Asetek has solved a puzzle and I don’t think everyone knows about it. From two stage braking systems to one handed quick releases, from true USB passthrough to modular wheel handles, Asetek has significantly changed sim racing over the past few years and I don’t think they’re getting the credit they deserve. I’m Laurence, welcome to the channel.
- Introduction
On the left you’ll see all the sections in this video. I’ve put timestamped links to each section in the description below.
Asetek Simsports is a Danish company which prides itself on innovation and design. Their incredible success in the liquid cooling space has helped them perfect large scale production of mission critical hardware. With their passion for real world motorsports and partnerships with drivers like Kevin Magnussen, they’ve applied everything in their arsenal to create the products featured in this video.
The Invicta represents Asetek’s flagship offering. 27 newton meters of torque, hydraulic pedals with real pressure sensors, and a CNC aluminium steering wheel with an integrated screen. This PC only hardware is built for high end simulation.
- First Impressions
The looks of these products are not for everyone. The wheelbase has a minimalistic design that some describe as Optimus Prime meets D-Box actuator. In my opinion, The Invicta Formula wheel is stunning with its CNC aluminum housing and integrated screen. The pedals though, they’re a bit retro for my taste. That 80s styling with the LED strips and angular design won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but you don’t see your pedals when you’re racing.
On the subject of those LED strips, both the pedals and the wheelbase have them, and I’ll be honest, I actually like them. They’re fully adjustable and can be put to genuinely meaningful use, changing colour to signal ABS activation or flag status for example. Are you going to see them when you’re driving? Probably not. They’ll mostly be hidden by your legs and wheel and screen. So they’re largely for style. But as a style choice, I think they work.
What immediately stands out is Asetek’s open ecosystem approach. The third party quick release with USB passthrough means you can use almost any wheel on this base and it will feel native. The modular grip system lets you swap handles to completely change the look and feel of your wheel. This level of flexibility is amazing.
The power button and emergency stop integrated into the front mount look fantastic. The one handed quick release is genuinely the fastest and one of the most satisfying QR system I’ve used. Even my 8 year old son can operate it one handed.
Now, 27 newton meters and 100 bar of brake pressure might sound like overkill, but these figures are carefully selected to accurately simulate real world racing scenarios. The Simucube SC3 Pro offers 25 Nm, the Moza R25 gives you 25 Nm, and the Simagic Alpha Evo Ultra offers 28 Nm. So I have good perspective in this review.
- Price
Let’s talk money. The Invicta wheelbase is around €1300. The Invicta Formula wheel with handles is €1650. The THORP 2 pedals are €950 for the 2 pedal set, plus another €250 for the clutch. I’ve also got the smooth pedal faces for €40 and the front mount for €140. All in, that’s an eye watering total of over €4,000. BUT, it does get you quite possibly the finest single eco system package in sim racing. And keep an eye out for bundles from Asetek and resellers. Asetek loves a good sale.
For context, the Simucube SC3 Pro wheelbase alone is around €1500. A comparable high end wheel will set you back €1000 to €2000. The Heusinkveld Ultimate+ pedals are around €1500 for a 3 pedal set. So while the Invicta package is expensive, it’s competitively priced against the top end alternatives.
The third party quick release for €125 is genuinely brilliant. It allows native USB passthrough integration with almost any third party wheel. Some wheels can even route the cable internally for a completely seamless experience. Asetek seems to know you won’t love every product in their range, so they’ve made their ecosystem as open as possible. This is smart business and great for consumers.
- Installation – Hardware
The pedals are straightforward to install. They come pre-assembled in a moderately stiff configuration that’ll suit most people. 6 bolts secure the three pedal set to your rig, 4 for the two pedal set. The mounting holes aren’t based on industry standards so you’ll need to drill if you’re not using aluminum profile, but that’s common at this price point.
The wheelbase base mounts easily, but here’s the catch. You need to mount the power button and emergency stop separately. You cannot run the base without them. With the front mount, the buttons have a clear home, but installation is a bit fiddly. You need to remove the plastic cover, release the slip ring, and guess the offset to make everything sit flush again. The gap you can see in the footage is to accommodate the front mount and needs to be set manually. For €4000, I’d prefer a more refined installation process, even if you only need to do it once.
That said, the front mount itself is excellent once in place. It fits all rigs with aluminum profile uprights and offers plenty of adjustment. I’d just like some measurement markers to help center the wheelbase perfectly.
Installing the wheel though, that’s glorious. This wedge style quick release, which Asetek acquired the IP rights for from Granite Devices, the company behind Simucube, works brilliantly thanks to their own improvements. The little handle doesn’t get in the way during driving, and this is the only QR system in sim racing that allows true one handed operation. It’s arguably the quickest quick release on the market. The Moza and Simagic systems require two hands, and while the SC3 QR is similar, Asetek has refined the SC2 Pro QR further by eliminating the clunky pin mechanism.
