Our Verdict
Pros
- Great direct drive performance
- Direct drive compatible with PS5
- Quiet during operation
- Comes bundled with a wheel and pedals
Cons
- Steering wheel looks & feels cheap
- Not available to buy separately
- Needs boost kit
What is the Fanatec Gran Turismo DD Pro?
Ever since Fanatec released the CSL DD back in mid-2021, sim racers everywhere were waiting for the official PlayStation-compatible racing wheel to be announced. After what seemed like an eternity, Fanatec released the Gran Turismo DD Pro in November 2021.
Since the launch, the GT DD Pro has gone on to become one of Fanatec’s most popular and best-selling racing wheels, and for good reason.
The GT DD Pro sim racing wheel can be purchased individually or as part of a bundle. While it is very similar to the CSL DD, it offers expanded compatibility and can really be seen as Fanatec’s flagship mid-range racing wheel.
The good news, if you are looking to buy a GT DD Pro bundle, is that all of the bundles include both a steering wheel and a pedal set along with the direct drive wheelbase. This means you can plug it all in straight out of the box and go racing straight away. And there is no need to purchase any additional components before being able to sim race with the GT DD Pro.
The other great news is that Fanatec worked closely alongside Polyphony Digital, developers of Gran Turismo, to ensure this wheel works perfectly with the upcoming Gran Turismo game. I’ll touch more on this licensing deal later on in the review.
Different GT DD Pro Versions Explained
Below are all of the Gran Turismo DD Pro bundles that you can currently buy.
- GT DD Pro Bundle (5 Nm) – $/€699.95
- GT DD Pro Bundle (8 Nm) – $/€799.90
- GT DD Pro wheel base (8 Nm) – $/€599.95
As you can see, there are a few variations of the GT DD Pro, some bring more features to the party than others. This choice is really down to personal preference, whether you want the Gran Turismo licensed steering wheel and how much budget you have.
Gran Turismo DD Pro Bundle (5Nm)
The base version of the Gran Turismo DD Pro features the PlayStation version of the base CSL DD wheelbase. It creates 5Nm of torque, which is sent directly through the steering shaft via direct drive technology.
5Nm of torque isn’t overly strong for a direct drive wheel base, but it is more than powerful enough for many casual sim racers. It is a great entry point into the Fanatec ecosystem.
You will also receive the Gran Turismo-licensed steering wheel. I’ll cover this steering wheel in more detail later, but it features a wide range of inputs allowing you to adjust your car while racing. It also features a bright OLED display and rev lights, paddle shifters, and a perforated rubber grip.
Finally, the bundle includes the new and improved CSL 2-pedal set. These pedals have magnetic sensors and come with just two pedals: a throttle and a brake pedal.
Gran Turismo DD Pro Bundle (8Nm)
For an additional $/€100 you can upgrade and purchase the 8Nm version of the GT DD Pro bundle. This bundle features everything you get in the 5Nm bundle, but with the addition of the Boost Kit 180.
This kit boosts the power output of your GT DD Pro wheelbase up to 8Nm of torque. That is a considerable jump over 5Nm, and I recommend it.
See why I’d recommend the 8Nm version in my CSL DD in-depth review where I cover the differences between the 5Nm and 8Nm versions.
Gran Turismo DD Pro Wheel Base (8Nm)
Finally, if you don’t fancy the Gran Turismo licensed steering wheel, or if you already have some Fanatec products, you can buy the GT DD Pro wheel base on its own.
You can only purchase the wheel base individually in its 8Nm form; you cannot currently buy it in its 5Nm form.
Buying the wheel base individually will save you $/€100 compared to the 5Nm bundle, and $/€200. If you don’t plan to use the included steering wheel or pedals, this is worth doing.
The Gran Turismo DD Pro design reviewed
The GT DD Pro has split opinions around the sim racing community over its design. Most sim racers are extremely happy to have a PlayStation-compatible version of the CSL DD available to buy. However, some have criticised the design of the steering wheel itself. You can certainly see the influence of Japanese developer Polyphony digital.
The wheelbase design
The design of the wheelbase is very similar to that of the CSL DD. It takes the same form factor, similar design aspects, but with a few tweaks to show that you have the GT DD Pro version.
If you are interested, I have a more in-depth design review in my CSL DD review.
