UCA advice (1 Viewer)

[GXOutlaw]

I have an 06’ GX with 163k miles that I bought 2.5 years ago with 140k miles. Suspension feels saggy and left rear is a little lower, ~1” or so, thus I’m ditching the air bags and bought the IronMan4x4 2-3” nitro gas performance grade kit (stage 1). Its all in the mail so should be ready to install in a couple weeks. That in mind should I upgrade the UCA’s as well? If so any recomendations on brand? I like the price of Freedom at $360 but haven’t seen many reviews. I like how JBA is made in USA but at $450, its at the top if what I’d want to spend. Also I’m not sire how much the extra caster would really help. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

My GX is my daily and spends 98% of the time getting me to work and back. I’m not a rock crawler but enjoy the backroads of upstate NY and PA. Also moving to Iowa soon and hoping that offers more time for trails in the Rockies's as itll only be an 8h drive.

 

[iwashmycar]

Id avoid uniballs if your location is correct, and especially dirt cheap ones as that. (if that is what those are?) JBA it at least a real ball joint...SPC as well. You can get SPCs at RockAuto for around $440.

Extra caster helps a lot...gets the wheels more forward to clear wheel wells if needed and more importantly helps it track better at highway speeds / take bumps better.

 

[Toyoland66]

Extra caster of these non adjustable arms actually moves the tire to the rear, in order to increase caster you have to either move the top of the knuckle to the rear via the new UCA or move the bottom of the knuckle forward with the eccentrics on the LCA. That is one advantage of the SPC arms is they give you more options for moving the wheel around since you have the ability to adjust the UCA and LCA.

The SPC at rock auto are sold as mevotech but they only have one side in stock. For $450/pr that’s a pretty good deal, but you would want to make sure they’re the newer style 1 piece forged arm.

The JBA might not fit with stock wheels, I do like the concept of them though and the easily serviceable ball joint.

The freedom UCAs are probably made overseas based on the price, I would also be hesitant to run them without seeing some reviews.

The cost of UCAs is definitely hard to stomach and seems excessive. You might be able to align within spec with the stock UCAs but it seems like it not only depends on the amount of lift but also the vehicle, if the frames on these vehicles were all exactly the same they wouldn’t need to build adjustability into them.

 

[subspd]

Extra caster of these non adjustable arms actually moves the tire to the rear, in order to increase caster you have to either move the top of the knuckle to the rear via the new UCA or move the bottom of the knuckle forward with the eccentrics on the LCA. That is one advantage of the SPC arms is they give you more options for moving the wheel around since you have the ability to adjust the UCA and LCA.

The SPC at rock auto are sold as mevotech but they only have one side in stock. For $450/pr that’s a pretty good deal, but you would want to make sure they’re the newer style 1 piece forged arm.

The JBA might not fit with stock wheels, I do like the concept of them though and the easily serviceable ball joint.

The freedom UCAs are probably made overseas based on the price, I would also be hesitant to run them without seeing some reviews.

The cost of UCAs is definitely hard to stomach and seems excessive. You might be able to align within spec with the stock UCAs but it seems like it not only depends on the amount of lift but also the vehicle, if the frames on these vehicles were all exactly the same they wouldn’t need to build adjustability into them.

last I saw no one was getting the correct UCA from Rockauto. They seem to be shipping something else now... So just double check.

 

[Mean Green]

I went with UCA’s from Ironman and they are outstanding. Alignment went great and install was a breeze!

 

[Max Nguyen]

happy with my SPC. My ride sees the pavement a lot more than trails.

 

[Rspring]

very happy with Ironman. 3.3* caster and perfect alignment

 

[GXOutlaw]

Thanks for all the input. I wish I researched a little more before buying my stage 1 setup. I talked to IronMan and they say the stock UCA shouldn’t be an issue but aftermarket will get that better travel and easier alignment. Their uca is $699 flat out but if I would’ve coupled it with a spring/shock kit, then it would’ve been in the $500 range. It pays to do your homework, lol. That in mind, I’m leaning towards JBA. Reviews look good, price seems reasonable and servicing looks easy.

 

[Toyoland66]

Check out their recommendations for wheel backspacing, if you are running stock wheels they may not fit.

 

[GXOutlaw]

I have 265/70/17 Falken Wildeaks on the stock Lexus rims, which I think measure to 31.7" and 10.7" section width. Looks like they shouldn't rub the JBA's per their website...

Tire sizes that work well with the JBA UCAs

• 265/75R16 tire 31.6" x 10.4" on factory wheels
• 255/75R17 tires 32.1" x 10" on factory wheels
• 275/65R18 tires 32.1" x 10.8" on factory wheels
• Any tire that is 32.2" diameter and smaller there is no fitment problem

 

[NJGX]

I run JBAs with factory wheels, no spacers with 255/75R17 Duratracs. I Still have enough clearance between the tire and UCA.

 

[se7enine]

I know some peeps that have the Freedoms on their Taco's and beat on them regularly with no issues. I have some Freedom Uppers and their quality seems better than I was expecting for the price. Most people aren't going to put it to max threshold and only do little to zero off-road so it makes no difference which brand they choose if they all accomplish the caster correction.