Thrustmaster T-LCM Review Follow Up 12bit VS 16Bit

thrustmaster fanboys or any fanboys out there that they feel the need to commend and try to defend companies are 🤡🤡

Did you not see the driver error code on the device manager even though it doesnt effect the peddles but its the elephant in the room i cant stand issues showing on my device manager

If there really was people saying such things it sickens me...
BTW as I said on last video , mine work on my TS XW base

You look like you're losing bulk mate! Turn them FF settings up :p
On topic, kinda- I'm using a messed up kit atm. Thrustmaster ts xw, thrustmaster gearstick, fanatec v3 pedals and some cheap ass handbrake and it all uses 4 USB ports. Never understood why thrustmaster can't use their wheel base to atleast use the stick with.
Can't wait for the simucube to finally arrive :D

For what it's worth, as someone who refuses to pay top tier retail prices for this stuff...You're reviews are incredibly valuable.

i think those one are broken cause mine was literally just plug and play

While I suspect that going from 12-16 bit resolution in and of itself isn't a big deal, I was greatly surprised at how much more control I have with the T-LCM throttle (USB-connected to a PC) compared to the G920 pedals. I expected the brake to be better, and it certainly is, but the improvement in the throttle was a pleasant surprise. Resolution may be part of it, but I imagine that the Hall Effect sensors and better mechanical quality are more important.

Regarding metal vs. plastic, a plastic thing correctly designed for the expected load isn't inherently better than metal. Time will tell whether the T-LCMs are appropriately designed. I do suspect that the reason that high-end sim racing gear is so expensive is at least partly because it's over-designed relative to the actual forces involved. (Yeah, it all looks great, I get that.)

I'm very happy with my T-LCM pedals. I'm in the US and got them for $200 from Amazon vs. the $360 (USD) the Fanatec Clubsport V3 pedals would have cost me. The TM cost included shipping with free return while I would have had to pay Fantec another $22 for shipping with no guaranteed return if I just didn't care for the Clubsports.

As always, I enjoy your videos, thanks for putting them out.

Don't you just hate it when something should work and it doesn't. A comment on the 16bit comparison. So I thought the t300 was 10bit for the pedals, not well advertised spec but did find a website quoting. spookily just been looking for this as I am doing a DIY load cell mod for the t3pa pedals. So 10 bit is 1024 steps and as you said 16bit is 65532 steps. However the load cell I believe on the t-lcm is 100kg so it has to be devided between 0 and 100kg if my maths is correct, after a whisky or two, for 10bit that give a resolution of 97 grams per step and for a 16bit 1.5 grams per step. The reality is most people will calibrate at less than 50kg, try putting bathroom scales against a wall and press 50kg, it's harder than you think. So at 50 kg you have 33,333 steps for 16bit and 515 steps for 10bit. For 12bit it would be 2048 steps. I feel 2048 steps is enough as is 515. If you were only pressing at 20kg that would only give 206 steps, probably boarderline. Would be interested in confirming what the bit depth is for the pedals on the t300, which I think is the same spec as yours.

I kind of have the opposite problem. Mine work in the wheelbase (TS-XW) just fine but when I plug it in USB (tried different ones) they work but I have to unplug/replug them a lot as they stop working quite frequently.

Just means it's an honest review. It's a good thing :p

Very interesting video Carl. I’ve just bought a T300 RS GT, and was thinking of upgrading to these peddles soon. I’m off to watch your initial review video 👍🏻

Great work Karl. The way you explain technical information is just superb. You are a natural teacher.

To end the "resolution war", let's just all accept the fact, that Heusinkvelds, that are a wet dream of most of the simracers, use 12-bit resolution... Case closed. :P

Hello Karl,
I had similar issue and turned out that it was a peripheral issue, once plugged in, things didn’t work as expected.
If you have everything unplugged and your pedals are still not registering, i suggest trying them on another pc which has a fresh installation of windows and no other peripheral drivers installed.
Might be drivers conflict due to different peripherals installed having some files overlap or conflicting.
Also a software might also cause hardware failures.
Great reviews as always, keep up the good work.
Cheers 🍻

Karl, you need to update the firmware!






😄 😁 😆 😅 😂

I wonder if Thrustmaster do need to offer some kind of firmware or driver support for the T-LCM Pedals, because on the latest version of Windows 10 currently on my PC, Windows keeps telling me that "The drivers for this device are not installed. (Code 28)" in reference to the Pedals. So irrespective of what Thrustmaster are saying that these pedals need no firmware or need no drivers. It seems latest versions of Windows are saying that in fact it does require some drivers.

