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JBA Offroad Upper Control Arms And Suspension MEGA Thread BS thread

Discussion in 'Suspension' started by tcBob, Feb 24, 2015.

  1. Nov 5, 2018 at 8:49 PM
    #2581
    Taco4Life89

    Taco4Life89 Well-Known Member

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    I'm running 295/75 r16's right now and I only rub the uca's at full lock. Other than that, everything is gravey.
     
  2. Nov 6, 2018 at 4:48 AM
    #2582
    Sterdog

    Sterdog Offline

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    Rubbing at full lock is still rubbing. I was the same way and since I off-road a bunch with the truck I had to fix the rubbing at full lock or else risk damaging the tire over time. It’s not hard to fix for sure but I’m just clearing the tires now. 315s would still rub.
     
    Blackout14 likes this.
  3. Nov 6, 2018 at 8:55 PM
    #2583
    Taco4Life89

    Taco4Life89 Well-Known Member

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    I'm sure I wouldn't rub if I had the right wheels with the correct backspacing. I'm running the same wheels that I had on my old first gen that I bought years ago.
     
  4. Nov 12, 2018 at 8:10 AM
    #2584
    Ted Steel

    Ted Steel Well-Known Member

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    Been looking at these UCAs due to their great price point and the ball joint design. The ball joint implementation makes a ton of sense to me. I've read somewhere around 40% of the pages in here, skipped around a bit, so I'm sure I'm missing some of the history.

    Question I have: Most people seem to be running the STD arms. At what point are people making the decision to run the HDs? And, under typical wheelin, have people bent the STD UCAs?


    If I can sum up what I think I've learned about these:
    • There were early production issues that have been addressed (largely: not enough caster, spring contact at droop, non-coated ball joints that would corrode)
    • The newest 7.0 arms have enough caster built in that people can get north of +4.0 degrees
    • Generally, good alignment specs for lifted Tacos (2.5-3" front) seem to be:
      • Toe: 0" overall
      • Camber: 0 degrees or slightly negative
      • Caster: 2.7-3.0 degrees of positive
    • If you're running larger than stock tires, to be safe you should be running wheels with 4.5" of backspace or less (i.e., where less puts the wheel farther out) or spacers
      • This is comparable to Icon's Tubular UCAs
    • The latest ball joints have a Cerakote coating which virtually eliminates surface corrosion (Cerakote is the real deal!)
    • The bushings are a synthetic elastomer, which will need to be replaced at some point, but are quieter than Poly bushings used in other UCAs
    • People don't like red but live with it. :)

    EDIT: left out a couple words here and there
     
    Last edited: Nov 12, 2018
    DaMaDo, PreTaco170, Tacotj and 2 others like this.
  5. Nov 12, 2018 at 8:14 AM
    #2585
    EatSleepTacos

    EatSleepTacos Well-Known Member

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    Great summary. From what I can tell 99% of people here are running standard arms and I have yet to see a single case of anyone bending them. There are other weaker points in the suspension (spindle) that'll bend/break before the UCAs bend. I wheel pretty hard and these standard JBAs have held up great.
     
    PreTaco170, Tacotj, RobP62 and 2 others like this.
  6. Nov 12, 2018 at 8:15 AM
    #2586
    Matmo215

    Matmo215 Well-Known Member

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    Unless you are jumping the truck daily I don't see why you would need the HD arms.
     
  7. Nov 12, 2018 at 8:21 AM
    #2587
    Ted Steel

    Ted Steel Well-Known Member

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    Good deal. Pretty much what I expected to hear. Thanks for the feedback.


    Yeah, only every other day. :D

    This is pretty much what I expected but wanted to check. Thanks much.
     
    RobP62 likes this.
  8. Nov 12, 2018 at 11:33 AM
    #2588
    RobP62

    RobP62 NVR20LD

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    And the Red color is the trademark color. My truck is Inferno and to be honest, I don't think twice about the contrast.

    20181021_162908.jpg
     
  9. Nov 12, 2018 at 12:11 PM
    #2589
    Ted Steel

    Ted Steel Well-Known Member

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    I wasn't saying that I didn't like it, just that "people" don't like it. :D Probably should have said "some people".
     
    RobP62[QUOTED] likes this.
  10. Nov 12, 2018 at 12:17 PM
    #2590
    Sub_Par

    Sub_Par Well-Known Member

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    I would say I don't mind it, but would have preferred just black. I don't need my UCAs to stand out in the wheel wells.
     
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  11. Nov 12, 2018 at 12:26 PM
    #2591
    RobP62

    RobP62 NVR20LD

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    No, I know, sorry for coming off aggressive. I guess what I meant was, I am the worst when it comes to being all matchy matchy and for me I would have liked to have it match the Inferno but after seeing them in person I was oh, ok, they're red, no biggie.
     
