Fanatec Clubsport Formula V3 Steering Wheel Review

Watch our Fanatec Clubsport Formula V3 Steering Wheel video review

Below is our complete video review of the Fanatec Clubsport Formula V3 Steering Wheel, where I discuss everything in this written review, and bring you gameplay of this Steering Wheel.

For those sim racers who have been waiting patiently for years, for a new true-formula steering wheel from Fanatec. The good news is the ClubSport Formula V3 has arrived. And depending on your thoughts on the last generation V2.5 wheel, you’re going to be very happy or not so happy.

The reason for that is that the Formula V3 is very much an evolution, not a revolution. This sim racing steering wheel uses the tried and tested formula that Fanatec has utilised for the past 14 years.

A lot of the Formula 2.5X has been recycled into the V3, with some new and reworked elements scattered throughout. The most noticeable of those is the 2.7inch OLED display that has been lifted directly from Podium Button Module.

Well, Fanatec has sent this wheel over for review, and I’ve been putting it through its paces for most of the past month. And I’m going to find out whether this wheel is a worthy successor to the V2.5X, or if more of the same.

Why is the Formula V3 significant?

If you’ve been a Fanatec fan for a while, you’ll have probably seen the vast number of Formula V2 variations over the years. The previous generation formula wheel was first released in 2018 in its V2 form, followed by the V2.5 in 2021 which added magnetic shifters.

Since then, we’ve had Red Bull versions, official Formula 1 versions and various different colourways. But none of these truly evolved the Formula V2 beyond its original form, which, again, we saw originally in 2018. 8 years ago.

So to say an actual Formula V3 is a significant step is very true. Especially for primarily F1 sim racers who have bought into the Fanatec ecosystem, like me…

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Price of the Fanatec ClubSport Formula V3

What is also important is that Fanatec has not dramatically changed the price. The Formula V3, much like the V2.5 and V2 before it, is firmly a lower to mid range steering wheel. This new Formula V3 costs €349.95 or $349.99 which was the original price of the V2 wheel many years ago.

In fact, it is actually less than the Formula V2.5X sold for which is a real statement of intent from Fanatec.

Product	Price
Fanatec Formula V3 Europe	EU: €349.95
Fanatec Formula V3 United States	US: $349.99
Fanatec Formula V3 Australia	AUD: $599.90
Fanatec Formula V3 Japan	JPY: 58,000.00

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Unboxing and what’s included

So for your $350, what do you get exactly? Well, the traditional Fanatec unboxing experience has changed a little. I’m not sure if this is a cost saving move, or a CORSAIR update, but those messages that you used to get every time you opened a Fanatec box are now gone.

Instead, the box is much simpler, and plainer, and I kind of miss the old cheesy lines that hyped you up as you opened the box. Now, we get a rather sexy assembly message basically stating the first cost-saving option, which is to not include a manual.

You do, however, get a safety and compliance sheet, but no stickers this time round. Instead, you just get the wheel itself nestled nicely, pre-installed with a QR2. And this is the full-fat metal QR2, not the Lite which is found on a few budget wheels.

There are additional buttons caps included, which have now been included in a card box box, making away with the plastic housing, which is a nice eco step. These let you change the all black buttons to some with icons on to help you better identify what each button is programmed to do.

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The design

With the minimal packaging out of the way, we can take a closer look at the wheel itself. And I’m going to start this design review with a head-to-head comparison of the Fanatec Formula V2.5X that I’ve got here, because as you’ll see there is a lot of similarities.

This V3 is much more of a continuation of the Formula architecture rather than a reworking, and that is key to note when evaluating this wheel.

The first thing that is immediately noticeable is the increase in diameter. The Formula V3 now sits at 290mm across, up from the 270mm of the old V2.5. This has been necessitated by the inclusion of the OLED screen, but it’s definitely a change for the better.

The Formula V2.5X always felt a little too small, and the wider 290mm Formula V3 wheel is now much more versatile as both a formula and GT style wheel.

