Simucube ActivePedal Ultimate Review

A revolutionary piece of sim racing hardware, the Simucube Active Pedal Ultimate is extremely versatile, but also expensive. Is it worth the investment? Here is our review.

Recently, we reviewed three mid-range load cell pedal sets for you and highlighted how important pedals are for modulation and that consistent lap times are usually achieved by getting a good feel for the brakes. The MOZA CRP2 was included, and a big plus for us was its customizability through the Performance Kit with different elastomer blocks and springs to simulate different racing classes

But little did we know that a short time later, a package from Finland would arrive - from none other than Simucube. They offer probably the most expensive consumer pedals in the world, which for many sim racers is nothing less than the next big leap in technology. After we used potentiometer, hall sensor, load cell and hydraulic pedals for many years, Simucube has gone one step further and uses a motorized actuator in combination with clever software that allows us to create almost any pedal feel with numerous additional features and effects with just a few clicks of your mouse.

After a first test at Sim Formula earlier this year, we were looking forward to mounting two of these Simucube ActivePedal Ultimates to our future high-end rig and sharing our experiences with you. Is it so incredibly good that it justifies the price of well over €2,000 per pedal? Let's find out!

Increased Pedal Force & First Impressions​

I have to admit that I almost fell off my chair when I first heard the price. Let's face it, that is a LOT of money and no matter how deep into the hobby you are, most people will not be able or willing to afford something like this, no matter how revolutionary it is - especially when you can get really good load cells or hydraulic pedals for a fifth or a third of the price. The first piece of good news, however, is that the technology is already getting cheaper - just last week, Simucube unveiled a slightly more 'affordable' version that costs around €600 less for a single pedal, the ActivePedal Pro.

Compared to the Ultimate, as the top-flight model is now known and that we are discussing in this review, it lacks a bit of power. Instead of a maximum pedal force of 170kg, the Pro version 'only' allows 110kg, and there is no option to mechanically increase the pedal offset, although the values are not very different. More importantly for most people, the Pro has a three-year warranty instead of the Ultimate's five years. The fact that such an expensive product comes with a five-year warranty is certainly reassuring.



If you are a Simucube Active Pedal owner and you have just stumbled across the 170kg, the pedals were previously rated at 150kg - but this will be increased to 170kg with the October software update. Quite interesting! I read on the Simucube Discord that this was probably implemented based on feedback from F2 & F3 drivers who use the Active Pedal for training and for whom 150kg was not enough. Crazy to think of! This of course shows the direction this is going in - we are talking about a simulator training tool for professionals.

The first impression of professionalism strikes you when you unpack the parts. The crates and packaging immediately exude 'sports equipment' charm. The design of the pedals, like that of the Simucube wheel bases, is industrially functional, with an absolute 'no bullshit / bulletproof' appeal. We also used the Simucube baseplate, so mounting the ActivePedal Ultimate to our Sim-Lab rig was easy and very solid.


Tidying up the cable situation, before and after - it might be annoying, but it is certainly time well spent.

In addition to the Simucube Link for connecting the products to the PC, the two-piece set also includes an Ethernet switch. The cabling is clearly explained in the manual, but sim rigs are always a bit of a cable mess, and with these pedals it gets even more out of hand. With a bit of management, however, it still looks tidy in the end. As we also have a Simucube 2 Pro wheelbase in use with the Valo GT-23 wheel, the Ethernet switch and Simucube Link allow us to bundle all these products into a single USB slot, which is very handy!

Setup & Adjustability​

Initial setup using the Simucube Tuner software was also easy. As mentioned above, the pedal can also be adjusted slightly mechanically. If you change this part, you gain some pedal travel but lose the high force option. You then select which function the pedal should perform - throttle, brake or clutch. Offsetting between brake and throttle, as often seen in race cars, is also possible via the initial setup. When the Active Pedals move on their own for the first time during calibration, the hype is real!

Just one look at the Tuner software shows the extent of the possibilities. From preload, travel, force, curves, dead zones, end stop to damping & friction, everything can be set in one screen - at the click of a mouse, without tools, without effort. The nice thing about this is that when you press the pedal down, all the changes you make are sent straight back to the pedal. It sounds silly, but it is a bit like magic, one of those moments when engineering and technology really impress you. Especially when you consider that everything is controlled by a motor and the pedal has no 'organic' components such as springs or elastomers.



