Our Verdict
Pros
- Maintains the same excellent force feedback from the Ultimate pedal.
- Increases immersion from a passive pedal.
- Extremely well packaged and includes everything required to install and use.
- Excellent build quality.
Cons
- The price is still very premium.
- Large size can make mounting difficult.
- Inability to daisy chain multiple pedals.
- Shorter warranty of just 3 years.
When the original Simucube ActivePedal was released around a year ago, it was widely praised as one of the very best sim racing pedals ever. In our review of the renamed ActivePedal Ultimate, we called it an “absolute game-changer” that “completely reimagined what it is to be a sim racing pedal”.
The one downside of the ActivePedal was its immense cost, which was over $2000 or €2000 for a single pedal. Now, in 2024, Simucube has had a year or so with the ActivePedal and has addressed this price concern with the release of the brand-new ActivePedal Pro.
This cheaper sim racing pedal offers almost the same functionality as the ActivePedal Ultimate at a lower price point. Simucube sent this pedal over for us to test, and after a few months with the pedal, here are my final thoughts on the ActivePedal Pro.
Watch our video review of the ActivePedal Pro
What is the Simucube ActivePedal Pro?
Stripping this pedal back to its core functionality, the ActivePedal Pro is a force feedback-enabled sim racing pedal. It houses an internal ball screw motor that generates force in a relatively similar way to a direct drive racing wheel.
As you spend time on track in any sim racing title, the in-game forces that are generated and normally sent to your racing wheel are also sent to the ActivePedal Pro. This is then converted into physical force feedback which moves, vibrates and rumbles the pedal in real time.
The result is a pedal that can rumble and vibrate as your brakes start to lock or as you lose traction. This force feedback really elevates your sim racing experience.
Not only are you now getting a more well-rounded force feedback experience with forces present in your pedals as well as your racing wheel. But the forces that you feel through the ActivePedal can help you better understand your car’s behaviour on track and, in turn, help you drive more efficiently and faster.
I’m not someone who often says upgrading any part of your sim racing setup will help you find lap time, as this can be an expensive trap to fall into. However, the ActivePedal really goes above and beyond a standard load cell pedal and can, in some scenarios, help you become a better driver.
Price
I’ve mentioned that this ActivePedal Pro is cheaper than the original AP Ultimate. However, those hoping for a truly affordable sim racing pedal may still be disappointed.
The cost of this ActivePedal Pro is €1402 in Europe, $1719 in the United States or £1471 in the UK.
- Buy the Simucube ActivePedal Pro (United States) – $1719
- Buy the Simucube ActivePedal Pro (Europe) – €1402
- Buy the Simucube ActivePedal Pro (United Kingdom) – £1471
That is still pretty darn expensive for a single sim racing pedal, despite it being an effective price reduction of around €500 or $500. This does now mean that you can buy a complete Simucube pedal set consisting of the ActivePedal Pro, a Simucube throttle and a baseplate for just $2407, €2414 or £2028, rather than much closer to $3000 or €3000.
| Pedals | Price | |
|---|---|---|
 | Simucube ActivePedal Ultimate | €1999 / $2299 |
 | Simucube ActivePedal Pro | €1402 / $1719 |
What are the differences between the ActivePedal Ultimate and Pro?
If you’ve previously watched or read my original ActivePedal review, a lot of this information will sound pretty familiar, and that is because this ActivePedal Pro is a very similar piece of hardware. However, there are some key differences from the AP Ultimate which go a long way towards this pedal being more affordable.
Comparing the ActivePedal Pro and Ultimate side by side will quickly help you see the similarities and differences.
Design comparison
From a design perspective, you can clearly see that both pedals have been built by the same set of designers. The overall appearance and high build quality is the same across both pedals.
The ActivePedal Pro arrives in similarly high-quality packaging to the Ultimate pedal, reinforcing the premium nature of any Simucube purchase. When you take the pedal out of the protective casing, you’ll notice some small design flairs which are not present on the cheaper ActivePedal Pro compared to the more premium Ultimate.