I won’t cover the entire design in too much detail as I have already covered the majority of it in my CSL DD review. But I will touch on the differences.
There are subtle differences throughout the wheelbase design, from the more rounded corners to the ventilated front panel. These don’t really add or remove anything from a design perspective and presumably were done more so you can quickly differentiate between the CSL DD and the GT DD Pro.
The largest design change comes at the rear of the wheelbase. Gone is the solid square design from the CSL DD. Instead, Fanatec has designed in a circular aesthetic. This large circular design features a bright blue ring at its outer edge with a domed inset panel housing your connection ports.
I really like this design. Although you don’t often look at the rear of your racing wheel when you do, this design works much better than the square block of the CSL DD.
Is the Gran Turismo license important?
Fanatec has pulled a big win out of the bag by securing a licensing deal with Polyphony Digital, maker of Gran Turismo. It’s great to be able to call this an official Gran Turismo racing wheel for PlayStation. This deal will help both brands promote their corresponding products and should help Fanatec reach a wider audience with this racing wheel bundle.
Since the release of the GT DD Pro, Fanatec has released an upgraded Gran Turismo bundle. Read our Gran Turismo DD Extreme review to find out whether it is an improvement on the GT DD Pro.
The steering wheel design
The steering wheel itself features some of the great features of normal Fanatec wheels, but I really dislike the wheel design. Fanatec has said they worked with Polyphony Digital to design and create this steering wheel and you can tell. As it isn’t up to the usual standard of other Fanatec wheels.
Most Fanatec wheels are heavily inspired by real steering wheels found in motorsports. The use of materials such as Alcantara and Carbon Fibre is what set Fanatec’s wheels apart from the competition. Normally, Fanatec really hits the mark with their wheel designs. Just look at the Formula V2.5 steering wheel, it is a thing of beauty.
If you remove the Fanatec OLED display, this Gran Turismo licensed steering wheel looks like it could have been included in a $/€300 racing wheel bundle.
The combination of the huge amounts of plastic on show, with the brightly coloured directional sticks, and the rubber grip really let this wheel down. It appears to have been designed to reflect the more casual nature of a game like Gran Turismo. In isolation from the rest of the Fanatec gear, the steering wheel looks much more like a toy, rather than a motorsport wheel.
The newly designed CSL pedals
Getting back to an original Fanatec product, the CSL pedals feature a much cleaner design. These pedals are designed to replace the all-black CSL Elite pedals, and they certainly look the part. They are made of solid steel and have a black and silver design.
These pedals have been upgraded over the older CSL Elite pedals by adding magnetic hall-effect sensors. This means that the pedal position is now measured contactlessly meaning you won’t encounter any wear or performance degradation over time.
Depending on one whether you purchase the base GT DD Pro or the premium bundle, you can upgrade these pedals to feature a load-cell brake pedal. (The load-cell is included with premium bundles) The load-cell pedal really helps this pedal set come alive by closely replicating real-world braking performance.
The load-cell pedal gets added as a third pedal into the set acting as your brake pedal. It utilises an adjustable load-cell braking system that measures pressure rather than distance. This is much closer to real-world cars which can utilise the force you put into the pedal to dictate brake pressure.
GT DD Pro performance
Let’s jump into testing the GT DD Pro performance, this is the part where things really matter. Just how good (or bad) is the Gran Turismo DD Pro?
I have already covered much of this performance review in my Fanatec CSL DD review. I suggest reading that for a more in-depth review. Here, I will outline the performance rather than bring you my deep-dive review, as I’ve already covered that in my Fanatec CSL DD review.
The 5Nm base wheelbase does a great job of bringing direct drive technology to an affordable budget. While 5Nm of torque isn’t overly strong, it feels adequate when racing. But due to the direct drive technology, the clarity and detail of the force feedback is vastly improved over belt-driven racing wheels.
While the 5Nm of torque is adequate for most scenarios, everything jumped up a gear when the 8Nm is in force. This is a result of the Boost Kit 180 which is part of the premium bundle, and it really does transform the experience.
Suddenly, all forces are much stronger, and you can feel when you start to break traction much easier. While the 8Nm of torque won’t necessarily make you faster than the 5Nm setup, it will certainly provide you with increased force feedback, giving you the tools to make decisions more easily.
