SimHub is free, powerful, and most sim racers barely scratch the surface of what it can do. This guide focuses specifically on pedal haptics — how to configure ABS feedback, traction loss, brake threshold, and road texture so your feet feel what your tyres are doing.
One note before we start: the frequency and gain values below are starting points, not gospel. Every rig, exciter, and driver is different — treat these as a baseline and tune to your own feel. If you own PurrPRO FORMULA PEDALS, the fastest route is to load our official profiles (see Step 5), which are already tuned to the PurrForce hardware.
What You Need
- SimHub (free at simhubdash.com)
- Pedals with integrated haptic exciters (e.g., PurrPRO FORMULA PEDALS)
- Any racing simulator: iRacing, Assetto Corsa, ACC, rFactor 2, Le Mans Ultimate
Step 1 — Connect Your Pedals in SimHub
Open SimHub and go to Controllers and Inputs. Your pedals should appear as a USB device. Verify the axes are registering correctly under the input tab.
The PurrPRO uses two independent haptic transducers — one on the throttle, one on the brake — which appear in SimHub as separate audio output devices. Go to Shake It → Bass Shakers and add both as separate devices so you can tune them independently.
Step 2 — Configure Brake Haptics
The most useful channel for braking is Wheel Lock. It tells you the moment a wheel starts to lock up — invaluable for finding your brake threshold.
In Shake It, add a Wheel Lock effect on your brake transducer. A reasonable starting point is a lower frequency (more rumble than buzz) with gain around the halfway mark, then adjust from there. Lower frequencies feel like a deep rumble; higher ones feel like a sharper buzz.
Add a second effect for ABS Active on top, at a lower frequency and a stronger gain so it stands out. The combination gives you a gentle rumble as you approach lock-up, then a distinct pulse when ABS engages — close to how a real car feels under hard braking.
Step 3 — Configure Throttle Haptics
For the throttle transducer, the most useful effects are:
- Traction Loss — feel rear slip before you see it. Keep the gain moderate so it informs rather than distracts.
- Engine RPM — useful for clutch engagement and gear shifts; SimHub scales the frequency with RPM automatically. Keep this subtle.
Step 4 — Game-Specific Tuning
Different simulators output telemetry differently. In SimHub, go to Games and enable your simulator. For iRacing and ACC, wheel slip data is highly accurate. For Assetto Corsa (original), use the SimHub AC plugin for best results.
Tip for PurrPRO owners: the brake and throttle transducers are independent, so you can run very different gain levels on each without bleed-through. Most drivers run brake effects stronger than throttle effects for a more natural feel — but use your own ears.
Step 5 — Profiles and Presets
Save your configuration as a SimHub profile named after your car or sim. If you own the PurrPRO pedals, download our official FATBLACKCAT SimHub profiles from the Profiles & Drivers page — they’re tuned specifically to the PurrForce hardware and give you a dialled-in starting point you can adjust from.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Gain too high: Haptics should inform, not distract. If you’re consciously feeling the effect on every corner, it’s too strong.
- Wrong transducer selected: Double-check which device in SimHub corresponds to which pedal.
- Missing telemetry plugin: Some sims need a SimHub plugin installed in the game directory to output haptic data.
Once dialled in, pedal haptics change how you drive. Brake threshold becomes tactile rather than visual — you feel the limit instead of watching for it.