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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[Kieran527]

I check stock most days to be honest. Their stock was good consistently for a few months, and then since the week after the Sim Racing Expo they’ve been out, didn’t know if they had an influx of orders from there and trying to clear the backlog before taking anymore.
Ill give HE a few more weeks, I’d like to buy from them direct if possible, after seeing the support they give, I’d like to put my money straight in their hands.

 

[DrRob]

I check stock most days to be honest. Their stock was good consistently for a few months, and then since the week after the Sim Racing Expo they’ve been out, didn’t know if they had an influx of orders from there and trying to clear the backlog before taking anymore.
Ill give HE a few more weeks, I’d like to buy from them direct if possible, after seeing the support they give, I’d like to put my money straight in their hands.

When I was looking to buy mine the official website shop never had any stock after SimExpo 2019 when I was checking. Resellers had them in stock though. So at the time I went with VRL (german) and they could ship the next few days after ordering. So worth checking the resellers in your country!
You will have the same support from Heusinkveld. Doesn't matter where you bought them.

 

[BaldyBonce]

They're in stock now

 

[EsxPaul]

I check stock most days to be honest. Their stock was good consistently for a few months, and then since the week after the Sim Racing Expo they’ve been out, didn’t know if they had an influx of orders from there and trying to clear the backlog before taking anymore.
Ill give HE a few more weeks, I’d like to buy from them direct if possible, after seeing the support they give, I’d like to put my money straight in their hands.

If you can't manage to snag a set directly from the manufacturers web store, Demon Tweeks are recognised as an official dealer and you receive after sales support in the exact same way as you would buying direct.

I had the exact same concerns before buying and had the after sales support situation confirmed to me in correspondence with Heusinkveld.

 

[Ryan Sylvester]

I brought mine from demon tweeks about 3 weeks ago, they delivered them the next working day (in the UK).

been really happy with them too!

 

[White Hawk]

I check stock most days to be honest. Their stock was good consistently for a few months, and then since the week after the Sim Racing Expo they’ve been out, didn’t know if they had an influx of orders from there and trying to clear the backlog before taking anymore.
Ill give HE a few more weeks, I’d like to buy from them direct if possible, after seeing the support they give, I’d like to put my money straight in their hands.

It’s one of those Fridays I mentioned as they are in stock right now, grab a set as soon as possible.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Thought I would post this here too.
I've always liked how the pedals work, but my throttle heel has always dragged along the foot plate when I was modulating throttle. This eliminates that issue. My heel now just rolls naturally.

When I press my brake and clutch pedals my foot typically comes off the foot plate, so this is less of an issue.

 

[Pär Öqvist]

Thought I would post this here too.
I've always liked how the pedals work, but my throttle heel has always dragged along the foot plate when I was modulating throttle. This eliminates that issue. My heel now just rolls naturally.

When I press my brake and clutch pedals my foot typically comes off the foot plate, so this is less of an issue.
View attachment 345685

Wow what a nice mod. I always dreamt about being able to mount my ultimates inverted but my cockpit rigs floor is just to low for them.

General question. How is the brake pedal on the sprint compared to the ultimates brake pedal? I have one issue with the loadcell pedals and that there is no real physical feel when you are at 100 % travel. Maybe it would be if I could push 135 kg so the durometers can´t be compressed anymore. So in the fear of not getting 100 % brake I excert more brake force then needed even when running "relatively" light brake pressures at 60-70 kg and it causes unnecessary fatigue in long runs and numb leg. It´s all in the head but I had it for years and I can´t stop doing it as you start to get tired you feel the need to push even harder...

Is the smaller busings on the sprint so soft they actually get much firmer at much less forces then required on the Ultimate or is it essentially the same deal. I do like the brake stiff it´s really hard to go back to these softy pedals but my brake leg is worn after the years with the ultimates I can´t lie... It´s also way stronger then my throttle leg so the excersize has given some amazing results

I guess if I could find a sprints brake separately I could just easy strip the wire and connect it to the control box for the Ultimates. Mine don´t have the phono connectors installed just connect straight by wires.