Scrolling down, we come to the Force Feedback effects, here using a brake pedal as an example. These are all disabled by default, some may be gimmicks, others may be useful. Depending on the game, different effects are available at different frequencies and intensities, a list of which can be found on the Simucube website.

Put simply, we can activate and fine-tune vibration effects for different driving situations or vehicle states. For example, when we brake into the ABS or traction control range, the pedal provides haptic feedback at the intensity we choose. Of course, this can give you an advantage in some situations, as you intuitively understand what the car is doing much better if you can utilize the feedback in an effective way.

This may also explain why iRacing does not provide telemetry for traction control activation and brake lockup - is there a concern that Active Pedal drivers will have an advantage over conventional pedal drivers at a competitive level?

Brake Threshold Vibration​

An alternative to Brake Lockup is the telemetry-independent Brake Threshold Vibration setting. Here, I can set a trigger input level from which my pedal will give me feedback. Application example? iRacing Porsche Cup. A car without ABS, where it is important to master the braking technique and where you never fully apply the brakes. If you set the effect to around 65% input, you have another muscle memory trigger in addition to the force curve or pedal resistance.

As some corners can be braked harder for and the setup can change the car, you need to know exactly what you are doing. This applies to just about every setting on this pedal. What it helped me a lot with was the ABS feedback, because in most simulators with cars with ABS you want a certain optimum brake pressure to avoid too much ABS activation, because that can unsettle the car and cost you a few tenths per lap in the worst case.

The effect is available in almost every recent sim. It is also quite realistic. In WRC it was good immersion to have a bit more rattling in the rally car, using the G-Force and RPM effect, plus the lockup vibration made the car vibrate a bit when using the handbrake.

To get the most out of every setting, you really need to know what you want from the pedal and how to adapt it to your driving style. At this point it should be clear that this is not a beginner's pedal. And most of us tend to use exactly one pedal with exactly one pressure point, often for several years. You tend to adapt to the pedal, not the other way around, so you have to rethink and start experimenting.

Replicating Real Pedal Feel​

Simucube supports this process with several presets, including some from prominent drivers such as former F1 driver Heikki Kovalainen or Daniel Morad, who has replicated the pedal feel of his real-life AMG GT3. He also included the RPM effect, which does ot give you an advantage in terms of driving but adds a very subtle buzz as the car speeds up. I was also surprised, that the brake pedal feel in the AMG GT3 seems to be way smoother and not as stiff as I expected.

To be honest I prefer the preset from Team Redline's Ole Steinbraten as a baseline for GT3 driving, with a way stiffer brake pedal. But it is cool to have the option to just drive the AMG GT3 with a real life GT3 drivers setting - sometimes, it's just about fun and trying things.

And that is a really big factor, apart from the competitive thought and the desire to improve. You can just have fun with these pedals and try things out. If you are building a simulator that is as immersive as possible, where you can drive different road cars, including in Assetto Corsa or the upcoming AC Evo, where you want to create a realistic feel. This pedal definitely makes that possible.

Summary​

For a significant amount of money you get pedals with unrivalled adjustability. What other set allows you to adjust pedal travel from 1 to 62mm with the click of a button? The quality and smoothness of the Force effects is also unrivalled, and the consistency and feel of the pedal is second to none. If we did not have the set of two, I would probably only use one active pedal for the brake and a normal one for the throttle, although the adjustability and TC effects on the throttle were already very convincing!

Is there a downside? Maybe. For example, the friction noise the pedals make is a bit louder than a conventional pedal set, a problem if you have family or roommates near your racing rig.

We are very curious to see if MOZA can match this with their mBooster Active Pedal, which manufacturers will follow with similar products, and we will also be testing the new Simucube ActivePedal Pro in a few days time.

Rating: 5 / 5

Have you tried the pedal yourself? Be sure to leave your own rating for the ActivePedal Ultimate by clicking here!

Let us know your impressions in the comments below and join the discussion in our hardware forum!