Fanatec CSL DD Ready2Race 8 Nm bundle review

The Ready2Race 8 Nm combines the CSL DD base, the CSL P1 V2 wheel, the CSL pedals and the Boost Kit 180. It sells for 479.95 euros.

One thing only, and Fanatec's product page makes it hard to grasp. The Boost Kit 180 is a 180 W power supply that replaces the 90 W unit, rather than an accessory added to the box. Fanatec says so in a note: if you choose the Boost Kit, the standard power supply is not included. You leave with one unit, not two.

The base detects the larger unit by itself and unlocks the power. Maximum torque rises from 5 to 8 Nm, 60 % more, with no handling or setting required.

The gap between the two bundles is exactly 100.00 euros, and the Boost Kit sold alone costs 99.95 euros. So Fanatec gives no discount on this power upgrade: it is charged at list price, in the bundle as well as afterwards.

The two scenarios cost the same; what separates them is the 90 W unit. Order the 5 Nm bundle and add the Boost Kit later, and you end up with a power supply you will have no use for.

Compared with buying separately, the bundle costs 669.80 euros piece by piece against 479.95, 189.85 euros less. In euros, the saving is the same as with the 5 Nm version.

Torque stops being the limiting factor on heavy cars and single-seaters, where 5 Nm saturated. In GT and touring cars, the difference is less noticeable.

At 8 Nm, however, the mounting question becomes serious. A desk clamp flexes with every kerb strike, and what it absorbs never reaches your hands. The bundle contains no mount.

One detail worth knowing: the P1 V2 wheel caps the base at about 8 Nm. In this bundle the limit does not show, since the base tops out at exactly that figure. It will become a problem the day you fit this wheel to a more powerful base.

A PC bundle. The base could run on Xbox with a licensed wheel, but the P1 V2 supplied here is not one. No PlayStation console, in any configuration.