I'm going for a lift and replacing the UCA's. Anyone have any thoughts or experience with Specialty Products Company or SPC. The OME people here in the states are swearing they are the best.
UCA replacement after lift
- Thread starter Lester did that
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I’m no expert but I have just installed a BP-51 suspension that included SPC UCAs. I just went with what Christo at Slee recommended. I’ll say that after the install the alignment is dead on. I’ve never had a vehicle drive this true. Also, the “beefiness” of the SPC UCAs compared to the stock Toyota UCAs is substantial. I don’t know if the OEM parts are that much under designed or if the SPCs are overkill but there is a lot more strength there. I’m sure the lift puts more stress on them and this is why. They are probably a factor of 2 or 3 times stronger based on just looking at them.
There's a good amount of 200s running on SPC uppers. A quick search in the 200 section and you'll find a good amount of info comparing SPC, Total Chaos, Trail Tailor and other uppers.
TLC2013
SILVER Star
I have around 1,000 miles on my tough dog lift and Nitro Gear UCAs. Very happy with this set up. No squeaks, alignment is excellent and drives better then stock with higher caster numbers then the OEM Suspension. Nitro Gears UCA are not adjustable like SPCs. I was looking for an UCA that was “idtiot proof”, with less moving parts .
I’d also check out Trail Tailor for his UCAs and Tough Dog just released theirs that look similar to Nitro Gears and are less expensive. Probably would have gone with Tough Dog UCAs if they were out at the time my lift was installed.
I’d also check out Trail Tailor for his UCAs and Tough Dog just released theirs that look similar to Nitro Gears and are less expensive. Probably would have gone with Tough Dog UCAs if they were out at the time my lift was installed.
The SPCs are a good product, and widely used on many different platforms. If you're going to go with adjustable UCAs, make sure you have a good shop that can align them. Not all average tire shops can/will take the time to get them right. On my Tacoma, I chose a fixed UCA for this reason. I'd lean towards a fixed UCA like the Tough Dog or Trail Tailor offerings for this reason for me. If I had a good shop for the alignment that I trusted, I'd certainly consider the SPCs.
I have the SPCs and have had good luck with them. There were apparently some earlier issues with squeaking and ball joint wear, which are mostly gone with the addition of a grease zerk in the ball joint. They are highly adjustable which is good particularly if you have a lot of lift or very large tires and need lots of adjustment range. The adjustments are probably overkill for most folks. Make sure you follow the torque specs on the ball joint adjustment nut - you don't want that to come loose
Icons are lighter but 2-3x the cost. Some folks love them but I've seen enough dented/mangled Icon RCAs that I wouldn't trust an aluminum UCA to be as strong. I'm not a materials engineer though.
Nitro UCAs are new. No idea how they will hold up long term - probably fine but who knows?
Trail Tailor has UCAs which have grease zerks in the UCA mounts as well as the ball joint, which is a big plus and should eliminate any squeaking. I don't think they are adjustable but for a mild lift (less than 3") I suspect they would work just fine. Like Nitro these are relatively new so I'm not sure how they will hold up long term... Jason is really focused on building quality products so I expect good things but sometimes quality comes from finding small weaknesses (which may not show up until you are producing and selling in large quantities) and fixing them in future revisions.
All of the above is just my $0.02 and most people wouldn't bother bending over to pick it up.
Icons are lighter but 2-3x the cost. Some folks love them but I've seen enough dented/mangled Icon RCAs that I wouldn't trust an aluminum UCA to be as strong. I'm not a materials engineer though.
Nitro UCAs are new. No idea how they will hold up long term - probably fine but who knows?
Trail Tailor has UCAs which have grease zerks in the UCA mounts as well as the ball joint, which is a big plus and should eliminate any squeaking. I don't think they are adjustable but for a mild lift (less than 3") I suspect they would work just fine. Like Nitro these are relatively new so I'm not sure how they will hold up long term... Jason is really focused on building quality products so I expect good things but sometimes quality comes from finding small weaknesses (which may not show up until you are producing and selling in large quantities) and fixing them in future revisions.
All of the above is just my $0.02 and most people wouldn't bother bending over to pick it up.
TLC2013
SILVER Star
In my Research for aftermarket UCAs I came across Blackhawk 4x4. They are an established Australian off road company whose UCAs nearly identical to Nitro Gear. Are Nitro Gear UCA rebranded Blackhawk UCAs? There specs look identical.
www.blackhawk4x4.com
| Products
www.blackhawk4x4.com
I'm running Camburg UCAs and have been very happy with them. Zero squeaks, grease zerks on the non-spindle poly bushes, beefy joint.
I have been using the SPC UCA's with a tough dog adjustable shock lift for about a year now. They are super strong and very well built. They great deal of adjustability is a nice touch. It isn't hard to find a shop that can align them. I had my alignment done at pepboys after I installed them. All i did was ask to speak with the actual tech doing the alignment. I showed him the alignment directions that came with the SPC arms and explained it to him. Not hard at all. The main difference instead of setting camber on the lower control arm, you set the lower control arm to nuetral and do your camber adjustments at the upper ball joint. Once the changes are made the top nut on the UPC is tightened to 200 ft lbs. once set it isn't going anywhere.