HE Sprint or Fanatec V3s?

[Rainman2020]

Hey yall

I asked a bunch of questions during the summer after i had discovered sim racing about what hardware to get. I decided to go ahead and just get a T300RS GT setup as a sort of test to see if i actually did like sim racing as much as i thought i would. I ended up getting a wheel stand for it also. Well, how did the test go? I LOVE sim racing! I am doing it every night for at least 30 minutes and getting better at it along the way. And, i have still not tried it with good hardware or tried VR at all yet.

So, now i am ordering the good stuff (and will sell the T300RS and wheel stand). I have already ordered the Accuforce V2 wheel, and the Fanatec H pattern shifter. And i am also about to order a P1X cockpit (about to start another thread before i order the P1X with questions about it)

Next up are the pedals. I want to get the HE Sprints. I just keep coming back to being willing to spend the extra $$$ to skip over the V3s and go straight for the HE Sprints (3 pedal set). I have read too many times on forums people raving about their HE Sprints.

I am sure that the V3s are very nice also and would be fine (with the brake performance kit), but i plan on using these pedals for many years and figuring that it is worth it to just spring initially for the HE Sprints and it will average out over the years cost wise.

Questions:

1) Is it worth it to spend the extra $$$ to get the HE Sprints over the V3s given that i will use them for years? What do you love about your HE Sprints?

2) One huge reason i am deciding on the HE Sprints is that i keep hearing how awful Fanatec's customer service is and how awesome HE's customer service is. I very well may have to send them back to get fixed at some point, and it is a big plus to deal with a responsive company if that happens, so check mark for the HE Sprints.

3) If i get the HE Sprints and also get a P1X cockpit, do i need to order the He Sprints 'base plate' for another $88? Does the HE Sprint base plate play well with the P1X? How do the P1X owners attach their HE Sprints to the P1X?

4) In Barry's Sim Racing Garage video for the HE Sprints, when he is driving, the Sprints are pretty noisy. Are they noisy when heel and toeing and pounding on them? Is this an issue at all in reality?

5) I am planning on getting a P1X cockpit, and am assuming that it will be more than plenty to secure the HE Sprints to without getting any flex when braking, etc. Will any of the lesser cockpits also work plenty fine with the HE Sprints, say a Simlab Evo, or should i stick with only a P1X if getting the HE Sprints?

6) Planning on ordering the HE Sprints from Digital Motorsports. Is that the best place to order from (I am in the USA)?

Thanks!
Randy

 

[bozwellox]

I can only comment on the Fanatec V3s, but I've owned a set for the last couple of years (bought used on eBay, and upgraded immediately with the brake performance kit) and I love them. That said, I have had some problems with them. The bolts they use to hold them together seem to be made of jelly, and after a while the whole pedal deck became loose and eventually fell apart. All the bolts failed, both in terms of thread and the allen head. Awful.

BUT...I found someone on eBay who seems to be aware of this issue and sold a set of allen bolts in the correct sizes that were far more heavy duty. I think the set cost me maybe £15 in total. Since fitting them, I've had no issues (they are made from much stronger metal). I haven't had to even tighten them once in the last year. Still, you could argue I shouldn't have had to upgrade the bolts in the first place.

I don't look after my pedals at all. They are absolutely caked in cat hair and general filth, but they have never missed a beat (aside from when they fell apart, which was a 100% a failing of the allen bolts rather than anything to do with the pedal mechanism). Aside from the bolts they seem pretty indestructable.

If you do buy the V3s, you'll definitely want to buy the brake performance kit. Makes a huge difference, although if I'm honest I think they should be fitted as standard, but....

I've got plans to upgrade a few things in the near-ish future, but the pedals aren't one of them. The V3s work well and I feel I can be consistent with them (with the brake performance kit). However at one point I was in the middle of a race and my pedals literally fell apart, so there's that. Fixed on the cheap, but it shouldn't have happened in the first place.