- Installation – Software
Asetek’s Race Hub software has matured significantly over the years. The interface is clean and you don’t need to swap between menus constantly like you do with some competitors. The force feedback settings offer both basic and advanced modes. Basic mode is perfect for beginners without being overwhelming, while advanced mode gives you everything you need without drowning you in options.
The default game profiles have improved dramatically thanks to a vibrant community. I barely adjust anything these days. If the defaults don’t work for you, hop into their Discord because there are fantastic community profiles available.
The SimHub integration is clever. You can combine Asetek’s canned effects from Race Hub with custom dashes from SimHub. Their own dashes are decent, but SimHub is king for DDU units and screens. The pedal calibration process is excellent. Smooth, no jagged inputs, and easy dead zone adjustment.
Now for the frustrations. The lighting options are limited. I’d love full SimHub control over all LEDs. The software keeps reverting to the F1 profile on me, even after complete system wipes and configuration folder renaming. This doesn’t seem to happen to anyone else I’ve asked, but it’s annoying. For EA WRC and Dirt Rally 2.0, I’ve had to manually edit configuration files to get the Invicta recognized. The Asetek Discord is helpful, but I’d prefer not to do this every couple of months.
One more thing. When you save settings to the wheelbase, it causes a noticeable lag spike. Don’t press save mid-race. Trust me on that one.
- Invicta THORP 2 Pedals
These pedals are amongst my top five pedal recommendations, and that’s saying something. The THORP 2 system uses a real hydraulic pressure sensor, not just a load cell behind a hydraulic mechanism. It measures actual hydraulic pressure. The 100 bar pressure sensor sits behind a pedal that can handle 700 kilograms of force.
The two stage brake feel is phenomenal. There’s an initial phase where you’re bringing the pads to the disc, then you hit a brick wall where the real braking happens. When tuned correctly, you can consistently hit a desired percent brake pressure, which is exactly where you want to be to avoid ABS activation. The default setup is perfect for most sim racers, but you can adjust from truck sim soft all the way to hardcore formula car stiff at 80 plus bar.
Compared to the Heusinkveld Sprints, the Invicta pedals offer similar adjustability but a more realistic two stage feel. The Simagic P2000 pedals are excellent, but they don’t quite match the granularity of the THORP 2 system. The Simtrecs pedals are my favourite pedals ever, but they sit at a significantly higher price point. The Invicta sits right up there with the Simlab XP1 and Simtrex pedals in terms of performance.
Now for the criticisms. Those default pedal faces are aggressive. They’re a cheese grater style that’ll chew up your shoes and are practically unusable with socks or bare feet. I strongly recommend the smooth Forte face plates as an upgrade. They feel much better and you can actually use them without shoes if you want.
One observation or caution I have to raise is the hydraulic pressure sensor on the brake. It sits fully exposed with no protection around it. One knock from a dropped object or a moment of clumsiness and you could be looking at a very costly repair, and in the meantime your pedals are completely useless. At this price point I’d expect some form of guard or housing around it.
The throttle is a bit light for my preference, though the throw is easily adjusted. The brake is toollessly adjustable, which is brilliant. You can change elastomers and travel, also without the need for any tools. In fact, the whole pedal setup is designed with tool-less adjustment in mind. Changing pedal angles and throw across all three pedals is quick and easy, requiring no tools whatsoever. It’s a thoughtful design that makes dialling in your seating position genuinely painless. The clutch is solid. It’s backward compatible with all Asetek pedal sets, has a clear bite point, and offers considerable adjustment to preload and throw.
If you want more placement flexibility, it’s worth knowing there’s an S-Series variant that allows the individual pedals to be removed from the plate. It’s around €50 more and worth considering if your rig setup demands it.
Asetek has also teased an ABS module that uses a real ABS pump and mounts directly onto the hydraulic housing, which already has two pre-drilled bolt holes waiting for it. It’s a genuinely exciting concept. That said, I’d be surprised if this ever makes it to market in meaningful numbers. The cost, the niche appeal, and the complexity of integrating real ABS simulation into sim titles makes it a very hard sell beyond a tiny slice of hardcore users. Interesting engineering, but I wouldn’t factor it into a buying decision.
- Invicta Steering Wheel
When someone shows off their rig, they point at the steering wheel. Asetek has created one of the finest steering wheels in sim racing here. The CNC aluminum housing is exceptional. The materials are second to none. The weight is incredibly light for what it is, which amplifies force feedback detail beautifully.
