UCA's and Alignment

Sorry I haven't been around. But to answer your question. The alignment number are dependent on the tire size.
The higher caster helps to control the larger tires. But too much caster on smaller tires will have the opposite effect. Too much caster will cause bump steer.
The ranges I gave are derived by taking the median from the factory specs. Then calculating in the tire size.
I've done the leg work for you so all you need to do is fallow these guidelines and you'll be fine.

There are different tricks and things that I didn't cover. but for 90% of the people out there they won't even notice the difference.

Good Luck!

 

toku wheres a good place in oahu to get a proper alignment done? I'm about to install a 3inch lift with some LR UCA's...

 

You can try Scotty's Brake & alignment in Pearl City. Sear did a good job on my 3" lift but I'm not sure if they will be willing to work with your truck and the LR's. Because it will require tweaking to get it properly set up.
Scotty does a lot of lifted trucks, he's a good guy. Give him a call!

 

I just want to verify that after my alignment with LR UCAs, the "ideal" alignment should be

0 Toe
0 Camber
2.4 Caster with 33" tires

Is that right?

 

Okay, I got my alignment done with LR UCAs. How did I do?

 

so i guess i found out why my truck drives like a bag of ass. i figured the wandering was due to my lift/stock UCAs...I trusted the tech that aligned my new tires after my lift and didn't even look at the alignment stats my caster is -.39 (left) and -.28 (right) ... those aren't even anywhere near the ranges... obviously i got screwed and am not going back there, should I specifically ask for the numbers listed in this post? do they actually align to your own numbers?

 

with a 3" lift, you're not going to get the caster within spec. you'll have to go aftermarket UCAs such as Light Racing or Total Chaos, etc.

 

oh ok, so is that as good as it's gonna get without the UCAs? maybe they did do a good job afterall

 

I just checked my sheet and with my 3" lift and stock ucas, my caster was 0.1 on the left and 0.3 on the right. I'm now at 2.1 on both sides with light racing ucas. I think I need a bit more, but want to drive for another week before bringing it back to have it realigned. I got the lifetime alignment at Firestone.

 

super helpful info. With this information i plan on requesting specific numbers once I get my UCA's installed.

I just ordered a set of camburg ball type uca's from Wheeler's. I also just added toyo mt 265/75/16 tires($$$). The new tires smoothed out some of my post lift vibrations. I have the toytec coilover lift kit with bilstein 5100's. My truck wasn't aligned after the tire change, and it pulls to the right now even when the crown in the road is close to level. It didn't do this prior to my tire change. My steering wheel vibration occurs between 55-65mph.

I am running 5100's in the rear with the tsb springs. My lift is currently slightly lower on the driver side front end and just the opposite on the passenger side. I plan to lower my adjustable coilovers by a .5" or so. Ideally I would like my truck to sit with a slight rake if not level. I ruled out getting an AAL. I got scared off by reading posts related to rear lifts and Brake Proportioning Valve screw ups.

 

I have TC UCA's and 33's. Could having nearly bald rear tires and almost new front tires cause my caster to go no smaller than about 4*?

 

I have the Toytec Ultimate kite set at 3". Stock UCA's. I'm running 265 75 r16 on stock rims. I have been in twice for alignment and it still sits wrong!

Here are the specs for the latest alignment:

Front Left Front Right
0.4 Camber 0.3
-0.3 Caster -0.3
-0.2 Toe .02
11.9 SAI 12.5

Cross Camber 0.1
Cross Caster 0.0
Total Toe 0.00

Yet my truck looks like this in the picture I've attached.

Can someone please help me with some suggested settings? I'm getting frustrated going into Sears every week.

 

Your caster is way off. Don't take it to Sears. Try a different shop.

 

Where should my caster be with my setup? Has anyone adjused this themselves with any success?

 

...

 

So I'm freakin pissed. I've taken my truck in to Firestone 3 times within the past 4 months and my truck still drives like crap. I read this thread and figured my caster numbers need to be changed and so I went in to Firestone again (different location this time) and told the tech I wanted my caster near 2.4 degrees and had to listen to him for 2 minutes why I SHOULDN'T be doing that..blah blah blah. He finally checked me in and an hour later my truck was ready. Went to the counter and he told me there was NO WAY they could set my caster to 2.4 (or close to it) without my camber being way off.

