Alignment Specs (heeelp!)

That would be 1-9/16" of added scrub; not much difference from 285/75/16.
+3 caster
+0.5 camber(+0.6 driver/+0.4 pass for road crown)
+0.06 toe

 

any thoughts on my setup?

Second Gen Tacoma
2.5-2.75" lift
285/70/17
FN Pro Wheels Diameter: 17", Width: 8", Offset: 0mm, Backspacing: 4.5"
SPC UCAs with adjustable caster settings

I am rubbing on the back of my wheel well on driver when going up slight inclines.

 

Alignment specs? Backspacing sounds fine for our trucks. tech might not have fiddled with the UCA's or known about the adjustability.

 

sounds simple: you need more caster to move your wheels forward and stop the rubbing. the complicated part could come if you don't have enough room in the front to not rub there. either way you need more caster.

 

I got an alignment this past weekend and i showed them how to adjust the UCAs. Below is the end result..

 

Holy caster. I’d give my left nut for those numbers. Might be time to ditch the TC uppers cause I can only get 3.0 out of mine. Not rubbing but that’s because I trimmed and hacked. Going up to 315’s soon so we’ll see what touches then.

 

looks like you need a trim. or something. typical with 285's.

another thing to note is that you have a caster split right to left. different folks have different theories about whether that's even necessary anymore .. they were originally for straight tracking on a crowned road but it's a preference thing mostly now. i don't run that (and ii have a similar setup to you). but my point is that your caster split appears to be backwards. normally the higher caster is on the right side.

 

Exactly! So why am i still rubbing?! Ha

 

I got it aligned at firestone and they were just happy to get the R/L close and I was just happy they were willing to adjust the SPC UCAs. Together we worked on it for about 2 hours and they had 2 techs dedicated to it. They were cool about it but I didn't want to be to pushy and piss them off. I figured I would drive it and do more research to determine better numbers then go back to them with exacts at a later date.

So what are the ideal numbers here? Earlier in this thread people were saying to have the toe off zero so that it would zero out while driving. I would like to get the alignment dialed in before trimming more.

 

i have SPC's on Fox and i run high caster (5deg) on E tires, but i do not have a lift and i don't run 285's. i can't give you firm numbers as I've never had to trim or align to fit. my alignment is for normal performance. so, i shoot for:
camber at 0.0 each side on the rack
toe-in 0.05 each side
caster 5.0 each side

in reality you give & take camber and caster and get what you get, as close to this as possible. my alignment (high caster) is very much for on road handling. i don't need it for fitment, it's a preference. for fitment you're needing a range probably 3.5-5 depending on what zeroes your camber and fits everything right. and then hope your handling works.

and by the way i totally appreciate the Firestone techs as well since they're making an effort for you. but your SPC experience should tell you to find an independent reliable Toyota specialist to wrench for you. they will know what to do with the SPC's and a whole lot of other things that may be coming. find and build that relationship now.

 

I have an alignment scheduled for Monday afternoon and I was hoping to get some recommendations for specs to request. The shop I'm going to is very good about getting exactly what you want so I can tell them pretty much anything I want. My current set up is:
6112's at 3/4 settings (23" hub to fender)
SPC UCA
New Dorman LCA's
New inner and outer TRE's
265/75/16 S/T Maxx
16x8 4" BS wheels

Any input is appreciated. Thanks

 

i'd use the specs in the post above yours, because i like the drive with extra caster, super good road feel above 35mph. and it will work with your fitment, as well as being basically OE plus added caster. and you'll be good to go.

 

Thanks for the input. That post of yours above is very helpful. From the reading I've done on here before posting, I had tentatively planned on something in the 3.0-3.5 range for castor and 0 camber. I was unsure about tow as I had seen some people say 0 and others suggesting varying numbers just above 0.

 

0 toe isn't common for on-road vehicles because there is little to no on-center feel and the drive, especially at highway speed, is "floaty" and that can be especially unsafe on wet roads or whatever when road feel is at a premium. and a tick of toe-in helps to self-center the wheel.

3-3.5deg caster are probably good numbers for most everyone. for me, however, i need more caster for how i drive and i got the SPC's just for the caster availability. at speeds go up so does steering stability if your caster is high enough. if your caster is low or normal, say up to 3.5 or so, you'll be sawing your wheel back and forth like a madman. i've had the caster all over the place on this truck from 2-6.5, and the zone with my setup is 4.8-5.2 or thereabouts.

 

That's some awesome feedback. What you're describing makes total sense. I previously had a 1st gen with TC UCA's that have castor built into them. I could tell immediately after installing them that the truck wanted to stay straight much easier. IDK what my alignment numbers were then since I just took it to a local shop and just said align it.

 

haha yep i've had the same experience. figuring out the value for a right-on alignment has been probably the best thing i ever did for my driving enthusiast ways.

and by the way, of course you can align the toe in any number of ways. more toe-in gets more stability & self-centering at the expense of turn-ability or weight shift-ability, and you can align toe-out which is commonly used on race cars.

 

Awesome. Thanks for the advice. This gives me some good knowledge to talk about with the shop I'm going to. The shop was recommended to me by a local TW member that has taken his vehicles there for years. They are also Toyota enthusiasts so I'm very hopeful it will turn out well.

 

Would love some feedback on my specs if you guys don’t mind.

 

at first i was just looking at the Before... too early for these eyes.

generally it looks ok but it really depends on what you want, your setup, what you're trying to accomplish. it's fine for general use and low tire wear. many trucks here zero the camber. you don't need to, but if you are on E range tires i would definitely go for zero camber. caster is ok unless you have a fitment or driveability/preference issue. toe-in is w/in spec. any particular questions?

 

Thanks bro, was just looking to see if I could dial this in more, sounds like I should try for 0 camber with the E rated tires. Appreciate your feedback.