Performance mod to Fanatec Clubsport V3 Pedals

[Nightwing24]

* This will most probably void your manufacturer warranty, attempt at your own risk*

Inspired by the work done and explained in this video from Race Beyond Matter on YouTube, I applied this mod with success improving my performance matching performance gains listed in the video.

All credit to Steliyan at Race Beyond Matter, and for the specifics on how and why springs give better control over rubber elastomers in load cell pedals, please watch the video as he did all the work and deserves all the credit.

I have found lots of similar mods for the CSL pedals, but nothing for the Clubsport V3 online, so wanted to document and spread the good word.

The upgrade is simply changing the rubber elastomers in the Fanatec load cell performance kit for metal die springs. My fear in changing these is metal on metal contact wears down materials with greater severity than hard rubber. The solution I chose is to use cut peices of the rubber elastomers in the break performance kit at both the bottom and top of the load cell to avoid the metal on metal contact.

Here is a parts list available on Amazon:
(Utilizing 12mm)
(Anything less than Heavy Duty feels too squishy for my tastes)

Now to assemble:

-springs are same size as each elastomer to ensure load cell functions properly


-One elastomer has to be sacrificed and made to match the size of the foam inset that should be at the bottom of the load cell per Fanatec specs

Cut to match size

Then cut in half

Sand both sides even, and also sand one side of the metal disk (not pictured)

One drop of super glue on the metal disk will bond the small cut sanded rubber elastomer piece. Once dried, coat everything in the lithium grease included with pedals and brake performance kit, assemble and insert into load cell following fanatics installation instructions.

(Note: metal disks pictured are not the 12mm ones I used, the finished product will be within 1 mm wide. Also, metal disks are used instead of a washers with a hole in the middle to give full force even in the center of the load cell. I have not tried with washers but think it might be possible it gives a little less performance than full metal disks)
Install instructions in download section of product page.

ClubSport Pedals V3 Brake Performance Kit

The human body memorizes muscle tension much better than foot position. This is why all car brakes measure the pressure and not the travel. Race and F1 cars have almost no travel at all.

fanatec.com

For an added bonus not mentioned in the video, curved pedal plates included are great for precision but I prefer metal as I use socks when sim racing and metal glides under the socks so well and the plastic can sometimes stick. I found Sparco curved racing pedals that worked out great and makes smooth throttling and breaking much easier for me personally.



Heel rest is a 10inch cool gel keyboard wrist cushion that fits in perfectly in case anyone curious

 

[DistantApex]

Have you spent some time testing this setup? I'm curious about doing this mod after watching the Race Beyond Matter video. I noticed that my brake input typically drops by 10-15% over time while maintaining the same pressure.

A couple of questions:

• what is the feel in comparison to the elastomer? Does it have a "springy" feel to it, or is it not that noticeable? I suppose the best comparison would be to the stock elastomers which is what I'm running now.
• Have you checked for wear? Is the spring causing any sort of wear within the brake hardware?
• How reliable do you feel the upgrade has made your braking?

My plan is to try the springs you linked to, but replace the modified elastomer ends with small UHMW parts instead. That said, perhaps that little bit of elastomer might be good for a little bit of damping. This is why I'm curious if you are finding that the pedal is rather springy.

 

[Nightwing24]

Have you spent some time testing this setup? I'm curious about doing this mod after watching the Race Beyond Matter video. I noticed that my brake input typically drops by 10-15% over time while maintaining the same pressure.

A couple of questions:

• what is the feel in comparison to the elastomer? Does it have a "springy" feel to it, or is it not that noticeable? I suppose the best comparison would be to the stock elastomers which is what I'm running now.
• Have you checked for wear? Is the spring causing any sort of wear within the brake hardware?
• How reliable do you feel the upgrade has made your braking?

My plan is to try the springs you linked to, but replace the modified elastomer ends with small UHMW parts instead. That said, perhaps that little bit of elastomer might be good for a little bit of damping. This is why I'm curious if you are finding that the pedal is rather springy.

