How much Caster do you need?

So, how much caster do you need? 2 degrees? 3 degrees? 4 degrees? And at what point - judging by alignment specs, NOT lift height - do you need aftermarket UCA's? Check my alignment specs below. I hit a giant pothole a couple of months ago that I was pretty sure that threw it out of whack. I've looked to follow SoCal57Chevy's alignment specs from ye old tundratalk (https://www.tundratalk.net/threads/...read-w-links-and-shop-recommendations.112656/) but I've not found a shop that will really follow his camber rec's. And his caster rec's are "as much as you can get". Tire wear has always been good enough that I haven't complained about it.

From SoCal57Chevy

"STOCK TRUCKS:
Camber: +.1 degree camber on both sides.
Caster: As much as possible without sacrificing +.1 degree camber or causing a cross caster pull.
Toe: +.12 degrees per side for a total toe of +.24 degrees. (some guys have had to drop toe to +.04 to +.5 per side/+.08 to +.10 total toe)

LIFTED TRUCKS:
Same As Above ... BUT if you have wheels that have more negative offset than factory wheels, increase the camber to +.2 degrees."

What do you think? Is it worth it to get aftermarket UCA's for a little more caster and a little less camber? Truck sits just under 2" in front and 1.5" in back, so not really stock, but not really leveled either (though 2" in front is considered leveled-ish).

 

Keep it to the high side for good steering response.

 

What is the high side? That's kinda what I'm asking...

 

A blast from the past! Yup, I still go in asking for as much caster as I can without pulling. Our roads are crowned for water runoff...
I was looking for my latest alignment sheet but can't find it. I have older camburg uca's, 2013 is. Gives a little extra but not that much.

 

Our roads are also crowned for runoff. I just set my front suspension at ~1.9” and had it aligned; I’m expecting the springs to settle a little in the next few weeks but I was hoping to avoid getting new UCA’s. I honestly might drop it down half an inch just to get a little more rake back but I won’t have time do that for a while.

Anyways, the trucks handling is a little different than it’s been before - it doesn’t really wander but it is a hair twitchy on center. That may be simply because I’ve been fighting a little bit of wander the last little year or two. Last year, I had to replace the outer tie rods as they were causing a little bit of strange wear on the tires (and lazy on-center feel) but the alignment shop didn’t give me an alignment printout to peruse. Since then, it got pushed around a little bit by the wind (it’s windy most of the time during the day here) which I thought maybe was excessive compared to when the truck was newer but chocked it’s up to older truck/shorter memory/heavier vehicle/modified suspension.

But after this most recent alignment it actually tracks really well in the wind so it’s definitely an improvement, especially considering the vehicle has a slightly higher profile and should get pushed around even more. It doesn’t feel like it’s over-driving turns like too little castor. I think it feels like it needs a little less camber and a maybe a little more castor, but I don’t think they can get that out of the eccentrics. Or maybe I just a little total toe.

Now I’m curious what my past alignments looked like. I’ll have to go dig them up. BTW, as far as I know, this was the first time the camber and caster were actually adjusted at an alignment. They have always been in spec even with six different suspension setups, which is crazy to me. 200k+ on the odo.

 

I've also been following the same alignment specs for nearly 40k miles now and the wear and road manners have been great me.

I'm also curious as to the caster numbers.

I had a shop follow the specs and they nailed everything. They were able to get the caster to 2.3* driver and 2.6* passenger. Not sure if this is good or bad, but figured I'd share another apples/apples comparison for you. It's been a while since I've looked past the first few posts in that other thread, but lots of other examples were offered up in it that may help.

 

I just got a nail in the OEM treads and took the truck into Discount Tire for a repair. They fixed it for free, which I was thankful for. I have purchased many sets of tires from them and really like them.

They did a free alignment while the truck was there. I need some help understanding what the problem with the CASTER is on their report. The guy commented that these "new Tundras seem to come from the factor that way". He said it would not affect tire wear in any way, so why should it be adjusted? If the manufacture made it this way, isn't it supposed to be this way? I don't think having it perfectly at ZERO is necessary is it?

Would love some help understanding this and any guidance.

TIA

Dan

 

From my understanding, caster just locates where the tire is going to sit inside of the wheel well. The more caster you have, the higher clearance you get with the body mount to fit larger tires.

Based off of some of the research I've done, 3* caster is right around where you want to be with these trucks.