I want to get a feel of what UCAs people on here tend to go for and why?
What UCAs are you running? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter JohnJ7
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Taco2Cruiser
Crazy American Off Road
Total Chaos.
Press fit uniball is more secure from loosening caused by vibrations, than the threaded on ball joint of SPC
Cost is very close.
No problems getting alignment dialed in, just like factory, only lower control arm alignment cams needed.
Don’t agree with how much adjustment can be made in a SPC arm, I feel you can greatly increase CV axle damage if you don’t have the discipline to not push the limits an SPC arm can offer.
Tubular construction gives the most tire clearance out of any option. I can stuff a 295/70r17 STT Pro on RWs without spacers and not touch a thing. STT Pros are very wide, wider at the tread than most 305s.
My 200 is not a daily driver, so the TC bushing maintenance for me is maybe every other year. And I can do all work myself.
I feel SPC arms are needed and a solid option for taller lifts, and are more than adequit for everything anyone here is doing to their 200. I feel TC is more of a “pro” arm that more gear heads will enjoy. Not necessarily a “better” arm. Just my opinion.
Press fit uniball is more secure from loosening caused by vibrations, than the threaded on ball joint of SPC
Cost is very close.
No problems getting alignment dialed in, just like factory, only lower control arm alignment cams needed.
Don’t agree with how much adjustment can be made in a SPC arm, I feel you can greatly increase CV axle damage if you don’t have the discipline to not push the limits an SPC arm can offer.
Tubular construction gives the most tire clearance out of any option. I can stuff a 295/70r17 STT Pro on RWs without spacers and not touch a thing. STT Pros are very wide, wider at the tread than most 305s.
My 200 is not a daily driver, so the TC bushing maintenance for me is maybe every other year. And I can do all work myself.
I feel SPC arms are needed and a solid option for taller lifts, and are more than adequit for everything anyone here is doing to their 200. I feel TC is more of a “pro” arm that more gear heads will enjoy. Not necessarily a “better” arm. Just my opinion.
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SPC are garbage with their history of catestrophic failures and need for multiple “revisions”. Bushing failures, joint failures, weld failures. All catastrophic at 80mph.
Spend the $200 more and get a Total Chaos. With proper installation, they’re silent, more robust, and frankly, trustworthy, than SPC.
Spend the $200 more and get a Total Chaos. With proper installation, they’re silent, more robust, and frankly, trustworthy, than SPC.
Total Chaos. 6 years, 77k on them, minimal maintenance and running strong.
mcgaskins
SILVER Star
I’ve had SPC and Total Chaos. Daily driven truck I like SPC, mostly trail truck I like Total Chaos. Things like this end up being a personal preference or even a fan boy kinda thing so I’d suggest doing lots of searching and research or calling shops to get advice from them. It’s best to call a shop that sells and installs both.
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SPC's. Multiple iterations of the product don't bother me. Most well made products need to go through multiple iterations and get better with time. Given where I live, and lack of access to a press or good mechanics, it is better for me to have a ball joint that is easier to get out. Plus, I HATE rattles/squeaks, and from what I've read, the uniball type UCA's make more noise that the OEM style ones. I also like the the grease zerk for the ball joints.
Like Taco2Cruiser said, the trick is not to push the caster to far to fit larger tires or massive lifts. I'm running a 2" OME BP-51's with 285/75R17's, so I only needed to move the caster forward just a wee bit. The point is fair that threaded ball joints do have a greater chance of coming loose under corrugations and rattling, so care must be taken in preventative maintenance. Then again, I feel that before and after most big off-road trips, one should look over things, so, doesn't bother me too much.
Like Taco2Cruiser said, the trick is not to push the caster to far to fit larger tires or massive lifts. I'm running a 2" OME BP-51's with 285/75R17's, so I only needed to move the caster forward just a wee bit. The point is fair that threaded ball joints do have a greater chance of coming loose under corrugations and rattling, so care must be taken in preventative maintenance. Then again, I feel that before and after most big off-road trips, one should look over things, so, doesn't bother me too much.
@Atwalz Do you have a picture of the clearance between the tire and ball joint? Do you have spacers on the front? I am running ICONs and 35s with the tundra conversion but mine are super tight to the tire. Wondering if a different set up would help open up this gap.
I've put 70,000 +/- miles on SPC's and they've been great. I have replaced the bushings but that's a given with usage and mileage. I did switch out to the newer greaseable ball joint, why wouldn't you. I see the ball joint sealed system as a bonus given where I live an play.
To call SPC garbage is just silly. The adjustability is nice, especially if fitting and running larger tires, the cam bolt is only going to give so much. Figure out what size tire you're going to run and base your decision off that.
To call SPC garbage is just silly. The adjustability is nice, especially if fitting and running larger tires, the cam bolt is only going to give so much. Figure out what size tire you're going to run and base your decision off that.
