Rudder pedals Choice?

[76IAP-Black]

Hi guys, 

Some weeks ago i have replaced my really old Saitek X52 with the Warthog from thrustmaster. 
Haven't installed the target software yet, cause i read it is not needed to run the Stick.

One small flaw of the new stick appeared, i have no rudder controlls. So I was looking for a proper setup.

What i have found are products from virpil and the two version from thrustmaster, the small pedals and the big pendular ones.
Are they the right choice to go with? Or should i go with the virpil pedals?

I need your experience guys, hope you can point me in the right direction.

Best regards

Martin

[Guest]

I have the TM Pendular ones and they're superb (pricey though).

I had the small ones too and they also worked ok, just a bit rickety.

Edited March 30, 2022 by Hetzer-JG51

[cardboard_killer]

2 hours ago, 76IAP-Black said:

I need your experience guys, hope you can point me in the right direction.

 

 

 

[SCG_Tzigy]

MFG.

[WWCraven]

MFG w/damper kit.

[Sokol1]

Thrustmaster TFRP, Logitech (ex Saitek) G PRO Pedals, CH PRO Pedals cost less than $ 200.00 but only get one of these if budget is limited.

 

Above prices vary from $215.00 of VKB T-Rudder (very good, but only for gamers aware of 1 axis limitation) up to $ 550.00 of Slaw Device RX Viper, being the "middle" term MFG Crosswind for ~$310, with 2 options of foot position - "floating" or heels on floor; and 6 options of foot rest pads.

 

 

 

Edited March 31, 2022 by Sokol1

[javelina]

3 hours ago, WWCraven said:

MFG w/damper kit.

^^^ THIS!  highly recommended

[ITAF_Gerry_Lil_Rocket]

Hello,

I have MFG and, after about six months of use, I found it very reliable, precise, plenty of regulations and foot posistion possibilities (according to customer preferencies i.e. you can use it with foot leaning completely on footpad or leaning on the floor). Plus you can twist footrests vertical position according to your flight position. I had Thrustmaster Tfrp  before and I can say that it has nothing to compare with Mfg ( obviously these rudder pedals are in different price range). No experience about other high range price pedals.

cheers

 

[=EXPEND=Dendro]

I have VKB T-rudder and I dont miss the toebrakes at all because I use the brake on my VKB joystick much like the allied planes. The hand operated brake also works for axis planes if you set it up in the game controls.

 

The T-rudders are superbly made and do not break the bank.

[IckyATLAS]

I have the Thrustmaster Warthog Throttle and Joystick. For rudders frankly if you have already invested in such a HOTAS then the natural addition for rudder pedals is the TPR. It is expensive yes but I tried many others and these are the best. I have them since they came out, they are robust and as a former pilot now, they are the most realistic feel compared to all that I have tested. So if you can wait and do not have the budget spare the money until you have it. It is worth the wait. You need to do some homework to have them correctly positioned and have them fixed in relation to your seating solution, you can also adapt them to your use mechanically. They way they are designed they are not good for a use where they are not fixed that some other rudder pedals which are of the sliding mode would allow. The force on the pedals in the sliding design type makes them push more towards the floor and so you may not need to fix them, the rubber elements under the pedal frame maybe enough. With the pendulum version the force goes more into an horizontal direction so it needs to be fixed either to the floor or to a frame t hat has your seating. But once all this is well done it is just perfect. 

[76IAP-Black]

Thank you guys, seems there are some products out there i have missed on my list. The budged is not limited and im a heavy user of my Sticks and Throttels. Thankfull that the last X52 lasted for many many years. repaired it twice but at some point you need something new.

The Crosswinds are looking really nice, i want to step away from cheaper products and i am looking for something with toebrakes. Playing Il2 since 2001, DCS and FS. IRL i love to fly gliders.
If i add tax and shipping the Virpil are the same as the thurstmaster pendular, the crosswinds need to be rechecked by me. Have seen some YT videos about them and all got great reviews.'

- The damperkit stiffens the pedals right?
- do i need to fix the pedals on the floor or are they heavy enough to be "standalone"?

[Guest]

37 minutes ago, 76IAP-Black said:

Thank you guys, seems there are some products out there i have missed on my list. The budged is not limited and im a heavy user of my Sticks and Throttels. Thankfull that the last X52 lasted for many many years. repaired it twice but at some point you need something new.

The Crosswinds are looking really nice, i want to step away from cheaper products and i am looking for something with toebrakes. Playing Il2 since 2001, DCS and FS. IRL i love to fly gliders.
If i add tax and shipping the Virpil are the same as the thurstmaster pendular, the crosswinds need to be rechecked by me. Have seen some YT videos about them and all got great reviews.'

- The damperkit stiffens the pedals right?
- do i need to fix the pedals on the floor or are they heavy enough to be "standalone"?

I had the Crosswinds some years ago, mine had to be fixed (mine were screwed to a base). I also found they flexed a bit but I don't think that would have compromised them over time.
The TM Pendulars feel nicer (for me, it's all subjective). I rest my heels on the cockpit floor and they slide well (maybe on carpet it wouldn't feel so good).

One thing I'd like more is stronger spring resistance (both in the rudders and the brakes). They're adjustable (rudder force) but need to be stronger at the top end.
Pedal angle is adjustable too.
 

Edited March 31, 2022 by Hetzer-JG51

[cardboard_killer]

50 minutes ago, 76IAP-Black said:

- do i need to fix the pedals on the floor or are they heavy enough to be "standalone"?

 

They come with extenders that are meant to rest against a wall to prevent sliding. I have a carpeted floor, so used carpet spikes to prevent sliding instead. I don't use the damper but it has been discussed in this folder in detail, so if you search for damper you will find the answer.