During longer periods of operation, the wheelbase only ever got slightly warm. There were no real heat issues at all. Also, the noise is surprisingly quiet for a wheelbase. There is no internal fan, so it can operate almost entirely silently.
For the price, the performance offered by the GT DD Pro is mightily impressive.
Which GT DD Pro bundle is best?
It’s great that there are a few different bundles to purchase, as different sim racers will want different things out of their sim racing wheel.
If you’re after the best experience, then the premium bundle will be your go-to. It includes a more powerful wheelbase thanks to the Boost Kit, as well as a load-cell brake pedal. And both of these additions are well worth the upgrade.
However, if you are keen to join the Fanatec ecosystem while keeping your budget down, the base bundle is still a great buy.
The base bundle includes the 5Nm wheelbase, which is still impressive for the price. And you’ll get the two-pedal set. While not including a load-cell brake, the two-pedal set is still a great piece of hardware and a big improvement over similarly priced pedals from other brands.
You can only decide which bundle works best for you. It is great to see Fanatec offering a range of options, as the more choice a consumer has, the better! (My pick would certainly be the premium bundle due to the upgrades, which cost more to add on if purchased separately.)
Gran Turismo DD Pro price
That brings me nicely to the price and whether the Gran Turismo DD Pro is worth the money Fanatec is asking for it. By breaking down all of the products, we can see if the bundle represents good value or not.
Despite the wheelbase not being sold individually, we can look at the CSL DD as it is almost identical. The CSL DD 5Nm wheelbase retails for $/€349.95. The CSL pedals (two-pedal set) retails at $/€79.95. You also get the ClubSport table clamp V2 included in all bundles which is priced at $/€59.95.
So far, that brings the value of products up to $/€489.85, and that is before we account for the steering wheel. Removing that value from the overall bundle price of $/€699.95 leaves us with a cost of around $/€210 for the steering wheel itself.
As you will have read above, you will know that I have issues with this steering wheel, mainly feeling a little cheap and toy-like. So is the steering wheel really worth over $/€200.
As a comparison, Fanatec’s lowest price steering wheels, if purchased separately, cost from $/€139.95, with most retailing for well over $/€200. While I am not a fan of the steering wheel design or the materials used, it comes with all the functionality of higher-priced Fanatec steering wheels.
So to include the steering wheel into this bundle at around $/€210 isn’t too bad. Overall, the base 5Nm bundle doesn’t bring too much in the form of savings, but the value does represent the price you are paying.
GT DD Pro compatibility
When the original CSL DD was released in mid-2021, one of the biggest complaints was that it was only compatible with Xbox consoles and PCs. The GT DD Pro has fixed this issue by being natively PlayStation compatible.
In addition, the GT DD Pro wheelbase is compatible with both Xbox and PlayStation. This is due to how Fanatec handles console compatibility. Here is a great guide on how Fanatec handles console compatibility.
Essentially, the CSL DD wheelbase will only ever be compatible with PC and Xbox, while the GT DD Pro wheelbase is compatible with Xbox, PlayStation, and PC. However, you will need to purchase an additional Xbox-compatible steering wheel for the GT DD Pro to work with your Xbox console.
If you purchase an additional Xbox-compatible steering wheel, your whole racing setup will become Xbox-compatible. This applies to the pedals and any other Fanatec peripherals you attach such as a shifter.
Ultimately, if you are a cross-console sim racer, buying the GT DD Pro will enable you to race on both consoles using the same wheelbase!
Should you buy the Gran Turismo DD Pro?
This brings us to whether the Gran Turismo DD Pro is a recommended buy. Quite honestly, if you are a PlayStation sim racer, it is a strong buy from me.
There is no other PlayStation-compatible wheelbase on the market at this price that delivers the quality of force feedback that the GT DD Pro does. Combine this with the great Fanatec ecosystem, and the pedals which also perform fantastically, and you have the combination for a winning product.
My only criticism of this product is of the steering wheel. It looks much cheaper than other Fanatec steering wheels, and the build quality isn’t much better than lower-cost alternatives.
However, over time, a simple steering wheel upgrade from Fanatec and you will have a sim racing wheel that will last you an awfully long time!
Technical Specifications
Review written by Felix König