- Thread starter
- #10
Someone recommended the Icon billet UCAs. It is also a uniball setup. I'm not sure I can justify the $500 difference in price. Is anyone running the Icon Billet UCA. Are there any specific benefits?
the cool part about what you get for the price of the ICONS is a totally rebuildable UCA. Everything on the UCA adjusts and its pretty.
Atwalz
Civil Engineer
I don't have a picture of clearance at the moment. I will snap one later. I don't run spacers on the front wheels. I have them in the back to match the Tundra track in the front. I am guessing you are on RW wheels, so the 35" tire is wider than 285x75R17 I am running. Anything wider than that would run into rubbing issues. Do you rub the UCA with 35? I know tundra guys usually run spacers on the RW when going 35x12.5R17. I don't know of anyone running a front wheel spacer on LC with tundra conversion and running a 35x12.5. @TexAZ has BBS wheels with the 20s and running a narrower 35s. I don't have any desire to running anything larger than 285x75R17. I test fit 35x12.5x18 with +12mm offset. As I recall the tire sticks out about 4" or more and with full droop I was able to turn the wheel without rubbing. Once I lowered the jack the truck it had all kind of rubbing. This test concluded that you need a 4.5" to 6" lift to fit a 35" tire with +12mm offset in order to turn the wheels without rubbing.
TexAZ
NEW???? It's BETTER than new!!!
I've got close to 50K miles of use on the SPC arms when they were on my Tundra, then another 35K on the cruiser. Replaced the ball joints with the greasable newer part number earlier this year. been very pleased with them.
On the Tundra, running a 305/65r18 tire on the stock rims, I had to use spacers. I cleared 285/75r17 toyo tires on rock warrior rims without issue. I'm currently running 35/11.50r20 ridge grapplers on BBS tundra rims. (50mm backspacing, same as rock warriors) no spacers.
@Markuson is running 35s on rock warriors, with the SPC arms I believe.
On the Tundra, running a 305/65r18 tire on the stock rims, I had to use spacers. I cleared 285/75r17 toyo tires on rock warrior rims without issue. I'm currently running 35/11.50r20 ridge grapplers on BBS tundra rims. (50mm backspacing, same as rock warriors) no spacers.
@Markuson is running 35s on rock warriors, with the SPC arms I believe.
I have 34s (285/75R17), +25 offset wheels (Icon Six Speed), and SPC UCAs. With the stock UCAs I couldn't get back enough caster in the alignment - that's the only reason I swapped mine. I have my SPCs set at +2deg and the alignment has been great.
I have not had an issue with the ball joint coming loose, but it is a bolt-in type so it could happen. IIRC the torque spec on the nut is something like 150ft/#, so I would highly suspect if one came loose it's because the installer didn't torque it to spec. There's no reason the removable ball joint if torqued properly should come loose - after all there are plenty of suspension nuts and bolts on our vehicles.
The only issue I've had was that I broke the grease nipple on the ball joint during the initial greaseing. I had to bike over to the local auto parts place for a new one... annoying mainly. That and when I have the radio off I can hear a slight squeaking from the poly bushings (it's not very loud), even though I greased the hell out of them on the install 13k miles ago. My solution to that is to turn up the radio.
I went with SPC because of cost (they can be had for about $525 delivered) and because the heim joints typically require more maintenance than a greaseable ball joint
I have not had an issue with the ball joint coming loose, but it is a bolt-in type so it could happen. IIRC the torque spec on the nut is something like 150ft/#, so I would highly suspect if one came loose it's because the installer didn't torque it to spec. There's no reason the removable ball joint if torqued properly should come loose - after all there are plenty of suspension nuts and bolts on our vehicles.
The only issue I've had was that I broke the grease nipple on the ball joint during the initial greaseing. I had to bike over to the local auto parts place for a new one... annoying mainly. That and when I have the radio off I can hear a slight squeaking from the poly bushings (it's not very loud), even though I greased the hell out of them on the install 13k miles ago. My solution to that is to turn up the radio.
I went with SPC because of cost (they can be had for about $525 delivered) and because the heim joints typically require more maintenance than a greaseable ball joint
Markuson
SILVER Star
Yes. Plus .75” Bora spacers now.
TCs. Toyota only brand designed specifically for each vehicle for proper caster after lift. Uniball will yield a bit more droop. And they can take a beating obviously, if you plan to run hard off-road there's a much better chance of separating a ball joint. Mine have about 30k on them, I've greased them twice since install, never had a squeak. Fully rebuildable though if needed.
I'd agree in general though, it's brand prefence + a bit of "you get what you pay for". But I see no reason to have adjustability as a trade-off to durability when the geometry of the arms can be pre-set perfectly for each vehicle with no need to be adjusted.
I'd agree in general though, it's brand prefence + a bit of "you get what you pay for". But I see no reason to have adjustability as a trade-off to durability when the geometry of the arms can be pre-set perfectly for each vehicle with no need to be adjusted.
OEM 125k miles with zero issues
SPC's, had to replace the ball joint after about just over 40k rough miles! Nice thing is you can just replace them in your driveway with no special tools! Overall been super happy with the product and now I have the updated version that's greasable.