If you can afford something better then go for it, but the V3s are decent. I bought mine used so it's entirely possible they failed after maybe 3-4 years of abuse, and were fixed with new bolts at a cost of £15ish. They're still going strong even though they are so caked in cat hair I can't bring myself to look at them without puking in my mouth, and they still perform like a champ.

I hope that helps.

Paul

 

[Deleted member 197115]

HE is tons better, but more expensive, worth it though. I had both.

 

[Rainman2020]

HE is tons better, but more expensive, worth it though. I had both.

Describe 'tons better' please. I do have the money to get the HEs, but don't want to spend another $400 for something only marginally better.

Also, are they noisy at all when pounding on them?

 

[garretturbo]

1. If you have the money for it I would go with the Heusinkvelds. I use to have the v3's but I switched to the Heusinkveld because of build quality, easier to adjust mechanically, and an option to adjust brake, throttle, and clutch through their software. The v3's with the brake performance kit was a pain in the butt to adjust and you have to be cautious because the cable under the brake can get cut if you are not careful. Also, will you need to regrease the bushings every year or so depending on how often you use them otherwise you will scratch the internals over time. Overall brake feel was pretty good, but I prefer Heusinkvelds better.

3. I have a P1-x cockpit currently. I just bolted on the pedals to the cockpit. No base plate needed. Stiff as a rock under 30kg of brake force. Just be aware it will scratch the pedal area because metal to metal contact. That is expected.

4. The pedals are not noisy if you use a softer setup. A harder setup will make some noise, but it's not too bad. I honestly can't hear them when using headset or speakers.

5. As said in number 3, I didn't detect any flex at all. I'm not sure about the gt1 evo, but I think Sim Racing Paddock or Chris Haye said there is a little flex when using the sprints. Not too noticeable though.

6. I just upgraded to the Heusinkveld Ultimates, so I might sell my sprints. Pm me if you are interested. I live in the US.

 

[Elaphe]

In my opinion the Sprints are better but the difference is not night an day.

 

[metalnwood]

I think I remember your thread when you were first thinking about it and it was a pretty healthy budget.

Certainly enough for me to think that it could be a lot of wasted money if it turns out you didnt like it. So it does seem sensible that you went a cheaper route to get an idea if a bigger investment was worth it.

OK, now that you have done it and are prepared to upgrade my advise would be to go for the best you can afford. If that is the sprints, do that. If it's a hobby that sticks with you then you will have money for the next thing at some point without saving on the pedals now.

One nice piece of equipment at a time will give you a really nice rig in the future and you will get there more quickly than dropping a reasonable amount of $$ on cheaper equipment and slowly replacing it later.

As for the P1, it's great. It will let you attach everything you will buy now and in the future without compromise for position and rigidity. Go for that if it's in your budget.

 

[LeeHetherington]

The HE software is excellent, and supports profiles. For example you can use a profile for GT cars in iRacing to max out brake force at 80%, above which is guaranteed lockup at all speeds. That is, you provide 100% calibrated force but driver outputs 80%. I find that quite useful.

 

[cpp214]

I've been in the hobby for a little over 10 years now, and have owned both versions of the V3's as well as now owning the Sprints. As most of us here have, I've wound up spending a lot of money on this hobby over the years, and the two best purchases I've made have been the GT1 Evo cockpit and the HE Sprint pedals hands down.

So my advice would be to absolutely go with the Sprint pedals over the V3's. Here's why:

1) The Sprint pedals build quality is just a notch above, and the feel of the pedals while using them is just a nicer experience. The pedal faces feel better on your feet, for example. Ergonomically the Sprints are far superior. You can space the brake and throttle so that it's more comfortable to left foot brake for example. Yes, I know that technically that can be done with the V3's, but it's a pain to do so.

2) The Sprint pedals are much more adjustable in almost every way, and making those adjustments is far easier than making changes on the V3 pedals. You might be lucky and love the feel of the V3's out of the box, but chances are you will want to make adjustments to them to get the feel just right. Making those changes is much easier with the Sprints.

