This is a review of the heel/toe spacers kindly given to me by Brian Clancy of Simracinghardware.com to test for the Logitech G25 (although Brian will be making these for pretty much any pedal setup). They are the first part of a total kit - hence the part 1 title. Part two will be an offset to move the pedal left and right (much like what you can do on the G27). I should at this point mention why I am doing this. I heel toe, with most mods that used/use such a method in real life. That includes 1980s F1 mods, WTM, DRM, and so on. With the current, default G25 setup, when you press the brake pedal, to get your foot accross in a heel/toe action to blip the throttle is difficult as the brake is too far depressed. A secondary problem is that the brake is too far from the throttle. Both of these mean that, after several hours of heel/toeing, I have a blister on my foot and a stiff ankle. Indeed, there is a patch of toughened skin on my foot from performing this action.
Anyway, on to the product. The purpose is to adjust the height of the pedals from each other and from the floor. These were a prototype set, but very close to final spec, which would cost £20 altogether (£18.50 plus shipping). Considering Sim Racing Hardware's reputation, I was expecting good quality. However, what I got exceeded even those expectations. First of all, I received a parcel which contained an alan key, 8 high quality bolts of various lengths (you get a spare set of each length), 6x 3mm spacers and 2x 1mm spacers, made of acrylic. I have to say that the bolts are a significant improvement in terms of quality on the basic Logitech ones, which seem to be secured with loctite and torqued up to a low level. One was actually loose on the pedals themselves when I went to unscrew them, which surprised me - I wondered at first if the thread on the pedals had gone, but the new bolts torqued up fine. The acrylic used is colour coded to show the different thicknesses, and is firm, yet light, so will not stress the pedals too much.
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Brian sent me a basic instruction guide over the internet but to be honest, a monkey could figure this one out, it's that simple. Unscrew two bolts, take the pedal plate off, put in as many spacers as you like, replace plate, place bolt through and tighten. The spacers sit nicely into the back section of the pedal, and don't move around at all once secured, since the holes drilled into them are a nice fit and perfect distance apart (no re-drilling necessary!). Took me 3 minutes to change the bolts and add some spacers.
With a little tweaking (4 different spacer settings, each taking 3 minutes to complete), I finally settled on bringing the brake pedal up by 13mm, using 4 of the 3mm spacers, and 1 of the 1mm spacers. You can have up to 20mm of spacing, although I found that to be excessive and my foot was being forced the other way, but you can have increments of 1mm all the way to 20mm with this kit. A secondary usage might be to bring the pedals up from the floor slightly when fully depressed if you have extra large feet, and find that you end up using the middle of your foot at full braking rather than the ball, as it should be.
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It took me about a lap to adjust to the brake being slightly higher than before - I kept being surprised that I had to lift my foot slightly more than before to get to the brake. However, the difference is remarkable, in that, I don't notice any pain, blistering... actually, it feels more comfortable, and I don't have to worry about my feet at all anymore. Once the mod is in place, you completely forget about it, and I am able to concentrate better as a result. What is most brilliant, though, is that it feels more natural. I still need the pedal to be offset to the right, to get closer to the accelerator, but that modification will come in part two.
Best still, the alan key is still useable! It's not a disposable one, like most others that you get in packs such as these, which is an added bonus, considering there may come a time when I need to sell the pedals on, or I want to play around with the adjustment by a mill or two - I don't need to go searching for a new alan key.
My only concern is that with the pedal slightly higher, you do get more leverage from side to side, should you brake with a lot of sideways pressure. I never have done, I always press the brake with no sideways movement, but you may do if you have a dodgy seating position, or have to have the pedal box offset for some reason. My brake pedal rocks anyway by a couple mill, either from heavy heavy use - I have no idea how many laps I have done with them, but lots is the answer - or they came like that. Most of you will not be such a heavy user on your pedals; neither do I know if they rocked when I first bought my G25 (which was second hand to begin with), so I don't see it being an issue unless you are a daily user, like me.
Having used them for over a week now, they are still in perfect condition when I took them off to inspect. The bolts were still just as tight as when I did them up (which was, in hindsight, probably too tight. The bolt heads didn't round off when I couldn't undo them at first with the alan key, which is a bonus. God knows why I tightened them so tight.) To put the pedals back to their original state would take 3 minutes, tops. It really is that simple.
Basically, I highly recommend this simple mod, since it has improved my experience of heel/toeing no end. If you have a G25 and heel/toe, want to learn to heel/toe or feel you could do with adjusting the position of your pedals anyway (the spacers are compatible with all three pedals) then this kit really is definitely worth it - it's a low cost, not very time-consuming modification that is discreet, high-quality and well designed. Kudos to Sim Racing Hardware!
To get the full use of the spacers, I will need to get the offset plates to fully complete the heel/toe kit, which should be coming soon. Stay tuned!
http://simracinghardware.com/g25-heel-n-toe-pedal-kits
