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Clubsport pedals review
(9 posts, started )
Clubsport pedals review
OK, time for a review of the Fanatec Clubsport pedals, which I received about 6 weeks ago. I won't go into features and stuff, as you can find all that information elsewhere. Instead I'll talk about the most important differences compared to the G25 pedals that I used before.

First some background info:
There's no doubt that for me, pedals are more important than the wheel. Ever since I started simracing I've spent a LOT of effort learning various pedal techniques, and I quickly started trying to learn heel&toe. A lot of work also went into modding my G25 pedals (including the Nixim mod), and eventually, I arrived at a configuration that I was rather pleased with. I also made a youtube video showing the "fruits of my labour".

But even with everything "perfected", I still suffered a big problem: I was simply unable to maintain a constant pressure on the brake while heel&toe-ing. As I blipped the throttle I would inevitably loose some brake pressure.

The pedals
Now, moving on to the Clubsport pedals.. Inside the brake there's a piece of rather stiff foam which, as you press the pedal, offers progressively more resistance. (unlike a spring, where force and distance increase in proportion all the way) So at first, it's rather soft and squishy but then it stiffens progressively.

"Hold on a minute", you might say. "I can get the same effect in my G25 pedals by using the Nixim mod, because rubber and foam have quite similar characteristics when you push on it!"

Yes, that's true. But as you'll probably know, the brake pedal on the Clubsports uses a load cell rather than a potentiometer (which is used on the G25). This means that rather than measuring how far you push the pedal, it measures which force you're applying. And for me at least, it's much easier to maintain a near-constant force than a constant distance of depression while braking.

It's a bit hard to put into words, but the net result speaks for itself: I am now able to maintain an (approximately) constant amount of braking when heel&toe-ing! :yipee: This really improved my car control a lot. To illustrate, I'm attaching two replays: one old one with the G25, and a new one with the Clubsports. You'll quite clearly see the difference, I think.

G25 Nixim demo
Clubsports demo

Another big plus with these pedals is their great adjustability. No modding necessary -- these things can accomodate all styles of driving and all drivers. Alltogether, I couldn't be more pleased. Definitely my best ever sim-related purchase, and I thoroughly recommend them.

Please ask if there's something you'd like to know!
Nice review
Nice review,it confirms my first impressions about these pedals.They look more precise and sturdier than the G25 ones.
I saw that the first batch is already completely sold out so i guess there will be more of them but at a higher selling price,right?
Does the brake really feel like a real one?I mean,is the impression to push a spring-held plastic stuff now gone?
I always feel that the pedals from a wheel set are the weakest part,and i dont know why.DFP's wheel is good but the pedals are shit compared to a real set of pedals.They are quite strong but they're not so helpful if you can't apply constant pressure to the brake pedal.The accelerator is not a big issue since it hasn't got any sort of feedback.
Does the brake pedal vibrate as the abs kicks in?
Thanks for the comments!

Quote from IlGuercio :
I saw that the first batch is already completely sold out so i guess there will be more of them but at a higher selling price,right?

Fanatec's biggest problem is, without a doubt, getting the products to the customers in time. It seems that their manufacturers in Asia simply can't keep up with demand. I certainly hope it will improve! As for prices, my guess is that they will keep the prices at the same level. That's how they did it with previous batches of wheels, for example.

Quote from IlGuercio :
Does the brake really feel like a real one?I mean,is the impression to push a spring-held plastic stuff now gone?

Remember, a brake in an F1 car feels very different from that in a street car. (I heard that F1 cars only move a couple of millimeters) The Clubsports can be adjusted to simulate either of these extremes, but it will take some fiddling to go from one setting to the other. You pretty much have to choose if you want it to feel like a streetcar or an F1 (or some intermediate) and keep it there. Personally I chose the streetcar option. (more on this below)

Thomas made a video showing how you can adjust the pedals. Take a quick look at this part of the video to understand the anatomy of the brake. Here's some more information about adjustments. You can....
  • Move the pin. This will change the throw of the pedal, and this is what Thomas demonstrates in the video.
  • Use a longer metal "slug". This reduces/removes the deadzone, because the foam will be slightly compressed from the very beginning. You can either buy a longer metal cylinder from Fanatec or make your own. (I did the latter! I'm super happy with how it feels now, and I have far far better brake control than I ever did before)
  • Use a stiffer foam / rubber piece. Increases resistance.
But like I said, these modifications take time and requires disassembly etc. Suggestion for Fanatec: make it possible to adjust these things from one car to the other!

