MOZA R12 vs Fanatec ClubSport DD Comparison Review: Which Racing Wheel Is Better?

Fanatec’s most recent wheel base is the ClubSport DD, and it brought with it a huge range of improvements to the force feedback technology over the older CSL DD and GT DD Pro. It has 12Nm of torque, which sounds very familiar. MOZA Racing also have a racing wheel that has exactly 12Nm of peak torque, as does Asetek with the La Prima wheel base.

The battle for the best mid-range direct drive wheel base seems to be pretty hot with various brands all producing racing wheels quoting the same power. But with so many options, which racing wheel should you buy? In this guide, I’m going to compare the MOZA R12 and Fanatec ClubSport DD head-to-head to see which of these two wheel bases is the better buy.

Comparing the MOZA R12 and Fanatec ClubSport DD

Both of these wheel bases produce 12Nm of torque, although there are slight differences there already. The MOZA R12 produces 12Nm of peak torque, while the ClubSport DD boasts 12Nm of constant torque. I’ll touch on that big difference later in this comparison.

But to get things started, I want to compare both mid-range direct drive wheel bases head to head.

	MOZA R12	Fanatec ClubSport DD
Price	£589 / $589 (pre-tax)	$799.95 (inc tax)
FFB Strength	12Nm	12Nm
Platforms	PC Only	Xbox & PC
Release date	26th Jun 2023	28th Nov 2023
Where to buy	Buy from MOZA	Buy from Fanatec

You’ll see from this quick comparison that there are some pretty big differences. While the force feedback torque has the same headline figure, the compatibility and price are completely different.

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Fanatec ClubSport DD

The Fanatec ClubSport DD did seem to take an age to release. Fanatec’s last racing wheel release was the GT DD Pro back at the end of 2021. In comparison, MOZA Racing seem to release multiple new racing wheels or iterations every year.

However, the ClubSport DD arrived, and it sure was worth the wait. It features some of the very best force feedback performance of any racing wheel ever. Not necessarily in the strength department, as there are certainly higher-powered direct drive racing wheels available. But in the force feedback detail, fidelity and consistency.

Most racing wheels deliver a peak torque figure meaning that is the highest torque that can be hit, but not sustained by the wheel. The Fanatec ClubSport DD refer to this figure as constant torque, and that’s a huge change. This racing wheel is capable of outputting 12Nm of torque consistently with little to no thermal degradation over time.

Alongside this, Fanatec announced FullForce and force feedback 2.0. Both of these technologies combine to produce force feedback that is incredibly responsive and detailed. The ClubSport DD has the best slew rate performance of any direct drive racing wheel in this price and performance range. This lets you feel the in-game forces faster than with any other wheel giving you real-time feedback and more time to react.

The other big announcement of the ClubSport DD was its compatibility with Xbox consoles. Fanatec has always offered console compatibility across all of its racing wheels, and the trend continues with this new generation of mid-range direct drive wheel.

Racing Wheel – Fanatec ClubSport DD
Compatibility – PC, Xbox Series X|S
Price – From €/$799.95
Where to buy – Buy from Fanatec EU / Buy from Fanatec US

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MOZA Racing R12

The MOZA R12 is the older of the two racing wheels that we’re comparing here. But it is also in my opinion the best racing wheel that MOZA has ever released.

Its predecessor, the R9 was an incredibly capable direct drive racing wheel, and the R16 and R21 offer extreme performance. However, the R12 brought a few extra party tricks, much like the Fanatec ClubSport DD.

When manufacturing the R12 racing wheel, MOZA unlocked extra force feedback detail and utilised what feels like similar technology that Logitech was using with its TrueForce racing wheels. This is because underpinning the whole force feedback engine is a rumble technology.

This lets you feel rumbles and vibrations from kerbs and the track surface like you cannot with other MOZA wheel bases. When you drive over a kerb with the R12 you feel the vibrations through your hands and the sim rig in a very positive way.

This technology was so good that MOZA Racing re-released some of their other racing wheels including the more powerful R16 with this new technology included.

Racing Wheel – MOZA R12
Compatibility – PC
Price – €589/$589
Where to buy – Buy from MOZA

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Price comparison & value for money

Before I talk about the performance and design comparison of the MOZA R12 and Fanatec ClubSport DD, I first want to touch on price and value for money. This is an important discussion, especially when it comes to the MOZA R12.

Wheel base	Price
MOZA R12	£589 / $589 (pre-tax)
Fanatec ClubSport DD	$799.95 (inc tax)

On the surface, the MOZA R12 is the cheaper of the two wheel bases priced around $200 cheaper than the ClubSport DD. However, it is very important to note that the MOZA price does not include VAT or sales tax, whereas the Fanatec price does.

Once you adjust the price for VAT or sales tax on the MOZA wheel base things become much closer in terms of value. If I use the United Kingdom’s VAT rate of 20%, that brings the R12 wheel base up to £706 which is much closer to the ClubSport DD’s €799.95.

The MOZA Racing R12 is still the cheapest of the two products but does lack a few features that the ClubSport DD boasts such as console compatibility.

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Design & aesthetics

Next, I want to talk about the design of both direct drive racing wheels. Both wheels follow the design language that each brand has already laid out with previous releases, and there is a pretty big difference between the two competitors.

