Simucube ActivePedal Pro Review: Brilliant, and Almost Nobody Needs It

16 min read · Last updated 5 September 2026

How this review was put together. WheelVerdict did not receive an ActivePedal sample from Simucube. This is a synthesis of manufacturer documentation, published hands-on testing from Boosted Media, BoxThisLap, SimRacingSetup, MySimRig, Raceful and DannyLee, plus owner reports. Sources are linked inline. This is a product where reviewers disagree sharply, and those disagreements are reported rather than averaged away.

A load cell brake pedal measures how hard you push against a spring. The spring never changes. The ActivePedal Pro throws the spring away and puts a motor there instead, so the resistance under your foot can change moment to moment, and the pedal can push back.

It costs $1,849. For one pedal.

That number is the review. Everything else is working out who it is actually for, and the honest answer is a much smaller group than the marketing implies.

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The Verdict

6.7 / 10

Category	Weight	Score
Specs for the price	35%	60
Compatibility	25%	70
Community consensus	25%	62
Support and warranty	15%	85
Overall		6.7 / 10

Weighted score. Synthesised from 8 independent sources; evidence tier: specification analysis, not hands-on testing.
Compatibility: PC. Works alongside any wheel base. The Link Hub is required for telemetry-driven effects.

As a piece of engineering this is close to the top of what sim racing hardware currently does. 110 kg of brake force, resistance that changes with the car’s state, and haptics that tell you when the ABS is working through your foot instead of through a light on the dash.

The value score is where the honesty has to go. A three-pedal setup runs past $3,000 before the baseplate, and multiple reviewers who tested it concluded most sim racers should not buy one. That is not a knock on the hardware. It is a knock on the price relative to what a $500 load cell already gives you.

Pros

• 110 kg / 1,079 N maximum brake force, more than almost anyone can use, with adjustable travel from 5 to 74 mm
• Force curve changes dynamically with the simulation, which no spring or hydraulic pedal can do
• Haptic feedback through the pedal: ABS pulsing, engine vibration and lock-up warnings arrive at your foot
• Measurable lap time gains in published testing, with one tester recording a second at Silverstone after 45 minutes of adjustment
• Two passive load cell ports, so you can mix in Heusinkveld or other brand pedals rather than buying three ActivePedals
• Three year warranty
• Tuner software gives deep per-car and per-sim profile control

Cons

• The price. $1,849 per pedal. A full three-pedal setup exceeds $3,000, plus around $289 for the baseplate most rigs need
• Every pedal needs its own power supply. No daisy-chaining. Three pedals means three PSUs and three mains sockets
• Audible mechanical noise. Multiple owners and reviewers describe a scratchy, scraping sound, most noticeable when the unit is used as a throttle
• Simucube does not publish response frequency or load cell resolution, which are exactly the numbers you would want at this price
• Large: 418 mm long and 5.8 kg per pedal, and it needs a rigid rig
• Peak draw of 280 W per pedal, so a three-pedal setup can pull over 800 W at peak
• iRacing exposes only ABS and engine vibration, not the full haptic effect set
• No SimHub support, which cheaper rivals like the SIMAGIC P-series do offer
• The Pro cannot be inverted-mounted. That needs the Ultimate

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Where to Buy

Links go to the official brand page. Note carefully that pricing is per pedal.

Configuration	Price	Link
ActivePedal Pro, single	$1,849 / £1,471 / €1,402 ex VAT	Simucube official
ActivePedal Ultimate, single	$2,299 / €1,999	Simucube official
Baseplate	~$289	Required for most rigs

One published source lists a US price of $1,719, which appears to be an older figure from around launch. $1,849 is what current listings show. Verified 5 September 2026.

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What Makes It Different

A conventional load cell pedal is a spring and a strain gauge. You push, the spring resists with a fixed curve, the gauge measures the force, and the game gets a number. The feel never changes because the spring cannot change.

The ActivePedal replaces that with a motor driving the pedal arm. Because software controls the resistance, the pedal can do things a spring physically cannot:

• Change the force curve per car. A GT3 car and a road car can feel genuinely different underfoot rather than just mapping differently.
• Simulate ABS. When the anti-lock system engages in the sim, the pedal pulses back at your foot, the way a real one does.
• Warn about lock-up. Feedback through the pedal rather than a visual cue.
• Transmit engine vibration and other telemetry-driven effects.

The claim is that this makes braking more consistent, because you get information about grip at the moment you need it rather than half a second later through the wheel.

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The Specifications

Specification	Value
Maximum brake force	110 kg / 1,079 N
Travel range	5 to 74 mm, adjustable
Power draw	10 to 100 W average, 280 W peak
Dimensions	100 x 255 x 418 mm
Weight	5.8 kg excluding PSU
Connection	Simucube Link (Ethernet) plus separate power input
Power supply	One per pedal, no daisy-chain
Passive load cell ports	2
Warranty	3 years
Response frequency	Not published
Load cell resolution	Not published

Those last two lines deserve attention. At this price, response frequency and sensor resolution are the numbers a buyer would reasonably expect to compare against rivals. Simucube does not publish either, and no reviewer has measured them independently. That is a gap.

