Anyone Installed Dobinsons Billet Aluminum UCAs? I need more caster

[ElJayBird]

I need to get a bit more positive caster out of these but there's not much adjustment available.

One thing I noticed is that the installer used only 1 spacer where there's supposed to be 2

 

[iwashmycar]

Might depend what your actual alignment result is currently? Depending on lift height there is only so much you can get. Did they max out the LCAs?

 

[dudemancool1904]

How much caster do you have/want? I have the dobby tubular uppers with 6112s on the 4th circlip (a little over 2”) and I just got re-aligned last week with about 4.5-4.75 degrees of caster. Truck drives great and no rub.

 

[ElJayBird]

Might depend what your actual alignment result is currently? Depending on lift height there is only so much you can get. Did they max out the LCAs?

Yeah, they maxed it out and it’s in spec, but on the lower side. It drives fine - just trying to get a little more room. Really wanting to go to 35s on the next set of tires.

Anyone know the significance/purpose of the spacers and how fore/aft placement on the UCA bolt impacts alignment or performance?

 

[iwashmycar]

The instructions just say

For 2” lifts put the 10mm sleeve to the front of the tower and the 6mm sleeve to the rear of the
tower

For 3” lifts put the 6mm sleeve to the front of the tower and the 10mm sleeve to the rear of the tower

I suppose so long as the arm doesn’t hit the spring ect you could swap those around at will.

 

[Supra Turbo]

@ElJayBird Im no alignment expert, but perhaps you could find some learnings from this thread that could help.

 

[ElJayBird]

@ElJayBird Im no alignment expert, but perhaps you could find some learnings from this thread that could help.

lol - I read through that and your alignment sheet is what inspired my post. I’d prefer to be closer to 3 deg just to get another .25” or so forward.

I’m running BFG 285/75, which run small as you know. They didn’t rub with the OEM control arms but no way a 35 will fit with the current wheel position. I doubt even a true 34 would fit.

I bet I could get rid of the mud flaps and the rub would be gone with the current set up though. I emailed Dobinsons and they sent me some pics of their 200 with the same setup but on 35s with a bmc.

Maybe my expectations are off? Im starting to think it was a bit of a Goldilocks situation running OEM UCA and mud flaps with no rubbing. Everyone acted surprised when I told them my setup. Maybe it just tainted my expectations

 

[ElJayBird]

…one thought that I had was to move the spacer to the rear of the tower to pull the top of the geometry back just a bit, theoretically moving the tire forward. Dobinsons was just like, ‘yeah, maybe that would work?’ - which doesn’t give me much confidence.

 

[ElJayBird]

Dobinsons just got back to me again - sounds like moving the spacer to the rear position just might get me where I want to be in terms of positive caster, but still unclear on what that’ll do to wheel position. What do you guys think? Would both in front, slightly moving the wheel forward be the better route? That’s how the Dobinsons guys have their 200 on 35s set up.

I’ll contact the installer and see if I can get them to correct it without charging me an arm and a leg.

I would do it myself but I had carpal tunnel surgery on both hands a few months ago I and have the grip strength of a 12 year old girl right now.

 

[dudemancool1904]

Mike at Exit Off road is fricking Dobinsons encyclopedia. He was very helpful when I was shopping for uppers.

 

[TeCKis300]

lol - I read through that and your alignment sheet is what inspired my post. I’d prefer to be closer to 3 deg just to get another .25” or so forward.

I’m running BFG 285/75, which run small as you know. They didn’t rub with the OEM control arms but no way a 35 will fit with the current wheel position. I doubt even a true 34 would fit.

I bet I could get rid of the mud flaps and the rub would be gone with the current set up though. I emailed Dobinsons and they sent me some pics of their 200 with the same setup but on 35s with a bmc.

Maybe my expectations are off? Im starting to think it was a bit of a Goldilocks situation running OEM UCA and mud flaps with no rubbing. Everyone acted surprised when I told them my setup. Maybe it just tainted my expectations

If I'm understanding you right, I think you've got it backwards. Adding caster via the UCA will pull the tire rearwards towards the body mount. Any aftermarket UCA with caster adjustment will again, tend to pull the upright towards the rear of the vehicle. The stock UCA generally has the best chance to maximize clearance there if you want to fit larger tires.

You might not have any choice though with the stock LCA eccentrics maxed. (can you take pics of the front and rear eccentrics to confirm?).

That said, there's definitely ways to modify the body mount and flaps to fit 35s. Check my sig to fit 37s, and that might give you some ideas.

 

[Cruiserlab]

@TeCKis300 nailed it. OEM arms are going to give you the most clearance.

Caster #s mean nothing about tire clearance. This misconception is from people maxing out their LCAs (pushing them forward), which moves the lower ball joint forward, which creates more positive caster. The high Caster # doesn't necessarily indicate more fender clearance.

Any caster correcting UCAs are going to push the upper ball joint back, thereby reducing caster.

I've done some looking/flexing and I think 35s would fit without rubbing the fender/body mount on OEM wheels. It WILL rub KDSS, which is a whole different battle. A KDSS max relocation kit might solve that though.

 

[Cruiserlab]

Also @ElJayBird, could we have some more details on your setup

- How much lift (ideally measured, not what kit you bought)

And for fitment of 35s:
- What wheel offset
- Tire size (width specifically)

 

[ElJayBird]

Also @ElJayBird, could we have some more details on your setup

- How much lift (ideally measured, not what kit you bought)

And for fitment of 35s:
- What wheel offset
- Tire size (width

I’m running +25 offset wheels
285/75/17 tires BFG, which run small
I’ve got the KDSS max kit installed - plenty of room up front.

Here’s a couple pics of ride height and eccentrics