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

No print out since I diy’d it.

But

- Both ball joints set at setting “E”.
- Control arm cams maxed for caster (rear out, front in).

Aligned.

Driver (left) side -

Caster - 3.3/3.4*
Camber - -.5*

Passenger (right) side -

Caster - 3.8/3.9*
Camber - -.5*

Toe - 1/8” toe in

Cross caster - ~.5* to the passenger side.


Suspension details -

Front - 5100s @ .85 + Toytec Eibachs + 3/8” top plates. Roughly 3”

Rear - TSB springs + 3 leaf add a leaf + 1/2” block. Roughly 2”

285/75/16 Duratracs + 16x8 et-10 wheels.

Trimmed bottom front corners of the flares + moved front fender liners + trimmed mud flaps + no cab mount chop.

 

Looks good . If I go with 1/8" toe my steering wheel gets a bit of bump steer on small bumps in the road . Having a hard time getting used to that term coming from Jeeps where Bump steer meant something else all together.

 

Ok thanks..maybe I’ll try D next time.. did you notice any clearance difference (cab mount/ fender) between D or E? I know it’s just moving the top of the spindle not the lowers)

 

oh yes . I finally got enough trimmed and heated up and moved away on the front of the fender . Now its back to actually needing the CMC or close to it . I had no issue with the CM at E but I remember it was really close at time to just barely touching it at D before. I had done everything on the back side of the wheel well when installing the Foxes but not the CMC. IIRC when I was at D before once in a great while it would just touch the CM to remind me to keep it on my list of things to deal with eventually

 

Back are all the way out fronts are just past bottom center about 7 o'clockish

 

I am guessing that the alignment guy went for max clearance fore and aft the tire as I also believe he could of got more caster than he did at E but tried to keep the tire out of the front side of the fender on yours. At E all my trimming was needed at the front . I could not hit the Cab Mount. Now at D I don't believe I could touch the front now no matter what the condition. I can see a CMC coming in the D position. I kept the LCA maxed out for caster since I installed the lift . Im mainly after good tracking and no steering wheel shimmy on rough roads. Never did it with OE suspension and did it as soon as I lifted it even with the 285s that were fine before the lift just not the size or wheel I wanted. Before the lift I was amazed at how nothing bump wise effected the steering wheel at all now just the opposite although better at 0 toe just not as good as it could be I feel

 

Yup.

All my trimming is up front at position E. The wheel is completely centered in the wheel well which was my main goal.

Trimming the front is wa easier than the rear since it’s just plastic. Unbolt the fender liner too and just push it forward.

 

I used a heat gun for as much of the plastic work as possible to maintain as much strength in the plastic as I could. Some worked some didn't. I think if set at D it would be pretty close to the same out come as far as tire position but with just more caster. With D you move the upper a little farther back but with LCA at max caster they are farther forward, cam adjuster wise. I don't care for rubbing but I will mod things to get 3-4 degrees caster. This is all just my feeling as it sounds logical and so far ( 2 days at D ) I have not rubbed yet at the mount but I feel confident it will eventually. Much less steering correction now at E with lowers still set at max caster. Im just used to not cranking the steering to the max on a 4x4 just to make life easier for all the U joints and on this CV joints out of habit. Once I feel OK with it I will probably have a local shop that knows me well fine tune the alignment

 

what size tire are you running? im at D and just had new tires put on ko2 265/70/17 and it rubs much worse than it did with my toyo open country in the same size.

 

I don’t have any rubbing on my 2” lift with stock UCAs and 265/70/17 KO2s

 

stock wheels? I have scs rims little wider than stock

 

Stock 7.5” wide TRD Sport wheels +30mm offset with 1” spacers.

 

285/75/16 on a 16x8 et-10.

Are your LCAs maxed for caster? This mKes a huge difference on how your tires sit.

 

Tires are all you changed?? I didn’t check your size but i noticed that the KO2 ran a smidge bigger than the nitto’s i was looking at but only by .1”

 

I was at D and getting some slight rub on the mount running 305/65/17 on 17x8.5 -10 offset Ray 10's and 885's up front with a single AAL in the rear. I just move the UCA to position E and my slight rub appears to be gone. The steering feels slightly looser compared to D but I've been making changes to the alignment slowly myself so I have no idea where any of the numbers are. I wanted to wait until I thought it was close before going to shop to get a readout. My LCA's are frozen so I don't want to waste time trying to have them adjusted until I decide to replace the bushings.

This picture is when they were at D. There is more room up front but my lowers are not maxed out.

 

Here’s a couple pics before and after proper alignment:

Driver side: Setting D lower cams not maxed (factory specs)

Driver side: (wheel in same position) setting E lower cams maxed

 

The Firestone shop in San Jose refused to align my SPC UCAs even if I forgo their warranty.

I just finished installing the UCAs and Bilstien 6112. The ride is very very twitchy so I wouldn't even dare put it on the freeway right now. I have them set in the D position and centered the UCA camber slot. Can anyone recommend a shop in San Jose, CA that will align using these control arms?

 

Bump

 

It took me three 4x4 shops to find someone who knew what they were doing. I’m sure there is a reputable off-road shop there in San Jose that’ll do it right.. call and ask around.. good luck

 

If you max out the caster setting on the lowers. Set the uppers on "D" and set the camber on 0 and toe to 0-3/32 just like it says in the Light Racing thread before you go for an alignment. All adjustments can be fine tuned by the lowers. Having adjustable upper should be a nonissue. alignment-caster-clearance-and-driving-report-with-light-racing-ucas.158795