Alignment With 4" Front Lift and Stock UCA's

[morphious]

After I lifted my truck in April and had a shop do an alignment it has never really felt right, though they told me it was perfect with in specs. (Ripoff) My fault originally as I left the truck at the shop and picked up hours later as we had somewhere to be and I couldn't wait for it so I never got a print out. It always looked as the camber was off and would make almost like skidding sounds when turning on painted surfaces. I know everyone says going over 3" in front with stock UCA's is pushing it, and it is but WOW what a difference a good alignment at a reputable shop can make. I have been reading and debating on buying new UCA's but as I don't do any hardcore off-roading I didn't want to spend the money, however I would if it would save me wear on my tires. I called this shop and spoke to the guy and told him my situation and he said bring it in and let them see what they could do. Well after reading endless posts trying to find numbers that can be obtained with my setup, to no real avail I bit the bullet and figured spending $69 was worth getting an expert opinion of what I got and may need to do. Best money spent and now for me I know I don't need to spend the money on new UCA's as the truck drives and handles great and no more constant looking at the front end saying my camber just doesn't look right. So if you have a V6 4x2 and want to lift it 4", this is what you can expect with a good alignment. (Mine has FJ coils and Bil 5100's set at max)

 

[S p a r k y]

I have roughly 4.25" of front lift with stock UCA's and all is well with everything. I have firestone lifetime alignment as well, take it in every rotation to check.

 

[zopperman]

I have roughly 4.25" of front lift with stock UCA's and all is well with everything. I have firestone lifetime alignment as well, take it in every rotation to check.

how are your CV angles?

 

[S p a r k y]

They look great, added the 1" diff drop, helps some. I can try for a pic tomorrow!

 

[88mustanggt]

the difference extra caster will make is amazing as well. I have about 2-3 inch of lift and did buy the uca. when I first lifted it I got the alignment close but wanted it to settle before going for perfection. after a few thousand miles put it back on the alignment rack and got a full 4.5 deg of caster and what a difference that made.

the point is yes you can make it close and drive straight without them but there is room for improvement.

 

[morphious]

the difference extra caster will make is amazing as well. I have about 2-3 inch of lift and did buy the uca. when I first lifted it I got the alignment close but wanted it to settle before going for perfection. after a few thousand miles put it back on the alignment rack and got a full 4.5 deg of caster and what a difference that made.

the point is yes you can make it close and drive straight without them but there is room for improvement.

88, I agree with you, but for the 1,800 to 3k miles a year I put I my truck I just don't feel the cost is worth the gain for me at this point. One day I may upgrade, but for now it still feels great and I don't have to worry about my tires getting eaten up.

 

[Sungod]

how are your CV angles?

His is 2wd.

 

[Sungod]

Just took a closer look at those numbers. They don't jive. How can your cross caster be negative? You should be all over the road if that is the case. Your alignment is far from being in spec. Notice the "modified specification" line? That means they changed the range to make it green. It looks like the only thing that was done was a toe set which will only make your tires wear less. Your caster is way low. Dangerously low in my opinion.

 

[zopperman]

Just took a closer look at those numbers. They don't jive. How can your cross caster be negative? You should be all over the road if that is the case. Your alignment is far from being in spec. Notice the "modified specification" line? That means they changed the range to make it green. It looks like the only thing that was done was a toe set which will only make your tires wear less. Your caster is way low. Dangerously low in my opinion.

IIRC on the 4x4:

the caster range is 2.5-4* (No idea how different this could be for 2wd)
camber is -.9 - .6
I don't remember toe off hand

 

[morphious]

Just took a closer look at those numbers. They don't jive. How can your cross caster be negative? You should be all over the road if that is the case. Your alignment is far from being in spec. Notice the "modified specification" line? That means they changed the range to make it green. It looks like the only thing that was done was a toe set which will only make your tires wear less. Your caster is way low. Dangerously low in my opinion.

