The Sim Racing industry has grown a lot in the last 4 years. When I got started as an F1 YouTuber, loadcell pedalsets and direct drive wheels were only for the drivers with the deepest pockets. Now, you can pick up direct drive wheelbases for less than $300 and loadcell pedals for less than $200.
That’s where Thrustmaster come in; in this review, I will be going over the benefits and inconveniences of the Thrustmaster TLCM pedalset (and then it’s up to you whether you think this $200 pedalset is worth being your daily driver).
What Are Loadcell Pedals?
Before we get into the Thrustmaster TLCMs in particular, let’s go over the different types of pedals and why you may want one type over another (you probably WILL NOT want to get the first type).
Potentiometer Pedals
The first type of pedal for Sim Racing is the potentiometer type. These pedals measure the distance travelled from one
point to another point. This is usually the start point to the endpoint, but if you have a pedal set such as the SRP Lite from Moza, you can use their software to change these points.
Now, this measurement for your throttle & clutch pedal is completely fine (in fact, even higher-end pedals still use potentiometers for their throttle & clutch pedals); however, when regarding the brake pedal, this is where things fall short.
It’s much easier to build muscle memory through force vs distance.
Think about it: if you were to push something, you can, for the most part, remember how much force was required to push that thing, but can you remember the distance you made the object?
Probably not, and that’s where the second type of pedal set comes into play.
Loadcell Pedals
Loadcell pedals fix the exact problem most people would have with a brake pedal that measures the distance travelled.
With these types of pedals, a loadcell is placed underneath the braking system; this allows the force of the movement to be measured and translated into the game.
As I mentioned before, for your throttle & clutch, this, for the most part, isn’t needed; it’s your brake pedal where this benefits you the most.
Cars without ABS (Anti-Lock Brake System) will lock up the tires if you ask too much of them. Turning and braking doesn’t work well with cars, especially at Low Downforce levels.
For humans, it’s a much simpler task to remember how much force is required to brake without locking up the car than it is to remember how much distance you need to move the pedal for the same effect.
REMEMBER! You will be driving these cars at hundreds of kilometres an hour. Split-second discussions are essential for going fast.
Hydraulic Pedals
The last type of pedals you can get for Sim Racing is the most realistic (as this is the type that real cars use). Hydraulic pedals are similar to loadcells but work in a more complicated way.
The Thrustmaster TLCM pedals aren’t hydraulic pedals, so I won’t go too much further in detail for this. Instead, I will refer you to the video below if you’d like to know more:
The main point here is to establish that using a brake pedal that measures force rather than distance travelled will improve your consistency and overall race pace.
My Experiences With The Thrustmaster TLCMs
Moving on, I’d like to cover some of my experiences with the Thrustmaster TLCM pedals, as I have been using these pedals and my main set for roughly 2 years at the time of writing this review.
When I first got these pedals, I wasn’t impressed by them. At that point, I was used to using cheaper plastic potentiometer pedals, and these were too hard for me to press correctly. Making me either lock up and miss the apex or not brake enough and miss the apex.
You will most likely experience this as well when you pick up your first loadcell pedals; I realised this wasn’t an issue with Thrustmaster but myself.
Once I got used to them, they quickly proved how useful they were going to be for my lap times.
Moving on, after about 18 months of using these pedals, I came to another realisation, which is, in my opinion, definitely a con for these pedals.
I was not too fond of the trail braking feel you get with springs vs elastomer rubbers.
Springs tend to bounce back a lot quicker than rubber, meaning as I was trailing off the brakes, at times, I was too quick and ended up missing an apex slightly due to understeer.
It may not sound like much, but when dealing with racing, these can be the difference between pole position and 4th or even the win and a podium.
I HIGHLY recommend getting a 3rd-party elastomer mod for the pedals if you pick them up because the springs (especially the red springs) don’t give off a good trail braking feel.
My overall experience with them has been positive. Not only did my lap times improve over time with the new brake pedal, but my overall consistency across a full race distance also improved.
Pros & Cons of The Thrustmaster TLCMs
Now that we’ve covered some of my personal experiences with the Thrustmaster TLCM pedals and what type of pedal sets you can buy, let’s go into their pros and cons.
Pros
I think these are a good, solid set of pedals, and they (for most people) will be enough to reach a very high level of Sim Racing.
- Price ($200)
- Loadcell (better than pertentiometers)
- 3 Pedals (Throttle, Brake, and Clutch included for all types of driving)
- Easy Customability (for the brake pedal only)
- Software Customability (Set brake force, clutch bite points, dead zones, and more)
First, the price, again, can’t go wrong for a solid set of pedals for $200. I will include it as a con because other pedals at similar prices are fully built from metal. However, fully metal-constructed pedals at this price point shouldn’t be expected.
Loadcell peals (as established) improve consistency and, to an extent, lap-by-lap pace. Having 3 pedals available without extra cost is a bonus for those who want to drive multiple types of cars. If you’re like me and typically only use Formula cars, having all 3 pedals by default is not a big deal.
Changing the springs (other 3rd party elastomer rubbers) is easy and can be done in less than 2 minutes (unless you brake a part of them like me…).
Here’s a quick tutorial on how to change the springs:
The software program that comes with these pedals is very straightforward to use; the only issue I would have with it is if you’re a console driver. In order to change the settings for the pedals, they have to be plugged into a PC.
Cons
Nothing is perfect, nor are these pedals; most cons aren’t deal breakers, though, so I would take this with a grain of salt.
- Light throttle pedal (can make it difficult to be precise with throttle inputs)
- Uncomfortable heel rest (I’ve had issues where my feet have gone numb after races)
- Springs for the brake vs elastomer rubber (making trailing brake not fully optimal)
- Plastic build (similar-priced pedals do have more metal to their build for better quality)
When I say a light throttle pedal, I don’t think it’s that bad, but it can cause issues from time to time due to the fact that you can’t change the stiffness of the throttle pedal. Not a super big deal, but I wanted to mention it.
This was the biggest issue for me for a while; after races, I would notice that my heels were numb due to the heel rest. I have no idea who thought that adding those extra raised bits on the heel rest was a smart decision, but they should be fired, in all honesty.
I doubt this is a consistent issue with everyone who uses these pedals, but they were for me, and it hurt.
I’ve already talked about the spring vs rubber issue and why I believe the rubbers are the better option. I’ve also had conversations with others who used the Thrustmaster TLCM pedals, and a few felt that the springs weren’t stiff enough.
Even using both red springs, they felt the brakes were too soft. If you do find yourself in this situation, try increasing the Brake Force in the software before looking for other pedals.
Finally, having as much plastic can deter some people; even though it’s strong plastic, I believe Thrustmaster should have used more metal or aluminium components for a higher quality build overall.
>>> GET THE THRUSTMASTER TLCM PEDALS FOR UNDER $200 <<<
Conclusion
Okay, so I’ve covered the main points about the Thrustmaster TLCM pedals; overall, I would give them a 4 out of 5-star rating. For $200, you won’t find many others that can give you the versatility that these pedals can and combined with their loadcell brake pedal, it’s a no-brainer.
If you do pick up this pedal set, I recommend trying out the springs first, but get some elastomer rubbers for a more consistent brake feel (you’ll thank me later).
Let me know your opinions on the pedalset below in the comments, and if you have any questions, leave them there or email me (at anthony@virtualgpracing.com).
Now go and start winning races!!