FANATEC ALTERNATIVE? - VNM H-Pattern & Sequential All-In-One Sim Racing Shifter Review
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- Опубліковано 21 лип 2024
- With the ability to switch between H-Pattern and Sequential shifting modes, the VNM Sim Racing Shifter looks to be an excellent alternative or potential upgrade to the popular Fanatec Shifter. So let's take a detailed look at exactly what you get for your money and how the experience stacks up!
Thanks very much to VNM SImulation and Trak Racer for sending us this product for review.
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MORE INFORMATION:
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VNM WEBSITE:
vnmsimulation.com/
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TIME STAMPS:
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Intro: 0:00
Important Information: 0:33
Pricing: 1:25
Hardware Overview: 2:57
Hardware Internals: 11:54
Software Overview: 14:48
Driving Experience - Sequential: 20:56
Driving Experience - H-Pattern: 26:32
Conclusions: 30:58
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#simracing #shifter #vnm - Ігри
Will, this comment might go unnoticed but thank you so very much for all the work that you do for us. Genuinely for beginners who have no idea what to do with stuff, you explain in such a simple yet short manner. Thank you once again. Don't ever stop please.
Edit - typo
Thanks very much ❤️ Comments like this really so mean the world to us.
I picked up their pedals a few weeks ago and have been very happy. Jumping from my G29, I kept it in stock brake configuration and I've been running that without issues. LC does make a huge difference in improvement and feel, especially running open wheel Vees!
oh dude perfect timing I just was wondering about this shifter. Looked at the date of the video and was like "oh wait this was JUST uploaded"
Thanks for the videos. And i mean all of em. I usually cant hang on to a 40 minute video but I never skip thru yours. Dont want to miss anything. Excellent review. I ordered this one, so looking forward to it.
Wasn't expecting to see a Vietnamese product on the channel! Looking forward to seeing their other products in the future.
I have this shifter and handbrake. Great quality. For the mounts I found some angle brackets at Bunnings that were already predrilled to the right spacing. Literally bolted straight on to my Trak racer tr160
22:31 this is so important and thank you for mentioning that
The plate that they sell to mount the handbrake does this in a way that the handbrake blocks the tensioning screw so that a no go
I saw a guy add a spring inside the shifter to stop the easy side to side movement, was pretty genius to just slide a spring on the 2 upward rods
been racing gran turismo since a kid in 2000s. as an american with vietnamese background, im actually excited that vietnam started making sim racing equipment!
Timely review. Thinking about picking one of these up. Wonder if they couldnt have used some magnets for the top plates. Might even be possibly to modify it to use magnets and then a hook style tool through a hole to pull it out.
I was thinking the exact same thing. Some strong neodymium magnets may make the top plate switch much faster and easier.
Ir just replace the screws with knurled screw. I would be afraid that magnets wouldn’t be strong enough during spirited driving.
Great shifter. Got the new version. Only problem with mine was that eventually the screws that held the detent plate started to come loose so I had to put blue Loctite on them. So far everything seems to be working great 3 months down the road. I would highly recommend it. Feels great!!
how is it now?
@@Xide1x so far so good. Still banging through the gears. At times you have to retighten the detent if you want the shifter to feel stiff again but it's rare. Overall I would highly recommended it.
@@mercenarysaw ahh ok thanks
great video im thinking that i will upgrade to these
love you guys
Thanks for this video. Does this Shifter and Ebrake work on console as well and I'd it does should I wait for something new from Fanetec themselves?
Looks like a good product. Looks well made and changing the top plate wouldn't be a big thing for me, especially if you get some 4 knurled screws as one poster said below. Tool-free, good idea.
The reliability over the Fanatec shifter would be an an advantage too. Their shifter has a weird mis-shifting issue that is fairly common.
Havent had much experience with gated h-pattern shifters but is it typical to have that much spring action when in neutral? If one lets go of the shifter ball in the neutral position the shifter ball bounces from side to side like crazy partially just from the weight of the ball and the tension spring inside the shifter, isnt neutral supposed to be just that? No action at all?