3) The Heusinkveld Smart Control software is an amazing feature that doesn't get talked about enough. You can customize pedal curves to make cars easier to handle in wet conditions, or make the brake output max out at a certain level to make non ABS cars easier to drive. The list goes on. Much better than Fanatec software.

4) Customer service with Heusinkveld is top notch. I had an issue with the PCB board on the brake pedal coming loose. The pedals still worked but it was just an annoying little issue that could have become a bigger problem at some point. So I contacted Heusinkveld customer service on a Thursday morning. They replied within 30 minutes, and I had a new PCB board delivered 4 days later on Monday. Absolutely outstanding customer service. To be fair though, I've always had good customer service with Fanatec as well. However due to the size of their company the response time has been longer. I wanted to swap the damper on my V3 Inverted pedals from the brake to the throttle but the floating nut in the damper was slightly too wide to allow the damper assembly to fit in the back of the throttle for installation. It took a little over two weeks from first contact with Fanatec to receive the correct sized nut to get the damper installed. Not a huge deal but just another small little advantage in favor of Heusinkveld.

As to your specific questions, in my opinion it's absolutely worth the extra $ to buy the Sprints over the V3's. I don't need a clutch pedal so I bought the two pedal Sprint set for about $640 including shipping direct from Heusinkveld. When you compare this to the price of the regular V3's shipped with BPK which is about $408 (which is a must, and without it the V3's are garbage and worse than the CSL Elite LC) that's just a little over $200 more and well worth it in my opinion.

Digital Motorsports is fine to order from but realize you will probably be paying a little more than ordering direct from Heusinkveld. If you are patient and check the Heusinkveld website each day, the Sprints come in stock about once a month, if not more frequently. I think demand has died down to the point that they wouldn't sell out as quickly as they would have at the height of the COVID/sim racing rush. But yeah, Digital Motorsports, Demon Tweeks, Murray Motorsport and several other retailers are all legit, you'll just be paying a little extra. But that may be worth it if you want to get the pedals quicker.

You do not need to buy the pedal plate from Heusinkveld. If you're getting a P1-X the profiles in that pedal deck are more than sufficient for mounting the Sprints. But if you want extra peace of mind, I might order the pedal baseplate that Sim-Lab sells, the one that comes with the pedal slider. I wouldn't get the slider, but if you wanted to make them 100% rock solid, that baseplate that Sim-Lab sells would do the trick. Just mount the Sprints through the baseplate, onto the profiles in the P1-X.

Another thing to factor in as well is that the Sprint pedals are very tall, even after you adjust the pedal faces to make them lower so take that into account. Unless you have large feet, you will most likely want some type of heel rest that will get your feet a little higher up on the pedals, something to raise them by about an inch or two. Again, Sim-Labs has a nice heel rest, or you could order the one from 4Play Racing's eBay store if you are in the US. That's the one I have and it works great. Or, you could fashion your own with a piece of 40/80 or 40/120 profile. Just bolt it down in front of the pedals. That's what I did for a little while until I got the 4Play heel rest.

For reference, I have mine mounted on a GT1-Evo and there is zero flex, and zero noise. I have the Sprints mounted through the Evo reinforcement plate, directly into a piece of 40/120 profile in an 8020 pedal deck I made specifically for the Sprints (I have the "old" GT1 Evo with the weaker pedal plate). I have the brake set up in the stiffest configuration with the smallest rubber, 45kg of brake force, and maximum preload. I don't know what the issue was on Barry's pedals, but mine are almost totally silent. But then again I lubricate them at least once a month the recommended PTFE dry lube spray, in my case WD-40 PTFE spray, so that probably keeps them running smooth and silently.

