I have had a few people ask me about the Speed Source pedals (
http://bit.ly/77DLMP) I got from Sim-Sport (
http://www.sim-sport.net), so I thought I would write up a review here for people to read if they choose.
First, I can say that the customer service I got here was amazing and continues to be. Was a huge difference in response and honesty from the other pedals I had previously. The Sim-Sport pedals were shipped out the same day I paid, and I got them within a few days. This was opposed to paying in full and being told 1 week, and having to wait close to 4 months for the other companies pedals I had before. There was also obviously never any excuses, or delays in getting a response to any emails I have ever sent, which was a breathe of fresh air for sure.
Most of the pedals they have sold so far have been to the real racer market. Meaning a real race car driver is buying a complete turn key assembly. So I believe I was one of the first 'sim racer first' guys to get my hands on these to try them. I feel like I have been able to give some important feedback for the next generation of these pedals which I am almost positive are already in the works, that will give you an option to have it setup as much like a real car as possible, or more geared towards the sim racer who wants a more realistic feel.
Mainly, what I mean in regards to this is the brake. Sim-Sport sets up the original pedals with, what has now been renamed because they thought what I called it was funny, a rubber 'biscuit'. That biscuit does not give you a lot of throw on the brake pedal. I think maybe only about an inch and a half to two inches total. Which, measurements and feel and all of that was taken straight out of the Speed Source real race cars, so that is extremely accurate to how a real brake would feel. To go even further on this, Sim-Sport will even go as far as to ask you (if you drive a car in real life) what kind of car it is, what the pedal setup is, how they feel etc. Then they will preset the pedals as closely as they can to what you have in real life, so that when you get them it is as close to your real car as you are going to get anywhere on the market.
This is great for a real racer, or someone who wants to really train the way a real car feels, but as a pure sim racer, you probably want more range of throw on that brake pedal because #1 it isn't what you are used to and #2 the more range of throw you can get out of your pedals, the smoother you can be (obviously everything is 'to a point'). So working with Sim-Sport we found a spring that offers you that range of motion, but still retains the overall feel of the load cell braking system. I can for sure say that they feel smooth, and even with the spring more realistic than the previous pedals I owned. Sim-Sport has talked about and will more than likely have the option included in the next version of pedals being worked on. To give you the choice of a super realistic feel, or a realistic feel but still geared towards a sim racer.
The pedals themselves are amazing well built, and are bound to last a lifetime. There is every adjustment imaginable on the pedals to suit your style. You can move the gas pedal in further to set it up nicely for a heel/toe setup, or adjust the throw of all 3 pedals, and as well you can adjust the angle of the leverage arm from the pedal arm to the pass through to give each pedal its own feel as it is being pressed. I have tried a ton of the angles and still have a few more I would like to try just to see which I like best. The brake pedal is completely adjustable with the load cell. You can adjust the stiffness, the throw, and even how sensitive the load cell is. So there should be no issue with adjusting it to get comfortable with at all. The only other thing I did to the pedals was to take some white lithium grease and just apply a little bit on the pass throughs, and a touch on the end of each spring in between the spring and the spring retainer just to make everything extra sexy smooth, which it is.
And lastly and probably the big question, am I any faster or slower? Well, when I got my first set of load cell pedals, it took me a long time to adjust. I would say at least 3-4 weeks of consistent driving to get to where I was previously. I think you need to be honest with yourself and realize, that making a change from a spring pedal to a load cell brake, you are going to have an adjustment period. Sure some people will boast 'Oh I am just as fast right out of the bat with this than I was before'. Well, I would say if that guys being 100% honest he is the minority. It's a big change, and will take anyone a little bit of time to adjust and get 100% comfy like they were previously. Obviously now I am more used to the load cell pedal setup, so it isn't/hasn't taken me as long to adjust. I have had almost no time for racing lately, so I am not nearly as polished or fast as I was at the start of the season, not to mention while I am used to the load cell system, this is still an adjustment for me as well.
Using my last race, which was the DP at RA. At the start of the season I remember I practiced a lot for RA, and did a 1:58.6 in q as my best lap. This time at RA, I had about 1 hour of practice the night before (because I didn't expect or know people were trying to organize a Monday night race, which hasn't gone official since week 1 of the Pro Series) and about 10 minutes after I got home on Monday to warmup before qual. I did a 1:58.9. So with a lot less practice and less time with these pedals I am already almost as quick. How good of a measuring stick that really is, I am not sure. I think to be fair I would need another month or so with the pedals to be sure. But I can honestly say I feel that with the range of adjustments with the Sim-Sports, I will be a bit quicker after I get them sorted out, and stop changing them just to try it, and really buckle down and get used to them.
But part of the reason I am changing them so much is I am working with Sim-Sport to develop a 'Set-up Sheet' because there are so many options. We think it would be a good idea to host these on their site, so new customers can see how others are using them, and try out those settings to see how they like them.
In short I think these pedals are great for anyone. Be it a real racer, a sim racer, someone who likes to tweak things a lot to make them feel better, or even someone who just wants the factory to 'set it and forget it' (because they feel great when you get them too). For anyone looking to get more out of a set of pedals and have them last a lifetime these are a great choice!
Anyway, I think that is about all for now. As if that wasn't enough
>:)
