Sim Coaches P1 Pro Handbrake Review

Final thoughts on the Simcoaches hydraulic handbrake. This handbrake is made in the same way that their pedal set is. CNC’d from billet aluminum. The handbrake  certainly looks good. It uses Wilwood parts for both the master cylinder and slave cylinder. Just like their pedal sets. It also uses a pressure sensor to relay lever position. This is a full sized handbrake. As with any full sized simulator control, It’s size does add to the immersion factor when using it. Simcoaches had two versions of the handbrake. One that integrates with their pedal set, and a stand alone USB plug and play version. I used both in their respective configurations and could not tell the difference between them. There is difference in the feel of the resistance media used. You can use the new stiffer spring that now ships with each handbrake, or the spring washer stack. I like the feel of both options. At the time of this video’s publication I am still trying to decide which I will be using. I have the older version of this handbrake and the newer version in the USB unit. There are some differences between the two. The USB version has the electronics board embedded in the aluminum housing. Just like on the throttle pedal assembly. This should help mitigate EMI interference issues. You will also notice the master cylinder now has an extra area machined into the body’s large mounting flange. Where they drilled and tapped a hole that receives a threaded rod. This acts as an over travel stop. All their new currently shipping pedal sets will have this on the clutch and brake pedals as well There has been an instance where the master cylinder piston rod was pressed so far that it bottomed out in the master cylinder and bent. This was a great time to test Simcoaches customer service commitment. They have a Lifetime warranty on their products. So if you have this issue they will replace the damaged pedal with a new one that has the integrated stop assembly. I liked this hand brake so much I have integrated it with my Simworx sequential shifter where before I was using the very good Heusinkfeld unit. When using the handbrake in my rally configuration I felt like it was a natural analog feeling pull. Of course this adds to the immersion when driving on dirt. Pairing it with my full sized Simworx sequential shifter was a very natural feeling experience. I think most will agree this is a great handbrake in both it’s looks and performance.