Brian Clancy
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![Fanatec-Logo[1].jpg](https://www.overtake.gg/data/attachments/24/24565-59b152f84db58e5487ed643a140bc382.jpg "Fanatec-Logo[1].jpg")
This is the first part of the review of Fanatecs GT3RSv2 Wheel and the Clubsport pedals. In this part I am going to be looking at the peddles. Both these items can be purchased together or as single units, hence the decision to review them independently.
Fanatec Clubsport Pedals (CSP’s)
First Impressions:
I have to say I was quite excited to test these out and there was an air of excitement as I took delivery of the wheel and pedals. Once I had removed the pedals from the very smart box they come in, the first thing to get my attention was the weight of them. This is one very sturdy set of pedals! The next thing is the finish! Made almost totally from aluminium, the finish is, well, frankly, superb. The hard anodising (the silver and black finish on the aluminium parts) is first class as is the machining of the individual components. Nice, clean radius to edges, high quality fasteners throughout and all bolts counter sunk. As a time served engineer, this is the sort of thing I appreciate and notice first, but then you start to take in just how damn good looking they are! Very much a functional design, but still a very attractive one, the aesthetics are simply ‘race track refugee’. I have fitted peddle boxes of a similar design and quality to some very expensive race cars and these look very much the ‘part’!
Back of pedals
Nuts, Bolts and Techie Spec:
Okay, there are a number of things about the club sports that will be new to many of you, not least the Load Cell on the brake and the ‘contactless’ hall effect sensors on the throttle and clutch. Without doubt the load cell is the big improvement, so I am going to start with the brakes. On a ‘normal’ set of pedals, the brake input is measured with a potentiometer and resistance is supplied by a spring. The end result is that if you wish to apply say 75% braking power, you would normally depress the brake pedal 75% of its range of movement to achieve this. Whilst a perfectly acceptable system, it is not realistic when compared to a ‘real’ cars brake pedal, the ‘real’ pedal will only move a small amount and will gradually become harder to depress. The simplistic way to explain this is it has more to do with force than movement. The load cell mimics this attribute superbly as it measures the FORCE applied to the pedal, NOT the range of movement. There are two big benefits of the load cell, one, the brake feels far more realistic when compared to the older ‘spring/pot’ system and two, more importantly, it is far easier to achieve repeatable, reliable and consistent braking with this setup. The biggest reason is it seems far easier to ‘remember’ a physical ‘pressure’ than an amount of travel, meaning you can brake right to the edge of ‘locking up’ without doing so, making trail braking easier and more consistent, allowing later braking and so on. This load cell system knocked my PB at my favourite track down by over a second in just a few laps and my speed is still improving now as I become more and more accustomed to it! There are not many products that can REALLY MAKE YOU FASTER!The hall effect sensors on the throttle/clutch are also a very positive step forward. With no contacting parts, they can’t wear out, have a very high ‘digital’ resolution, wont develop any ‘play’ or ‘slop’ like potentiometers and aside from possibly needing a simple clean with a cotton bud very occasionally, I can’t see any reason for them not to last years!Also, another clever feature is the 'ABS' function, if the pedals are connected to a Fanatec wheel, a small vibration motor can be set to create some vibrating FFB on the brake pedal. I should also point out that the pedals are USB connected OR connected directly to a Fanatec wheel.
Adjustability: It became apparent very early on that the CSP’s are designed with a great degree of adjustment built in to them. The pedal pads themselves on the brake and clutch are very adjustable, not only in position (by virtue of the holes drilled in them) but also by angle and height. This can be altered by either removing the spacer behind the pedal completely or just turning it upside down (altering the angle of the face of the pedal pad). The brake pedals travel can also be adjusted simply by moving its axle pin up one hole (this does require some simple disassembly, but reduces the travel noticeably) whilst the springs on the clutch and throttle pedal are both ‘tension’ adjustable by simply turning the nuts that hold them in place. Beyond this, Fanatec also supply a very comprehensive ‘tuning’ kit that comes with numerous springs for the clutch and gas pedal and PU foam inserts for the brake. It is also possible to adjust the throws on the gas and clutch pedals by either ‘packing out’ the pedals rod base to reduce the travel before the rod ‘bottoms out’ or if you are more daring you could also ‘trim’ the rod a little shorter to increase the throw. Finally, I should also mention that Fanatec have added another great feature to the load cell. At the back of the pedals is a small silver knob (a Potentiometer). Turning this allows you to adjust the amount of physical force needed to reach a given braking value, I.E. you can make the brakes very sensitive with a light pedal , a heavy pedal that really does require quite a bit of effort, or anything in between. For me this is a particularly useful addition as the adjustments are made outside the game/driver so can be made in real time with little fuss!
This degree of adjustment means comfortable and reliable ‘Heel and toe’ setups are VERY easy to make, even for people with small or very large feet!
A great tutorial on pedal adjustment.
Driving with the CSP’s:
Again, like all reviews, this is based on very personal feelings, but driving with the CSP’s is a joy. Out of the box they feel wonderful, but once adjusted to your liking, they take on a whole new feeling! The pedal movement is soo smooth, silky even. The travel on the clutch and gas pedals is quite a bit longer than on the G25 and this translates to more accuracy in use, standing starts are more consistent and the increased throw on the gas pedal makes controlling an oversteering RWD car a pleasure! But most of all, it is the brakes that bring the most joy, you find yourself braking later with much more confidence and control.
Conclusions:
A truly superb set of pedals, they will make you faster if you don’t have a load cell currently, with really top notch quality of components/materials/construction and finish. All this at at a very competitive price!
Value: 98 /100 At 199.95 Euro’s plus delivery, it’s top marks
Functionality: 99 /100 With the load cell, hall effect sensors and this level of adjustability it nearly got 100!
Quality: 98 /100 Superbly engineered and finished, top marks again
RD Rating: 295/300 I very much doubt we will see any other product score this high again!
Buy One???: I believe mine was ordered by the Mrs J but I doubt she will let me have them before Xmas!
You can find the Fanatec website HERE
![CSP_black_new[1].jpg](/data/attachments/24/24564-a3119f8bea0f43fdd761b5afe1e5110b.jpg)
