more forces throughout your time on track.
There are a few setting differences between the DD1 (above) and the DD2 settings (below). These tweaked settings for Assetto Corsa take into account the increased strength potential.
Racing Wheel – Fanatec DD2
Compatibility – PC, Xbox Series X|S
Price – From €/$1199.95
Where to buy –
Buy from Fanatec EU /
Buy from Fanatec US
Below I’ll look at how to set up any Fanatec wheel to work in Assetto Corsa. This process is the same for all Fanatec wheels and is very similar on consoles and PCs.
Ensure your Fanatec wheel is correctly connected to your PC or console. With an Xbox or PS5 console, you need to ensure your pedals are connected to your wheel base. While on PC, you can connect your wheel base and pedals separately.
The Fanatec Control Panel will let you ensure that your racing wheel’s firmware is up to date. This step is only required on PC, and can be ignored on console. The Control Panel can be found on Fanatec’s support pages.
Once downloaded, click the button to check for any software and firmware updates. Once updated, you can move on to the next step.
Your Fanatec wheel settings can be adjusted on your wheel base, using your steering wheel. Use the built-in tuning menu to cycle through each setting and use the recommended settings above for your specific wheel base.
Next up, you can boot up Assetto Corsa, and input our recommended settings. If you are on PC and using the Content Manager mod, you can input all settings there. If you are not using Content Manager or are racing on a console, find the wheel settings in the options menu.
The final step is to configure your button mapping for your steering wheel. This can be done in the same menu as the wheel settings above. Here you can change the in-game controls and which buttons on your steering wheel control which functions.
Below is an explanation of each force feedback setting in Assetto Corsa and what each setting controls.
The degrees setting is essentially your steering lock or degrees or rotation. This setting should always match your wheel settings.
The gamma setting in Assetto Corsa is your linearity. This should be set to 1.00 which will give you 1:1 steering. This will ensure that your wheel turns at the same speed as your physical steering wheel.
The filter will smooth out your force feedback. Some wheels benefit from a little bit of filter, especially direct drive wheels such as the Fanatec DD1 and DD2. Try not to overdo this setting, as it can smooth out your force feedback too much.
This setting changes your steering wheel’s sensitivity at speed. This allows your steering wheel to become more or less sensitive at higher speeds.
Gain is the strength setting in Assetto Corsa. Setting this to 100% will result in the full force of your wheel’s force feedback being used.
This setting can be used as a boost for less powerful rating wheels. This should be turned off for direct drive wheels
Both the kerb and road effects will alter how your force feedback is across different surfaces. Boosting either of these will amplify the force feedback in each scenario.
The slip effect will cause force feedback as your wheels start to slide across the track surface. This is great when learning the limits of a specific car, but should be turned off after this to avoid masking other force feedback.
ABS effect is similar to slip effect in that it will simulate feedback as you start to lock your brakes and the ABS kicks in. Great for learning cars, not ideal when you feel confident with a specific car.
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Rich is the founder, F1 car setup creator and content writer for SimRacingSetups. With over a decade of experience as a graphic designer, marketing director, competitive sim racer and avid motorsport fan, Rich founded SimRacingSetup.com to share his passion and knowledge of sim racing and Formula 1 with other sim racers. Regularly writes for sim racing website SimRaceReviews.com
View all articles written by Rich
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