For many custom builds, engine swaps, retrofits, turbo installs, and other under-hood modifications, maintaining proper steering angle often becomes a major challenge. (If you’ve ever stuffed an LS engine with headers into an old muscle car, you know what we’re talking about here.)
And for many builders that do run into a less-than-ideal steering geometry issue, finding a fix is often a time-consuming and costly endeavor—that is, if you’re able to cure it at all.
If all this sounds familiar, you’ll really, really like the VDOG variable angle gears from Flaming River.
Short for Variable Degree Operational Gear, the VDOG comes from Flaming River up in Berea, Ohio (just a stone’s throw away from OnAllCylinders World Headquarters).
It essentially combines a steering gear with a U-joint, and the result is far greater than the sum of its parts. That’s because the Flaming River VDOG gives you a massive range of adjustment in a compact package, so you’re able to snug it in place and position it for the optimal steering angle.
Inside is a 1:1 manual box with a hardened gear drive—which means no chains or sprockets to maintain—and you can mount it to a firewall or down on the rack-and-pinion for even more flexibility.
The VDOG accepts 3/4 inch, 36-spline shafts in and out, and comes in multiple finishes.
So if you’re dreading a remedy for bad steering angle geometry, the VDOG box from Flaming River might be the perfect cure. You can learn more about the VDOG design by clicking the part numbers below.
- FLA-FR20302 – Flaming River VDOG Variable Angle Gear, Natural Billet Aluminum Finish
- FLA-FR20303 – Flaming River VDOG Variable Angle Gear, Natural Cast Aluminum Finish
- FLA-FR20303BK – Flaming River VDOG Variable Angle Gear, Black Cast Aluminum Finish
- FLA-FR20303BL – Flaming River VDOG Variable Angle Gear, Blue Cast Aluminum Finish
- FLA-FR20303-XX – Flaming River VDOG Variable Angle Gear, Red Cast Aluminum Finish
Eight hundred dollars? For seriously?