Which UCA's??

Hey guys -

I have slowly been collecting parts for my 21 Crewmax over the winter getting ready for a little suspension lift. I'm looking to add a little height and payload capacity in the back to better tow without the back end of the truck drooping to the ground like my old Tacoma used to do.

I currently have the following parts:

Bilstein 6112's built at 1.9" setting up front w/1 drivers side CB shim
Bilstein 5160's for the back
Toytec progressive add a leaf (I'll be leaving in the overload spring for more height)
Sumo Springs - Yellow (may or may not install)
CB carrier bearing drop kit (0-2")
TRD front & rear sway bars
BFG KO2 - 275/70/R18 Tires

What I can't decide on is the UCA's. I have it narrowed between the Bilstein B8 UCA's or the JBA UCA's. I can find quite a bit of reviews on the JBA, but not so much on the B8's. Are there any opinions between the two here on the forum? The warranty seems to pretty much be the same.

 

I got the Bilstein UCA's simply because JBA had some powder coating issues and couldn't ship my order out when I needed it (I had waited several weeks). I was able to get the Bilsteins shipped overnight. I'm really happy with them, they match my coilovers and they're not red, so that's a plus.

Edit: I also like being able to replace the ball joint with something I can grab at the parts store the same day if I'm in a bind. JBA has unique ball joints you can only get from them, so if you have a catastrophic failure for some reason you'll be stuck till your part arrives in the mail.

 

You really don't even need them with a 2 inch lift in the front. The general consensus on this truck is to change them on anything 3 inches or higher. The benefit of doing it now is if you ever want to go with a bigger lift, they will already be done.

 

Yeah, that was sort of my thought. I didnt know how small the tires were going to look after the lift so I thought I would give myself options for the future.

 

Are you doing much off road? If you are JBA's might get the nod....I'd call Dave @Coachbuilder1 since he knows them all and the pro's and con's of each.

 

The trd front sway bar is significantly stiffer than stock. The bilstein springs are also stiffer than stock. Lifting the truck will make it stiffer than stock. Id not buy that front sway bar if i were you. The i have the blue sumos and they are stiff AF. Your truck is gonna ride like a brick with all that stuff IMO

 

Dang! You have me scared now...... I might not put on the sumo springs. I had them on my Tacoma and they were stiff AF, but I thought it was because the back frame rested on them. I actually bought the progressive add a leaf in part to gain the extra inches in the back to match the front, but also to prevent the back end dip when towing a 4500 Lb. trailer.

 

JBA

 

No, not a ton of off roading, but I'll use to get out to remote cabin and tow toys year round. I'm looking to achieve a bit of a taller stance/clearance while also gaining a bit more rear end sag resistance.

 

You can fit those tires at stock height

 

That it the tire size I have now. I would consider getting bigger tires, but would need to know how much bigger I could go with zero rubiing or cutting.

 

I just thought of a new question:

Can both Bilstein B8 and JBA UCA's be used with stock 2021 alloy wheels? I really don't want to buy new wheels.

 

Unless if you're changing the tires, then any UCA should work with your stock rims.

Only if you change tire size, then you'll then start worrying about how much clearance you'll have.

 

Aftermarket ucas have more clearance than stock ucas. Yes the trd wheels work

 

ok, so if I kept the TRD wheels, then how big of a tire can I go without UCA clearance worries?

 

295/70

i just saw a tundra in a lot this week with 285/75/18 and a 2 inch front spacer lift. Looked good

 

I went with Bilstein because they were available. And I was doing 6112's so figured I'd keep the branding the same. At 3 inches of lift (with CB shims), I knew I could probably get away with stock UCA's, but I'd already be there having things replaced, I'd gain travel, alignment wouldn't be an issue, it's future proof. Which is good, because I'm eyeing the 8112's now.

 

Nice! what size tires are you running with the 3" lift?

 

one thing i never see mentioned that pays to share is that albeit not terribly rigorous adding uca's means adding labour.
I ran total chaos UCA's in my previous Tacoma and they required fairly regular greasing which in itself is no big issue. The part that sucks is you have to back off the hardware so the grease makes its way through. IF you don't grease properly/regularly the truck starts squeaking when the suspension cycles.
Again, not a huge deal but it's added time and effort.

 

I went JBA (in prep of my future upgrade) and just installed them with my 6112 @ 1.9 + 1/4" shim. Alignment numbers came out great, but too soon to give any real feedback other than they seem nice, lol. Install was not as bad as I had anticipated and took a couple hours, but an extra set of hands, 22mm socket + wrench, and a good sized ratcheting breaker bar came in handy.

I just found this guy and feel like he is worth the watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huMztKaHsUE (part1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InQnp42pfts (part2)

[fyi, I run a 285/75/17 BFG KO2 with my setup]

 

295/70/18 Ridge Grapplers on stock wheels

 

@DeesCrewMax I was just about to link his channel. Lots of great info there.

 

Yellow Sumos are rated for 2800 lbs so.......yeah stout ride

 

ok! Any sort of rubbing with those tires or did you need to do a cut or two?

 

I did remove the front mudflaps, that was all. The clearance between the UCA and the tires is pretty close with the offset of the stock wheel.

 

How much caster correction is built into the Bilstein UCAs?

 

I'm fixing to put on 295/70r18 Nitto RGs on stock TRD Off Road wheels. My main concern is clearing the UCA. Did you find that the Bilstein UCAs are easier to clear than the stock UCAs? About the same? If about the same, do you happen to know of UCAs that are best for someone concerned about clearing the UCA with wider tires?

 

I have no clue, all work, parts, tires etc, was done at the same time.
Clearance is definitely close, if it's a big concern for you, you may want wheel spacers or after market wheels. Personally, I'm okay with it for now. I used a paint pen to mark the UCA to check for rubbing. Haven't rub yet, and I've done some fairly decent trails off-road. Broken Arrow in Sedona probably tested it the most. No crazy rock crawling or anything.

 

Thanks. I'm gonna see how it goes with stock wheels, no spacers. Most people who've had even tiny clearance between tire and UCA say they have no actual rubbing or if they did it wasn't a real problem (such as tire damage). This is random, but which sidewall design do you have facing out on the RGs?

 

Someone with better attention to detail would have tell me. Here's a pic.