(UPDATED) Help me choose some UCA's Now down to 2 options

[Signal]

So I have been looking for UCA threads and they are all over this site. I have narrowed it down to these. I am lifting the 4runner 3 inches and I am planning on getting some -38 offset SCS wheels. I know nothing about ball joints but I do want to be able to it up the auto parts store and replace them if/when they go. Unless they can't be done in my garage. I don't offroad a lot but when we do its not rock crawling or mudding, it's usually trails and overlanding. So here they are.

Option 1- 2003-2020 Toyota 4Runner Dirt King Fabrication Ball Joint Upper Control Arms Pair | NEO Garage

Option 2- Icon Vehicle Dynamics Upper Control Arms | NEO Garage

 

[Chris In Milwaukee]

[MENTION=148378]Crikeymike[/MENTION] has Dobinsons UCAs that are along a similar vibe as the Camburgs here:

Dobinsons 4Runner UCA's - Front Upper Control Arm Kit for Toyota FJ Cruiser, 4Runner 2003 to 2020 + Lexus GX470 + GX460 | Exit Offroad

Low maintenance, durable, and greasable. Also appropriate for your lift height.

 

[honda250xtitan]

go dirt king ball joint ones. you won't regret it. those dobinsons use factory style bushings and ball joints, no thanks. i prefer to spend money on parts that bind less than OEM lol.

hit up Mike at Offroad warehouse for a killer deal, don't pay MSRP man

 

[Chris In Milwaukee]

go dirt king ball joint ones. you won't regret it. those dobinsons use factory style bushings and ball joints, no thanks. i prefer to spend money on parts that bind less than OEM lol.

hit up Mike at Offroad warehouse for a killer deal, don't pay MSRP man

When would one experience binding?

 

[diy_overlanders]

I went with the JBA Offroads on my 3rd gen for a couple of reasons... mainly a serviceable ball joint thats fairly easy to replace and more articulation at the ball joint. I think the uniball styles are a little too noisy with the squeaking.

 

[Jetboy]

Although both rubber and poly bushings work, rubber is generally a better option for daily driver duty. It's the same reason you should use a snatch strap vs a static tow strap. The flexibility of the rubber is a good thing. It spreads out impacts over a longer distance and time that ultimately results in reducing the peak forces. Everything will last longer - like ball joints. Poly bushings have a place for some applications. They don't flex, but they slide where rubber bushings do not, so there is less resistance to flex. In the normal range of motion that difference is almost zero. The rubber bushing binding force is non-linear meaning it increases more as you get further from the static ride position. If you were to twist a rubber bushing too far it would eventually tear, but our suspension doesn't have enough range of motion to do that. At least not in the range of motion that the OEM CV axles can handle. But there is some benefit there if you're looking for less binding at the limits of the suspension travel.

For this application if rubber bushings are available I would choose rubber.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

I went with the JBA Offroads on my 3rd gen for a couple of reasons... mainly a serviceable ball joint thats fairly easy to replace and more articulation at the ball joint. I think the uniball styles are a little too noisy with the squeaking.

I think more of the squeaking issues are the urethane bushings. The UNIs are quiet when maintained. I use Triflow. Mine got pretty dirty the first several months I owned them, and I didn't take care of them. So one day they started to get hard to turn and were making a groaning noise. Read up about them and have been using Triflow for years with out any problems. Urethane will squeak and there is little you can do about it except grease them often, or get heims and they make their own noise in the form of clicking. Triflow for UNIs and Super Lube for Bushings.

 

[Finslayer83]

[MENTION=148378]Crikeymike[/MENTION] has Dobinsons UCAs that are along a similar vibe as the Camburgs here:

Dobinsons 4Runner UCA's - Front Upper Control Arm Kit for Toyota FJ Cruiser, 4Runner 2003 to 2020 + Lexus GX470 + GX460 | Exit Offroad

Low maintenance, durable, and greasable. Also appropriate for your lift height.

Just put the Dobinsons on and love them. No maintenance and OEM components.

Made a world of difference.

 

[comtn4x4]

Although both rubber and poly bushings work, rubber is generally a better option for daily driver duty. It's the same reason you should use a snatch strap vs a static tow strap. The flexibility of the rubber is a good thing. It spreads out impacts over a longer distance and time that ultimately results in reducing the peak forces. Everything will last longer - like ball joints. Poly bushings have a place for some applications. They don't flex, but they slide where rubber bushings do not, so there is less resistance to flex. In the normal range of motion that difference is almost zero. The rubber bushing binding force is non-linear meaning it increases more as you get further from the static ride position. If you were to twist a rubber bushing too far it would eventually tear, but our suspension doesn't have enough range of motion to do that. At least not in the range of motion that the OEM CV axles can handle. But there is some benefit there if you're looking for less binding at the limits of the suspension travel.

For this application if rubber bushings are available I would choose rubber.

So which UCA's have rubber bushings? Many don't list what type of bushing they have. Dirt King says urethane (Moog), SPC says rubber (I had to e-mail to find out), JBA says synthetic elastomer, Camburg doesn't say but indicated Moog as well.

 

[Finslayer83]

So which UCA's have rubber bushings? Many don't list what type of bushing they have. Dirt King says urethane (Moog), SPC says rubber (I had to e-mail to find out), JBA says synthetic elastomer, Camburg doesn't say but indicated Moog as well.

Dobinson's do.

