Moza mBooster Active Pedal Review: Excessive, Exceptional

Sim racing technology has come a long, long way in my lifetime. I remember my very first wheel and pedal set pretty well – a MadCatz (RIP) Dual Force on the PS1. Rubbery steering, a bad attempt at early force feedback and the most toy-like pedals you could ever imagine. I loved it.

As a lifelong gamer and car nut, one of the joys of growing up has been seeing just how far the tech to make pretend cars feel ever more like the real thing has progressed. Particularly so in the last decade, as direct drive wheels have hit the mainstream.

What impresses me most is how there’s now seemingly a way to replicate any sort of vehicle you want. Manufacturers offer everything from GT race car wheels to formula-style options, road car-replicating rims and even a truck wheel – all swappable onto the same base that can be tweaked to feel like whatever you want through a bit of software.

Pedals have always been a bit of a sticking point in killing the immersion. Sure, many high-end sets will allow you to put different springs and bump stops in to suit your preferences, but it’s often a fiddle if you’re jumping between sims and means you’ll probably end up playing Euro Truck Simulator 2 with a GT3-spec brake.

Ideally, then, you’d have a pedal you can adjust through software with a wheelbase. Well, there’s our neat segue to the Moza mBooster Active Pedal.

It’s not the first of its kind. High-end manufacturer Simucube introduced its ActivePedal a couple of years ago. I haven’t had the pleasure of trying one myself, but many other respected publications have given it great praise in reviews.

There’s a fairly huge cloud over it, though – a £2,000 asking price for a single pedal. That puts it well out of the reach of most enthusiasts.

Moza is the second manufacturer on the scene with the tech, and given its more mainstream target audience, it’s no surprise it comes in cheaper. Emphasis on ‘cheaper’ – £800 is still pretty punchy.

Designed to be swapped into an existing CRP2 pedal set, the mBooster uses 200kg load cell sensors – the same rating as that set’s passive load cell brake pedal – and a servo motor, which is used in place of springs and dampers to give it its feel.

That means through Moza’s software, you can configure it to feel however you want. Presets include various Formula-style brakes, through to GT cars and Le Mans Hypercars, as well as rally. If you’re more technically-minded than us, though, there’s shedloads of manual adjustments to make it feel exactly how you’d like.

You also don’t just have to use it as a brake pedal. You can map it as a throttle or clutch if you’d like to. If you’re really feeling like maxing your credit card, though, you can use three mBoosters as a full set.

More than just using the motor to adjust the feel of the pedal, though, it’s also able to send effects back through your feet, depending on game support. Those include ABS effects and traction control slip.

Sounds great in theory. But does it actually work? Well, yeah, it actually does.

Ultimately, it’s an £800 pedal that, once set up how you’d like it, feels pretty much the same as any other load cell. Having that ability to quickly change it in the software is a godsend if you’re like me, though, and constantly switch between various sims. Its ABS and brake locking effects are pretty good at offering a more immersive experience, but I wouldn’t call them a must-have.

My biggest gripes with the mBooster aren’t at all related to the driving experience. The first is the fact that you need to pay extra for the CRP2 extension plate, which feels a bit cheeky for a bit of metal when you’ve spent £800, and that's because it’s so bulky it can be tricky to mount on a rig. Once on there, pedal face adjustment is pretty easily handled with an included tool, though.

It’s quite loud at idle, though. Moza says it’s as low as 44dB in operation, which is fine if you’ve already got the rest of the click-clacking while you’re changing gears and steering, but once you’re pulled out of your rig and are doing real things, it’s a bit annoying.

In fact, as I’m typing this in my quiet flat with the PC and wheelbase turned off, I can noticeably hear it from the other side of the room. Switching it off at the mains is the obvious solution, but not always convenient depending on your setup. Moza is apparently working on improving that for a future update, at least.

Whether you should buy an mBooster or not comes down to how much you’re willing to spend for the sake of immersion, really. It won’t make you any faster, and it’s a wholly unnecessary piece of equipment. Yet, it’s a very nice thing to have on your rig, and I suspect it will prove the end-game of pedals once you’ve got it on there. Well, at least until sim racing technology somehow blows my mind further.