I have not seen any standalone breaks being sold?

 

[Elaphe]

Do you know if it is not advisable to install a bodyshaker on the pedal deck with HE pedals? Could the vibrations affect the components of the pedals? Or maybe the magnetism of the speakers? Any experiences in this sense?

 

[White Hawk]

Do you know if it is not advisable to install a bodyshaker on the pedal deck with HE pedals? Could the vibrations affect the components of the pedals? Or maybe the magnetism of the speakers? Any experiences in this sense?

I‘ve read somewhere, possibly a answer to this question from a Heusinkveld employee that the pedals don’t have issues with vibration from transducers, and I and others here are running one or multiple on or around the pedals and at least from my experience I have not encountered any issues so far.

 

[Kieran527]

Placed my order for Sprints at the weekend, but as yet no email confirmation that the order is received or processed.

What are Heusinkveld usually like for shipping and communication?
Seeing the cash disappear from my account with no positive response its been received by Heusinkveld has me a little nervous currently.

 

[Enzo Fazzi]

Placed my order for Sprints at the weekend, but as yet no email confirmation that the order is received or processed.

What are Heusinkveld usually like for shipping and communication?
Seeing the cash disappear from my account with no positive response its been received by Heusinkveld has me a little nervous currently.

We recently started using a new system for creating and shipping orders, for a currently unknown reason, not everyone seems to receive the tracking information from UPS.
However, when placing an order you should receive one or two emails from us. Perhaps in your spamfolder? Could you send an email to info@heusinkveld.com so I can check the status of your order?

 

[Fat-Alfie]

A response from a company employee 12mins later... now that's customer service

 

[Kieran527]

That’s exactly why I wanted to purchase direct from Heusinkveld.
I have received confirmation of order, just waiting for shipment now

 

[dragonbeard]

Had a friend over to test out my new-ish rig today. For the first I noticed I have a squeek when releasing the gas pedal sometimes.

After pushing it a couple times manually it seemed to have gone away.
Has anyone else had this? Am I being paranoid in thinking this could cause potential wear because it could be metal on metal friction, or is it likely to just be normal spring behaviour?

 

[White Hawk]

Had a friend over to test out my new-ish rig today. For the first I noticed I have a squeek when releasing the gas pedal sometimes.

After pushing it a couple times manually it seemed to have gone away.
Has anyone else had this? Am I being paranoid in thinking this could cause potential wear because it could be metal on metal friction, or is it likely to just be normal spring behaviour?

I had a very nasty squeak at one point some months ago, I pressed down on the piece that the spring goes into at the end that can swing up and down and that fixed it, hasn’t come back at all so far.

 

[dragonbeard]

I had a very nasty squeak at one point some months ago, I pressed down on the piece that the spring goes into at the end that can swing up and down and that fixed it, hasn’t come back at all so far.

Good to know. Mine did go away after fiddling with it as well, so I'll let go of the anxiety.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Wow what a nice mod. I always dreamt about being able to mount my ultimates inverted but my cockpit rigs floor is just to low for them.

It doesn't matter how low your cockpit rig's floor is if you use uprights to support a pedal deck.
I used 3 pieces of 40x120mm 40 series profile and corner braces and some large brackets to create an inverted frame for my brakes.

I can move the pedals forward and backward relative to the foot plate, raise them or lower them and rotate them all together. Then I have additional adjustments for my throttle pedal since I wanted it to hinge lower than the others. Past that the clutch and brake are mounted to a plate with 6 quick releases so I can slide the pedals to the side for 2 pedal operation and then slide the pedals back when I need a clutch.

It may be seriously over engineered, but so far I like it.

 

[Kieran527]

@Enzo Fazzi
I have had an email to say my order is complete now, is that my shipping email, or a notification to say it’s ready for courier pick up?
Thanks

 

[Enzo Fazzi]

@Enzo Fazzi
I have had an email to say my order is complete now, is that my shipping email, or a notification to say it’s ready for courier pick up?
Thanks

I'll PM you for your ordernumber!