Fanatec and I have a very love/hate relationship; they seem to either get it right or get it very wrong when I purchase something from them. Back in 2009, I was in the market for my first serious wheel and pedal combo so I pre-ordered and eagerly waited for three weeks to get my 911 GT2 Wheel and Clubsport V1 Pedals.
It only took four weeks for both to be broken and another month of RMA to get refunded. I settled with a G27 paired with an AP Electric Load Cell and used that for the next six months. After that a few things worked out to where I could get a set of Cannon GT 3b pedals and mount them to my Obutto.
Is this Sim Racing nirvana? Well yes; the Cannon pedals were great, but they felt always kind of static and machine like. Very hard to describe unless you try them. Moving forward to mid-2013 I was looking to scale back some equipment as I prepared for some post-graduate studies and I was able to move the Cannon Pedals for $700 on the iRacing forums, and pick up a pair of Fanatec V2 Pedals to replace them.
The V2’s right out of the box were very familiar to me and very comfortable to jump in and get racing with. I added on a set of Derek Speare Tilton Style pedal pads and started racing. Something was different though. These pedals felt better than I anticipated and I was dropping lap times on road courses consistently, being an oval racer to begin with consistency was something I always struggled with.
What was making this huge improvement for me? The tiny little RC style shock absorber attached to the brake pedal. Finally there was something that felt like a real car’s pedal, provided regular consistent feeling that allowed me to know how far to go and how far to push into a brake zone.
However, the stock shock absorber is not strong enough for repeated use, the one provided with the pedals bent within a year’s worth of use. Fanatec provided a second one and it suffered the same fate 6 months later. I was able to find a Mugen RBX RC Car shock from a member on the iRacing forums and add one on.
This was like buying a new set of pedals once again. It gave a great confidence inspiring consistent feel to the pedals. The shock is big and strong compared to the stock shock. It is more progressive feeling and the blue spring provided by the iRacing member was an even further improvement.
The shock coupled with a V1 tuning kit spring on my gas pedal and a black brake pedal from the same kit I was able to make my perfect set of pedals for under $300 (spread out over 2years). Maintenance was easy, just some cleaning here and there and a little bit of gun oil to fix a squeaking gas pedal and I could not be more happy.
In my opinion you would be hard pressed to find a better option in the price range, and even harder pressed to justify a $1000-2000 set of pedals unless you are filthy rich. I wish Fanatec would apply this quality and consistency to all their products. It is something they absolutely must work on to remain relevant in the Simulation marketplace.