For example, the see-through panel directly above the motor is not present on the Pro pedal despite the panel still being in the same place. There are fewer orange accents throughout, and the pedal arm is now all-black and features fewer adjustment points.
You can no longer flip the pedal arm mounting point or adjust its length. Finally, the pedal face is different, opting for an octagonal design with the Simucube logo embossed onto it rather than the dimpled appearance of the Ultimate pedal.
Despite these differences, the ActivePedal Pro still uses the same materials in its construction, is the same size and roughly the same weight and can be mounted in the exact same way.
Feature differences and similarities
Moving away from the physical design, and onto the feature set, things are equally similar, with some core differences. The overall experience you get from the Pro is almost identical to the Ultimate pedal.
You get the same level of almost infinite control over software controlled elements such as pedal travel, vibrations and force feedback. All of the core effects from the original pedal make a return in the ActivePedal Pro.
These include the same ABS, traction control, g-force, brake threshold and lockup effects. The pedal can be configured as either a throttle, brake, or clutch, which affects which forces are active. Ultimately, the core functionality is the same as the original AP Ultimate and you get just as an immersive experience with the Pro as you do with the Ultimate pedal.
Of course, there are some differences, which may or may not impact your decision on which pedal is right for you.
Due to the fewer adjustments to the pedal arm, you cannot mount the Pro pedal inverted like you can with the Ultimate, and you have no pedal offset adjustment.
One of the most significant differences is that the ActivePedal Pro has a maximum of 110kg of brake pressure, while the Ultimate pedal has a whopping 170kg. Realistically, this won’t affect most sim racers, and to put this in perspective, I typically only use around 55-60kg of pressure.
Other key differences
Other differences include a slightly more limited warranty of just 3 years compared to a 5 year warranty on the Ultimate pedal. You also need to have an individual power supply for each Pro pedal, whereas the Ultimate pedal can utilise a single power supply for up to three ActivePedals.
This may seem like a really small difference, but the practicality of utilising multiple PSUs for multiple pedals can really impact your cabling as you now require space for multiple large power bricks and additional plug sockets. If you’re choosing to use three AP Pro pedals, that’s triple the number of PSUs and power connections.
Cable management has never been my biggest forte. However, things do start to get a little messy with multiple ActivePedals. With both an Ultimate and Pro configured, I have two PSUs sitting under my sim rig.
I then need an ethernet switch to connect the data cables for each pedal, which then routes into the Simucube Link Hub, which is required to send data to your PC. This connects to your PC via a USB C cable. While these ActivePedals offer an incredible upgrade in immersion and performance, I do miss the days when passive load cell pedals were available without the need for individual power supplies.
Talking of cable management, the rear of the ActivePedal Pro is very similar to the Ultimate. It features a power port, a data port for the Simucube Link, a power button and two data ports that let you connect passive pedals such as the Simucube Throttle. The only thing missing is the extra power port that the Ultimate uses to daisy chain ActivePedal as this functionality isn’t available on the Pro.
Mounting and adjustments
When it comes to mounting the AP Pro, there are identical slot gaps to the Ultimate pedal. These let you bolt directly through from the top, and when paired with the Simucube Base Plate, or any 8020 sim rig, the pedals are incredibly easy to mount and adjust the position.
I did mention there are fewer physical adjustments with the Pro pedal. Gone are the adjustments to the pedal arm that are found on the Ultimate pedal. We are now just left with a couple of adjustments to the faceplate that include angle and height adjustments. You can also remove the faceplate and swap it with any compatible Simucube faceplate such as the one from the Throttle pedal.
Simucube Tuner software
Then you have the software adjustments which are handled identically to the Ultimate pedal. You need to use the Simucube Tuner software to adjust the AP Pro. When you first boot up the Tuner software, you’ll need to perform a firmware update, followed by configuring your pedal.
This process tells the software which pedal input you are using along with setting the rest position of the pedal itself. You can see as I adjust the rest position in the software, the pedal adjusts in real-time.
Once you’ve configured these base settings, you have a whole world of adjustments at your finger tips. The first settings you’ll want to configure are how the pedal feels.