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  12. Nov 12, 2018 at 12:29 PM
    #2592
    RobP62

    RobP62 NVR20LD

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    Well, and it's the same way with the shocks. If they are a color and you lift the truck you are gonna see them.
    I guess if you were really ambitious, you could throw a coat of rattle can paint on them before installing them.
     
    Sub_Par[QUOTED] likes this.
  13. Nov 12, 2018 at 12:30 PM
    #2593
    Ted Steel

    Ted Steel Well-Known Member

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    Hey @RobP62 no worries. Didn't take it that way at all and I knew what you meant.

    Besides, FWIW I think they look good all non-matchy matchy on the inferno Taco. :) Also, with the Baja, I already have bright red springs under the fender. I'm used to it.
     
    RobP62[QUOTED] likes this.
  14. Nov 12, 2018 at 12:32 PM
    #2594
    Ted Steel

    Ted Steel Well-Known Member

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    Funny you mention this... I was thinking of having them media blasted / stripped and then powder coated. I think I saw somewhere on here you might be able to order these arms raw? I'm assuming the bushing are pressed in, which might be a cause for concern
     
    RobP62[QUOTED] likes this.
  15. Nov 12, 2018 at 12:32 PM
    #2595
    RobP62

    RobP62 NVR20LD

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    There you go! Now you will be all Matchy Matchy :rofl:

    All I really care about is how well they do their job. And they do that well. I drive exceptionally fast over really bad roads and speeds bumps and I don't worry about them. :thumbsup:
    :burnrubber:
     
  16. Nov 12, 2018 at 12:35 PM
    #2596
    RobP62

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    Yea, I think you are right, I think they are pressed in. But they sell replacements so I am sure you can get them out if you really needed to.

    I wouldn't pay the extra money though. I would just tape everything off and get a can of spray paint and have at it. That way you are just adding to the already excellently powder coated metal. If you need to touch up then just hit it right on the truck in place. That has been done on here, I believe in this thread.
     
    EatSleepTacos likes this.
  17. Nov 12, 2018 at 7:21 PM
    #2597
    oscolivar1

    oscolivar1 Well-Known Member

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    Bilstein 8112/8100, JBA UCAs, Icon RXT leaf pack, work wheels 17x8.5;-10os, 285/75/17 cooper LTX AT3, Mobtown HC rear bumper and Sliders, SSO front bumper, BAMF greceased grill.
    My front end looks like Christmas year round. Gotten use to it and doesn’t look as bad as I thought it would with green wheels.
    3B03EB73-F7BE-445D-A4DF-D5A844333FCD.jpg 8445C535-1F13-4B46-A229-7EFC2AB6F2E7.jpg
     
  18. Nov 13, 2018 at 4:32 AM
    #2598
    RobP62

    RobP62 NVR20LD

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    I think the green is a nice contrast. It's very unique and definitely not something you're likely to see again. :thumbsup:
     
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  19. Nov 13, 2018 at 8:19 AM
    #2599
    PreTaco170

    PreTaco170 Well-Known Member

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    Bilstein 6112/5160, Dakars, JBA UCAs, FN f(x) Pro 17x8, 285/70R17(C) BFG KO2, Wheeler's Off-Road Bumpstops/U-bolt flip kit, CMC, Marlin Crawler HD LCA Frame Brace Kit, TRD CAI, Flowmaster exhaust, Alpine iLX-407 CarPlay receiver
    I just spoke with Marlin yesterday and asked about the raw/non-powder coated versions and he stated they are no longer selling those. He said they were having problems with surface rust then having to clean them up again before shipping them out. It wasn't very efficient so he decided to streamline the process and just provide the red versions.

    After reading every page on this thread and waiting several months, I finally ordered a set and now I'm looking forward to the install. I spoke with a local company yesterday that powder coats and it would have only cost $95 if they were raw, but $150 to blast them and powder coat them a different color. The red isn't bad; I would just prefer a gunmetal grey or black to blend in better. I have gunmetal FN F(x) Pro wheels so I'm leaning towards something like hammered gunmetal. But then again, I like what I see on this thread as there are tons of sharp-looking trucks on here! Still trying to decide what I want to do.

    If I decide to change the color, I sure hope the bushings aren't too hard to remove, but oh well, I'll manage.
     
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  20. Nov 13, 2018 at 8:49 AM
    #2600
    RobP62

    RobP62 NVR20LD

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    All great info! You'll definitely have to post back when you are done. I for one would like to see how they turn out. :thumbsup:
     
    PreTaco170[QUOTED] likes this.

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