What do you think about this set up

This is my first post. English is not my native language so I get confused and have difficulty understanding sometimes reading in the forums. Thank you for the help in advance.

I recently bought my first ever truck, its a 2012 Tacoma 4x4 TRD Offroad 4 door short bed, very low mileage. I would like to give it a 3 inch lift mainly for looks but functionality as well. My driving I would say is around 80% paved road, 15% gravel/dirt and 5% "offroad".

I've been searching and reading the forums and I'm strongly considering the Bilstein 5100 all around with OME 887 springs plus. Maybe a 1.5 or 2 inch add a leaf in the rear.

Dont know if this is useful information but my wheels and tires will be 17x8.5 zero offset 265/70/17.

1. Can you recommend me a UCA that will fit my application?
2. Should I consider a completely different setup because it doesnt match my uses? Ive heard but not research much about the eibach pro lift kit.
3. Anything I should add to this setup that I may be missing? like brake line, diff drop kit etc.

 

If you're planning 2" or more over stock (at the front), then a UCA would be helpful. Many brands out there, but SPC, JBA, and Accutune are good ones. I have Total Chaos UCA and if I had to do it over again now, I think I'd choose something else. My TC's have been great though.

I think that setup you mentioned will be fine for your uses.

At those heights, I don't think you'll need extended brake lines or a diff drop.

Some people do get driveline vibrations after lifting, so something to think about.

Congrats on the truck and welcome to the forum!

 

Thanks for the input @Musubi3. May I ask what you didn't like about the Total chaos? I've heard some bad reviews on some parts of the SPC so I was actually considering Total Chaos.

 

Sorry to hear that! We'd love if you contact us directly to get your feedback to see where we can improve.

Thanks for any feedback you can provide. We'll be back in the shop tomorrow morning

- Team TC
info@chaosfab.com
951.737.9682

 

We would be happy to help provide some technical information to find the best setup for your needs.

Feel free to contact us directly when we open up tomorrow. Thanks for posting!

info@chaosfab.com
951.737.9682

Here is a link to our Upper Control Arms for your ride!
CLICK HERE



- UCA's are designed with added caster to aid in retaining factory alignment specs when aftermarket lift kits are installed. This reduces the darting or wandering in the vehicle's steering when 2.5" -3" lift kits are installed.

- Upper control arms combined with extended length coilover shocks will allow for up to 1" of additional wheel droop travel.

- Will work with all aftermarket brand shocks.

- Only upper control arm on the market that allows a 3.0" diameter coilover shock to be installed with no contact.

- Urethane bushings reduce bushing deflection compared to stock rubber bushings.

- 4130 chromoly tubular upper control arms are 100% bolt on.

- CNC tapered spindle adapters convert the factory ball joint to a 1" uniball for added component strength & maximum wheel travel.

- TOTAL CHAOS includes 1" I.D. uniballs that feature a heat-treated stainless-steel ball & heat-treated stainless-steel race for maximum corrosion resistance and component longevity. These uniballs also feature a military grade PTFE woven fabric liner that helps prevent noise.

- Custom profile upper and lower hi-misalignment spacers maximize droop wheel travel and are machined from heat treated 17-4 stainless steel.

- Control arm pivots include zerk fittings to grease the bushings and inner sleeves without disassembly.

- 3 stage powder coat process includes a durable clear coat to provide a long lasting finish.

- Hand crafted in the U.S.A.

Complete Grade 8 hardware kit is included.

 

I’d wait to see how much lift your truck has. Probably wont need UCAs with a small lift, small tires, and 2.0 shocks
I only got new aftermarket UCAs due to the UCAs touching the 35x12.5 tires and touching the 2.5 king shocks, alignment alone was fine with stock UCAs since I had minimal lift

 

@PapaBear15 and @TOTAL CHAOS
It's nothing necessarily bad with my TC UCA's. My uniballs needed replacing and the replacement uniballs were just pricey compared to ball joints. Plus I opted for the removal/installation tool, which helped a ton, but still added cost. I understand that you can't compare uniballs with ball joints. The uniballs are seemingly unbreakable and you can go with it worn or knocking for a while. But I'm a very particular person, and noise tends to bother me quick, so regardless of what I have, it will get replaced quickly.

I've never had squeaking issues since I regularly lubricated my uniballs, per direction. The one thing I feel that could help is with perhaps having a cap or cover to protect the uniball from the dirt/dust/debris, as I feel that contributed to the inner linings being worn.

 

Honestly, my first experience with SPC wasn't good. My bushings and joints instantly needed replacing after knocking was happening. SPC warranted my parts of course, but the process kind of sucked. You need to pay for another UCA set, then send the original ones back to be determined IF covered under warranty or not.

I sent mines back, bought the Total Chaos UCA's, and sold the new replacement SPC's when they came in.

Oh, and at the time, SPC was all sold out of their bushings. I would've gladly just paid for those and not deal with the warranty, but things happened as they did.

Total Chaos always had their parts stocked, so that's another reason I went with them.

With all that said, I know people with both SPC's and TC's that don't have any issues with them and they love em, which is why I still add SPC into the mix of recommendations.