Toyota TRD Billet UCA

With the newly released information on the new 2022 Tacoma TRD Pro comes the new Toyota TRD Billet UCA.

What is everyone's thoughts about Toyota making a newly designed UCA?
When they become available are you going to purchase a set to upgrade your Tacoma?

 

Bet you will need a Pro Vin to order these. I imagine they will be costly too.

 

Can they really decline to sell based on your VIN? I have never heard that before.

 

Apparently from the dealer a lot of the Pro specific parts require a VIN to order. Now how picky they are about taking random VINs and placing orders or how strict Toyota is with the dealers I dont know.

 

Yes they can and they do, I use to work for a Toyota dealership. People would come in to buy Tacoma TRD Pro parts and certain ones would only be able to be purchased with proof of a TRD Pro vin. On top of that sometimes they would have to send the old part being replaced back in to Toyota so they knew it was being replaced and not bought for a non TRD Pro.

 

Crazy. I guess if they want to keep parts exclusive/rare, that’s one way... From an aftermarket perspective, if people want to buy a base model Tacoma and purchase their own random Pro upgrades, it would make more sense to price the aftermarket items in a way that would net a higher contribution margin for the parts than just outright purchasing the Pro model.

My guess is that the supply chain cushion for these VIN locked parts is small, so there’s not a lot of extra to go around for people doing aftermarket upgrades.

 

Vin control or not, some of them will eventually find their way to second hand markets. I'd be interested to compare them to the JBA off road UCAs to see how many degrees of angle you get with both.

 

I want them

 

I remember I wanted the FJ TRD Grey wheels for my 2011 Tacoma. I put in the order in via TRDParts4u and I got a call back asking for my FJ VIN. When I told them I didn't have an FJ they politely told me they needed to cancel my order. Quick search on autotrader I found an FJ with those wheels. Two days later I put in the same order but also included the VIN from that FJ in Florida. Got my wheels .

 

I'm looking forward to knowing more about the TRD UCA's.

 

I wonder how much they'll cost if they end up making them available individually? It would be hard to be the price tag on the JBA UCAs

 

It’s sure nice to see Toyota offering actual performance parts to enhance the Pro. So much of the pro is just an appearance package. These are cool. For the right price, and if the design is an improvement over stock, I’d like a set.

 

I thought the pro badges increased hp?

 

Now with the badges removed and replaced with the bedside embossing, who know how much the power has gone up?

 

I can't imagine these giving any meaningful increase in caster angle if they are designed with factory PRO suspension in mind.

 

The 4th gen pro should come with TRD Pro stamps on every body panel for max power

 

I guess the question is if they increase downtravel, or give more clearance for bigger tires.

 

Yep.

The first question should be “what’s so special about these new ucas?”.

My guess is that these won’t be cheap and they will provide a mild improvement over stock. Remember, a really good set of aftermarket UCAs can be had for a reasonable price. These would have to come in at that point AND offer the benefits of many of the aftermarket units to catch the attention of the off-roading crowd.

Again…nothing wrong with that. Some people want to preserve as much of their warranty as possible and some people don’t need the performance….but if you’re building a serious off road truck and are looking for something bulletproof that provides maximum performance, these likely won’t fill the bill.

Let me be clear, the pro fills most people’s needs right out of the box. I’d say the OR does too but my stock bilsteins took about 5000 miles of washboard dirt roads before they needed to be replaced under warranty. Many of the overlanders I see (not all) will never test the limits of a pro (except for the tires).

 

Depends on the dealer... it's such a douche move on their part. Most just agree to let you put money in their pocket. Thankfully - my local dealer is like "ca-ching - sold!"

 

If there’s a product the Chinese are gonna knock-off in an absolute hurry, these are them.