• what is the feel in comparison to the elastomer? Does it have a "springy" feel to it, or is it not that noticeable? I suppose the best comparison would be to the stock elastomers which is what I'm running now.

I had mine set to using hard elastomers in the performance kit and one of the red softer ones cut to the size of the PU foam piece supposed to be used. So I was coming from very hard in comparison to you and going off of memory. It is a bit softer and has more travel, but much easier to get to partial brake levels. I would put it on par with stiffness using the brake performance kit as instructed in the box with the softer elastomers, but with the travel distance you have on the stock elastomers.

• Have you checked for wear? Is the spring causing any sort of wear within the brake hardware?

Not yet. I am planning on giving it more time until my next maintenance for them in probably 6 months. By then metal shavings or any wear should be obvious but I sincerely doubt there will be any.

• How reliable do you feel the upgrade has made your braking?

I think it has made my braking more consistent


Edit: Sorry was rushing when originally posted… let me add some clarification and added answers

Have you spent some time testing this setup?

My plan is to try the springs you linked to, but replace the modified elastomer ends with small UHMW parts instead. That said, perhaps that little bit of elastomer might be good for a little bit of damping. This is why I'm curious if you are finding that the pedal is rather springy.

I have been using since the beginning of the month Oct using daily for the most part until this week that I’ve been too busy to sim race. I think I’ve gotten used to it already with extended practice in that time (About 3 weeks).

The pedal feels stiff, but I first tried some light and medium die springs before these heavy duty ones. Those felt springy in a bad way making it feel very dampened in an artificial way. The brake in game would not engage until the lighter springs were almost entirely compressed. So for my taste I eliminated them and stuck only with the heavy duty load die springs.

The lighter springs compress first, and then once it is compressed it starts pushing on the load cell and engage braking. The stiffer heavy duty springs push back while being compressed giving the most precision that I have felt on a load cell with my limited experience. The dampening feeling from elastomers feels completely removed to me with springs.

 

[RS60NR]

For an added bonus not mentioned in the video, curved pedal plates included are great for precision but I prefer metal as I use socks when sim racing and metal glides under the socks so well and the plastic can sometimes stick. I found Sparco curved racing pedals that worked out great and makes smooth throttling and breaking much easier for me personally.
View attachment 1294822
View attachment 1294823

Heel rest is a 10inch cool gel keyboard wrist cushion that fits in perfectly in case anyone curious

Hey thx for the tip on the Sparco plates - got a set and really like them on my V3 inverted setup. Got the pad as well - great suggestions

 

[sertdemiry]

Why did you remove metal heel plate? I have noises coming from it, I tried to fix it by adding dampening materials around it but it is still there. I am wondering you removed it for the same reason...

 

[Nightwing24]

Why did you remove metal heel plate? I have noises coming from it, I tried to fix it by adding dampening materials around it but it is still there. I am wondering you removed it for the same reason...

I did not remove the heel plate. I just have a pad on top.

Heel plate still intact under pad.

 

[sertdemiry]

I did not remove the heel plate. I just have a pad on top.

Heel plate still intact under pad.

Alright, I saw it wrong, I could not find a solution for mine so I am jumping it. Thanks for the tips, I may do spring upgrade later on, pretty useful.

 

[Nightwing24]

Alright, I saw it wrong, I could not find a solution for mine so I am jumping it. Thanks for the tips, I may do spring upgrade later on, pretty useful.

Sorry and good luck on getting it fixed.

Only advice I can offer from my experience is the only times I have had the pedal set make any noise is when it was not tightly secured to my rig. Any looseness and it squeaks and will get worse on mine. Sorry I can’t help more and best of luck!

 

[sertdemiry]

Sorry and good luck on getting it fixed.

Only advice I can offer from my experience is the only times I have had the pedal set make any noise is when it was not tightly secured to my rig. Any looseness and it squeaks and will get worse on mine. Sorry I can’t help more and best of luck!

Actually, it might be the reason. I am gonna check if screws are loose or not.
Thanks again.

 

[sertdemiry]

Actually, it might be the reason. I am gonna check if screws are loose or not.
Thanks again.