Also worth correcting: one published review states a two year warranty. Simucube’s own documentation and every other source say three years.

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Does It Actually Make You Faster

This is the only question that justifies the price, so it is worth laying out both sides properly.

The evidence that it helps:

• BoxThisLap ran comparative testing at Monza in iRacing and recorded roughly half a second per lap in a GR86, and about a tenth in a formula car.
• SimRacingSetup reported around a second per lap at Silverstone after 45 minutes of adjusting settings.
• Raceful concluded that going back to a load cell afterwards felt close to impossible.

The evidence that it does not matter:

• MySimRig’s assessment is that 95 percent of sim racers do not need one, including fast drivers.
• BoxThisLap, the same outlet that measured a gain, also said the cost is very hard to justify at over €2,200 for a usable setup.
• A good load cell in the €300 to €900 range already delivers most of what a driver needs.
• An OverTake forum owner posted a strongly negative account of the feel.

Read those together and a pattern appears. The gains are largest in cars with less downforce and more weight transfer, where brake modulation matters most. In a formula car with high downforce, the difference shrinks to a tenth. And the gain arrives only after significant time spent tuning, which is not the same as an out-of-the-box improvement.

The reviewers also split hard on the value question. One published score put value at 82 out of 100. Boosted Media put it at 6 out of 10. That is not a small gap, and it reflects a genuine disagreement about whether measurable gain justifies this outlay.

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The Noise Problem

This is the part that gets downplayed and should not be.

Several owners and at least one reviewer describe an audible scratching or scraping sound from the mechanism. It is not an isolated defective unit, and it is most noticeable when an ActivePedal is used as a throttle, where the motion is more continuous than the sharp stabs of braking.

If you race with speakers rather than a headset, or if the rig sits in a shared room, this belongs on your list before you spend $1,849. It is not documented as a failure, but it is documented as a characteristic.

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Software and Setup

Simucube’s Tuner software handles the profiles: per-car and per-sim force curves, travel, haptic effect strength and calibration. It is deep, and reviewers rate it well.

Two limitations are worth knowing:

iRacing exposes only two effects. ABS and engine vibration. The full haptic set is not available there, which matters because iRacing is where a lot of the target audience races.

No SimHub support. SIMAGIC’s P-series pedals, at a quarter of the price, do work with SimHub. For a product at this tier that is a conspicuous omission.

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Installation and Practical Reality

At 418 mm long and 5.8 kg, this is a large object. Most rigs need the baseplate, at around $289, and one reviewer reported about 30 minutes to get the base mounted.

The power arrangement is the thing people underestimate. Each pedal has its own PSU. Three ActivePedals means three power bricks and three sockets, and a peak draw approaching 840 W across the set. That is a real consideration for a domestic room on a single circuit shared with a PC and monitors.

The two passive load cell ports are the sensible escape hatch. Most reviewers agree the brake is where active technology earns its keep, and that active throttle and clutch are much less compelling. Buying one ActivePedal for the brake and pairing it with conventional throttle and clutch pedals is both cheaper and, by most accounts, the better setup.

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How It Compares

Pedal	Type	Price	Note
Simucube ActivePedal Pro	Active motor	$1,849 / €1,402 (1 pedal)	Reviewed here
Simucube ActivePedal Ultimate	Active motor	$2,299 / €1,999 (1 pedal)	170 kg, invertible, 5 year warranty
Asetek Invicta	Hydraulic	$759 / €950 (2 pedals)	Complete two-pedal set for less than one ActivePedal
Heusinkveld Ultimate+	Hydraulic load cell	€1,199 (3 pedals)	140 kg, dual hydraulic, three pedals
SIMAGIC P1000	Load cell	$469 (1 pedal)	Modular, SimHub support
SIMAGIC P2000	Load cell	$679 (1 pedal)	Higher tier load cell
Heusinkveld Sprint	Load cell	~€500 to €700 (set)	Common pairing partner
Cube Controls SP01	Load cell + hydraulic	~€729 to €1,260	Depending on configuration

The comparison that should stop most buyers: Heusinkveld Ultimate+ gives you three hydraulic pedals for €1,199. The ActivePedal Pro gives you one pedal for €1,402. Both are excellent. Only one of them is a complete set.

As of now Simucube is effectively alone in shipping a mature commercial active pedal. MOZA’s mBooster at around €799 works on a different principle, and Fanatec announced an active pedal at SimRacing Expo 2025 without shipping detail. If competition arrives, the value calculation here changes quickly.

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Who This Is NOT For

Anyone still on rubber-and-spring pedals. The upgrade from a spring pedal to a good $400 load cell is the biggest single improvement available in sim racing. Do that first. It will make you faster than this will.

Drivers without a rigid rig. 110 kg of force into a folding stand is pointless and unpleasant. This needs aluminium profile.

People racing on speakers in a shared room. The mechanical noise is documented and it is not subtle.

Anyone wanting three active pedals. Over $3,000, three power supplies, 840 W peak, and by most reviewers’ accounts the throttle and clutch benefit far less than the brake.

iRacing-only racers who want the full haptic feature set. iRacing gives you two effects out of five.

