Heusinkveld Sim Pedals Sprint Interview and First Impressions

[Paul Jeffrey]

We talk to Niels Heusinkveld and try out the soon to be released Heusinkveld Sim Pedals Sprint.

Catching up with Niels Heusinkveld at the recent very busy Sim Racing Expo over in Germany, we took the opportunity to quiz the man behind Heusinkveld Engineering about his newly announced Sim Pedals Sprint set of high end sim racing pedals. With Niels in a buoyant mood following what appeared to be a largely very positive reception to the new hardware, we took the opportunity to question him about the features and improvements of the new gear, learning plenty about how some dramatic software features and production improvements have moved the product range on from the already very impressive offerings of HE Engineering.

Not content with merely taking Niels at his word, we also couldn't quite resist the chance to get strapped into the cockpit and have a go ourselves, recording a short but sweet talk and drive segment as we give our first impressions based on the limited time we had with these brand new set of pedals.

Frankly, I was very impressed, although it is exceptionally hard to gather any serious kind of feel with something like a high end set of pedals with such a short period of time behind the wheel... not helped any by a crowd of people watching on, and a camera and microphone in my face!

However, with that said I'm going to be lucky enough to take receipt of a review set of these pedals in the very near future, so please consider this more of a taster video, with a much more in depth and detailed look at the HE Sim Pedals Sprint set to appear on our various social media channels in the near future. So stay tuned, get subscribed and watch out for some new footage in the (hopefully) coming weeks...

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[F1Aussie]

Thanks for the post, using on USB hub or direct?

On USB hub, that could have been what caused the glitch.

 

[White Hawk]

On USB hub, that could have been what caused the glitch.

Yeah, I think I read they don’t recommend using a hub which is why I asked, annoying as I don’t have many left.

Was it a USB 2.0 or 3.0 hub?

Also what wheel base have you got? Anything that could cause EMI interference?

 

[RCHeliguy]

FYI, The Sprint Pedals are supposed to have EMI shielding so that isn't an issue AND they are supposed to be transducer friendly meaning they can take a lot of vibration.

I recently went to a 7 port USB hub. However that does leave 3 ports open on the front of my Computer. So far with my Fanatec components, NLRv3 and button box I'm having no issues with my USB Hub, but I have seen where Heusinkveld recommends giving the pedals their own port on the computer.

 

[F1Aussie]

It is a powered hub with 4 2.0 and 3 3.0 ports, I use the 2.0 ports for all my peripherals.
I have a T500 wheelbase but in two weeks will have a DD1.
Good to know about being shaker friendly as I have one under my pedal plate, forgot to hook it back up last night so that would not have caused it. I did have sli max manager Pro stop working around the same time so it is possible
I had a of issue at the time.
Good to know about having their own port on pc, I did not know that recommendation. Love the pedals though, I find it hard to believe anything could feel and perform better. The amount of adjustability is insane!

 

[anton_Chez]

I've had input errors and issues with hubs and certain ports on the motherboard so it definitely pays to swap things around if you're having the same issues. Both my HE shifter and pedals had issues mid race which caused failures but they were USB related. The more I add to my setup the more of a demon the USB standard seems to be.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Good to know.

 

[F1Aussie]

Ran a couple of races tonight and no glitches, hopefully it was a one off but yes I have issues with USB ports every now and then. I have 5 plugged in to race so 5 times the possibility that one has a hissy fit.

 

[feher_90]

Guys any news of demon tweeks? It is assumed that they would receive stock of my order on the 17th, but I have not received an email confirming the shipment yet. Now on the web it says that there are two days left to have stock ...

 

[manc0ntr0]

No news here. I email them few days ago and they answered saying that they still expected to receive the stock on day 17/04

 

[White Hawk]

Guys any news of demon tweeks? It is assumed that they would receive stock of my order on the 17th, but I have not received an email confirming the shipment yet. Now on the web it says that there are two days left to have stock ...

I ordered on the 15th, but I think that stock isn’t necessarily for us, just when they are getting at least one in for AN order, might only be getting a small amount at a time from Heusinkveld.

 

[feher_90]

Go disappointment with heusinkveld, I love the sprint pedals, but I think they have handled sales very badly. I sent an email yesterday to demon tweeks but they still have not answered me ...

 

[EsxPaul]

Go disappointment with heusinkveld, I love the sprint pedals, but I think they have handled sales very badly. I sent an email yesterday to demon tweeks but they still have not answered me ...

Yesterday was a bank holiday in the UK so there probably wasn't any staff on hand to answer.

I agree with you on the way sales have been handled though. The communication could have been handled much better.

 

[EsxPaul]

I've just checked the Demon Tweeks site and the Availability note has been added back to the product description section which states mid May for some deliveries.

That note had been missing for the last few weeks and the fact that it has been put back up today could mean demand is outpacing production and orders are getting backed up once again.

 

[feher_90]

Yes, but it's supposed to be for new orders. However when you select the option of the three pedals, it says that there are two days left ...

 

[RCHeliguy]

I was told I would get mine from a shipment on the 10th and crickets...

 

[feher_90]

I have preordered fanatec DD1 base for June , it will surely arrive before the pedals if this continues like this​

 

[ColinMac]

To be fair though folks, we all knew these pedals were in short supply before we ordered them. Heusinkveld themselves have been more than open about the difficulties of volume production, and that they were having to ramp up staff etc in an attempt to increase output volumes.

When I ordered them - I fully expected to be waiting a while for them - and ordering from Demon Tweeks only meant I could actually pre-order rather than wait for the Heus. website to show 'in stock' - I didn't really think it was a mechanism to bypass a long queue of buyers.

I did call Demon Tweeks (I'd mistakenly ordered two keyboard trays instead of one) and the lady there gave me more accurate information about pedal ship times than the website (which actually said they were in stock) when I ordered. She did say they were at the mercy of the manufacturer's shipping estimates.

Unless you need the funds back, hang in there. I don't forsee anyone being able to easily order them via the Heus. website any time soon.

 

[feher_90]

Yes, I think the wait will be worth it

 

[RCHeliguy]

We do get excited about our toys don't we

 

[Mark Burton]

I managed to get a set of the 2 pedal set from gperformance.eu within 24 hours, they still have stock of that helps.

I’ll just get the clutch at a later date when they come back into stock.