Peak Torque vs Holding Torque – What’s the Difference?

Torque is the invisible shove and pull that tells your fingertips what the car is doing. Without the ‘seat of the pants’ feeling of reality, steering torque is one of the most important aspects of understanding a car’s handling balance. Understanding how torque is defined and measured for Fanatec bases is crucial, because different manufacturers present their numbers in different ways, and not all approaches tell the truth of how a base behaves when you are deep in a corner.

Torque is the rotational force that a direct drive motor sends into your wheel. Higher torque can recreate the weight of real steering systems, and it can deliver those tiny pulses that tell you when the front end is nibbling at the limit of adhesion. The quality of torque delivery is just as important as the quantity. A smooth, consistent output keeps your senses grounded and gives you the confidence to drive at your best.

There is still no industry standard for how torque is measured for sim racing products. Since there is also no agreed way to declare those values, some manufacturers lean toward generous numbers that might make a product look more powerful than it will ever feel on the track.

Peak torque is a momentary pulse of torque that many bases cannot maintain for more than a split second. Depending on the way the motor is controlled, these peaks can be inconsistent. To complicate matters, a few brands choose to use an ‘overshoot’ value as their headline figure. Overshoot is a fleeting blip as the electronics request a sudden change of torque rather than a meaningful peak value, and it certainly does not describe what you will feel when driving.

What truly shapes your driving experience is holding torque. This is the stable, sustained force that a motor can deliver for long periods. If a base cannot maintain its holding torque, it will begin to derate during extended sessions, which leads to a softening of resistance. For many bases, their holding torque fades almost instantly, which is noticeable in long, high downforce corners, where the wheel should load up and stay loaded. If the resistance fades halfway through the turn, your sense of grip dissolves with it.

The ClubSport DD and ClubSport DD+ bases were built with stable holding torque as a core priority. They maintain their strength through the longest endurance races and relentless high-downforce cornering. The upcoming Podium DD carries this philosophy forward. It is the next step in Fanatec’s mission to optimize torque delivery for consistency and incredible dynamic range. Consistency is everything, and the boundary between sim and reality narrows once again.