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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[RCHeliguy]

I'm looking forward to playing with them.
I'd like better brake modulation, more resistance on the gas and more pressure on the clutch so you can actually feel the let off.

 

[Mr Latte]

Hey owners, any chance of some up close images and more feedback on usage please.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Hey owners, any chance of some up close images and more feedback on usage please.

When mine arrive, possibly 2 weeks from now, I'll be happy to give you macro images up really close if you want them

 

[MCBRISKET]

Are there other pedal brands that are of similar price and quality that are in stock? Been wanting to finish up this rig and ditch the G27 pedals since November.

I suppose its possible that the Heusinkveld's fill a niche in terms of quality and price, hence never being in stock.

 

[RCHeliguy]

This seems to be a very crazy price point. Below is the only other set of pedals in a similar price range that are very well reviewed. Unfortunately they are made in batches and are out of stock most of the time. Go figure! These are actually a bit less expensive.

 

[Elaphe]

Has anyone tried applying this kind of anti-slip high traction tape on the brake pad? I wonder if it's the same kind of material used for Tilton pads and other real racing pedals.

https://www.amazon.com/Tape-King-An...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=AHBHWGFEJJ0Z319HSZM4

 

[RCHeliguy]

I've actually got a PILE of that tape in both 1" and 4" wide rolls back from when I was selling a piece of indoor waterski training equipment I designed and had fabricated locally. I was actually thinking of pulling some out to put on what will be my heel plate. This is from 1999, so I'm not sure what the condition of the adhesive is.

 

[Zoof2]

Hi ,
Does anyone know if the sprints have the same mounting bolt pattern as the Pro's ?
As i already own the sim lab sliding base plate which do fit the pro set and it would save me buying the new sprints base plate at additional cost.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Heusinkveld has detailed dimensions of the bolt patterns on their website, but I believe their dimensions and bolt patterns are very different.

 

[White Hawk]

Still deciding on if I should go for these now or wait, would be really nice to have them to go along with my DD base.

Anyone who’s received them got any more to say on them as there isn’t much info or any reviews that I could find? So far all I could find is a couple of people have had load cell failures which is a little concerning.

 

[ColinMac]

My set of Sprint's, with almost no fettling, are absolutely superb. I tried them at the SimExpo last year and knew even then I'd have to get a set. Pretty much everyone I was with from RD said similar.

So good, in fact, that when I get back my Abarth 595, I have to 're-learn' my clutch and brake pedals for a few seconds after doing some sim racing the night before!

I'm not a big fan of the optional mounting plate and it's odd-stand off posts. It fitted fine to my SimLab's rig and it's certainly adjustable - it's a bit fiddly due to the almost infinite customisation they've built in. I think I'd have preferred a simple alu plate with slots drilled, similar to the Pro pedalset. I needed a heel rest though, so hey...

They're beautifully made, nice finish on the pedal faces, and the darker structural stuff too. Truly feel like an Apple product. I'd be loath to attach grip tape to them for sure.

The heel plate is also a nicely finished item, but made of several sections allowing the heel plate itself at different heights. Tiny screws holding it onto the rest of the plate assembly though, and the whole thing was mounted via posts to a lower plate for affixing to the rig. Much more complex than I expected.

(I'd say if you have the Pro plate, I'd just be tempted to drill that for the Sprints if its possible - I know the slots might get in the way but I'd give it a shot)

Uploading pics is such a pain here I tend to shy away from it, but I'll happily take some pics on my phone of my installation if it's of any interest...

 

[RCHeliguy]

I also didn't like the looks of the Sprint mount plate and will be mounting my pedals directly to my Sim-Lab P1 pedal section. I have a 1/4" aluminum foot plate mounted to the front of my pedal area slightly raised on isolators with a transducer on each side and it's height can be adjusted quite a bit.

I'm hoping I can get the setup perfect adjusting only the plate height and without needing to tweak the height of the pedals relative to the plate.

 

[Elaphe]

After some weeks I could say they are quite good, but not much better than my old Fanatec Clubsport V3. The pedals pads are not so great. They should be a bit more curved and the brake should be grippy and not slippery. The best aspect of these pedals is how adjustable they are, both in hardware and software.

 

[RCHeliguy]

After some weeks I could say they are quite good, but not much better than my old Fanatec Clubsport V3. The pedals pads are not so great. They should be a bit more curved and the brake should be grippy and not slippery. The best aspect of these pedals is how adjustable they are, both in hardware and software.

I hope I feel differently after mine arrive. I never liked the clutch pedal on the V3. I don't feel a damn thing even with the strong springs in place. I want more resistance on the throttle and a more progressive brake feel. I also want to adjust the angle relative to my foot plate and to be able to adjust the spacing between the pedals a bit. Time will tell.

 

[ColinMac]

I used the supplied plastic 'D' pedals with the extensions on my Fanatec V3's, as the flat pedal faces just seemed odd.

Horses for courses, of course, but I think these are night and day improvements, compared to the Fanatecs.

For me it's the 'feel' of the brake pedal. I had the fanatec damper kit, and I still couldn't quite find the sweet spot - the Sprints, as you say, you just find the perfect range and then build the braking power curve to it.

Love em !

 

[White Hawk]

I used the supplied plastic 'D' pedals with the extensions on my Fanatec V3's, as the flat pedal faces just seemed odd.

Horses for courses, of course, but I think these are night and day improvements, compared to the Fanatecs.

For me it's the 'feel' of the brake pedal. I had the fanatec damper kit, and I still couldn't quite find the sweet spot - the Sprints, as you say, you just find the perfect range and then build the braking power curve to it.

Love em !

Did you have the Brake Performance Kit on your V3’s?

 

[RCHeliguy]

I have the red and green brake performance kit inserts on mine and it honestly doesn't feel bad. I'm very curious how the Sprints feel in comparison. I plan to try them as setup initially and then go from there. I saw a recent SRG YouTube video where he found limited value putting the damper kit on the throttle, but as most other reviews he felt there was very little value on the brake and he liked the performance kit better.

 

[White Hawk]

One other thing is the Sprints only have a 65KG load cell compared to the 90KG one on the V3’s, is there a trick with those numbers or is it really that much lower, seems odd to me.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I've read in a few places that while the CS v3 has a 90Kg loadcell, that you don't actually exert that much pressure on the brake pedal to get 90Kg on the loadcell. This could potentially be a geometry issue. I'm not sure and I don't have a Kg pressure meter, but this seems like something that could be measured. You aren't the only one who is curious and I haven't seen actual graphs from tests on the Fanatec brake pedal to prove that what I've read is anything but a guess.

The Sprints do have graphs showing the brake pressure at the pedal vs. travel and as I understand it you are getting the full 65Kg.

All that said, I'll only be able to tell you what I feel when I press on them to set the 100% scale during calibration.

 

[ColinMac]

Did you have the Brake Performance Kit on your V3’s?

No - just the damper kit. I'd also seen SRG I think comment that it didn't really improve the feel - and that the performance kit was the way to go, but by then I knew I was aiming for Sprints.

I'm obviously curious how other folks get on with a comparison, but I never settled fully 'into' the CSV3 pedals - although I'm sure other folks do.

Good luck either way !