Quote from IlGuercio :
Does the brake pedal vibrate as the abs kicks in?

Sadly this doesn't work with the current drivers. At least not for me. Hopefully it's coming in future driver versions! Because the ruble effect feels very nice in the demonstration. (you can test the feature from the driver menu)
Nice review!!!
Is it secure enough to put on the hard floor or carpet without mounting?
I would like to buy it very soon
If you are going for a stiff break you do want to permanently mount it in some way. I currently use some dvd cases against my cockpits floor stand to make sure they won´t move when hard on braking.

I agree they are great. I am using the short stiff version. I didn´t care for the stock version much honestly... To mushy and didn´t really play to the advantages of having a load cell.

What Gnomie doesn´t mention is the genious potentiometre on them. I generally want them quite hard but if you are running arcade titles where you just want to go to full brake as soon as possible. Just adjust the pot and you are good to go. You can adjust it in game you don´t have to go into a control panel or anything to adjust it. I really like that because I am so lazy .

As for the ABS it´s working in rFactor but the vibration motor was so subtle and it doesn´t feel like ABS... There you feel the pumping here it just vibrations. The Turbo S have it as an option in the LCD menu but there it seems to vibrate when you are at 100 % braking and not really simulating ABS or anything.

The vibration motor is a bit of a gimmick for me I would I wouldn´t buy it for that reason. But there is TONS of other reasons to buy them
Quote from IlGuercio :
Does the brake pedal vibrate as the abs kicks in?

This only works for rFactor so far, as they have made a plug-in for it for that game only so far. But I am sure they are trying to get it out for other games too.

EDIT: ops, I see I am beaten by oqvist^^
It does work on FM3 too, but thats on X360.
Quote from Gnomie :OK, time for a review of the Fanatec Clubsport pedals, which I received about 6 weeks ago. I won't go into features and stuff, as you can find all that information elsewhere. Instead I'll talk about the most important differences compared to the G25 pedals that I used before.

First some background info:
There's no doubt that for me, pedals are more important than the wheel. Ever since I started simracing I've spent a LOT of effort learning various pedal techniques, and I quickly started trying to learn heel&toe. A lot of work also went into modding my G25 pedals (including the Nixim mod), and eventually, I arrived at a configuration that I was rather pleased with. I also made a youtube video showing the "fruits of my labour".

But even with everything "perfected", I still suffered a big problem: I was simply unable to maintain a constant pressure on the brake while heel&toe-ing. As I blipped the throttle I would inevitably loose some brake pressure.

The pedals
Now, moving on to the Clubsport pedals.. Inside the brake there's a piece of rather stiff foam which, as you press the pedal, offers progressively more resistance. (unlike a spring, where force and distance increase in proportion all the way) So at first, it's rather soft and squishy but then it stiffens progressively.

"Hold on a minute", you might say. "I can get the same effect in my G25 pedals by using the Nixim mod, because rubber and foam have quite similar characteristics when you push on it!"

Yes, that's true. But as you'll probably know, the brake pedal on the Clubsports uses a load cell rather than a potentiometer (which is used on the G25). This means that rather than measuring how far you push the pedal, it measures which force you're applying. And for me at least, it's much easier to maintain a near-constant force than a constant distance of depression while braking.

It's a bit hard to put into words, but the net result speaks for itself: I am now able to maintain an (approximately) constant amount of braking when heel&toe-ing! :yipee: This really improved my car control a lot. To illustrate, I'm attaching two replays: one old one with the G25, and a new one with the Clubsports. You'll quite clearly see the difference, I think.

G25 Nixim demo
Clubsports demo

Another big plus with these pedals is their great adjustability. No modding necessary -- these things can accomodate all styles of driving and all drivers. Alltogether, I couldn't be more pleased. Definitely my best ever sim-related purchase, and I thoroughly recommend them.

Please ask if there's something you'd like to know!

Did you upgrade firmware?
How did you set up the deadzone for stable braking?
I just want to know good configuration before I will get a CSP today. LOL.
Thanks

Clubsport pedals review
(9 posts, started )
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