SimHub users. Not supported, at any price, while a $469 SIMAGIC pedal is.

The 95 percent. That figure is a reviewer’s, not mine, but the reasoning holds. If you cannot currently brake to a consistent pressure on a load cell, this will not fix that.

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Total Cost of Ownership

The advertised price is for one pedal. A realistic build:

Item	Cost
ActivePedal Pro, brake only	$1,849
Baseplate	~$289
Conventional throttle and clutch	$300 to $700
Link Hub (for telemetry effects)	Extra
Sensible single-active setup	~$2,500+
Three ActivePedals instead	$5,547 before baseplate

The single-active-brake build is the one that makes sense. The three-pedal build is where the value argument collapses entirely.

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Is It Worth Buying

For a small group, yes, and for everyone else, no. That is an unsatisfying answer but it is the honest one.

The group it is for: drivers already on a high-end load cell, on a rigid aluminium rig, racing seriously enough that a consistent half second matters, with the budget to treat $1,849 as a component rather than a purchase. For those people the technology does something no spring can, and the published testing supports a real gain.

For anyone else, the money goes further almost anywhere else on the rig. A €1,199 Heusinkveld Ultimate+ set gives you three hydraulic pedals. A $469 SIMAGIC P1000 gives you most of the braking consistency for a quarter of the price and works with SimHub.

The hardware is not the problem here. The hardware is excellent. The problem is that the thing it improves is already 80 percent solved by equipment costing a fifth as much, and the last 20 percent is priced like the first 80.

Buy the brake, not the set. And buy a load cell first if you do not already have one.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does it work with a non-Simucube wheel base?
Yes. It presents as a standard PC USB game controller and does not care what base you run.

Do I need the Link Hub, or can I plug straight into the PC?
It works plugged directly in, but without the Link Hub you lose the telemetry-driven effects and it behaves much like a very good conventional load cell. The Hub is what makes it an active pedal in practice.

Can I mix it with Heusinkveld or other brand pedals?
Yes. There are two passive load cell ports for exactly this. Software integration with third-party pedals is limited, but mechanically and electrically it works, and this is the setup most reviewers recommend.

Can one power supply run all three pedals?
No. Every pedal needs its own PSU and its own mains socket. Three pedals means three of each.

Is it noisy?
Yes, to a degree. Owners and reviewers describe a scratchy or scraping mechanical sound, most obvious when the unit is used as a throttle rather than a brake.

Does iRacing support all the haptic effects?
No. iRacing exposes ABS and engine vibration only, not the full effect set.

Does it support SimHub?
No. This is an advantage held by the much cheaper SIMAGIC P-series.

Pro or Ultimate?
The Ultimate adds higher force beyond 110 kg, inverted mounting, and a five year warranty, for around $450 more. The Pro covers what almost everyone needs. Choose Ultimate only if you specifically need inverted mounting or more than 110 kg.

Can the Pro be mounted inverted?
No. Only the Ultimate supports inverted mounting.

Is an active throttle and clutch worth it, or just the brake?
Most reviewers agree the brake is where the technology matters. Active throttle and clutch are considerably less compelling, and pairing one ActivePedal brake with conventional throttle and clutch is the better-value setup.

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Full Specifications

Specification	Detail
Type	Active, motor driven
Maximum brake force	110 kg / 1,079 N
Travel	5 to 74 mm, adjustable
Dimensions	100 x 255 x 418 mm
Weight	5.8 kg excluding power supply
Power draw	10 to 100 W average, 280 W peak
Power supply	One per pedal, not daisy-chainable
Connection	Simucube Link over Ethernet
Passive load cell ports	2
Software	Simucube Tuner
SimHub	Not supported
Inverted mounting	Not supported on Pro
Warranty	3 years
Platform	PC
Response frequency	Not published by manufacturer
Load cell resolution	Not published by manufacturer

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Changelog

• 5 September 2026: First publication. Pricing verified across US, UK and EU on this date.

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About This Review

Reviews on WheelVerdict are written by our editorial team. They are built from published independent testing, manufacturer documentation and owner reports rather than sponsored sample loans, and every review states which sources informed it. We do not accept payment for scores.

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Related Reviews

• SIMAGIC Alpha Evo Review: the wheel base side of a high-end PC setup
• Next Level Racing F-GT Lite Review: the rig this pedal absolutely cannot be used with, and why that matters
• MOZA KS Pro Review: where the same money buys five wheels instead

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Sources

• Simucube ActivePedal Pro press release
• Simucube official site and documentation
• Boosted Media hardware reviews
• BoxThisLap review coverage
• SimRacingSetup review coverage
• MySimRig analysis
• Raceful sim racing reviews
• DannyLee hardware coverage

Product images courtesy of Simucube.

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Affiliate disclosure: WheelVerdict may earn a commission on purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you. Commission does not influence scoring. This review is based on published independent testing and manufacturer documentation, not on a manufacturer-supplied sample.

Pricing last verified 5 September 2026.

Pros and cons