Also in regards to connecting the pedals directly to the wheelbase rather then to the PC via USB, are people having issues remembering to change the pedal mode on their wheelbase to LCM Mode from the T3PA mode that they are set to by default. I also know on Thrustmaster support site that it says once you have changed pedal mode on the wheelbase it is saved. I'm finding on my brand new T-GT wheel I got a couple of weeks ago, that I must set the pedal mode each time I turn the wheel on and plug it in. It's definitely not saving the setting for the last pedal set connected for me. Trying to operate the T-LCM Pedals with the wheelbase in T3PA Mode will definitely give the issues you mentioned in the video where people are seeing brake/accelerator pedals being recognised incorrectly or pedals not being recognised at all.

Any review not using the scientific method is a press release...
If the results experienced by the reviewer are not what's expected, failing to report this reflects far worse on the reviewer than the product and it's failure..
If you can resolve the issue great, your review will help people with the same or similar issue..
If you can't resolve it quickly then people might reconsider the product..
I have a friend with the T-LCM's and whilst he's had no issues whatsoever the concerns expressed by yourself and other reviewers about plastic support parts subject to repeated stress by metal components is the main reason I've not bought a set myself.
Given the price difference between the T-LCM's and the CSL Elite LC bundle both were up for debate, Fanatec releasing the CSL DD has swayed my decision and I'm glad I've held off.
Thanks to the largely positive reviews by yourself and others with the integrity to be HONEST has saved me potential buyers remorse in the very near future..
Good job Karl. Stumbled on your channel by pure chance. Keep your integrity above all else, THAT is why people watch and more importantly come back for more. Subbed :)

Thanks for the review, just installed mine last week and find they a big improvement over my old thrustmaster non load cell pro set.. mine are plugged into a usb socket, (not tried plugging them into my t300 wheel)

Attach your wheel to your electric toothbrush with the latest firmware.

You tell e‘m....put your foot down ! 🤪😂

Dont let these internet bullies back you into a corner. Lol they got you on the defensive. They are just trolls. If your Windows install is fresh then what other Joysticks apps do you have installed? Things like vjoy for irffb or joytokey could be a potential culprit. For example if the wheelbase is expecting a certain slot for the pedals in the drivers but maybe another controller of some type is taking up the slot. Windows is weird like that. If you have joytokey you maybe can see where its "slotted" in the controller numbers and try to disconnect every thing else or disable any virtual joysticks that could take up that slot.

I don't agree with the plastic thing as a criticism though. I have never in 20 years ever bought a piece of gear that had issues because it was plastic. Thats like a holdover from the 80s or 90s where products really did have vast differences in quality. Its modern plastic dude its not playdoh. cmon now. Thats like an old british person type thought lol. metal = quality and plastic = junk. Its not that simple, and theres lots of quality plastics and finishes. Outside of manufacturing realities and weight its just kind of outdated of a notion. Metal when it doesn't need to be can actually come across as a bit tacky actually. Would you use a metal xbox controller too? Metal mouse and keyboard? You really think that giant hunk of materials is really gonna bend like a damn recursive bow or what? lol.

Are you using male or female grunge splanges? I suspect you are using righthanded felchsprockets when you should be using lefthanded arsebiscuits. It's not Thrustmaster's fault that you have arcing on the flanges because you have not bothered to keep your turgidware up to required standards.

Interesting it didn't work for you. The T-LCM's worked fine for me both as standalone USB and through the wheelbase on PC.

Personally I have a bit of a flipped perspective I think. I don't see it as console users having the ability of plugging everything through the wheel base and only using one usb cable. More that it's a restriction/requirement that console users go through the wheelbase and use just one USB cable.

Consoles have official peripheral licensing, limited input configs, security chips/certifications, and numerous other things standing in the way of using individual USB devices like is often done on PC. Both Xbox and PC have added limited HID Keyboard/Mouse support but it seems they're not ready to allow true full plug and play USB support. Possibly because they have companies paying quite a bit for official licensing/support?

To me convenience is the only real reason to have things plugged into the wheelbase on PC. Say if a user's setup is at a desk or table that they also use for something else. It's quite convenient only having to run 1 USB to a PC. But this can generally be helped with a cheap USB Hub. So even not having very many USB ports isn't much of an issue.

From my perspective it's of great benefit on PC to be able to use individual USB devices. It means you can mix and match brands and types of devices. Thrustmaster pedals with Fanatect/Logitech Wheelbase. Boutique handbrake/shifter with Thrustmaster base. Boutique wheel rim with any brand wheel base. Not possible on console without a Drivehub or GIMX which just emulates a G29 in the end.

