Simucube 3 Pro review: 25Nm for $1,599, plus the Link Hub it needs to run

The Simucube 3 Pro makes 25 Nm on a 23-bit encoder and lists at $1,599 without a Simucube Link Hub. Simucube’s own product page says one hub is required to operate, so the base that runs in a rig with nothing else in it is the $1,699 option, $59 under the $1,599 base plus a $159 hub. One hub covers a whole rig, which is why the cheaper option exists: an ActivePedal or Valo GT-23 owner already has one.

The wheel is the purchase after that. The $169 Link Quick Release is not, because every steering wheel Simucube sells arrives with a quick release, so the cheapest way to a base that steers is the $949 Valo GT-23 in its Simucube 3 configuration, for $2,648. Simucube sells that exact pair as a bundle at the same $2,648 regular price, discounted 5% to $2,515.60 on the day these figures were read. US store prices read 1 August 2026, before tax.

Against the Simucube 3 Sport, $200 buys 10 Nm. Simucube’s FAQ names five differences between the two and nothing else: torque, response speed, 2.3 kg of weight, 25 mm of length, and 80 W of power supply. The encoder, the warranty, the box, the mounting pattern, the control box, and the hub requirement are the same on both listings.

Generation	None published. Simucube prints no revision marker beside this model name, and the "3" names the product line: it sells Simucube 2 and Simucube 3 as two catalogs on one menu, with a Simucube 2 Pro still on sale at $1,299
Drive type	Direct drive. Simucube's spec row reads "Motor type: High response speed, Direct drive optimized SPM motor"
Max torque	25 Nm. The spec block reads "Max torque: 25 Nm" with no metric; the page's own meta description writes "25 Nm peak torque"
Angle sensor	Simucube's row reads "Angle sensor: 23-bit absolute (8 000 000 steps)", the same figure it gives the Sport and the Ultimate
Price	$1,599 without the Link Hub, $1,699 with it, on Simucube's US store, checked 1 August 2026, before tax; bare base, no wheel or pedals
Platforms	PC. Simucube's FAQ denies PS4, PS5, and Xbox outright, checked 1 August 2026
Quick release	Link Quick Release, not in the box; Simucube's own wheels ship with one, and a rim you already own needs the $169 part
Mounting	Front and bottom, on 135mm and 78.4mm bolt circles, with a fasteners kit in the box
Size and weight	135 × 135 × 303 mm including the quick release, 11 kg, on a 360 W supply Simucube rates to 450 W peak
Software	Simucube Tuner 3.0
Best for	A PC racer who wants Simucube's build and support and does not want to think about torque again

Who it’s for

The middle of the Simucube 3 line and the one with the least left on the table: 25 Nm is past what any car puts through a real wheel, so the Ultimate above it is buying response speed rather than usable force.

Buy it if:

• You want the build-quality and support benchmark with headroom you will never use up, and the 3-year warranty Simucube states beside it.
• You are already spending $1,399 on a Sport. $200 is 14% more money for 67% more torque, and nothing else in the purchase moves: same encoder, same box, same hub, same $949 wheel floor.
• You’re committing to the Link platform: one Link Hub for the rig, a Simucube wheel that brings its own quick release, and a wheel budget starting at $949.
• You have a rig. This is an 11 kg base making 25 Nm, and Simucube sells nothing that puts it on a desk.

Not the one if you race on a console, since Simucube denies all three, or if 25 Nm at this price is the whole argument: the Fanatec Podium DD states the same headline figure as holding torque for $1,199.99, and the Moza R21 Ultra states 21 Nm sustained for $699.

What it’s like to drive

25 Nm is headroom, not a setting. A real GT or prototype puts roughly 10-12 Nm through the wheel on a flying lap, so nobody runs this base near its ceiling. What the number buys is running a heavy car at a comfortable gain instead of at the edge, which is where a lower-torque base starts flattening the peaks. Set the base high and trim in-game gain to avoid clipping; the per-base tuning guide has the starting settings.

