In virtually every field where innovation is part of the evolution of an industry, we have players who have been in the game for a very long time. Take cars, for example: Ford is a brand that has been around for over 100 years, and still manages to innovate with new technologies.

For sim-racing, it’s the same thing. Well, I have to admit that this field isn’t as old as the car industry, but some players have been around for at least twenty years. The simplest example is undoubtedly the Logitech and Thrustmaster which emerged in the 80s and 90s respectively. Another example is Fanatec, which I consider to be by far the best brand currently available, or even a manufacturer of sim-racing cockpits that came into being during the same period. Playseat. However, mastery of a field doesn’t necessarily mean many years of experience, and that goes for all industries. It’s true that you’ll have problems at the beginning, just like everyone else. But if you have a certain knowledge and expertise in engineering, you’ll be able to get past any obstacle that stands in your way.

Speaking of companies that don’t have much experience in the game, we have one in France that makes quality sim-racing products. It’s called NSH Racing, and I’m going to zoom in on a brand you probably don’t know.

The NSH Racing product range

Let’s get to the heart of the matter: what sim-racing products does NSH Racing offer the general public? Well, in addition to custom solutions, NSH Racing’s catalog includes cranksets, dashboards, “steering wheels” (which are really just wheels from other brands with NSH’s central hub), a shifter, a handbrake and a few other control and telemetry products. It might not sound like much, but it’s enough to do professional-level sim-racing, believe me. Let’s take a closer look at these products.

The Sport crankset

NSH Racing’s Sport crankset is the first catalog entry for this type of sim-racing device. In all, there are 3 cranksets: the Sport, the Pro and theUltimate. The Sport’s design is rather unique, with a black dress and several different-colored parts. There’s red, purple, yellow and blue, plus a few gray parts. At first glance, you’d think this crankset had been made by a do-it-yourselfer using an amalgam of different parts. In absolute terms, it’s still beautiful, but the wires everywhere give the impression of a product still in the prototype stage.

When it comes to technology, we’re clearly on the premium side. The Sport features 3 pedals, including a hydraulic brake. Yes, you read that right: the brake pedal is hydraulic. As for the gas pedal and clutch, you’ve got a spring-loaded system with magnetic sensors that allow near-instantaneous reading of the rider’s inputs. It’s heavy stuff, believe me.

The brake pedal and its hydraulic system absorb no less than 70 bar of pressure under your foot, and without the need for an end stop. The sensations are ultra-realistic in every way. The slightest interaction with the brake pedal will immediately cause the car you’re driving to brake, just like in real life. However, all this comes at a price. The Sport retails for €1060 on the NSH Racing website, and is only compatible with Simucube bases or USB for PC. Ultimate performance comes at a price these days, and this is just the entry-level pedalboard from NSH.

The Pro crankset

A notch above the Sport, we have the Pro, which represents the mid-range of NSH cranksets. Design-wise, it’s already better-looking than its little brother as far as I’m concerned. It’s a Doppler crankset, of the floor-mount type, which is quite common in motor racing. The Pro’s colors are more subtle than those of the Sport, with black for virtually the entire crankset and a few red, yellow and blue accents here and there.

As with the Sport, the Pro features 3 pedals, 2 of them hydraulic this time. These are the brake pedal, of course, and the clutch pedal for shifter fans. The brake pedal has 2 master cylinders and the clutch only 1. As for the gas pedal, it’s a magnetic sensor that records all your inputs.

Now for the feel. Even though the Pro has 2 master cylinders for the brake pedal, the maximum pressure is still 70 bar, with no limit stop, of course. However, the feel is vastly different from that of its little brother. Braking is much more communicative, with more precise metering and better overall feel. It’s as if you’d shaved a few kilos off your car: performance is basically the same, but feel is much more precise and, above all, better.

For the price of this pedalboard, you can expect to pay almost €1,500, with USB compatibility with Simucube and PC bases. It’s still a very premium product, but the quality is clearly there.

Ultimate crankset

Here we have the big boss of NSH Racing cranksets, the Simpedals Ultimate. The Ultimate’s design is slimmer and, in my opinion, more beautiful than that of its two brothers. We’re still on a Doppler crankset, a floor-mount type, as on the Pro, and that’s normal too. As for the colors, we have red, yellow and blue parts, with a kind of gray all over the crankset. It’s really nice, but I’d have liked to have more sober colors for certain parts.

This device is available in two versions: 2 or 3 pedals. The brake pedal has 2 master cylinders and the clutch only one, if you take it. The difference between the Ultimate and its two little brothers is that the bottle containing the brake fluid is transparent, as opposed to black for the others. It’s a detail that adds a touch of realism as far as I’m concerned.

In terms of feel, the hardware is the same: the brake can handle 70 bar of pressure, as with the Pro, even though it has 2 master cylinders. The clutch comes with just 1 master cylinder, and the throttle is a magnetic sensor. In terms of feel, it’s more or less the same as the Pro, but with much better build quality and a much more robust feel than the others. This crankset is designed to take a lot of abuse without flinching.

As for price, expect to pay €2,000 for the 2-pedal version, and €2,450 for the extra^3rd pedal. It’s expensive, of course, but it’s also for competitions and racing drivers. So…

Steering wheel hubs

That’s why NSH Racing offers a range of hubs for commercially available steering wheels. Instead of developing its own steering wheels, NSH has chosen to create hubs that are compatible with steering wheels already available on the market. This enables the French company to save on R&D and reach a wider segment of racers.

