While sim racing hardware is still relatively new, we are seeing a wide abundance of advances in sim tech. On the wheel side, we have seen systems go from no resistance, to bungee cords, to gear drive, and then even advancing to belt and direct drive systems. On the pedal side, we’ve seen some similar advances, going from potentiometers to Hall Effect sensors, and also Load Cells and hydraulic systems in the brake pedal.
The brake pedal is one of the most important parts of a sim racing setup. For that reason, the brake pedal has seen the most advances, attempting to recreate the feeling of a real car’s “slow-down pedal”. In this post, I want to take a look at the 3 primary technologies utilized in the brake pedals, and give you an idea of how they function.
PART ONE: PROGRESSION IS KEY
One of the biggest questions you have to ask when regarding the brake pedal is, “What exactly makes one better than the other?” I would say that the key to an authentic brake pedal is progression.
If you drive a car with a hydraulic brake system, when you first press the brake, there will be some give, and then it gets harder to press as the fluid is displaced. I’d say the goal of higher end pedal sets is to recreate that feeling, to make for better modulation. There are quite a few ways to replicate progression in sim racing brakes, so without further ado, let’s take a look!
PART TWO: POTENTIOMETERS AREN’T AS BAD AS YOU THINK
With the latest advances in pedals, some people have regarded “potentiometer” as a bad word of sorts. However, at the same time, some people do not realize what a potentiometer is, so let’s first take a look at the tech behind a “pot”.
A potentiometer converts linear motion, be it sliding or rotational force, into a percentage. The most common example would be a volume dial on a sound system. As you rotate the dial to the right, the volume increases because you’re increasing the voltage in the system.
On a pedal system, that translates into linear motion in the pedals. While that works alright for the gas and brake pedal, that doesn’t translate into an authentic brake, IF it uses a conventional spring, that is. There are ways to emulate a real brake with modifications. The Logitech G27 pedal set with the Nixim mod, is a popular system, and some swear by the GTEYE springs. The Thrustmaster T3PA also features a conical brake mod, which I have felt to provide some solid progression.
While they may not be as advanced as the alternatives, potentiometer-based systems are still not bad, and they can be made even better with some modding.
PART THREE: LOAD CELLS ARE A SOLID SYSTEM
Load cells have been around for a while, and are commonly regarded as the standard for budget-friendly realism. A load cell based pedal will feature an exponential increase in voltage based on pressure. That means the harder you press on a load cell, the higher the voltage, and higher percentage. The most common example of a load cell application is a bathroom scale: it converts the pressure on the scale into a readout, either in pounds or kilograms.
In sim racing, a load cell pedal works well because it allows for proper pressure-based modulation without modifications. However, where a load cell can struggle is in the displacement department. While you do have the pressure, lower end load cell systems can be very stiff once you hit the cell. Higher end pedals improve on this, but they don’t fully simulate the feeling of hydraulic displacement.
Also keep in mind that load cells, especially the ones used in Fanatec products, are meant to bend under pressure. That means, over time, they will get weaker, and can break. Replacements generally aren’t expensive, but keep in mind that you would likely have to replace it yourself.
PART FOUR: HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS – ULTIMATE REALISM
If you are wanting the ultimate sim racing experience, there is arguably no system that’s better at replicating braking forces than a hydraulic system. Pedal sets such as the HPP PHT Pedal Set utilize an enclosed hydraulic system to bring uncompromising realism in the brake department.
The most realistic pedal system does come at a cost though, with pedal sets generally starting around $650+, and can reach over $1,000. Some people have developed DIY systems, even repurposing real life pedals to fit sim racing applications! Be aware, that sometimes when dealing with pressure, things could go wrong. Don’t get me wrong, anything can fail, but in when hydraulic systems are concerned, some of the failures can be spectacular.
CONCLUSION
The beauty of sim racing is that it is accessible to everybody. You can go for a budget beginner’s setup, or you can go all out in the name of authenticity. Here would be my recommendations for people looking for a decent pedal set:
- Budget/Modder Friendly: Logitech G25/27 Pedals – Can sometimes be found in the Buy/Sell Section in our Forums.
- Under $100: The Thrustmaster T3PA is a great budget pedal set, with some solid progression that can be fine tuned to personal preference. Note that they only work with Thrustmaster wheels out of the box.
- Under $200: The Fanatec CSR Elite Pedals are the least expensive load cell pedals you can purchase, and feature some solid progression in the brake as well. Note that the majority of the components are plastic, so reliability could be a concern.
- $200-$300: The Fanatec Clubsport Pedals V2 has the sub-$300 category locked down, and it’s a pretty solid piece of kit.
