Alignment, Caster, Clearance, and Driving Report with Light Racing UCAs

Well that is the UCAs I was going to go with but didnt....so I'm a lesson to all of you...get some SPC's....lol

 

Awesome write up! I ran into the same issue when I installed the OME full kit with 887. I did have the LR UCA, but don't think the tech knew much about the UCA adjustments.

I have good numbers, but if someone could tell me what to adjust that would be great. I removed the front flaps, but still rub the pinch weld when turning uphill. The drivers side seems to be the only side that rubs.

So should I have had the tech max the LCA cams before adjusting for camber and castor up top? Any input on this is extremely appreciated. I am taking it in tomorrow for some R&R and the same place did my alignment, so a good time to get it right.

 

Put me list of having a crappy local Firestone. Gave them what I wanted, he came out the first time and I told them nope, second time he was even more off. I'll find a different one that'll do it right. Asked for 0, 0, and 3. Got 1.1 and 0.9 camber, .02 and .04 toe, and 0.4 caster. Wtf. Idiots.

 

Here's the proof. Good grief.

 

Yup, no doubt you need UCAs. I had the same numbers after my lift without UCAs. I also had postive camber and it will most defintely ruin your tires.

I got the SPC UCAs and was able to get -0.5 camber on both and 3.2 caster.

 

Dude, that is what they did WITH the LR UCAs. I had better numbers with the factory ucas than what that idiot did with my LRs. He set the passenger side on a setting that isn't even listed on their sheet. If I was near the truck I would take a picture and show you what they did. It makes my head hurt thinking about it.

 

That's right, you did say that earlier that you had the UCAs.

What the?? No freakin way. I would ask for my money back if you haven't already. That's just pure laziness at firestone.

 

Jesus. That tech clearly has no idea how to set caster on the SPC UCAs... Print this and take go back to them: http://www.spcalignment.com/instructions/25480-INS_WEB.pdf

Unless you have other worn out components, there's no reason the tech can't get your caster to at least 2.5*.

 

@Jiveydude Do you recall what settings you used? I've read almost all of this thread. Seems like everyone reporting good results with Camber 0*, Caster 3* and Toe* has a 2nd or 3rd gen. Of course at the Firestone I recommended to @Rockymtntacoma, that gave me an awesome alignment even with too much lift for stock UCAs, that mechanic has moved on. Now that I have SPC UCA's, they don't know what the fuck to do. They put it to the stock alignment specs and now I get bump steer on tiny bumps, steering wheel wobble at 65-75 MPH, and pulling hard to the right no matter the road crown. So annoying.

 

Wow, holly quote from the past batman.

Sounds like you got negative caster or just right under zero same thing and the dreaded cross-caster "I'm new at my job, so I'll read the manual" pull to the right legality. Cross castered vehicles have slightly different caster and camber, which cause it to drift slightly to the right while rolling. This is a safety feature so that un-manned vehicles or drivers who lose steering control will drift toward the side of the road instead of into oncoming traffic.

I'll need to see your printed results from Firestone but we can easily figure it out, stop by and you can also point and laugh at my rear end debocal. I'll be home all day tomorrow

 

4ish work for you? I’ll bring my alignment printout.

 

Yep

 

Printed off the instructions for alignment and took them in this morning. Hopefully they use the UCA for adjusting castor and camber and I no longer have rubbing issues.

 

I didn't find much info for 1st gens here so I conducted an experiment and went with the specs in post #1. My Old Man Emu 880 springs gave me 2.25" inches of lift so I installed SPC upper control arms. I have 235/85r16 tires, which were rubbing the frame at the rear of the wheel well at full lock. I went to Firestone where I already had a lifetime alignment and no surprise, they did a crappy job of it not once but twice after I complained about the first one. Which led me to read all 55 pages of this thread.

I found a non-franchise local alignment shop with a good reputation and asked them to max out caster on the LCA's to increase clearance behind the front tires. I asked for 0* toe, 0* camber and 3.0* caster. The technician was already familiar with SPC upper control arms and he recommended a .5* caster difference left to right because Utah has heavily crowned roads. I took his advice, my truck now drives perfect even above 80 MPH, and the tires no longer rub the frame at full lock.

Peep these specs. Utah people, this is from Russ's Alignment in SLC. I was beyond impressed with them.

 

Will adjusting just the camber with these upper control arms affect the toe since they just tilt the wheel in and outward?

 

Awesome, I'll have to check them out. How where the numbers from our backyard alignment sesh?

 

That I don’t know, I had to put the upper ball joints back to the middle setting because the tires were rubbing the frame bad in reverse. But it did ride a lot smoother over bumps after we added caster.

 

I've been battling this as well on a 2nd gen. My shop thinks i'm ridiculous for wanting 3* of castor. They gotten it both times, but my UBJ is still in the neutral position. Beyond frustrated with it.

 

I set up my SPC arms with +1deg (setting E) of caster. Below are the results. I wanted to maximize the clearance at the rear of the fender. I am sitting at 2" of lift for my 3rd gen which I believe is about 2.6" to 3" on a 2nd gen.

I was able to get most everything close before I went to the shop. I adjusted the caster forward and then used a digital angle finder to set the camber. All the shop had to do was set the toe. This was at Firestone.

 

Maybe this was answered somewhere in the previous 55 pages, but I started to go crosseyed after about page 30....if adjusting camber with the UCA, and the wheel is off the ground, will the measurement be the same once the wheel is back on the ground? Meaning, if I get it to 0* in the air, will it sit that way on the ground? Or should I be trying to adjust camber with the wheel on the ground to begin with?