NSH’s hubs are more or less the same in terms of design, with the only differences being in the way they are mounted on the steering wheel. If you haven’t already figured it out, you’ve got 1 single hub in different versions, depending on how the steering wheel is mounted. The construction is aluminum and carbon fiber, with only 2 paddles on these products. It’s not much for what you pay, and it’ll penalize your setup too in terms of controls. Pricing starts at €500 (hub only) and ends at €773, including the steering wheel.

Hydraulic handbrake and shifter

NSH Racing offers a hydraulic handbrake as part of its range of sim-racing peripherals, and it’s a really nice one. The design is simple, with black for the bracket and handle, and grey for the master cylinder. The handle has a foam pad and that’s it, which is a bit cheap on NSH’s part, especially given the price. On the other hand, you’re well served in terms of feel. It’s very realistic and precise, especially for rally and drift fans. This little gem costs between €300 and €380, depending on your setup.

NSH’s shifter is an improved version of the SRT Lebois Racing with NSH Racing flair. The SimGear is H-pattern and sequential, like virtually every other shifter on the market, but features an eClutch that locks the gearshift if you forget to use the clutch pedal. What’s more, unlike the SRT Lebois Racing, the SimGear allows you to adjust the feel of the shifter, with different parts to change. The price is high: NSH’s shifter retails for €800.

Other NSH products

NSH Racing also markets other products, such as dashboards and consoles, and custom rigs with sim-racing peripherals from well-known brands like Simucube and others. All in all, NSH’s range is pretty comprehensive, except perhaps for steering wheels, where the French manufacturer should think about making its own products.

NSH Racing: the story

Sim-racing fans will be familiar with names like Fanatec, Simucube, Playseat and Sim-Lab. These players are well known in the game and have a portfolio of customers that is both regular and demanding. When you consider the price of Simucube’s products, you expect the best.

NSH Racing, for Nico Sim Hardware, was founded in 2016 by a certain Nicolas Plançon. At the time, the spotlight was on Direct Drive bases. and above all on their price, which was slowly starting to come down. However, a DD base doesn’t make a rig, and Mr Plançon was well aware of this.

NSH Racing specializes in the manufacture of customer- and competition-specific rigs and custom products. In fact, the French manufacturer’s first product was a dynamic chassis for a rider. Mr Plançon honored his order, and the customer was very satisfied. The company got off to a relatively quiet start, as did the number of custom orders.

NSH does not manufacture sim-racing peripherals per se. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of specific custom rigs, mainly for racing drivers. However, the work and orders were beginning to take their toll on Nicolas Plançon, and he could no longer keep up. So, in 2018, a new member joined NSH, an engineer named Julien Lenne. His job was rig design, development, prototyping and manufacturing.

NSH’s rise to fame and popularity came in 2020, during the COVID-19 global health crisis. Since the whole planet was stuck at home, we might as well make the most of our free time to do some sim-racing, right? And that’s how NSH Racing grew and made a name for itself in the game.

NSH Racing and its activities

As I said above, NSH Racing doesn’t really offer sim-racing peripherals for the general public. The company is more into customization, with complete rigs for professional drivers or hardcore sim-racers. But that’s not all. NSH Racing also offers solutions for driving schools, enabling candidates to drive in more or less real-life conditions.

As a result, NSH’s catalog includes complete rigs, dynamic or not, custom products for customers and simulation solutions for driving schools. But more recently, NSH’s catalog also includes sim-racing peripherals. For example, the French company offers steering wheels, shifters, handbrakes, and a few other products such as dahsboards and so on. As far as I’m concerned, it’s perfectly normal to offer this kind of peripheral, since NSH makes custom rigs, so it needs its own products to integrate into its creations. It wouldn’t be too professional if you had a custom product that was an amalgam of other peripherals from different brands.

NSH also operates in a rather atypical sector: rigs for driving schools. The French company develops and manufactures turnkey solutions, specifically designed to enable people to practice driving in more or less real-life conditions. Not being a specialist in this market or sector of activity, I have to admit that being able to adapt is essential for companies, even if it means totally diversifying their products. The sim-racing market is already very competitive at the moment, and it’s important to always be on the lookout for new customers to prosper.

What’s important to remember is that NSH is a rather unique company: it manufactures custom rigs for racers and sim-racers, offers some sim-racing peripherals and also works in collaboration with driving schools to provide them with driving simulation solutions. It’s not every day you see this in the sim-racing segment, but it’s always a good thing when you know that the company doing it is French and makes its products in France.

Should NSH Racing be considered?

Let me put it simply: if you’re a sim-racing fan, even a pro racer, I’m all for choosing another brand and buying their products. NSH Racing peripherals are expensive, and compatible with only a handful of products available on the market. But if you’re a racing driver looking for the ultimate thrill, the NSH Racing range is worth considering, whatever peripheral you pick up.

This French manufacturer still has some way to go to compete with the big names in sim-racing like Fanatec or Simucube for market share, but NSH Racing survives well on what it has. Admittedly, the turnover of this sim-racing peripherals manufacturer isn’t huge, but the passion is present in its products and in its team, and that’s the main thing as far as I’m concerned.

For me, if you have the means and are looking for the ultimate thrill, NSH Racing is a brand to consider.