hegykc

I am the designer of the damper retrofit kit, and gave the design to Milan. He changed some parts and his video showing the kit installed to the left, at an angle, is wrong. You will get 15% force difference in left/right pedals if you install it at an angle like that. I designed the kit to be installed over the center. In addition to that, his aluminum spacer has greater clearance and that is what's causing free play on some pedals. My 3d printed spacer goes tight onto the bolt and even tighter onto the pedals, so there is no free play. As you can see on my video at 8:20, I have to tap my spacer in: While his aluminum spacer goes very loosely onto the bolt, and onto the pedals. Shown in the video at 3:35 : What you can try to remedy the free play in his retrofit kit, is apply some masking tape around the bolt, and around the outside face of aluminum spacer. So that the spacer goes tightly around the bolt, and tightly into the pedals.

It could be the damper. Real brand name ones are like 300$ for motorcycles. This Chinese one is 15$, so they might be B-stock. I had 10 of them, 8 were perfect and 2 of them did have some play in ball joints. Not horrible, but noticeable. Haven't come across a binding one, but it could be. If you're up for it:

No way. Something is over-tightened. We just need to figure out which bolt. Do you have V1/V2 or V3 pedals and damper mount? If V1/2 then disconnect the forward part of the damper, the one that bolts near the cam. Try moving the pedals with the damper disconnected. If they are binding, you over-tightened the back bolt, the M8x80. If not and they still move freely, then you over-tightened the forward bolt, the M8x40mm. I sold over 200 of my MFG combat pedal kit and damper kit, and there wasn't a single issue to date with centering or binding. And we straight up copied my mod design for this MFG upgrade, so there shouldn't be any issues either. Let me know and I'll guide you through it.

Links are in the combat pedals description page: But I don't know if they can be useful, they're quite small/weak.

No recommendation yet, waiting on some ebay oils to arrive, so I can compare them with thicker engine oil. BUT don't expect miracles. It might be a 10% improvement. I only put the mounting holes for the brakes shocks because the hardware was already there, so it was only 2 extra holes, so I thought why not. This is the processes if it hasn't been posted yet:

Correct, but you also get the combat pedals kit. Right now the product on MFGs website is only the damper mounting kit, no combat pedals. When we reach a deal for damper kit + combat pedals kit, the price goes from 50$ to 100$ for the 2 products together. For the small percentage of the customers who don't want to wait and get everything now, the price will be the same. It is 75$ for my damper & pedals mounting kit plus 25$ for Aliexpress damper. So 100$ again, the same as it will be once on the MFG website. Still too much if you ask me actually. But there are customers who can afford it and want it right now, so I will take that money and use it to expand my capacity, so I can lower the price in 6-12 months, and be able to take a lower cut once on the MFG store. I see this upgrade at 30$ damper kit + 30$ combat pedals, max. That's where I think almost ALL customers would go for it. I would agree to that price in a heartbeat, but I have many, many other projects in the pipeline so I can afford to not care if this one had a small profit margin. Other manufacturers who only make 1 product want to maximize their profit on that product. I will push to get the complete combined kit as close to the 60$ range but it will take months of negotiating and convincing.

I'm not sure if there is a misunderstanding here. This is a collaboration between me and Milan of MFG. The damper kit you bought, I gave it to MFG. And I will also give him the combat pedals so he can sell them directly from his web shop.

Unfortunately, there would have always been those buyers who bought just before the release, no matter what time he choose to do so. If you want to get a better deal for the same shipping now, you can take a look at my MFG mods: It's the same thing (I designed it, he sells it), plus a few more items, but minus the actual damper which you get off Amazon, so : 1) damper mounting kit 2) brake shocks mounting kit 3) brake force adjusters 4) axis spring tension wheel 5) Combat US style foot rests If we reach a deal, this package will also be available directly from MFG webshop later on.

Final design turned out great. My damper mounting design already implemented by MFG on all new V3 pedals directly from his store. Combat pedals might also be available directly from MFG in the future. First review of the mod, a few more still to come: Get it in the 'for sale' section of the forum:

First review is out, a few more still to come: Get it at: https://www.replikagear.com/ A copy of my standalone damper kit is also available on MFG website. In a few months, combat pedals might be too.

