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The FATBLACKCAT PurrPro Formula pedals are some of the most unusual high-end sim racing pedals currently available. Designed in Poland by a former Formula 1 engineer, they combine hydraulic damping, a three-stage brake mechanism, active heel rests, integrated haptics, and a huge amount of mechanical adjustability.
They are also firmly positioned at the premium end of the market. At around €1,100, or roughly $1,250, the PurrPro Formula pedals are competing against some seriously capable hardware, including increasingly popular active pedal systems. Their approach, however, remains primarily mechanical, with a lot of clever engineering used to give you control over exactly how the throttle and brake behave.
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The pedals use anodized aluminum for the main structural components, carbon fiber for the pedal faces and heel rests, and ball bearings throughout the pivot points. The result is a heavy, extremely solid pedal set with very little unwanted movement.
Included in the package are the throttle and brake, mounting hardware, several additional springs, magnetic grip plates for the pedal faces, a braided USB cable, and the power supplies required for the haptic motors. A physical manual is not included, with FATBLACKCAT instead providing a digital version through a QR code.
There are a couple of less premium details, particularly the plastic covers around the haptic motors and some of the adjustment knobs. Overall, though, the construction is very much in line with what you would expect at this price.
The throttle uses a one-way hydraulic damper with nine adjustment levels. Increasing the setting adds resistance as you press the throttle, smoothing your inputs and making it easier to progressively apply power.
The one-way design is important. The damper only controls the movement as you press down, so when you lift your foot, the pedal can return quickly without the hydraulic system slowing it down. That gives you a smoother throttle application without making the release feel lazy.
There is up to 91 mm of pedal travel, although an adjustable end stop allows this to be reduced. Spring resistance, spring position, preload, pedal angle, mounting angle, and haptic intensity can all be changed as well. Even at its lightest standard configuration, the throttle is still relatively firm, with a softer spring available separately for anyone who prefers less resistance.
One of the most distinctive features of the PurrPro Formula pedals is the active heel rest. Rather than keeping your heel planted against a stationary pedal deck, the heel platform physically moves with your foot as you press the pedal.
This allows your foot and ankle to follow the natural arc of the pedal without your heel constantly sliding against a fixed surface. It sounds like a relatively small feature, but in use it makes the throttle movement feel noticeably smoother and more natural.
The heel-rest position can also be adjusted instead of moving the pedal face itself. This effectively lets you alter where your foot sits relative to the pedal while maintaining the moving mechanism.
The brake is where most of the engineering becomes apparent. FATBLACKCAT uses a three-stage braking mechanism, with each stage responsible for a different part of the pedal travel.
The first stage uses a small spring for roughly the initial five percent of movement. This is intended to recreate the initial sensation of the brake pads contacting the disc before meaningful braking pressure starts to build.
After that, two larger springs take over and provide most of the pedal resistance. Several different springs are included, allowing you to mix and match them depending on whether you want a softer brake with more travel or something considerably firmer.
Braking input is measured using a 200 kg load cell, providing far more capacity than most people are ever likely to need. The load cell also allows braking to be based primarily around applied pressure rather than pedal position.
The third stage acts as an adjustable end stop. You can determine where it begins engaging, allowing the pedal to become significantly firmer once you approach a chosen braking pressure. This can create a very obvious physical reference near maximum braking, which can make it easier to repeatedly find that limit.
The brake also uses two independent one-way hydraulic dampers. One controls the pedal while pressure is being applied, while the other controls how quickly the pedal returns when pressure is released.
Being able to tune these independently gives you a lot of control. You could have a relatively fast pedal while initially applying the brakes, then add more damping on the return so that releasing pressure becomes slower and smoother.
That second damper is particularly useful for trail braking. Instead of the pedal immediately springing back against your foot, the return can be slowed enough to make gradually bleeding away brake pressure easier to control.
Combine that with the interchangeable springs and adjustable third stage, and there is an unusually large amount of mechanical control over the final brake feel.
Both pedals also have integrated haptic motors. Through telemetry, these can reproduce effects including ABS activation, traction control, wheel lock, and wheel slip directly through the pedals.
The haptics are not especially aggressive, but they are relatively quiet and provide enough detail to add another useful layer of feedback. For effects such as ABS, having the vibration directly underneath your foot also makes far more sense than relying entirely on the steering wheel.
The downside is cabling. Each pedal uses its own power adapter for the haptic system, meaning the setup requires more cables and power connections than would ideally be necessary.
FATBLACKCAT provides its own PurrOS software for calibration, pedal curves, and general configuration. More advanced haptic effects can also be configured through SimHub.
This gives you software adjustment alongside all of the physical tuning available on the pedals themselves. The PurrPro Formula system remains much more mechanically focused than a fully active pedal, but there is still plenty of room to fine-tune how input and feedback are handled.
These pedals are clearly aimed at someone building a serious GT or formula simulator. There is currently no clutch pedal, and the price puts them well beyond what most casual sim racers will realistically need.
The appeal becomes stronger if you prefer traditional mechanical pedals but still want almost ridiculous levels of adjustability. Once you find a configuration that works, the combination of springs, hydraulic damping, the three-stage brake, active heel rests, and haptics gives you a huge amount of control without requiring the motors and software systems used by active pedals.
The FATBLACKCAT PurrPro Formula pedals take passive sim racing pedals about as far as you could reasonably expect. The 200 kg load cell, independent hydraulic dampers, active heel rests, three-stage brake, integrated haptics, and extensive mechanical adjustment make them one of the most technically interesting pedal sets currently available.
They are expensive, complicated, and focused specifically on GT and formula driving, so they will not make sense for everyone. Fully active pedals also provide easier adjustment and even more control through software.
For someone who prefers the feel and simplicity of a mechanically driven pedal system, however, there is a lot to like here. The PurrPro Formula pedals show that even with active systems becoming more common, there is still plenty of room left for traditional sim racing pedals to get better.
