In this guide I'll show you how to buy into the Fanatec product lineup as cheaply as possible in 2024. I'll look at the cheapest possible complete Fanatec racing wheel and pedal bundle.
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It’s no secret that Fanatec makes some of the best sim racing wheels on the market today. However with the level of quality that the German manufacturer offer, comes a rather large price tag. Generally, a Fanatec wheel will cost more than almost any other equivalent racing wheel on the market.
In the guide below, I’ll run through the best and cheapest Fanatec products you can buy, and I’ll show you the exact products to buy if you want to pickup the cheapest Fanatec wheel setup for each console.
I’ll start by taking a quick look at the CSL DD and GT DD Pro, which is the wheel base I’ll be using as the base for each of these cheap Fanatec setups.
Previously, I would have always recommended the Fanatec CSL Elite wheel base as a great entry point into the Fanatec ecosystem. However, Fanatec discontinued their CSL Elite wheel base product line. Now, in 2024, you can only buy CSL Elite wheel bases used from previous owners.
But this isn’t the end of the world, as Fanatec have upped their game and improved their budget offering with the release of the CSL DD and GT DD Pro wheel bases.
For a very similar price to the old CSL Elite wheel base, you can now purchase a CSL DD wheel base. This new budget-friendly option is the cheapest direct drive wheel base available on the market and is also Xbox compatible. In a nutshell, it is so much better than the old CSL Elite, but carries a very similar price tag.
If you are a PS5 sim racer don’t worry, Fanatec also has you covered. Recently Fanatec released the Gran Turismo DD Pro, which is essentially the CSL DD with PlayStation 4 and 5 compatibility.
The GT DD Pro also comes as a pre-packaged bundle which includes a Gran Turismo licensed steering wheel, a wheel base mount, and a set of pedals. As a convenient and relatively low-cost entry point into the Fanatec ecosystem, the GT DD Pro is a fantastic choice.
A quick summary of the current compatibility of these two Fanatec products is below.
One of the best things about Fanatec wheel bases is the level of customisation you get with your racing rig setup. You can interchange steering wheels, upgrade your pedals, and add any supported peripheral such as a handbrake or gear shifter.
Again, depending on your console, you will have a different set of options as to what steering wheels and accessories you can use. For example, only certain steering wheels work with Xbox and PS4/PS5 respectively.
Let me jump into all of these offerings a little more below. I’ll show you the exact products to buy if you are looking for the cheapest Fanatec wheel setup for every platform.
The CSL DD wheel base combined with a PC is the best racing wheel setup you can get within this product bracket. The PC allows maximum compatibility for all peripherals and steering wheels, allowing you to customise your setup to your own requirements.
The cheapest Fanatec setup you can buy for PC used to be the CSL Elite Starter Kit. This starter kit however is no longer available to purchase, so instead, we would recommend purchasing all three of these items separately.
Despite not making use of a bundled discount, all of these three recommended items purchased separately still come in under the price of any available bundle you can currently buy from Fanatec.
So let’s break this bespoke package down. To start with you get the mighty CSL DD wheel base which is one of the best cheaper racing wheels on the market. Read why the CSL DD is such an innovative sim racing product in our complete CSL DD guide here.
Paired with this wheel base is the upgraded McLaren GT3 V2 steering wheel. This wheel is without a doubt one of the best and cheapest Fanatec steering wheels you can buy. It’s based on the same architecture as the older McLaren GT3 wheel and fixes all issues that the wheel had.
You’ll find sturdier paddle shifters, an improved screen, all housed in the official McLaren wheel design.
Finally, you get the new two-pedal CSL Pedals. These are a great set of starting pedals, and can always be upgraded with a load-cell brake pedal to convert it into a three-pedal setup in the future.
The PS4 and PS5 consoles are in a good position when it comes to Fanatec support. There is a wide range of Fanatec products available for PlayStation owners. And this is in part due to the architecture of both the PlayStation and Xbox.
