New pedals ? or New wheel?

Pencil · Aug 5, 2016

Hi Race Department

I've been racing for a little while now and I've got a T150, the wheel itself feels pretty nice, the force feedback can be a little rough but other than that it is quite nice, the only issue im struggling with is the pedals, the tension on the brake pedal has worn down already and im just pushing in a pedal with hardly any friction and it's hard to judge how much I need to brake for a corner other than trying to guesstimate each time I go for the brake by judging how far I need to push it down, which can be really fustrating because I either brake too much locking the wheels up or brake too little and either go wide or off the track. So my only solution is too completely learn the brake points to the inch and how much I need to push into the pedal, or get a new set of pedals and wheel or just the standalone pedals. What would be a descent option, how does the T3PA compare the the Fanatec pedals?

yusupov · Aug 5, 2016

id like to hear a direct comparison as well as i'm still using absolute dirt (TM TX) pedals after my csr elite's broke. probably the same youre using; these are absolute crap & really not tolerable for any kind of proper simracing, so i would absolutely upgrade yr pedals first.

i'm probably just going to get the v3's but the supercheap price + decent build of the T3PAs is tempting (and it will be night & day from what youre using i assure you).

Skazz · Aug 5, 2016

I can provide a comparison of the Fanatec Clubsport v1, T3PA-Pro, T3PA, stock T300 pedals.

As far as I'm concerned, you get what you pay for. The pricing and relative capabilities are pretty much appropriate in each case.

Some anecdotes:

I tried to use the stock T300 pedals for a bit, out of curiosity, but gave up quickly. They are not stable, not enough brake pedal pressure, etc... I found it hugely difficult to consistently avoid locking up under braking. Modding the brake apparently helps, but I couldn't be bothered.
If you like the idea of a load cell, which basically means stamping on the brake using force muscle memory rather than rotation-of-foot muscle memory, then a Fanatec set is absolutely worth the money. It's well constructed, nicely adjustable, and feels solid. However the heel rest does limit how you can orient the pedals, especially if you race in socks.
Personally I'm not a huge fan of load cells in general. I like racing in socks, and find the load cell to be unnecessarily heavy. So I actually have my clubsports boxed up and bought a T3PA to use with my T300. This is a downgrade in many ways (shorter throw, lower spring tension, no load cell) but I find them more comfortable to use and after so many years of braking without load cells (G25, T500) I don't have a problem with that.
The difference between T3PA and T3PA-Pro pedals in terms of use is minimal. You can feel a hint more play in the T3PA pedal arms when poking them, and there are fewer screw threads for mounting the pedal faces in different ways on to the arms. But once racing the feel of brake/accelerator is almost identical.
Those plastic pedal arms of the T3PA are still quite chunky, and so far I've never been worried they might snap or something. I've had my set for around a year and they feel fine (in fact they are lower maintenance than the clubsports, which need regular oiling to avoid squeaking).
The clutch is firmer on the T3PA than the T3PA-Pro. This is due to the Pro being designed to be also used inverted, so the accelerator/clutch are identical springs on the Pro. The T3PA clutch is firmer than the accelerator.
Both the T3PA and T3PA-Pro have the conical brake mod which can be optionally added to augment the purely spring-based pedal movement with progressively more force requirement. It's similar to a load cell however you are still rotating the pedal while applying more force, whereas the load cell system has the pedal stationary (after initial small travel) and you simply apply more force to the pedal face to brake harder.
In terms of force requirement to brake 100%, the Thrustmaster options rate themselves up to a maximum of well under half of the pressure that the Fanatec load cell can be configured to require.
I've never tried the clubsport v3, but I assume the brake load cell is similar but improved, the accelerator will feel similar unless you put buy an optional damper, and the clutch is changed and gives a biting point feel, whereas the v1s were just a simple spring. So the added cost and added value of the v3 seems to be acceptable for what you get.

Now the clubsport v3 pedals are quite expensive (especially in EU since the dollar/euro price adjustment). They offer a better experience but you do need to have them mounted properly, and since you can't remove the load cell from the system you also need to be happy with braking via force muscle memory.
If those two things are true, then the v3s will be a good investment.
If that seems like overkill, then the T3PA should be good enough to consistently improve your braking well above what the stock pedals offer. Especially with the optional conical brake mod to play with.

ouvert · Aug 5, 2016

pedals

GeniFx · Aug 5, 2016

Upgrade pedals. I havent any exp with fanatec but i have a set of t3a-pro with brake mod and i just got my new protosimtec pt1. And i have to say its night and day. But before my trustmasters i got the g25 and its a big leap up to the thrustmasters aswell. But i will sat its worth going for a set pedals that have a load cell.

But if you go with the t3pa-pro you shuld buy the brake mod aswell. They are Nice pedals aswell.

You Get what you pay for.
But if you can aford it and its the fanatec you whant. Go for the now. If not you will do it later.

I know since i have upgraded wheel/pedals 2 times in 5 month's

Hope some of this made some sense

Good luck.

My993C2 · Aug 5, 2016

I recently built a new sim racing rig and settled on the Fanatec V3 pedals with the optional damper installed on the brake pedal as a compromise. Prior to that I was using the "perfect brake" load cell mod on a set of G27 pedals. The load cell I had on the G27s weren't bad. They were definitely a nice upgrade over using pedals with no load cell at all. Plus the new Fanatec V3 pedals are an upgrade over the modified G27s. But the V3s are still not quite where I would like my pedals to be. As an example, when I am driving at Nordschleife in the sim and coming off of the Antoniusbusche straight, of course am not expecting any G-Forces when I apply the brakes. But the pressure the V3s give me during this hard braking phase are much too light. There is a local business which has full motion simulators that I can rent and they use high end hydraulic brake pedals and you really do need to stomp down on the brake pedals to get the car to slow down sufficiently on the same portion of the track. But with the V3s I only need to apply light pressure and the car does slow down enough. To me this hurts the immersion factor. Of course now we are comparing high end realistic pedal sets that cost thousands of dollars versus the Fanatec V3s that only cost hundreds. You get what you pay for. Do I wish I had a more realistic braking experience? Yes I do. But as mentioned earlier, the Fanatecs V3s are a compromise. A compromise to not only save some money but also to save my knees. You see braking with high end pedal sets do cause me more knee pain during long stints in the sim. It might be different if I was younger. But my knees while not bad, have seen better days as I am no Spring Chicken here. LOL

So what am I trying to say here? The Fanatec V3 pedals are good. But there are better pedals sets out there if you are willing to pay for them. However if you are not using any sort of load cell or better high end brake pedal, your braking experience in the game is not even remotely close to the braking pressure you will need in the real world. To some of us this is important. To others it's not because to some it's just a game.

PS: the Fanatec V3s (as well as higher end pedal sets), need to be bolted down to a rig. If you can not bolt them down to something, if you only want your pedal sets to be located on your floor or carpet, it's probably best to seek out a different solution.

Boby Kim · Aug 6, 2016

Depends how serious u are with racing. When buying high end pedals the only gain you will experience is the braking pedal and only in corners when it comes down to race faster laps. Once accustomed you will notice that it is "easier" to trail brake, a technique that won't come with the pedals itself, you will need to learn it.
On the other side: a friend is able to trail brake with the default G27 pedals.

The gain on a High end steering wheel is more precision. The wheel is updating data much faster and i was astonished about the difference going from a G27 to a TM 500 (which is midrange).

But beside all technical aspects, its a hobby so treat yourself good once in a while