UCA's.. To change or not to change?

I have a '23 TRD Sport 4x4 with a bilstein 5100 lift, set at top notch in the front with a 1" block in the back. I'm planning on replacing the block with an AAL later on this year, but for now its riding nice. I recently changed the stock sport 17's for some 4 runner SEMA wheels (17x7 +4) and added some Wildpeak AT4's in 275/70R17 Load Range C. I had researched a ton, and this size seemed to be the best fit, with the wheels and lift. The only gripe I have with 275's is that they dont make an SL rated tire, so C load or heavier are the only options. I know some run 285's with no problem also.

When I first added the wheels and tires, I noticed I rubbed only on the passenger side mud flap when pulling in to my driveway or making a hard right at low speed on to a raised surface. I also noticed the truck pulled to the right a lot more than before. I got the truck aligned again and found out that it was a little off since I had the lift installed 5 months ago. I wasnt sure if I was going to need UCA's for this, but I went ahead and ordered a set of Freedom Offroad UCA's from extreme terrain. They are due to show up today.

So, with only a 2" lift and the rubbing issues sorted out, should I still change that UCA, or leave it stock? The UCA I ordered is for trucks with 2-4" inches of lift, but besides being able to change the caster or camber more, what other benefits if any would I achieve by swapping out the stock UCA's for some aftermarket ones? Is this worth it in the long run or should I just return them and not worry about it?

 

If you want the mud flap rubbing to increase, add new UCAs. These increase caster by moving the upper ball joint closer to the cab. The benefit of extra caster is that you get less wander. That was probably what you were feeling with your pull to the right. If your wander is gone after your alignment, you probably are ok.

I really hope you had it aligned after the lift and didn't wait 5 months. In any case if they gave you a printout when you got it aligned, post it for everyone to weigh in on what it looks like now.

 

Yes i got an alignment after I had the lift installed. I'll upload the alignment sheet in a little bit.

 

I recently installed Fox 2.5s and drove it while waiting for UCAs to arrive, threw on a set of Toyo at3 275/70/17s and I had zero rubbing. After I installed the SPC UCAs and had it aligned I found my self trimming the fender liner by the cab and front bumper. I only installed the UCAs per Fox’s recommendation but for the price of my setup I didn’t want to risk damaging them.

 

That makes sense, the new UCA's pushed the wheel much farther forward in the wheel well. Could they not align it back to the original specs and push it back? When you did have the UCA's swapped, did you notice any difference in ride quality, etc?

 

Also make sure they aligned the rear axle properly. Those 1” lift blocks have a massive amount of play before you clamp them down even though they have a centering pin. If your thrust angle is off the truck will pull one way or another. This happened to me after I got blocks installed.

If the rubbing is minimal I wouldn’t worry too much. Aftermarket UCAs have their ups and downs. Toyota ball joints pretty much last the life of the truck. I have SPC UCAs and their proprietary ball joints a garbage. You get maybe a year before they develop play.

 

After the UCA install I was massively toed in, the alignment took care of that but they gave me +3% caster to move the wheel forward. So it’s was hard to tell if drivability improved. I’m back to factory spec other than the caster angle which has to be in the positive because the SPC UCAs actually move the top of your spindle toward the rear to create positive caster. I think the only positive to UCAs is to give more articulation of the upper ball joint, I may end up switching out the SPCs for a UCA the doesn’t push the ball joint back towards the cab. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=huMztKaHsUE&list=PL1k07Og-0sYW5XSPx_g_yJsdpBXKh1w-2&index=6&pp=iAQB

 

Great video, I've watched several of that guys videos. He pretty much answered my question, and since i've got a good alignment right now with ample clearance, changing the UCA seems to be a waste of money at this time, and I'd be running the risk of loosing body mount clearance.

 

Here is the alignment I just got done. When I had the lift installed around 5 months ago it was aligned too, and drove fine. When I got the new tires and wheels put on I noticed it pulled to the right, and rubbed on the passenger mud flap turning right in my driveway(like a 1.5”-2” raised surface). That’s why I wanted to have the alignment checked and was thinking about replacing the UCA’s. I’ve now got maybe 1/2" clearance at the mud flaps, and have a good 2-3” in the front.

 

The numbers look good. The caster numbers are the key to a pull or a drift and they are unchanged. Looks like the only thing they did was adjust the toe and center your steering wheel. Camber changed slightly, but that was probably from the toe set. If you put UCAs on, your caster numbers go up. That will help with drivabiltiy, but causes the challenge of rubbing. I am guessing at the caster you are at now that the adjusters are maxed out. When you adjust caster on the LCAs you push the wheel more forward to gain caster. When it is adjusted with the UCAs, it goes the opposite direction.

My suggestion is that if you like the way it drives now, leave it. It looks good and your tires won't wear improperly.

 

Did you watch the video you posted? As explained in the video, SPC's have adjustable caster and camber. You can set caster to zero at the UCA, max the caster at the lower control arm, and then bring camber back into spec at the UCA. This way you gain firewall/body-mount clearance rather than loose it. This is the biggest advantage of the SPC UCAs IMHO.

He also debunks the notion of aftermarket UCAs giving more travel via greater articulation at the balljoint.

https://www.spcalignment.com/instructions/25480-INS_Grease_WEB.pdf

 

we're about the same boat, did a ton of research too.
have a 2023 trd sport, i went with eibach stage 1 all around with icon rxt aal and jba uca.
i kept my stock wheels/tires and that's when i had rubbing on full lock forwards/backwards.
i changed the wheels to 17x9 -12 and 285/70/17 tires and voila, the rubbing was gone.
my alignment spoecs if i remeber correctly was .03/.01 camber, 5.2/5.3 caster and .05/.05 toe
took the truck from florida to mt. rainier and offroading in moab and have no problems

 

That's a whole lotta positive caster sheesh

 

Those numbers look good. The advantage of the UCA that’s adjustable is you can run higher caster and still get camber adjusted correctly. I run JBAs and run 4.5* of caster with zeros issues getting camber and toe adjusted correctly.

 

I did 2" lift and 33" pizza cutters. No need to change out reliable UCA's.

 

I did watch the video, a couple times, but I set the UCAs at the neutral position which gave me +2% over stock assuming the alignment tech would change it if needed. When I noticed rubbing I contacted them about the alignment and how it wasn’t rubbing before. They told me it was set to the most ideal specs and trimming is necessary whith my wheel offset/tire size. I went with a 275/70/17 with +0 offset to avoid this issue. Unfortunately I work six days a week and have little time to go back and see if they can readjust it.

 

I think you need to put it in F (+0.25) or G (+0) position, not D (+2). In the D position, the SPC is no different than the 2 degree non-adjustable UCAs.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ucas-and-alignment.40470/