FAQ's

  • Road Racing
  • Track Days/HPDE
  • Autocross
  • Road Rally
  • Stage Rally
  • Circle Track (asphalt)
  • Street Performance

Peel off the double-sided tape on the base and mount the device on the dash in your direct line of sight; somewhere that you can glimpse the LED’s at any point on the track (think shift lights). See our YouTube channel for installation videos!

Have a unique dashboard layout? Would you rather not stick the baseplate to your dash? Then the APEX Suction Mount is for you! Check it out under the “Shop” tab.

Check out the Mounting Guide.

Turn on the main power on your APEX Pro before heading to the grid for your first session. This gives battery power to the GPS chip inside the APEX Pro unit and allows it to locate satellites in the sky.

APEX is designed to be mounted universally; however, there are a few mounting requirements that provide the best accuracy for the 10Hz GPS and sensors in the unit.

  • Mount perpendicular to the direction of travel (Colored back plate facing the direction of travel)
  • Avoid mounting upside down, yawed left or right, or with the LED’s facing out the windshield.

Yes, in order to extract post-session data from the device, the phone must retain a bluetooth connection with the device. However, if you want the real-time display only, you can run the APEX device in the Freestyle mode, and leave your phone in the paddock.

Issues logging data? Bluetooth can have issues communicating if there is too much metal around the phone. Some vehicles’ glove boxes can cause this issue. We recommend leaving the phone in your pocket, or in a secure in-car mount.

Is the APEX Pro OBDII interface compatible with your car? Contact us via email to find out: [email protected]

Calibration is only necessary when the device is mounted in a new location. Calibration zeroes out the sensors so that the data they record is as accurate as possible. Always re-calibrate if you put the device in a new car, or change the location of the mount in your car. Calibration is worry free, once you’ve selected your track you will be prompted to calibrate before starting the session. You can also calibrate the sensors by going to “Settings” then “Calibrate Device.”

If the App prompts you to re-calibrate the device after you already calibrated it initially, it’s usually because the device moved enough while on track that re-zeroing the sensors will help produce better data!

Search: APEX Pro LLC on the Apple App Store, or  just click on the link in the footer of this page.

  • Turn on Bluetooth, and turn on your APEX device
  • Let the device “boot up”
  • Tap the Red Bluetooth icon. This icon is the top left most icon on the home screen

  • Open the APEX App, and tap the device with the highest signal strength
  • If the device does not display, turn the bluetooth on your iOS device off, then back on.

The device does not know what the conditions are; it is simply measuring the grip level. It will recognize that the grip changes when conditions change, and the simulation will adapt and begin to show you a slightly different limit. So regardless of the real world conditions, the device samples data quickly enough to adapt to changing grip levels.

First, check your Bluetooth connection. Ensure that the Bluetooth icon in the top right of the screen is blue. If it is red, reconnect to Bluetooth. After checking Bluetooth connection Make sure that you hit the “Start Session” button after selecting a track. The lights will turn red and green, and you are good to go on track! One flashing blue light means the device is connected via Bluetooth but the “Start Session” button has not been hit yet.

The device will prompt you to calibrate the sensors when you select a track and go to begin a session. Once you see the red lights go across the device, and the App says “Calibration Successful” the device is calibrated and ready to go! If you don’t get that far, forget your phone, or forget to connect your phone to the device, simply turn the device on with the button on the left side of the display. The device will go into Freestyle mode. The feedback will not be as accurate, due to the sensors not being calibrated, but the light functionality will still provide insight on how to improve!

APEX Score shows you how close to the limit of the car’s performance you were driving, on average, during that lap. This is based on what the device has learned about the vehicle by your driving. Note that the lap average APEX Score is often too generous during the first two laps, or the devices “learning phase”. Use your APEX Score as an objective measurement. It can be compared against different cars on the same track. Improvement in APEX Score is one of the best ways to determine if you are learning to use the car’s available performance!

