Ever since I got into Sim Racing, it’s been pretty clear to me that there have been three things missing when compared to real-life racing. A sense of danger, a sense of sustained cornering g-forces, and a sense of how the brakes are actually performing underfoot. So when Simucube announced the world’s first ACTIVE Force Feedback Sim Racing Pedals, I was extremely excited.

We’ve spent a number of weeks now giving the Simucube Active Pedals a solid workout and figuring out exactly what they can and can’t do. Do the world’s first set of Force Feedback Sim Racing Pedals fulfil the dream? or is it just a very expensive gimmick?

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Simucube ActivePedal Features:

Motorized actuator to control pedal feel and tactile feedback
Software adjustable pedal feel created endless possibilities to get these pedals feeling exactly how you want
Maximum pedal pressure of 150kg
No maintenance of springs or hydraulics required
Telemetry-controlled force feedback effects
- ABS
- RPM Feedback
- Traction Control
Load Cell sensor
High-quality engineering and craftsmanship
Ability to dial in your ideal feel for Throttle, Brake, or Clutch
Easy and solid mounting options

Build Quality

The overall construction of the Simucube ActivePedals is clearly very high with the same “no corners cut” approach that we are used to from the Simucube Wheelbases. Our Simucube 2 Ultimate wheelbase has seen hundreds of hours of use over the last 3 years without skipping a beat, and there is no reason to think the Simucube ActivePedal would be any different.

Without relying on elastomer springs or hydraulic cylinders for pedal feel, this eliminates a lot of the parts of traditional Sim Racing pedals that often require maintenance or replacement. So although it is an incredibly complex system, most of that complexity comes through the software, giving you an incredibly reliable and consistent Sim Racing Pedal.

DRIVING EXPERIENCE

Force Feedback:

As this technology stands at the moment, it’s important to realise that the force feedback it provides is not too dissimilar to what you can get from other haptic feedback systems. The effects we have on the Simucube ActivePedal are quite detailed, providing a deeper sense of immersion and some additional feedback, which can improve your driving and lap times in some situations. (check out a more detailed description of that in our video review) But at the moment we are far from getting a truly dynamic pedal feel which varies as the in-game car changes throughout the race with brake fade etc.

While the hardware technology has everything it needs to be able to emulate the feeling of a “long pedal” as your brake fluid heats up, or wearing through your brake pads, the data just simply isn’t available form the sim, for Simucube to make the most of this potential.

This is a little disappointing, but we need to remember this is the first-ever set of Force Feedback Sim Racing Pedals, and hopefully, the floodgates will be opened for further development of these sorts of possibilities.

Pedal Feel:

In my opinion, the real game-changing aspect of these pedals, and where I see the real value at the moment, is the ability to get these pedals to feel exactly how you want. And then quickly change the pedal feel entirely to match a different car if you want to quickly change from F1 to a street car.

There is so much debate about what a brake pedal in particular “should” feel like. Does a real race car have a stiffer shorter throw, and does that make you faster? Or can you get more feel from a softer and longer travel with a clearly defined threshold point?

Simucube has provided some preset configurations from a few notable racing drivers including former Formula 1 driver Heikki Kovalainen, who set out to make the Simucube ActivePedals feel like his F1 cars. The result is an incredibly stiff pedal, with very little travel. This is a completely different approach to my own, which utilises creating a clearly defined threshold point so you can very easily hit the same level of braking force every time.

So whether you’re aiming to set the pedal up for maximum performance in a sim-racing environment, or want to replicate the exact feel of the 2008 F1 World Championship-winning McLaren MP4-23. You can do it with these pedals!