Fanatec Podium DD Review

Watch our Fanatec Podium DD video review

Below is our complete video review of the Fanatec Podium DD, where I discuss everything in this written review, and bring you gameplay of this Wheel Base.

After a wait that felt like a lifetime, we finally have the next-generation Podium wheel base in our hands, and mounted to our sim rig. The Podium DD is the newest Fanatec wheel base to boast the Podium branding, having been a long 7 years since the DD2 released.

This new wheel base looks an awful lot like the ClubSport DD+, but packs a big punch with 25Nm of constant holding torque. This premium direct drive wheel has an all aluminium build, FullForce integration and what Fanatec are boasting as the widest dynamic range of any Fanatec wheel to date.

The guys at Fanatec and CORSAIR sent this review unit over for testing, so I’ve had a good month or so with this wheel on our rig. Let’s jump in and find out whether this wheel base has what it takes to take to rival brands such as MOZA, Asetek and Simucube, or if this is just a slightly more powerful ClubSport DD.

First new Podium wheel base in 7 years

Those who have followed Fanatec for a while, know it has three distinct product ranges. CSL, which is designated to their entry-level hardware. ClubSport which houses the brand’s mid-range gear, and Podium, which is reserved for only the most high-end products.

Now, Fanatec rarely break out the Podium branding. It’s been seven years since the DD1 and DD2, which were the last Podium wheel bases. Since then, we’ve only really had a few really expensive steering wheels that carry the name Podium.

So, a new wheel base, called Podium, is a big deal. At the time, the DD1 and DD2 were widely regarded as some of the best high-end direct drive wheels around. Since their launch, sim racing has exploded, and we’ve got a whole host of new brands, and with that, a huge array of direct drive wheels.

So in such a crowded market, Fanatec really has to nail this one.

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Price of the Fanatec Podium DD

While previously we had two Podium wheels, the DD1 and DD2. We currently only have this Podium DD. It’ll set you back just over the €1000 mark, at €1099.95 in Europe and $1199.99 in the United States.

Now, anything that tips into four figures in my books is incredibly expensive. However, these prices aren’t nearly as scary as I’d imagined. This is only €100 more than the ClubSport DD+, even though this Podium DD utilises more premium materials throughout, and pushes an additional 10Nm of torque.

This is a reflection of where Fanatec currently sit in the market. There is more competition than ever, with premium brand Simucube retailing their Sport wheel base at just over this price. And Fanatec’s biggest competitor MOZA Racing recently dropping their R25 Ultra wheel for €100 less. Fanatec simply couldn’t afford to release this Podium DD at any higher price, at risk of pricing themselves out.

Product	Price
Fanatec Podium DD Europe	EU: €1099.95
Fanatec Podium DD United States	US: $1199.99
Fanatec Podium DD Australia	AUD: $1799.90
Fanatec Podium DD Japan	JPY: 170,000.00

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What is the Fanatec Podium DD?

The Podium DD is a PC and Xbox compatible direct drive wheel base, although it’s important to note an Xbox compatible steering wheel is required for console compatibility. It boasts a consistent holding torque of 25Nm, which is much more impressive than the peak torque figures of yesteryear. If we’re looking at peak torque, the Podium DD has an overshoot of 33Nm, meaning it can hit 33Nm for short bursts at a time.

While the 25Nm force feedback doesn’t break any power records. Fanatec are pushing the fact that this wheel base has the widest dynamic range of any of their bases.

This is characterised by not just feeling strong enough to break your wrists. Instead, this emphasises the ability to run the base at a high power output and feel even more details than ever before.

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Unboxing and what’s included

From the first moment you open the Fanatec Podium DD box, the product feels just that bit more premium than other Fanatec products. The box itself is black with a spot UV finish, and has a rather unique opening latch on either side. Pop those into the unlocked position, and you can gain entry.

Inside is everything you need. You’ve got a 10cm shaft extension included which is cool to see. Although the shaft is much girthier than the GETAIL extension I’m running on my Simucube wheel, it still lets you mount your display for a slightly more realistic FOV.

It’s a nice and unexpected touch given that Fanatec currently sells a slightly longer 15cm extension for just over €100.

You get a range of cables including a couple of PSU adapters, the USB-C data cable and a huge power brick. There is also a couple of bags, one with T-nuts for mounting, and the other with the screws and gizmo needed to install the shaft extension.

Then you get the incredibly heavy Podium DD itself.

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The design

Fanatec must have been busy upgrading the internals of the Podium DD, and then looked at the exterior design and thought, “Meh, the ClubSport DD is good enough“. This thing looks identical to a ClubSport DD wheelbase.

When side by side, there are only a few tiny details that distinguish this wheel base apart from its Clubsport sibling. The overall form factor and dimensions are near identical.

At the front we have a bare metal finish around the steering shaft, the logos on the side have vanished, and been replaced by a 3D logo on the lower portion of the front.

If you like this styling, then you’re in luck, as Fanatec seem to be running with it. I would have preferred something a little different to set this wheel apart from the ClubSport DD. Now I’m not a huge fan of RGB lighting on wheel bases, but some small flair to shout “I’m more premium than a ClubSport DD” would have been nice.

If you look close enough and start feeling the wheel base, you’ll quickly notice there have been some upgrades. Both the front and rear portions of the shell are now finished in aluminium, compared to plastic on the CS DD. This is good progress, although I said all along that this should have been the case on the CS DD+ wheel anyway.