  • Your score is not directly correlated with lap time
  • The more you can consistently approach the outside of edge of the friction circle, the better your score will be!
  • Have an experimenting mindset to improve your score
    • Try new things in low risk corners (lots of run-off, slower speeds, etc.)
    • Try braking earlier and softer, with more of an emphasis on a smoother brake release
    • Try using the steering wheel as little as possible

How long did it take you to learn how to glance in your mirrors consistently exiting a corner, or notice your water or oil temperature gauge on your dash while driving on the track? These are all things we do with our peripheral vision. APEX is very similar. Give yourself some time to adjust to the display, and use the post-session tools to find a couple of places to look at the LED’s while on track. Allow yourself to naturally start to pick up on the display; the key to doing this is to have APEX mounted in your direct line of sight! You don’t look at shift lights every time you upshift do you?

APEX is designed to withstand hot conditions. That being said; treat your APEX as you would your phone. Being exposed to direct sunlight consistently will hurt the electronics in the device over time. We recommend removing the device from the mount on your dash, and storing in a shaded location whenever possible!

The lithium ion battery used in your APEX unit is very powerful, and on a full charge will be good to go for an entire day (or more!) of on-track activity. You will get 5 hours of active (on-track) usage from a single charge. You should always charge APEX for 2 hours before a day of track use. 2 hours are needed for a full charge.

  • 2000 Hz 9-axis IMU
  • 12-bit precision Accelerometer (+/- 4 G’s)
  • 16-bit precision gyroscope (+/- 250 deg/s)

Yes, however you may run the device in “Freestyle Mode” without connecting it to your iOS device.

The APEX App is compatible with any Apple/ iOS device on iOS 13 or newer software. This includes iPhones, iPod Touches, and iPads.

The APEX App is available with very basic functionality for Android Devices on the Google Play Store, but this App is NOT equivalent to the iOS App and it is not supported by APEX Pro. We recommend finding or buying a used iOS device to control the APEX App. Just make sure it can be updated to iOS 13+ software!

Double tap the home button and completely close out the app. Close-out other open apps as well. Re-open the app and try the function you were doing again. If the app continues to crash, try shutting your phone down completely and then trying again.

Please report crashes (with a description of what happens) to APEX Pro by emailing [email protected] or on the APEX Pro User’s Group on Facebook.

APEX uses the internal sensors to take measurements while circulating the course. It inputs those measurements into our proprietary model at an extremely fast rate, and learns interpolates with that data what the limit of the car’s capability is.

When the driver reaches the limit of the tire, all green lights are displayed and then red lights quickly appear showing that the current available grip is not being utilized.

Here’s how oversteer is shown on the APEX display:

How does APEX display oversteer?

Understeer is shown similarly, but is usually depicted as all green lights, with one or two red lights appearing on the LED bar. Indicating the loss of grip.

The APEX vehicle model does not model shifting. After upshifting on a straight, the unit is under the impression you are not accelerating as hard as you can. Because of this, you will see red lights on the APEX display while accelerating in a straight line. As soon as you transition to the brake pedal, more Green LED’s will appear and the feedback can help you understand whether to brake more or less, and when to go back to power exiting the corner.

Green lights = your current usage of the vehicle’s available performance (traction, grip, handling capacity etc..)

Red lights = the current available performance that is not being used. This is a suggestion, not a command!

Blank lights = Unavailable grip (lights will be blank if the track has a high grip turn with banking, an uphill brake zone, or a fast cambered corner)

Half green/ half red: Initial brake input/ middle of brake zone = You can brake harder and subsequently later. Late in brake zone/ at turn in = Corner was over-slowed. Try reducing brake pressure sooner. This is an indication that you are not releasing the brakes when you add steering input.  Mid corner = Turn was severely over-slowed. Adjust braking inputto roll more speed into the corner. Corner Exit = You can add more power!