@Nightwing24 , you were right about the rig screws. I torqued them hard, now it seems to be solved the issue. While installing the pedal I guess I trusted paddings below of the screw holes but they should not flex that much.
Thanks mate, I appreciated for the tip. Have a great day.

 

[RS60NR]

• what is the feel in comparison to the elastomer? Does it have a "springy" feel to it, or is it not that noticeable? I suppose the best comparison would be to the stock elastomers which is what I'm running now.

I had mine set to using hard elastomers in the performance kit and one of the red softer ones cut to the size of the PU foam piece supposed to be used. So I was coming from very hard in comparison to you and going off of memory. It is a bit softer and has more travel, but much easier to get to partial brake levels. I would put it on par with stiffness using the brake performance kit as instructed in the box with the softer elastomers, but with the travel distance you have on the stock elastomers.

• Have you checked for wear? Is the spring causing any sort of wear within the brake hardware?

Not yet. I am planning on giving it more time until my next maintenance for them in probably 6 months. By then metal shavings or any wear should be obvious but I sincerely doubt there will be any.

• How reliable do you feel the upgrade has made your braking?

I think it has made my braking more consistent


Edit: Sorry was rushing when originally posted… let me add some clarification and added answers

I have been using since the beginning of the month Oct using daily for the most part until this week that I’ve been too busy to sim race. I think I’ve gotten used to it already with extended practice in that time (About 3 weeks).

The pedal feels stiff, but I first tried some light and medium die springs before these heavy duty ones. Those felt springy in a bad way making it feel very dampened in an artificial way. The brake in game would not engage until the lighter springs were almost entirely compressed. So for my taste I eliminated them and stuck only with the heavy duty load die springs.

The lighter springs compress first, and then once it is compressed it starts pushing on the load cell and engage braking. The stiffer heavy duty springs push back while being compressed giving the most precision that I have felt on a load cell with my limited experience. The dampening feeling from elastomers feels completely removed to me with springs.

@Nightwing24 So I’ve just spent an initial test period with your setup. Since I was coming from stock elastomers, not the BPK ones, a major change in experience for me as my previous muscle memory/braking technique is now out the window. However I was able to adpat fairly quickly, and here’s some initial reactions.

Brake is much stiffer obviously, so setting max brake force for my max pressure still a work in progress. So finding braking points under max pressure still a bit hard to judge as I’m used to more pedal travel with the stock units. However low and mid level braking feels very precise and much more nuanced so overall I’m finding it a big improvement in trail braking. Since I did not have used the BPK elastomers I can’t compare those to the springs. For race cars seems to be the ticket.

I ordered som mid level springs to compare, maybe a mid and heavy together to see how that feels. Did you try that? I’m looking for a bit more pedal travel for road car use.

Big thanks for hooking me up

 

[Nightwing24]

@Nightwing24 So I’ve just spent an initial test period with your setup. Since I was coming from stock elastomers, not the BPK ones, a major change in experience for me as my previous muscle memory/braking technique is now out the window. However I was able to adpat fairly quickly, and here’s some initial reactions.

Brake is much stiffer obviously, so setting max brake force for my max pressure still a work in progress. So finding braking points under max pressure still a bit hard to judge as I’m used to more pedal travel with the stock units. However low and mid level braking feels very precise and much more nuanced so overall I’m finding it a big improvement in trail braking. Since I did not have used the BPK elastomers I can’t compare those to the springs. For race cars seems to be the ticket.

I ordered som mid level springs to compare, maybe a mid and heavy together to see how that feels. Did you try that? I’m looking for a bit more pedal travel for road car use.

Big thanks for hooking me up

Glad it helped!!

I tried softer springs combined with these heavy duty ones and the problem I ran into is it didn’t register any movement until the softer spring was completely compressed. So there was essentially a springs worth of dead movement in the pedal before braking would commence.

I’m not sure if it’s the spring that has to be at least a certain strength or not, but would caution to stay away from any that are weak enough to compress with bare hands. If they are squishy in your hands it seems they are too weak and won’t register movement until completely compressed.

 

[RS60NR]

Glad it helped!!

