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I would not personally go with those. For just a little more, you can go with SPC or JBA UCAs.

I've got the JBA High Caster UCAs (link below) and they are solid as hell. Very beefy, uniball, and easy maintenance. There are a ton of threads on UCAs, so you'll get a lot of different answers, but I'm very satisfied with the JBA. It's not a difficult install by any means either. You and a buddy could probably knock it out in a few hours, if that.

JBA STD High Caster Upper A-arms for 2005-14 Toyota Tacoma, 4Runner, FJ Cruiser
 
calcrc said:
I dont offroad alot mostly highway for work and towing a small boat for fishing on the week ends.
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If you don't off-road then why lift the car more than 2" or so?

UCA aren't necessary until 2.5-3" of lift really, so just keep it with what the factory arms can handle.
 
I will save for SPC or JBA then. I dont have alignment numbers but the truck pulls to the left a bit.

And I offroad sometimes but not as much as I would like ;)
 
Just get the JBA’s...I’ve had mine for six months now, and they’re excellent. If you’re lifting your vehicle at all, you need UCA’s, I don’t care what anyone else thinks about that.
 
YellowSnow said:
Just get the JBA’s...I’ve had mine for six months now, and they’re excellent. If you’re lifting your vehicle at all, you need UCA’s, I don’t care what anyone else thinks about that.
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Couldn't agree more. When you lift, you change a number of suspension related components - its no longer stock and your alignment will change, which could result in increased risk when driving at highway speeds IMHO. I would bet those that state UCAs are not needed for lifts under 2.5" have pretty crappy alignment specs and don't know, understand, or really care how much better their rig could be driving.

Pay once, cry once, and do it all the right way the first time. I don't miss the 'floaty' highway feeling at all, especially when changing lanes. At $449, it was a no brainer for me...well after I did a lot of research on the other brands out there.

JBA STD High Caster Upper A-arms for 2005-14 Toyota Tacoma, 4Runner, FJ Cruiser
 
Like other have said stay away from those for sure. I'm lifted a little over 2" and my alignment is good other then not enough caster. It drives perfectly straight so I'm not sure why yours is pulling. Did you see the numbers? I have a new set of SPCs waiting to go on but just haven't had the time to put them on and then deal with another alignment.
 
Bayou_Pro said:
How did you determine this? Did you look at his alignment numbers? I didn't see where he posted this. hummmm
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Experience.

Op doesn't have enough lift that it would prevent getting at least close to in range alignment numbers. He also stated that he's on a tight budget, if for some random reason his truck is the 1 in 100,000 that can't get decent alignment on such a small lift, then he is better off spending money on a quality part once rather than getting junk off amazon and having to replace it down the road when it fails prematurely.

"pulling to the left" won't be solved by UCA's, which correct for caster. It will be solved by an alignment by a competent tech.
 
Jono.ful said:
Experience.

Op doesn't have enough lift that it would prevent getting at least close to in range alignment numbers. He also stated that he's on a tight budget, if for some random reason his truck is the 1 in 100,000 that can't get decent alignment on such a small lift, then he is better off spending money on a quality part once rather than getting junk off amazon and having to replace it down the road when it fails prematurely.

"pulling to the left" won't be solved by UCA's, which correct for caster. It will be solved by an alignment by a competent tech.
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While I do agree he should wait to get quality arms I can't agree with making a blanket statement that he doesn't need UCAs. Can he get a decent alignment without them, yes. Would it drive and perform better with them, definitely.

I'm only lifted a little over 2" and I NEED UCAs to get my alignment correct. I guess I could listen to some random guy with experience on the internet tell me that I don't, or I could look at the alignment specs and KNOW that I do. Yeah it drives okay without them but I know it'll be much better with double the caster in it.
 
JBA all the way. Im lifted about 2.5 inches and i could not get the alignment in spec.....even with competent techs. After the JBA UCAs, the truck rides and handles 10x better.
 
Bayou_Pro said:
While I do agree he should wait to get quality arms I can't agree with making a blanket statement that he doesn't need UCAs. Can he get a decent alignment without them, yes. Would it drive and perform better with them, definitely.

I'm only lifted a little over 2" and I NEED UCAs to get my alignment correct. I guess I could listen to some random guy with experience on the internet tell me that I don't, or I could look at the alignment specs and KNOW that I do. Yeah it drives okay without them but I know it'll be much better with double the caster in it.
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8 months away, and I'm already starting to remember why I left. It's super easy to spend someone else's money, and this site is awash with experts who don't even turn their own wrenches or understand what basic components do....

@OP if you survey the vast majority of trucks here with mild lift, you'll discover that most did not need UCA's to get into spec on alignment. Take your truck to a reputable alignment shop that has experience with lifted 4x4's.

Aftermarket UCA's correct for poor caster angle (forward lean of the wheel, or its easier to visualize it as the relative forward/backward position of the wheel in the wheel well). Adjusting toe and steering angle (which would cause your truck to pull) require that the outer tie rod end be seperate from the spindle to adjust. If you had a lazy or unknowledgeable tech last time you went in for an alignment, he may have only adjusted caster and camber and given up. It happens more often than you think.

If it were me, I'd go get a <$100 alignment rather than running out and spending $350+ on parts of questionable reliability to attempt a fix for a problem that you may not have.

YMMV.
 
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Jono.ful said:
8 months away, and I'm already starting to remember why I left.
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Well........ BYE!

It's super easy to spend someone else's money
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No one said he had to buy UCAs. Everyone advised him not to buy cheap ones and save up until he could get good ones, if he wanted UCAs.

this site is awash with experts who don't even turn their own wrenches or understand what basic components do....
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I turn all of my own wrenches. I have built and raced drag cars, and built our own suspension components, so I know this doesn't apply to me. LOL

If you want a very good alignment with anywhere close to 3-4 degrees of caster then you WILL need UCAs period. If you want an okay alignment then by all means run the stockers. I still have my stocks on as well, but my cams are maxed out and I'm still out on camber and can't even get 2 degrees of caster.

Don't go getting all butt hurt and start threatening to take your ball and go home just because someone doesn't agree with you. OP is an adult and can take all of this information and make his own decisions.
 
Bayou_Pro said:
If you want a very good alignment with anywhere close to 3-4 degrees of caster then you WILL need UCAs period. If you want an okay alignment then by all means run the stockers. I still have my stocks on as well, but my cams are maxed out and I'm still out on camber and can't even get 2 degrees of caster.
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Sounds like you have a bent control arm/alignment tabs. Maybe you should go build a new one.
 
Jono.ful said:
If you had a lazy or unknowledgeable tech last time you went in for an alignment, he may have only adjusted caster and camber and given up. It happens more often than you think.
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The alignment printout you receive shows the pre/post results. If the tech only adjusted caster and camber and that was it, it would be obvious since the other numbers didn't change. At that point, it's on the customer to question what was done or why the toe and steer didn't change IMHO.
 
I'll go against the crowd here - I couldn't justify the $500+ for SPC's. I figured why not try the Freedom Offroads, worst case is I sell them and a take a slight loss.

I've had them on for a few hundred miles now and my initial review is I'm impressed. The alignment I got pulled a 3.6 caster (all other specs in the green) on a 2.5" (sitting closer to 2.7") lift.

No noise, build quality and fit are great, just seems to always be get the most expensive item or it's junk.

Long term, we'll see how the ball joints hold up. OEM style bushings are a big plus in my book, and grease-able OEM style ball joints are a second plus. You can get replacement ball joints for under $40 a side, so not bad if they did need replacement.

YMMV - be a bit different than the masses. These things have great reviews on Tacoma World - that was the real selling feature for me.
 

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