Alignment Question

[Cascade4runner]

Hey folks, finally lifted my wife and I’s 2008 V8 4Runner! I ended up installing it myself and removed XREAS. This forum was crucial during the install when reading past posts, thank you. We wanted to go with a mild lift so I ended up buying OME 2884 front struts and 2895E rear coils with OME Nitrochargers all around. Didn’t get UCA’s due to the lift being so mild. Around 2” lift.

After alignment, it looks like camber is not quite in spec (1.7). I have no idea what these numbers mean, but after doing some research, UCA would help get them in spec. I didn’t expect this with the mild lift and stock tires on 18” wheels. From reading the forums it sounds like some people try to get 4.0 on their camber? The truck rides amazing and at freeway speed has no noticeable wander or “looseness”. Is this something I should be concerned about or should I try and install some UCA’s? Looking for some help understanding my alignment numbers and options. Thanks all!

 

[stevelikesrhino]

There's a video on youtube that specifically explains toyota truck's front suspension:
Everything About Toyota IFS | Suspension Construction and Limits | Part 1 - YouTube

When viewed from the front, Camber is how much your wheel tilts up and down. Toe is how much your wheel tilts left and right. Caster, is how much your steering axis tilts back. Only Toe is not directly related to the lift, since toe is adjusted on tie rods. Because of the suspension design, when you lift the front of a toyota IFS, you will get more camber (wheels tilt down), less caster. That's primarily why your camber is out of spec. 1.7 degree camber is no good, and camber is one thing that you want it to be right on point with stock spec, with half of the tolerance.

The secondary reason is, your alignment tech probably didn't try their best. To max out factory adjustment after a lift, they should max out caster first (by moving the front camber bolt fully in and the rear one fully out), and then try to back off front camber bolt to shoot for 0 camber. This might not be possible to keep your caster in spec, but having slightly out of spec caster is not as dangerous: your steering will be more hesitant to return to center, and it might wander more at higher speed.

Now, whether you can get your caster in spec, depends on your rear lift. Some people claim to get alignment all in spec after a 2 inch lift, because their rear lift is very mild. When you lift up the rear, your tilt your car forward, effectively giving it less caster. Given you have the super stiff 2895E, you probably wouldn't get the caster in spec. You can choose to live with the worsened steering feel, or get UCAs that can correct the geometry. If you get UCAs, you can shoot for 4.5, or even 5 degrees of caster with 0 camber, and your 4runner will drive like never before, having much better steering feel, and the turn-in will feel sharper than ever, even compared to stock.

 

[Cascade4runner]

Thank you so much for your detailed and thorough response. That helps a lot. I went with the softest OME rear coils so I wouldn’t qualify them as super stiff. I believe they are comparable to stock. I did end up getting my alignment job done at Toyota so who knows if they were lazy or not. My caster ended up being 1.7 I believe off the top of my head. Either way, looks like I need to install UCA’s.