Conspit ARES Apex, CPP Apex and Apex 310 Review

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1. Introduction

The Ares Apex 8Nm wheelbase and CPP Apex pedals are Conspit’s new entry into the more affordable end of the DD market, aimed squarely at people upgrading from a Logitech G or Thrustmaster style setup. For the past few months, I’ve had early access to the pedals, steering wheels and the wheelbase and in this video I’ll share the highs and the lows. I’m Laurence, welcome to the channel.

2. First impressions

Out of the box the overall package feels more polished than I expected given the price point. The CPP Apex pedals mount easily to a rig and the throttle in particular feels good straight away. The pedal arms and faces themselves are nicely machined and feel premium, even if the base plate looks a little plasticky at first glance. In practice that base plate works well, keeping the control box and wiring tidy and under control. There’s lateral pedal adjustment and pedal face adjustment. There’s no forward and back pedal adjustment which will make heel and toe difficult. The throttle and clutch are almost identical visually but do differ  significantly in feel. It’s also worth noting that having proper clutch paddles on a steering wheel at this price point is a nice surprise.

3. Price

Conspit is going in aggressively here. The Ares Apex 8Nm wheelbase on its own comes in at around $419 / €358 / £315 before tax, and the full Apex Bundle with 310 Apex wheel, CDR QR, CPP Apex 2-pedal set and the 8Nm base is priced at $999 / €860 / £750, again excluding VAT. There are also configurations with the 300 GT wheel at different price points. On paper that puts this bundle directly up against the “first DD” options from more established brands, but with a lot more hardware in the box for the money. This value story is a big part of how Conspit wants this product to be judged.

4. Installation – Hardware

Physically getting the Ares Apex onto the rig was very straightforward. I base mounted it and there was no drama with the pattern or alignment, although I did have to supply my own t‑slot nuts to get it bolted down which may catch some people out depending on their rig hardware. Once mounted there was no noticeable flex or movement from the base itself. The CPP Apex pedal set was also easy to bolt down and the base plate has a nice compact footprint, which makes it simple to position on most rigs while still keeping the cables and control box neatly contained. The CDR NRG‑style quick release that comes as standard with the bundle works well in practice but can be a little sticky after intensive use. For those considering the optional CDP quick release, it’s worth watching the quick release section later in this review before spending the extra money.

5. Installation – Software

My early time with the Ares Apex 8Nm was dominated by the software rather than the hardware. Conspit sent me an internal early‑access build of Conspit Link, and at that stage the presets weren’t fully dialled in, invert FFB wasn’t available and I ran into situations where the base powered on but wasn’t recognised properly or lost FFB in titles like Dirt Rally 2.0. It still took more hand‑holding and communication with their R&D team than a typical consumer is ever going to have, but the direction of travel is good and the current public software is in a far better place than the builds I started with. One funny issue I still have is the need to change the language back to english after each upgrade, and when you create a new profile it doesn’t auto switch to it, which has led to be butchering some of my existing profiles for other sims that I liked.

One of the more interesting features within Conspit Link is the encoder remapping on the wheels. By turning a central function knob you can change what the two vertical encoder dials actually control, with up to 12 different +/- mapping combinations available. For example, in one position you might have those encoders set up for TC1 and TC2, and in another position they can instantly become brake bias and ABS controls. It’s a clever way to get a lot of in‑car adjustment without needing a ridiculous number of dedicated knobs.

The wheels turn off after a set amount of time of not being used which is nice. I didn’t feel the need to turn this wheelbase on or off at any stage. Simhub hogs the ports that Conspit Link needs to power the dashses. You’ll need to configure simhub to forward data to Conspit Link if you plan on running both. 

6. Quick release

Conspit offers two quick release options here: the standard CDR and the optional CDP. On paper the CDP is the more premium, race‑inspired proprietary design at around $75 and it’s lighter than the CDR, which partly explains the price difference. In practice though, it was the weakest part of my experience. Despite the marketing around zero‑play durability, my CDP introduced a small but noticeable amount of play at the rim and made wheel removal feel sticky and inconsistent, even after I received replacement parts.

