SPC UCA Alignment Sheets

[psraff]

Here's mine. Been a sh!tty day... I dropped it off yesterday to install my UCAs and an alignment. They didn't even start on it till noon today. They close at 5pm and they finished at 5:15. At you can see the Alignment is correct, but it isn't "right". I have a lot of miles to put on in the next week and then I'll be away for about a month working on the Slope, so I needed to get these done ASAP (that's why I didn't install them myself).

I told them to start with setting "D" (which they did), but during the alignment, previous shop tightened the crap out of my cam bolts. Driver side needs to be replaced (verge of being totally stripped), and the Pass side took a 36" breaker bar to loosen the back nut. Took, at times, two people with three hands and tools to get the driver side bolt adjusted. We got it this close, but without spare cam bolts on hand we were reluctant to work them too much. Now I have rubbing worse then what I had with OEM. We would've worked on it more, but I was just running out of time.

So what I'm asking is, can you post your alignment sheets on here to give them an example of where Caster should be to eliminate the rubbing at the back of the wheel well? What's the "Best" setup for our 4Runners with 2 1/2" to 3" lift and 33" or larger tires? I have a BL to install on here still, but if I ever run 35s, I'm going to have to push my Caster up. But how far before you really sacrifice drivability? I see on the 5th Gen Forum, they're going all the way up to +4* and claim it's perfect. Is it the same for us?

I'll add pics of my 4Runner in a few.
Thanks Everyone!
PS. Found out my rear end isn't square, so that can explain why after 3 alignments over the years it still wants to pull to the right....

 

[psraff]

Pics of mine (again, I have 255/85x16 tires. Basically a 33x10)

Pass. Side

Driver Side

 

[Rock_Rat]

I have 285/70r17 33's. SPC UCA's with new upper ball joints. Here was my spec sheet after the lift on April 2015 but before the 1" body lift. I didn't do the body lift until August 2015 after I received my bumper. No rubbing after adjusting the coil-overs. I had to trim the contura mud flaps on that lower inside corner. More than what's in the photo.

 

[psraff]

It just dawned on me.... (I've been going through every step they did in my head). We started off on the "D" setting like we should've, but then he did all the adjusting down below for the Camber \ Caster. I believe we should've:

1. Started on "D"
2. Zero out the stock cam bolts
3. Adjusted UCAs for Camber \ Caster
4. Fine Tune if need be back on the lowers.

Yes? No?

 

[St Runner]

On my Tacoma I started with the recommended setting (3 " lift but not running real big tires) with all the factory cam bolts in a neutral position. He set the caster with the factory cam bolts, then set the toe and finished the fine tuning of the camber with the upper uca ( had one side that was just slightly off). I ended up exactly with factory settings. I don't need the extra caster on mine because i never drive on the highway. I don't think there is anyway to adjust the caster without using the factory lower cam bolts and the initial setting you put it on

 

[JayRolla]

I had exact same issue. D setting and rub rub rub. The issue is finding a shop to fine tune. I had to go to the most positive caster setting. A I believe. Then you can max out lca bolts and adjust camber up top. But truck needs lifted off tires for that adjustment. Shop don't like doing it. I was able to get 5* caster with zero rub. Went to three shops last alignment. They only got me 4* and slight rub now. I'm about to spend $500 on garage alignment kit. Tired of fighting with shops.

 

[fourfive]

I may be the only one with my spc uca's on the "G" setting. It pushed my front wheels as far away from the pinch weld/rear front wheel well as possible, then my caster was set using the lower cam bolts. This completely eliminated my pinch weld rubbing with my 315s (with daily driving).

I've gone through D-G on the spc uca's with MANY alignments in between to test what would work the best for my set up. My caster on G is 1.5 driver side and 1.7 passenger side. This is less then the factory specs but my toe and camber are within factory specs. I chose to stay with the G setting and give up some caster because it gave me the best rear front wheel well clearance without having to hammer on anything and didn't notice a compromise in drivability compared to the other settings i tried.

 

[JayRolla]

I may be the only one with my spc uca's on the "G" setting. It pushed my front wheels as far away from the pinch weld/rear front wheel well as possible, then my caster was set using the lower cam bolts. This completely eliminated my pinch weld rubbing with my 315s (with daily driving).

I've gone through D-G on the spc uca's with MANY alignments in between to test what would work the best for my set up. My caster on G is 1.5 driver side and 1.7 passenger side. This is less then the factory specs but my toe and camber are within factory specs. I chose to stay with the G setting and give up some caster because it gave me the best rear front wheel well clearance without having to hammer on anything and didn't notice a compromise in drivability compared to the other settings i tried.

That is crazy, I have tried this and it pushed back the tire into the wheel well. But again I have found some tacoma guys will run like this but those LCA bolts have to be pretty much maxed. This is why I want to buy my own alignment kit so I can fine tune myself. So hard to get a shop to listen to what I tell them to do.

 

[Bootboy]

Pics of mine (again, I have 255/85x16 tires. Basically a 33x10)



Pass. Side

Driver Side

Are those the TOYO's? If I recall, they are a particularly tall 255.

 

[Konkordmusk]

Luckily, I do my own alignments! This is what I believe to be the best possible outcome for my truck. 3" lift, 35"s, setting D, I forget what I set the lower cams to but I know I spent 2-3 hours getting everything all setup. Lots of ups and downs the rack. I opted to push my wheel as far forward as possible without sacrificing camber.

 

[fourfive]

That is crazy, I have tried this and it pushed back the tire into the wheel well. But again I have found some tacoma guys will run like this but those LCA bolts have to be pretty much maxed. This is why I want to buy my own alignment kit so I can fine tune myself. So hard to get a shop to listen to what I tell them to do.