 

[Tim Meuris]

No doubt: Heusinkvelds.
I have the pro's. A friend of mine had the v3's. Not that good of a pedal feel compared to the pro's. (That friend ordered a set of pro's as well after trying them out at my place.) ;-)
For some strange reason (might be a fault on my behalf as well) I had the spring in the clutch brake twice. Not even 3 days later I was up and running again!
Yes the Heusinkvelds are more expensive but the customer support is just ACE! And the better feel is immediatly noticeable. Very good software to dial them in and pedals are extremely adjustable.
Of the whole rig it is THE piece of equipment I am most happy with. And I am VERY happy with the rest as well! (Accuforce v1, buttkickers, gekoseat, triples, big alurig)

 

[Rainman2020]

Another thing to factor in as well is that the Sprint pedals are very tall, even after you adjust the pedal faces to make them lower so take that into account. Unless you have large feet, you will most likely want some type of heel rest that will get your feet a little higher up on the pedals, something to raise them by about an inch or two. Again, Sim-Labs has a nice heel rest, or you could order the one from 4Play Racing's eBay store if you are in the US. That's the one I have and it works great. Or, you could fashion your own with a piece of 40/80 or 40/120 profile. Just bolt it down in front of the pedals. That's what I did for a little while until I got the 4Play heel rest.

Glad you mentioned that. I was thinking that the HE Sprints looked too tall also.
So, to fix that being too tall issue, i just order the 'heel rest from Sim-labs'?
Do the pedals then mount to the Sim-lab heel rest also?
There is a 'Pedal Heel rest V3' on the Sim-lab website, but guessing that is not the right one.

 

[Rainman2020]

Thanks everyone! It is definitely the HE Sprints now

Now, i just need to be sure i know how to mount them correctly, given that:

1) I want to be able to move them horizontally if needed a bit
2) I want to have my feet up higher on the pedals themselves

So, i DO need some sort of base plate for them it seems. Question is, exactly which one?

Randy

 

[metalnwood]

This is the one that they sell specifically for the sprints. It works fine and you need it a bit higher than it is put some foam on top to get a bit higher and soften it.

Sprint Baseplate Anthracite • Heusinkveld Advanced Simracing Products

Optional mounting plate. When operating the Sim Pedals Sprint near their maximum force capability, they need a very sturdy mount to your rig.

heusinkveld.com

I race in socks so I cut out a piece from a standing/fatigue mat and put that on top as well. Nice for the heel of your foot if you are a socks racer.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

If you want flexibility to easily move them back and forth, not needed if you the only one using the rig.

The baseplate allows pedals being mounted on the Sim-Lab seat slider, which makes it easy to quickly adjust the position of the pedals relative to the seat.

sim-lab.eu

Otherwise just skip the plate and slider and get only heel rest, the pedals will bolt straight to the rig pedal deck, more solid mount too.

Sim pedal heel rest

Sim pedal heel rest for support of the back of the feet when operating the pedals. Aluminium 4 mm thick heel plate. M6 countersunk mounting holes. Spacers included.

sim-lab.eu

 

[BP]

The HE software is excellent, and supports profiles. For example you can use a profile for GT cars in iRacing to max out brake force at 80%, above which is guaranteed lockup at all speeds. That is, you provide 100% calibrated force but driver outputs 80%. I find that quite useful.

Although it is much easier to set it in the HE Sprint's software, you can also set this with any pedal set for iRacing by editing a value in the joyCalib.yaml file. There are videos on how to do this on YouTube.

Still a point for HE Sprints due to simplicity if you do iRacing, but not as valuable for other sims which I believe all give you brake pressure adjustment in-game...just an FYI.

 

[TedBrosby-]

I loved my V3’s but I don’t regret selling them and paying extra for Sprints.

