Asetek Invicta Simracing Pedals – Review

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Asetek Invicta Simracing Pedals – Review

With Asetek, another manufacturer has entered the ever-growing simracing market this year. The Danish manufacturer, which was previously known mainly for water cooling systems in the PC sector, now wants to expand its product range. The first step is the Asetek Invicta simracing pedals, which are supposed to lay the foundation for the Asetek ecosystem. This review will examine whether this succeeds in the first attempt.

Order and shipping

The pedals can be purchased from Asetek’s in-house online store as well as from various distributors. The following prices are announced:

Invicta Sim Racing Pedals Brake and Throttle: 849€
Invicta Clutch System: 249€
Invicta Throttle Footrest: 39.95€
Forte Pedal Face Plates 59€

Invicta Simracing Pedals*

5% Asetek Gutscheincode / Coupon code: simracingpc

Scope of delivery

This review is about the two-pedal set, which comes with the following scope of delivery:

Invicta™ Brake & Throttle pedal combo
Safety brief
Warranty statement
Asetek SimSports™ sticker sheet
USB Type-A to USB Type-C cable (Two (2) meters)
USB Type-C to USB Type-C cable (Two (2) meters)
M 6×5 set screw (x2)
M 6×20 bolt (x4)
M 6 Slot nut (x4)
Washer (x4)
M 6 Hex nut (x4)
Allen Key, 3mm
Allen key, 5mm
Elastomer
- Green (black), Soft
- Yellow (white), Medium (Preinstalled)
- Orange (green), Hard
Throttle Spring
- Hard, (Preinstalled)
- Soft

Overall, the scope of delivery is very lush and all the necessary components are included to easily mount the pedals on your own rig and put them directly into operation. Also included are three elastomers in various degrees of hardness for the brake and two springs for the throttle . The overall package is then rounded off by two included USB cables (only one is needed for commissioning) and a sticker sheet.

Compatibility

Asetek promises compatibility with all relevant racing simulations on the market:

Assetto Corsa
Assetto Corsa Competizione
DiRT Rally
DiRT Rally 2.0
F1 Series
iRacing
Project Cars 2
rFactor 2
And many more (all games that accept direct input devices)

In the review, the pedals worked without problems in iRacing as well as Assetto Corsa, Assetto Corsa Competizione and F1 2021 and were recognized directly.

Mounting

The pedals arrive at the end customer fully pre-assembled and only need to be connected to a suitable base using the four screws provided. Three of the screws can be reached directly without any detours, for the fourth it is necessary to lever the linkage of the accelerator pedal out of the way for a short time. However, this is done in a few simple steps.

Afterwards, only one of the two included USB cables has to be connected to the PC and the assembly is completely done on the hardware side. A permanent connection with an RIg is recommended in any case and almost mandatory.

Pedals

The pedal arms of the Invictas are made of black anodized aluminum, just like the brackets, and make a very high-quality impression. For a smooth operation of the pedals ball bearings and bronze bushings were installed.

Asetek says the pedal arms are each rated for up to 200 kilos of regular load, which should be more than enough in any situation.

Both brake and gas pedal pedals allow you to adjust the angle within a certain range. For this purpose, the nuts, which are orange in color and adjustable by hand, are provided. These can be turned clockwise and counterclockwise after releasing the tension in the pedal and thus change the angle of the pedal at rest. Detailed instructions for this can be found in Asetek’s comprehensive and well-prepared user manual.

Baseplate

As already mentioned, the baseplate is already fully pre-assembled and requires no further preparation. Integrated in it is a heel rest, which might be a bit too small for very large feet. Up to shoe size 45, however, no problems occurred during the test, so this “worry” could also be unfounded. There were no problems with flex during testing.

The built-in RGB LEDs add an additional design element to the baseplate and are both dimmable and color-adjustable via Asetek’s software (see Software section).

For the cable routing of the USB cable, there is a designated slot on the back of the pedal set, which is implemented with an additional included cable tie. Here Asetek will probably improve something in the future and find a more elegant solution.

Pedal Plates

The pedal plates of the Asetek Invicta are excellently finished and are made of black anodized aluminum with CNC machined details for a very nice contrast.