This has obviously led to Fanatec having to change the chassis and face plate. The mould itself looks almost identical with exactly the same shaped cutouts where the wheel and hand grips meet. It just has around 20mm of additional width in between.

Middle input cluster

Fanatec obviously wanted to make use of the wider faceplate, and have slightly tweaked the central configuration of buttons and encoders. There are now three front-facing encoders, all of which have twelve inputs.

This is an improvement over the V2.5X where the central switch operated the wheels paddle modes and was pretty useless in the heat of a race. We also have a new look to the rotary encoder which better covers the numbers, making it easier to spot which value you have them set to.

These encoders are entirely plastic as before which is to be expected at this price point. These encoders are sightlier easier to use than the older style thanks to a larger grab point. Fanatec say they have been reworked for a more tactile feel, but they feel incredibly similar to the V2.5, which isn’t an entirely bad thing.

The three buttons just below the encoders are now slightly further out of reach now thanks to the wider diameter, but server the exact same purpose as before. The sound of the button activation has changed slightly, providing a more subtle click. But the short throw and resistance is very similar to before. Again, not a bad thing as each button press feels intentional.

One thing to note, we still don’t have any RGB lighting on the buttons themselves. I’m sure Fanatec are waiting to add this to a Podium wheel in the future.

Side input clusters

Moving up the wheel, the FunkySwitches are in the same position as before. However, Fanatec has changed the left joystick to a second FunkySwitch providing more inputs this time round. These are pretty identical to the old wheel, even using the exact same thumbstick design. Both provide 7-way inputs that include directional, rotary and a push input.

Side input clusters

The side button clusters that sit towards the top of the wheel have been lifted directly from the V2.5 with zero change. The layout is exactly the same, as are all input placements. Here we have four push buttons, two up-down switches and the thumb encoders.

While most of this is identical to before, the thumb encoders have been reworked, providing a big improvement. The old thumb encoders were so light, I really struggled to use them accurately. These new V3 encoders have much more resistance making quick brake bias or diff tweaks easier to make.

Fanatec has also added a push function now, again providing two additional inputs.

Finally, in this cluster are the 6 flag lights. Again, these are identical to before and can provide telemetry information or flag info depending on how you configure them.

The screen

That brings me to the major talking point about this V3 steering wheel. The 2.7 inch OLED display. This is a big improvement to the dated small display found on the V2.5. However, it isn’t the full fledged colour display that many of us have been hoping for.

Going back to my evolution, not revolution comment, this display epitomises this. The display itself has been ripped right out of the Podium Endurance Hub, which obviously helps keeps the price of the wheel down as Fanatec already have the parts.

While the screen isn’t large enough to make the V3 a true competitor to wheels like the MOZA FSR and SIMAGIC’s FX Pro. This expanded screen size does allow for slightly more immersion.

The information that can be accessed includes Fanatec’s ITM (intelligent telemetry mode), which includes a range of live data. From your speed, gears, lap times, current position and laps, to information overlays each time you complete a lap.

The design of the display is much more functionality over aesthetics with zero colour or fancy layouts. However, it serves its purpose much better than the old V2.5 display.

You can also access the tuning menu through the screen. Doing this is much simpler now with more information shown about each setting. This means quick wheel adjustments can be made without having to reference the Fanatec App just to understand what you’re changing.

It’s worth noting that the tuning menu button has also moved. It’s now lower on the left, making it so much easier to access mid-race. Just in case you accidentally start a race with the force feedback too high and do need to make a quick change!

Shifters

Around the back of the wheel, things are pretty identical to before. We have the magnetic paddles pre-installed, providing just two shifters. This wheel, like the V2.5 before it can be upgraded to include the Podium Paddle Module, unlocking up to six paddles.

The QR2 quick release is also included as standard.

Hand grips

While I’m looking at the rear of the wheel, one change Fanatec has stated is that the hand grips themselves are now easier to customise. By default, this wheel is only available with the perforated leather-feel grip. However, Fanatec has stated changing these hand grips is easier than before.