 

[Jetboy]

So which UCA's have rubber bushings? Many don't list what type of bushing they have. Dirt King says urethane (Moog), SPC says rubber (I had to e-mail to find out), JBA says synthetic elastomer, Camburg doesn't say but indicated Moog as well.

It's hard to know on some because a lot of the manufacturers have changed over time from one to the other or use both. The thing about it is that poly bushings can be all different varieties of density also - so some poly bushings can actually be just as soft as rubber. But the only ones I've personally used are very hard polyurethane with practically no cushion built into them. Poly has some advantages. For a race car or a long travel suspension - maybe I'd go for poly. For a daily driver I'd go for rubber. Kinda the same way with uniball vs ball joint. Neither is really "better" but both are better at some things and worse for others. For a race car I'd choose uniballs. For my daily driver where I prefer low maintenance, I'd take ball joints.

As an example
Poly JBA

Rubber JBA

My JBAs are the second picture and have rubber. But obviously some use poly.

My biggest issue with the JBA arms I have is that they can't clear the OEM wheel offset with 285 tires without spacers.

EDIT just to add another example here:
SPC with Poly

SPC with Rubber

And I think the most recent iteration of the SPC looks more like this:

I don't know if one is old style and one is new or if they come both ways or what. And those are all current vendor photos from different websites. So...???

 

[rdruss]

It's hard to know on some because a lot of the manufacturers have changed over time from one to the other or use both. The thing about it is that poly bushings can be all different varieties of density also - so some poly bushings can actually be just as soft as rubber. But the only ones I've personally used are very hard polyurethane with practically no cushion built into them. Poly has some advantages. For a race car or a long travel suspension - maybe I'd go for poly. For a daily driver I'd go for rubber. Kinda the same way with uniball vs ball joint. Neither is really "better" but both are better at some things and worse for others. For a race car I'd choose uniballs. For my daily driver where I prefer low maintenance, I'd take ball joints.

As an example
Poly JBA

Rubber JBA

My JBAs are the second picture and have rubber. But obviously some use poly.

My biggest issue with the JBA arms I have is that they can't clear the OEM wheel offset with 285 tires without spacers.

EDIT just to add another example here:
SPC with Poly

SPC with Rubber

And I think the most recent iteration of the SPC looks more like this:

I don't know if one is old style and one is new or if they come both ways or what. And those are all current vendor photos from different websites. So...???

The tubular SPC arms are the older design, which I just installed this week on my '03 V8 LTD. I'm Finding out that having an adjustable UCA like SPC is somewhat of a learning curve and I'm learning more about caster, camber and toe than I ever imagined!

 

[Signal]

I have updated the OP and narrowed it down to 2 and to me they are the same thing except one costs more.

 

[comtn4x4]

I have updated the OP and narrowed it down to 2 and to me they are the same thing except one costs more.

One is a ball joint and one is a uni ball? Do you mean the same literally or generally

 

[Signal]

I went with the JBA Offroads on my 3rd gen for a couple of reasons... mainly a serviceable ball joint thats fairly easy to replace and more articulation at the ball joint. I think the uniball styles are a little too noisy with the squeaking.

I wanted to go with these originally but I want something that will work with Stock wheels and tires for a few months until I get my SCS wheels.

JBA STD High Caster Upper A-arms for 2005-14 Toyota Tacoma, 4Runner, FJ Cruiser

 

[Alext4r]

I have updated the OP and narrowed it down to 2 and to me they are the same thing except one costs more.

I personally went with Dirtkings. I was in the same situation as you just a couple months ago. I was attracted to JBA for the price but the clearance issues (rubbing on the UCA if you didnt have the right spec'd wheels or spacers) were a no go for me. I also decided against uniballs mainly due to issues if you dont clean/maintenance them often. Ball joints were the cheaper and less headache option for me. I got my Dirtkings from Total Automotive Performance and they have a discount code for forum members. I think it is "T4R" but you can DM them to make sure.

At the end of the day:
JBA were about $480ish after tax and shipping
Dirtkings were about $500 after the discount code. Free shipping and they didn't charge tax.

 

[Signal]

One is a ball joint and one is a uni ball? Do you mean the same literally or generally

I meant in looks. I am trying to figure out which one is better for daily driving and overlanding.

 

[comtn4x4]

I meant in looks. I am trying to figure out which one is better for daily driving and overlanding.

I would say the Dirt Kings. The Icons wil require more maintenance

 

[srsrogerissrs]

I meant in looks. I am trying to figure out which one is better for daily driving and overlanding.

Your stock ones would do perfectly fine for daily driving and "overlanding".



Per your last UCA question thread. Why not just run your stock ones with your lift until you get your wheels in and then put on the JBAs.

 

[Signal]

I personally went with Dirtkings. I was in the same situation as you just a couple months ago. I was attracted to JBA for the price but the clearance issues (rubbing on the UCA if you didnt have the right spec'd wheels or spacers) were a no go for me. I also decided against uniballs mainly due to issues if you dont clean/maintenance them often. Ball joints were the cheaper and less headache option for me. I got my Dirtkings from Total Automotive Performance and they have a discount code for forum members. I think it is "T4R" but you can DM them to make sure.

At the end of the day:
JBA were about $480ish after tax and shipping
Dirtkings were about $500 after the discount code. Free shipping and they didn't charge tax.

Well JBA would be nice but then I can't install them until I get the wheels and tires which wont be for a few months. I just got a LFD rear bumper so I need to build up my 4runner funds.