For those that still prefer OpenTrack head-tracking over VR, I made a military style case for the PS3 Eye camera: I'll make the same thing for TrackIR, and a wireless IR tracker to go along with this one. It's available on my website: https://www.replikagear.com/

Building a new website, it's starting to look presentable. You can check out the MFG mods and other stuff at: https://www.replikagear.com/

I hate keeping my badass looking grips hidden away in a drawer. So I made myself some badass grip stands. Body is solid aluminum, they weigh 125g keeping the grips steady upright. Rubber feet on the bottom. Compatible with Warthog, Virpil, Vkb and (soon) Winwing. If you have more than 1 grip and could use these yourself, I've put them up for sale on my website: https://www.replikagear.com/

Yes that's the correct damper. 35$ is the standard price outside Aliexpress. For the brake shocks, only if you want that extra bit smoothness. Not a huge improvement over stock brakes. 20% maybe, while combat pedals and axis damper are a 100% improvement. You also have to fill the shocks with oil. So, brake shocks only for those that want every last bit of performance out of their MFGs, and don't mind the $$ and the work.

Thanks for the feedback. As a sim pilot first, and manufacturer second, I look for both good and bad. The only goal here is improving our hobby. Yes, if you can, put the seat to it's lowest position and as far back as you can. To have your feet as horizontal as possible. That is how you sit in a real plane. Like a race car, or formula F1. And also have the combat pedals as vertical as you can. Of course depending on your seat and table, you might not be able to get 100% vertical pedals, or 100% low seat, so just try to get as close to it as you can. That's why they are adjustable. Yes. There are oils specifically for these RC dampers, but any thick machine oil will do. I will put car engine oil in mine. BUT, do not expect miracles with the brake shocks. I only put the option in because I could, why not. But it's only going to be a 10% or 20% improvement for brakes. The combat pedals, and main axis damper are the real deal here. For me combat pedals improved my MFGs by 100%. And the main axis damper even better, 200% for me. I don't even want to fly anymore if controls don't have that hydraulic damping feel. I had several customers who only fly Bf-109 with German style rudder foot rests, so they only wanted to buy the axis damper kit, no US style combat pedals. But I sent them the full package, and challenged them to put them on and prove me wrong. All of them now fly with my US style combat pedals. That is because, even in German planes, the rudder foot rests are vertical, and Bf-109 seat is so low, almost like you are in a F1 formula car. This "shoe-style" foot rest that is on stock MFGs where you swing your entire legs front-back does not exist in any real aircraft, US nor German. And is just horrible for precision. If you don't have the main axis damper yet, put it on, you will not regret it. (you might have to get a free replacement bracket for the main axis damper from me, because some of the first customers received the wrong one, that can be over-tightened to where the damper cannot freely move. In that case, a quick email and replacement will be on the way) Yes, and absolute must, if you want to be able to sit low and far back, for best precision and control.

I am also on the forums 24/7 if you need further assistance.

Thanks. Yes, I landed on black only. The pedals themselves are black or grey, and my testers were ordering 90% black. So to keep the cost as low as possible, and things as simple as possible for me to be able to make these in the hundreds, I kept it black only.

Many of us will experiment with different oils. I think the even the cheapest car engine oil will work ok. You just want a little damping, that's all. Don't over-think the brake shocks, because the combat foot rests are a 100% upgrade. Main axis damper is another 100% upgrade. And the little brake shocks are maybe a 20% upgrade, plus you only use them while ground taxiing. So the focus should be on the first two, they are the stars of this package. I was going to finish a youtube video guide last weekend, but got buried with orders, so I'll finish it this weekend.

He's busy with manufacturing problems so hasn't had time to for a photo-shoot or to update his webshop. I've been bugging him for a year to let me take new photos and update his webshop, but it's the classic "noo, I'll do it myself". You should all send him angry emails saying, I demand hegykc takes new V3 MFG photos and updates the webshop!

MFG is from the same country as me. So we copied my damper solution onto his MFG V3 rudder pedals. So the newest version comes damper-compatible as stock.

