Fanatec has recently released a shaft extension for its ClubSport DD wheel bases allowing for greater flexibility in mounting. Here are all of the details.
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Fanatec has released a shaft extension for its ClubSport DD and DD+ wheel bases, which allows for more flexibility when mounting the wheel base. The shaft extension allows you to mount your wheel base behind your monitor or display, allowing for a screen to sit lower behind the steering wheel.
The extension is constructed from CNC-machined aluminium allowing it to be as rigid as possible. Installing the shaft extension shouldn’t add any real flex to your wheel base, and shouldn’t compromise rigidity in any way.
The DD Shaft Extension is a purely mechanical piece of equipment with some wiring throughout to transfer data and power from the wheel base to the steering wheel and vice versa. This relatively simple design allows the extension shaft to be fairly cost-effective.
The Fanatec DD Shaft Extension costs €99.95 or $99.95. This includes the shaft itself and screws required to install it.
The Fanatec Shaft Extension is designed to fit the ClubSport DD and DD+ wheel bases only. The base-side fitment is shaped to mimic the wheel base design. Unfortunately, this means the shaft extension won’t fit either the GT DD Pro or CSL DD wheelbase.
Many sim racers won’t need to use this new extension shaft. However, some who wish to mount their screen or display as low as possible behind their steering wheel will love this new accessory. By lowering your monitor, you can achieve a better and more realistic field of view.
Watch our review on whether the Fanatec DD Shaft Extension is right for you.
By moving the wheel base further back to sit behind your monitor, you will be able to lower your display be around 6 or 7cm. This doesn’t sound like a lot. However, it can greatly affect your overall FOV and immersion. This is especially useful for sim racers who are recording realistic footage.
Learn why field of view in sim racing is incredibly important in our complete FOV guide.
Installation of the extension requires you to disassemble your wheel base slightly. The technical ability to install the extension is incredibly low, making it very easy to install, it really is no more difficult than building a sim rig or mounting a wheel base.
To install the shaft extension, you have to remove the wheel-side quick release. This will be re-mounted to the end of the DD Shaft Extension. This can be done by removing the four bolts on the front of your wheel base.
With the bolts removed, you can slide off the outer QR2 element. With this part of the QR2 removed you can re-attach the DD Shaft Extension in its place. Simply reverse the process by pushing the extension onto your wheel base and re-screwing the four bolts to your wheel base.
With that completed, you can attach the part of the QR2 that you removed to the end of the extension shaft. This one again attaches with four screws that are included with the extension shaft.
With all eight screws in place and tightened, the installation is complete, and the extension should feel rigid. If there is any flex or looseness, I’d recommend checking the tightness of each bolt before turning on your wheelbase.
Below is a video showing the full installation process.
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Unfortunately, the Fanatec DD Shaft Extension will not be compatible with either the CSL DD or GT DD Pro due to the base-side fitment being specifically designed for the ClubSport DD and DD+ wheelbases.
The shaft extension is compatible with the Fanatec QR2. Using a Fanatec Hub, such as the Podium Hub, you can attach other branded steering wheels and wheel rims to it.
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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