Alignment qyestions

Installed 5100s at 1,75" and had an alignment today. Camber was .5* on both sides, toe was fine but the caster was 2.0 on the left and .5 on the right. The guy said the caster on the right was maxed without affecting the camber. The truck handles fine with no pull or bumpsteer. Any thoughts? Need new UCAs? Alignment shop is clueless?

 

I am very curious to hear someone reply to your post. I just installed a 3" lift as well and my new alignment is:

Camber .5/.3
Caster .3/-.5
Toe -.04/-.04

The local Toyota Dealership in Beaufort SC did the alignment, and he said I would be good with those numbers, but i would need the new UCAs to get back to perfect factory specs. He also said my tire's shouldn't wear unevenly. Since our aligment numbers are close, I should be able to benefit from any responses you get.

 

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/40470-ucas-alignment.html

try this link first

 

Thanks. That answers my question. Basically, I need to buy and install the TC UCA's which will enable me to bring my caster up within the acceptable range.

 

Those numbers are HORRIBLE. I would get UCAs if I was you.

Those are ALSO horrible. With 3 inches you REALLY need UCAs.

IDEAL Specs are:
Toe- 0*
Camber- 0*
Caster 2.4*-3.1*

 

It seems everyone likes and recommends the TC UCAs. That'll probably be what I get...ASAP. Thanks for the response.

 

TC UCA's are nice but expensive! My LR UCA's are working for my 3 inch lift just fine and only cost me $349!

 

TCs are what I used- They are great. Lots of folks like the newer LR UCAs...Options are out there...but you should do something and soon.

 

Jasonleblonde- Where can u get LR UCA's for 349? Thanks.

 

I installed 5100s @ 1.75 on 2010 dc sb or. Alignment was no problem. The caster and camber were still within specs. The toe was way out and had to be adjusted. Here are the specified ranges.
camber. -0.4 +1.1 (+0.35)
caster. +1.4 +2.9 (+2.15)
toe. -0.05 +0.06 (+0.005)

I hadn't seen this before so thought I would post. what's in () is the mid point.

 

P-Hill Tacoma, thanks. I should be able to get close, but I also believe from what everyone's saying that I will need new UCAs. Chris4x4 has thousands of posts about alignment that I found after I posted my thread. He is very consistent about needing UCAs. I'll try one more alignment thru the stealership, then I'm ordering new UCA's Monday afternoon. It looks like ToyTec has them fo $449. That's about the cheapest I can find. Darrick can also get me his discount code.

 

I can vouch for the LR UCAs. I too had a 3" lift installed and my numbers were close to yours USMC...the new UCAs made a huge difference. No reason, in my mind, to spend the extra money on the others...but thats my personal opinion. Good luck!

 

Gassamer, where and how much for the LR UCAs?

 

I bought them from someone here on the forum for $400 shipped. But I had seen them for around $425 shipped...can't remember where. I'll look and PM you if I find it. Sorry i can't help more...somebody had them for $375 shipped two days ago...have you checked the buy/sell area?

 

I'll look around the buy/sell area for the next few days. Thanks for the lead.

 

caster does not affect tire wear...caster will affect the straight line stability of the vehicle. think of caster and the rake on the front of a motorcycle. Camber will affect tire wear and cause the vehicle to pull/drift from one side or the other. The side that has the most positive camber will drift to that side (keep in mind a 1/10 of a degree is not what im talking about im talking 1/2 a degree or more. Toe will generally not cause tire wear unless it is extremly far out and will cause the vehicle to pull/drift...just soo some of you guys understand alignments a bit better...

 

Thanks for the clarification. So...if my camber is within specs, and my toe is within specs, then my tires should wear fine. That's good to know. Also, I have had my truck going about 60 mph and it drives straight with no issues. I can barely notice any difference between before the lift and after as far s stablity is concerned.

Monday I am going to try and get the shop to align to camber 0*, toe 0*, and caster .6/.7*. It will be a free re-alignment job, so I might as well get it done. If they can get it within that range, I will still order the UCAs, but I will not be in such a hurry. The new UCAs should get me to within the 2.4-3.1* range, as suggested by everyone.

 

Will aftermarket UCA allow me to run my stock sport 17" wheels? I still have stock tires and will be going up one size. I've noticed the stock setup even before the lift left about an inch of clearance between the arm and the tire.