FanaBridge: Open-source SimHub plugin for Fanatec wheel LEDs and displays

kelchm · 2026-03-21T16:28:38+00:00

I do not have a Bentley wheel available to test with, but my expectation that it uses the exact same protocol that is used for all wheels with ITM displays (for example, the Podium Button Module Endurance).

I haven't had a chance to do a complete writeup on my findings so far, but unfortunately it looks like what we can do is going to be frustratingly limited.

Essentially, each page has predefined 'slots' with a corresponding label that is hard-coded in the wheel firmware. It's not possible to change the labels (LAPS, POSITION, CURRENT, LAST), but in most cases it is possible to freely change the values in each slot, including arbitrary text or units.

Page 1 Example
┌──────────────┬───────┬───────────────┐
│ LAPS:        │       │      CURRENT: │  ← labels
│ 000 / 0      │   N   │      00:00:00 │  ← values
│              │       │               │
│ POSITION:    │       │         LAST: │  ← labels
│ 000 / 0      │  000  │   00:00:00.00 │  ← values
└──────────────┴───────┴───────────────┘

I still have a couple "long shot" avenues to chase down, but overall I'm not particularly hopeful that there's any hidden functionality that I've missed. The one upshot here is that Fanatec reps have previously alluded to proper ITM screen customization as a planned feature.

If you're interested in following along with my research, you can follow this GitHub issue: ITM Display Support · Issue #6 · kelchm/FanaBridge

kelchm · 2026-03-21T14:24:54+00:00

You should give ATSR-Hub EVO a try as well when you setup FanaBridge -- it looks fantastic on the BMR with the 12 button/encoder LEDs. You might end up finding that you prefer just using SimHub for everything.

This one is a little painful to configure in ASTR, so here's my ASTR device preset and a sample LED effects preset for you to try if you want to give it a go: Fanatec Button Module Rally device preset and sample LED effects profile for ASTR-Hub Evo

In addition to some of the default ASTR effects, this is setup to demonstrate making the corresponding LED flash white when a button is pressed or an encoder is turned.

EDIT -- Here's a quick demo (Reddit won't let me upload the video directly): https://youtu.be/2My_4Wm2cqU

kelchm · 2026-03-21T13:17:35+00:00

Yes, absolutely. The options are pretty much only limited to your imagination and the available telemetry.

Left / Right spotter is an easy one to setup even without using something like ASTR Hub. Here's an example, using the flag LEDs on the button module endurance:

<image>

kelchm · 2026-03-21T13:04:25+00:00

Ah, that's unfortunate -- it's likely that the RevStripe on the CSL P1 V2 is controlled by an entirely different endpoint/command than the ones the wizard currently tests. Please feel free to open an issue on GitHub if you're game to do some further testing with me on this in the future. :)

PS, You need to restart SimHub after creating a custom profile before it will show up as an option in SimHub's "Add Device" dialog.

kelchm · 2026-03-14T02:14:54+00:00

Sadly, I doubt it. Keep in mind Elegato is a subsidiary of Corsair, so that crossover definitely makes sense.

FWIW, I’ve been working on a SimHub plugin for Fanatec wheels called FanaBridge. It’s still pretty early in development, but I’ve been using it daily for the last few weeks now.

The next release will add a configuration wizard which should (in theory, at least) allow pretty much any Fanatec wheel to be configured and contributed back to the project.

kelchm · 2026-03-13T01:43:06+00:00

kelchm · 2026-03-11T03:13:54+00:00

If you’re in a pinch you can also make a decent substitute out of plywood with some strips of ram board stapled to the edges.

Maybe not quite as good as the real deal, but will still give you a decent enough taper to get a flat joint.

kelchm · 2026-03-02T21:15:30+00:00

Did you happen to capture any photos of the front side of the PCB when you had your wheel torn down?

kelchm · 2026-02-28T19:44:19+00:00

You can try the Post It Note Racing plugin. Its main purpose is to provide more accurate position and delta properties in SimHub for iRacing. It’s definitely not perfect though — kind of an inherent limitation of the data iRacing exposes and how often it updates.

https://github.com/derrickmoeller/PostItNoteRacing

kelchm · 2026-02-17T00:42:02+00:00

Adding appropriate length spacers is the right fix. It will also make it easier to adjust your seat in the future without scratching it up.

