Toyota TRD Billet UCA

Anyone else wondering if the ball joint will be greaseable or serviceable like jba’s, spc, total chaos (I know it’s a uniball)?

 

guess my main question is, would those trd uca function better or as well with a 3'' lifted trucks or is it just for the pro setup!!!!

 

It looks an awful lot like the current one, so I'll guess no at this point.

I'm willing to be wrong though.

 

I was wondering about the ball joint. I don't care too much for anodized red, but realize Toyota wants people to see these UCAs. I'd like to see them in silver or black, if they become an accessory item.

I would think around $4,000 or more for a pair.

 

Anyone who would pay $4000 for these is an idiot (no offence).

 

(What is everyone's thoughts about Toyota making a newly designed UCA?)
My thoughts are:
1. how much stronger are these billet UCA's compared to a space-frame one, and what is their weight
2. How much more clearance do they have over the originals
3. How much suspension geometery correction do they provide?

(When they become available are you going to purchase a set to upgrade your Tacoma?)
What am I getting out of them over aftermarket and at what price point? I may have a TRD lift kit, but I got the entire parts kit for $1k out the door and the guy helping me put them in is buying my struts for $250 off me for his SR5. So $750 for a 2" leveling kit and pro grill is a steal.

 

Isn't every part an easy knock off though?

 

Possibly, I think those will be pricey. I don't think I'd want to spend 1k.

 

Yeah, true, but the Chinese have a very large and advanced metals industry. They are probably making these things for Toyota already. They’ll just be slipping the “factory seconds” out the back door labelled ‘TDR’ or something like that.

 

Depends on the part, what your "Fake it till you make it" conditions are, and who the homework cheater is. I know of a Fake M82 vietnam-era scope for an M1A that didn't last two boxes of .308.

Also know of an PRC-152 knockoff that has been programmed, encrypted and is running legit PRC152 accessories that a friend of mine treats like a whore outdoors, that operates flawlessly and as good in the white mountains than the real thing from harris.

Depends on the factory seconds. Even then many "seconds" are QC failed parts you may not want that are a scam.

Vortex knock-offs come to mind, in this discussion.

 

The more I look at these, the more I like them. On any colour truck they are gonna look great. Might even pop more with a black spring in there. I hope they aren’t over-priced, though I suppose that’s a given.

 

There will be plenty on the secondary market (people upgrading), just like Pro shocks.

I promise you, they will be prohibitively expensive from the dealer. Look at the dealer prices for the shocks, if you need to be convinced.

 

I agree! It's crazy what the dealer wants for the Pro Fox Suspension. The last time I was at the dealer for service; I asked about the Pro suspension to see what they would tell me. It was like $2800 installed

 

I would be interested depending on price and a reasonable improvement in performance. They do look cool and I like the use of factory performance stuff for this vehicle since I am not going too far with it.

We’ll see what happens with the knock-offs. I’ve heard from a few people who work with products made in China their branded stuff goes out the front door and knock-offs go out the back, all off the same tooling, fixtures, molds, etc. I’ve heard sometimes when the business relationship breaks down, the tooling sometimes mysteriously disappears. You can just about be sure they reverse engineer lots of stuff and build and sell it out of some other building. It’s the cost of doing business and when you figure in the losses from copying a product, it tells you how cheap the buyer gets them for when they can absorb those losses and still make money.

I would like it if Toyota didn’t pull this stuff with parts and offered up some cool factory stuff at a reasonable price. I think it would generate more interest in the truck line and strengthen brand loyalty. The exclusivity thing is nonsense.

 

It’ll be like everything else with a TRD PRO.. available the next year.

those trucks are so overrated.

 

Those tapers on the end will make balljoint replacement interesting.

 

I agree and for the price it will be I feel the money spent would be on looks and not performance. If they’re crazy expensive 74weld would be the better option.

 

The following is from MotorTrend. It looks like the specs improve quite a bit and the forged aluminum should be about half the weight. If they are reasonably priced I will definitely get a set.

A new exclusive color might be the head-turner, but the Tacoma TRD Pro has always made off-road capability an important part of the equation. There's good news on that front, too, as the 2022 gets a moderate but important lift and the suspension geometry to support it. The new version has 1.5 inches total of front lift, and 0.5 inches in the rear—an increase in front lift from 2020's 1-inch total. That provides a boost to those important off-road angle stats, compared to the 2021 Tacoma TRD Pro:

• Approach angle improves from 35 degrees to 36.4 degrees.
• Departure angle improves from 19.1 degrees to 24.7 degrees.
• Breakover angle improves from 23.9 degrees to 26.6 degrees.

An important part of the TRD Pro's increased lift is a redesigned front upper control arm. The part is now made of forged aluminum, anodized red with a prominent white TRD logo, and more importantly a revised angle for the upper ball joint. That revision allows for the increased lift, as well as allowing the TRD-calibrated Fox internal-bypass shocks to make use of the additional rebound stroke provided by the new components.

 

The above spec's are interesting...

Is a Motor Trend subscription needed to see this article?

 

All I can say for sure about these new Toyota OEM UCAs is, they would sure look purty on my Barcelona Red truck

But as with many manufacturer's "after market competing" products, likely will be a good bit more $$$ and at best, equal in performance/quality to the higher end after market products available.