Apex Engineered rack &pinion conversion

[Brock Johnson]

I just got an email from Apex Engineered about the new rack & pinion conversion.

I had previously talked to them about this and now they've released it, BUT

I find it very clunky like everything they make. The "beefy" control arms and tie rods that everyone seems to make with heim joints.

It appears to be completely separate from the crossmember, an interesting choice.

I've heard that the Z guys were having fitment issues with their rear crossmember.

I don't want to be a guinea pig. 

Do you know of anyone who has used their stuff?

I'd be interested in hearing opinions of their parts.

Brock

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Rear Wheel Drive, the way God intended.
If a car is being pulled from the front, doesn't that mean it's being towed?

I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.

[David Bliese]

I want to know if it works with the stock cross member, etc.  All the pictures show it with their front suspension also installed.  Haven't bothered to ask yet.

I have seen on the Realm that they have made adjustments to some aspects.  For example, none of the rear brake adapters like DP etc. would ft around their rear bearing tubing size.  Maybe DP is adapting.  

Oh, and I do agree with "clunky".  Not exactly elegant construction in all cases.

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[Brock Johnson]

That was my first question. Can it be used with the stock crossmember and suspension. 

I would also like to use real tie rod ends and not heim joints. 

All of their parts seem heavy. I wonder how much weight the whole shebang adds?

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[nandjm...@bellsouth.net]

I haven’t seen Apex Engineered make any statements about the “Engineered” part of their suspension components. JB Coachwerks set a high bar by illustrating the design effort they put into achieving optimal geometry for Bump Steer, Caster, Ackerman, etc.

 

Having done a R&P conversion in a 510, I can tell you that getting the steering U-Joints within their recommended maximum angle specification and achieving even the OEM Bump Steer spec was no small feat. Getting the steering joints in specification requires 3 of them so there is no way to eliminate the cogging of steering input. This results in having to center the u-joint cogging with the straight-ahead position of the steering wheel.

 

I was not using the MR2 Rack so getting good results in my case may have been made more difficult.

 

In any case, I’ll be watching for the engineering part of the marketing plan for this product.

 

Nathan “Did I mention RedHead Steering Gear rebuilds OE Steering Boxes”

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[Gary Savage]

Nathan,

I'm with you regarding RedHead.  That would be my first thought and everyone who has done that simple "plug & play" upgrade said it's great!  Of course, only being $500 kinda makes it the best way to go.  Then again, I'm "old school". 😉

Gary Savage

On Jul 2, 2025, at 2:37 PM, nandjm...@bellsouth.net wrote:



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[Brock Johnson]

I was all in for JB Coachwerks but they no longer sell them. Seems to be the way.. I would love to buy their product but not at this time. Then, when I'm ready it's no longer available. 🤷🏻‍♂️

I'd also like to see the engineering.. 

Like was said, no small feat. 

Brock

Rear Wheel Drive, the way God intended.
If a car is being pulled from the front, doesn't that mean it's being towed?

I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bluebird510/9C142F94-F36E-4206-8E57-04BD8AD4A752%40gmail.com.

[futofab]

I looked at doing a R&P for the 510. Even went so far as finding a supplier to make a rear steer rack with the proper inner tie rod center to center distance to minimize bump steer.

The biggest issue was the high angle the end of column u-joint was being put thru and the way it makes for a choppy steering angle movement as you turn the wheel.

Having had this issue on my tube frame 510, it meant using a double u-joint to counter act the u-joint fast/slow action while turning the steering wheel. To stabilize the shaft you need a bearing to hold the lower shaft coming out of the double u-joint. 

If I were ro pursue this further I was going to look into using a CV joint at the bottom of the column.

But since the Redhead rebuilds seem to cure the sloppy steering problem, I'm not sure the marketplace has the demand for a R&P conversion. Apex Engineered may be a little late to the game.

Dave Patten

Futofab LLC 

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone

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