What does Natural Damper (NDP) in Fanatec’s Tuning Menu Do?

Natural Damper (NDP) in Fanatec’s Tuning Menu simulates the natural resistance or damping you’d feel in a real steering system, particularly at high speeds or when making quick steering wheel movements. Unlike DPR (Damper), which responds to in-game damper effects (when the sim sends damper signals), NDP is hardware-based and applies a consistent level of resistance to smooth out steering inputs—even when the game isn’t actively sending damper commands.

In simple terms, NDP makes your steering feel less “twitchy” and more planted, especially in direct drive setups where force feedback is ultra-responsive. It helps prevent overcorrection, oscillation, and sudden jerky motions that can occur with high-torque wheels.

When set correctly, NDP adds a realistic weight to the wheel, especially during fast transitions like catching slides, going over curbs, or driving at high speed. A small amount of damping can:

• Reduce oscillations, particularly on straights or when hands are off the wheel.
• Make the wheel feel less nervous in fast corners.
• Improve control during countersteering or sudden corrections.

However, too much damping will:

• Make the steering feel sluggish or heavy.
• Reduce detail from force feedback (like tire grip loss or subtle road textures).
• Delay your inputs slightly, especially in cars that require quick steering like F1 or rally cars.

• iRacing: NDP is helpful here, especially on ovals or in GT cars. Set NDP to 10–30 to smooth out force spikes without dulling feedback. iRacing sends limited damper effects, so NDP fills in the gap.
• Assetto Corsa Competizione (ACC): ACC has good native FFB, so you may only need 10–20 NDP to stabilize the wheel. Too much will mute curb detail or limit how fast you can correct oversteer.
• F1 24: Fast steering is key, so keep NDP low (0–10) or even off for maximum responsiveness. Higher NDP values can slow down your inputs and hurt lap times in chicanes or S-curves.
• Assetto Corsa (modded): Varies by car. Some older cars benefit from 20–30 NDP to feel more grounded. Drift setups, on the other hand, often prefer NDP near zero for fast, fluid countersteer.

No—maxing out NDP (value of 100) will make your wheel feel overly damped and slow, removing much of the dynamic feedback that makes sim racing engaging. Use it sparingly, especially on high-torque bases like the ClubSport DD+ or Podium DD2 Wheel Base, where even small NDP values have a noticeable effect.

• Start with NDP at 15–25 and adjust based on car and sim.
• Lower for responsive cars (F1, karts, rally).
• Raise for heavier cars or when you experience wheel oscillations.
• Combine with Natural Friction (NFR) for even more realistic steering feel.

Natural Damper is not about realism vs. fantasy – it’s about control. Used wisely, it enhances the feeling of connection between your hands and the road.