Caster out of spec after 2” lift (1 Viewer)

[Badao]

Lifted about 2inch without aftermarket UCAs and got an alignment done at a franchise shop. They told me they had to sacrifices caster but everything else is with the spec. Please school me if need new UCAs and what are the disadvantages having the caster out of spec? Am I gonna running to issues down the road?

 

[ericm979]

See the Tinker's Adventure videos on Toyota IFS, and the ones on UCAs for Toyotas on Youtube. They're really well done and will explain a lot.

 

[jdam]

You have more caster than me lol (also 2" lift on stock UCAs). A low caster number will result in less feedback and some "floatiness" going down the road, as well as less recentering ability (the steering wheel won't go back to center as fast). You won't see any adverse problems with tire wear or anything, as your toe and camber are within spec.

If you're fine with how it rides/handles, then you don't need UCAs. If you want more caster back, then it's a game of finding the UCAs that won't lean the wheel further back in the wheel well, where you'll run into issues with the firewall and body mount. Seems like your alignment guys did a pretty decent job as I'd love another degree back.

 

[rav8]

No experience with lifting a GX but when I went 3" on my 4Runner (Toytec) it always felt like I had a strong crosswind. I hated it and installed the JBA UCAs for some correction. After a fresh alignment it returned to stock feel.

For me, any height change in the future will come from tires.

 

[Badao]

You have more caster than me lol (also 2" lift on stock UCAs). A low caster number will result in less feedback and some "floatiness" going down the road, as well as less recentering ability (the steering wheel won't go back to center as fast). You won't see any adverse problems with tire wear or anything, as your toe and camber are within spec.

If you're fine with how it rides/handles, then you don't need UCAs. If you want more caster back, then it's a game of finding the UCAs that won't lean the wheel further back in the wheel well, where you'll run into issues with the firewall and body mount. Seems like your alignment guys did a pretty decent job as I'd love another degree back.

View attachment 3607306

Thanks! I didn't really feel anything different and it handles just like stock. Watched the Tinker's Adventure videos on YouTube sounds like upgrading the UCAs with 2'' lift is unnecessary and will likely put the tire closer to the body mount. I will just leave it as is!

 

[r2m]

Regarding caster, I do have Icon UCA's, but get rubbing with my 35" tires on the rear of the front fenders.
A fix for that is moving the caster forward. Had that done and most of the rubbing is gone with no change in driving dynamics or feel.
How does if feel when you're driving?

 

[Badao]

Regarding caster, I do have Icon UCA's, but get rubbing with my 35" tires on the rear of the front fenders.
A fix for that is moving the caster forward. Had that done and most of the rubbing is gone with no change in driving dynamics or feel.
How does if feel when you're driving?

it drives just like stock. I didn’t feel any significant difference. Now I am curious what the biggest tire I can put on with 17x8 and 0 offset wheels without modifications.

 

[bigredmachine]

drive it and leave it as is for now, whats more important is having the cross caster close. .2 difference wont cause any pulling to one side or the other, you might get a little wander from having the caster out of spec on the lower end but its not that far off. if you dont like how it drives after a while change out the uca to get more range of motion out of the joint and you should be able to get the camber back into spec

 

[r2m]

17x8 are a great size wheel. Narrow is better.
The same goes for larger diameter tires. Try to get as narrow tire as possible if you're going to sizes between 33" - 35". You'll be less likely to rub.
Fat/wide tires will more likely rub on the inner fender walls and UCA's.
Narrow tires will also give better MPG than the same diameter but wider. This will happen because narrow tires have less contact patch to the road, hence less rolling resistance, AND they're lighter, less rotating mass = better MPG.
But when off roading, airing them down, you still get a wide, squatty tire patch for sand, rock, snow, etc.

 

[re_guderian]

You'll notice the vagueness/twitchiness in the steering most at highway speeds. It gets irritating on long highway drives, requiring constant attention and correction. Freedom off-road UCAs solve the problem. A decent alignment shop can rotate the LCAs, moving the lower ball joint forward, thereby maximizing you caster, and keeping your whole wheel forward of the body mount. I run caster at the top end of spec, near 4°. The truck just handles better there.

 

[4nscdoc]

I have the factory 2” lift kit on my 2023, leveled out with rear cornfed spacers. I also had a wandering feel at times. I grew up driving an old 70’s Porsche 911, so am very sensitive to chassis balance.

I recently installed a panhard bar correction kit. I feel a definite improvement in turns, but it also seems more stable on the straights. It now feels almost as stable as before the lift and bigger tires

 

[re_guderian]

"Spec" is a bit misleading here. The higher the caster, the more stable the handling (within reason, of course). Same on the low end. There are a few other variables, but you're not gonna crash if your caster is 2.8 degrees. Just more "twitchier" handling. At some point, the wandering gets so annoying that you're willing to pony up the money for UCA's. It's just geometry.