The on off button remains plastic, and while sounds a little nicer to interact with than the CS DD, still feels rather cheap with a lot of play in the button cap.

Connectivity

At the rear of the base, once again things are near on identical. The blue ring from the CS DD+ has been changed to a yellow ring, which is actually very similar to the cheaper ClubSport DD. The Fanatec logo is embossed again, much like the front.

But other than that, we’re looking at an almost identical port layout to the CS DD+. There are still direct connection ports for your shifter, handbrake and pedals, a CAN port for future compatibility, the PSU connection and a USB-C port which feels just as flimsy as on the ClubSport wheel bases.

Mounting

Another area thats the same are the mounting areas. There are two slot gaps on either side, with another three rails on the bottom. Around the front there are the same four mounting points if front mounting is your jam.

To be fair, these rails for mounting are actually my preferred method of mounting of almost any wheel base, from any brand. It opens up flexibility on the positioning of your mounting, as well as offering all three main mounting methods, front, side and bottom.

Just note, this Podium DD is considerably heavier than the ClubSport DD+, so you’ll need to ensure you have a sturdy sim rig to run this thing.

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Performance review

Consistent 25Nm of torque: What this means for sim racing

Fanatec have moved away from the terminology of peak torque, in favour of consistent torque. The previous generation of Fanatec Podium wheel bases boasted up to 25Nm of peak torque. This meant the maximum force feedback strength delivered from the DD2 was 25Nm of torque. Any forces above this simply clipped.

When you then hear the new Podium DD delivers 25Nm of consistent torque, you may think this is the same. However, the Podium DD can hold its output at 25Nm for a period of time without degradation. It can actually hit an overshoot peak of 33Nm.

This means the new Podium DD is considerably more powerful than the older DD2. A way to imagine this is if you are driving through a long corner, the Podium DD can hold 25Nm of torque throughout the entire corner. If you hit a kerb or bump during this, the peak output can temporarily jump up to 33Nm so you could feel the bump in your wheel while still maintaining the 25Nm output through the bend.

Previous generation wheel bases, would simply clip in this scenario as they had no headroom to overshoot into. This really does let you run the force feedback pretty high without worrying about clipping.

Now, I’m going to be honest and say that around 15-20Nm was more than strong enough for me. I have been racing using a variety of racing sims including ACC, LMU and iRacing primarily.

Most cars felt perfect at this 15-20Nm range, while I did boost this up closer to 25Nm for some cars such as the GTP or hypercar class. With these cars the force feedback felt a little lighter, so did benefit from a power bump.

Every car I drove felt great, with a really fast response from the wheel, especially at bumpy tracks such as Long Beach. At a track like long beach, I could really feel the range of the force feedback. The weight and resistance of the car through corners where the car is loaded such as turns 5, 6 and 8 is great, and hitting the kerbs or a bump mid corner doesn’t muddy the feedback.

On top of this fantastic feedback, FullForce was in full effect. This is the vibration technology that Fanatec introduced with the ClubSport DD wheels. It utilises your car’s revs, as well as high-frequency road details to vibrate your steering wheel.

These go a long way to adding to the overall experience and immersion, by allowing you to feel those hums and vibrations from your car that you would if you were actually sat in the drivers seat.

Does the Podium DD redefine force feedback compared to the ClubSport DD+. Well, no. What it does is deliver faster response times, much more range of power and headroom, and a better general feel over how your car is reacting to the road with crispier details, especially at lower torque ranges.

Noise and heat

In terms of heat and noise, there really isn’t much to shout about. Fanatec have done a great job in this department, with very little heat build up, and a generally quiet base. The most noise comes from the FullForce vibrations which, depending on the wheel you are using can cause some minor rattling in your steering wheel or sim rig.

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Software

Fanatec have pretty much fully transitioned to their new software, leaving the old Fanatec Control Panel and Fanalab in the dirt. This software, if you haven’t used it yet, combines all settings, profiles and presets into a pretty nicely designed app.

You can jump in and adjust some key basic settings on the wheel base, and you have options for advanced settings as well if you want a little more control.

Like most Fanatec products, you can create 5 different setups that are saved to the base, allowing you to quickly switch between them. You can also add various profiles for specific games or cars, to open up even more customisation.

These settings are pretty well labelled when hovering over each one, giving you an insight into what the slider changes. If you’ve ever used a Fanatec base before, all of the settings will be instantly recognisable, and I do appreciate that Fanatec haven’t gone down the rabbit hole of offering too many settings to tweak.

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Final Thoughts

That brings me onto my final thought on the Fanatec Podium DD. This wheel base definitely represents progression with improvements over the ClubSport DD+ in all areas. The build quality is nicer, the force feedback is stronger and more precise.

If you have already spent your thousand dollars or euros buying a ClubSport DD+, then there is definitely no rush to go and buy this Podium DD. It is essentially the same wheel base, just a little better.

If, however, you held onto your money and didn’t buy the CS DD. Then, this Fanatec Podium DD has really gone and made the CS DD+ redundant. You’re only paying €100 more, for a big step in force feedback strength, and other improvements all round. That cost increase is justified by the shaft extension alone.

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Frequently asked questions

Pros & Cons of the Fanatec Podium DD

Pros

• Improves on the ClubSport DD+ in all areas
• Nice all-metal build quality
• More than enough torque headroom at 33Nm
• Incredibly precise FFB details
• Shaft extension included

Cons

• No design improvements over the CS DD

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