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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[White Hawk]

This is really interesting to me, as I also have CSL Elite LCs that I am happy with, but am considering moving to Sprints at some point in the not-too-distant future. So the thing that really worries me is that I like a little softer brake pedal than a lot of people seem to, or maybe just something with a little more travel that feels more like a street car or production-based race car than a formula car. I use the medium stiffness bushings on my CSL Elites, and I've always been told that the higher end pedals tend to be extremely firm, so I'm worried even with the largest bushing on the Sprints I won't be able to get something with as much travel as I have right now with the CSL. Any thoughts on this as a former owner yourself?

Higher end pedals are capable of higher forces and stiffer, shorter brake pedals because that’s how race cars generally are and because muscle memory is easier with a heavier pedal as that gives you more range as the brake pedal is based on force rather than travel and it’s easier to judge that way with your leg. So unless you have a problem with your leg or foot you do yourself a disservice by not giving yourself time to get used to it, your laps times potentially too. That being said the other reason to go with higher end pedals is that they are more adjustable as well, so if you really don’t want to try a more race car like setup you can go for a softer setup which according to the Sprints manual a combination of the extra large plus one small rubber is like a road car, though that might be the sporty kind I’m not sure, but there is one more combination that is the softest it can go and that’s the extra large and the medium size rubber.



So I’m thinking it’s very very likely you will be happy with one of those two combinations, plus with the Sprints you can adjust the preload, the angle and the amount of force from very little like a few KG to the 65KG max where I have mine, and I don’t have the strongest legs in the world. So I think you would be very happy with a set of Sprints, I’d just suggest trying a stiffer setup, give it a week and see how you go, at first I thought it was really heavy and wasn’t sure but it only took a few days to get used to it and I went up one level in the stiffness to the combination they recommend for GT and rally cars and adjust the force in the software for track and off-road.

 

[Jivesauce]

Higher end pedals are capable of higher forces and stiffer, shorter brake pedals because that’s how race cars generally are and because muscle memory is easier with a heavier pedal as that gives you more range as the brake pedal is based on force rather than travel and it’s easier to judge that way with your leg. So unless you have a problem with your leg or foot you do yourself a disservice by not giving yourself time to get used to it, your laps times potentially too. That being said the other reason to go with higher end pedals is that they are more adjustable as well, so if you really don’t want to try a more race car like setup you can go for a softer setup which according to the Sprints manual a combination of the extra large plus one small rubber is like a road car, though that might be the sporty kind I’m not sure, but there is one more combination that is the softest it can go and that’s the extra large and the medium size rubber.



So I’m thinking it’s very very likely you will be happy with one of those two combinations, plus with the Sprints you can adjust the preload, the angle and the amount of force from very little like a few KG to the 65KG max where I have mine, and I don’t have the strongest legs in the world. So I think you would be very happy with a set of Sprints, I’d just suggest trying a stiffer setup, give it a week and see how you go, at first I thought it was really heavy and wasn’t sure but it only took a few days to get used to it and I went up one level in the stiffness to the combination they recommend for GT and rally cars and adjust the force in the software for track and off-road.

Thank you, this is very good information to have. And maybe I'm overselling it a little in terms of just how soft I want it to go. I have a race car, and I have driven other race cars, but mine is an old, production-based car and everything I have driven has been built on a stock chassis, although some of them were very fast cars to start with. None of them had rock hard brake pedals, nor anything I really found to be hugely stiffer/shorter than a sporty road car, and that feel is basically what I like to mimic. However, I am open to experimenting with it to see if I find it to be an improvement. Hell, maybe I'll dig out the stiffer bushings and try them in my CSL Elites! I've tried the softest bushings and found them to be just a little too squishy, but I don't think I ever even tried the stiffest.

Anyway, you've pretty much removed the only concern I had with the pedals, so I'm going to tell my wife it is your fault! Expect an angry message soon...

 

[White Hawk]

Thank you, this is very good information to have. And maybe I'm overselling it a little in terms of just how soft I want it to go. I have a race car, and I have driven other race cars, but mine is an old, production-based car and everything I have driven has been built on a stock chassis, although some of them were very fast cars to start with. None of them had rock hard brake pedals, nor anything I really found to be hugely stiffer/shorter than a sporty road car, and that feel is basically what I like to mimic. However, I am open to experimenting with it to see if I find it to be an improvement. Hell, maybe I'll dig out the stiffer bushings and try them in my CSL Elites! I've tried the softest bushings and found them to be just a little too squishy, but I don't think I ever even tried the stiffest.

Anyway, you've pretty much removed the only concern I had with the pedals, so I'm going to tell my wife it is your fault! Expect an angry message soon...

