Heusinkveld Sprint

Our rating : 9.3/10

If you’re just starting out in Sim-racing you may not know it yet, but the pedalboard is an essential part of your set-up.

The Dutch manufacturer Heusinkveld is a reference in the world of Sim-racing, especially for its shifters and handbrakes, but especially for being one of the best pedal manufacturers. And that’s why we decided to talk to you today about one of their iconic products: the Heusinkveld Sprint crankset.

In this article, we will tell you the features of this pedalboard, its advantages and disadvantages, but we will also tell you what type of player it is best suited for and where you can get it.

The characteristics of the Heusinkveld Sprint pedalboard

The Heusinkveld Sim Pedals Sprint is a 3-pedal pedal board built with absolute precision. It is the lowest of the Heusinkveld pedalboards, but is still considered a top of the line pedalboard by Sim-Racing players.

Here is a list of its main features:

• The structural parts are made of laser-cut stainless steel with no edges, finished in charcoal gray or metallic, to offer both light responsiveness and a true sense of strength.

• All three pedals have load cells: in the gas pedal and clutch they work as position sensors, while in the brake they measure the pressure on the pedal.

• Load cells, unlike rotary potentiometers, provide a true linear output relative to the pedal input. Their accuracy and durability are unmatched because they do not wear out over time.

• The throttle is smooth, precise and highly adjustable. The pedal gives you excellent control over any race car. With five pedal stroke settings, including an adjustable pedal force curve and pedal angle and height, you’ll be able to set the throttle exactly to your liking.

• The brake pedal is double-stage, consisting of an initial coil spring and progressive rubber springs. The firmness of the pedal is adjusted by selecting from 10 possible rubber heights. It has a maximum force of 65 kg and a custom developed 12-bit electronics is now included in the brake pedal.

• The clutch has a spring return mechanism that allows you to greatly adjust the effort, stroke and feel. The maximum pedal effort is 14 kg.

• This model is truly remarkable for the tech-savvy rider as all pedals physically adjust, but you can also program pedal resistance and loads, configure dead zones and output curves to suit your needs .

• It is compatible with SmartControl, the new pedal configuration tool that allows full configuration and non-linear curves for each pedal. You can also create special profiles for iRacing.

• The Heusinkveld Sprint pedalboard is compatible with PCs running Windows 10 or later. It is not compatible with Linux or with consoles such as Xbox or PlayStation.

• These pedals cannot be installed on a floor without additional support. A simracing platform or cockpit is still required to use the Heusinkveld Sprint pedalboard, even if you use the optional Sim Pedals Sprint baseplate.

For what type of person?

The Heusinkveld Sprint pedalboard is perfect for regular Sim-racing players as well as e-sport professionals.

However, we don’t necessarily recommend this model to those who are buying their very first pedalboard, as it can be difficult for beginners to get used to.

Its advantages

We would like to tell you about the many advantages of the Heusinkveld Sprint pedalboard , which this model revealed to us during our test.

First of all, the Heusinkveld Sprint pedalboard radiates quality and craftsmanship and you can feel it immediately. The complete unit (brake, throttle and clutch) mounted on the base plate is really robust. The quality control at Heusinkveld is very good, everything is carefully finished and secured and the brand has relied on very high quality materials like stainless steel. This is a model that is extremely well built and is made to last and not wear out even if you use it quite heavily.

We were also completely won over by the customization that the Heusinkveld Sprint pedalboard offers. Indeed, in terms of adjustments and settings, you have everything you need to configure this model to your liking. Since each pedal can be mounted separately, you can create an almost infinite combination of pedal placements. You can even space out the pedals as much as you like to learn how to master the heel-toe technique. On the back of each pedal are eight different holes allowing you to fully adjust the angle of each pedal. You can also adjust the brake to suit your own style and you can use six different brake stiffness settings.

Secondly, the Heusinkveld Sprint pedals are very good at doing what they are supposed to do – accelerating and braking! A good crankset won’t necessarily make you faster, but it can make you more consistent in your running. In the area of braking and acceleration (dosage and sensitivity), the Heusinkveld Sprint pedalboard reacts really well. The resistance on the pedals gives a very good feeling and therefore a better control when driving the racing cars during the game.

Finally, the Heusinkveld Sprint pedalboard offers the advantage of being very easy to install and configure as it is fully plug-and-play. If you connect the included USB cable, it will be recognized as a controller in Windows without having to install separate drivers. To configure, adjust and calibrate the pedals, you can download the Smartcontrol software from the Heusinkveld website. The software is easy to use, everything can be adjusted visually and the settings are stored directly in the pedals, so you don’t have to recalibrate them.

Its disadvantages

Even though we were seduced by the Heusinkveld Sprint pedalboard, we know that it has some drawbacks and we want to tell you about them.

First, we have to admit that its biggest negative point is its price. The Heusinkveld Sprint crankset is clearly not the cheapest model on the market. We know that this price is particularly justified, especially with all the advantages that this pedal set offers that we mentioned earlier, but it is more than realistic to say that this is not a pedal board that every wallet can afford.

Please note that the base plate that supports the pedalboard is not included and must be purchased separately. This obviously implies an additional budget at the time of purchase.

In our opinion, another disadvantage of the Heusinkveld Sprint pedalboard is thatit is unfortunately only compatible with the PC. For fans of consoles like Xbox or PlayStation, unfortunately, you will have to turn to another model.

Finally, as we have also discussed before, the Heusinkveld Sprint pedalboard is not a model that is suitable for beginners. While this may not be a problem for all regular or even professional Sim-Racing players, it does imply that none of the Heusinkveld pedalboards are suitable for beginners, which we think is a shame.

Where to get it and for how much?

The Heusinkveld Sprint crankset is available for purchase on the Digital Motorsports website.

Depending on the option you choose, the price is as follows:

• The set of two pedals (without clutch) for 599 €.
• The set of three pedals for 699 €.
• The clutch pedal alone for 119 €.

Please note that the base is not included with the product, you must purchase it separately. It is available at the following link.

Conclusion

The Heusinkveld Sim Pedals Sprint can be considered the best pedalboard available due to its robustness, adaptability and the feel of its three pedals.

If you’re looking for a pedalboard that helps you be both fast and consistent in GT style racing as well as F1 racing, the Heusinkveld Sim Pedals Sprint is an excellent choice. It is ideal for true Sim-racing enthusiasts and those who aspire to become e-sport professionals asit offers consistency and realism and is among the best simulation racing pedals you can own.

To conclude, even if it is true that these pedals have an important cost (650 €-699 €), it is also the price of an exceptional know-how as well as high quality parts. The Heusinkveld Sprint pedalboard is truly a step up and offers much more accuracy than many other similar models in terms of price.