Matias Penttilä’s Simucube sim racing rig

Matias Penttilä · TCR · GT4 · Production cars

“Everything had the feeling of premium quality.”

“Coming from a belt driven wheel, the difference was massive”

4 years sim racing · Helsinki · Finland

Meet Matias

Matias Penttilä is a sim racer from Helsinki, Finland, who started in 2021. He races TCRs, GT4s, production cars, and open wheelers in series like the 24H Esports Series, IVRA, and others.

His old belt-driven wheel lacked the force and detail he desired, it overheated and the quick release had play. That changed with Simucube. “Everything had the feeling of a premium quality,” he said after upgrading to Simucube.

Matias, coming from a big motorsports country, has always been a big fan. What draws him to sim racing is the competition, the satisfaction of measurable progress, and the focus and flow that come with being fully in the zone.

Previous setup

Hardware

  • Belt driven wheelbase
  • Basic pedals that came with the wheelbase

Limitations

  • Overheating wheelbase
  • Weak force feedback
  • Quick release had play

The challenge

Inconsistent lap times

Bas struggled with lap time consistency, often having 2–3 second gaps between his fastest and slowest laps in practice sessions.

Poor car control

Limited force feedback made it difficult to feel when the car was at its limit, leading to frequent spins and off-track excursions.

Difficulty getting a balanced feel

With his previous wheelbases, the overall general feeling was inconsistent and it was hard to find a feeling that felt immersive.

Upgrading to Simucube

Basically unbreakable

“I could finally wrestle with the wheel like the way I wanted. The old setup always felt like a toy and that I had to be careful with it to not break anything. With Simucube I’m not sure if I can break it even if I tried.”

After dealing with the overheating issues, the weak force feedback and play in the quick release, Matias made the decision to upgrade to Simucube.

He researched the options thoroughly, and it became apparent that Simucube was universally regarded as the company with the highest quality products, and since Simucube is a Finnish company, he wanted to support local business.

Inside Bas’ rig

Simucube ActivePedal Ultimate
Simucube ActivePedal Ultimate $2,059.00 – $6,290.50
Simucube 2 Pro direct drive wheelbase, front three-quarter view
Simucube 2 Pro $1,299.00

“The quality and support is top notch, the product will last your entire lifetime and is constantly developed, and resale value is very good if you happen to quit sim racing.”

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