Pedal feel affects
These settings dictate the pedal travel, preload, maximum force and the force curve. These are the biggest setting changes you can make and are the equivalent of the physical adjustments that you’ll find on more traditional pedals.
Bump stops, damping and friction
Once the pedal feel is adjusted, you can add damping or friction effects and adjust the bump stop feel. I personally prefer to turn the damping and friction effects off, but they are useful tools for further fine-tuning exactly how the pedal feels as you lean on it.
Force feedback pedal effects
Now, we can move onto setting up the force feedback effects, and these are the settings that you’re really paying for with the ActivePedal Pro. I currently have the AP Pro configured as my throttle pedal and my original Ultimate set up as my brake, and this decision changes which effects are available to tweak.
When I switched my AP Pro to a brake, you’ll find a range of extra settings open up, just as you can find on the Ultimate pedal.
Some sim racing software can give you settings which are hard to understand, making configuring the best settings a little tricky. This problem isn’t present in the Simucube Tuner software, with each setting individually labelled. You have complete control over which effects you wish to enable or disable, along with adjustments to each setting individually.
If you want to feel vibrations as your traction control starts to kick in in iRacing or Assetto Corsa Competizione, but you don’t want any G-force effects, you can do that. If you want to feel the ABS activating under your foot but don’t want to feel motor effects that are present from your car’s RPM, you can do that too.
My personal preference in terms of settings is to enable the G-force effects which simulate speed by moving the pedal position closer or further from your foot as your speed changes. I then enable the motor vibration on both pedals to allow me to feel more immersed by feeling the car’s engine revs.
With my current configuration of the AP Pro as my throttle and the Ultimate as my brake, I divide up the effects between the two pedals. I enable the traction control effects on my throttle pedal and the ABS on my brake pedal. If you only have a single ActivePedal, you can turn on both TC and ABS to function on the same pedal to maximise your immersion.
Pedal performance
Throughout my time with both Simucube ActivePedals, I’ve used a few different configurations. My preferred and current setup uses both ActivePedals: the Ultimate for my brake and the Pro for my throttle.
However, I’ve tried the Pro pedal as my brake alongside the Simucube throttle, and I’m super happy to state that the Pro’s performance is on par with that of the original ActivePedal.
No matter which ActivePedal you choose, the force effects, or force feedback, is the same across both pedals. Each effect feels identical when configured the same, and the immersion and real-time feedback that you get while sim racing is just as good with the Pro.
This isn’t a massive surprise as the core of the AP Pro is identical to the Ultimate, meaning there shouldn’t be much difference in the performance. I’m not going to dive too deep into each effect in detail as I have already covered these in my original ActivePedal review.
Should you buy the Simucube ActivePedal Pro?
That brings me nicely to my final thoughts on the ActivePedal Pro. Ultimately, the AP Pro matches the high-performance bar set by the original AP Ultimate. You really aren’t losing anything in terms of performance, with the key differences, including the lack of inverted mounting and slightly fewer physical adjustments, not taking away from this pedal’s appeal.
There are two big downsides with the AP Pro, the first being the reduction in maximum force to 110kg. However, this is still significant and shouldn’t affect most sim racers. After all other popular sim racing pedals sit below this with the Fanatec ClubSport V3’s for example offering just 90kg of max force.
The second downside is the inability to daisy chain the PSU when using multiple pedals. This sounds fairly inconsequential, but in reality, it can cause pretty big adjustments when it comes to setting up these pedals with more power ports, cables and space required to accommodate multiple pedals.
However, with a saving of around $400 or €400, the AP Pro is a good step in the right direction of making force feedback pedals more accessible. I don’t believe we are quite there yet in terms of truly optimising the price of FFB sim racing pedals, and this premium price tag does still exclude this pedal from those looking for a better performance-to-price ratio.
The force feedback effects and endless customisation are still a complete game changer in the world of sim racing pedals, and for those looking for the most immersive sim racing experience, I highly recommend the ActivePedal Pro.
Technical Specifications
Review written by Felix König
