Lifting my truck, are UCA's a must?

Hey all, new member here.

So I'm going to be installing either an OME or a Toytec lift in the next few weeks on my 2017 taco for a bit more clearance offroad, and I've seen and heard a lot about whether or not to upgrade UCA's.

Both kits are a maximum 2" of lift (or that's how they're advertised), and I do not plan on putting in any spacers in with it.

So I'm wondering if I am only lifting 2" will I really need upgraded UCA's, or can I get away with the stock ones?

Links to the lifts:

https://bilsteinlifts.com/shop/toyo...ift-suspension-system-for-2016-toyota-tacoma/

https://bilsteinlifts.com/shop/toyo...t-kits/2-arb-ome-lift-kit-2016-toyota-tacoma/

Any opinions, suggestions, or experience with the subject is greatly appreciated!

 

you might be able to. Or you might not. Wouldnt you rather be in the situation of having them, but not needed... And not the other way around?

 

it depends on how your alignment goes. and some folks like their alignments to certain specs, which is why i have UCA's (which were about the most important mod I've done for driveability). some don't even really notice a crappy alignment unless there's a handling problem or vibe or something. opinions here are valid but only yours will matter in the end. hopefully everything goes in straight and easy. in that case you can get the UCA's just for driving preference from how you're aligned.

regarding the question of if you need UCA's to keep away rubbing. i don't think you'll have a problem but this is for others to answer since i don't have an a/m lift.

 

From all of the advice I have read about this topic is that if you are under 2.5" then you should be fine without them

 

You don't. OME designed the kit to fit on the truck. If you needed UCA I'm pretty sure they would tell you.

 

I upgraded to Total Chaos when I installed my OME w888/Dakars. It made sense to me to go ahead and spend the money on them and do it all at one time. The 3rds are lifted 1in from factory. OmE is actually around 2.5. General rule is you can run stock ucas with 3in or less. My buddy is running the Bilst with stock ucas with no problems. I say go ahead and do it.

 

It's a definitive maybe

 

Marie @HeadStrong Off-Road is very knowledgeable about those kits. She can hook you up with good info and prices.

 

My son and I both have the Boss 2.0 lift and I did not need UCA's on our TRD 4x4 OR DCSB.$.02

 

I just ordered the ToyTec Boss 2.5 kit with progressive AAL for the rear. Went ahead and grabbed the Total Chaos UCA's just to make sure I don't have any rub or alignment issues with the 285/70/17's I'll have on there.

 

Toytec boss 2.5 with stock UCAs drives perfect and no issues with alignment.

 

The other point of UCAs with uniballs is to allow more down travel. So if you are buying expensive extended travel coilovers, then you will want good UCAs.

 

I have the OME kit on mine and did not need the UCA. I installed it myself but then took it to a pro to do the alignment. He aligned it and checked my work. said everything was fine as is.

 

I think the people saying you don't need them aren't familiar with alignment specs.

Can you do it without them? Yes, of course.

Will the truck drive better and have a better alignment with them? Yes, of course.

Some people will also say their truck drives fine without them and "the alignment was fine" because they don't know how their truck COULD be driving and don't understand alignment specs.

I recently read a guy claiming his alignment had no issues after his lift. He posted his alignment sheet and his caster was close to 0 with a full degree of positive camber. Most people shoot for 2.5-3° of caster with 0-.5° camber. You simply can't get those numbers on a lifted tacoma without aftermarket upper control arms. I don't care what anybody claims. It's not mechanically possible.

If you really are only lifting 2" in the front you can probably still get a decent alignment without them. It won't be "perfect", but it will be acceptable IMO.

 

totally agree, but like i said above many drivers wouldn't know if they have a faulty alignment and MOST drivers don't know what they are missing. with my stock UCA's i could get about 2.7/3.3deg caster. with SPC UCA's i can run much higher and the truck has a dramatically improved drive. huge difference. but still, if someone's fine with it then it's fine.

 

Honestly if your already spending money and time going under the truck and installing so many new parts might as well spend a little extra money get the UCAs and have that piece of mind

 

It's just a waste of money for me. As an earlier poster said I don't know a thing about alignment specs. And the only expert in my area said I don't need them. Marie at Headstrong where I bought the kit said I probably won't need them so who would fine tune it for me?

 

If she's saying it then it's the truth. The smallest lift im considering is 3 inches so that's why I always look for uca options. But the kit OP is looking at they have a instal video for it on YouTube and they didn't use UCAs either. And it's always one of those things that varies from truck to truck.

 

Agreed you spent well on the truck spend well on the parts

 

Thanks everyone for all the good info. I'm going to go ahead and spend the extra $$ up front to put in some UCA's, it seems it may be better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them. It'll also allow for a bit more adjustability later down the road. Plus they'd fit into the truck budget for now