Gauging interest in UCA group buy
- Thread starter JBurt
- Start date
MStudt
official vendor
You're paying more for gray paint and a fancy sticker. Just my opinion though.
hearno
Senior Member
I've been doing some research based off of your comments and I'm inclined to agree. The Allpros appear to be as solid as the rest at a cheaper cost, for the 3rd gens at least. They're $650 for the 4th gen so they're in line with Icon, Camburg. etc which would bring me back to whichever company/website is willing to offer the best deal.
MStudt
official vendor
If you look a little harder you kind find some very interesting information. The new design was introduced in 2009, and they were modeled off of Camburg's. There's a thread on TTORA that touches on this, and someone who worked for Camburg at the time was chiming in on the topic.
Mgyver1
Member
I'm going to be in the market very soon for a set of UCAs but my plan was to go Icon as well. Anyone want to see if Icon will give us a deal?
JBurt
Senior Member
Just got off the phone with the truck shop in San Diego. They said with at least 15 people they could do $500 + shipping (between $10 and $25) for the built right. They are pretty much the same as everyone else, chromoly tubing, powder coated, and I did check on the uniball size and it is 1" just like everyone else.
[MENTION=113639]Mgyver1[/MENTION] I did email Icon last week but haven't heard anything back.
[MENTION=113639]Mgyver1[/MENTION] I did email Icon last week but haven't heard anything back.
the great him
Elite Member
id be interested in this but i only want the LR arms... open uni-balls are ok for dry climates but they also wear out faster, as they are exposed to the elements, and allow foreign debris to get in them... the LR arms are sealed and are more adjustable than the others, as the UBJ is actually removable and adjustable... i know they had a bad rap when they first came out because some guys has issues with them breaking... LR has sense updated the design and added gussets to the arms around the bushing/mounts, as well as now offering poly bushings standard with all arms -and it was probably more of an issue of people not properly assembling(over tightening them) them and greasing them at the bushing that caused some of the binding and failures. IMO they are the better unit for much less. the fact that they can be rebuild for much less money makes them ideal for me. i dont have a LT truck so i dont need all that drop. our CVs will bind up before you can reach the LR range limits and the AP, TC, CB arms all have more range, travel than the LR arms $600 for a set of arms that id be willing to be no one here will ever use to half their potential is just stupid and ludacris... how many of you guys are running ICON suspension or the likes? how many of you guys are doing comps with your trucks or pushing them that hard? to me the idea of having aftermarket UCAs is for the adjustability of things after the lift, and having a little more freedom of movement and clearance... LR provides all of that and in some cases more than any of the others for almost half the cost... so they get my vote. OP put me down for a set. ill consider others if their price drops to that of the LR arms.
BrianSD_42
New member
Damn $500 for the Built Rights is a great price.
They really nice and local to SoCal.
They really nice and local to SoCal.
BrianSD_42
New member
The reason I wouldn't go with LR is there are soooooooo many hate threads out there with pictures showing how they broke within a pretty short period of time.
Based on what The Kid is saying I'd sooner go OEM then LR .
The uniballs can rust and if you live anywhere that isn't pretty dry it will be battle to keep them rust free. You pretty much need to put dry silicone on them every few weeks - a simple spray can is fine - and every time it rains or you wash your car. Simple but not for everyone.
Based on what The Kid is saying I'd sooner go OEM then LR .
The uniballs can rust and if you live anywhere that isn't pretty dry it will be battle to keep them rust free. You pretty much need to put dry silicone on them every few weeks - a simple spray can is fine - and every time it rains or you wash your car. Simple but not for everyone.
the great him
Elite Member
sooooo many hate thread from guys who dont know what they are doing, and over torquing the bolts and binding up the movement or not greasing them on instal... all the others require a very high level of maintenance, and for the cost thats just absurd! and you didnt even acknowledge the fact that the LR arms do have greater adjustability for the end user or shop to dial in alignment... or the fact that you dont have to take them off and send them off to a shop or back to the manufacture to have them serviced, you can do it in your garage with the arm still on the truck... or how about the fact that LR has taken care of their customers who have had issues and updated/changed the design and fixed the "issues" with them... i still am failing to see how the LR arms are a bad choice and worse than the stock ones...