I tried softer springs combined with these heavy duty ones and the problem I ran into is it didn’t register any movement until the softer spring was completely compressed. So there was essentially a springs worth of dead movement in the pedal before braking would commence.

I’m not sure if it’s the spring that has to be at least a certain strength or not, but would caution to stay away from any that are weak enough to compress with bare hands. If they are squishy in your hands it seems they are too weak and won’t register movement until completely compressed.

medium springs I ordered these - don’t know if they are ones you tried, but in combination I see what u mean

 

[Nightwing24]

medium springs I ordered these - don’t know if they are ones you tried, but in combination I see what u mean

I did not try these. Keep me posted!! Love to hear how they feel

 

[RS60NR]

I did not try these. Keep me posted!! Love to hear how they feel

Medium springs came today. So far I prefer them in my brief test. They give more movement then the stiff ones which are almost all pressure. I‘m used to and prefer a bit more pedal movement.

So somewhat like the default elastomers but stiffer and with the more precise and repeatable feel of the springs. Very sensitive at the low end - just barely touching it will register so I needed to add a bit of dead zone.

These are soft enough that I can use the preload screw to adjust the stiffness as well - the stiff ones did not really allow any adjustment.

 

[e30318is]

How these holding up? I am about to pull the pin and order some medium springs.

 

[Nightwing24]

So far so good for me!

In my own learning process I am focusing on getting rotation out of the car using breaking and throttling on corners… I don’t really have relevant telemetry data + consistent times to share the statistical data yet to see for certain or not due to not having consistent lap times while focusing on rotation.

If you’re interested in my opinion still knowing it’s anecdotal and hyperbole; yes I think it gives a minor advantage and helps a very little bit. Might be too insignificant for us normal racers, but I have no doubt it is a larger advantage the faster you can drive.

I feel better knowing I have more precise control over my braking, but I am not driving fast enough for it to be a huge advantage to me in any way yet.

Wear and tear: I have not noticed anything yet inside of the breaking load cell mechanism to imply any damage is being done. No metal shaving seen, no grey powder, no cracks or chips in the powder coat paint on the springs themselves to indicate friction is causing any unusual wear on the metal parts yet.

And just a side note: Hello and greetings to Digit Racing Community and sorry I don’t know how to use discord to reply there!!

 

[RS60NR]

How these holding up? I am about to pull the pin and order some medium springs.

Great for me too - I‘m really pleased w the medium springs. It feels better and more precise than the default elastomers. There is more consistent control for trail braking. No issues observed w the pedals setup, I did grease the springs but haven’t taken it apart since

 

[F40lms]

Could someone , or @Nightwing24 share the size of the springs ? Also, any excessive wear after a few months of use ?

I really want try this setup, just want make sure that I’m getting the coiled springs with the right dimensions (diameter and length).

 

[F40lms]

Could someone , or @Nightwing24 share the size of the springs ? Also, any excessive wear after a few months of use ?

I really want try this setup, just want make sure that I’m getting the coiled springs with the right dimensions (diameter and length).

 

[RS60NR]

these at Amazon - dimensions are shown. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z7K3WQF/?tag=gtplanet-20

Have not taken apart to check but no functional issues. You will need the hard half elastomer - see @Nightwing24 s post above

 

[F40lms]

these at Amazon - dimensions are shown. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z7K3WQF/?tag=gtplanet-20

Have not taken apart to check but no functional issues. You will need the hard half elastomer - see @Nightwing24 s post above

Apologies for the questions: by hard elastomer, is that the one with the performance kit or can I just cut the original one from inside of the cilindre? Dimension of the spring: your link took me to the 14 mm x 20 mm. Is that the one?

 

[RS60NR]

All described in the first post on this thread, looks like one from the BPK. But similar ones same size may be available elsewhere? Yes the link is to the springs I’m using

 

[F40lms]

All described in the first post on this thread, looks like one from the BPK. But similar ones same size may be available elsewhere? Yes the link is to the springs I’m using

Thanks, apologies again for the questions, Incouldnt find these details.