Sungod, What should it be based on the actual numbers? I thought that referenced the difference between the 2 which -.1 would be correct, right? BTW, I know that my alignment is not with in specs, my goal was to get it as close as possible, drive good, and not wear the heck out of my tires without replacing my stock UCA's.

Here are the specs from the manual if anyone is interested.

 

[ebg18t]

IMHO after driving with low caster I truly believe the recommendation of 3+ on the caster should be adhered to. Proper caster drives much better and eliminated weird steering vibrations ( don't understand the relationship)

 

[Sungod]

I am going to have to get my eyes checked. Let me correct myself. It looks like they did adjust camber on the right side and adjusted your toe which was way off. You are correct. They are displaying cross caster which will show the 1 degree difference being in spec, but that is deceiving because your caster is still way too low.

 

[morphious]

I am going to have to get my eyes checked. Let me correct myself. It looks like they did adjust camber on the right side and adjusted your toe which was way off. You are correct. They are displaying cross caster which will show the 1 degree difference being in spec, but that is deceiving because your caster is still way too low.

Yes, caster is low but I am going to see how it does for now before I decide to drop $400-$500 for new UCA's. It still drives way better than before I got the new alignment.

 

[TRDCal]

I would be concerned about the angle on the UCA ball joint. My UCA ball joints were worn to a scary point when installed my LC UCAs after about a year of running 3.75 inchs of lift on the stock UCAs. My truck does have some miles on it though, just something to think about.

 

[EdmundGTP]

4 inch lift on stock UCA's??? You're going to be AMAZED at the difference in drivability after switching to aftermarkets..

You'll punch yourself in the mouth for not doing it sooner...

just sayin...

 

[morphious]

I would be concerned about the angle on the UCA ball joint. My UCA ball joints were worn to a scary point when installed my LC UCAs after about a year of running 3.75 inchs of lift on the stock UCAs. My truck does have some miles on it though, just something to think about.

4 inch lift on stock UCA's??? You're going to be AMAZED at the difference in drivability after switching to aftermarkets..

You'll punch yourself in the mouth for not doing it sooner...

just sayin...

TRD, Thanks for the info I will keep my eye on that.

Edmund, What is the major difference in drive ability I would notice? I have driven both highway and on the streets and it feels good to me. I did however remove my front sway bar and that eliminated a lot of the harshness I got from raising it.

 

[88mustanggt]

you will notice better ability to go straight and not wonder, better return to center, with slight more heaviness in the steering witch feels really nice.

 

[morphious]

you will notice better ability to go straight and not wonder, better return to center, with slight more heaviness in the steering witch feels really nice.

Hmmm, maybe just me or the characteristics of the 4Runner differ from other vehicles. Truck drives straight as an arrow even going highway speeds with no wondering, the return to center to me is not much different then before I raised it and the heaviness feels like it should. My daily driver is a work 2011 F150 and my 4Runner does not feel worse to drive, I would rather drive my 4Runner the way it is over the F150 or my parents 2012 Rav4 Limited.

 

[EdmundGTP]

TRD, Thanks for the info I will keep my eye on that.

Edmund, What is the major difference in drive ability I would notice? I have driven both highway and on the streets and it feels good to me. I did however remove my front sway bar and that eliminated a lot of the harshness I got from raising it.

It's difficult to quantify the exact difference as "driving feel" is HIGHLY subjective from person to person. 88mustang's description is a fair approximation. Suffice to say, prior to installing aftermarket UCA's, my opinion was that my runner drove "just fine", and afterwards I kicked myself hard for not doing it sooner.. I don't think there's a single person who has installed aftermarket UCA's on a 3" plus lift and NOT commented on the huge improvement it made, or said that the cost wasn't worth it.. This is all just anecdotal advice though.. It's your truck. Do whatever you wanna do, or not do, with it.

 

[CXS]

. Truck drives straight as an arrow even going highway speeds with no wondering, the return to center to me is not much different then before I raised it and the heaviness feels like it should.

Sounds like mine with stock UCA's, I don't see any need to change. No question that alignment would be closer to spec by changing them but some of us don't have that kind of money to toss around.