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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[Enzo Fazzi]

The spring is what pushes on the loadcell. I strongly advice not to fiddle with this, as you might damage/destroy the loadcell!

 

[Adam Baldwin]

The spring is what pushes on the loadcell. I strongly advice not to fiddle with this, as you might damage/destroy the loadcell!

Noted, Enzo. For those experiencing the ping noise/feeling, assuming we should contact support?

 

[Enzo Fazzi]

Noted, Enzo. For those experiencing the ping noise/feeling, assuming we should contact support?

You're always welcome to contact support

 

[super_gt]

 

[Skylar]

He does a good job as always in his reviews.
I wish he would state a ranking of his preference compared to other high end pedals since he has reviewed and tried so many.

 

[cirris]

How do the sprints compare with something like the HPP's? I'm leaning towards the sprints for lack of matnence but anyone try these/HE ultimate's and compare?

 

[RCHeliguy]

How do the sprints compare with something like the HPP's? I'm leaning towards the sprints for lack of matnence but anyone try these/HE ultimate's and compare?

I asked Barry about the HPP's specifically. He recommended the Sprints even before he reviewed them. He said that based on Heusinkveld's reputation that they should be all I would ever need. He said that the HPP's didn't use enough hydraulic fluid to make them feel like real brakes. He mentioned that the brakes at Rimotec looked like they might, but he never tried them and that yes they can leak and require maintenance.

Personally I have my rig over carpet and don't want the chance of having brake fluid leaking. I suppose one solution might be to mount a tray under it, but then again I don't know if they squirt fluid when they fail or just drip.

The Sprints were specifically designed for serious duty cycles, have EMI shielding and are supposed to be able to withstand transducer vibrations well. I don't know about you, but it seems like I'm always futzing around with something on my rig, but not my pedals. Good luck with your decision.

 

[cirris]

I asked Barry about the HPP's specifically. He recommended the Sprints even before he reviewed them. He said that based on Heusinkveld's reputation that they should be all I would ever need...

The Sprints were specifically designed for serious duty cycles, have EMI shielding and are supposed to be able to withstand transducer vibrations well. I don't know about you, but it seems like I'm always futzing around with something on my rig, but not my pedals. Good luck with your decision.

Sprints it is then! Thanks for solidifying my decision.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I used an idea in this thread and ordered an RJ9 extension so I could move my brake pedal to the left for more comfortable left foot braking, but I love my clutch too. Undoing the little bolts on the pedals was a bit of a pain so I mounted my clutch and brake pedals on a plate with easy to access 8mm Bolts. I don't need to tighten them very hard and I can easily just slide the brake and clutch to the side for GT3 and higher and back again for H-pattern in Rally and others.

 

[rlslmshdy]

Sprints it is then! Thanks for solidifying my decision.

Not considering Heusinkvelds best pedals, Ultimates?

 

[cirris]

Not considering Heusinkvelds best pedals, Ultimates?

Not worth it to me at the moment. everything i've heard says that performance wise they're pretty similar. Open to input if you have experience with them!

 

[RCHeliguy]

My take is that the Sprints are a newer design with better software.

The Ultimate's main feature is that you can set the load cell up for very high forces. As a cyclist who lifts weights regularly, I can't imagine wanting more force than the Sprints provide unless you are training to race real cars that have very high brake forces. F1 for example.

 

[Enzo Fazzi]

Don't forget the hydraulics of the Ultimates

 

[RCHeliguy]

I can only assume that there is an update to the Ultimates under development to make them so that the Ultimates are the best at everything and not a compromise of any kind and that use the same software that the Sprints use.

There was a lot of R&D and verbiage from Heusinkveld about how the Sprints were designed to handle a huge number of duty cycles and have EMI shielding, and be immune to transducer vibrations etc.. It's hard to know where the Ultimates are in those categories since there is no mention of those attributes.

 

[Elaphe]

Would you be interested if HE released alternate pedal pads for the Sprints with different dimensions and shapes?

 

[RCHeliguy]

Pads are nothing I've ever thought about, but everyone has different priorities. I love how my pedals feel.

However I do think that Heusinkveld should make the cable connecting the throttle to the brake lever longer. In fact I don't understand why it is as short as it is, unless they use a longer cable for people who purchase a two pedal set vs a three pedal set.

I've been putting that sliding pedal arrangement to work and it makes a HUGE difference! After sliding the brake over further to the left I can now get full brake with my left leg comfortably and modulate better.

 

[F1Aussie]

The cable on the 2 pedal kit is pretty short as well, I ended up ordering an extension online so I could move mine further apart. The only other thing I think they should do with the sprints is have some sort of protection around / over the PCB board on the brake pedal and it is something I am wary about when others are around my rig.

 

[ColinMac]

There are a few 3d prints up on Thingiverse which can be used to protect the pcb - you could get something printed off - but agreed it could have used just some plastic casing even..

 

[White Hawk]

The cable on the 2 pedal kit is pretty short as well, I ended up ordering an extension online so I could move mine further apart. The only other thing I think they should do with the sprints is have some sort of protection around / over the PCB board on the brake pedal and it is something I am wary about when others are around my rig.

Yeah I don’t like that either, mine seems rather loose too.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Yeah I don’t like that either, mine seems rather loose too.

In what way? The plug feels firmly snapped into place and the female part has spring loaded connectors. I've never had anything misbehave.