FINALLY A Sequential Shifter for Fanatec! | Oktane Designs Seq. Shifter V2 Review
This is the Oktane Designs sequential shifter V2 and you’ve probably never heard of it. It’s designed, developed, and hand-assembled in Ohio by one man, so how good could this actually be? What does it offer? And is it worth its nearly $300 price tag? Let’s find out.
Coming in at $290, I have with me the all-new, Fanatec-compatible Oktane Designs Sequential shifter. It’s made almost entirely of black powder-coated aluminum, comes with an interchangeable aluminum knob, and is designed from the ground up to deliver the utmost realistic sequential shifter experience. Out of the box you receive the shifter itself, a user manual, a small note, the cable needed to connect this shifter to a Fanatec base, and all the tools required to adjust and mount this shifter onto your chassis.
From a build quality perspective, it is second to none. Nearly 12” in height, 2.25” in width, and weighing just under 2 and a half pounds or slightly over one kilogram, it is a compact yet hefty bit of a gear which mounted onto my cockpit, looks absolutely stunning. Several adjustments can be made to increase or decrease the resistance as well as the travel of the shifter, and the knob can also be interchanged. Though I have no idea why anyone would want to do that as… just look at it.
Mounting options are limited with no side mount compatibility, but thankfully, two m5 T-nuts and bolts are included to easily mount this onto an aluminum profile frame. Talking about mounting this onto a cockpit, you pretty much need to as it requires significant force to push and pull. This is a high-end bit of gear intended for those with higher-end setups so I suspect that’s not much of a surprise though.
The unit I received from Oktane Designs for review is their Fanatec-compatible version. Instead of plugging in via USB onto my PC, this shifter will plug into the back of a Fanatec wheelbase with an included RJ12 cable. What this means is that since it is plugged into a Fanatec wheelbase, it can be used on console, assuming your wheelbase works for a console. For example, I am using a Fanatec GT DD Pro which means that I can use this shifter, along with the wheelbase, on my PlayStation and of course, my PC. What if you don’t have a Fanatec wheelbase and want to use this sequential shifter with USB instead? Well, you can either buy the Fanatec USB adapter, OR, you can buy the USB version of this Oktane Designs shifter which won’t be compatible with Fanatec, but will come with a USB cable that directly connects to a PC only.
So, the Oktane Designs sequential shifter is of great build quality, looks stunning, and offers more compatibility than most others. But, how does it actually perform in-game?
This shifter offers an extremely firm and tactile shifting experience. Strong neodymium magnets provide tension which can be significantly adjusted by placing the shift lever in one of three settings. The lowest resistance setting still requires a decent amount of force to actuate but comes nowhere close to the highest resistance which really puts your rig to the test. My personal favorite was the middle setting which I felt gave me a good in-between of both worlds. Similarly, the throw of the shifter can be adjusted in one of three ways, again, giving you more versatility. While it’s great that you can adjust this sequential shifter to fit your needs, I reckon that once you get it to where you like it, you won’t be making constant changes as it does take at least about a minute to make them, something which other shifters can do quicker.
Overall, the feel and immersion brought upon by this shifter has left me seriously impressed. It got to the point where I was unnecessarily up and downshifting just to feel the satisfying action of doing so. Of course, though, there is always a catch, and the catch of the Oktane Designs sequential shifter is that… at least in my experience… it is very loud and at its highest resistance, almost obnoxiously loud, just hear for yourself here.
This of course presents a serious problem for those living in apartments or townhomes, with family members, roommates, etc. as even my mom barged into my room wondering where the loud noise was coming from. Even at its lowest resistance setting, the noise was still noticeable which although adding to the immersion, could again, present a problem depending on your situation. I for example wouldn’t be using this shifter at night.
The Oktane Designs sequential shifter is not intended for your average sim racer. It’s not intended the average guy who enjoys casually racing on the weekends, the one cheating in f1 22, or the one having abysmal results on iRacing. No, it’s intended for those in search of the utmost realism, immersion, and adrenaline rush of putting a car at its limit while viciously shifting up and down gears, feeling a tactile and responsive action at every moment. For those who push the limits of what a sim can actually be and need high-end gear to come alive and disconnect from the worries of life.
$290 is a considerable amount of money to invest in a shifter, but for those in search of the utmost this hobby has to offer, I reckon it doesn’t get much better than this.