With sharp-edged perforations on the front, the plates provide excellent grip, especially when used with racing shoes. The downsides of this design are a very high abrasion of the shoe sole and a certain problem when used without shoes. So it is, especially at higher braking forces, sometimes very painful to maintain the required braking pressure in the long term. Here Asetek has already reacted and offers alternative pedal plates for the “barefoot Simracer” among us.

The plates can be adjusted in both height and spacing due to the hole pattern used.

Brake Pedal

The heart of the pedals is, of course, the hydraulic brake, which is designed for a brake pressure (measured at the pedal plate) of up to 185 kilograms. The function of the brake can be divided into two phases:

First Stage

In the first stage of the braking process, an elastomer is compressed along a path of about 20-25 millimeters until it reaches a mechanical end stop. To achieve the required pressure for the end of the first stage, Asetek includes three different elastomers, each of which, according to the manufacturer, yields at subsequent pressures until it reaches the end stop:

Black: 30 Bar
White: 50 Bar
Green: 65 Bar

The black elastomer was chosen for this test and can also be used without shoes without any problems. Basically, harder elastomers are more intended for formula cars, while softer versions are more likely to be classified in the direction of road car / GT race car. The included elastomers can be easily replaced with a few simple steps, and further optional elastomers have already been announced in the pedals’ manual.

Second Stage

The second phase of the braking process can be described as “rock hard” and can be operated up to a maximum pressure of 100 bar (equivalent to 185 kilos at the pedal plate). The only “movement” that is still possible here is the flex in the system, which is ideally kept to a minimum.

A detailed explanation of how the brake works can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjktKoChfX8

Impression

Asetek’s concept of mimicking a real brake as closely as possible works in every case. In the iRacing test, the braking points could be hit very accurately despite a longer abstinence from the GTE cars. The wheels hardly ever locked after a short time and the time it took to get used to the Invictas was extraordinarily short. Tailbreaking also succeeds easily and very intuitively with the pedals.

Also in Assetto Corsa Competizione, the times previously achieved with other pedals could be reached in a very short time. In hard braking zones (Monza, for example), as promised by Asetek, the braking point could be moved back a meter or two. Even if the mentioned tenth of time gain per hard braking zone was not comprehensible in the test (compared to Heusinkveld Ultimate pedals), the conclusion about the braking feel of the pedal is absolutely positive.

Throttle

The accelerator pedal of the Invicta was implemented with a contactless Hall sensor (16 bit). In combination with the ball-bearing pedal arm and the built-in spring, this enables a very pleasant pedal feel. If you want to further adapt this to your own needs.

Two different springs of varying hardness, with the stronger spring being preassembled and also used throughout the test.
End stop of the throttle via an adjustable screw. This metal-on-metal contact point is very precise and easy to adjust, but it is also clearly audible. Asetek could have included a cap to defuse the noise a bit. In practice, however, a piece of tape or a cover cap from the hardware store will do the trick.
An adjustable preload of the spring. This allows you to influence the length of the spring, which affects the force needed at the beginning.

Software

The software of the Asetek Invicta, which the manufacturer has christened RaceHub, is tidy, but offers almost everything that the simracing heart desires. Here, the RGB LEDs can be configured, the characteristic curves of the pedals can be adjusted and, of course, changes can be made to the dead zones as well as a calibration to the desired braking force.

Only on different storable profiles (for example, for different vehicles or simulations) one must do without so far. Here, however, Asetek is already working on an implementation.

Modding

To make the pedals sock-friendly and to dampen the noise of the final stop, two small modding projects were created:

Conclusion

Asetek has managed an absolutely successful entry into the simracing market with the Invicta pedals. In addition to the very good brake feel, the materials used and the good workmanship, both the scope of delivery and the software are convincing. The installation is done in a few steps and most customizations are possible without tools.

In return, one must accept for it by the fixed mounting of the pedal arms on the enclosed baseplate in case of doubt loss in positioning. Together with the sharp-edged holes of the pedal plates, this also represents the only real points of criticism.

Overall, the pedals are therefore a clear purchase recommendation.