Fanatec ClubSport DD design

You can certainly see the influence of both the CSL DD and GT DD Pro in the design of the ClubSport DD. In fact, this racing wheel uses the exact same design as the GT DD Pro in many places. When you put this wheel next to a GT DD Pro, the ClubSport DD is essentially just a slightly longer version.

Reusing this design isn’t a bad thing, as it looks sleek and aggressive thanks to the fins on each side. These fins act as a way to dissipate heat and ensure that the wheel remains cool even during longer race sessions. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that the design fits the larger ClubSport DD better than it did on the squarer GT DD Pro.

This racing wheel is longer than both the GT DD Pro and the MOZA R12 due to the use of a larger internal motor. This was necessary to create the force feedback power that Fanatec were after along with the new FullForce and force feedback 2.0 sensations.

MOZA R12 design

MOZA Racing have done a very good job at keeping the size of the R12 wheel base down to a minimum. Unlike the Fanate wheel which grew as they added more power, the R12 only expanded around an inch compared to the less powerful R9 wheel base.

Much like the ClubSport DD, MOZA reused the design from the R9 almost entirely with very few changes. The size, form and even the side fins are the same on the R12 as on other MOZA wheel bases. The design is so similar to other wheels, that MOZA decided to include a small R12 label on this wheel just so people could differentiate it from other racing wheels.

I like the sleek look of the smaller MOZA wheel bases, although it certainly doesn’t look as aggressive or have as much character as the Fanatec wheels. While I do like the MOZA base, I’d have to say that the Fanateec ClubSport DD does have a more interesting design.

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Performance

The performance category is really where we can start to differentiate between both the Fanatec and MOZA wheels. I’ll start with the MOZA R12 as that is the older of the two wheel bases.

When the R12 launched, it introduced new force feedback technology compared to other small MOZA wheels. The new force feedback introduced extra vibrations and sensations at different frequencies than before. These new vibrations allowed the wheel to really come alive while sim racing.

Despite its small form and increased performance, the R12 does an incredibly good job of remaining cool. It doesn’t have any internal fans and uses the exterior chassis to dissipate the heat. It does get warm after a long race session, but not to the point where it can cause damage or harm.

There have been newer MOZA racing wheels since the R12, but I would still confidently say that the R12 is the best-performing wheel base in terms of force feedback detail.

Fanatec knew that they needed to really elevate their newest racing wheel to surpass what MOZA Racing have been doing. And they did exactly that with the ClubSport DD. Following MOZA’s trend, Fanatec also developed new force feedback technology that found its way into the ClubSport DD wheel.

Fanatec named this new technology FullForce and also introduced the moniker of force feedback 2.0. Essentially what these new technologies allowed for was better heat dissipation and more constant force feedback. Even during long race sessions, the wheel base does an incredible job at keeping cool and this lets the force feedback perform at its best constantly.

They also improve the slew rate or response rate. This means that the forces you feel will be delivered even quicker than before giving you as close to a 1:1 feel of the road as possible while racing.

While the MOZA R12 introduced some nice new tricks, Fanatec has one upped them in this battle. Both racing wheels have incredible force feedback, but Fanatec edges it.

Quick Releases

I do want to mention the quick releases of both racing wheels. Previously, MOZA always had the edge in this category due to their fantastic QR. However, Fanatec has redeveloped its quick release and named it the QR2. This is designed to create a much sturdier adhesion between the wheel base and steering wheel and it works well.

Both wheel bases result in little to no noticeable flexing or movement between the wheel side and base side quick releases. Both also operate on an easy-to-use pull motion to release the wheel from your base. At this point, they both perform equally well, and your decision on which is best is more down to personal preference.

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Compatibility

The compatibility comparison of the MOZAA R12 vs Fanatec ClubSport DD is where one major difference happens. The MOZA R12 is only compatible with PCs. You can still connect multiple MOZA peripherals to the rear of the wheel base directly, or you can use it with sim pedals, shifters and handbrakes from any other brand.

It does lack the console compatibility that the ClubSport DD boasts. This latest Fanatec racing wheel is very similar to the CSL DD in that it offers both PC and Xbox compatibility as standard. As long as you are using an Xbox-compatible steering wheel, the Clubsport DD is plug-and-play ready for Xbox use.

Fanatec also went another step and has released the ClubSport DD+. This is more similar to the GT DD Pro in that it offers PC and PS5 compatibility. It also increases the performance of the ClubSport DD up to 15Nm.

Read our comparison of the Fanatec ClubSport DD vs DD+ to see if upgrading is worth it.

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Overall winner

In conclusion, both of these mid-sized direct drive racing wheels are incredibly impressive. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend either one and they really are perfect examples of just how good both MOZA and Fanatec are at producing sim racing wheels.

I do have to pick a winner though. And I would lean towards the Fanatec ClubSport DD. Despite being more expensive than the MOZA R12, it wins in a few important categories. It is compatible with Xbox consoles, and edges the MOZA R12 in the performance comparison as well.

Fanatec ClubSport DD

Racing Wheel – Fanatec ClubSport DD
Compatibility – PC, Xbox Series X|S
Price – From €/$799.95
Where to buy – Buy from Fanatec EU / Buy from Fanatec US

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