Do I need adjustable UCAs for a 2" lift

Do I need adjustable UCAs for a 2" lift

Postby stirlo97 on Sun, 29 Mar 2020 6:38 +0000

Hey guys,

I've got a 2012 KUN26 that I'm looking to get lifted to fit some bigger rubber underneath. From what I've read, lifting 2" and above can cause issues with camber / castor angles which can lead to uneven wear on tyres and handling etc. I'm struggling to find a definitive answer on the issue, some say you don't need them at all, others recommend them but say they aren't necessary and others believe they are absolutely necessary. I've also heard that anything under 2.5" is fine, anything more you'd need to get adjustable UCAs. I'm sure alot of you would be running 2" lifts and above, did you need to get new UCA's to fix the alignment issues? Or can I get away with using the stock control arms.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys
stirlo97
 
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun, 29 Mar 2020 6:29 +0000
Location: Brisbane


 

Re: Do I need adjustable UCAs for a 2" lift

Postby nicebike on Sun, 29 Mar 2020 6:46 +0000

I needed them. Lift at the front was exactly 2" from new stock.

Some might have been happy with the settings that I could get without them, but I wasn't.

Toe was the only thing that we could even remotely near spec.
nicebike
 
Posts: 736
Joined: Thu, 27 Feb 2014 7:28 +0000

Re: Do I need adjustable UCAs for a 2" lift

Postby hiluxxury on Mon, 30 Mar 2020 4:34 +0000

Many get by without them... but it depends on your car, wheels, wallet etc.

Do your lift then get an alignment. Make a decision based on the alignment info.

FWIW - my castor is miles out running 33s on a 2in lift with a stock UCA - it drives just fine.
I might be wrong.

2005 SR Hilux 1KD - SOLD
2009 BMW X5 - destroyed by a hail storm
2012 Range Rover Sport SDV6 - SOLD
2015 Ford Ranger
User avatar
hiluxxury
Moderator
 
Posts: 1584
Joined: Sun, 20 Dec 2009 4:16 +0000
Location: Tasmania

Re: Do I need adjustable UCAs for a 2" lift

Postby Sparksy on Mon, 30 Mar 2020 5:57 +0000

Not required for most. I ran stock UCA's for a couple of years with a 2" lift and no sway bar. No dramas whatsoever. CV angles were not too bad without a diff drop. But adjustable UCA's will help a lot more with clearance when running bigger rubber. At this point the wheel offset will be a deciding factor. I have chopped the body mount and trimmed a bit more as well, so I have more clearance than most.

If you do go adjustable though, make sure the person doing your wheel alignment knows what they are doing!
User avatar
Sparksy
 
Posts: 166
Joined: Thu, 08 Apr 2010 9:00 +0000
Location: Sydney

Re: Do I need adjustable UCAs for a 2" lift

Postby stirlo97 on Tue, 31 Mar 2020 7:07 +0000

Sparksy wrote:Not required for most. I ran stock UCA's for a couple of years with a 2" lift and no sway bar. No dramas whatsoever. CV angles were not too bad without a diff drop. But adjustable UCA's will help a lot more with clearance when running bigger rubber. At this point the wheel offset will be a deciding factor. I have chopped the body mount and trimmed a bit more as well, so I have more clearance than most.

If you do go adjustable though, make sure the person doing your wheel alignment knows what they are doing!


Did you experience any uneven tyre wear? Thats pretty much the only issue I can see myself running into. Don't want to fork out $1500 for rubber for them to be porked much sooner than they should. I plan on running a little bit of negative offset to bring the tyres out as far as they can legally (in QLD so cant go past the guard). Pretty uneducated when it comes to alot of this stuff so not sure exactly how much offset I would need. Currently running 265's and was probably only going to go up to 275s or maybe 285s. Don't see myself needing to go any bigger
stirlo97
 
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun, 29 Mar 2020 6:29 +0000
Location: Brisbane

Re: Do I need adjustable UCAs for a 2" lift

Postby Marsh on Thu, 23 Apr 2020 12:43 +0000

nicebike wrote:I needed them. Lift at the front was exactly 2" from new stock.

Some might have been happy with the settings that I could get without them, but I wasn't.

Toe was the only thing that we could even remotely near spec.
Same here. 265/70r17 tyres scrubbed. Much, much happier once fitting adjustable UCAs.
User avatar
Marsh
 
Posts: 84
Joined: Thu, 26 Nov 2015 10:12 +0000
Location: Adelaide


Return to Suspension

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests