My CSL Elite V1.1 lost half it's FFB after a driver update
Scott Coffey
Member
I have the CSL Elite V1.1 and the Porsche 918 rim. I (stupidly) decided to try the latest Fanatec driver, so I updated from the 336 driver that was installed, to the 380 RC driver. I updated the firmware as part of the update process. I duplicated my wheel settings (the recommended settings for ACC) and I hadn't changed any in-game settings, so everything should have been the same as before the driver update, but when I fired up ACC, my FFB was about half of what is was before the update. Not good. So, I tried going back to the original driver (336) and also downgraded the firmware, but it didn't change anything. I still have less FFB than I did originally.
I just installed this brand new wheel on Monday. I had an image backup of my system from the Saturday before, so I restored that (so now Windows had never seen the wheel) and tried installing the 336 driver ( (as if for the first time) , but still no joy. That tells me that the issue must be in the wheelbase firmware.
Does anyone have an idea how I might fix this?
Comments
Hi Scott,
That's very odd. Usually the reason why something feels different after a firmware update is because of the Tuning Menu reset. But if you've matched the Tuning Menu and in-game settings, then it should behave the same. Our firmware updates don't change the torque values that the hardware can produce.
Please try an alternative driver, such as 346.
https://forum.fanatec.com/discussion/1054/fanatec-beta-driver-v346-for-csl-csw-and-podium-bases-all-wheels/p1
Ensure that you install both the wheel base and motor firmware (I'm referring to the motor firmware included in the driver package, not the extra one on that page which is not necessary for this test).
Would also be useful to test more than one game, and ideally, on more than one system.
[Fanatec Community Manager]
I've actually tried a half-dozen different drivers with no change. In addition to 336 and 380, I tried 373, 337 and 330. Nothing changes, although I didn't try updating the motor firmware with each.
The problem I'm experiencing is reduced FFB. It's especially troublesome on corner entry... I find myself spinning out because I can't feel when the tires lose grip.
As for the motor firmware.... oddly, when I use the 380 driver, the ability to update motor firmware disappears. Here are screenshots of the "Update" tab from both the 336 driver (my original driver) and the 380 driver:
Note the missing "Update Wheel Base Motor Firmware" button on the 380 driver, and it doesn't list the current version of the motor firmware.
I'll try reinstalling the 336 driver and also updating the motor firmware along with the wheel base firmware to see if that makes a difference, but I'm suspecting that the problem is with the wheel base itself. I've already asked for an RMA. I'll leave that request in place unless updating the motor firmware during the 336 driver install fixes the problem.
Thanks for the reply. :)
So, I reinstalled 336 and in addition to the wheel base firmware, I updated the motor firmware, although it told me that the current firmware was already installed. It didn't change anything.
I noticed that there was a new 381 driver, so I thought I would give it a try. It didn't change anything either. But, it also acted like the 380 driver. The firmware update process is a bit different (there is no "connect" button, just a "flash" button) and there is also no capability to update the motor firmware with this driver.
I'll leave my RMA request in place.
Well that was embarrassing...
This is evidently a game issue. ACC got a game update at the same time I did the driver update. There was such a massive difference in handling and grip (loss of FFB) that I assumed it was the wheel. I was able to revert to an earlier version of the game and the wheel was back to normal.
Sorry for the noise.