1. Sprints have real pedal height and angle adjustment. Your feet size will never affect your ability to heel toe with Sprints.
2. They come with the HE equivalent of a performance kit already because they have varying strength inserts and preload spring on the brake to adjust physical force and travel distance.
3. Without any hacking or voiding warranty, they can be freely mounted using the M5 included bolts and T-nuts. You can even mount them inverted without any major issue since throttle and clutch can be plugged into either side of the controller board.
4. You can adjust the required force of the load cell directly in SmartControl, meaning you can dial in the force wanted to emulate realistic brake feel for everything except real F1 cars.
5. Throttle and clutch use load cells instead of hall sensors. This is much more accurate for desired force.
6. The all metal construction is more purpose driven using 6061 aluminum. There’s no “just for looks” metal construction.
7. You have an almost infinite level of control adjustments with HE Sprints. You can control the linear curve for all three pedals and even make profiles based on which sim you’re driving and which car.
8. The level of support is unrivaled. With Fanatec, put in an RMA ticket and hopefully you don’t have to blast them on Twitter or Reddit to get a response. With Heusinkveld, it’s not unheard of for Niels himself to reply to people having issues on Facebook or forums. Rarely is the issue a defect but if it is, they’ll very quickly resolve it and usually it’s on a ship first basis. IE: they ship you replacement hardware and you ship the broken stuff back. That way you’re not out for weeks for repairs.
9. This is something advanced that will make your life easier. Fanatec V3 are “mass manufacturing” engineered. This means if you need to deconstruct them, you’ll be confronted by bolts that are pressure fitted or hard to reach, issues with parts not being meant to be removed. This can be an issue years down the line if you’re buying “for life”. Heusinkveld pedals are “hand tool” engineered, meaning every bolt, nut, insert and part is designed to be reached by a single pair of hands and hand tools. You can deconstruct and reassemble the entire pedal set using a simple store bought tool kit and simple hand leverage. They were built in a way like Niels would want to use them himself. I’m not joking when I say there’s no level of product engineering like that in commercial products. For that reason I would go as far as saying they’re actually a steal for the price you pay.

 

[Squared Circle]

I guess all has been said but just to add my personal "story": Decided for HE as I don't need the clutch and coming from G29 I wanted to make sure I can mount throttle and brake away from each other as far as I like. And even more importantly: centered (the G29 pedals were mounted off-center and I didn't want to bother with the bigger V3s that way again as my rig is quite narrow.
Speaking of mounting the Sprints: The cable connecting throttle and brake is very short. Others have circumvented this by adding a phone cable. Mine are spaced so this is not necessary but still the cable is almost stretched. I don't understand why HE can't use a cable that's just 3cm longer.
Apart from that - and it's written here already: The possibility of "personalising" this product is nothing short of amazing & awesome. And I can't imagine to ever be tempted to replace it for something "better". A very rare experience to me

 

[miker]

TLDR but I'm sure the general vibe is go for the sprints

Having made the switch from V3's to sprints in the last week I'm very happy and feel it was money well spent.

In relation to the base plate, I didn't order that, as it seemed a bit of a faff if you wanted to adjust things on your pedals so I have mounted mine directly to the pedal plate on my sib-labs GT1 evo rig. Now there is a tiny amount of flex in the native pedal plate but sim-labs will send you a sprint specific re-inforcing plate for just the cost of shipping (cos they are top guys at sim-labs) which will make it rock solid...so I wouldn't bother paying £80 for the HV base.

 

[TShrimp]

I have the Fanatec V3 with the BPK, and love them. I have no regrets, and do not plan on upgrading. However, I am going to recommend the HE Sprints. It has nothing to do with the product, but the support behind it. I have emailed Fanatec on several occasions and never a response (We are talking months at this point). I actually worry that if I ever have issues I will not be able to get the support I need to get the issue taken care of. This is one of the reasons I looked elsewhere when I purchased my direct drive wheel (Purchased the AccuForce V2 to replace my T300 which is now my backup set).

Good luck in your decision.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I had the CS 3.0 for about a year and upgraded to the HE Sprints. I believe they are worth it.

The Sprints are more consistent and much more configurable.

I AM NOT suggesting that you need to mount your pedals as shown below, but with the Sprints, you can if you want to. I've had 3 completely different mounts since I get my Sprints. In fact this is an old picture and it looks different today.

My clutch and brake slide sideways for 3 pedal vs 2 pedal operation.