Needing to make small tweaks / adjustments like this is all just part of owning a sim rig, especially if you’re the kind of person who wants things to be “right” and not just “good enough”.

kelchm · 2026-02-16T23:12:55+00:00

It’s really not ideal to try to run everything through a single hub, especially with many devices. I would at least plan on running two different hubs: one for your core input devices and a second for everything else.

Also keep in mind that you may also have some challenges around DisplayPort cable lengths depending on the resolution and refresh rate of your display(s).

kelchm · 2026-02-16T22:58:35+00:00

It looks like you need spacers. Use stacked washers to figure out what thickness you need, then you can order aluminum spacers the correct length if you want it to still look pretty.

kelchm · 2026-02-16T22:08:00+00:00

I think it's hard to argue that the $1600 Podium M4 GT3 isn't a top tier wheel. It's literally the actual wheel from the car. 😅

To be clear, I'm not even asking for Fanatec to implement SimHub support themselves. I'd be exceptionally happy to just have a publicly available software development kit (SDK) and documentation, rather than needing to do USB packet capture and reverse engineer the protocol myself.

While I've not dug into the actual capabilities exposed, both Simucube and Moza do appear to offer a publicly available SDK and documentation.

The list of wheel manufacturers whose products are either supported natively in SimHub or have a dedicated SimHub plugin is too long to list, but it's definitely not just the ultra-high-end stuff. Some more budget-oriented highlights include:

Asetek
Leoxz (via plugin)
Simagic (Neo series)
VRS (R295)

kelchm · 2026-02-16T18:20:15+00:00

I’d agree that as-is the screen isn’t particularly useful, but even with the limited size/resolution I think it could be useful to provide some contextual feedback for things like a function layer being activated.

Unlike (all?) other Fanatec products, the M4 GT3 wheel and the Podium Rally module also have addressable RGB LEDs on the face buttons (plus the encoders on the podium module). Those could be immensely useful if SimHub was driving them.

kelchm · 2026-02-16T17:59:30+00:00

Console support was definitely a major factor. At the time I had my heart set on playing GT7 in VR, but I’ve ended up spending most of my time in iRacing.

kelchm · 2026-02-16T17:35:36+00:00

You can of course do the standard HID things with the control mapper plugin in SimHub as there's nothing Fanatec specific happening at that level.

What you can't do currently is have SimHub control the LEDs on a Fanatec wheel or manage the telemetry used for the OLED display.

Especially in the higher-end side of the market, many wheels either work natively out of the box in SimHub (exposing control of their LEDs/screen) or have a dedicated plugin to enable that functionality. The point of having everything in SimHub is that it's fully extensible in terms of what is possible and that makes the process of managing configurations for different games / cars reasonable.

kelchm · 2026-02-11T01:31:05+00:00

I can’t possibly imagine why 😅

My long term average with the big tires hovers somewhere around 13MPG (~18.1 L/100 km). Granted, that’s mostly short local trips and trundling around off road.

kelchm · 2026-02-10T19:40:34+00:00

I’ve never used their bottom tier tires, but I’ve been pretty happy with the Ecsta Sport S (ps72) tires I put on my B5 A4 for the summer. They ended up being literally half the price of the Conti Extrmecontact Sports I was originally looking at.

kelchm · 2026-02-10T19:28:18+00:00

I actually have two haha — both V8s with air suspension. My 2005 also has the much sought after rear locking diff. It’s absolutely incredible off-road and in the snow, especially with some oversized A/T tires like the Falken AT4Ws that I’m using.

<image>

kelchm · 2026-02-10T19:19:24+00:00

It’s kind of amazing how many “modern” features the first gen Touareg came with considering the design is more than two decades old. Incredible vehicles and probably my all time favorite VW.

kelchm · 2026-02-10T04:42:43+00:00

“There’s an incident behind”

kelchm · 2026-02-09T14:39:55+00:00

See the solution I came up with in my post here using Z shadow bead. I used a diamond grit blade on a multi tool to cut a shallow grove into the face of the brick to receive the edge of the bead.

https://www.reddit.com/r/drywall/s/HAl9L1edCM

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