Of course there’s going to be various setups for brake pedals in real race cars, and there is of course as you know some with softer ones and others, probably more modern high end cars with stiffer shorter throw pedals, as the Sprints manual suggests the faster more aero cars will generally have much stiffer, shorter and more force needed than slower less aero cars.

Let us know how you get on if you get a set, and you don’t really need to tell the wife, it’ll be our little secret.

 

[EsxPaul]

@Jivesauce

The brake pedal is so adjustable that you could replicate a softer feel if that's your preference. The Smart Control software is also very versatile if you are someone who doesn't like to apply lots of pressure to get full braking.

I used a combination of hardware adjustments and software when I first recieved mine to achieve something like you have suggested as I was so used to my previous G29 pedals and had only ever raced in socks.

 

[MiJax]

This is really interesting to me, as I also have CSL Elite LCs that I am happy with, but am considering moving to Sprints at some point in the not-too-distant future. So the thing that really worries me is that I like a little softer brake pedal than a lot of people seem to, or maybe just something with a little more travel that feels more like a street car or production-based race car than a formula car. I use the medium stiffness bushings on my CSL Elites, and I've always been told that the higher end pedals tend to be extremely firm, so I'm worried even with the largest bushing on the Sprints I won't be able to get something with as much travel as I have right now with the CSL. Any thoughts on this as a former owner yourself?

I had a similar fear, but the large bushing with the middle bushing feels really good to me (I believe the softest normal setting). Even at its softest, its not as soft as the CSL's default setup, but it has good feel and decent travel. Just for reference, I used the default setup on my CSLs and left the super soft sponge in. The Sprints do away with the sponge's pre-load feeling, and the spring that HE uses is significantly heavier. So if you like that feel, like I did, it will take some getting use-to. But the load cells are, or at least seems, to have better fidelity. NOTE: I used the CSL's in low res mode (plugged in to the wheelbase). It might have been better at full res (16 bit) using USB. The throttle pedal certainly has better fidelity. I noticed on the CSL's, that I couldn't get uber fine detail in it, even though I don't normally use that detail in driving its nice to know its there. For example with the Sprints, I can literally put the revs anywhere in the rev range I want, but the CSL's seemed to be a little bit coarser. So rev'ing the engine to like 5-10% (which I would never do in a race) seemed impossible on the CSL's, but is relatively easy on the Sprints. Maybe it was just my set of pedals, but its definitely better for me.

Its hard for me to tell someone else "its worth it", as I said, I really liked the CSL's and if not for the brake's sensitivity to foot placement (which I did ultimately get used to) I would have never looked for a replacement. But that said, I'm glad I did. No regrets on the upgrade. Again for me, it wasn't all positive, but it is definitely better for my needs.

One more thing... if somehow everything else was a downgrade or worse in some way, the software would still make the purchase worth while for me (granted that is based on use in iRacing). The software's customization make's it nearly a no brainer for me. Honestly, I feel bad for those that bought HE Ultimate's or Pro's because they are left out.

 

[diabolus79]

I've found the culprit!

It's the main joint which is either over tightened or lacks lubricant. It was a bit hard to undo the screws since one of them gets loose and the other one keeps turning around indefinitely but I managed to undo them both and when I pressed the pedal the grinding noise and feel disappeared! I screwed them back a little bit tight and the noise and feel came back.
View attachment 350413
Now I'll wait for the ptfe lube to arrive and soak the joint with it and hope for it to work so I can enjoy these great pedals without any annoying sound or feel.

I wanted to post this here so anyone with the same problem can solve it and this may serve as a feedback for @Enzo Fazzi.

Ok guys, as I have told @Enzo Fazzi I'm a huge dumb ass

The issue was I installed the gas pedal so close to the edge of the baseplate, after increasing the travel it began to grind to the baseplate which was impossible to see for me. I unmounted the gas pedal with the intent of disassembling and I just realised the problem.



Please excuse the mess I created with unnecessary amount of PTFE lube

So, keep in mind to leave a little gap when installing your pedals just to be safe.

 

[AliasAlbi]

Good to see your pic, as I'm getting a really weird noise from my brake pedal. It sounds like bending a PCB and worried me quite a bit. After removing the rubber stack and playing around with the pedal, I could at least identify where the noise is coming from: the rubber end stop at the pedals neutral position.

There are substantial marks in that rubber, which seems to be very sticky, so everytime the pedal is in its resting position and I start braking, I get this weird noise. Does anyone else have that? Or at least those deep marks in that rubber end stop? Thanks guys.

