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]

Thanks for the info and suggestion, Mark. Only a large drink can cure this problem

I would recommend starting with a Pomegranate Gimlet. If you've never had one, it's quite good. Or maybe a bottle of Macallans( not all at once though).

 

[White Hawk]

Thanks for the info and suggestion, Mark. Only a large drink can cure this problem

Edit: Hold that drink, barman.

You won't believe this but I've just received an email saying they've been dispatched. WTF!

Haha, congrats, I was just about to tell you I’ve seen people wait months for these so you didn’t beat any records but there you are, just a few more days to go till your Happy Feet.

Guess I got lucky with just over 3 weeks though.

 

[sam75]

I also got a dispatch email this evening for my DT Sprints order (placed 23rd April).

Very surprised as like you, was told when I spoke to DT to expect them in mid June !

Enjoy your HE pedals anyway, I am sure I will

 

[RCHeliguy]

I change my suggestion to a bottle of champagne

 

[White Hawk]

I change my suggestion to a bottle of champagne

Don’t forget to spray 80% of it over your employer then take one glug and wave to your partner as you leave.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I must be missing something.

 

[White Hawk]

I must be missing something.

Guess you’ve not seen the end of any F1 race or many other track races?

 

[RCHeliguy]

Guess you’ve not seen the end of any F1 race or many other track races?

You couldn't pay me to watch a race. Then again I don't watch any sports what-so-ever either. I prefer to participate rather than be a spectator. This goes way back.

I enjoyed the Netflix series on F1 because they covered the human element and distilled the races down to the highlights that advanced the story line.

 

[o Tiger Feet o]

@EsxPaul I got my dispatch email last night from DT. I ordered on 15 May after weeks of trying to order direct.

I ordered the 2 pedal set and base plate..

 

[o Tiger Feet o]

Did anybody with an email on Friday getting any tracking info from DT?

Do we know if they are coming from DT or direct from Heusinkveld?

 

[RCHeliguy]

Did anybody with an email on Friday getting any tracking info from DT?

Do we know if they are coming from DT or direct from Heusinkveld?

DT ships products ordered through them. To my best knowledge there is no direct from manufacturer shipping unless you order directly through Heusinkveld.

 

[sam75]

I received my pedals at 8am this morning, delivered by Parcel Force (I also had the "now shipped" email on Friday evening last week). I had no tracking information sent to me though. I paid for express delivery when I ordered mine.

 

[o Tiger Feet o]

Just received mine too.

Pedals mounted on to the base plate without too much fuss. I like that the baseplate comes with everything need to mount to 80:40. Including the sliding bolts

Does the brake come setup in its softest config? Just trying to work it out with the 'spare' bits ive received...

 

[Enzo Fazzi]

Just received mine too.

Pedals mounted on to the base plate without too much fuss. I like that the baseplate comes with everything need to mount to 80:40. Including the sliding bolts

Does the brake come setup in its softest config? Just trying to work it out with the 'spare' bits ive received...

Sprint or Ultimate? The Sprint pedals come with a manual in which the different brake setups are explained. Alternatively, it can be found here: https://heusinkveld.com/support/?v=796834e7a283
The manual for the Ultimate pedals is here too, in which the different rubber combinations for the Ultimates are explained.

 

[o Tiger Feet o]

Sprint.

Got the manual in front of me. Im pretty sure it doesnt state how they come set up, only how to change.

EDIT: "- 1 extra larger rubber (XL), this is the default setting"

Looking at the pictures in the manual it looks to be the softest combo using what looks like an XL rubber.

 

[o Tiger Feet o]

OK - I can see where the confusion has come in. I dont think my pedals have been built like in the pictures. I dont think its a big deal? But the disc/spacer marked (red arrow) should be where the blue arrow is.

 

[White Hawk]

Sprint.

Got the manual in front of me. Im pretty sure it doesnt state how they come set up, only how to change.

EDIT: "- 1 extra larger rubber (XL), this is the default setting"

Looking at the pictures in the manual it looks to be the softest combo using what looks like an XL rubber.

That’s not the softest, there’s two softer and three harder setups than that.

 

[EsxPaul]

OK - I can see where the confusion has come in. I dont think my pedals have been built like in the pictures. I dont think its a big deal? But the disc/spacer marked (red arrow) should be where the blue arrow is.View attachment 308891

Received mine today too. I just compared my brake against your pic and it's built the same way.

Got some cutting, drilling and polishing ahead of me

 

[Enzo Fazzi]

They're meant to be like that.

Besides, it doesn't matter all that much where you have the larger diameter spacers, just as long as they're on both sides of the rubber, and in between rubbers if you use multiple.

 

[sam75]

I have got my set now mounted finally, using the baseplate on a simlab gt1.

The baseplate is very difficult to mount, much harder than the older HE version, due to the limited access to the mounting holes for the bolts. A real pain actually! Once in place though it is quite easy to remove each pedal to make adjustments.

The pedals though, they feel very nice! I only had time for a quick test but they felt really good to use, amazing brake feel and control. Really pleased so far