How does this compare to the frex and simvertex shifters, im looking to upgrade from a th8a
I'm not sure I totally agree with your findings. While the sequential did feel a little better than the fanatic,I wouldn't see it as a game changer and I found the h shifter more difficult to get used to. Navigating between 5th,6th and reverse was always worrisome(2nd and 3rd took getting used to but then became fine). I loved the adjustability of the knobs and didn't have any problems with them. I thought it a simple handy way of lengthening or shortening the throw particularly for h pattern. Ultimately, I went back to the fanatec shifter. If I wanted a dedicated sequential I'd go with heusinkveld which,to my mind,feels better than either vnm or fanatec. But I prefer to just have one, and the fanatec allows me more reassuring shifts in h pattern. The ease of changing between shift types is a huge difference. I know,thumb screws make it less laborious but I can change the fanatec with a vr mask on. While the fanatec isn't fantastic in either area it feels the most competent as an overall package when essentially it's a similar price( in Europe at least when considering import tariffs etc. That obviously depends on where you are). I don't want to knock vnm. They've made a good package but the fanatec is hard to beat at the price point for a person like me that does regularly change types of car during a sitting
I'm honestly not sure where your experience varies greatly from ours. Did you skim the video? It sounds like you may have missed the parts where I discussed similar observations to yours.
@@boostedmedia hi there, please excuse the delay as I wanted to rewatch the full video to make sure I hadn't missed bits and bods. Yes,you do mention all of the salient points but I stand by my general disagreement with you(naturally,this is all subjective and I don't mean to be critical. The review is great,as they generally are). Your conclusion is that it gives a slightly better sensation in h pattern and decidedly better in sequential. I disagree in particular with the h pattern conclusion. With the fanatec I've never had to think much about going from 5th to 6th or 4th to 3th for example. I could just throw them in and 99% it went where it should. I found the vnm required more focus and thought as I downshifted and upshifted. Not mistaking 6th gear with reverse required a tiny bit of attention which isn't necessary with the fanatec (having reverse on the opposite side and with that push mechanism before it engages). With the sequential, I find both fanatec and vnm to be adequate but neither are particular ly convincing. So particularly if we talk about the Australian market where you say the vnm is more expensive by 100 dollars, I would still stick with the fanatec as the better compromise unless we start talking about much more expensive alternatives. Like I ,and you,said this is all rather subjective but I never reached the comfort levels that I have with the fanatec. Please, don't take this as any kind of attack,I just wanted to share my experiences having used both. Maybe I'd think differently if I'd had the chance to try out a sloppy Ferrari gearbox too...
About the side to side tension
There is a mod "VNM Shifter Spring Upgrade" that can make it stiffer easy and cheaply
Its just a spring you put in
I have a friend who's had this for a while now and strongly recommended this to me earlier this year but I don't believe the distributor had them listed on the site just yet for the states.
Check out US Sim Motion, they have most of the VNM stuff already in the states for sale.
They could use magnets to hold the top plate down and I never had the problem with the knob spinning on mine.
Any plans to review the Simvertex shifter? V5
I might have missed it during the video, but how different is the Fanatec base mounting holes vs the VNM shifter? I'm wondering if you could use an existing Fanatec base mount on a rig to use with this shifter or if someone would have to modify the mount to make it work.
Hi the mounting pattern is different from the fanatec I had to drill new holes when swapping from the fanatec
Got my V1 in the very first batch, its been great! Only thing i'm annoyed with is the V2 came out shortly after with better sequential :(
I also struggle going 2nd to 3rd sometimes in the heat of the moment.. Can get a bit annoying. But it's built solid and still a great all round shifter. The boys at VNM have come a long way in a short time, it's impressive.
Ok so it’s not just me with the V1 and that issue :(
I don’t know why they don’t use magnets for the top plates and locating pins where the screw holes go. That way it’s a simple 2 second swap that still locks into place.
I know they are a different price bracket, do you know how it feels compared to the MME H+ shifter?
Testing that soon :)
Can you guys please do a review on the Moza sr-p pedals.
We’re working on it
That's pretty interesting that they used an ER-11 collet.
Much as I'd like to sell my Fanatec Shifter, the swaping of top plates on the VNM is a deal breaker for me. Hopefully the handbrake will be more suited to me.