Also enhanced functionality like deadzones brake force and others are usually much easier to implement with individual USB devices than everything going through the wheel base. With the T-LCM pedals you have to set the deadzones and brake force with the wheel plugged in as USB using the special app just for the pedals.

Karl, which Thrustmaster wheel do you have? If you have the Thrustmaster T300 or T150, you have to have the PS3/PS4 switch in the PS3 position in order for the PC to fully recognize the wheel and pedals.

I like your honest viewpoint Karl. Hopefully you get to the bottom of it. I find some issues with having my TH8A plugged into the wheel base on console - on GT Sport it will randomly take input from the shifter when using the flappy paddles and change your gear. It's fine through USB to the console.

My T-LCMs recently broke and I only bought them 7 months ago, but one of the plastic pieces inside broke and the brake pedal as a result also broke in dramatic fashion due to the loaded springs. I've since acquired Fanatec CSL loadcell pedals and the difference is day and night.

bummer would love to see you get it working mine was plug and play and I have to say I love them, that being said I have never tried any other load cell pedals.

Great videos Karl.I use my T-LCM pedals with my TS-PC wheel on pc and PS4. In both cases I can use the pedals separately via usb or plugged into the wheel via rj11, they all work very well with no discernable (to me) difference between 12bit and 16bit. To use the TS-PC on PS4 I use a drive hub (great device) but whether I use usb or rj11 it all works very well. I would only add that the first time I used the pedals via rj11 on the PS4 (using the drive hub) the wheel did not respond at all or even power on. I reinserted the rj11 cable into the pedals making sure it was pressed fully home even though I thought it was first time and then the wheel powered on and everything just worked.
I'm sure you have checked all your connections but that was my experience anyway.
As I said great videos and hope you can sort it.

Do you still have Oculus software installed as latest software has caused issues on a friend DD wheel and caused issues on my Quest charging which he solved using a powered USB hub so something Oculus are doing is effecting USB maybe could be your issue too. Was your hub powered?

I think having the app on your PC is causing it to look for usb connected pedals. I plugged mine directly into my T300 first and they worked fine, then I went to usb and they worked fine through the app. Ive never tried going back. Try uninstalling the software.

From the Thrustmaster website "The only software required is the calibration software available in the Software section." Pay attention to the word "required", did you install that?

As for your comparison of the steps in resolution, talking about distance does not apply to the brake however I do think you are still correct in saying you don't need more than 12bit. BUT it should be pointed out that the brake is not measured in distance but in force and 100kg divided by 4096 is 24 grams per step which could result in a 12 gram error if you were between steps. I can't see how that would be an issue but what you said about distance actually has no relevance to the brake so it is worth pointing out as the brake is the real pedal of interest.
As for that brake, it is the reason the T-LCM pedals IMO are the best buy on the market. If you pay attention to the design you may notice the lever length has been designed so that the pressure applied to the load cell relates to the center of the pedal face and this is significant because it is the only consumer sim racing load cell brake on the market that does this and this particular design has the potential to be far more accurate for the average driver than any other brake pedal on the market at any price. The reason for this is all other load cell brakes use a lever design and this means the in game pressure response will vary a significant amount relative to pressure applied based on foot position. This means the only way to get consistent brake pressure response with any other pedal on the market is to master always pressing your pedal in the exact same position. And if you think about that it should become clear why pros complain that motion rigs hurts their braking consistency. What Thrustmaster have done with their design is create a brake pedal with the least variation possible based on foot position for the most consistent brake design possible. Eventually other manufacturers will wake up and address this flaw in their designs but for now just because of this issue the Thrustmaster T-LCM brake is the best LC brake on the market. Combined with hall effect Throttle and clutch at the price makes it a great pedal set but it would be better if the pedals had more travel.

Karl, could you compare brake feel, movement and force range to the fanatec V3? I'm trying to decide between those two sets.

Who knows why Thrustmaster does what they do. Did you know that if you have the Ferrari f1 rim on a wheelbase connected to a PS4 you can only have 17 programable functions and on the PC you can have 27! I don't know why they can't just make it be the same across all platforms. You know what could be a fun a video, setup two stations one with the pedals connected through RJ and the other USB. Get a few friends in to do a blind test and see if they can determine which is 12bit and which is 16bit :)

I have a TSPC-XW and i play only on the PC. I plugged the TLCM pedals directly to the wheel base, then plugged the usb from the base on the pc and last updated the firmware. It works fine whitout any issues. I think if you first install the pedal calibration tool to use them as a stand alone device, it might causes a bug wen you then plugged directly to the wheel base.

