UCA’s after lift install..

[NewLove]

Not a suspension guru by no means... For you gurus out there, how do these angles look to you?.. This is the Bilstein 5100 at setting #5. (2”)

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[Ram1500rsm]

Post your alignment sheet.

 

[NewLove]

Post your alignment sheet.

Damn it. Didn’t get it. Tech said it was slightly off. Facing truck, the wheels were pointed outward a tad.


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[jjhall8]

Did you actually get 2" of lift?

 

[NewLove]

Did you actually get 2" of lift?

Yes. Exactly 2 inches


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[Ram1500rsm]

Damn it. Didn’t get it. Tech said it was slightly off. Facing truck, the wheels were pointed outward a tad.


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Your factory UCA's should be ok with 5100's. 5100's are stock lenght struts meaning even if you went all the way to their max lift, the strut shaft wouldn't open longer than what the stock strut will... However that doesn't mean your caster/camber specs will remain stock. As you lift you lose caster (you wheels are pushed towards the back of the truck) and your camber will go more positive so you have to adjust your caster/camber bolts to correct for that situation. They can only go to a certain range with the factory UCA's and that range will diminish the higher you go.
Aligment techs can correct that given the leverage they have with factory UCA gives them, typically sacrificing caster to gain camber. Caster won't wear the tires like camber will and more often that not you end with less caster and camber just barely enough for them to say you're good, you're within specs. sometimes within specs can be the absolute min on either caster or camber or both, and you won't have the same driveability you had stock.

I don't think that will happen in these trucks with just 2" of lift in the front so tipically you're ok with 2" though not all trucks react the same. The alignment sheet will tell the story. Above 2" we tend to run less caster and the steering can get a little on the nervous side, some people might notice, some others won't or won't simply care. The higher you go without an offset in your UCA's, the more caster/camber you'll lose i'm sure we have all seen some lifted trucks with tires running like this


In my 10 Silverado 1500 for example i went from 3* to 2* of caster, (min was like 2.2* so was below min) and while the alignment guy was able to get the camber within specs, my camber was barely at the very min, my tires starting wearing down a little funny where the tire shops will say just rotate more often, and the truck was a little to flighty on the fwy... but i had the 2" i wanted. I corrected that later on with aftermarket UCA's that had the proper offset needed for the alignment dude to put my caster and camber values actually towards the max sides and the difference was just day and night..

RAM 1500's seem to respond way better to 2" of lift in that regards, i think is because FCA designed the UCA's and total front geometry in this truck more likely to work with the 2" in the air suspension as i understand we all have the same UCA's. When you lifted your air suspenstion truck with 2" the factory wanted to still have something that will drive somehow correctly, notice the 2" lifted mode wasn't meant as a mode you can run permanently, it was meant more for a offroad thing where you'll need to sort obstacles as you go no more than 40-50mph ?

I know is a lot to read. You can start knowing if you need them with your alignment sheet, then what type of front suspension you have. anything that extend your front struts (top spacers, extended travel struts or coilovers like Falcon, Fox, King etc) more than 22" you want to use an offset uca to not only get the correct travel in your suspension, but to prevent the uca fron binding short as it reaches the extra droop and if you lifted past a certain range to correct camber and caster in your alignment . Hope it makes sense

Aftermarket UCA's are not the devil. They do what they're supposed to when you lift 2-3" and the extra $300-$1500 you pay for them are well worth it. You'll find the high end ones more expensive in race applications so don't be scared to see such a big price ,Typically uniballs or performance BJ's are in the $400-$800 range in our case.

Have fun.

 

[armymp1130]

so would the factory 2” lift mopar uca help with alignment angles? i have a 2” leveling kit and my steering feels sloppy and all my alignment numbers are in spec

 

[Ram1500rsm]

Get an aftermarket uca. Most have a built in offset for 2-3” lift that will increaae your caster and camber without the alignment tech doing much. Don’t waste your time with the factory length ones.Technically you can run the factory one with 2”. Aftermarket ones will make things better.

 

[armymp1130]

Get an aftermarket uca. Most have a built in offset for 2-3” lift that will increaae your caster and camber without the alignment tech doing much. Don’t waste your time with the factory length ones.Technically you can run the factory one with 2”. Aftermarket ones will make things better.

i just dont feel like spending 800$ on uca since the cheapest being rough country ones only work for 3.5” lift

 

[Thekidcasual]

i just dont feel like spending 800$ on uca since the cheapest being rough country ones only work for 3.5” lift

Damn is this true?

 

[armymp1130]

s

Damn is this true?

yes bds icon are up around that, rough country ones only work with 3.5” lift

 

[Jeffjad]

s

yes bds icon are up around that, rough country ones only work with 3.5” lift

Do you have a picture of your UCA angle? Might be something else causing your steering slop. A lot of folks on here seem to be running stock UCAs with a level without issue.

 

[Ram1500rsm]

i just dont feel like spending 800$ on uca since the cheapest being rough country ones only work for 3.5” lift

Zone are $400 and change, RL are $400 and change. just an example.

 

[Smashius]

Zone are $400 and change, RL are $400 and change. just an example.

Yup, I got my RL's off amazon for $391.