This means, third-party brands such as Pineapple Grips will now have an easier time providing aftermarket grip options. And Fanatec may even release alternate hand grip accessories in the future. Similar to how Asetek offer different styles of grip.

Connectivity

One area that isn’t a surprise is the connectivity of the Formula V3. While I had hoped that we might start getting data ports or a way to use Fanatec wheels with third-party wheel bases, that moment still feels a long way off.

Instead, the Formula V3 follows the Fanatec mentality of having to own a Fanatec wheel base. This wheel receives power and sends data via the QR2 quick release only. This makes it fully compatible with any QR2-enabled Fanatec wheel base like the Podium DD or CSL DD.

It is only PC compatible currently, which is a slight shame given the older wheel’s Xbox compatibility. I’ve been told that an Xbox-compatible version is in the works. However, that is likely to be a new variation of this wheel, so I highly doubt this current iteration will become Xbox-compatible in the future. If you like to sim race on a console, your only choice at the moment is to wait.

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Software

With a new display being one of the key features, I do want to look at the software that powers this. The Fanatec app has been a real area of improvement for the German brand in the past year. The appealing UI, and profile and game switching functionality is all great.

The app gives you a central place to make any setting tweaks, configure profiles and adjust how the ITM display works. Although, some customisation with the display is still lacking.

We can’t change modules to show exactly what we want like you can with say SimHub or even other manufacturers. What we can do is change the display layout between five presets, and adjust the behaviour of the display on track.

You can tell the display to automatically switch to temporary displays based on certain conditions. Such as when DRS activates, you make a brake bias tweak, or complete a lap. Its a fairly rudimental approach to telemetry displays, but it works and provides just enough of the information you need, with zero fuss.

With the rev and flag lights, you do get more customisation. You can change the colour and timing of all lights, and adjust the scenarios for when the flag lights appear. This is all pretty standard across most brands, but certainly good to be able to customise. You can also save different profiles, which can be assigned to automatically enable when you load your favourite game or car.

The larger display also makes tuning your wheel easier. You now get information about which setting you are changing, and this makes tuning your wheel using the display much more viable than before.

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Final Thoughts

That brings me to my final thoughts on the Fanatec Formula V3 wheel. I’ve had a few ups and downs with this wheel. When I first saw it, I was excited that we finally had a Formula wheel with a larger screen, followed by the immediate disappointment and realisation that this isn’t the large full colour 4inch + screen that we’d all hoped for.

However, this disappointment quickly subsided once I’d pinched myself and realised what this wheel means. At a price point under $400, this wheel lays out the new norm for a mid-range Fanatec wheel.

It has taken the architecture that has been established over the past decade with Fanatec’s Formula wheels. It’s an architecture and design language that I’ve used and loved for years. And it’s evolved it to be just that little bit better in almost all areas.

This isn’t a truly groundbreaking product release. But it is a statement of intent of what to expect from Fanatec moving forward. We have a wheel, that is pretty well priced, with a larger display, more refined inputs over its predecessor, and more customisable than ever.

While we have seen product launches since the CORSAIR acquisition including the Porsche Vision GT, an updated CSL GT3 wheel, and some other accessories and rims here and there. They have all felt like legacy products and to be honest, slightly outdated thanks to small screens, heavy uses of plastic and no real design innovation.

I feel this product at this price point, more than any of those I’ve just mentioned, and combined with the Podium DD wheel base. Really outlines the future direction, and dare I say it, a return to form for Fanatec.

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Frequently asked questions

Pros & Cons of the Fanatec Clubsport Formula V3 Steering Wheel

Pros

• Wider diameter makes the wheel feel more premium
• High quality materials through much of the wheel
• New OLED display adds much needed information
• Great ergonomics
• Some reworked inputs such as better thumb encoders

Cons

• Recycled design from the V2.5
• Not too much innovation
• No RGB buttons

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