idk for me the thought of having to service(in any way shape or form of the word) a part that i pay $600 or more for every two weeks or every time it rains or you wash the vehicle is just crazy. we are not driving race trucks or competition vehicles here. for all but 1% of us our 4runners are our DDs. i have done(shift foreman) fleet maintenance for the 2nd largest independent ambulance fleet in Or, where safety meets DOT meets NTSB, meets insurance co ect ect ect when it comes to preventative maintenance and fixing anything that could be remotely construed as "bad" or "worn out" -right down to doors squeaking or compartment doors rattling while driving, tires cant get lower than 50% tread, brakes pads are changed every 10k miles, and every other brake job rotors are replaced, so on and so on. and i have NEVER heard of a part or ran into a part that was as unuser friendly as the uni-ball UCA design...
now dont get me wrong, i know all about them and that they work great -for their intended application, but that application is racing, not day to day driving. i would never have a part on my truck that required me to be out servicing it all the time like that. here in the PNW i would be spending almost as much time servicing them as i would driving the darn truck -it rains about 60% of the year here. and the mud and road spray we get would eat those things alive. and not one of those companies are gonna stand behind the product at that point. but funny LR will, and they have. again im not bashing AP TC CB or any of the others, im just saying the parts are not intended for daily driver usage. they are intended for desert race or competition use and work great for that, where after every race/event 80% of the truck gets torn down and serviced or replaced.
MTD
New member
And I would only be interested in LR. I wouldn't buy a uniball setup being from the rust belt, the maintenance would be monotonous and time consuming. Like [MENTION=49442]thekid[/MENTION] said uniballs are for dry climates and do not benefit the DD. When I rebuild my Icon's I want to go extended travel so I won't be able to avoid UCA's.
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NateMob
New member
first hand experience with both within the last two years. My response is in bold.
Extended travel coilovers will have ZERO effect on your alignment. They set your alignment at static height, not full droop.
The argument about CVs binding up before travel is used up is a mute point, CVs dont limit travel nor do any aftermarket UCA, your down travel is limited solely by your coilover. Even with my Extended Travel Icons my OEM axles spun freely. I live in the desert and Uniballs work great here, on that not however, the "sealed" ball joint on the LR arms i took off was rusty and caked with dirt and shit that was trapped inside the boot, destroying the joint. A grease fitting might help but the boot doesnt keep contaminants out, only traps them in there. Uniballs can be rinsed easily and if a couple drops of dry lube every couple weeks or month, is too much maintenance you should probably sell your truck and buy a new prius or something.
Extended travel coilovers will have ZERO effect on your alignment. They set your alignment at static height, not full droop.
The argument about CVs binding up before travel is used up is a mute point, CVs dont limit travel nor do any aftermarket UCA, your down travel is limited solely by your coilover. Even with my Extended Travel Icons my OEM axles spun freely. I live in the desert and Uniballs work great here, on that not however, the "sealed" ball joint on the LR arms i took off was rusty and caked with dirt and shit that was trapped inside the boot, destroying the joint. A grease fitting might help but the boot doesnt keep contaminants out, only traps them in there. Uniballs can be rinsed easily and if a couple drops of dry lube every couple weeks or month, is too much maintenance you should probably sell your truck and buy a new prius or something.
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MTD
New member
Agreed.
This I don't agree with though lol. Try doing this at -10 F with a -20 deg wind chill lol. I agree it is easy, the maintenance is literally impossible to do correctly unless you have a heated garage for you rig to live in. For the record if I were in the desert I would have no issue running Uniballs.
yukonrider
New member
I'm down for a set of Light Racing UCA's.
All of the reasons The Kid listed are the deciding factor for me too. Id say my truck gets wet 100% of the time I drive it off road, which is 3/4 times it leaves the garage. Uni-Balls just wouldn't last.
MStudt
official vendor
Try restoring a VW Van that is outside in the winter! Cutting, welding, grinding, rebuilding the engine, and transmission. While it is cold, it is still plenty easy to get work done correctly in. While I'm not quite as cold as you. I do a lot of work in the winter months around here and often see single digits and negatives with the windshield.
Uniballs are not as bad as everybody says. With proper maintenance they'll easily last in the Midwest. The funny thing is that a lot of people say they won't run uniballs in the Midwest, and then go install some heim joint control arms not thinking twice about it.
It's not hard to take you 4runner to a car wash, and have someone wash it for you. Then take 10 minutes of your time or less to apply some lube to your balls.
*I vote for AllPro. They copied Camburg's design in 2009, and are made with all the same parts. Same UCA, but less money. If this thread ends up going with LR UCA's Group Buy. I'll start a new Group Buy for all of you looking to go uniball, and it'll be from AllPro.
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