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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[RustyDriver00]

Just thought I'd add an update - Got an email from Demon Tweeks yesterday to say my pedals have been dispatched. Checked the tracking and they will be delivered today.

Won't have time to set them up until next week though unfortunately

Congratulations David, they're excellent pedals, well worth the money.

 

[MCBRISKET]

Congrats. I can't wait until they are back in stock.

 

[Fabrizio85]

Congrats. I can't wait until they are back in stock.

They're in stock right now! Just bought one set

 

[HugoB]

Out of stock already stuff is selling like hotcakes

Didn't know there were soo many crazy simracers

 

[MCBRISKET]

Are there really thousands of us out there buying these things up as soon as they hit the store? Or are they taking about a month to finish 50 sets, which are then sold immediately?

I want a set badly and I've missed the two or three 15 minute windows that they have been in stock the last two months.

 

[dave kirk]

Got mine about a week ago, not been able to use them yet because my Sim Labs cockpit ordered from Demon-Tweaks is taking weeks longer than promised, and my current cockpit has way too much flex to test them

 

[Fabrizio85]

Are there really thousands of us out there buying these things up as soon as they hit the store? Or are they taking about a month to finish 50 sets, which are then sold immediately?

--Probably the second--

I want a set badly and I've missed the two or three 15 minute windows that they have been in stock the last two months.

I was lucky this time, I don't visit the website so often but I've seen a post on FB some hours ago. Like you I've missed the previous calls. However they're capable to refill faster their store from now.

 

[Elaphe]

I lost my interest some weeks ago, so I spent my money in a keyboard with Topres, and now, if I decided to update my cockpit, I would go for a OSW instead.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I'm curious about the feel of the clutch on the Sprint Pedals.

I've been running Fanatec CS 3.0 with PBK for over a year now. I can't feel the clutch let off at all with the strongest spring Fanatec has it feels about the same as the throttle to my foot. I can only feel the let off with my hand.

I understood that Heusinkveld improved the feel of their clutch over the Pro pedals and it "appears" there is more let off than even the Ultimates.

I realize people buy the Sprint pedals for their improved brake feel and I'm sure I would enjoy that as well, but I really miss having something that feels like a real clutch.

I have to admit there is something about plug-n-play with Fanatec controls that is nice and I only have one USB ports left. Heusinkveld recommends not using USB hubs with their controls and says things can be flaky with hubs.

Right now I have:

All Fanatec controls 1 USB 2.0
NLRv3 1 USB 3.0
Button Box 1 USB 2.0 ( great candidate for a USB hub )

My thoughts are that a sequential shifter and a button box are very low bandwidth devices and could share a USB Hub along with a hand brake if I did a Sprint Combo, but I would want the pedals on a dedicated port just like the wheel base and the NLRv3.

 

[cap7ainclu7ch]

Has anyone compared these to the PT2's? I'm considering upgrading from my CSL with LC and both seem like really solid options for the money.

 

[Fabrizio85]

I have to admit there is something about plug-n-play with Fanatec controls that is nice and I only have one USB ports left. Heusinkveld recommends not using USB hubs with their controls and says things can be flaky with hubs.

My Sprint pedals use only one USB, the same the HE sequential shifter and work like a charm. Don't have the clutch though.

 

[Fabrizio85]

My thoughts are that a sequential shifter and a button box are very low bandwidth devices and could share a USB Hub along with a hand brake if I did a Sprint Combo, but I would want the pedals on a dedicated port just like the wheel base and the NLRv3.

Tried the shifter with an USB Hub and it does its job if it may help.

 

[ColinMac]

I ordered my Sprints the other day from DemonTweaks. It will be interesting in the light of the recent posts from Heusinkveld how long they take - the sales lady said they needed to order them. Looking forward to a settling in period with them soon (hopefully). Hadn't even given any thought to USB ports, although I use all my fanatec gear through a powered USB 3.0 hub. Maybe it's time to look at this more closely. VR makes it complicated as it loves to eat ports too...

 

[RCHeliguy]

I ordered my Sprints the other day from DemonTweaks. It will be interesting in the light of the recent posts from Heusinkveld how long they take - the sales lady said they needed to order them. Looking forward to a settling in period with them soon (hopefully). Hadn't even given any thought to USB ports, although I use all my fanatec gear through a powered USB 3.0 hub. Maybe it's time to look at this more closely. VR makes it complicated as it loves to eat ports too...

Exactly! I have 3 USB ports for VR, one USB shared for my logitech mouse and keyboard, one for the seat mover, one for the wheebase, and one for the button box.

If I went to Heusinkveld Sprint brakes ( one port ), Heusinkveld Hand brake ( one port ), and Heusinkveld sequential Shifter ( one port ), I'm now 2 ports over and need to figure out which ones to share on a USB hub.

 

[Elaphe]

Where can I find 3D models of the Sprint pedals, or at least a side view with exact dimensions? I need to know the total height from the base to the top.

 

[RCHeliguy]

The pedal surfaces can be rotated to be taller or shorter ( the difference is 20mm )

The best I can tell the maximum height would be ~242mm with the pedals at 90 degrees and tall.
~222mm with the pedal short and 90 degrees.
Lower than that if you have any angle on the pedals.

I took an image of a pedal from the side with a known 69.5mm center to center on the bolt slots and extrapolated the height.

 

[Elaphe]

Thanks. With your measurements, by taking a look at some photos and with the help of the most advanced CAD modelling techniques, I've made this high-poly, high-detailed, 99,9% accurate 3D model of the throttle and the brake pedals

Bah, at least is enough to determine the size and position in the cockpit.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I saw the Sprints were available this morning for a short while. However the hand brake wasn't and I want the full combo. I think Heusinkveld has decided it is better if they don't announce when they have products available since many people are pinging their website religiously.

Here's to hoping they get completely caught up soon! But also congratulations to them for making a product that is in such high demand!

 

[Elaphe]

I think I can program a script to update the HE sprint pedals webpage every few minutes and check if the out of stock box is present (color check). In case it's not, the script will make a looping beep sound. I will leave the script running in one of my computers night and day, with the volume to the max. The script will also send me several warning e-mail messages when this happens, so I will also be aware of the stock update when I'm at work.

 

[RCHeliguy]

LOL! That's pretty extreme.
I'm just going to check in periodically and the day all three items are in stock, I'll order.
Gives me something fun to look forward too