Thrustmaster T3PA vs. PRO

Exactly as the title states!

I am currently running T3PA pedals and would like to know if it is worth upgrading. After some mild research, the only real conclusion I can make is that the PRO's are better. Thats a little too obvious and I am curious why they are. I know they are fully metal, can be flipped to GT style, and come with another option for a brake mod.

What i'm asking you guys is have any of y'all been able to find more technical specs between the two? Bit rates? Steps? Any other pieces of information.

Second, online there are many people posting that one is better than the other because of price or functionality, but most of the people have only tried one set. Has anyone here had both and if you have, what are your thoughts?

Thanks!

 

I can only tell you that the pros are also potentiometer-based pedals, so there's no resolution (you asked for bit rate/steps) benefit over the T3PA set. What you connect it to (wheel/PC) is where these decisions are made.

The build quality is good if you're willing to do some maintenance. The pots might need re-tightening (once, if they come loose) and some oil every other year. This means disassembling and reassembling the set, which takes ~1h. While you're at it you might want to swap the cheap m3 screws for better ones that can be used more than once.

The natural brake mod is good for me. I set my linearity in AC so that I can sort of modulate the brake by pressure, not throw.

TBH though, you might want to save up a bit more and go for an entry level load cell set. Coming from T3PA that should be a much bigger step up.

 

I'm using the Pros, and in my opinion the basher brake mod is an absolute must. The brake mod is what transforms them from toy pedals to at least "usable" pedals. I've never driven the non-Pros, but from what I know these are the main differences:

- invertibility
- durability due to metal construction
- allows for brake-mods

So when deciding which one to buy there's no doubt the Pros are the way to go. It gets a little tricky when it comes to spending 170€+ for the upgrade from non-Pros to Pros. If you can sell your set for say 70 or 80€ and the upgrade cost for the whole thing is around 100€ I'd say it's probably worth it. Or if you get a used Pro set and upgrade cost is even less, there you go.

If you're only buying new and do not intend to sell your old set, it might be worth looking into the Fanatec solutions with a load cell. Note, however, that Fanatec stuff has a reputation for failing after a while, so there's also the increased cost of maintaining them.

 

I have the non pro pedals, and you can invert them . I also have a load cell conversion on the brake, and I think it's very good. But I have never tried the pro version or any others to compare to.


T300rs, t3pa with Bodin load cell brake conversion, t8ha, ps vr

 

um... I'm pretty sure the T3PA can't be inverted without additional material?!
The load cell mod looks cool though. I might look into it. Do you know of any mod that would make the T3PA(/Pro)'s clutch feel like a clutch?

 

No sorry I don't know of any clutch mod, and I can turn my pedals over ok with my sim rig seat frame and a bit of velcro strap and you can reverse the accelerator and clutch with just a button press.


T300rs, t3pa with Bodin load cell brake conversion, t8ha, ps vr

 

Thanks for the replies!

They can be inverted (so can the normal ones if you build some sort of bracket/mount), stronger design (thats a plus), accepts brake mods (so can the normals apparently, I haven't done much research), and the pro's require maintenance (the regular ones do as well because mine are quite dirty and are squeaking). Not a huge difference here is what I'm seeing. And no difference in resolution either.

But, it seems like the more important thing y'all are touching on is brake mods. I have done absolutely NO research on them so what are y'all's thoughts? I'll try to do some research soon.

 

The maintenance part isnt right. I was talking about Fanatecs reputation for failing equipment.

And regarding brake mods, it depends. The Basher brake mod will only work with the pros, the (rather expensive) load cell mods work with the non-pros too. For clutch-mods you'll be better off with the pros too.

 

The maintenance part certainly is right in my case. The accelerator pot came loose and I had to open the set and tighten the nut.
Additionally, lots of dust will get inside the open construction so you'll need to clean that and squeaking is also available so you'll need oil, though.

That's all, however and nobody with a little bit of craftsmanship skills will struggle here...all easy maintenance jobs.

@TheMiz44 when talking pedals, the brake seems to be the topic of interest. The king of the hill is a load cell where you use pressure instead of throw to modulate the brakes - like in a real car.
All sorts of rubber and spring mods aim at mimicking this, a bit - you have your initial brake pedal throw where there's little resistance and the brake doesn't do much (you achieve this with linearity settings/deadzone in AC) and then the ~2 cm with a lot of resistance where you have a most of the effective braking range available to you. So even though you still modulate by throw, you must use quite a bit of force and it starts to feel like you modulate by pressure. It's a good improvement but load cells are the bee's knees.

My advice is to either aim for a T3PA pro set and get a load cell mod, right away or go for a factory load cell set.

 

Personally, I would say though that the clutch also should be a point of interest. Having it feel like a second throttle doesn't make much sense to me, so I'm currently looking into modding that too

 

Yeah, good point for sure. When you come up with something good let me know

 

+1 on that too


T300rs, t3pa with Bodin load cell brake conversion, t8ha, ps vr

 

There are a few (well, 2 I think) solutions on YT, but they don't give a list of parts or any instructions. If I do get around to modding the clutch, I'll make a proper video about it on my new YT channel. Right now it's completely empty, but I'll probably post a review of my GT Omega Pro sim rig this weekend, so feel free to subscribe to the channel there.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDwQS9jigomkBBRh6tV5GRQ

 

What about brands or types of brake mods? What kinds do y'all use and/or what kinds do y'all recommend? For example, Basher... Is that a brand? I still have yet to research but I've been a little busy lately and in any free time I have, I've been spending it driving on Assetto Corsa!!! Also, I'm currently using the conical brake mod that comes with the pedal if any of y'all are wondering.

 

Can someone kindly tell me if the pedals on the Pro are spaced better/differently than on the standard t3pa?!!
I have my t3pa's mounted to a playseat evolution. And find that no matter how I change the pedals around, I keep catching my ankle on the centre bar on the evolution when braking/heel & toeing!
Also. Are the pros' more sturdy. There is quite a bit of play/flex. And does anyone have them flat on floor and not mounted!!?!

 

No idea about the spacing on the T3PA, it looks similar to me (I'm using the Pro). If you wanna keep the metal cover, you can't move the pedals sideways, but I think you can move the pedal plates sideways to some extent. Also, there is no flex in the Pro's under normal driving conditions and even with the basher brake mod. I did have them flat on the floor against a wall for years without issues but recently got the GT Omega sim rig.

Maybe you wanna go for that one instead of the playseat? ;-) I'll have a review video of it uploaded some time tomorrow.

 

Many thanks Leon.
I was going to get the gt omega rig. But my budget at the time would only stretch to the playseat!
I think my next upgrade will be the Pro pedals though, as I think it's the plastic base on the standard ones that is flexing!

 

Nice review Leon. I'm going to check my bank balance!

 

FYI I'm currently planning a reconstruction of this:


to be precise, I'm doing the math to find out how the length of the blue pieces in this figure influences the force over pedal travel diagram...



edit: Some of the necessary parts may be a lot cheaper when bought at a larger quantity. Are there any Germans here interested in also modding their T3PA Pro clutch pedals to the same spec (sharing part costs)?