I just got myself 4 knurled screws to replace the stock ones and now can just unscrew it with my fingers and easily replace the top plates. Literally takes like 30seconds swapping the plate and the knob and honestly dont find myself swapping regularly. Tend to just keep one for a league for example and then swap every now and then and for that it really doesnt bother me at all. It actually feels so good even in the sequential mode that I dont see myself needing a seperate one at any point. If the plates dont bother you, its a really solid well designed and manufactured product. Dont think theres any shifter as good as this one, especially in both modes out there in this price bracket. Never got to try the quaife H-pattern, but Id imagine that beeing even better, but its just way out of my budget.
I agree. I use the VNM shifter locked to sequential mode, because it's too much of a pain to swap, and keep the Fanatec shifter on the b-rig for console gameplay where there is more of an emphasis on swapping cars. That said, the VNM shifter and handbrake annihilate the Fanatec in build quality.
Once you Invest or Buy "Outside" of the Fanatec EcoSystem. You will quickly realize
Many other companies take these products a lot more serious than Fanatec.
DD/Pedals/Shifters/Wheels. It's worth it
Same. That quick switch between modes was the main reason I replaced my TH8A in the first place.
@@Ermz blows my mind that something that doesn't even take 2 mins to do (and can be done under 1 with thumbscrews) is such a big deal to people. Could literally be done while you're waiting for the game to load lmao.
I believe you forgot to include this video in the shifters review playlist.
Ahh thanks. Will sort it out.
🙀Help Please🙀 First off thank you for your content! Great stuff! I have Accuforce v2… first set up ever. I need a recommendation for a new wheel base/motor. What is your pick for the best? Would like to be around 2,ooo US dollars, but can do more if it’s needed🤑I have petals “heusinkveld” but could use new wheel and motor combo maybe? Like gt4 or f1 style…… Is servo motor best?….Anyhow, just give me the “if you had to live with one pick only for 3 years….What would it be?” Thanks in advance😎👍 Anyone can answer as well👏
Sumucube 2 Pro is still my pick as the best wheelbase available (the Ultimate is not worth the extra).
Would this work with xbox & PS5, with my fanatec DD pro ??
No
Hoping someone can give me some advice on a vid card. Just recently got into sim racing and Im liking it a lot, but Im wanting it to look better. I have a pretty strong computer ryzen 7 5800x, 32 g of 4133 ram and a decently fast m2. My vid card on the other hand is still a 1070ti. I've been trying to hold out till next gen stuff comes out to upgrade, but its bugging me a lot lol So my question is what is the lowest card that can run assetto and other racing games maxed out in VR (the only games I play anymore are VR)? If its a 3090 or something Ill just wait, but if something like a 6700xt or 6800 can do it Ill prob eat the cost and just buy one now. Thanks guys
Depends on your headset. If its something like a reverb g2 even a 3090 isn't going to max out ACC in VR. So you might want to wait unless you can find a good deal on a used 3080
Does it misshift like the Fanatec does? My Fanatec usually thinks 3rd is 1st or Reverse and no amount of troubleshooting can fix this issue for myself and many others
Im in the same club - its now a sequential shifter and unreliable h shifter
@@Japspre hey I actually fixed mine. It's actually a factory defect with the hall sensor but Fanatec won't fix it. There's a YT video by 2old4forza that shows how to fix it yourself with a piece of electric tape. After following his video mine hasn't had the problem since
@@mg-by7uu thanks so much for taking your time to reply on this old comment - i'll check it out for sure
@@Japspre no prob hope it helps 🙏
@@mg-by7uu followed his steps, calibrated, quick test - so far no misshifts!
I wouldn't use h-pattern much, but the looseness on the x-axis is pretty bad and immersion breaking IMO.
After a year of owning the shifter, all I can say is it is the most problematic part of my entire setup. I honestly can't advise anyone to purchase it given the issues I've had. Parts constantly come loose meaning I have to disassemble the entire unit multiple times a week, the sensor has played up making the device jump gears on it's own whilst the shifter is actually static in gate, it disconnects frequently and I've worn through 3 of the retention ball/plate assemblies despite only having the device on a loose setting. VNM have been great with customer support but given how often I have issues with it it genuinely pains me to say I have had to take it off my rig. I also have the VNM handbrake and the thing is built like a tank, I just don't feel like the shifter is at all up to the standard of their other products.
