Upper Control Arms

I have a 2022 trd off road. I'm getting ready to do the bilstein 6112 ride height adjustable kit for the 2" lift in the front. I'm curious if I should do the upper control arms too.?.? I'm fine with spending the money if it helps anything.

 

You'll be fine with stock UCA.

 

Got it. Thank you

 

Even though I could have probably used the stock UCA's I decided to upgrade them. I'm glad I did. I got Icon tubular UCA's with the delta joint which allowed more caster with my alignment, adjusted at the LCA's. In my case, +3.8 (which is NOT in spec but allows more clearance at the rear of the wheel well for bigger tires) and still allows camber and toe to be aligned "in spec". That was my primary reason, but the side benefits turned out to be a bigger deal than I thought. The delta joint allows more down travel than a stock ball joint, by about 1 1/2". Turns out the ball joint was the down travel restriction. A big deal! The other side benefit was handling. The truck drives more like a sports car now and the steering wheel comes back to center way better than stock. Hope this helps.

 

How much of a lift are running front/back?

 

welcome aboard

 

2 1/2". The Bilstein chart said 5-6 clip should be around 2". Mines still at 2 1/2" after 9mo. The positive caster let me keep my mudflaps, even with 285/70/17's.

 

You don’t mention wether or not you’re adding bigger tires. The extra caster is nice to have when you go bigger, but it’s not always a necessity.
If you see UCAs in your future and you are paying a shop to do the work, you may as well do it now to save on labor.
If you’re doing the work yourself and don’t mind doing everything twice, UCAs are absolutely a can you can kick down the road.

 

That's not entirely true, the limiting factor for down travel is NOT the UCA. Factory UCA's can handle extended travel coilovers no problem, the limiting factor for down travel is the coilovers. The biggest reason people upgrade is for a better alignment, but saying they add more travel is misleading and a misconception lots of people have.

 

I didn't say that the UCA's limited down travel, I said that the ball joint did. I measured it stock, then with the delta joint. It's the same principle with uniballs.

 

Running the exact same suspension setup as you and originally had SPC UCA's since a bunch of people recommended them on here. The positive was being able to run a little more caster for more stability at speed and steering wheel turning back to center. However it puts the wheel back further and caused my 33's to rub. I had the shop move the LCA all the way forward to help center it but it still rubbed.

Also not even 10,000 miles later the bushings and joint had a ton of play. Yes I did grease and service them correctly. Ended up getting warranty replacement SPC's to sell and put the OEM UCA's back on. No play or issues now, but my caster is about 1.9 and requires more steering corrections at speed to keep truck driving straight. Better than dealing with play every 10,000 miles. Mechanic basically told me he rarely sees any aftermarket UCA's last past the 30,000 mile mark before developing play.

 

Still just not true. The factory ball joint can handle extended travel coilovers. The coilovers will reach full extension before the ball joint reaches it's max angle, even on factory UCA's.

 

In my case the Icons allowed me to get enough clearance to even keep my mudflaps with 33's. No rubbing even with serious articulation, aka silver lake sand dunes in Michigan. Lots of 2-3' whoops at 20-30mph.

 

I measured my full extension with stock ball joints, and then with the delta joints. There is a 1 1/2" difference. I believe companies that advertise extended travel with uniballs as well as the delta joint and my measurements confirmed it for me. I'm a master tech, retired ( GM factory). I did this for a living.

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=huMztKaHsUE

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=InQnp42pfts

 

I’m a bit skeptical that the limiting factor is not the shock. Was something perhaps messed up with your stock balljoint? Or was the coil over not installed during the measurements?

 

I don't think so as they were brand new. I was pleasantly surprised with the numbers and concerned that I might need limiting straps. Turns out I didn't. My UCA's clear my spring by 1/16" at full droop.

 

I edited my post after you quoted it. Was the coil over installed during the measurements?

 

Go with dirt king boxed upper or total chaos best 2 on the market

 

I’m curious what your hub to fender measurement is at full droop. With my king extended travel shocks and SPC UCAs my hub to fender at full droop is 25.5”.