 

[F40lms]

I just finished installing the dye springs and went for a few laps on IRacing, and I definitely see improvement, 0.8s on the first 5 laps. More to come.

A few things:

1. I used the springs from this link ( MroMax 3D Printer Die Spring 14mm OD 20mm Long Medium Load Compression Mould Die Spring for 3D Printer Ender Electric Part Red 10PCS https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z7K3WQF?tag=gtplanet-20 ).

2. It feels harder to press, but way more realistic.

3. I had to make some changes in the calibration of the pedal.

4. Like in the original post, I used two of these springs, and cut the elastomers with two pieces to cover the end of the springs.

 

[DistantApex]

Hey Gents, finally getting back to this upgrade but I need a little assistance. I've got a set of the springs on order (the same as the previous post) but I'm too cheap to purchase the brake upgrade kit just to sacrifice it and I'd still like to experiment a little.

Thus, I'm going to give this a shot: https://www.mcmaster.com/8784K84/ There are different durometers, so to match what is provided in the Fanatec kit I'll likely get a rod of the 90A and 95A.

This should essentially be the same as the hop up kit's red inserts except they need to be cut to length. That's what I'm wondering about.

Would someone be able to measure the length of one of the Fanatec elastomers for me?

I figure this way I have some ability to experiment a little while also not paying the Fanatec tax. Call me cheap, but Fanatec charges a little too much for their accessories, such at this case where it's 6 or whatever small pieces of polyurethane rod. Similarily, I put together my own CSL DD Boost kit and saved more than $100.

Thanks!

 

[F40lms]

Hey Gents, finally getting back to this upgrade but I need a little assistance. I've got a set of the springs on order (the same as the previous post) but I'm too cheap to purchase the brake upgrade kit just to sacrifice it and I'd still like to experiment a little.

Thus, I'm going to give this a shot: https://www.mcmaster.com/8784K84/ There are different durometers, so to match what is provided in the Fanatec kit I'll likely get a rod of the 90A and 95A.

This should essentially be the same as the hop up kit's red inserts except they need to be cut to length. That's what I'm wondering about.

Would someone be able to measure the length of one of the Fanatec elastomers for me?

I figure this way I have some ability to experiment a little while also not paying the Fanatec tax. Call me cheap, but Fanatec charges a little too much for their accessories, such at this case where it's 6 or whatever small pieces of polyurethane rod. Similarily, I put together my own CSL DD Boost kit and saved more than $100.

Thanks!

See the image below, this is in mm.

I didn’t get the performance kit, I decided cutting the original elastomer. The pedal feels hard, but way more realistic and I feel more control over the breaking.

 

[RS60NR]

Hey Gents, finally getting back to this upgrade but I need a little assistance. I've got a set of the springs on order (the same as the previous post) but I'm too cheap to purchase the brake upgrade kit just to sacrifice it and I'd still like to experiment a little.

Thus, I'm going to give this a shot: https://www.mcmaster.com/8784K84/ There are different durometers, so to match what is provided in the Fanatec kit I'll likely get a rod of the 90A and 95A.

This should essentially be the same as the hop up kit's red inserts except they need to be cut to length. That's what I'm wondering about.

Would someone be able to measure the length of one of the Fanatec elastomers for me?

I figure this way I have some ability to experiment a little while also not paying the Fanatec tax. Call me cheap, but Fanatec charges a little too much for their accessories, such at this case where it's 6 or whatever small pieces of polyurethane rod. Similarily, I put together my own CSL DD Boost kit and saved more than $100.

Thanks!

Good find. You just need a bit of elastomer on each end of the 2 springs so that the total length matches the original stack of elastomers from the pedal. So that’s 2x 20mm and 1 x 15 mm for the pieces in the BPK kit. The springs are 20mm each, so cut your rod 2 x 7.5mm, one for each end of the spring pair

Not super critical as you will use the preload screw to take up the slack

 

[DistantApex]

Perfect, just what I needed. Now I just have to wait for stuff to arrive...

 

[F40lms]

Folks, I bought more dye springs than needed, I have many here to donate. Let me know if you want get some.