The 4.3 inch screen is brilliantly integrated. It looks like this wheel was built around the screen, not like the screen was retrofitted to an existing rim. Compare this to many wheels from competitors where screens often look like an afterthought. The Asetek screen jumps to life when illuminated and offers three dash layouts: road car, GT car, and formula. Worth noting, the wheel is 300mm in diameter, which is technically a GT size. A true formula wheel is typically 280mm. That’s not a criticism, just useful perspective if you’re coming from a smaller rim.
The touchscreen is active, but here’s the frustration. It doesn’t pass through to SimHub like a typical Vocore screen. On any interactive simhub dashboards like Lovely sim Racing’s Lovely Dashboard, if you want to change a dash element, you need to map that functionality in SimHub rather than simply touching the screen. This defeats the purpose of modern SimHub dashes. I really hope they fix this with a software update.
Ergonomically, this wheel is phenomenal. Nine rotaries including 6 thumb encoders give you incredible functionality. The diffused LEDs around the rotaries look stunning. The aluminum buttons from the recent facelift feel premium, though I’d prefer if they were backlit rather than having lighting above them. The shifter paddles are magnetic, reliable, and surprisingly easy to install with no wiring required. Though I will say, the little square nut inside can rattle loose and I’ve lost a few over time with the various Asetek wheels I’ve reviewed. It’s frustrating. I also want to flag the kinky switches, which is Asetek’s own name for the small 7-way toggle switches on the wheel face. They look great but they’re more fragile than they appear. I actually bent one and had to get it replaced. Be careful with them.
The modular grip system is brilliant. You can swap between XL suede grips, LMP handles, or standard grips to name a few. Those handles completely change the character of the wheel. I went with the LMP handles personally. They look the best to me, the material feels great in hand, and they work surprisingly well across GT, Formula, and LMP style driving without feeling like a compromise for any of them. The extra buttons on the back are genuinely useful for stuff like pit limiter or windscreen tearoff without taking your hands off the wheel.
- Ecosystem Options
Asetek offers formula, GT, and round rim options across their range. The Invicta modular approach means you can build exactly what you want. The third party quick release opens up the entire market. GSI, Cube Controls, Ascher, you name it. This is an absolute genius move that gives you flexibility most other manufacturers simply don’t offer. - Invicta Wheelbase Force Feedback
Cutting to the chase, this is amongst the best force feedback in sim racing. In a blind test, I genuinely don’t think I could tell the difference between this and any other top end wheelbase. They’re all exceptional at this level but I do feel Asetek sits towards the top of the pile.
I’ve used this base extensively for months in Assetto Corsa, ACC, iRacing, Le Mans Ultimate, Dirt Rally 2.0, and EA WRC. The resolution is 0.000085 degrees. That’s roughly four million steps per revolution. The peak slew rate is 9.4 newton meters per millisecond. These numbers translate to crisp, detailed force feedback that communicates everything you need to know.
There’s plenty of power on tap. 27 newton meters means the force feedback is detailed and precise. You can feel compressions and crests through the suspension. You can feel when you’re understeering over a kerb while rubbing doors with another car. The micro rotations relay incredible detail. You won’t run this at 100 percent, but don’t worry about that. The power is there to provide detail and dynamic range, not to break your wrists.
- Final Thought
I debated whether to review these products separately, but I wanted to show the consistency across the Invicta ecosystem. While none of them are perfect on their own, all three combine to make one of the best packages money can buy in sim racing.
The pedals went from being very niche with the original THORP 1 system to being a general recommendation with THORP 2. The massive increase in travel and adjustability makes them accessible to everyone, not just hardcore sim racers. The wheelbase delivers force feedback that rivals anything from Simucube, Moza, or Simagic. The steering wheel is genuinely one of the finest in sim racing, with build quality and functionality that competes with Cube Controls, GSI, SOELPEC, Bavarian Sim Tech and others.
The frustrations are minor but worth mentioning. The pedal styling is retro. The shifter design can be frustrating with that tiny nut that rattles loose. The software frequently reverts to the F1 profile. The touchscreen doesn’t pass through to SimHub. The lighting options are limited. But these are quality of life issues, not deal breakers.
I was instantly on pace with this setup. Months later, I found it difficult to adjust to other pedals unless they were very, very good. That’s the ultimate compliment. Asetek has created a cohesive, premium ecosystem that delivers on its promises. If you’re looking for a complete high end sim racing package and you have €4000 to spend, the Invicta wheelbase, THORP 2 pedals, and Invicta wheel deserve serious consideration.
Finally, if this bundle is a little too pricey, consider the Forte range. It’s a more affordable entry point into Asetek’s ecosystem without sacrificing too much in terms of quality or features. But if you want the absolute best, this is it.
If you choose to buy this product or any of its competitors, I have affiliate links in the description below. Using those links helps me create more content like this. I stream every Tuesday and Thursday at 9 PM UK time on Twitch. Come say hello. I’m Laurence. I’ll chat to you later.
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