Alignment and Lift

I recently installed a lift that consisted of OME 884 coils Bilstein 5100s and a Deaver AAl in the rear. It's supposed to set in at just under 2" of final lift. My question is: will a standard spec alignment for a stock configuration be ok for a lifted rig?

I seem to recall when I lifted my 1st gen about the same height, that I "built-in" a bit more caster not to make it feel so "light" steering-wise; if that makes sense. I like the steering to be a little heavy vs no feedback.

Is there a common spec or recommendation for lifted trucks?

Thank you.

 

If you are under 2" of lift and still using factory UCAs, then go for standard alignment spec but realize you may only get to the lower end of caster spec.

 

Thanks, yeah, I'm running factory UCAs. I just don't want it to feel "floaty" on the highway or unresponsive in corners.

 

This may or may not be of use to you -- just sharing my alignment numbers & experiences, albeit with a somewhat higher lift:

I had a stock 2014 TRD OR on standard P265/70/R16 A/T tires. The alignment then was "whatever stock is," i.e. I don't have accurate "before" numbers.

I lifted +2.25" to 2.5" w/ Deaver rear leafs + FOX 2.5's on all 4 corners. --> Also with Accutune™ replacement UCAs.

I did NOT get an alignment done after doing the lift. Drove 5K miles and ruined the front tires with excessive wear on the inner 1/3rd of the tires. (Bald, no tread left.) Truck drove like crap, shopping-cart steering, squealing tires around corners. (Stupid mistake, a new set of tires is >$1K.)

I replaced all 4 tires with Yokohama Geolandar G015s (P265/70/R16) and got a professional alignment done on some kind of automated, laser-based alignment rack. Truck now tracks straight & handles normally in all conditions, including high speed.

Final alignment numbers are:

Front tires ( DRIVER / PASSENGER side):
CAMBER: 0.1 / 0.3
CASTER: 1.2 / 1.4
TOE: 0.05 / 0.06
Steer Ahead: 0.00

 

Why don’t you play with it on the rack and let us know. Or see what they say and get out of it.

the lower adjustments have a give and take relationship. Changing camber changes caster.
You can try to get 0 camber so the wheel is straight up and down not tilted. So it doesn’t edge wear.

toe is easy enough to 0 separately at the tie rods.

question is what will the caster be and is it good or bad. There’s only so much room for adjustment on it that it will probably be fine. As long as it is the same on both sides.
Sometimes people play with caster to try to move the tire as far forward as possible to help clear bigger tires.
But depending on lift and tire size that starts to enter the territory of aftermarket parts that are of different geometry. For example there is:
-aftermarket UCA
-I think Dirt King has a UCA version that changes caster
-there are fabricated LCA’s that push caster forward
-JD Pivots push caster forward

lift, especially with stock control arms, tends to enter positive camber territory where the wheel tilts out at the top, causing edge wear and looking ugly. So doing an alignment becomes a battle to try and fight that and get as close to 0 as possible.

idk what stock spec is and never really look at it because
1. The truck is not stock
2. Stock specs on any vehicle generally have a wide window of “good enough” even if it’s shitty.

I’d be curious to know what’s recommended by a dedicated off road shop, or dedicated alignment shop, that may specialize and have experience in these type of things.
As opposed to Firestone Billybob charging to turn your tie tie rod and call it a day. That can literally be done at home with a shoe string and a ruler.

or what is recommended or achievable by said aftermarket parts creators who may know.

 

Just got back from the alignment shop with the following:
“Set up alignment, attempt to make adjustments, because of the alterations to suspension the angles are way off. front adjustment cam bolts are locked in the bushings. rear cams move but are maxed out for adjustment
Caster angle is at 0 on both sides, it should be at 1.7. camber is also off and should be a half to 3/4 degrees lower
I set toe and centered wheel”

I have a hard time believing the front cams are frozen seeing as it’s an Arizona truck and just had an alignment a year and a half ago. Maybe it was never done??

Do you think I need aftermarket UCAs? My net lift is 2.5” out of OME 884s!

The truck doesn’t handle bad with the current alignment, but it feels a bit disconnected at highway speeds. Should I drive it and see where things settle and try a different shop in a few thousand miles?