You NEED This for Gran Turismo 7 | Fanatec GT DD EXTREME REVIEW
This is the brand new Fanatec GT DD Extreme, and it's the most powerful officially licensed Gran Turismo direct drive system ever. It comes with a redesigned wheel made specifically for use on Sony’s Gran Turismo 7, features new functionalities, and packs more Newton meters of torque than the new ClubSport DD, but also retails for a staggering $1300.
I’ve spent the last several weeks putting this product to its paces, so today, I’ll be walking you all through everything both the wheelbase and wheel rim have to offer, its in-game performance, what I do and do not like, and whether this truly is the best it can get for console users. Keep in mind that if this review provides any value to you and you are interested in making a purchase, using the following affiliate links will help me keep making these videos at no extra cost to you, so a big thank you to all of you who do:
The Fanatec GT DD Extreme package combines the existing and recently released Fanatec ClubSport DD+ with the redesigned Gran Turismo steering wheel, designed by Polyphony Digital, the creators of the game. Unlike typical sim racing bundles that include a wheelbase, wheel, and pedal set, this $1300 package does not include pedals, which was surprising for reasons I'll discuss later. With that said, let's begin by reviewing the wheel rim, followed by the wheelbase, and conclude with my final thoughts.
Wheel Rim
Though similar in design to the original wheel included with the less powerful CSL GT DD Pro bundle, this new version features various significant changes, most prominently, its size. Increased from 280mm to now 300mm, the change may not seem like much, but when compared side-by-side, it is extremely prominent and addresses a major complaint of the previous model. Wrapped in leather, the look and feel of this wheel have also been upgraded.
To complete its more subtle yet serious look, many sleek silver accents, as well as a large telemetry display and customizable backlighting behind the 5-way directional sticks, have been added. All in all, this has created a wheel rim which I won't say is beautiful, but is certainly a lot more refined and sophisticated than the previous model. It's also worth noting that the increase in size has made a night and day difference here, as this rim never felt too small or toy-like.
Designed specifically for use on Sony's Gran Turismo 7, it's clear who the target market of this bundle is, and after using this product on GT7 myself, I can attest to the wide functionality and ease of use this rim provides in-game. Not only does it come configured out of the box for several in-game functions, but its wide array of buttons, directional sticks, and more gave me all the functionality I could want.
Ergonomically, this wheel isn't bad. Despite its strange-looking arrangement of buttons and directional sticks, I was able to easily access all of them without needing to take my hands off the wheel. It's worth noting that there are no grooves or indents to help with comfort or hand placement, like you'd find with the Moza CS wheel and many other competitors, something I would have liked to see here. More specifically regarding the functionality, a total of 19 programmable RGB LEDs are found, consisting of the diffused RevLED strip, RGB flag LEDs, and the backlit rings around the directional sticks.
The 2.7” OLED display on the rim is also impressive, though at the time of release, its full functionality, like you'll find in some of Fanatec’s marketing material, won't be available in any other games but Assetto Corsa Competizione on PC. I am told that game developers are currently implementing this telemetry display into their games for maximum functionality, but as of the release of this video, ACC will be the only one able to make full use of it thus far.
For a product of this price point, I was a little disappointed with the overall quality of this wheel, as simply put, there's just a lot of plastic to it. Besides the leather-wrapped wheel rim, the entire faceplate, buttons, and overall housing of this rim is made from hard plastic. This also gives an underwhelming feel on hand, as the plasticky feel and click of the buttons don't hold up to what many competitors offer at lesser price points.
Behind the rim, you'll notice that the new GT DD Extreme comes fitted with the QR2 Lite quick release. If you want to know more about my thoughts on the new QR2, feel free to watch my dedicated reviews on those, but overall, it does a good job at remaining firm, but it doesn't look the best, and I'm also surprised to see it didn't come with the regular QR2 considering it's meant to be used with a 15nm wheelbase.
Back here, you'll also find the magnetic paddle shifters. These are 3mm thick and made of black anodized aluminum, which gives them a nice feel. They're also very clicky and responsive, giving me ample feedback of when I had shifted. Not evenly aligned with the paddle shifters, the two analogue clutch paddles are found below, and they do have enough travel and quite a bit of resistance.
Four switchable modes are available for them: the clutch bite-point mode, which comes as standard; the clutch/handbrake mode; the brake/throttle mode, which is great for people with disabilities; and the mappable axis mode, where you can make them function however you'd like.
In-Game Wheel Performance
In-game, I used this wheel both on PC and PlayStation, and with regards to how this wheel actually performs, I have no complaints.
Despite the lack of premium materials used in its construction, I found no noticeable flex or anything that really prevented me from driving at my highest level. Used on PC, the number of directional sticks on this rim will certainly be overkill, and I did struggle to find a use for all of them, but as I mentioned, this rim is optimized for the Gran Turismo interface, so in that game, its design choices made a lot more sense.
On track, the QR2 Lite also held up well, even when running the ClubSport DD+ at its maximum 15nm of torque. So, all in all, despite some of the choices I don’t like that Fanatec made with this wheel, when it comes to its actual use and performance, especially on Gran Turismo 7, there’s not much I can complain about.
With that said, let’s now turn our attention to the star of the show and undeniably the reason behind this product's $1300 price tag, of course, the ClubSport DD+ itself.
What is GT DD Extreme
Just to clear things up, the GT DD Extreme isn’t a different wheelbase from the ClubSport DD+ which Fanatec released only a few months ago. The name GT DD Extreme is only given to this bundle, which comes with this 15nm wheelbase and the Gran Turismo rim we just went over. So, let's get started with the ClubSport DD+.