Paying for the algorithm and the resolution. Simucube’s own bullet reads “Completely re-engineered the control algorithm for maximum accuracy and silent performance,” and the sensor behind it is 23-bit absolute, which Simucube counts as 8 000 000 steps. Both are identical on the $1,399 Sport, so neither is what the $200 buys.

What the extra $200 is spent on. A longer motor and the power to feed it. Simucube’s FAQ puts the Pro at 11.0 kg and 303 mm against the Sport’s 8.7 kg and 278 mm, and its supply at “360 W (450 W peak)” against 280 W. Its own marketing block says Simucube “added new motors” for the generation, and the spec rows differ by three words, “High response speed” in front of the Pro’s otherwise identical motor line.

Watch-outs

• The base does not reach a PC on its own. The box holds an RJ45 cable and no USB cable. The Link Hub is what plugs into the computer, and it is $100 as the option here or $159 on its own. Run an ActivePedal alongside the base and Simucube adds a $69 Teltonika Ethernet Switch to the list.
• Budget the wheel, not the quick release. $2,648 is the base with the hub and Simucube’s cheapest wheel. The $169 Link Quick Release is the purchase for a rim you already own, and a 50.8mm formula rim needs another $99 adapter after it.
• Simucube’s FAQ and its spec tables disagree about the motor. The FAQ opens the Sport-versus-Pro answer with “While both models use the same motor and come with the same warranty,” and the two listings head their motor rows differently. Nothing Simucube publishes says whether “High response speed” is a different part or a different tune, so the response-speed claim is the manufacturer’s and has no measurement under it.
• PC only, and Simucube states it. No console path, in its own FAQ’s words. Fanatec is where 25 Nm and a console license meet.
• Rig, not desk. Simucube names a rig and a cockpit and never a desk or a table, and it sells no clamp: the only mounting part in its 9-product Simucube 3 accessories category is the $109 Simucube Mount, a steel bracket. Its FAQ puts it plainly: “Our wheelbases cause quite a lot of stress to the rig so please make sure that your rig can sustain it.” At 11 kg and 25 Nm that matters more here than on the Sport. See rigs and mounting.
• Locked into Simucube Link. Hubs, quick releases, and wheels are Simucube’s ecosystem, and its own $69 70mm adapter, the way out to a third-party quick release, was out of stock on 1 August 2026.

Alternatives to consider

• Simucube 3 Sport: 15 Nm for $1,399, the same encoder and the same box, $200 and 10 Nm below this one. The cheaper answer if you already know 15 Nm is more than you run.
• Fanatec Podium DD: $1,199.99 for a figure Fanatec writes as “25 Nm holding torque (33 Nm peak overshoot)”, with a console license, checked 31 July 2026. Same headline torque, $399 less, and a metric with more behind it.
• Moza R21 Ultra: 21 Nm that Moza rates sustained, for $699. Most of the torque for less than half the money, from a maker that states its platforms.
• Asetek Forte: 18 Nm on a 22-bit encoder for $949, with the quick release fitted at the factory.
• Simucube 3 Ultimate: 35 Nm on an IPM motor and a 5-year warranty, at $3,299 without the hub and $4,348 with the same Valo GT-23 at regular bundle prices, checked 1 August 2026. Twice the money for 10 Nm nobody uses and the response speed Simucube reserves for it.

Price the hub and the wheel before you decide: $1,699 gets a base that runs and $2,648 gets one that steers, and both figures are before pedals. The cheapest Simucube 3 that runs is $1,499, so the step up to the Pro is 13% on top of it, and the wheel, the hub, and the box under it do not change. If you want more torque per dollar than that, Fanatec and Moza both sell it; if you want a load-cell brake with the money instead, the Sport leaves you $200. The high-end wheelbases overview and the buying guide by budget show where the Pro fits.