Help with Light Racing caster settings please

I installed some Light Racing UCA's today and i'm a little confused on how to adjust the caster. It looks like in the instructions that the flat side of the ball joint where it says "SPC" should be facing out. Is this correct? Then how do you adjust the caster?

What makes sense to me is that the whole ball joint assembly gets rotated to adjust the caster but it doesn't appear this way in the instructions

 

You are correct, the SPC logo should be facing out toward the tire. The entire ball joint can be rotated to make caster changes. There is a indexing ring that will allow the ball ball joint to rotate in fixed increments. Hope this helps. I will try to find a picture for you.

 

Here is a few pictures for ya:

SPC logo facing out and ball joint resting in slotted groove:


Here at the top of the picture you can see the curved side of the ball joint facing to the inside.

 

Ok, i've got them installed with "SPC" facing out like you have, so what exactly gets rotated to adjust for caster?

 

The only thing that can apparently be rotated is the whole ball joint assembly which would mean that the SPC logo would no longer be facing towards the tire anymore

Am I just totally missing something here???

 

The ball joint will get rotated while the indexing adapter will stay in the groove allowing the entire ball joint to slide to and away from the wheel. The groove allows for camber adjustment while keeping the ball joint located. You will only be able to adjust for caster in increments as the indexing adapter is notched in a star like shape. You can loosen the top bolt and take one side apart to see what I am taking about. Your best bet is to set the caster so the logo is facing out (square not at an angle) and get the camber as close as possible before taking the truck to an alignment shop. The lower eccentric will also be used to fine tune your alignment. Hope this helps.

 

You are correct the whole ball joint assembly can be rotated, however you will need make certain that the lock plate lines up with the groove in the control arm to allow for proper camber adjustment. In addition the lock plate should line up with the engagement hex. Make sense?

 

Ok now that makes sense.. that's what i thought all along that the "SPC" logo does not always have to face the tire.

I'm just gonna leave it with the "SPC" logo facing out (no caster change, correct?) till I go to the shop for the alignment and let them adjust the caster because that's now the alignment looks the best to me just eyeballing it.

Thanks for your help!!!

 

Sure thing! Yeah, I would leave it with the SPC logo facing out and go from there. Be sure to take it to a good alignment shop, IE. one who is familiar with lifted trucks. Some people fail to realize that the UCA is adjustable and they only adjust from the bottom E-Ring. Be sure to tell them that you can adjust from the upper too.

 

hey neubs, what did you set yours to to get it aligned properly. i originally had mine at +2.5 but ended up moving it to 0 due to rubbing issues after alignment.

 

I set mine to zero and ended with a great alignment (it did take a while to find a competent alignment shop). Here are my specs:

 

those specs looks good. after i set mine to 0 i took it back to sears, aligned 'perfectly to specs'. great investment for anything over a 2.5" lift!

 

I'm sold...

Mine are in the mail $399.00 plus $20 shipping. Toytec in Denver.

I just dont like the thought of having my caster at essentially zero or have the camber way off just to get 1.5 caster.

Will throw in my .02 cents monday evening after the install and alignment!

 

the good thing about the LR uca's is you can adjust it to get what you want out of both your caster and camber. experiment with it. it may take you a few alignments to get it right. i promise you will love them!

 

My truck dosent drive now...It actually drives pretty good. But if it could be better?

$419.00 for the LR's, $120.00 install. I'm all in!

Anyone seen that brown truck!

 

PM me the tracking number. I may be able to get you an upgrade.

I am at work right now. (UPS)

 

From your readings it looks like all they did was set the toe, what did they adjust on your caster side? Reason I ask is because i went with a 3" lift and cheaped out on the UCA's, my alignment tech at work (who is the SHiznit) said not to worry about it cause my caster was still within spec and getting UCA's really wouldnt benefit me. My readings are identical to yours and i have no pulling/wander conditions while running 285/70/17

 

The shop I took my truck to actually aligned it three times focusing on the caster and camber first and then moving to the toe last so actually they did much more than just align the toe. Toyota does have rather broad alignment specs and you can be light in the caster department and still be within spec. The result will be a tendency for your truck to wonder at highway speed. For example, after a poor alignment at another shop, my camber was "within spec" but would have caused severe tire wear issues had it not been corrected. Same is true with caster only you will have different effects. In addition to alignment correction, UCAs offer many other benefits, such as increased articulation, strength, and tire clearance.

 

I just ordered em' tonight. They dont ship til' tomorrow...I almost just went and picked them up as they are a 1 hour drive from me at Toytec but $20 shipping Vs' half a tank of premium and $32 sales tax??

So they are being UPSed tomorrow a whopping 70 miles!

 

To get within the 1.3 spec my camber was funky. My wheels bowed in at the bottom. Truck drove fine...I wasnt wanting to wear the outside edges off my new KM2's every 10,000 miles so I figgered the $420.00 for a set of UCA's would pay for themselves in two years!