2 red/ 2 blank: Initial brake input/ middle of brake zone = You are braking close to the tires’ limit. The two blank lights mean that peak grip on the course is not available at that point. Mid corner = You are close to the tires’ limit. You could likely carry 2-3 more MPH mid-corner. Corner Exit = You can add more power!

Mostly red lights = Commonly seen after upshifting while flat out on a straight. This many red lights indicates that you are far under the limit of the tire. This may also be common when in an uphill brake zone, a banked corner, or even a subtly cambered corner. In these situations the track usually has a grip increase that you are under-utilizing. Use this information to build confidence and incrementally increase your speed. Overtseer = You may see red lights appear after sliding the rear tires. All green lights that change quickly to many red lights mean that you are likely over-steering.

All green lights: Initial brake input/ middle of brake zone = You are maximizing the braking potential of the car. Sometimes also means that you braked too late. Front tires will be close to understeering on turn-in. To maintain green lights though the corner, release the brakes as you turn (trailbrake) on corner to allow the tire to transition to maximum lateral load. Mid-corner = You are close to the understeer/oversteer limit of the car and are maximizing your mid-corner speed. You will also see all green lights mid corner while APEX is still building the vehicle dynamics model (first 2-3 laps). Corner exit= In a RWD car you are close to sliding the rear tires and are maximizing the available longitudinal acceleration.

Yes, but APEX Pro was designed to mount on the dash of a car. Keep in mind that it is not designed to leave the kart at speed and survive the impact. Additionally your phone is required to be kept on the kart with the unit to log data, and the display will be more challenging to see. We highly recommend tethering the APEX Pro when being used on a Kart.

Just like with a go kart, it will work with as long as it’s mounted similarly to being on a car’s dash. The unit needs a clear, unobstructed view of the sky to log laps. APEX does not account for lean angle, so the real time display and APEX Score metric will not be helpful.

APEX Pro will come with charge on the unit. Battery life is displayed on the top of the “Drive” screen (Connect to the unit and tap “drive” from the home screen”). Use the provided Micro USB to USB charging cable to charge the APEX Pro. Other micro USB to USB chargers can be used as well.

While the device is charging it WILL NOT display any lights or indications. 2-3 hours is enough to fully charge the battery. The battery will slowly lose charge over time but should stay fully charged for a few days. APEX Pro dealers sell a charging kit which is a long USB cord with a cigarette lighter.

To verify your APEX Pro unit is receiving charge, look in one of the small holes on the bottom on the unit. These are the holes that mount the unit to the base plate. Connect the unit to a micro USB charger and look in those small holes for a red light. If you see a red light come on when the unit is connected to the USB charger, your unit is receiving a charge. If you do not see a red light in the small holes, contact us about getting your unit inspected and repaired: [email protected]

Resources – download these to help answer your questions.

Mounting Guide Custom track feature

SPECS

Hardware Specs:
  • Real-time filtering, modeling, and feedback (12k samples/second)
  • Low profile dash-top display (1.125 x 1.125 x 3.5″) – no wiring required
  • 5 hours of driving on a single charge
  • Wireless communication with iOS
  • High-brightness RGB LED display (400 mcd)
  • N42 magnetic alignment/mounting clip
  • ARM Cortex Microprocessor
  • 9-axis Inertial Measurement Unit
  • 12-bit precision accelerometer (+/- 4 G)
  • 16-bit precision gyroscope (+/- 250 deg/s)
  • Self-calibrating FIR and IIR filtering on all sensors
  • 10 Hz, satellite augmented GPS+GLONASS receiver
  • Temperature-compensated gyroscope and GPS clock
  • BLE Wireless communication with APEX Hardware and/or APEX OBDII
  • Record lap timing with 0.01 second accuracy
  • Review sessions with intuitive rainbow road and lap time analysis
  • Stream live lap times to teammates and friends using ‘Crew View’
  • Setup, calibrate, and adjust LED display settings