Tag Archives: GT Chassis

Fanatec Clubsport Pedal Usage Review

Clubsport pedal is a full metal Aluminium construction pedal by Fanatec.

This version of the review will describe not only the specifications of the pedal, but also a full result after using this for 3-4 weeks daily for about 4 hours per day.

Why I choose this pedal even when I was using the G27 wheel from Logitech will be revealed below.

The dimension of the pedal are as follows ( for you whom is thinking of mounting this on your rig (reverse or F1 style)

Measurements and weights:

  • width: 13.4 inch [340 mm]
  • depth: 12.6 inch [320 mm]
  • height: 7.9 inch [200 mm]
  • weight: ~ 10.8 lbs [~ 4.9 kg]

The Specification

  • Solid aluminum construction
  • Adjustability on the pedal to allow heel&toe technique
  • Height of pedal plates can be adjusted to match foot size (so many holes…so many options)
  • Spring strength can be adjusted on gas and clutch
  • Vibration feedback motor on brake pedal to indicate locking tires. (see that motor behind the brake pedal) –

So what happened is that when I set the ABS on the wheel (see picture below) to say 50, it means after braking treshold reach 50% , the motor of the vibration will start to kick in.
However this will only work if you connect the Pedal directly to the wheel using the PS/2 Interface, not all games will support this vibration .if you connect it directly to PC via USB without Fanatec Wheel, ( so far only rFactor that can activate the motor when plugged in directly using USB to your PC without any fanatec wheel) (I made a mistake of this, must’ve been the late night testing, have just tested this again and the Vibration will NOT work with USB on rFactor apologies for the confusion)

  • Contactless magnetic high-precision sensor on accelerator and clutch with unlimited lifetime ( see the square aluminium attached to the clutch and gas pedal below)
  • it is a contactless potentiometer which measure the travel of the pedal whilst the brake pedal do not use this sensor.
  • The Brake pedal use Pressure sensitive load cell sensor on the brake. It control the brake force with muscle tension instead of movement
  • (see the load cell sticking out from the black aluminium block, next to the rotary dial) that is the Load cell.
  • With this sensor and stiffness of the brake it is very easy to modulate your brake, maintain the brake pressure for progressive braking.
  • Underneath the Pedal there are 2 connections (USB and PS/2) the PS/2 are connection to the Fanatec wheel , and the USB is for direct connection to the PC.

3 weeks of heavy usage:

I found that after 3 weeks of heavy usage now I can’t even brake without the hard pressure behind the brake pedal, I was so used to the muscle memory that when I start to press on the clutch ( mapping it as a brake) felt really “hollow”

I have a bit of problem unfortunately , the load cell started faulting.

The brake is showing that there is load even though I did not press it.

It is during race or time trails that I felt even though I press the gas pedal to the max the car won’t accelerate, and got passed by other opponents.
After 2 days I received the replacement of the brand new load cell, it took 5 minutes to replace it. ( well took me 30 minutes because I took it off the rig and dis-assemble the brake pedal a little and done an adjustment on the pedal positions)

After that everything works as it should be.I’ve been testing the load cell again for 3-4 days now and it hasn’t replicate the old problem .

So Im going to go to the point and straight to the Pros and Cons:
Pros:

  • I haven’t see any after market pedal that offer load cell braking for under or around $300AU
  • the pedal is very solid, sturdy and strong
  • Adjustability if you want to heel toe or drive F1 where you can space out the brake pedal)
  • adjustable tension , how hard you want to clutch, gas or Brake
  • Load cell braking, instead of how far you press the pedal and stop mid-air , you pressed the brake pedal until it stops and apply pressure from there ( precision braking, it gets so easy in time, just like your hydraulic brake in real car) Easy to modulate braking and hold pressure to progressive brake.
  • looks awesome
  • feels very rigid from the all metal contruction
  • The ability to adjust how much pressure is comfortable for your feet to reach maximum braking point via the rotary dial.
  • the Ability of the brake to vibrate in sync with Steering wheel brake during when ABS point is reached, to let your foot’s muscle know that you are about to lock your tyre. maximum brake all time every time without reaching that locking point and slide.