The $50 CDR NRG‑style QR that ships with the bundle is, ironically, the one I would actually recommend. It uses a more universal and proven pattern, supports rapid wheel changes and makes it far easier to mount third‑party rims that already ship with similar hardware. It’s not perfect – I still experienced occasional stickiness – but overall the CDR felt more confidence‑inspiring than the CDP and aligns better with how most people will want to expand this ecosystem over time.

There’s also an optional USB‑A Adapter Spacer which mounts to the front of the base and adds a USB‑A port on the shaft for true USB passthrough. This is a clever and relatively affordable way to tidy up third‑party USB wheels and avoid long dangling cables, but there is a trade‑off: because the USB port lives on the shaft and not in the quick release itself, you still need to unplug and re‑plug a USB cable every time you swap to a non‑Conspit rim. Conspit also offers a 15cm extension rod for those who want to bring the wheel closer to them, but I haven’t tested that accessory so I can’t comment on its impact on flex or feel. Finally, there’s a very affordable $19 standard PCD adapter for mounting almost any QR pattern you like, and a Quick‑Con adapter which gives full USB compatibility for Conspit rims on third‑party wheelbases, so you’re not locked into using these wheels on Conspit hardware only.

7. Steering wheels

There are two main wheel options for this bundle: the 310 Apex and the slightly more expensive 300 GT. I used both extensively. The 310 Apex is slightly smaller than the 330mm rims I usually prefer, but on an 8Nm base that actually works in its favour. It suits the Ares Apex really well, giving you a nice balance between leverage and detail with plenty of control inputs, a useful built‑in screen and solid ergonomics for a wide range of cars. The rims are easily detachable from the button plate, which means that more rim options are likely to be made available. This is similar to what we have seen from Asetek’s button plate.

The 300 GT is a more serious GT/LMP‑style wheel with a lighter race‑grade carbon construction and even more inputs, and I really enjoyed it for GT and prototype style racing. When compared to the Simagic GT Neo, the grip material is nicer althought the shape of the GT Neo’s grips is slightly better. Conspit’s offering does have far nicer rotaries, buttons and general build quality and visual appeal with this woven carbon construction. That being said, I did experience some early reliability issues on pre‑release hardware – a failed rotary on my first 300 GT and two button failures on my Max 01 wheel – so that’s something to be aware of. It’s also worth noting that, for some reason, the button backlighting is noticeably less bright when driven purely through SimHub compared to when the wheels are powered and controlled through Conspit Link. The screen is also not simhub compatible, which is a shame. The standard screens are usable but not as good as simhub. In day‑to‑day use though, the combination of materials, ergonomics and control layout on both the 310 Apex and 300 GT is very strong for this price segment.

The steering wheels come with extra magnets to make the shifts a little heavier. This doesn’t affect the noise but does affect the feel pleasantly. The 7-way hats and thumb rotaries feel good, but the front facing rotaries feel excellent. As good as any on the market.

8. Force feedback

The Ares Apex sits firmly in the 8Nm DD bracket from a performance point of view. It is noticeably weaker than something like the Simagic Alpha Mini, and the 9Nm Simagic Alpha Evo Sport still offers more raw detail than the Moza R9, CSL DD 8Nm and this Ares Apex. In terms of outright torque and feel though, the Ares is very close to a CSL DD 8Nm or Moza R9. The default feel is a touch on the smoothened side, even when you back off some of the filters and sliders, but once I had it dialled in I had a great FFB experience in titles like iRacing and the original Assetto Corsa with plenty of usable detail coming through the rim. As with any wheelbase at this power level, you don’t get the same dynamic range and headroom you’ll find on a high‑powered base, but within its target category the Ares Apex offers a very competitive force feedback experience.

Although there are warnings that the base will get hot when run at high power, I didn’t really notice this being an issue, nor did I have issues with drop off of power over time.

9. Pedals

The CPP Apex pedals are clearly designed as a floor‑mounted set, but they are best suited to a fixed rig setup. Out of the box the throttle feel is genuinely nice and the overall driving feel is excellent for the price. A key limitation for some rig users is that the pedal angle isn’t adjustable, so unless your rig lets you tilt the whole foot plate, ergonomics may be compromised. The pedal faces have minor adjustment, but not enough to compensate fully for the angle. The throttle has a relatively short, non‑adjustable throw, and while the clutch is functional it doesn’t have a clearly defined bite point. Each pedal supports high, medium and low mechanism positions that significantly affect the required force, so this set caters to both light and heavy pedal preferences.