 

[Enzo Fazzi]

Good to see your pic, as I'm getting a really weird noise from my brake pedal. It sounds like bending a PCB and worried me quite a bit. After removing the rubber stack and playing around with the pedal, I could at least identify where the noise is coming from: the rubber end stop at the pedals neutral position.View attachment 352068
There are substantial marks in that rubber, which seems to be very sticky, so everytime the pedal is in its resting position and I start braking, I get this weird noise. Does anyone else have that? Or at least those deep marks in that rubber end stop? Thanks guys.

Hey, that's quite normal! To get rid of the noise, you can lubricate the endstop. Something simple like a little bit of olive oil is probably the easiest way!

 

[AliasAlbi]

Thanks Enzo, I'll give it a shot and report back.

 

[dragonbeard]

So, last night the squeeking in my throttle pedal came back and it seemed to have gotten worse. After fiddling with it, I believe I've found the cause:

The pin is rubbing up against the side of the hole in the back. When releasing it with some angled pressure on the pedal, it can squeek pretty loud.
It seems like there's a washer missing between the cradle for the spring and the rest of the assembly, which is causing the pinto be slightly off center.

Should be an easy enough fix to put in a washer

 

[EsxPaul]

So, last night the squeeking in my throttle pedal came back and it seemed to have gotten worse. After fiddling with it, I believe I've found the cause:
View attachment 352609
The pin is rubbing up against the side of the hole in the back. When releasing it with some angled pressure on the pedal, it can squeek pretty loud.
It seems like there's a washer missing between the cradle for the spring and the rest of the assembly, which is causing the pinto be slightly off center.

Should be an easy enough fix to put in a washer

Is the white nylon bushing that supports the pin missing?

Here are some pictures I took a while back if you want to compare:
https://www.racedepartment.com/thre...iew-and-first-impressions.161870/post-3017054

 

[Chrhun]

So, last night the squeeking in my throttle pedal came back and it seemed to have gotten worse. After fiddling with it, I believe I've found the cause:

The pin is rubbing up against the side of the hole in the back. When releasing it with some angled pressure on the pedal, it can squeek pretty loud.
It seems like there's a washer missing between the cradle for the spring and the rest of the assembly, which is causing the pinto be slightly off center.

Should be an easy enough fix to put in a washer

I think I have this issue as well, was racing the Skippy's and when lifting to do a gear change I get this quite loud squeak - it was so loud that it became apparent through my noise cancelling headphones over the game audio. I think it is the hole in the back, I'll try just a bit of grease. I do have the above mentioned washer in place.

 

[wgards8]

Just wanted to say I fookin love my sprints.

 

[csknzdmr]

It may be the washer at the base of the ball head screw.
My guess is that the ting sound being generated is dependent on the rotation of the spring and how well it is centered over the ball head bolt and washer.

I need more light! I left the camera and light in place so maybe I can stop the lens down a bit more to get more in focus and add more light to illuminate bolt and base better.

I think this one is a bit better, but it will be the last one. I added a second light source, stopped down to f 14, recorded UHD and then cropped down to HD and sharpened a bit.

I have this problem.

What can I do about it. Also, the white plastic cap behind the accelerator was turning wasted. I removed the spring and fixed it. But this bow sound makes me crazy. How can I fix.

Can Enzo help with this.

 

[RCHeliguy]

When I changed the angle of my pedal the noise went away.

 

[Enzo Fazzi]

I have this problem.

What can I do about it. Also, the white plastic cap behind the accelerator was turning wasted. I removed the spring and fixed it. But this bow sound makes me crazy. How can I fix.

Can Enzo help with this.

Replied to your email.

Just a heads up for others, quickest answer is usually achieved through emailing us at support@heusinkveld.com

 

[super_gt]

A little off topic but very interesting:

 

[BULLET4JUSTICE2]

I just purchased a P1-X, and while I'm waiting for it to arrive I've been looking to get the sprints but I'm wondering if I would need to get a pedal baseplate or can I mount it directly to the P1-X pedal profile without a baseplate? and if I can will it have any flex? any thoughts about that?

 

[Patrick Dontigny]

@BULLET4JUSTICE2 that is exactly what I did. I do not feel any flex at all

 

[dragonbeard]

I just purchased a P1-X, and while I'm waiting for it to arrive I've been looking to get the sprints but I'm wondering if I would need to get a pedal baseplate or can I mount it directly to the P1-X pedal profile without a baseplate? and if I can will it have any flex? any thoughts about that?

If the pedal plate is the same as the GT1-Evo, then you'll have some flex, because the slots in the pedal plate are quite large.
I ended op getting the HE pedal plate, which still seems to cause some flex in the rig's plate under heavy braking, but I would advise getting it, because it feels much less likely the large slots will get deformed over time.
I'm not at all bothered by the amount of flex though...