Thats odd that on G your wheel was pushed into the rear front wheel well. I could see the slight forward shift of the tire away from the rear front wheel well when i asjusted mine to G. I did this bc thats what spc recommended to get the most clearance from the pinchweld area when i called.

 

[psraff]

I may be the only one with my spc uca's on the "G" setting. It pushed my front wheels as far away from the pinch weld/rear front wheel well as possible, then my caster was set using the lower cam bolts. This completely eliminated my pinch weld rubbing with my 315s (with daily driving).

I've gone through D-G on the spc uca's with MANY alignments in between to test what would work the best for my set up. My caster on G is 1.5 driver side and 1.7 passenger side. This is less then the factory specs but my toe and camber are within factory specs. I chose to stay with the G setting and give up some caster because it gave me the best rear front wheel well clearance without having to hammer on anything and didn't notice a compromise in drivability compared to the other settings i tried.

I remember you posting this before. I even talked about it at the garage...

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[psraff]

That is crazy, I have tried this and it pushed back the tire into the wheel well. But again I have found some tacoma guys will run like this but those LCA bolts have to be pretty much maxed. This is why I want to buy my own alignment kit so I can fine tune myself. So hard to get a shop to listen to what I tell them to do.

This is the info i want. We start and document this and have a baseline to eliminate wheel rub. So we can go the a shop and say "step 1... this. Step 2... that......" each truck is different but that would be a start.

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[psraff]

Are those the TOYO's? If I recall, they are a particularly tall 255.

Yep. Toyos.... I believe it's more like 33 1/2".

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[psraff]

Luckily, I do my own alignments! This is what I believe to be the best possible outcome for my truck. 3" lift, 35"s, setting D, I forget what I set the lower cams to but I know I spent 2-3 hours getting everything all setup. Lots of ups and downs the rack. I opted to push my wheel as far forward as possible without sacrificing camber.

This is what info I need. And how does it drive? Sterring response? Self straighting? Does it fight you?

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[psraff]

My sheet is listed below and i just drove 80 some highway miles this morning. A bit too responsive to my liking. But all vibration is gone. But i can't drive around town without rubbing at every sharp turn. It can't stay like this. But I'm gathering this info to be able to walk in there knowing what i want and need.

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[sr3tlaw]

Good thread. After I replace my seized bolts SPC UCA are next on the list. Do y'all notice that the ride is a bit smoother with new UCA? If my understanding is correct , I have no down travel because caster/camber is maxed out on the LCA.

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[JayRolla]

Thats odd that on G your wheel was pushed into the rear front wheel well. I could see the slight forward shift of the tire away from the rear front wheel well when i asjusted mine to G. I did this bc thats what spc recommended to get the most clearance from the pinchweld area when i called.

Yeah that is strange, the G setting actually takes away caster moving the tire towards the wheel well. D adds 2* to get you back to factory 3* caster with a 3" lift. The A setting nets 4* positive caster moving tire further from the wheel well.

http://www.spcalignment.com/instructions/25480-INS_WEB.pdf

But again maybe moving the upper control arm all the way forward and then maxing out the LCA bolts will give you less caster but may help clear the pinch weld. Ive read about Tacoma guys running E to do this but not the G setting. I tried it but the shop said the UCA's where maxed for camber and could not get it right. I finally am living with the 4* positive and very light rubbing with my 33's. I might try your way and another shop this weekend because I do hate rubbing.

 

[Falonious]

Keep em coming guys!
Doing mine in a week or so. Good info so far.
psraff said each truck is different...They can't be that different. Same basic vehicle -all 3rd gens- just different aftermarket parts right?

 

[fourfive]

Yeah that is strange, the G setting actually takes away caster moving the tire towards the wheel well. D adds 2* to get you back to factory 3* caster with a 3" lift. The A setting nets 4* positive caster moving tire further from the wheel well.

http://www.spcalignment.com/instructions/25480-INS_WEB.pdf

But again maybe moving the upper control arm all the way forward ...which would be G... and then maxing out the LCA bolts will give you less caster but may help clear the pinch weld. Ive read about Tacoma guys running E to do this but not the G setting. I tried it but the shop said the UCA's where maxed for camber and could not get it right. I finally am living with the 4* positive and very light rubbing with my 33's. I might try your way and another shop this weekend because I do hate rubbing.

The bold part is correct based off the info I got from SPC. The E through G settings decreases caster (making it more negative) by moving the "top" of the tire forward away from the pinch weld. My LCAs were then adjusted to bring the "bottom" of the tire forward away from the pinch weld & to also restore some caster. This is how I was able to move my wheel away from the pinch weld area and eliminate the rubbing with daily driving.


I don't always use firestone for my alignment but I used my lifetime alignment there when I was testing out the different settings on my SPC UCA. Each time I went from the D to E, E to F, F to G, I had less & less rubbing & now no rubbing.

For anyone that has SPC UCA and is experiencing rear front wheel well rubbing, try experimenting with the different settings and do test drives in between to see if there are any changes in rubbing before taking it in for your next alignment.


Something that was helpful that SPC recommended when setting the top adjuster for camber was once the top caster is set to whichever position you choose, A through G:

1. thread the 32mm top nut back on but don't tighten
2. lower the vehicle back to the ground
3. let the vehicle roll forward a couple feet to allow the camber adjuster settle into place
4. then tighten down the top not and torque to 150ft/lbs

When I initially did this method, my camber was super positive. But returned to spec after the alignment shop adjusted my LCA cams.