- Mid-High End Load Cell: The Derek Speare Designs Wilwood Pedals may not be for everyone, but they’re real life pedals made for sim racing, what more can you ask for? Check out our review here.
- High End Load Cell: Racers in the community are swooning over the Heusinkveld Engineering Pedals, which features load cells for all three pedals.
- Hydraulic Pedals: Mark Hargett has the HPP PHT Pedals, which features an enclosed hydraulic system, which doesn’t require fluid lines.
It is worth mentioning that a high end pedal set will not necessarily make you a faster driver. What it will do is give you a more realistic experience. Some of the premier sim racers in the world actually run with Logitech Driving Force GT pedals. The key is making full use of what you have. Once you adapt and grow comfortable with your setup, that will be when you really start running fast.
What pedal set are you using in your setup? Let us know in the comments!
Again very nice read william ,im saving up for a set of HE pro peddals ,that would be a big step up from my modded t500 peddals .
Hey Paul, we plan on having a simulator up and running in Groningen later in the year. You’re more than welcome to come over and try our pedals before taking a set home. Svend – Heusinkveld Engineering
Hey svend that sounds great, let me know when and were and ill be there .
I am using the Derek Speare Willwood pedals
Why no mention of the ECCI 6000 Pedal sets ? They are definitely in the High End range starting at $499, but are by far the best pedal sets I’ve ever used.
Can’t speak for William but I did look over the blog before he posted it and feel he covered most of the main players in the industry. ECCI does make great gear but they don’t do much to market their gear and I honestly didn’t even think about them as a possibility for this piece. It wasn’t about every pedal supplier in this industry but more about the different types of pedals available and the difference a brake can make.
Thanks for the reply Darin, and I can’t argue the point about ECCI advertising. I only found out about them by word-of-mouth at a LikeReal Racing LAN event way back in the early ’00s.
Great Article William. 🙂
I have the Bodin Load Cell modded T500 pedals here, very satisfied, not looking to change them.
Take care
Regards: >>>> Jack <<<<
Heya,
As a manufacturer of loadcell based pedals, I want to share some views. The article goes fairly straight towards hydraulics being best, period. Presumably, and understandably, this is because real cars use hydraulics, so hydraulic sim pedals must be the best. This really is not an explanation at all however, and when you look closely at good hydraulic sim pedals, they work almost exactly like good loadcell pedals. You compress a stack of rubbers, springs, washers, cat hair, etc as you press the pedal.
Its not that hard to explain why car hydraulic pedals and sim hydraulic pedals work quite differently. Its very easy to see that while the operating principle may be the same, the “feel” of a real car pedal comes from many different things mostly absent in sim hydraulic pedals. I can explain that but that would become a pretty lengthy bit of text!
What all the good manufacturers do now, loadcell and hydraulic, is generate a user configurable feel by using various rubber bushings, springs, washers etc. This gives excellent results for ‘feel’ while all the time accurately measuring your foot force. You can use a loadcell to measure the force, or hydraulics, both can be extremely good if properly designed.
Load cells also don’t fail (well not for a loooooooooong time) if used to no more than their rated force. I think the reason many people have broken loadcells on their Fanatec is that its fairly easy to overload the loadcell by pressing firmly. More high end pedals require higher brake pedal forces and are ideally made so that you can’t calibrate into overload. So the max calibration is also the maximum allowable loadcell load. This way I had a loadcell last for over 10 years, just as accurate and dependable as on day 1. I’m fairly sure if you use a 1000psi pressure sensor and subject it to 2000psi for too long, it may fail at some point as well.
So by the time you get to the better loadcell and hydraulic pedals, the design and specific pedal functionality is more of a decider than the method used to measure your input force. They are both good methods.. The race teams in GP2 and F3 and a few other driver training simulators I work with are also divided, some use hydraulics, some load cell. Its more the execution of the method than the method itself.
Niels
“Almost exactly” is a key phrase here in your reply. I have used many different types of pedals, unfortunately I haven’t tried yours yet. But I have to say that the hydraulic brake pedals I have used have a more realistic feel over any load cell I have tried. Reason being is that a load cell can’t simulate the feel of fluid going through a brake line to the master cylinder like a set of hydraulics does. I have driven low end race cars and have a high performance street car in my garage and I have yet to drive a load cell brake that feels as close to those as a hydraulic system has.
This blog was making more of a general statement more than saying one way is better than another which is why he ended the piece with “It is worth mentioning that a high end pedal set will not necessarily make you a faster driver. What it will do is give you a more realistic experience. Some of the premier sim racers in the world actually run with Logitech Driving Force GT pedals. The key is making full use of what you have. Once you adapt and grow comfortable with your setup, that will be when you really start running fast.”