None the less, they did make some minor adjustments (or that's what they told me) and the truck still drives like crap if not worse. I'm going on a 1200 mile trip on Friday so I really would like to get this fixed before I leave. I've already scheduled another appt for tomorrow and I'm not leaving the store until they fix this mess. Need to know what problem areas you guys see and if anyone else has been told the camber will be out if the caster angle is increased.

Any advice on the matter would be GREATLY appreciated.

05 Double Cab Short Bed: 285/70/17's, Donahoe CO, AllPro UCA

(Left) (Right)
Actual/Before Actual/Before

0.5/0.0 Camber 0.4/0.0
1.7/1.6 Caster 2.2/1.5
0.05/0.19 Toe 0.04/0.03
11.4/11.9 SAI 11.8/12.2
11.9/11.9 Included Angle 12.2/12.2

 

Can anyone help me out with this? Anybody have their alignment specs for 265 /75/ R16 after thy put on a 3" Toytec Ultimate? I have a 4x4 Access if that make a difference

 

Sorry to hear of the problems people are experiencing.
The thing about TC, Allpro, camburg etc... is that they are fixed UCA's. So that means you are sort of limited on what number you are able to dial in.

LR have the potential of adjusting the range. Therefore giving you a wider range of settings.

Now I'm not saying that LR's are the Best!

LR's have their flaws.

With our trucks there are many other factors that play into alignment settings. You need to remember that anytime you change the ride height, you will change the alignment specs.

No 2 trucks will be the same. Even the rake of the trucks stance will have an influence on your alignment #.

I have noticed that over the years (after TC's shop burned down) that their UCA's have had excessive Caster built in. Why?? I don't really know?
But that's another story.

How I derive the Alignment # is by taking the range of 1.3* to 2.8* (The factory specs) finding the median whic is 2.05* now that would be the ideal for a stock Tacoma.
The bigger the tires get the higher the caster should go to compensate for the larger tires. (Not rocket science)

Everyone has a different theory. Some recommend the have one side set a bit higher to compensate for the crown in the road.

MHO is that I would like to set both side identically. (Same caster, camber) on both sides.
But that's JMHO.

This thread is INFO only. as you get to know your truck you will find what works for you.
But if you have a lift and your numbers are low and you don't have UCA's? there really isn't much that can be done.

Modifying a truck isn't as simple as most people think.

I post DIY's , Info threads, etc.. to help people work towards a solution.

There is NO cookie cutter answer to any issue we have. But thats what makes working on your truck frustrating and rewarding at the same time!LOL!!

Good Luck guys/gals!

I don't know it's late and I'm half asleep!

Have fun!

 

Is it neccessary to do a alignment on a new Tacoma?? i have been told when the suspension settles in the alignment could change??? Any thoughts??

 

Something interesting I haven't seen brought up in this thread is suspension deformation at speed. When you hit highway speeds, downforce from airflow over the vehicle typically forces the front end down a bit and makes camber a little more negative.

Ride height changes at speed can also affect toe, though not nearly as drastically.

Camber also changes slightly with loading of the vehicle (i.e. passengers and cargo).

For these reasons among others, I think the ideal alignment for our trucks after 3" lifting is very minor positive toe (toe-in) at around .03 degrees, and minor positive camber around .4 degrees. Caster in the high 2s (2.8ish) seems to yield good handling, adjust up or down depending on preferred steering feel.

The important thing is to keep your alignment specs after getting aligned, and check your tire wear after 500 miles or so. Combined with what your tire wear displays and how your truck has been handling, a good alignment tech can help you dial in the best alignment for YOUR setup.

So, my recommendation for 2.5 to 3" lift with 33" tires:

Toe: .02 to .05 degrees
Camber: .4 to .6 degrees
Caster: 2.4 to 3.0 degrees - lower for lighter steering, higher for heavier steering.

Feedback welcome.