I love my T-LCM pedals, BUT, I have to use a USB port because my ANCIENT T500RS isn't supported, my TH8 RS Shifter is also plugged into a USB port and used as an analogue handbrake.

I have a TS XW for my xbox it is pretty much plug and play. That is not to say I have had some problems It seems to lose the connection to the xbox series x at times or vice cersa When that happens i cannot even pair a regulat controller to the xbox. I have to shut down the xbox by pressing the xbox guide button on the front of the unit untill it powers down then when i restart the xbox the wheel will connect It is kinda pain in the ass I wonder if anyone else experiences this issue Pleease let me know if you do Thx

OK so I might know what's wrong with your pedal/wheel connection. As I bought them yesterday and paired them to my T150RS. First download the latest drivers, in my case the drivers were old and trying to update the firmware from the driver didn't update to the latest version (35), rather to version (20) instead. I had to uninstall the old drivers from 2020 and install the 2021 package first, reboot and then update the firmware. Everything worked like a charm after that ^^
P.s. to use the pedal calibration software, the pedals must be connected to the PC via USB directly, after saving the settings, you can then use them with the wheelbase.
Hope that helps someone else.

Going from my stock Logitech pedals to Thrustmaster T-LCMs, the only way I ever saw the difference between resolution was by staring at the pedals app in Assetto Corsa. Yes, 16 bit does look a bit smoother but for driving purposes I don't believe it's any better, just unnecessary. And as someone else said, Heusinkveld pedals use 12 bit I'm pretty sure. Once you're at 12 bit, the only thing that will make a difference in your performance is having a loadcell and a set of pedals that YOU are comfortable with. Comfortable pedals are gonna be the ones you're fast with.

Most people can not tell the difference, i just plug pedals into TS head unit and use 1 USB on computer. Only use pedal USB for calibration.

Hi Karl,

According to most sites and Amazon, these TLCM pedals are only compatible with PC via USB and not connected via the wheelbase.

So you are correct.

Cheers for the honest reviews, ive been watching all your vids and have bought a ts-xw to start sim racing my self.

Keep up the good work!! ;-)

I know this comment is late to when this video was posted but I'm new to sim racing and have the T-LCM pedals also. I first connected them to usb to calibrate and it went fine. I then connected the RJ-12 to the base ( with the usb disconnected ), and everything worked fine. The next day, after watching some videos about the difference between 12 bit and 16 bit, I decided to just connect through usb. When I tried to re-calibrate again, the pedals were not recognized by the software no matter where or how many times I plugged in the usb. You could hear the sound windows makes for recognizing a usb device but they just didn't work. Finally, after a couple hours of messing around, I remembered from Barry's review, there is an Led light on the back of the base and it wasn't on. That's when I saw the reset button next to the usb connector. Sure enough, after pushing the button and unplugging and plugging the usb cable back in, the light was on and the software worked fine. There is absolutely NO mention of the LED light or the RESET switch in the T-LCM Pedal manual!! I believe this is where everyone is having problems solving their connection issues. Anyway, that's just my experience. Thanks for you're videos, I'm a new sub!

I bought these pedals, because I have a TS-PC wheelbase ut I'm on PC only. Maybe someday, Thrustmaster will update the firmware to allow their pedals passthrough their wheelbases for PC gaming also. I use a NLR GT-Lite cockpit so it be handy enough, if the pedals aren't too heavy nor the pedals too stiff to use, so that the cockpit doesn't start to bend.

Are these pedals load cell when plugged directly into a PC? or is it only through the the Thrustmaster servo base?

Thanks for the great videos.

Just recently bought the TS-XW base+Sparco P310 and finally the T-LCM pedals to replace my TMX Pro I bought 2nd hand a couple of years ago. I have a GT Omega Apex wheel stand.

Maybe it's something that happened in a more recent firmware currently ver 8.00, but my pedals work with the RJ12 plugged into the base even thought the Thrustmaster shop page still says:

"Compatible with PC (via USB) in Windows 10/8/7 with all racing wheels on the market. In PC games (using the USB cable), the resolution of the T-LCM Pedals is 16 bits per pedal. Compatible with the PS4 and Xbox One consoles with the Thrustmaster T-GT, T300, T150, TS-XW, TX and TMX racing wheels. In PS4 and Xbox One games (using the RJ12 cable), the resolution of the T-LCM Pedals is 12 bits per pedal."

🎉