Using Rotary Encoders on your Fanatec Steering Wheel

Depending on what cars you are driving, rotary encoders on your Fanatec Steering Wheel give you a way to quickly and precisely make changes to your car setup while also maintaining focus on what is happening on the racetrack. Encoders are important in disciplines like GT or Formula racing, where drivers sometimes change their settings multiple times during a single lap to get the most performance from their car.

Some of the most common settings in the real and virtual world for encoders are:

• Traction control
• ABS
• Engine map
• Brake bias
• Fuel mixture

While the availability and extent of adjustability of these can vary from car to car, being able to set these on the fly can give you a significant competitive advantage when trying to get better lap times or fighting for positions. Settings like the engine map or fuel mixture also enable you to save on fuel, which can be essential in longer endurance races where consistency and efficiency are key.

Fanatec Steering Wheels have various rotary encoders which can serve different functionalities and use cases.

As the name suggests, these encoders are easily reachable with your thumbs without the need of letting go of the steering wheel. This is especially helpful when adjusting settings while cornering or battling other drivers – keeping you in total control even in intense situations. Fanatec steering wheels with thumb encoders include:

• CSL Elite Steering Wheel Porsche Vision GT
• ClubSport Steering Wheel Formula V2.5
• ClubSport Steering Wheel Formula V2.5 X
• Podium Steering Wheel M4 GT3
• Podium Steering Wheel Bentley GT3

The thumb encoders on these wheels can be mapped to two different button inputs – perfect for quick adjustments like with traction control or brake bias.

These are usually mounted to the front plate or rim of the steering wheel. All the above-mentioned wheels also feature Multi-Position Switches.

If you have a ClubSport Universal Hub V2 / V2 for Xbox or a Podium Hub, you can add MPS with Fanatec’s Podium Button Module Rally or Podium Button Module Endurance.

Multi-Position Switches can be set to four different modes in your Tuning Menu or the Fanatec App:

• ENC (Encoder): The MPS simulates two buttons, one when rotating the MPS left and one when rotating the MPS right.
• PULSE: The MPS outputs a specific button signal for each position which is only sent as a single pulse when you rotate the switch.
• CONST (Constant): The MPS outputs a constant button signal for each position.
• AUTO (Game specific): The game can decide which mode is appropriate.

Note: The middle switch on Fanatec Formula wheels does not function as a Multi-Position Switch. Instead, you can choose the function of the analogue paddles on the Podium Advanced Paddle Module.