Hey Paul,
Did he give you a price for the wheel as you described it?
Yes he did Joe.
It was 1200 Euros. I am based in the UK so would also have to add the 19% German VAT rate on top of that, plus a 40 Euros shipping fee.
Thanks Paul!
So I guess it is made in Germany since you would have to pay their VAT?
I have not searched their website yet. That comes next. 
That is a very sexy wheel.
Youâre welcome Joe
You are correct on the VAT. Being in the EU (for now) means I have to pay whatever the rate is in the country of origin.
I believe the Fi-Tech site only shows one off projects that Carsten has done. I originally searched the site for the R8/AMG/Porsche rims but couldnât find anything which is what led me to email Carsten directly.
He told me that at this time he doesnât have plans to sell them via the site and that he offers them through direct contact via email and Facebook enquiries.
Hope that helps 
Holy moly thats 1429 euros
Excluding QR probably haha
I was thinking of selling off my organs to raise funds but they are too old and damaged 
Jokes aside though, of course it is very expensive but when I compare that to the prices of some of the other R8 rims out there and the materials used, I donât think itâs unreasonable.
What do you think, Johnny? Iâd be very interested to hear because I know you have a lot of skill and experience with this subject.
2 Likes
Thanks Paul.
Iâve actually ordered a wheel from a sim steering wheel company here in the Netherlands, also with a lot of motorsport parts including the actual steering wheel made by m-sport. Youâd be amazed how expensive that stuff is, total price is about the same as one from FiTech. But a part of wanted to find out what the quality and fit/finish is of those wheels so I bit the bullet and ordered one 
Regarding the prices, some people (including myself sometimes) forget that a product costs more than just the sum of its parts.
For example for myself I have bought a 3d printer (4 actually upgrading etc) and a cnc router.
- These machines alone cost me 1000 euro for the printer and 1500 for the router.
- So you have to account for depreciation and maintenance.
- Then you have consumables such as plastic (which isnt too bad) and end mills for the router (10 euros a pop depending on size, to cut carbon fibre) and the carbon fibre itself (which is not cheap, also not super expensive.)
- Side note: FiTech uses SLS printing, which is way more expensive than FDM printing.
- Parts fail sometimes / prototypes dont work out.
- Time you spent putting all the components together (which is always more than you thinkâŚ)
- Time spent designing the wheel itself, which for semi-production such as FiTech can be written off on multiple wheels, I usually do only one-offs.
- Components themselves are not cheap: APEM switches and switches/rotary encoders I normally use are in the range of 6 to 12 euros a piece, not including nice aluminium anodized knobs (20euro+).
- Other machines sometimes needed, for stickers or UV printing on carbonâŚ
I think you get the pointâŚ
The wheels FiTech makes look really good and the quality will be outstanding so will the fit and finish and aftersales will probably also be very good is something is broken for example, so I think you can justify the price.
1 Like
Thanks for the very detailed reply, Johnny.
Much appreciated.
Youâve outlined a lot of expense on the makers side that many people fail to consider when judging the final cost of a high end rim.
Your points align perfectly with a video I watched a while back, made by Turn Racing.
I was blown away when I saw the amount of time, tools and skills required to do this properly. Once I appreciated that, the final price began to seem much cheaper.
1 Like
At the time I ordered the wheel it was 640 Euros. He also quoted me 680 Euros for his equally impressive M8 wheel. If you drop Thomas an email he is very good about responding. You can add Ascher shifters for 150 euros and a dash usb connector for 25 euros. I will also add that he has been great in questions and follow-up post-sale. A plus for a one man shop.
If you order one, you might want to spec different encoders. The ones that came on my wheel are a little fuzzy on the detents - not positive clicks. If you are using them for ABS or TC it is easy to overshoot your desired setting. They work, but for me I would prefer more solid detents.
I am still evaluating the wheel, but I will post a review - probably on Race Department - when I have 50 hours or more on it. So far so good though. A good value IMO.
Although I havenât yet purchased a rim from F1Simgames I have had a lot of correspondence with Thomas and have to agree that he is a really nice guy to deal with.
He is open to answer any questions you might have and also willing to try and accommodate any modifications and personalisations you request.
He makes some lovely stuff at very fair prices andI wouldnât have any hesitation buying from him 
So where did your wheel come from?
I am starting to get confused.
1 Like
The wheel I have is from F1SimGames
Ok thanks. I guess the one Paul got a price on was more complicated because of the extra price?
Hey Joe
I might be the one causing some confusion as I have corresponded with both Thomas (F1Simgames, based in Greece) and also with Carsten (Fi-Tech, based in Germany).
Thomas offers many options with his R8 rim so you could configure one that costs somewhere around the 650 Euro range. You do then have the option of specifying alternative parts such as Ascher shifters, clutch paddles and different switches etc that would bring the price upward towards or even beyond the 1000 Euro range.
Carsten builds his R8 rim to more of a no compromise spec from what I can tell which immediately puts you at that higher price range.
You can see it as a selfmade replica vs a true replica.
Thomas from F1Simgames makes the replica himself with cheaper (not bad at all, donât want to talk down in any way) parts, but still very reliable and good.
Carsten from Fi-Tech makes replicaâs in cooperation with Audi itself. I asked if it was possible to change button colors and he told me that he had to buy a pack of at least 50 buttons in a single color. This (to me) implies that he works together with the team itself to supply his parts - resulting in a more expensive product.
If you want a great simwheel - Go with F1SG
If you want a truly authentic piece of kit - Fi-Tech
Of course budget is the deciding factor here as you can probably order 2 wheels from F1SG for the same price as 1 from Fi-Tech. Both are made to last a lifetime and youâre not making a bad decision going for one or the other.
1 Like
Thanks for the information regarding the button colours. I was going to ask Carsten this question but youâve answered that for me.
One other thing I would like to see is some authentic looking decals with the correctly coloured buttons to add the finishing touch.
Iâm also thinking that the Sim Racing Bay version will be priced somewhere between the two we have been discussing to give everyone a choice to own one in line with their budget.
Hi Paul,
Yep it is all your fault! LOL
That makes more sense. I think I was not recognizing that it was two different companies.
And yes I think Simracingbay is trying to make an affordable, but also very high quality replica.
1 Like
Carsten told me that if you really want other colored buttons he can use the ones used on the Porsche wheel (also shown on his Facebook). Those are not the flat buttons like the authentic R8 APEM buttons, but domes (still from APEM so same quality).
If choosing the R8 with dome-buttons you lose the authenticy, but itâs very much possible for Carsten to do. Custom colored decal is no problem either for him.
1 Like
Thank you bavomeister
You have really got me thinking about this point so I went and found a picture of the real life rim. I mistakenly thought that the various buttons had individual colours but in reality they are all black with coloured decals applied to them.
Another nice addition would be the protective ring around the speed limiter button. I noticed Carsten is using one on the AMG rim so perhaps something similar could be transferred to the R8.
Iâm probably being too fussy over small details 
1 Like
When looking at the wheel it really is not that complicated.
It looks really busy because of all of the color.
I would like to see the wheel without all of the decals placed on it.
The rim itself reminds me alot of the OMP wheel.