I think another key phrase in your reply is “The race teams in GP2 and F3 and a few other driver training simulators I work with are also divided, some use hydraulics, some load cell. Its more the execution of the method than the method itself.” That right there tells me that it’s about personal preference and feel over the opinion of what one person may think is the best way to slow a sim car down.
Nice to hear from you Niels. Also, everyone seems to be forgetting about pneumatic pedals, especially the ones from ARC – http://www.arc-team.it/shop/en/pedals/product/252-carbon-pedals-3-pedals-my-2014) . I also linked to an EXTREMELY comprehensive 4-part video review in my previous reply above, and also a written review from another fellow simracer.
ARC says that, for simracing, pneumatic is actually superior to hydraulic. They explain why, in their article right here —> http://www.arc-team.it/shop/images/files/Carbon_Pedals_-_The_reasons_for_the_choice.pdf … What do you think Niels??
Have you, or Darin, or pretty much anybody, tried these pedals, or any sort of pneumatic type??
What about the new-ish (early 2013 ) FREX Sim3PEDALV2? – http://frex.xsrv.jp/gpshop/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=189
SIDE NOTE: Has anyone here tried the FREX SimWHEEL V3-TypeG? It’s the third version of their wheel and their patented gear-less and belt-less sytem looks AMAZINGLY smooth….”Maxon RE-35 series 48v 7300rpm 99mNm motor, operating with 42V power supply. Extremely fast rotation speed and strong torque”Smooth and Accurate force feedback wheel unit
SimWHEEL V3-TypeG MODEL: FFFB3000
Not a gear nor belt driven
Metal to metal direct ratio reduction mechanism
Powerful no cogging coreless motor
Patented mechanism
Yeah it is really hard to beat a set of G27 with the GTEYE Progressive Brake Spring, for the money. I have two full G27 steering wheel sets plus a spare set of pedals I bought off ebay for parts, so I am set for the next 3-5 years for sure. At that point I will look and see what is available. Hopefully it will continue to evolve in quality and prices come down or stabilize on the mid to higher range sets. Glad to see so many manufacturers in the mix.
Thanks for your precious contribution, William!
It confirms some doubts I had on my Fanatec Clubsport Pedals V1 and on other ‘potentiometered’ pedals I had…
Basically low-end products are likely to be the MOST reliable solutions (I used intensively the red Momo Force GT brake for two years – the pedals never gave me any problem – whilst I couldn’t test the G25 pedals since I stood with my previous Act Labs Performance Pedals whose brake pedal abandoned me in GTR1 session – whose I had completely bent the plastic…).
This while a fairly simulative approach brings higher expenses and problems as well (I’m speaking of the ‘relatively weak’ Fanatec load cell on the Clubsport P. V1, that seems needs a change every two years – while I never had any problem with this one A1 GT Pedal [http://www.act-labs.com/scripts/proddetails.asp?Pid=917] in three years … which makes me guess it’s actually a NON-load cell system…).
Last but not least… Who might dare spending 150 dolares on a Bodin load cell for Thrustmaster… knowing the customer himself will kill it, sooner or later…. ?
Anyway, with all this nearly-racing tech, don’t you agree our passion’s so nice? 😉
You guys missed/forgot pneumatic systems…Especially the ones from high-end simracing parts makers ARC… – http://www.arc-team.it/shop/en/pedals/carbon-pedals-2-p – http://www.arc-team.it/shop/en/pedals/carbon-pedals-3-p
WHY ARE PNEUMATIC SYSTEMS EVEN BETTER THAN HYDRAULIC FOR SIM-RACING? ARC EXPLAINS WHY, HERE –> http://www.arc-team.it/shop/images/files/Carbon_Pedals_-_The_reasons_for_the_choice.pdf
https://www.dropbox.com/s/a3thuc61gl93g7l/ARCCarbonPedalsReview.pdf (Thanks Rinse.jacobs – http://isrtv.com/forums/topic/10949-arc-carbon-pedals-review/)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4DgBKYmgAU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6cI9dBXeXg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuDm4yAyG8k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_9ei_l3hAk
Where is the Richmotech GT Pro 1 Hydraulic clutch and brake set. Its 175.00 more than the load cell DSD and it can be hung or floor mounted all 3 are seperate for adjustability. I am really considering them or the Protosimtech for load cell pedals if he ever gets production ramped up. They are half the price seperate and adjustable load cell pedals. In europe the H.E. pedals are the way to go because of the crazy VAT tax/import/euro situation.