Give your sim racing game a lift with one of these great sets of pedals
by Richard DevineBest Pedals for Sim Racing Windows Central 2020
Whether you're new to sim racing or an old hand, a good set of pedals is crucial not only to your experience but also to your lap times. Fortunately, there are some great sets to choose from, and here's what we'd recommend on your rig.
- Best Overall: Fanatec CSL Elite
- Best Budget: Thrustmaster T3PA
- Competitive class: Fanatec Clubsport V3
- Going Pro: RicmoTech RealGear GTPro3 Xtreme
- Inverting Things: Thrustmaster T3PA-Pro
- Coming Soon: Thrustmaster T-LCM
Best Overall: Fanatec CSL Elite
Staff Pick
Whether beginner or more experienced, console or PC, the Fanatec CSL Elite pedal set is a worthy addition to your rig. For beginners, they're well priced, for more experienced racers, there's an optional load cell brake pedal for better performance. The pedals can be independently moved along the base, they're incredibly well built, and it's easy to see why these pedals have such a reputation.
Best Budget: Thrustmaster T3PA
For putting together a budget sim racing rig, the T3PA pedals from Thrustmaster are an excellent place to start. You get a full three-pedal setup, each with individual pressure settings, and the pedal faceplates are all adjustable to get the positioning just right for your feet. And as it's a Thrustmaster product, it'll be easy to fix to just about any racing rig. The community also has some nifty mods that can help make the T3PA even better.
Competitive class: Fanatec Clubsport V3
If you're stepping up your sim racing game a little and getting into serious competition, the Clubsport V3 is an excellent set of pedals to go with you. With a 90kg load cell and tool-free stiffness adjustment on the brake pedal, you're getting incredible feel when racing. They're also built like a tank, compatible with just about any major rig, and incredibly adjustable to get the perfect, most comfortable setup possible.
Going Pro: RicmoTech RealGear GTPro3 Xtreme
Not for the faint of heart or those looking to keep costs down, the GTPro3 Xtreme is one of the closest sets of sim racing pedals you'll get to the real deal. Out of the box, the brake pedal is designed to feel like the brakes on a real-life GT3 car. The adjustability is insane, the build quality out of this world, and there's even a pressure plate on the clutch for that ultra-realistic feel. Pricey, but for the most serious sim racers, worth every penny.
Inverting Things: Thrustmaster T3PA-Pro
A variation on the regular T3PA pedals, the big draw to the Pro set, is that you can either have the pedals mounted on the base, or you can attach them to the backplate and run them inverted. You have the same adjustable pedal faceplates as on the regular T3PA, they're still exceptionally well priced and have the added benefit of a fully-metal build for added durability.
Coming Soon: Thrustmaster T-LCM
Thrustmaster's first set of load cell pedals briefly went on sale, but the 2020 global crisis has led to a delay in restocking, currently lined up for July. This is a pedal set worth waiting on, though, as it's excellent value for one of the most accurate load cells in consumer-grade sim racing pedals, backed up by super solid construction and compatibility with consoles and PC.
Stop and go
A good set of pedals is critical to your enjoyment and your performance when sim racing, And whether you're just starting out or have done a few miles in your time, the Fanatec CSL Elite is an excellent set of pedals for everyone. The price is perfect for beginners, the addition of an optional load cell perfect for the more experienced. And they're exceptionally well made.
There's also some good stuff going on at Thrustmaster. While it's disappointing that the T-LCM Load Cell pedal set is currently unavailable until at least July as it stands, they're a noticeable upgrade from the company's already excellent T3PA or T3PA Pro. Both of these are superb choices for those on a tighter budget, have tons of adjustability and compatibility with just about every game and rig you can think of.
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