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Upper and Lower Control Arms

SilverBullet3g

SilverBullet3g

3️⃣ Silver
Joined
Mar 3, 2021
Messages
82
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67
Age
26
Location
Mississippi
2017 Sport DCSB Auto
Silver Sky
So I’ve been told that UCA’s and LCA’s help with alignment and I’m interested in getting SPC uppers and either Dirt King or Total Chaos lowers.

My first question is: is alignment the only reason for getting upper and/or lowers.

Second: Which one is more important to get first?

Third: What is the difference in purpose of upper and lowers or do they do the exact same thing?
 
No alignment isn’t the only reason for control arms. They also can give you more suspension travel when paired with the proper coilover/shock. Aftermarket control arms are also usually much stronger than the stock ones and can take more abuse. There’s also the option of if you want heim joints or grease-able bushings and ball joint style or uniball.

As far as which is more important to get first, I would say the upper control arms. You’ll be able to get a better alignment right off the bat if you’re running bigger tires. Most aftermarket upper arms will also come with some built in caster and camber adjustment as well compared to stock.

I kind of touched on the purpose of uppers and lowers already but they don’t do the same thing exactly. Most people aren’t going to need after market lowers honestly. Unless you’re going long travel or run your rig off road a lot or through rough terrain a lot, you probably won’t need them. Again, compared to stock they’re much beefier and sturdy and I’ve heard they do help stiffen up the front end a bit.

Now I’m no expert either and if you want professional knowledge I encourage you to reach out to the companies that sell the control arms and pick their brains. Camburg racing is personally my favorite. There’s others in this group that have more knowledge than me as well but this is my knowledge at least. Hope it helped a bit.
 
mgmyota said:
No alignment isn’t the only reason for control arms. They also can give you more suspension travel when paired with the proper coilover/shock. Aftermarket control arms are also usually much stronger than the stock ones and can take more abuse. There’s also the option of if you want heim joints or grease-able bushings and ball joint style or uniball.

As far as which is more important to get first, I would say the upper control arms. You’ll be able to get a better alignment right off the bat if you’re running bigger tires. Most aftermarket upper arms will also come with some built in caster and camber adjustment as well compared to stock.

I kind of touched on the purpose of uppers and lowers already but they don’t do the same thing exactly. Most people aren’t going to need after market lowers honestly. Unless you’re going long travel or run your rig off road a lot or through rough terrain a lot, you probably won’t need them. Again, compared to stock they’re much beefier and sturdy and I’ve heard they do help stiffen up the front end a bit.

Now I’m no expert either and if you want professional knowledge I encourage you to reach out to the companies that sell the control arms and pick their brains. Camburg racing is personally my favorite. There’s others in this group that have more knowledge than me as well but this is my knowledge at least. Hope it helped a bit.
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Ok, so with the SPC uppers, who would be the one adjusting them for my alignment? Me or the alignment shop?
 
SilverBullet3g said:
Ok, so with the SPC uppers, who would be the one adjusting them for my alignment? Me or the alignment shop?
Click to expand...
The alignment shop should be doing all the adjustments for you. Are you installing them or is a shop doing it? If you have a shop do the install, hopefully they are a good shop and they have the ability to do alignments as well. Some of your basic alignment shops sometimes have difficulties with aftermarket arms. The spc’s I’ve heard can be a little tricky if you’re not experienced as well
 
mgmyota said:
The alignment shop should be doing all the adjustments for you. Are you installing them or is a shop doing it? If you have a shop do the install, hopefully they are a good shop and they have the ability to do alignments as well. Some of your basic alignment shops sometimes have difficulties with aftermarket arms. The spc’s I’ve heard can be a little tricky if you’re not experienced as well
Click to expand...
I have a shop that does any lift type upgrades or tires but they don’t do alignments. Have to take it down the road for that. I live in Mississippi so not a lot of people even know what Upper and Lowers are here.
 
SilverBullet3g said:
I have a shop that does any lift type upgrades or tires but they don’t do alignments. Have to take it down the road for that. I live in Mississippi so not a lot of people even know what Upper and Lowers are here.
Click to expand...
I would recommend that you educate yourself on how to adjust the spc arms. They’re not overly complicated. And if the alignment shop has issues they can always call spc directly for help. I’ve heard of this happening and spc is usually quick to help.
 
They’re really easy arms to setup honestly. And the instructions seem to be pretty good
 
Original link: https://youtu.be/_68Hc8GtLko


Here's a good start. Check out this video and if you want more detail check him out on YouTube. He's soon going to do one on the Tacoma soon
. I asked him if he would and he said that basically the Tacoma is not much different than the FJ suspension wise.
You may change your mind on a lot of things after you watch his videos.
 
I have had experience with Total Chaos and 74weld uppers, can't speak for any other brands, I love my 74welds but since moving to Long Travel there no longer needed so if you're interested, I could sell them for $600 see link for information.

Sold - 74 WELD BILLET UPPER CONTROL ARMS

Selling a pair of 74 Weld Billet Aluminum Upper Control Arms. 74 Weld is known for making great products and these have been my favorite UCAs, however there no longer needed after only being on my vehicle for less than 18 months with absolutely no issues! I rather see them put to good use. DM...
tacoma3g.com tacoma3g.com
 
Do I need to get longer alignment bolts now that I’ve switched to dirt king LCA’s My bolts don’t seem right. My tires rub after installation and I used Dorman caster camber kit which didn’t have the right sleeves but I had new sleeves made. It seems like the eccentric is gonna snap the ears off so I may need gussets. Any suggestions
 
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