The most lacklustre part of any mass-market wheelset is its pedals. And this is true even for some mid-tier belt-driven wheels.
Often, manufacturers bundle their wheelbases with these toy-like devices. It is not uncommon for them to be flimsy and lack resistance in any of the pedals. When in use, you find it very hard to accurately gauge your braking, and there’s often a fair bit of flex through the whole pedal set itself.
If you are serious about the hobby, it’s time you moved away from your wheel’s base pedals, and splashed the cash on a decent set. However, quality pedals do not come cheap, especially if you want a clutch pedal.
Thankfully, not all stock pedals are sub-par. In fact, Logitech’s G25 and up pedal set is actually fairly decent, and comes with plenty of third-party mod support. Here are three reasons why it is a worthwhile upgrade to a set of your default Thrustmaster or lower-end Fanatec pedals!
1. Metal Construction
The three pedals are all constructed mostly out of metal. The pedal arm, face and even the base that keeps all the mechanical and electronic components together have been fabricated out of seemingly high-strength metals. This means flex in use is kept to a minimum.
2. Infinite Modability
There is a very strong community of modders keeping these pedals relevant despite their age. A popular mod sees users swapping their brake springs for progressive rate units that better replicates a real-life brake. The original brake spring is then swapped to the clutch pedal, and the clutch spring is then used in place of the original throttle spring.
3. Third-Party Parts Support
Aside from the progressive spring mod, other items have also been developed for the pedals. Third-Party USB connectors allow the pedals to be used as a standalone unit, and uprated potentiometers further increase the resolution of the pedals. If you so desire, a load-cell brake can also be added to the setup.
How Much Does This All Cost?
If you are just a hobbyist seeking a budget upgrade from your bundled T300 pedals, the modifications can be done on the cheap. When the pedals do pop up for sale online, they typically sell for around the S$100 mark.
A progressive brake spring can be purchased for about S$25, and a USB standalone adapter can be had for about S$50. We strongly also urge that you upgrade the potentiometers if you already intend to take apart the pedals to swap the springs out. 3Drap makes a complete upgrade kit for around S$35.
All-in-all, you can have a set of reliable, upgraded pedals for around S$200. Now these are not going to give you the best overall racing experience (you’ll need higher end pedals for that), but they are an affordable way to level up from the stock plastic pedal units that your Thrustmaster came bundled with! Best of all, when you do decide to upgrade, these pedals can then be repurposed into a handbrake – follow amstudio’s guide here!
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