PlayStation allows external peripherals to map almost unlimited buttons to functions within a game. Whereas Xbox consoles only allow peripherals to map buttons to the same buttons which you would find on a controller. This means that wheel rims with 20+ buttons and switches won’t be able to be fully used on an Xbox One or Series X|S console.
Because of this PlayStation owners have the pick of the bunch when it comes to budget Fanatec sim racing wheels.
Only PlayStation 4 and 5 sim racers have access to a budget-friendly complete bundle that includes everything you need to go sim racing, a wheel base, steering wheel and pedals.
That bundle is the newly released Gran Turismo DD Pro. I mentioned this wheel base above. It is very similar in terms of build and performance as the CSL DD which was released months earlier.
This Fanatec PS5 racing wheel carries the Gran Turismo branding. Fanatec partnered with Polyphony Digital, the developers behind the Gran Turismo games, during the development of Gran Turismo 7.
They worked closely together to develop the Gran Turismo DD Pro racing wheel. When buying this racing wheel for PS4 or PS5, you’ll be safe in the knowledge that it will work flawlessly with GT Sport and Gran Turismo 7.
The GT DD Pro comes with everything you need to go racing included in the bundle. You’ll get;
With all of this equipment included in the box, setup and compatibility is super easy. Simply connect everything to your wheel base, attach it to your desk or sim rig of choice, plug it into your PS4 or PS5 and you’re set to race.
It is by far the cheapest way to purchase a complete Fanatec set for PS5.
The cheapest way to purchase a complete Fanatec kit is to purchase all of the below items individually.
This cheap Fanatec recommendation may look a little familiar, and that is because I’ve already mentioned it in our PC section of this guide.
Because Xbox owners don’t have access to a compatible Fanatec bundle, you’ll have to purchase each part of your cheap Fanatec set up individually. And the products I’d recommend are exactly the same as the ones I recommended for PC owners.
This cheap Fanatec wheel set up once again includes the CSL DD wheel base along with the McLaren GT3 V2 steering wheel and the new CSL Pedals.
Not only is this pretty much the cheapest Fanatec wheel bundle you can buy for Xbox, it is also a great starting point. The CSL DD wheel base is one of the best racing wheels Fanatec has ever produced, bringing direct drive technology to consoles with a low price point.
Then the McLaren GT3 V2 steering wheel is a great option if you are primarily a GT car or open wheel racer. It is improved over its predecessor and comes with better shifters, and an improved quick release.
And finally, the CSL Pedals are reworked versions of the older CSL Elite pedals. They look nicer, perform better and are actually even cheaper than the old CSL Elite’s.
This whole setup will cost you around £630 / $630 depending on offers and is the cheapest Fanatec Xbox Series X|S setup you can buy.
Are there any Fanatec deals to be had to lower the cost even further? Well, yes, if you are happy to wait. It is very rare that Fanatec offers any discount code of any type. Their products are so well manufactured and well-reviewed within the sim racing community, that they don’t need to offer too many incentives to buy. Sim racers already know the quality that they will receive when upgrading to a Fanatec wheel setup.
However, Fanatec do occasionally offer sales on their products via their online store. At any one time, multiple Fanatec products will be reduced and on sale. And Fanatec changes these products out occasionally. It may be the case that the product you are looking at isn’t currently on sale. However, if you are prepared to wait to purchase, it could come on sale in the coming weeks.
You can view all of the Fanatec products that are currently in stock via our Fanatec stock tracker.
You can use the links below to shop for your favourite sim racing products, or for any products that we may have recommended. These links are affiliate links, and will earn us a small commission, with no additional cost for you.
The cheapest Fanatec racing wheel will be one from their CSL Elite range. This is the entry level for Fanatec wheels. View our recommendations for console specific deals.
Even a cheap Fanatec racing wheel is better than a lot of other mid level racing wheels. Fanatec are known for their premium quality.
Fanatec often run sales on their own online store. Read our suggestions for the best offers at the moment.
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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