[Dallas88B]

I initially had Thrustmaster TFRP (T.Flight Rudder Pedals) and they were a good peddle for the first couple of years.

Then Crosswinds. There is no comparison.

If you play the flight sim a lot, and can justify spending the funds, Crosswinds excellent.  I would not hesitate to recommend them (not that my recommendation means that much). Der Sheriff has a good review on his YouTube channel <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIMiJ9XjPqo> ...his opinion is worth considering.

 

It could be argued that they will last longer and perform better so they are really a better value for money choice... (but not if they just end up in the cupboard in a years time).

 

MFG is great to deal with and the Crosswinds are really excellent. It was said to me that Crosswinds just allow you to fly the aircraft - and in a sense they do - after a bit you forget about the peddle movement - it just happens naturally.  Else wise the main thing I noticed was how much easier it was to keep the nose, and hence the guns, pointed where I wanted. I don't use the damper either.

Edited March 31, 2022 by Dallas88B
Update re damper

[Dallas88B]

Here is a fun thing to do... go to a discord and search Crosswinds... easy to see who uses them from the chat..Requiem of air combat tutorial library, Deadmeat who owns and runs Unprofessionals Server (he recommended them to me years ago), Alonzo of Combat Box server etc. I started to make a list but maybe thats just creepy. 

Edited March 31, 2022 by Dallas88B

[dburne]

12 hours ago, WWCraven said:

MFG w/damper kit.

 

Fully agree awesome setup.

[cardboard_killer]

2 hours ago, Dallas88B said:

I started to make a list but maybe thats just creepy. 

 

Maybe for others, but for you, not at all.

[7bhp_Mk]

I use a full Thrustmaster Warthog and TPR Rudder pedal setup and have to say the only part I am 100% satisfied with is the pedals. Don't get me wrong, the stick and throttle are both fantastic, but I do have a couple of very minor issues with each of those. The pedals on the other hand, at least to me, are pretty much perfect. They look, feel and operate like a premium product and I would recommend them to anybody who doesn't mind the premium price. I personally much prefer the pendular action of the TPR's over any pivot style pedals I have tried. Although I must point out that I have never tried the Crosswind or MFG pedals, so cannot comment on how they compare to those. Good luck and I hope you are happy with whatever set you decide to purchase!

[Art-J]

6 hours ago, 76IAP-Black said:

- The damperkit stiffens the pedals right?
- do i need to fix the pedals on the floor or are they heavy enough to be "standalone"?

 

- more like, well, dampens (damping force is somewhat adjustable), but it's definitely an immersion improvement;

- not heavy enough, but bolting to a hefty kitchen chopping board from IKEA solved that issue for me ;).

 

All around recommended, although I admit I haven't tested other products in this price range.

Edited March 31, 2022 by Art-J

[cardboard_killer]

4 hours ago, Art-J said:

I admit I haven't tested other products in this price range.

 

That's the rub in all of this. Most of us only have experience with one of the high end pedals because they last forever. It is rare that anyone has long term experience with more than one or two of them, and even rarer anyone says they didn't like one or the other.

 

In other words, they're all pretty damn good.

[1Sascha]

 

On 3/31/2022 at 3:10 AM, Sokol1 said:

Logitech (ex Saitek) G PRO Pedals

 

I know you weren't recommending them per se, but let me chime in here with this:

 

I've had these alongside my ancient CH Pro Pedals (gameport version) and I would definitely not recommend them. Tried them out, didn't care for them at all and switched back to the CH Pro Pedals after a week or so. Which says quite a lot considering how much older the CH pedals are... both as a general design and my example which comes from the mid 90s. If I had paid for those Saiteks (got them for free through work), I would've been massively disappointed. The action felt ratchet-y and quite the opposite of "smooth", plus no matter what I did to that stiffness-wheel, I could never do precise inputs around the center position.

 

If you don't mind their small-ish footprint and short overall width between the two pedals, I would always recommend the CH Pro ones out of the "affordable" end of the market. If you can still find them that is - not sure what's going on with CH Products these days.

 

Probably best to save a few $/€ more, bite the bullet of not getting toe-brakes and wait for VKB to re-stock their T-rudder pedals. Not sure if there are any other all-metal rudder pedals around for under €200.

 

 

S.

 

[Sokol1]

11 hours ago, 1Sascha said:

I know you weren't recommending them per se, but let me chime in here with this:

 

 

Just pointing  that up to $200 Logitech, TFRP and CH PRO are the only options.

 

IMO - If the up to $200 is the limit, the recommend is CH PRO Pedals.

Have their quota of play, but mechanically nothing will break, fail.

It's easy replace they pot's - available in Digikey, or upgrade for better electronics and sensors at reasonable cost.

Edited April 3, 2022 by Sokol1

[1Sascha]

9 hours ago, Sokol1 said:

Just pointing  that up to $200 Logitech, TFRP and CH PRO are the only options.

Exactly.

 

I wasn't "criticizing" your post, just wanted to report my experiences with two of the options you mentioned.

 

OTOH ... I'll repeat that, IMO, VKB's T-rudder pedals are also an option in this price-range ($215 in the US, €199 in the EU), if you can live with the lack of toe-brakes. And with the fact that they're currently out of stock in the EU-store... But at least you'll be getting an all-metal product, not a plastic one - which might be important to some folks.

 

 

S.

[Capt_Hook]

Crosswind pedals are very good, but if you can go a bit more I'd recommend Slaw Device.  My 109 Slaw pedals have served me for many years.  

 

Slaw Device English site.