Yes exactly: "springiness", "boing", "weight" or "smoothness". All addressing the same thing. Like playing Call Of Duty on a gamepad Vs aiming with a real 10lbs loaded AR-15. The weight of the gun dampens your movement, you can't instantly throw around a 10lbs gun across your entire field of view. It takes a certain time and effort. Don't know about modding anymore other company's products. I could have designed my own pedals by now from ground up (I'm not saying I didn't, wink wink.) This can further explain it. My base has dampers, not hydraulic ones but exactly the same effect. Compared to a Virpil non-dampened base. Same force (4lbs), same range, same length etc. Yet they are worlds apart just by implementing a simple damping effect. This is what damper does, and this is how it is in every real plane, regardless of type or age. Due to physics:

There is still weight, even in fly-by-wire modern jets. Because we are talking literately about physical weight. Imagine playing a GYM simulator right? You would be picking up 100 lbs dumbbell weights with your joystick. How realistic is that? Now imagine installing that damper on the joystick and then simulating picking up weights. See what I mean. Doesn't matter what plane, what speed. You could be cold-and-dark, parked on the ground, you are still moving maybe 50lbs with your rudders on a Cessna, or 200lbs of metal in a modern jet. That's what I was after, I want to feel like I'm in a plane. Not like I'm playing MSFS2020 with a gamepad. Now, a side affect of the damper is that aiming is quite more controllable because it is easier to hold position with a damper, and it is harder to over-correct in a dogfight or ground attack. This is most noticeable on WWII planes where there are zero autopilot/auto-aim systems to help you.

Spring must stay on. Damper is only to smooth out the movement and provide weight. That's how it is on a real plane, imagine moving 300 lbs of metal cables and rods with your feet. You can't do it instantly fast like on MFG rudders. Yes damper is WAY TOO STIFF out of the box, just turn the little gear knob to the LOWEST setting, try it out... increase... try it out... increase... until you like the way it is. I have mine at about 30%. I've had about 10 people try out the damper, including me. Not a single one would ever fly without it again. MFG already copied my design and now offers dampers on V3 pedals as stock option. The knob wheel is just an easier way to adjust spring force. And a visual upgrade. I hated that rod sticking out.

Thanks, forgot to link the thread You can see they started as more realistic looking, imitating real life F-16, F-18 and F-14 pedals, as suggested by the testers themselves: BUT, something you don't really consider with F-16, F-18, F-14 designs until you get to use them. Then problems of the realistic looking 1:1 designs become painfully apparent: 1) About 75% of my testers reported toes falling into the F-16, F-18, F-14 cut-outs. (Real pilots wear heavy boots, not socks or bare skin) 2) Then another 30-50% reported flying barefoot so their feet get scratched up on the edges around the F-16, F-18, F-14 cut-outs. 3) Then you can't have height adjustment holes (as you can see final version has 12 adjustment bolt holes) because of the cut-outs. So another 50% reported those realistic looking pedals sit too high, and their knees hit the table when braking. 4) Further on, the realistic pedals are very vertical so you push forward when braking, and with stock brake spring strength, MFGs slide on the floor, or tilt to one side. In the end, the realistic looking designs were way more troublesome then they were worth in eye-candy. They worked for 10% of people with simpits, and were troublesome for 90% of people flying on dekstops. So we ended up with plain solid pedals, highly modular, that everyone can set up to their liking. Wide or narrow, high or low, vertical or horizontal. New brake force adjusters with 10% - 100% brake force adjustability. These are my personal unit, and while I can make myself any F-14, F-16, F-18 design I desire in 1:1, they were just too much of a hassle to use, so I ended up using the same, plain solid ones everyone else gets, just in special color combo

Thanks guys. There is a thread on the forum, with development progress over the last 6 months. Myself and about 30 forum testers hit many dead ends searching for the best solution, until we narrowed it down to what worked best. Me and Milan, the owner of MFG are good friends from the same small country. I'm trying to convince him he should have these injection molded and offered as stock option. We managed to implement damper mounts as stock, on his V3 pedals. But he is very busy making rudder pedals due to the current spike in demand. Until then, these will do. Funny thing is among my 30 testers, I was the one saying this is not a good idea, it'll never work like it should. But now, I would never ever go back to no-damper and German style WWII pedals. These are just so much more precise. I will sent out emails with tracking number to each of your paypal addresses.