VNM’s website is difficult to navigate, doesn’t show prices… 🤔
I have no idea why they don’t list any prices on their own site. Confused me too. It’s clear on reseller websites though.
I don’t understand why they don’t just thread the end of the shaft for gear knob removal / swapping like Fanatec do?
It wouldn’t be height adjustable then.
Is it a all metal construction or plastic
Metal. This is discussed in the video multiple times
Picked up the shifter and handbrake v1.5. Seq shift feels solid and more importantly "mechanical" not like activating a button as you said.
Handbrake is solid feeling and v1.5 allows for a lot of adjustability in mounting options.
I notice you mount the Handbrake between the shifter and steering wheel. Moving it to the outside would not block the tensioning screw that you pointed out.
Personal preference but I see most rally cars go steering wheel, shifter, handbrake while I suspect drifters put the handbrake closer to the wheel as it is used more in that setting compared to the shifter.
Had a TH8 shifter for well over 5 plus years still works absolutely flawlessly , fanatec can eat a fat one.
Are you using any mods on the TH8?I'm in the process of building a new rig. I have the TH8, but was considering this. Looks like some mods would be all the TH8 would need to become pretty great.
@@gresss I don't have any mods on it but the rig it's mounted too is heavily reinforced. It's much nicer shifting when it doesn't flop around everywhere. If I did mods maby a ricmotech shift gate would be good for the th8.
I hope Will is alright, he seems kinda shaky.
It's impossible to miss shift... it's only because you're too heavy on the gearbox ! Try not using full hand with all your strength on it, it won't go in the air. 😅
The normal way is to use the neutral point like in real car. If you're in 2nd you just have to push the knob up and magic it's directly 3rd gear. Don't do any other movement ! You can even do that with 2 fingers. Same from 5th to 4th, just pull straight and magic it goes directly ! I still have my G27 H shifter and it's clearly a toy compared to this one, it makes absolutely no problem if you don't brutalise it ! Poor Testarossa... 🤣
Final detail : links to website don't work (trakracer).
The review was perfeclty complete en detailed as usual ! I saw they have pedals, will you be able to review them ?
$50 aliexpress shifter it is
How to buy it, anybody???
Links in video description
@@boostedmedia yeah but like it asks you to message them on facebook or contact them, and i don't have my own device yet soooo..
@@boostedmedia yeah that still don't help.
Lost me on price.
Vietnamese after I'd expect to be $100 cheaper AUD
So its more expensive than fanatec and I have to change plate?
Meeeeh. Fanatec still seems to be the king
Lost me at the price. Great product, great looking software, but rather spend money elsewhere needed.
Using a USB-A to USB-A cable on any product is a very bad idea, its not built after a proper USB spec.
USB-B or USB-C would have been the right choice, USB-A cables should always have a different host and client side connector.
Someone who does not know what they are doing, could fry their electronics if they use the cable for anything but for the shifter.
Plugging it in a loop into your Mainboard by accident, thinking it is another cable would probably fry your board.
I dont see any reason to use a USB-A connector here.
So for 300 bucks I too can mis shifts? This is a half-baked product that offers nothing other than more frustration than the Fanatec product it's trying to replace. Conversion is a bigger hassle and H-Shifter action is worse. I admire the attempt but they need to go back to the drawing board if they want my money.
Tell us how you really feel 🤣
Lol, it's way better, imo with a few mods , either adding neodymium magnets or thumbscrews instead of Allen screws for top plates . Tightening up the spring to tighten up side stick tension with some sort of spacers on the parts that touch spring ends !
What are mis shifts ?
shh newt does this better and is half the price
RGB? Sigh 😒
Turn it off?
The beauty of RGB, turn it to any color you want or color scheme, even if that means just "no light at all" in your case. :P Can easily be turned off in the software.
RGB is worth at least a second a lap
@@boostedmedia The problem is you're paying extra for something thats not needed.
Good point. I’d prefer to pay less and not have it but I also don’t know how much extra having it adds to the price.
does this work with my fanatec wheelbase?