Cons:

  • Price – for AU$300 you can get the whole G27 during specials , and you only get the pedal for this price.
  • Load cell may brake ( however load cell replacement is free or if you want to buy spare it’s only $15)
  • The size is bigger than your average pedal (DFGT and G27) , much bigger it may require a converter / not fit your rig

Overall:
The pedal is worth every penny that you saved in buying them, the built quality and durability certainly helps in displaying that.
Now that everything works after replacing the load cell sensor, I can say that this problem may or may not happen to you, however replacing it and getting the replacement sensor should not be a problem if it does happen.

Personally, I think this is a very high quality pedal, very durable and the Aluminium finish feels very firm under shoes or socks, ( never use this bare foot anymore) you will be pressing these hard during races.

I guess the selling point for me is the load cell braking, this have not made me a lot faster on my race however it has makes me so much consistent in braking and controlling my speed and I believe over time, this translates to better lap times. and I have to agree now that the most important elements in racing is the brake pedal, so many times have I tested this already, I out-brake people or AI without sliding off the grass because of this.

Now to display how the vibration motor works and ABS kicks in after the 50% threshold is reached please enjoy the video below

I hope you gain something from this simple usage review , I am trying to display not only the positives but also the negatives and hopefully will help you in making your decision easier.

Marcus

How to mount Fanatec Shifter to HumanRacing GT Chassis Racing Rig

I’ve been receiving couple of questions in the past in regards to the mounting of the Fanatec Clubsport Pedal on to the humanRacing Gt Chassis rig, however one of the important questions that people often forgot is they will use and require a shifter as well. For those that have owned or used Fanatec Shifter know that the mounting solution for them sucks, because of these there are after market bracket just to cater this. Well instead of spending another $40-$60 on top of the Shifter (ie the after market brackets only work with 1 or 2 brand of racing rig and they are not the majority), I decided to use a very simple and cheap solutions to mount them on my HumanRacing GT Chassis (Until they produce an official mounting bracket for this Shifter). I also want to make sure that they are Sturdy, because it is not worth doing if it’s not strong enough. What I use was 2 x 2mm wide and 2 x 3mm wide cable ties. below image are the results. The H-Patern Shifter on the Left side As you see the bottom of the shifter have no mounting point whatsoever and the PS/2 connection to the wheel is at the bottom of the shifter Meanwhile the sequential I mount on the right to enable fast switching from the H-Patern to Sequential. Connection for the shifters are on both sides of the wheel. but they cannot be both connected at the same time. Switching is simply pulling one and plugging the other. The Infamous “Chopstick” mount it’s quite sturdy for the Sequential shifter but not the H-patern. For H-Ppatern Shifter of Fanatec I would recoomend hard mounting them on to a sturdy platform instead of using the “Chopstick” The results are phenomenal , quick switching and sturdy mount, which also mean I don’t have to pull shifter out of the chopstick mount whenever I need to change shifter ( they are quite hard to pull out) Here are the video displaying how sturdy it is I hope this little tips helps you in someways that it has help myself. happy racing and we’ll see you on the track :) Marcus

UPDATE post: HumanRacing have just announced their new designed Fanatec CSR Shifter mount. Check out pictures below.

Pictures are courtesy of HumanRacing and V12 Germany

Another simple yet very elegant design and accessories for the GT Chassis.

As always if you’d like to thank me for creating these tutorials, guides, tips and/or reviews. please click on donate button on the right column to help keep this running, Thank you.

Marcus

HumanRacing GT Chassis Iridium with Clubsport Pedal

As promised, the custom seat and Fanatec Clubsport Pedal converter plate was air freighted to Sydney and finally arrived here after couple of days and I must say Im very impress with the quality of the paint job, as always.I’d like to use this chance to thank Human Racing again for making and sending these all the way from Thailand to Australia.

Please enjoy these pictures below.
PS: HumanRacing also have keyboard and Mouse stand for this Chassis, and I am looking forward to test them out once available.

Here’ s a bit of after/before picture

Before and After

while still using G27 pedal I managed to take couple of shots

Plate converter during assembly (4 long M6 hex screws are also included in the package)

After Assembly

Final Results

Must admit they do looks nice together. (still a bit of cable clutter)

looking a bit like a space car isn’t it

Time for me to test drive this beauty

Here’s the Video of CSP +G27 in action (bit of fun project to say thank you to HumanRacing)

As always if you’d like to thank me for creating these tutorials, guides, tips and/or reviews. please click on donate button on the right column to help keep this running, Thank you.

I Hope you’ve enjoyed this as much as I have.
Thank you for reading.
Marcus