Released alongside the 12nm Fanatec ClubSport DD, two main differences are found with this wheelbase, and as such, they demand a higher price tag. One of those big updates is its increased torque figure, going from 12 to 15nm of constant torque. This change is certainly noticeable, but I’ll talk more about it later in this review.
The second update, and without a doubt the big ticket item when it comes to this base, will be its PlayStation 4 and 5 compatibility, which officially makes this wheelbase, according to Fanatec, “the most powerful official Gran Turismo direct drive system ever.” I’m not sure why they say this, considering the existing Podium Racing Wheel F1 also works with PlayStation and has 20nm of torque, but whatever.
Now, this base itself is very, very similar, and damn near identical to the 12nm Fanatec ClubSport DD I reviewed just a few weeks ago. So, if you want to get a really good idea of this wheelbase, make sure to watch this video to learn more about the build quality, functionality, features, and everything of that sort, as everything I said about that wheelbase there will also apply here. With regards to this review, though, I’ll go over everything unique to the ClubSport DD+ in order to keep this review concise and relevant to those considering the DD+.
GT DD Extreme Wheelbase
With its 15nm of constant torque, the ClubSport DD+ is undeniably powerful, and I can comfortably say that for the vast majority of users, it will be more than enough out on the track. For a significant portion of my testing, I was running this wheelbase maxed out and nearly always found myself lowering the resistance closer to 10 to 12nm as time progressed. It's for this reason that unless you know you want more torque or simply need the PlayStation compatibility, I would highly recommend looking into the regular ClubSport DD that was released alongside this wheelbase and save yourself a few hundred bucks in the process.
When it comes to pricing, it's also very much worth noting that although the GT DD Extreme package retails for $1300, you can also buy this wheelbase by itself for $999 or forgo the 3 added Newton meters of torque and PlayStation compatibility and spend just $799 on the regular ClubSport DD.
Brand new for both the ClubSport DD and DD+ is the inclusion of Full Force, a Fanatec-only feature that provides vibrations based on sound effects to offer super low-latency effects, adding another level of immersion. I inquired Fanatec about the compatibility of this effect and, unfortunately, was told there is no game that officially supports this feature yet, although iRacing and Gran Turismo 7 are diligently working to implement it as soon as possible.
For this reason, as soon as this feature is released, I will be making an updated review on this wheelbase, focusing on seeing if that feature is really worth it. From my experience using Full Force at the Sim Racing Expo a few months ago, though, I am very optimistic about its impact, as I remember being extremely impressed with it at that time, but I do need to test it out myself to get a full understanding.
Regardless of Full Force not yet being implemented in sim titles, the wheelbase itself is still extremely impressive. It operates dead silently and comes with an updated passively cooled system to keep the temperature steady and performance consistent, regardless of the load you put on it.
It's certainly worth noting that, on top of having support for PlayStation and PC, Xbox users will also be able to use this wheelbase, although you will need to be using an Xbox-compatible wheel rim like the F1 eSports rim to achieve that compatibility. This is because Fanatec implements Sony’s PlayStation chip on the licensed wheelbases and Xbox-compatible chips on Fanatec steering wheels. As such, if you're using this wheelbase with an Xbox-compatible rim, which is sold separately, you can achieve the holy trinity of compatibility. To change what console you're using this base with, all you'll need to do is, of course, have this wheelbase plugged into your PC, PlayStation, or Xbox, and then press the power button to switch between which mode is active.
Again, more details regarding what's new with the ClubSport DDs can be found in my full review on the CS DD wheelbase, so I won't repeat everything here. Just note that all in all, the in-game performance of this base is easily some of the best, and I am confident that as soon as Full Force kicks in, the Fanatec ClubSport lineup of wheelbases will have that leg up on similar mid-range competitors that have been chipping away at this market within the last years.
Regarding my experience using this wheelbase on console, surprisingly, it wasn't much different from using it on PC at all. The maximum performance was still there, and very importantly, I was still able to make all the adjustments and fine-tuning on this wheelbase using the tuning menu on the small OLED display. The tuning menu integrated here still gives you all of the features you would find on the Fanalab software on PC, so you don’t miss out on anything crucial.
In general, although I'm not a fan of the Gran Turismo 7 driving physics, this wheelbase did give me all the detail, feedback, and max force I could want, and it's for that reason, and of course Fanatec’s exclusivity when it comes to direct-drive systems on PlayStation, that I can say with confidence that when it comes to PlayStation users in specific, this really is the top of the line at the moment when it comes to refinement, consistent performance, and detail, even without the full functionality integrated in-game just yet.
Regarding the GT DD Extreme bundle in particular, the only decision I found strange was that no pedal set comes included. This, of course, means that if you’re starting from zero and are buying this base for use on PlayStation, you will need a Fanatec pedal set so you can plug them directly onto the wheelbase and have that in-game functionality. If you don’t buy a Fanatec pedal set or don’t plug it into the wheelbase directly, you won’t be able to use those pedals on PlayStation, so make sure you don’t mix that up.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t satisfied with the GT DD Extreme bundle. Although I wish the rim had a more premium feel, it’s still very much functional and holds up well on track, and the wheelbase, with its added torque and compatibility, makes it extremely desirable to sim racers on consoles.
It's also very good that Fanatec sells the wheelbase separately, so if you’re already invested in the Fanatec ecosystem and don’t have a need or want for this rim in particular, you can save $300 by getting the base by itself.
Finally, this has been my review of the brand new Fanatec GT DD Extreme bundle. As always, comment down below letting me know your thoughts on this product, and if you are interested in purchasing, keep in mind that using my affiliate links gives a small commission to me at zero extra cost to you and helps me keep pumping out this content, so a massive thank you to all of you who do. With that said, though, thank you all for reading, stay safe, and have a fantastic rest of your day.
