Asetek Sim Sports is a fairly new sim racing company that has made a big splash with its fantastic direct drive racing wheels and high-quality pedals. Previously to being invested in sim racing, Asetek were a big name in liquid cooling and PC hardware. The progression into sim racing has so far been incredibly successful.
In this Asetek buyers guide, I’m going to run through its entire ecosystem and look at the specs and prices of its sim racing products, along with which products I’d recommend considering. I’ll also look at the best Asetek deals and how to buy their sim racing hardware at the best price.
Asetek’s ecosystem explained
When they first launched a few years ago, Asetek launched with a set of Pagani-branded sim racing pedals. These were high-end load cell pedals that featured the same pedal design that could be found in Pagani road cars. While these pedals looked and performed incredibly well, Asetek had to expand its ecosystem quickly if it wanted to be a big player in the sim racing hardware space.
Wheel bases
They did exactly that with its launch of the La Prima, Forte and Invicta wheel bases. These wheel bases were all direct drive racing wheels that provided peak torque of up to a whopping 27Nm. Each wheel base utilised the same internal architecture and external design.
This was a very intentional choice as Asetek believed that you should be able to upgrade from a La Prima up to the range-topping Invicta wheel base without having to buy an entirely new unit. Instead, these Asetek wheels were designed to be able to be upgraded at home with an upgrade kit.
Due to the same internal hardware, each of these wheel bases performs incredibly well. Each wheel boasts incredibly smooth force feedback and rapid response times. The only real difference is that as you move up through the product range, the wheels become more powerful and capable of higher peak forces.
Wheel bases | Strength | Price |
---|---|---|
La Prima Wheel Base | 12Nm | From €630 / $749 |
Forte Wheel Base | 18Nm | From €880 / $1049 |
Invicta Wheel Base | 27Nm | From €1300 / $1549 |
Sim racing pedals
Alongside the high-performance sim racing wheel bases, Asetek also released a new range of sim racing pedals and a formula-style steering wheel. The Asetek sim racing pedals followed the same naming convention as the wheel bases with La Prima, Forte and Invicta pedals all being announced at the same time.
Both the Asetek La Prima and Forte pedals utilise high-quality load cell sensors to measure the force applied to the brake pedal. This technology is seen as a mid-range pedal technology that allows for a realistic feeling in the brake pedal. A pressure-based system like this allows you to build muscle memory over time which can improve your consistency.
The most premium sim racing pedal set, the Asetek Invicta pedal set upgrades the load cell sensors with a full hydraulic pedal unit. This aims to replicate a real-world car’s braking system to give the most realistic feeling possible. Much like Asetek wheel bases, they designed their pedal sets to be just as upgradeable, letting you upgrade from a La Prima right up to an Invicta pedal set without the need to buy an entirely new set of sim racing pedals.
Racing Cockpit | Price |
---|---|
La Prima Pedals | From £199 / $239 |
Forte Pedals | From £299 / $389 |
Invicta Pedals | From £399 / $549 |
Asetek product ranges
You can see from the categories above that Asetek likes to use three names for its products. Much like Fanatec and its use of CSL, ClubSport and Podium, the Asetek product ranges also denote both price and performance.
La Prima product range
The three Asetek product ranges include La Prima which is the companies most entry-level products. These are the most affordable sim racing products and offer the lowest level of performance. However, the La Prima range certainly isn’t a budget sim racing product range with even the La Prima wheel base being a mid to high-powered direct drive wheel.
Forte product range
Sitting above the La Prima range of products is the Forte lineup. This is really the mid-range point of all Asetek products. They are typically more expensive than the La Prima products and offer higher levels of performance. However, Forte pedals and wheels do not offer the same extreme levels of performance as the Asetek Invicta range.
Invicta product range
Sitting at the very top of Asetek’s product hierarchy is the Invicta range. This represents the best sim racing products that you can buy. The Invicta pedals feature a hydraulic brake cylinder which is as close to a real-world pedal setup as you can get. And the Invicta wheel base produces extreme performance at 27Nm of peak torque.
Ranges | Details |
---|---|
La Prima | Asetek’s entry-level product range. Features high-performing sim racing products at the most accessible prices. |
Forte | The mid-range product lineup. The performance is improved compared to La Prima products but at a higher price point. |
Invicta | The most premium Asetek products you can buy. Includes extremely high performing wheel bases and hydraulic pedal sets. |
Which Asetek products should I buy?
Asetek is unique in its approach to sim racing hardware due to the upgradability of its products. It is the only current sim racing company where you can buy an entry-level product and physically upgrade it to match the performance of the highest-performing product.
For this reason, it can be worth buying the entry-level products such as the La Prima wheel base and La Prima pedal set. This will be the cheapest way to buy Asetek products. Then, over time, as you feel that you need more performance, you can purchase the upgrade kits to increase the overall performance.
The only downside of this approach is that in the long term, it may cost more than opting for the higher-performing products at the start. For example, if you purchased the mid-range Forte pedals and then wanted to upgrade to an Invicta set, you would need to buy the Forte to Invicta upgrade kit. This, combined with the Forte pedals costs $50 more than purchasing the Invicta pedals.
In this scenario, you would save money in the longer term by opting for the Invicta pedals initially. However, if you aren’t certain that you will need the extra performance, opting to buy a lower-priced Asetek product may work well.
For the past 12 months or so, I have personally been using the Asetek Forte wheel base and pedal set and this is right in the sweet spot of performance. It is considerably cheaper than the Invicta wheel and pedal option, and the performance is more than high enough for both the pedals and wheel.
Where can I buy Asetek products?
There are a few different places where you can purchase Asetek sim racing hardware. They sell directly through their own website which is the route I would recommend. This option provides the best chance of obtaining support should you need it.
You can also purchase from a reseller that is located in your country. There are various resellers that offer different Asetek products depending on where you’re located, and this can sometimes be a quicker option as delivery is often quicker. Buying from Asetek directly though doesn’t slow down your delivery too much as they have stock located around the globe ready for dispatch.
You can view all of Asetek’s products on their website.
Cheap Asetek deals
Asetek is a sim racing company that doesn’t run too many sales or promotions. They did have a sale during the Black Friday week that gave you a discount across a specific range of products. They have also run promotions where you can submit your details to win a steering wheel and button box.
The best way to get a discount on Asetek products all year round is to use a discount code. Many sim racers have their own discount codes available and all allow for a 5% discount across the entire Asetek web store.
Use the discount code SIMRACINGSETUP to get 5% discount off Asetek products.
Below are the most recent Asetek deals and discounts.
You can view all of their discounts and deals by checking out our Asetek deals page.
Frequently asked questions
Below are the most frequently asked questions about Asetek and their sim racing products.
Where are Asetek from?
Asetek is a liquid cooling and sim racing hardware manufacturer based in Denmark.
What is the warranty of Asetek sim racing products?
Asetek offers a 24-month or 2-year warranty on all of their sim racing products that are purchased from Asetek’s website. You will need to retain your proof of purchase in order to use your warranty should anything go wrong.