On the brake side, Conspit leans heavily into the hydraulic story. The layout and concept inevitably invite comparisons to Asetek’s Thorp 2 design, and there are fair questions about whether this level of complexity is necessary at this price point. The system appears to use grease rather than oil. This viscousity probably allows for higher tolerances which in turn may lead to issues over time. Set up correctly, the CPP Apex offers a very convincing braking experience for the money, and the throttle and clutch feel is far superior to many popular entry‑level pedal sets like the Fanatec CSL Elite V2. Does this brake need to be hydraulic? Absolutely not, but it’s impressive that they’ve delivered a great‑feeling, fast‑responding hydraulic brake at this price.

You’ll notice brackets at the top of each pedal for attaching rumble motors, which is a nice addition. I’m not yet sure which motors will be compatible, but it appears they’ll run through the integrated electronics as there’s a power input port on the sides, and I don’t have full details on that yet.

These pedals can be used on a desk and have an acceptable amount of grip under them on the lowest brake resistance settings, but if you’re looking for a heavier braking experience you’ll need extra means of keeping them in place. The removable rear bracket helps here, bracing against a wall without damaging it. Although a peak of 100 bar (roughly 100kg) is claimed, I feel the brake reaches 100% with a bit less force even when correctly calibrated. That said, the brake feels great and I’d happily use it longer term. Brake adjustment requires a special tool and there are elastomers and springs provided to tune the feel. Springs worked best for me. There’s very little missing from this bundle.

10. Final thought

Taken as a whole, the Ares Apex 8Nm and CPP Apex pedals bundle is exceptional value. The overall perceived build quality – especially on the steering wheels – is noticeably superior to a lot of the other options in this price range, and Conspit’s software is already good with some genuinely innovative touches like the dynamic encoder functionality which we’ve seen on very high‑end brands like Bavarian SimTech in the past. There are still rough edges and occasional moments of confusion in Conspit Link, with tooltips and some UI behaviours not quite where they need to be yet, but the trajectory is clearly upwards and I expect a lot of this to be resolved over time.

The QRs are probably the most confusing part of the ecosystem right now. The CDP looks beautiful on paper and in the marketing materials, but even with replacement parts it never gave me the zero‑play, silky experience that I was hoping for. The cheaper CDR was simply the better real‑world option for me, and that’s the one I would recommend to most people. The optional USB‑A Adapter Spacer is also worth strong consideration if you run third‑party USB wheels. Only a handful of brands – mainly Asetek and Simagic – offer comparable USB passthrough solutions right now, and at around $30 this is by far one of the most affordable and tidy ways to get rid of long dangling USB cables from your rims.

The CPP Apex pedals punch well above their weight. The throttle has a relatively short, non‑adjustable throw and the clutch is functional without a very clearly defined bite point, but both are far superior to what you get on many popular entry‑level pedal sets like the Fanatec CSL Elite V2. As for durability, They’ve lasted close to two months of intense use on my rig without any functional issues.

Ultimately, this bundle is clearly aimed at people who are buying their first direct drive wheelbase – those coming from Thrustmaster T300, T500, TS‑PC Racer, Fanatec CSL Elite, CSW or Logitech G‑series style gear. If you’re in that camp and you’re prepared to live with some early‑ecosystem quirks in exchange for a lot of hardware and performance for your money, the Apex bundle is a very compelling way to step into DD without feeling like you’ve compromised on the experience.

If you’d like to buy these or any other products while supporting our channel financially at no extra cost to you, please consider using my affiliate links in the description below. For Conspit in particular, I recommend buying from a local reseller just in case you run into any teething issues like I did.

I stream every Tuesday and Thursday at 9pm UK/Irish Time. I use the hardware that I’m reviewing live on stream, so make sure to subscribe and pop in when I’m Live. I’m Laurence, and I’ll chat to you later