Alignment specs off?

I had my 2018 Tacoma Sport lifted last week, installing a leveling kit with 2.5" lift in front, 1" lift in rear, new wheels (17x8.5, so still stock size), plus going to a 265/70/17 tire, up a step from the stock size of 265/65/17. The mechanic reportedly did an alignment, but something doesn't feel quite right afterwards, sort of loose and floaty on uneven pavement and through elevation changes. I had a separate shop check the alignment specs today, and they shared the report below (note: measurements are actuals, but target specs are stock for a non-lifted truck, so perhaps irrelevant). I'm no subject matter expert on alignment details, but can someone more knowledgeable tell me whether something looks off? I was hoping to see more caster, the negative toe surprised me, and the asymmetry between front wheels, while not major, was surprising.

Thanks in advance for any insights.

 

A little negative toe is normal. That floaty feeling is likely from the low caster; you'll need aftermarket upper control arms to get back your caster.

 

That makes sense. What type of caster should I target?

 

For a lifted truck, i think 3.5-4 is ideal; but anything 2.5 or more should make a noticeable improvement. My preference is 0 camber (or just slightly negative), and 4 caster.

 

Definitely sounds like my caster is quite low and needs to go up. Did my mechanic just blow the alignment? Or do the specs seem reasonable but simply held back by stock components? Trying to figure out if these guys are honest but inept, dishonest, or honest but limited by OEM equipment. Local reputation suggests they're a solid shop, but you never know. (FWIW, I'm definitely going for aftermarket UCA's - probably going to bite the bullet and go full coilover setup as well)

 

Stock component limitation; that's about the expected outcome after a 2.5" lift. To get the caster any higher would likely come at the cost of more positive camber.

Aftermarket uca's change up the geometry a bit and add more caster back in.

 

if you don't have aftermarket UCA's now then your caster adjustability is very limited. that's why UCA's are so common. stock UCA's can't go high enough for you, so it's time to bite the bullet for aftermarket UCA's now.

i run higher caster numbers cus I'm a highway freak. my last alignment was perfect for 18 months, and it was:
caster driver: 4.7*. passenger: 5.2*
camber zero
toe in 0.05* each side
on E range tires 265/65-17

higher caster will optimize higher speed steering stability and wheel centering, lower caster gets you a more responsive and maybe slightly urgent feeling in the steering and is suitable for lower speed and commuter setups. I'm having all my business redone atm and I'm gonna try around 5.0* driver & 5.5* passenger or wherever it lands and see if my truck likes it. i previously tried 6.0* passenger just to check it out after installing my SPC UCA's and it did not feel good with the front end, that was too much. but since i do a lot of highway driving and drive 'spiritedly' i think they say, i really like the truck to feel solid on road and this one does with my particular setup.

 

Thank you, that makes sense. Adjusting the UCA joint back to add caster brings it in, creating negative camber. So without a new piece, there's just limits on the existing geometry.

Frankly, all of this would've gone over my head, had I not found this long but quite helpful video explaining it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbReLNi2JP4

Interesting, I'm ordering new UCA's tomorrow and jacking up the caster! Any recommendations on a UCA? I was leaning towards the Total Chaos.

 

SPC Light Racing. for a balanced setup, good adjustability, solid construction, consider the others if you're more focused on off road. do some research on the differences.. they are significant and have big differences in price. for my use the SPC's are the best choice. and they also happen to cost about half of TC or something like that.

 

Why is toe still bad?
What wheel offset?

 

I'm not sure of my offset offhand, but it must be decently positive, as I believe I have 5" backspacing. Now wishing I was more like 4", since some of the coilover kits stop at 4.5" and 4.75".